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TOURNAMENT
NEWSAbrolhos
Islands
Game Fishing
Tournament
In mid-April, the Geraldton & Districts
Offshore Fishing Club hosted the
Halco Abrolhos Islands Game Fishing
Tournament off the south coast of
Western Australia.
This is a unique sportfishing even in which
the island’s commercial cray fisherman
mix with and compete alongside the
recreational anglers.
The Abrolhos Islands consists of 122
islands and is the southernmost true coral
reef system in the Indian Ocean. This
underwater paradise is most commonly
known for its Western rock lobster. The
Abrolhos history dates back to 1629 when
the Dutch ship Batavia got wrecked there.
Bluelightning Charters reported that the
Abrolhos season was quieter this year
than normal, but during the tournament
the teams still encountered a variety of
pelagic species including tuna, dolphinfish,
mackerel, cobia, amberjack, Samson fish,
black marlin and blue marlin.
Ben Patrick and his team from Halco
took out the light-tackle section of the
tournament, while local crayfisherman
Spags and his son Kody won the heavy-
tackle section.- Leah Mills
ThepopularPortHacking 100 tournamentin earlyMaysufferedbadweatherbutproducedgreat
fishing.Tag& ReleasewaswonbytheteamaboardCookie.Port Hacking 100 tournament
Run in early May from the Port Hacking Game Fishing Club’s base at
the RMYC, the Shimano Port Hacking 100 tournament attracted many
vessels from up and down the NSW coast.
Once again it offered a substantial cash and prize pool, this year totalling more
than $130,000 across the 21 categories. Due to a strong southerly wind warning,
the tournament was condensed into a one-day shootout on the Saturday. With
the forecast fishable but tough, 46 vessels headed to sea. Much of the fleet
headed wide in search of blue marlin, with a jackpot of $50,000 cash on offer
for the biggest caught over 250kg.
The early reports saw a mixed bag of striped marlin, yellowfin tuna and a
few smaller blue marlin being caught. First on the board was new PHGFC boat
Hermitage who tagged a striped marlin, but their lead in Tag & Release was short
lived as hot on their heels was another PHGFC vessel, the 56-foot Viking, Cookie,
skippered by Daniel Klein. Cookie found a school of yellowfin tuna, tagging four,
plus two striped marlin later in the day, winning them Champion Team T&R with
its $10,000 cheque plus prizes.
The shark boats saw plenty of action, but Botany Bay GFC vessel Sharkin
edged out their competitors with makos of 183.5kg and 219.5kg, giving them
heaviest shark over 200kg and overall Champion Team Capture. This won them
$15,000 plus prizes.
Champion Junior was Makira Wright aboard Game Changer with a blue marlin
of 138.5kg on 24kg. Champion Junior and Small Fry was a team effort, going
to Preston and Jayden Essex fishing on their uncle Justin’s boat Bruised Tuna.- David Joyce, President PHGFC
Big Pidgeon Island (in the Wallaby Group) is
one of the 122 islands making up the Abrolhos
Islands area in the south of Western Australia.
The area was host to the Abrolhos Islands
Game Fishing Tournament in April.