Saturday, January 19 will remain in my memory as a great fishing experience.
We left Whangamata for a day of game fishing on board ‘MAD OZ,’ a boat owned by Alastair Kellett.
The weather conditions were not the best for fishing and hence after two hours of trolling in cold water, we headed around the back of Mayor Island for calmer waters.
The warmest water we encountered was 19.5 degrees.
We had a Skippy take a lure, which we wound and put in the tuna tube.
The skipper turned the boat around to get a second Skippy when the Black/Gold lure on the long corner snapped out of its clip.
There was nothing hooked and hence Alastair grabbed the line to reset the clip, when a marlin came up from behind the lure again and snatched the lure, pulling the line from his hand.
Nothing happened but it was only the fourth strike that resulted in a solid hook up.
After clearing the gear, I harnessed and started fighting the fish.
It took plenty of manoeuvring, but 40 minutes later, Alastair took hold of the leader and with little fuss, caught the bill.
We discussed about the weight, but Alastair was sure that it would go at least 90 kgs. The official weight determined later was 97.4 kgs.
We are grateful to the people at the Whangamata Sport Fishing Club for their courtesy and help.
I used more energy in 45 minutes fighting a marlin than I normally do in an entire season of white baiting.
I eagerly look forward to the next fishing experience!
