Shaka 2008

Out wide

2008-11-29T09:54:00.006+10:00

With eldest son Jonathon on board we spent a couple of days on Linden Bank hoping in vain for some action before heading out wide to the tuna aggregation. Day one out there saw Jonathon on this one at 500lb.

On day two the action picked up even further, with Jonathon tagging and releasing this one at 650lb. It was a tough fight as the fish was hooked on the dorsal fin and wrapped in the leader. We used the satellite tag we had been saving all season for just the right fish but with one day to go we couldn't be fussy. The fish was released tired but otherwise in excellent shape so we look forward to getting some feedback on where she goes.

And just to close it up, John got a small blue.

The Bank continues to deliver

2008-11-21T19:29:00.005+10:00

My son Matthew joined me for this trip and was quickly into the thick of it. He fought two on his first day but lost them both at the boat. This 350lb-er was tagged and released on day two.

Black and blue

2008-11-17T07:30:00.006+10:00

Angler David Merson fished with us in Vanuatu in 2006 (here) and now has a Cairns black to go with his Vanuatu blue marlin. This small one put on quite a display at Linden Bank.

And as usual, right at the death on the last day of the trip they turned up in force with four bites in an hour. We released two - a 250lb-er and this one at around 400lb.

Canadian Luck

2008-11-12T09:52:00.012+10:00

Joining us on this trip are Canadian anglers Craig Moffat and Eben Stovel and their lucky fishing gnome Grimble Crumble. He's justified his trip to the Great Barrier Reef so far, with a black marlin on each of the first two days of the trip.

This small one was ambitious in taking the big bait but managed it and became Craig's 1st black marlin.

Day two produced another one for Craig. This 400lb-er came in lit up and trucking at 100 miles an hour, swam right past the scad and the rainbow runner on the shotgun and crashed the big bait (one of two traded with Reel Chase for ice – both of which have resulted in marlin, need any more ice Capt Jim?). Craig had a serious fight on his hands this time but handled it well. The fish was tagged and released in great shape.

Day three and Grimble Crumble was plumb tuckered out from all the action, helping Capt Jared raise six fish including Eben's 1st black marlin and this one which Craig got all the way to the boat where the bill wrapped leader finally wore through.

The fourth and final day saw a slump and as every captain knows, you're only as good as your last fish. By late afternoon the blame game was in full swing and having taken all the credit for days one to three, Grimble Crumble was the main suspect. And what better punishment for poor performance than to rig a hook to him and throw him out to swim with the baits...

Alas, no result and Grimble Crumble lives to fish another day...

Something to celebrate

2008-11-07T08:28:00.008+10:00

After four slow days for two bites in the middle Ribbon Reefs, we headed down to Linden Bank and finally hit paydirt. Practice on a few sharks during the slow days had angler Phil Morrison ready for the real thing.

It wasn't long before CP had this lively small one on the wire...(Note the shirt - an original from the original "Hooker" dating back to 1974!)

...and Ant had the tag in. And to top it off, another fiesty black appeared not long after and was given the same treatment.

And then it was time to celebrate...

Late bite

2008-10-31T19:24:00.000+10:00

We finally got one around 300lb at 6:20pm on the last day of the trip. It was Craig’s 1st marlin and our 1st bite in three days…

The season starts to look better

2008-10-25T21:01:00.005+10:00

With the weather still rugged, we fished Lena Reef and managed to pick up one around 400lb on our first day. However, days two to four were trying with bites hard to come by and seas uncomfortable.

Day five dawned bright and clear with winds in the 20-25kts range and very fishable sea conditions. After a productive morning's bait fish, we headed out to fish off Ribbons Reef No 3 and were joined by around a half dozen other boats. On a glorious day for a boat ride (relatively speaking, that is, after the 25-30kts we’ve become used to) the marlin decided to co-operate. It seemed at times most boats were hooked up and Shaka got her share. Around 2:15pm a nice 450lb-er jumped on and was successfully tagged and released.

Then just as those anchoring up at No 5 had departed around 5:45pm, a really nice one showed up. We called it at 850lb, tagged and released after an acrobatic show.

Photos courtesy of CP.

A Good Day for the Big Girl

2008-10-19T18:44:00.007+10:00

On a day that saw several boats decide discretion was the better part of valour and call a lay day, Shaka braved the elements to fish the middle Ribbon Reefs and our efforts were rewarded in spades with an 850lb marlin for Ed Vander Kruk – crashing the tuna (which, incidentally, Ed had caught off the back of the boat at our mooring on no. 5 Ribbon Reef yesterday) on our last downsea run of the day. She was tagged and successfully released just on dusk.

Any day the big girl comes visiting is a good day on the GBR, no matter what the conditions...

Marlin

2008-10-18T21:08:00.003+10:00

Coral trout are great, but marlin are better! Ed Vander Kruk from Hooked-On Angling & Outdoors (www.hookedon.com.au) at Teewantin, has been feeding us with coral trout but today was his day...

Fishing in 30kts+ and 3m seas at the bottom of number four ribbons reef, Ed hooked up to his 1st black marlin and had a blast as it jumped all over and was finally released in great shape. Hopefully, more to come.

Hooked-on Trout

2008-10-17T20:45:00.001+10:00

When the wind is 30kts plus and the fishing is slow, what better way to pass a few hours than throwing poppers behind the reef. And when the results include a five kilo coral trout, it makes missing out on marlin a little easier to bear…

Fierce to frightening...

2008-10-13T08:12:00.003+10:00

It’s not always slick calm on the GBR – sometimes you have to earn a bite. Right now, with winds in the 20 – 30kts range and seas around 3m, it’s invigorating or as CP would say “sportif”...

We took advantage of a late start yesterday to pick up a couple of coral trout for dinner – barbequed Thai style with coconut rice. Every cloud has a silver lining!

THAI STYLE BBQ CORAL TROUT
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 kg whole coral trout
2 spring onions cut into julienne strips

Preheat the barbecue on LOW to MEDIUM. Place the garlic, fish sauce, lemon or lime juice, ginger, chilli sauce, coriander and rice wine vinegar in a jug and mix well. Place the whole fish on a large double or tripled over piece of well greased foil. Pour the marinade over the fish and sprinkle with spring onion.

Wrap the fish into a parcel and cook for approximately 20-30 minutes or until flesh flakes easily when tested. Serve immediately with steamed coconut rice.

Fishing the Middle Ribbons

2008-10-11T20:33:00.002+10:00

The fishing is looking good at the middle ribbon reefs. We released one at around 800lb and saw two other really nice ones.

Pickin' Away

2008-10-10T18:59:00.003+10:00

With the charter out of the way and “the Boss” back in the chair we’re headed south, hopefully to better fishing. And what better way to pass the time than catching the odd marlin along the way. This one came up to say hello at the top of No 7 Ribbon Reef and was promptly brought in for a close-up.

Photo courtesy of Charles ‘CP’ Perry

Kiwi Hunter Bags 1st Marlin

2008-10-09T21:37:00.002+10:00

Kiwi Matt Wallis heads up New Zealand’s premier hunting operation – Minaret Outfitters (www.minaretoutfitters.com) – and hunts exotic species all over the world. This was his first trip to the GBR and we were pleased to be able to hook him up to his first black marlin. This one turned up literally seconds before we called it quits on the last day of the trip – better late than never!

Persistence, hard work and luck

2008-10-07T20:58:00.004+10:00

With the marlin hard to come by, it’s great when persistence (and hard work) pays off. Donald Nuckle’s second trip to the reef paid off today with his first fish - a real performer taken with a live bait tuna between Day and Hicks.

If you look closely, you’ll see the circle hook set from the outside in. A little luck doesn’t hurt…

Big Bait for Big Fish

2008-10-04T09:24:00.002+10:00

Most fishermen would be happy to take home this Spanish Mackeral, but here on the GBR we believe in trading up...

This fella will be a skip bait which will hopefully entice a really big black marlin - something around the 1,100lb mark like the fish Daniel Spencer caught on a similar sized bait last year (see

http://shakamain.blogspot.com/2007/11/first-class-fishing.html).

Not a bad trade if we can do it!

Shaka on the Banks

2008-10-01T18:00:00.001+10:00

There may be some dodgy banks in the US and Europe, but here on the Great Barrier Reef the banks are in good shape. At least, Linden Banks is.

Shaka’s 2008 Heavy Tackle Season got off to a flying start with 2-2-2 on our second day, including one we called at 950lb. After watching Laurie Wright on ‘Ningaloo’ and Tim Dean on ‘Calypso’ release three each on day one, we figured it was our turn and we weren’t disappointed. The 950lb crashed our rainbow runner and jumped all over the ocean during a 25 minute fight. With our number one – Charles ‘CP’ Perry - still in transit, deckie Ant Griffiths did a fine job in steering the chair, wiring and tagging the fish all by himself with Captain Jared fully occupied upstairs.

Here’s hoping there’re plenty more where she came from…

Baby Blacks Bait and Switch

2008-09-16T16:13:00.000+10:00

In a warm up for the 2008 season, we spent a few days chasing the baby black marlin inside the reef just south of Cairns on light tackle. Our main intent was to sharpen up our bait-and-switch technique in preparation for the big girls next month.

Once we got it grooved, we were (almost) unbeatable, going 6-6-5 over the final two days - and having a ball in the process as they rocketed all over the teasers.

Bring it on!!!