When I was a kid at school, I used to draw pictures of jumping marlin. I was absolutely fascinated by them. 50 years on nothing much has changed! We had our first success in the late ‘70s when we caught a 56-kilo black marlin just east of Cabbage Tree Island out of Port Stephens. I think we lost over a dozen marlin prior to that. We trolled old Fenwick Konaheads on 15 kilo mono and used a section of our jewie handlines for leader with a 9/0 jewie hook jammed up in the skirt. The boat was a 4.5 metre De Havilland skippered by my mate David Elliott. Despite its diminutive size we used in quite rough conditions. We were enthusiastic, a bit crazy and took a few risks.
In adulthood I’ve spent hundreds of days at sea chasing billfish. I’ve learned a lot, caught some great fish and been blown away by some monsters. I’ve had some scary, wonderful and rewarding experiences chasing marlin. There’s nothing like the take off of a big blue marlin.
To catch a marlin, you need to fish for marlin. They aren’t something you will often catch by chance. The tactics vary according to the type of marlin you are chasing. Black
