need are exactly the same as are required by
black marlin, so for me, a dolphin fish jumping
on a lure means that the next fish may well be a
marlin. Dollies are an “indicator” fish that
mean I’m in the right place. I’ve had
double hook ups consisting of a
marlin and a dolphin fish, and
on dozens of days I’ve caught
both species. They also respond
to exactly the same methods.
Dolphin fish have a tendency to
school around f loating objects,
but even then there is often a
billfish within a few hundred metres as
well. Dolphin are quite common in SE
Queensland. While most are considered marlin
bycatch, they are a legitimate target in their
own right. If you haven’t caught a big one
before, my main tip is to gaff them in the head.
When brought on board, make sure you get
control of them quickly by grabbing the tail
and bending them so the head end is on the
f loor. Dollies are crazy and can be highly
destructive when let loose in a boat.Marlin food
When you chase marlin at sea, finding bait is
probably the key element to your success. For
black and striped marlin, schools of slimies are
the preferred food source. If you find a big
school of slimies, there’ll always be predators
somewhere in the vicinity. Marlin will hold on
big aggregations of slimies for weeks. If the baitstays, so do the fish. This explains the success of
grounds such as the famous “Car Park” out of
Port Stephens and “Spot X” off the Gold Coast.
If these areas are stacked with bait you need to
invest time and wait rather than stray away
looking for a seemingly more productive spot.
With blue marlin, schools of striped tuna are
a constant source of food that provides plenty
of energy. Blues eat stripies like a kid eats a
lolly. If you find big schools of striped tuna at a
given depth, stay on that depth contour and
work it hard. I’ve caught good blues in depths
as shallow as 80m when the striped tuna are
thick. A bridled striped tuna trolled around the
breaking schools is a deadly method when blue
marlin are in the vicinity.Phone apps
I work in a busy hospital emergency
department on the Gold Coast where surfing
and fishing are major parts of the lives of
many staff. Just about all of our keen doctors
and nurses have the Sea Breeze app on their
iPhones. This weather-predicting app gives
you weather, wind, tide, waves and a host of
other information, allowing you to plan your
days off a week ahead. Sometimes I find Sea
Breeze tells you what you want to hear! I’ve
been caught out a few times when the actual
wind is 10 to 15 knots more than what is
predicted, however, it generally seems pretty
accurate. By using Sea Breeze and the sea
surface temperature charts, it’s now a lot easier
to plan offshore trips well in advance.
The more and better information you have,
the better your trips tend to be.Just Do It
It’s easy to lie about on the couch reading about
fishing or looking on Facebook at what your
mates are catching. But that won’t catch you
fish. The key is to get up and get out there.
The more you go, the more you know. Fishing
is a lifetime of learning where every trip
provides clues and lessons for the next trip.
Joining your local game fishing club is a
great idea – there are generally plenty of
skippers looking for reliable hard-working
crewmembers. If you’ve got opportunity, don’t
waste it. As my work as a doctor constantly
shows me, you are a long time dead!66 | fishingworld.com.au | February 2015
ABOVE: Tuna of ten
feed into the wind.
Driving upwind of
the fish and then
drif ting back on the
school is a proven
tactic.
RIGHT: If you
find bait like this,
don't leave it. A
fish will be there
somewhere.TECHNICAL: GAMEFISHING
arlin will hold on big aggregations of slimies for weeks.
If the bait stays, so do the fish. This explains the success of
grounds such as the famous ‘Car Park’ out of Port Stephens
and ‘Spot X’ off the Gold Coast."
M
IMAGE: NATHAN BAJADA.