WE’D been dragging lures all through a seemingly lifeless ocean for about 5 hours. There was not lots chatter on the boat radio, and on a relaxed day on a straightforward sea we drifted into an air of somnolence as a result of the lures bubbled by a glass sea. Typically when it is like this, you start to see points that aren’t there. A fin, a shadow, a darkish kind in a wave. For a second I believed I was imagining I seen a deep shadow behind the closest lure. Then a fin, a bill and an infinite hit made the reel scream. The day and the mood modified immediately. It took two hours to get that fish to the boat.
For those who occur to love catching giant fish from trailer boats, blue marlin are the final phrase downside. The place I keep, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, there are pretty just some boats of 6.5 metres or a lot much less that repeatedly objective and catch blue marlin inside the months between November and June. Currently we’ve caught them inside the totally different months as correctly, giving a doable 12-month season. I’ve spent a great deal of time chasing these good fish from my 6-metre plate aluminium centre cabin, Gemma 3. They’re pretty fickle creatures, turning up in numbers sooner or later and being absent the next. Crucial downside of all is catching blue marlin from a small boat with solely two anglers on board. When the hookup comes, one angler takes the rod whereas the skipper drives, clears all the gear after which hopefully leaders the fish and removes the hooks. The boat will get a bit busy! I’ve caught 54 blues from my boat so far, however it does get extra sturdy as I develop into older!
From a relatively small boat the distances are large, and require good local weather and relatively calm conditions. Blue marlin not typically stray contained within the continental shelf. They tend to feed in water over 150 metres in depth and the sloping fringe of the continental shelf the place the depth shortly drops from 80 to 200 metres is an environment friendly place to put the lures out. The place I fish that’s roughly 50 kilometres offshore, a future in a small boat. There will likely be a great deal of water between fish on the broader grounds, and it is not uncommon to troll all day and never utilizing a chew. When the chew comes it is typically sudden, with a large boil and hopefully a screaming reel. Blue marlin are pretty utterly totally different to blacks or stripes when it comes to how they assault a lure. Most strikes are rapid and unseen and actually aggressive in comparison with stripies and blacks that all the time observe the lure for a while sooner than inserting.
Blue marlin are the one fish species I chase the place I hope to solely encounter smaller fish. The everyday blue in our waters is spherical 140 kilos, nonetheless fish over 200 kilos are comparatively widespread, they usually’re hundreds extra sturdy to land on standup kind out. Whereas you will catch blue marlin on stand up 24 kilo kind out the fight cases will likely be very prolonged. A standup 37 kilo outfit is a lots higher weapon nonetheless you need a great deal of line functionality. 5 stand up 37 kilo outfits represents a extreme funding in kind out. Harnesses are compulsory to fish this gear appropriately and we often run the reels at 8 kilos of drag stress on the strike button, nonetheless pull the lever a bit once more from that spot after we troll. As quickly because the fish has run, jumped after which settled into the fight we push the lever forward to the strike setting. On the reel I want to have about 900 metres of 80 pound Dacron on the 80W dimension reels with a primary shot of a few hundred metres of mono. This affords you additional line functionality and fewer stretch when the fish is deep, and the mono prime shot offers you a bit of little bit of elasticity when the fish is close to the boat.
One among many biggest points when chasing blue marlin from a small boat with solely two on board is getting spooled by giant fast fish. It is pretty great how lots line these fish take away from a reel in just some seconds, and within the occasion you get caught trying to clear the gear the fish might need you ever all the way in which right down to the
bottom of your line load sooner than you’ve purchased the teaser in. I on a regular basis uncover it laborious to put a lot much less traces inside the water, nonetheless three traces and a teaser is the most effective unfold when fishing two up. This lets you clear the gear quickly and minimises tangles when the fish runs.
Most blue marlin fight in an identical pattern. The take off is generally spectacular, a number of the thrilling points you presumably can see in gamefishing. They run fast, greyhound all through the ground and generally change route quickly. Ultimate 12 months we hooked an absolute monster blue that took the right part of a kilometre of line in a few minute, after which bought right here once more to the boat leaping dragging all that line behind it.
It is common on 15 and 24 kilo gear to be busted up by the fish dragging a loop of mono by the water at a velocity so fast the water stress breaks the street. For those who occur to outlive the “blast off”, the fish will often go deep, and the fight settles down a bit. At this stage I want to drive the boat into the current as this tends to airplane the fish upwards and should enormously shorten the fight. On a two-speed reel that’s often an excellent time to drop to a lower gear and work the fish laborious to regain a couple of of the road misplaced on the first run.
Blue marlin fight until they’re utterly cooked, and they also not typically give you a easy fight. Sometimes blues are hundreds easier to cope with on the boat than blacks or striped marlin. I on a regular basis take away the hooks rigorously (single hook rigs are hundreds safer for this than 2 hook rigs) and swim the fish for a while sooner than setting it free. Whereas catching blue marlin from a 6 metre tinny isn’t for everyone, I’ve found it actually not too laborious while you get just some fish under your belt, and I uncover my captures from Gemma 3 far more satisfying than the fish I’ve caught or helped catch from bigger fly bridge gameboats.