A friend of mine Phil invited two other friends and myself for a fishing trip to Moreton Island on boxing day Saterday 26 December 2015.
We left for Scarborough at 04:00 in the morning.Tell me about it, I know its early but at the end of the day it sure was worth while going.
We launched the boat, a 6 meter vessel with a 200 HP Johnson Motor fitted . The ocean were as calm as a mirror and we traveled comfortable to Moreton in no time at all.The trip over to the light house was done in about 30 minutes flat.
We then stopped and rigged 5 fishing rods with Marlin lures. Set the lines out at different distances behind boat in order not to get tangled up. Also threw out teasers on both left and right side of the boat. Phil is a seasoned Marlin catcher and under his supervision we were soon ready to start trawling for the big fish.
Please have a look at this video to see the setup we used.
The first two hours flew past and we really enjoyed the calm ocean and beautiful surroundings. Sea was really flat and there were not to many boats around. Waves were breaking against the rocks at the light house. Birds over head. Occasional dolphin and turtle sightings.
Then all hell broke loose. One of the rods with the least line on started running. We all scattered and started reeling in the other rods and teasers. Gunther who was first in line to catch were seated on the fighting chair and rod were handed over (fighting chair is actually a massive cooler box).
The battle started.
The fish jumped clear out of the water numerous times. Excitement on the boat were sky high. I cough not believe that we were actually catching a blue marlin. It seemed un-real. Time sort of stood still. I will never forgot the excitement all round.
Gunther did really well and within about 8 minutes the fish was right next to the boat.
It was here that I saw the power of these fish first hand. It was as if the fish was placed on a hot plate. The marlin were jumping and striking with its bill. Cart wheeling and somersaulting in all directions. It clearly had a lot of energy left. It had a beautiful silverfish color and its eyes were wide open.
Phil had the leader winded around his arm and were pulling the marlin closer to the boat. At one point I ducked away behind the side of the boat because I was scared that I would get rammed by its bill (something that happened two weeks ago when a fisherman was impaled through its leg by a marlin at the same spot).
My camera stopped filming and because of this we did not get any footage of the fish next too the boat. It shook the lure out of its mouth and slowly swam away back into the crystal clear water.
At least the fish were well and unharmed. We were planning to release any marlin caught any way.
It was classified as a catch as Phil were able to touch it by hand.The fish was about two meters long and was estimated to be between 35 – 45 kg in weight.
What an awesome experience. What makes the story more interesting is the fact that Gunther lost his eye sight 5 years ago in a motorbike accident.
I am today proud to say that I have a friend that were able to catch a black marlin and also previously hit a hole in one on the golf course. Both really difficult feats to accomplish.
We trawled for another few hours and got another strike but the fish let go of the lure and we were not able to catch it. We traveled with a large school of dolphins which were hunting small fish which were all around us, but no marlin were around.
Some of the crew started feeling a but under the weather after they ate some of the pizza I offered. This gave us something to chuckle about. Well done Dean, you were still able to give us a smile although you were not feeling well.
Gunther’s fishing stats looks as follows. First fish ever caught – puffer fish. A few months ago he caught a tailor on Fraser Island. And then on the boat the black marlin. I am waiting in anticipation to see what his next fish will be. Lol
Thanks Phil it was great experience and definitely the highlight of my 2015 year.
Biggest Marlin(s) ever caught
Catching Marlin from Rocks in Australia
https://youtu.be/8cj7YTqk-U4
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