Newslines
bluewatermag.com.au 27Getting game
fishing women
together
Marlene Hicks – seen here hooked-up aboard the
Riviera 51 charterboatFascination II that she and
husband Russel bought in 2016 – is the founder of the
Billfish Babes website and online community.
As a passionate billfish angler based in Queensland’s
Whitsunday Islands region, Marlene was inspired to
create the online community after meeting many like-
minded women who enjoy getting out on the water
and chasing trophy game fish. Whether they are a wife,
girlfriend, mother or grandmother, Marlene knows there
are many women out there that would like to be more
active in game fishing, so she intends to help them.
The Billfish Babes website (www.billfishbabes.com)
hopes to unite female anglers, captains and crew,
giving support and an opportunity to share their fishing
accomplishments. Get aboard and share your thoughts,
your photos and your successes on the Billfish Babes
Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Marlene Hicks has created the Billfish
Babes online community to encourage
and inspire female anglers, and to
promote their successes.BILLFISH BABES
It had originally been suggested that a game fishing
section be included in the AFAQ, which would also require
a name change such as the Amateur Fishermen’s and
Big Game and Rod and Reel Association. Consideration
of this change was brought about by the development
of a federal body and the formation of a Deep-Sea
Anglers and Rod Fishers Association, which was to be a
major policy question in angling circles. Many members
of the Association were deep sea fishermen and their
enthusiasm had reached the point of forming a
new organisation focussed primarily on offshore
sportfishing. Any new body created would then
seek affiliation with the federal body.
On July 10, 1937 it was announced that Mr E
Smout would be the chairman of a provisional
committee of a newly formed Queensland Big
Game and Rod Fishers Association. The signs
of change became more apparent when Mr A
Carrodus resigned his position as President of
the AFAQ and later became the new President
of the Queensland Big Game and Rod Fishers
Association. The Brisbane Courier Mail reported
on their first general meeting held on August
23, which was held under the new name of the
Queensland Game Fishing Association, which
was to include light, medium and heavy tackle
game fishing.
The new association published a new set
of rules, some interesting examples of which
Birth of the Queensland Game Fishing Association
enable the captain of the day to direct that the capture
of dangerous sharks be aided through being speared
or harpooned according to his directions, and stipulate
that in no circumstances is the power of the boat to
be used against the fish. The angling boundary for
QGFA purposes was set as ‘...within 50 miles of the
Queensland coast, but the confines of the Great Barrier
Reef is classed as part of the coast line.’- Ray Joyce, The Sportfishing Museum
The Queensland Game Fishing Association was born out of a series of structural changes that took
place within the Amateur Fisherman’s Association of Queensland (AFAQ) in 1937. This followed a
visit to the Cairns Amateur Fishermen’s Association by an executive member of the AFAQ to assess
opportunities to promote game fishing in Cairns.
The Queensland Game Fishing Association was
formed in 1937, originating within the Amateur
Fisherman’s Association of Queensland.