84 facebook.com/BlueWatermagazine
W
hat a season we’ve had along
the eastern seaboard. Some
boats have recorded 10 or
more tagged marlin in one
day. From Victoria’s Mallacoota in the
south to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in
the north, the number of billfish tagged by
our junior anglers has been outstanding.
Ben Massurit and Bryce Bartleson
from the Sunshine Coast GFC have
accumulated huge numbers of tags. Up
until Easter, Ben had tagged one sailfish
and 13 black marlin, and Bryce had
tagged a sailfish, a striped marlin and
an astonishing 19 black marlin. Well
done to both of you for your remarkable
achievements! Fellow club member, Ben
Wratten also released a striped marlin
and a black marlin.
In New South Wales the tagged billfish
were just as prevalent, with Josh Hallam
and Oska Davis from the Central Coast
GFC doing extremely well. Josh released
two striped marlin and a black marlin,
while Oska tagged a blue marlin, a
striped marlin and three black marlin.
Well done, boys.
Amanda Lomond from Shellharbour GFCalso tagged a striped marlin, and Brody
McKay from Bateman’s Bay GFC released
three black marlin and three striped
marlin. Kaitlyn Schofield from Bermagui
BGAC released four striped marlin, and
her clubmate Finn Bradley also tagged
two striped marlin. Mathew Sandy from
Victoria also tagged a striped marlin while
fishing at Bermagui.
Rhys Jolly from the Newcastle & Port
Stephens GFC in New South Wales has
enjoyed an amazing summer, tagging
two blue marlin, six striped marlin and
13 black marlin. Now that really is
outstanding fishing, Rhys. Well done!
Besides the tagged fish, there have
also been some excellent captures.
Josh Hallam from the Central Coast
GFC weighed an 80kg striped marlin
on 10kg tackle, and Brody McKay from
the Bateman’s Bay GFC weighed an
81kg striped marlin on 10kg tackle.
Congratulations boys.FACEBOOK AND
INSTAGRAM PAGES
The National Junior Tournament has
established a Facebook page and anMarlin everywhere
Instagram page, so please visit and ‘Like’
them to see what’s been going on around
the country.
You are welcome to submit photos and
stories as we would love to share your
successes with fellow competitors and
friends.JOIN IN THE FUN – IT’S FREE
For all new anglers wishing to join in the
fun of this Junior Tournament, please visit
the GFAA website (www.gfaa.asn.au) and
complete the registration in the Junior
Tournament section. The tournament is
FREE and is open to all GFAA-affiliated
anglers under the age of 16.
To enter, you MUST be a member of a
GFAA-affiliated gamefishing club, so if
you are not yet a member, please find
the contact details for your nearest club
on the GFAA website: http://www.gfaa.asn.au- Kevin Oates
GFAA National Junior Tournament
Coordinator
11-year-old Ben Massurit caught this
19.1kg black marlin on 4kg tackle off
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in early
March.Bryce Bartleson from the Sunshine Coast GFC
tagged a sailfish, a striped marlin, plus an
astonishing 19 black marlin.TOURNAMENT
NEWS