Joe Kosic was out in Shoal Bay earlier this week fishing for Tuna and came home with a Black Marlin under his belt. It's such a good story I have included Joe's letter in full.
I went chasing tuna on Sunday and managed 2 babies of a couple of kilos, and lost 2 bigger fellas and another little one, I think I will use the gaff and stop trying to grab their tails. I also got 2 baby mackerel trolling chromies. I also caught a 20 kg Black Marlin on a trolled 40g Raider on 8 kg line, It took me by surprise as I looked back at the rods and one was pouring line like crazy and way back was a Marlin tailwalking and jumping like crazy.
I thought it was a Sail at first by the way it was carrying on. I pulled the teaser and the other line with one hand and gave chase. When it was 20 m from the boat it started jumping again so I took pics of it with one hand and held the rod with the other. It got some loose line for a few seconds when I think the hooks pulled and got caught around its tail. I ended up fighting the tail which is what I figured when I could feel long tail beats rather than head shakes. All the while I was worried about my 30lb leader which is not heavy enough to cope Marlin bills.
As I kept chasing the fish it would keep fighting downward which confirmed it must be tail wrapped but due to old line with some visible damage I couldn't put too much pressure on it until it slowed its tail down. When it finally stopped shoving its nose into the sandy bottom I skull dragged it to the surface quickly and grabbed it's tail swung it's head around. I grabbed the bill and started the motor and commenced reviving the nearly drowned fish.
After about 15 mins it started to bite my hand and was kicking with the water flow. I quickly dragged it onboard and ran off some pics of it across the seat and then returned it to the water again for more reviving. I then had the idea of taking a pic of it on the bow with the hospital in the background to show the location. I did this quickly and put it back in the water again. The fish continued to bite my hand on occasions but to be sure I wanted to keep it in the water for longer than required and as the fish was gently swimming along with the water flow it would be pumping any lactic acid through it's system and recover fully.
When I finally let it go it gently cruised downward and away from the boat. I think I did well to land a small Marlin on my own from a 14ft tinnie in 50ft of water on a chrome lure. The rod I used was a rebuilt Ugly Stick I made for the missus in hot pink, and it;s first fish was a Marlin, so I wonder what it will catch next. In a few weeks I might try again with some proper lures and see what happens.
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