At 7:30am on 9 April 2011, Trevor Hansen and I launched Dawie van der Westhuizen’s 1250 Rodman “Reel Magic”. The plan was to head north to fish for billfish. Trevor was keen to try for a blue marlin on 10kg line which had eluded him for months.
We arrived at the 400m mark and set two 10kg rigs on the long riggers. We also set 2 80Lbs rigs with larger lures on the short riggers. These would act as teasers and if a fish happened to eat one, I would be on the stick. The conditions were perfect and the lures were tracking beautifully with the help of a very calm sea. Trevor worked the 400m to 600m area and soon we started seeing signs of life. There were flying fish, birds, the odd dolphin and some good showings on the echo. Something had to happen.
At about 11am, Trevor saw a shortbill spearfish behind the short rigger lure. The fish hit the lure but the rigger clip would not open. The line slipped through the clip as the fish took line at a slow pace. Finally the clip released and the fish could run line directly off the reel. We cleared the other lines and as I was about to take the rod, the hook pulled. I assume the extra tension from the clip caused the hooks to rip out. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk. The lines went back in and trolling commenced. About half an hour later, the other short rigger popped and the 80Lbs rig took off at speed! Trevor and I cleared the lines then I moved to the chair and strapped in. By then, the surface erupted and a feisty blue marlin came flying out of the water. It greyhounded in all directions for about 30 seconds before going deep and settling down. I managed to get the backing onto the reel relatively quickly and once the topshot was on the reel, I upped the drag to strike position. The marlin had tired itself out with all the jumping and was at boat side within 20mins from hookup. It was about 60kg and after removing the hooks, it swam away strongly. GREAT! It was still early and the bite was on so we wasted no time putting the lures back into the water.
At about 13:30, I was looking at the lure on the short rigger when a big bill and dorsal fin appeared behind the lure. As I shouted, the lure disappeared in a big splash and all that remained was a hole in the water where the lure had been. The rigger popped and the reel took off. Line melted off the reel as Trevor and I frantically cleared the other lines. The big blue erupted behind the boat and tailwalked for about 100m before changing direction and going the other way. It jumped twice as long as the previous one and while this was going on, I took up the rod and climbed into the chair. Trevor and I both estimated the fish at 450 plus Lbs and we knew this would be a longer fight. Trevor backed up hard as I did my best to put backing onto the reel. The fish was still running and I had to work for every meter I put on the reel. After 25 minutes the topshot came out the water and onto the reel. The fish was now about 200m away. About 10 minutes later, I had most of the line back. By now we were pulling the fish with the current and things looked good. Everything was going as it should when suddenly the hook pulled! No ways! Unreal. Oh well, I guess that is marlin fishing for you.
We continued trolling until 16:30 without another strike then packed up and headed for home. Thanks to Trevor for a great day and hopefully we can get that fish on 10kg soon.
