The Heavy Tackle season in Cairn runs from early October to early December each year and hundreds of people descend upon the Resort Town to try their luck at catching a coveted 1,000 lb Black Marlin on the Far North Queensland section of the Great Barrier reef between Lizard Island north of Cooktown, down the Ribbon Reefs to the Cairns / Port Douglas region and the famous Linden Bank.

Charter boats make the 1,800km journey from Brisbane and northern NSW and help swell both the Local charter fleet and the legions of private local boats that have a crack at achieving the dream of one of Anglings biggest challenges.

2016 was my first Cairns heavy tackle season and I managed only a handful of days on the water and was unsuccessful at even hooking a fish. But I did learn several important lessons. It was clear to me that a more serious attempt would be needed for the 2017 season to tag a fish and get on the board. So I planned to take off a few weeks off from mid October into early November. The second hurdle was getting a crew to help run the boat and step up to the plate to be connected to a Giant Black Marlin on 37kg stand up gear for potentially a multiple hour fight. Fortunately, I was able to cobble together a great bunch of guys to be my crew who were willing to make the journey to Cairns and spend some time fishing on the reef. My crew came from far and wide, some came from Perth (Western Australia) and another from Thailand and finally one from Timika, West Papua (Indonesia).

Our plan was to fish on my trailer boat Catalyst, a 24ft Noosa Cat powered by twin 150hp Yamaha’s. This would mean a daily journey of 35NM each way from Yorkeys Knob Boat Club to Linden Banks. It was a big call for a recreational skipper, and a bunch of guys who had done a few trips with me and another bunch who loved fishing but had never been on a blue water game boat before.

Predominately anglers fish trolled baits in the Cairns area during the Heavy Tackle season, this was another obstacle for us to overcome. The baits are generally fish between 3 and 6kg and are not available commercially at an acceptable price, so they have to be caught. Then they must be tied, stitched and connected to the oversize 20/0 circle hooks and 400 - 600lb leaders. Fortunately, one of my fishing friends from Cairns collected enough Queenfish and Mackerel Tuna during the months leading up to the start of the season to get us started, then each fishing day we devoted an hour or so to catching fresh Mackerel Scad behind the reef. We then all learned the process of rigging these fish to skip or swim, which is an art in itself. I also have a well-stocked skirted lure collection that was waiting in the wings as a change from baits or when the baits ran out.



Steve (who became a Master Baiter during his time on board) tying a skipping Mackerel Tuna Bait.



Steve holding up a rigged swimming Queenfish Bait



Rick with a Mackerel Tuna skipping bait

We had a great 10 days on the water and despite being so far out to sea we were never out of sight of the other members of the fishing fleet and we were often caught up in the middle of fishing areas with much larger boats, dodging and weaving so we could all get our piece of the action.



A fellow member of the Cairns Fishing fleet hooked up to a very big Black Marlin



End Game – Marlin’s last jump before being tagged

Cairns is predominantly a tag and release fishery. All the game fishing competitions in the region revolve around releasing fish, rather than bringing them in to be weighed. In Australian Game Fishing circles, a fish is not caught until it is tagged with a plastic numbered tag. Anglers are also encouraged to use circle hooks, rather than J hooks to increase survivability of the released fish. We embraced these principle but it does add an extra element to hooking the fish, and a skill that we needed to learn as a team. The fish is not hooked on the strike and in fact has to be let run with the bait, then the drag increased gently after a period to allow the circle hook to make its way to the corner of the fish’s mouth and then become imbedded. If J hooks are used the hook up rate is better but the likely hood of the hook becoming lodged internally is greater and more likely to injure or kill the fish.

Our first few days centred seeing Marlin in the spread and getting the occasional strike and then losing the fish because we had not worked out how to hook the sometimes very finicky big fish. We pulled in multiple baits that had been attacked but had not hooked up despite strong runs. This is quite disheartening as often you only get one or two chances in a full days fishing. Marlin fishing is certainly a hurry up and wait arrangement and there are many hours sitting waiting for something to happen, but when it does you have to be ready as you don’t have much time to get it right, but when you do it gets pretty exciting.



The Waiting Game - gear’s out when is the big one going to hit?

Peter has travelled far and wide to fish and has made the effort to fish with me numerous times both in Lae (Papua New Guinea) and now in Cairns. He is a fishing tragic and can be found dropping a line in a medium sized puddle if given half a chance. But until now he had not landed a Marlin. On this trip everything changed and his persistence payed off. Late in the afternoon the long rigger swimming bait snapped its rubber band and started heading off at a rate of knots. Suddenly everyone was wide awake and then the noisy ratchet went quiet and there were sad looks around deck. Then the shout – there is still a fish in the spread. Bang the long corner rubber band snaps, Peter grabs the rod and counts to 8 before taking the reel off free spool. The line started to load up and then the 8kg drag tension comes on and the hook sets and the fish takes off. After a series of powerful runs and spectacular jumps the approximately 100kg fish is brought along side by Andre our nominated deckie for the day, tagged and the hook removed. Then photos taken, the fish swam to revive it and then released to fight another day. This is when the planning, preparation and hard work was proven to be all worth it and it was beers all round to celebrate.



The final run of Peters 100kg Fish



Anglers photo with his long awaited first marlin



The Black Marlin being revived before release



Peter standing next to Catalyst at Yorkeys Knob Boat Club with his Black Marlin Tagged pennant flying


On the night of our last fishing day we slept on the deck of the boat anchored at the lee of Opal reef in amongst a number of other boats who had chosen the same mooring location for the night. The wind had come up over night and was blowing 15-20knts. After doing our personal admin, we got the deck sorted out and headed back out to the outer reef drop off and went gear out about 7.30am. The sea had become much more lively and we trolled back and forth zig zagging along the reef drop off between 50 and 300 meters. After lunch I decided to not turn around at the 300m mark and continued further out and as we approached the 500m mark a black shape appeared in the spread between the short rigger and short corner. The call went out and Paul moved to that side of the boat and then the short rigger line broke its rubber band and the reel started free spooling with the ratchet screaming.

The fish went deep, Paul loaded up the drag and the fish was hooked. The deck was hastily cleared, and we settled into the rhythm of the fish taking out a heap of line, then slowly getting it back in. The fish hadn’t jumped and there was some speculation if it was a marlin or something more sinister like a big shark. 30 minutes into the fight the end of the wind on leader was close enough to see, then a big black shape was visible deep down in the water. Looking down in the crystal clear blue water I could see one, then two and finally three large fish swimming together. A big girl and her two male entourage? At this stage we could not be certain, but we were likely hooked to a very nice fish. The time ticked on with the line pulling out and then Paul slowly getting the line back with the black Dacron on the wind on leader tantalising close for what seemed like an eternity. Our hooked fish and her faithful friends where just out of clear view. Then the angle of the line change and the fish headed to the surface. Almost cork like, a massive head and bill bobbed out of the water and the Black Marlin had shown itself to us in all its glory. It was a fleeting moment and four people stood in awe of this beautiful sea creature and none could take their eyes away to go and get a camera to record the moment. The moment didn’t last long and the fish returned to the depths, straight down at a rapid pace. It was like it just realised that it was hooked.



Paul with his 37kg Rod loaded up strapped into the Black Magic harness

The 100 meters of 37kg mono top shot stripped off the reel in quick time and then the 37kg braid main line connection left the reel and continued to descend to the depths but finally the line stopped getting taken out. Paul settled in for a long hard struggle and slowly he inched up the fish one wind at a time. With the strike clock almost at 2 hours the angle of the line changed again, and the fish was slowly headed to the surface. The angler started winding in hard to keep the tension on the line. The line was coming back faster now. We were all relived when the braid / mono connection was back on the reel. A few minutes more of this tug of war continued. Then the angle of the line changed again and the fish was headed to the surface rapidly. The line went loose and Paul called that the fish was off. Forlornly he kept winding in the line and eventually the dacron, appeared then the 400lb mono leader and the 20/0 hook. Sadly the fish had made its escape and the one glimpse was all we got.



The final minutes hooked up

A bit of an anti-climax, everyone sad?

Hell no! Everyone was whopping and hollering as though we had tagged the fish offering commiserations to Paul. It had been a tense 2 hour fight and we had come up against a true monster of the sea. On this occasion the fish won the battle, but what an experience for all on the boat!
We didn’t get another opportunity that afternoon for another fish and headed back to Cairns for the final debrief and a beer or two around the campfire. We did battle with a very large fish. How big? Its hard to say, but I think it was plus 300kg. But at the end of the day we had a great time learned a heap more about tussling with sea monsters and accepting that we had been bested on this occasion.

Everyone left for home with the last words I am in for 2018!

Thanks for taking the time to post pictures, and this report. Sounds like you fellas, are on your way to some big fish! Congrats, and thanks again for posting, best of luck in the future.
Butch

New bucket list trip.

Great report.

Mike