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NEWSLINESPip’s surprise
first marlin
After several trips as a new crewmember learning
the ropes aboard Coffs Harbour gameboat Foreign
Exchange, Phillipa (Pip) Marshall’s turn on strike came
around during a club competition in early February.
We trolled the 50-fathom reefs for juvenile black
marlin, planning to give Pip a chance with a smaller fish
for her first shot at a billfish ... but things didn’t work out
that way. When a much larger dorsal fin than expected
crash-tackled the Jennings flying fish imitation on the
shotgun, I was both wildly impressed and at the same
time somewhat apprehensive.
Pip’s marlin hooked-up on cue, stripping about half
the line off the 50W reel within the first 30 seconds.
Fortunately, Pip was the only one on board who didn’t
know that she wasn’t hooked-up to just a little black
marlin, which was probably a blessing in disguise because
she got stuck into it like a woman possessed. The two
opponents were pretty evenly matched, but Pip knuckled
down and never let the fish get the better of her.
It was an hour and fifty minutes before Paul Brodrick
had it on the leader, and only then did we realise it was a
really solid blue. With a short-length of 273cm, its weight
was around 200kg. So Pip’s first marlin ended up being
one of the largest blues caught off Coffs Harbour all
season. Not bad for a first-timer whose biggest fish prior
to this was a toadfish in a creek when she was a girl.- Rick O’Ferrall
Junior scores
black marlin on 4kg
Queensland’s run of juvenile black marlin delivered
exciting fishing for many anglers through summer.
One of them was Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club
member Ben Massurit, an 11-year-old junior who fishes
with his father aboard Athrill.
With consistent small blacks coming from the Barwon
Banks grounds, Ben and his father Tim were inspired to
try something extraordinary, so on March 2 they set out
to catch Ben a marlin on 4kg tackle.
At 7:30am, Ben’s line snapped from the outrigger clip
moments before his Tiagra 12 reel ripped into motion.
Line poured from the spool as Tim scrambled to clear
the other lines and teasers, then set off in pursuit. Ben
screamed at his Dad to go faster, but the boat was already
on the plane. Still the marlin ran ... and before long, Ben
could see the knot around the core of his spool. Somehow,
they stayed connected until the marlin settled.
Ben got most of the line back before his fish stubbornly
resisted around 40m down. With only 1.3kg of drag it
was difficult to lift, but with careful thumb pressure and
by working the swells, Ben finally coaxed it up. His line
was pinging like a guitar.
The double appeared after an hour and 38 minutes.
Ben stepped backwards as his father reached for the
leader and led the fish in, then singlehandedly jerked it
straight into the boat. At 19.1kg on 4kg tackle, it is an
outstanding catch that means a great deal to them.Small Fry angler, Ben Massurit scored a 19.1kg black marlin on 4kg tackle off
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in early March.Pip Marshall’s first marlin
was planned to be a baby
black, so it was quite a
surprise when she ended
up with a 200kg blue.