HOW TO CATCH MARLIN

Acknowledgments

All I know has been learned from others. So I'd like to thank Andy Vinnicomb, Billy Fairbairn and Martin Tischler of Lizard Island Charters. Wayne Sharrock (SharkMen Specialty Charters Bermagui 0418 107 071). Nigel Spiller and the various crews of Sea Venture (Cairns).

I'm not paid or induced to say anything nice about anyone or any service in this article. The fact that I do is its own advertisement.

Introduction

Many people have been influenced by Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." A book inspired by a tale from a fishing village, which must have inspired Hemingway amongst others and lured them to the sport and after reading this you might decide to give it a go.

There are a number of ways to go Marlin fishing. Charters offer the opportunity to fish for Marlin without the expense of tackle purchase. DIY'ing it requires a reasonable outlay of cash for suitable tackle and this is what we will discuss first. I'll follow this up with my own experiences of charter fishing. These span the resort based through to bring your own lunch. All methods have produced results. You may also like to refer to: www.pakula.com/book/00%20contents.htm for an extensive review by the experts. What follows is my own gained knowledge and methods.

DIY

The tackle I use consists of 4 x 37kg stand-up outfits each spooled with one kilometre of 37kg IGFA Maxima monofilament line. The rods were custom built by Wayne Fitzsimmons, phone: (0421 429 474) and are paired with SHIMANO 80 W reels. The total cost of the purchase was around $12,500.00. Ouch! Additionally, we have a 24kg outfit and a 15kg outfit for light tackle sport fishing (pussy fishing).

We have a Black Magic gimbal belt and harness. The harness goes round your lower back and under your butt so that you can use all your body weight by "sitting on the fish." The harness also attaches to the top lugs on the reel and steadies the outfit.

Our terminal tackle consists of either four lures (Lumo Sprocket, Blue Angel, a soft head bright pink lure and a very large hard head purple and black lure) all fitted with two hooks offset at 90 degrees on 300 kg Jinki leader. We have snap clips on all our rods so that we can change easily. We also carry numerous pre-rigged 300 kg leaders with a loop on one end and the hook on the other. These are used when trolling bait.

We have two types of teasers, these being witchdoctors (a deep diving teaser with mirror sides as shown below) for slow bait trolling and a boon bird with a daisy chain of six pink and white large squids followed by a striped tuna lure.

Example of a witchdoctor

Tow from this end to get it to dive. You need lead in the underside. This one would have lead in a cavity. One side of a 1.5 lb lead glued and nailed under the nose of the teaser works just as well.

We carry large divers and plugs as well as wire. Hook sizes vary from 10/0 through 20/0 in the J or circle pattern. We use stainless steel J hooks and non-stainless circle hooks. The reason for this is that deploying J hooks is likely to injure the fish, particularly on a gut hooking so you are going to get your hook back. This method will be described later.

Other tackle consists of bait rigging equipment (bait needles, waxed tape, low cost braid, rubber bands, balloons and sinkers and the like). We carry a tag pole, a large fixed gaff, a meat hook with a rope on it and numerous other fish landing and subduing devices. 4- meter outrigger poles fitted with self gathers for lure fishing and clips for bait fishing. All this on a 4.5 meter snubbed nose Naudi Glass!

The boat

The bigger the better. That said the boat I mainly fish on is a 4.5 metre snubbed nose Naudi Glass. The owner has removed all seating and the fuel tanks are under the floor. We often carry extra fuel on the deck in plastic drums and siphon this into the tanks once we reach our trolling limit. Smokers are not allowed on our boat!

We navigate with compass and a hand held GPS. We go to the marks we want to fish. In Sydney we usually go to the FAD near the peak, the peak, the shelf then Brown's Mountain then zig zag back to the peak and come home. We burn about 100 litres in the day and we troll on one outboard motor. The boat is fitted with twin 50 h.p. motors and we have found that one motor trolling is effective. All the tackle is deployed along the side of the boat or in a recycle tub placed on the deck at the rear of the boat. We store our food in an esky, which fits neatly into a gap between the battery box and the bulkhead with emergency rations under the lids in the cuddy cabin. We carry a radio, E.P.I.R.B., mobile phone, life jackets and all other safety kit including extra supplies of food and water.

The boat can be easily reconfigured for bottom fishing or leisure by removing the outriggers and the game tub and replacing it with an anchor and chain plus a few tackle boxes. To Marlin fish you need five rod holders. We deploy four lures and the teaser when lure trolling.

Rod holders are required in a pattern of two on each side and one in the centre of the transom to put the teaser rod and reel or Alvey winch in. Additionally, secure points are required to attach the rods via a safety rope. Every rod we have is clipped on to the reel and onto the handrail via a safety rope. This is so that if a rod is accidentally dropped over the side or pulled free it can be retrieved or if the angler goes over the side, the angler and the equipment can be retrieved.

Outriggers

These are essential to spread the lures and to allow a weightless drop back when fishing bait. Pictured below is the configuration that we use which is a mixture of North Queensland and South Coast NSW configurations. We have 300 kg Jinki as the line and have added rod runners to neaten up the flow. We have added a tag line with a selfgather (home made) with a cork and a snap clip on it. The self-gather is clipped onto the ockie strap when using bait and the cork stops the tag line sinking under the props and protects the pulley on the ockie strap. When lure fishing a rubber band is twisted around the line and put into the snap swivel on the tag line. When you let the line go the self-gather will run up to the tip of the rigger automatically while taking the dogleg out of the trolling line. When the marlin strikes the rigger will flex a little and the drag will snap the rubber band and hook the fish. The self-gather will slide down the line gathering in the tag line automatically. The sound of the gear when you get hit will give you a thrill not to be matched. A large crack is followed by a screaming drag with a wild fish jumping around. This sort of fishing goes from the flop house to the penthouse in less than a second.

Example outrigger configuration

Places

In NSW there is good fishing all along the coast. Local knowledge will determine where it is best to fish. While in Sydney I fish as described above. When I go away in NSW I usually go to Narooma or Bermagui. Bermagui has the better access to the sea and the twelve-mile reef (which is actually nine miles off shore) and the shelf very close after that. In more recent times a number of Blue Marlin approaching 1,000 pounds have been taken at Bermagui. Others have escaped (good on them) and many Tuna and Striped Marlin have been taken. I love the South Coast area because of its beauty and the fishing is productive. My advice is "wherever you are, go charter fishing for Marlin first." You will not only be adding to the local economy but saving yourself time and effort on finding out where to fish and how.

If you are in the market for huge fish the Great Barrier Reef is the place. I have lived aboard a boat for up to fourteen days and stayed at Lizard Island many times. If you want luxury then Lizard Island and fishing with Lizard Island Charters is the best option. It is far easier to convince your wife or partner to go on a fishing holiday if being left behind means lazing around a luxury tropical resort. Everything on Lizard Island is fabulous and the Cod Hole is rated as one of the World's best snorkelling and diving locations. The cost is the issue and you won't see much change from $18,000.00 for a five-night stay on Lizard with three days fishing.

Living aboard your boat is the way to go if you and your mates want to go away for five days. This is likely to cost $14,000.00 for five days fishing with all tackle, food, beer and wine included. Airfares are extra but if you book early you can get good deals or simply drive there over three days. I have lived aboard Sea Venture a number of times and have always had a fantastic time. The owner is very friendly and very conscientious so you are guaranteed a good trip. Split four ways, it is likely to cost $4,000 each for a trip like this. E-mail me if you are keen at treasurer@nswfca.com.au. Doing this you can also catch many species straight after breakfast then go Marlin fishing at around 10 a.m. Shark fishing and bottom fishing at night is an option as well. Drinking rum probably a better one.

Methods

Bait

Bait comes in two forms, live and dead. Live bait (slimy mackerel, yellow tail, striped tuna and other tuna) are all bridal rigged. This involves attaching a Dacron or braid loop to the bend of the hook and pulling this sideways through the live fish's snout (just in front of the eyes) with a baiting needle. The second loop on the Dacron is then slipped over the point and onto the bend of the hook again and pulled tight. The fish is now deployed over the side and run back a distance of 60 metres. The second bait is run back only 20 metres to avoid tangles. The baits are trolled at slow speed (1-2 knots) in the outrigger clips held in place by rubber bands to stop dropouts. We mark our mono with "peg marks" at the required distances so we know exactly where to stop the line. Peg marks are made by binding braid on to the mono at the required length then covering this with 5-minute araldite. Over this is bound waxed tape. This provides exact measurement and something for the clip to grip onto while protecting the line. Additionally, you will know how far a fish is away from you during the last part of the fight and this gives the angler some hope.

Dead baits can be made to skip or swim. I'm only good enough to make them skip. I take half a dozen slimy mackerel and gut and gill them. This has to be done without breaking the neck of the fish at the gills. I get the gills out with poultry scissors and cut from the fish's anus to the ventral fin section to remove the gut. The gut is replaced with coarse cooking salt and the cavity is then sewn shut. I use either cheap braid or dental floss for this job. The gut is crisscross stitched at about 1 cm intervals. I then stitch the gill covers shut. The last job is the loop to attach the bait. I make a 4 cm loop in some braid or Dacron and push this vertically through the bait's nose, dead centre about half a centimetre back from the fish's snout. The knot, which formed the loop, is pulled down to the snout then the two loose braid ends are tied under the chin. Both ends are brought up and tied around the knot on top of the snout. The loose ends are then taken back to the pectoral fin and pushed through the tough part to each side. These ends are then tied under the fish. The loose ends are pushed through the back of the eyes and the final tie is on the top of the head. You should now have a fish that looks similar to the next illustration. The only difference is that the hook will be on the very front of the fish's snout.

Now cover the entire bait with salt and put into a plastic bag. The bait is ready to store in the esky. Repeat the process for the next five fish. Each bait takes me about ten minutes to do. Once done and salted they last for ages in the freezer.

The bait is attached to the hook by the loop. Make a slip loop and attach to the bend of the hook or attach the loop over the bend and half hitch once in each direction. These baits are deployed at a distance of 20 metres to 30 metres in a pair, suspended from the outriggers. The distance back will be determined by the size of your outriggers. The longer and higher, the further back the bait goes but never more than 30 metres. We tow these baits at about five knots so they just skip along the top. The tail of the bait should be seen to be moving and there should be a wake off the nose of the fish. If not pull them in closer until you find the right distance. Once they are working we deploy the witchdoctors and the bird teaser. The witchdoctors are deployed on anchor rope and they are constructed to float (only just) when not in motion.

There are variations of this rig that involve placing a single hook in the belly of the fish and placing a two-hook rig in the belly of the fish. The latter is designed to gut hook and kill the fish. More on hooking methods later in this article.

The convenience of the single hook rig as described above is the ease with which you can change baits. Up north the razor gang often chops you off and down in NSW the odd shark will chop you off or a Marlin might just crunch your bait. If this occurs you simply undo the loop over the hook and replace the bait as described above.

Lures

Lures are deployed as shown below. Set the drag on strike (15 kg) and put the ratchet or clicker on. We troll these at about eight knots and at a maximum of 15 metres behind the boat in a configuration like this:

It is important where you place each lure. The biggest and darkest needs to go on the second pressure wave behind the boat. The pink on the third pressure wave and the last two on the fifth pressure wave. This is because a fish may not pass a big lure to hit a smaller one plus the closer to the boat the big lure the easier it is to get it to work. It is thought that a Marlin can eat a fish 20% of its own mass. If this is true, then a 2,000 lb fish could eat a 400 lb Yellowfin. As Marlin over 2,000 lbs have been taken by professionals and the biggest on rod and reel was over 1,800 lb you will soon realise that the biggest lure you can buy is basically a Marlin nibbley.

Make sure the lures splash on the surface then dive leaving a bubble trail. You must also place the lure 1/3 the way up the face of the pressure wave. This is called the window. This is where the fish has the best chance of seeing the lure and the most of the fish is in the water to provide forward power to hit the lure. The two flat lines can be adjusted by moving the lure in and out or by having an adjustable tag line on the back bollards to draw the main line down flatter. I don't like bollard tag lines as they allow split second slack in the line on the strike. Call me a hard case but I want the hooks to go in the second the lure gets hit. Lures placed in the outriggers can be set by positioning the lure on the top of the fourth pressure wave when the line is flat. Once you attach the tag line with a rubber band and let the line out so the tag line is deployed, you should find that the lure ends up in the window of the fifth wave. This takes a little practice but you have plenty of time to get this right.

When the fish strikes the hook-up is instantaneous. When this occurs, power the boat forward to ensure a good hook penetration and to give some clear distance between the hooked fish and the rest of the gear. Once clear, get the teasers and other lures in fast and deposit them in the empty buckets in each corner as shown in the diagram. This prevents the chance of injury. When things settle down put the outriggers up and put the other rods away. This leaves a clear deck for the fight. For more information see: www.pakula.com/book/04%20Trolling.htm. Here is an 80 kg Striped Marlin caught by us off Sydney in 2003.

Mr. Geoff Prowse and his daughter Jessica with the 80 kg Marlin caught by him using the method described above.

Hooking the fish - bait

There are three primary hook rigs and each is described in turn.

The death rig - the double J hook bait

These have to be rigged each time, as the leader has to go through the dead baits mouth. Simply take a double hook lure rig and leader and pass the loop end through the gilled and gutted bait's mouth. Sew the mouth shut and sew the two hooks in place in the belly cavity one behind the other with no offset. This bait is deployed in the rigger 20 to 30 metres behind the boat. It should be trolled at about five knots so that it produces a bow wave and the tail works up and down. When the fish takes the bait it is free spooled on very minimal drag (just enough to stop overruns) for about 20 metres after the drop back (the free loop line from the rigger clip to the reel trailing behind the boat) is taken up. Never have the ratchet or clicker on when free spooling bait. The vibration puts the fish off. Once the fish has been free-spooled, the boat is powered forward by the skipper while the angler puts the drag to strike and winds in as fast as he can. Start the boat moving forward before engaging the drag. What should happen is that the slack should come out of the line and the drag start peeling off under the weight of the fish. When this happens the fish is hooked. With this rig you are trying to do as much internal damage as possible and the fish should come to the surface shaking its head with blood gushing everywhere. This is called gagging. Simply reverse or drive slowly towards the fish while the angler gathers line under pressure. You should be able to trace the fish within five minutes and dispatch it soon after. This rig is not for people who want a good fight. It is for people who want to keep their fish. If rigged on wire it has the added benefit of catching any of the razor gang (Wahoo, Spanish Mackerel, Dogtooth Tuna and the like). It can also be reversed and made into a teaser for fly-fishing for Marlin by embedding the hooks into the body of the fish. This teaser deployed in the lure configuration with a tight drag will be crushed and escape a Marlin bite which will infuriate the fish. The crew can then work the bait as a teaser while you line up your fly shot. Again, if the razor gang hit it you have dinner.

J-Hook skip bait

Trolling a skip bait with a J hook on the nose of it makes for easy towing and skipping. The baits are deployed as per the diagram and hooking the fish is the same as for the double hook rig. The chances are that you will gut hook the fish. You can minimise this by driving off early when the drop back is taken up. If you miss, wind the bait back to level with the other bait and reduce the drag to semi free spool. It helps to have black electricians tape on the reel to show you exactly where this point is. Slow the boat back to trolling speed and wait. Chances are that the fish will come back again. Repeat the process until you get a hook up.

Circle hooks

I have now had the chance to fish a "Circle Hook - only" trip and I was amused by the results. We jumped off four fish but we did get one around 950 lb. Even given the outcomes of my experience I'm convinced these hooks work better and do a lot less damage. So if you want the fish to fight and to have minimal injuries then use circle hooks. The pattern we use is the Mustard 39960D Tuna Circle.

Hooking the fish with these hooks is very different from hooking them with J hooks. Baits are rigged and presented the same way. However, when the bait is taken the fish is free spooled for a bit longer with the boat in neutral. The drag is then gently increased at a slow pace until the line comes tight. A short burst forward is all that is required to finish the hook set. Even if the fish has swallowed the bait, this approach will pull the bait up the gullet of the fish and the hook will lodge in the jaw of the fish. This is only true if the circle hooks are not offset. You can test this by setting up a bait and pulling it over a broom handle. The circle hook will catch the broom handle every time. They also stay in better once they are in and this lessens the risk of the fish jumping you off. Having witnessed many J hooked fish jump one way and seeing my large bait going the other I know how frustrating this can be. I once had five fish jump off in a single day! If you miss with a circle hook do not wind the bait back in. This is because of the slow speed of the hook set and the small drive off at the end of the hook set. It is likely that the fish you just missed is very close by and angry that dinner got away. Immediately drop the drag back to semi free spool and repeat the process.

Huge Fish

After you have caught a few of those "pussy" marlin around the 400 kg mark you will probably want to catch something decent. I have had people tell me that a 500 kg Marlin is a big fish. Rubbish! A quick 'net search will show that there are web sites around with pictures of Marlin taken up to 820 kg.

Charter Fishing

Lizard Island - Jewel in the reef

As described earlier, Lizard Island offers a fabulous tropical island paradise combined with an exclusive international resort. Yep, I can only drink 10 Mango Daiquiris a day in this sort of place, usually in the pool after a hard day marlin fishing. The people of Lizard Island Charters can't do enough to make your day out enjoyable and you can get the chef in the resort to cook up any bi-catch such as Spanish Mackerel or Wahoo.

Great Barrier Reef live aboard

Living aboard a boat is probably not for you and the family. It is less expensive than the resort option but you must love fishing and the sea to do it. When I do this I use Sea Venture and have always had a great time. The food is fantastic and you get to eat a lot of what you catch. In fact, last trip, the owners wife had to come down and claim the meat provisions after the trip, as we ate none of it! My only word of warning is that if you do this, go with mates who have a laidback attitude to life. You might troll all day for three days and get nothing. You might also get three to five bites in one day. So it does not help to have trigger-happy whingers in the group. I find it best to do some light tackle fishing in the morning to get dinner then back to the main game.

Low cost fishing in NSW

Budget fishing is also available. At Bermagui I have been fishing with Wayne Sharrok and the cost of his boat is $700 per day. It is a very large tin boat and it is bring your own lunch and drinks. Now, if you weigh up the saving of not towing (or owning) a boat, the petrol and gear money you have to spend then you will soon realise that paying Wayne to go fishing is cheap. He is one of the nicest people I have meet and has a good sense of humour. Bermagui is a lovely place and there is plenty for the family to do while you're out fishing. Tilba winery is just one of the nice places for a family day out and looking around Tilba Tilba and Central Tilba is well worth the effort.

In closing, I hope this helps you and if you want more info just Email me. Hope you come tight on a big one.

Paul Cooper