My first blue marlin..100kgs...

[flat rock]

hey there folks and KAMIL,last week me and a mate went out on his 5m trailer boat and condotions were ment to be perfect and so it was,with 0.5 of a swell and 5 knots from the NW u couldnt get any better...I grabbed around 20 liveys from a local wharf and met my mate mark down at the ramp at 5 and we were off by 5.15am...Plans were for us to hit a secret fad of ours were we have been hitting a fare bit and getting 80cm dollies consistantly for 3 months and the odd 95cm one caught as well..Little hint water depth is 170meters...hehehe..So we headed out to the fad with seriously lake conditions..got to the fad and hooked dollies for around 2 hours one after the other,biggest was 80cm with almaco jacks there aswell...i didnt out the pics of one in the last thread but ill put one up now....Any ways time hit 830am and it was time to head the shelf in our 5m trailer boat for blue marlin..We got to the shelf with plenty of bait on the surface but no fish surrounded them at all...we trolled around them for around and hour and didnt even turn a reel there,so we headed north and within half an hour my eyes started to close and i was driving as well..So i opened my as i was falling asleep and spotted a marlin come up on the left short corner and i screamed (FISH) automatically the small marlin hitt the lure and poured off around 20 mteres and hooks pulled straight away,so i started swearin and slowly turned the boat back toward the spot were i spotted him and as i cut the corner 2 big blues chased threw the flat aclm blue water after both lures,it was amazing,as i straightend up the lures were back in the wash and then the short corner got hit again and aswell as the right corner,so i gunned it to set the hooks and the left fish pulled the hooks and the right was set,around a hundred meters on the first run with no grey hounding and the jumps started around 5mins later but with plenty of head out of the water with alot of head shakes befor that i new it was a blue marlin,So i took my time on this one because i have never landed a blue befor at all,ive benn smoked by many big blues but never landed one,so i said to mark get the gaffs aout this one is coming home with us mate..I managed to get the fish to the boat 5 times with her bursting off everytime,so eventually i got her to the side and i gave the rod to mark and i grabbed the trace line and brought her close and gaffed her,mark dropped the rod and we hauled her in the boat and she was laying across the boat and out the sides either side....With a quick hand shake and re rigged the same lure and sent back out we trolled the same area for around another 3 hours with no more marlin saying hello at all....As we were cruzing around mark said he has never seen a marlin chase a lure down befor and today was his first day and even better eith me getting the first fish over 20kgs in the boat....By measurement a from the bottom of her lower beak and fork of the tail was about just under 2.5meters and with measurment from the fisheries for weight it managed to be just over the 100kg mark....:2gunsfiring_v1: here are the pics so check em out....cheers nath...
p,s Stoked as its my first blue

[storms72]

Mate....Thats Gold! Congrats on your achievement, you must be stoked! Thanks for sharing the story and pics!:headbang: :beerchug: :hellyeah:

[kingyfisher]

What Storms said.......and the rest!
What a MAJIC DAY,I can only dream.:1yikes:

[mulloway mayhem]

great read...by reading your story i feel like a was there....awsome work and congratulatioins to the both of you......:headbang:

well they say the first is the hardest so many more blues to you guys.................:beerchug:

[BONECRUSHER]

Nice work nath, good read must have been tops out there. I guess that if you pick your days 5m tinnies can go wide wide on there day. Are you going to get it moulded (taxidermist) she looks great.

[xtosea]

Truly spectacular champ, very nice solid looking fish, and good to see 5m boats are not out of the question on the right days to chase these magnificent fish.
Well done
Kamil

[fishinf]

thats a fantastic effort top stuff its huge

[salty fil]

MAGIC

[Dog Catcher]

Nice wittle fishy flat rock

ps] lets see if anyone picks on fish id

[fishboy45]

brellient fish there mate.

[anyluck]

Great fish there guys.

Just got to ask. What do you do with a fish that size? :dolphin:

[Hamuwaja]

Congratulations on a rad fish.. and great story ...


I cant wait to get me one of them suckers...

[leelee]

Nice work there Nathan.

Thats a quality fish.:headbang:

I need to get myself one of those beaked fish one day, any species will do:rolling laughter:

Cheers

Lee

[rowdey]

diddo AWSOME:1yikes:

[TomMc]

Very nice!

[kkw]

What are you trying to say D.C.?? Just because it has bold stripes and they haven't faded too much, you are calling it for a striped marlin?? :rolling laughter: or is it because the Blue doesn't have a dorsal fin which is roughly the depth of the body? I'm no expert, but it strikes me as being a striped.

Either way, it is a good catch for a first.

[Dog Catcher]

Looks like someone is 1/2 awake & yep yep something along those lines
Also have a good looky @ the pecs

[Mr Potato Head]

Not qualified to say at all, but i guessed stripe, so I looked up some pics of both and saw that blue also have stripes.. So i stopped there, confused and dreaming of the day i get one!! or the other!!

[moses]

im shore i saw you at the docks of the fish market that day nath. at $30 a kilothat must have cost a bit

[kkw]

yeah, leaf shaped or blade shaped. It's confusing to me too spud. I have knives that are leaf shaped, particularly after I try to sharpen them.

[xtosea]

Nice wittle fishy flat rock

ps] lets see if anyone picks on fish id

I thought fat Stripe, but Nathan being adament its a Blue left it at that, sometimes big fat Stripes and some Broken Bay fish are hard to decipher! It does have a high Dorsal and thin Bill and the Pectoral fins well, anyway.
Either way its a great fish but not Nath's first, just first blue if thats what it is.
Well done again Nathan, i can ask some mates to confirm it, see what they say?
Kamil

[Dog Catcher]

Like I said it's still a nice wittle fishy but to many peeps tend to jump on the Blue Band Wagon when it comes to stripes

Both pics below are Blues the 1st weighed 102 kg on certified scales & that pic was taken within an hour or so of the fish dying.

Notice no stripes + with Blues if you've seen enough of them you pick them out pretty quick flat rock's fish had stripey written on it as soon as I saw it.

2nd pic is another Blue & the last one I killed some 10 odd years back, you get a guilty feeling watching a beautifull creature like that fade away to a dark ugly colour & that pic was taken about 2 hrs after death

[fishgowander]

I thought your story was great and I have looked at your pics a couple of times and chuckled with envy....once you brought the fish home what did you do with it?

[mad on fish]

:scull: well done guys on the catch. was mean't to be out there as well but at the last minute the captian pulled the pin due to his wedding anniversary,after seeing this pics not happy jan. congrats on the catch.

[Pukunui]

Great fish, well done.
Looks like a great day out there.

[flat rock]

Hey guys,ive caught many stripes befoor and the fight is alot diff from what my fight was on this fish...The one person witch i have come to belief is a chap called brian,he works with me at fish outta water,and by geeze has this fella caught fish and has traveled the world with fishing,some of u may have spoke to brian befor and to my self and others he is one of our favorite blokes to talk to and when it comes to explaining things not just with fishing,he explains from start to finish...He looked at the pics and said it was a blue around 100kg mark and measurment were pretty much correct,it has light stripes on it like every other blue and stripe,those of u that have seen 2 diff types in real life would understand,but this is alot thicker in gerth and hight in body..Its pecs do fold down to it body just like a blue marlin...here is 2 images which were passed on to me.The size of her tail compared to any other stripe marlin tail in my garage is a big difference and a mate of mine who is a head chef in a seafood restraunt also said it was a blue due to the colours of is flesh compared to a stripe...But u can tell if u seen this fish your self buy the girth to a thin stripe marlin....check these pics

[flat rock]

Those fish there were prob cookoing in the sun and that why they are that colour...A mate of mine caught his first last year and it was pratty much black after it was in the sun for about an hour....The lower part of her mouth is alot shorter compared to many stripes ive caught and seen..

This fish we had cut up in to alot of cuttlets....

[Mr Potato Head]

Either way, its a nice fish!!

Did you cut it up yourself or have somone do it.

Personally, I would have to let it go, Iv no need for a fish that big. Would never eat that much fish. Wouldnt know what to do with it, and i beleive you can get moulds made these days made if you just give them the size.

Then again, once i got it to the boat id prolly wanna show some one!

[Dog Catcher]

flat rock

I'm afraid your friend who works @ fish out of water is very wrong.

I was out there the day you got it & heard your radio chat dont think you guys had to much of a idea what the fish was.

One minute you were calling it a Black next it was a Blue mate I'm not trying to put you or your mates down not cause a sh*tstir merely trying to educate you.

Marlin are a species which tend to follow me around they allways have done, the 1st fish I ever hooked up in my life was a marlin LBG & the tradition has continued on boats.

1st of all have a good look @ your fishy's bottom jaw !

It's elongated in the way it says I'm a Stripe & not a Blue

You commented in your last reply that the fish fought like a Blue ????

Well if you hadn't caught one B4 how do you know ????????????

I went back & read your initial report & the only thing the fish had charactorictic with a Blue was that it took a transom lure.

Blues have this habit of overtaking the boat & doing their tail walking of the bow not all of them mind you just thought I'd throw that in because you mentioned fighting charactoristics of Blues.


Another thingy !

You're entitled to fish the way you so chose but you may want to consider not gunning the boat when you get a strike.

If line is peeling off your spool the fish is hooked so why gunn the boat & risk pulling hooks out ????

Just leave the revs as they are till the fish gets clear of the boat & you clear the deck then you can get down to the buisness of fighting the fish + if fish are schooling there's allways the chance of multiple hooksups.

[sclark3]

This is a quote from a m8 of mine who writes for a fishing Mag....
Stripey mate. They have a much deeper dorsal fin than a blue.

[Fed]

Can they cross breed I wonder?

[flat rock]

ive hooked blue a few time now and there first 5mins of the fight they dont jump at all,they try to get away with just a fast take off of a swim and then strat to jump later on it the fight...i hooked a blue 3 weeks ago and it peeled of line on 24 like u would not belive and took off about 500m in around 1 or 2 mins...then the hooks pulled...U floor the boat to make sure the hooks are set,a marlin takin a lure and running somtimes dont mean there hooked,it could be raped around the bill but with alot of people they gunn there boat and most boats on i fished in carins have all the same procedure with lures...Our boat didnt have a radio so i dont no what u were hearing dog...

[catchnrelease]

Looks like a striped to me, but what would I know? The tail is larger on a blue, and the throat is very elongated as with stripes.

You should be thankful it's a stripe! Stripes taste much better than blues IMO. Can't comment on blacks but I've had both blue and striped and the striped was much better.

[xtosea]

Regardless of what it is its agreat fish, i know alot of people that fish out of Broken Bay and have so for many many years and even they sometimes get confused between some of the fish out of Broken Bay, whether its a Big Stripe or Blue they dont know sometimes.
I will ask Pakula and others in a sec so im borrowing your pic Nathan.
Kamil

[sclark3]

Talking crap???? Thats a tad unfair, this is just an identification problem, nothing major...He believes 1 thing, you another...we all luv fishing now lets move on to next Thread Hott

[Mr Potato Head]

Well that will settle things for sure... Looking forward to the answer.

Either way but, Its a great capture, and give me some confidence that they can be caught in a small boat with two people on board.. Great stuff!!

[xtosea]

Alex you are right about the eating qualities, Blue's are not that great on the chew, Stripes are by far the best out of all 3 we have here, they are awesome as Sashimi too!
Kamil

[Mr Potato Head]

Im still trying to pictur fillting a fish that big... Ya would need a HUGE dep fryer, a case of beer and 2 kg of flour to cook it in!!

[Pukunui]

No matter what the CSIRO says it still wont be a 100% sure ID because they are using a photo to do the ID, so will run into the same problems as everyone else.
The Best way to ID all fish is to have them infront of you.


DC why do you always feel the need to "Educate" people ?
You Dont know everything, But it appear you think you do.

BTW i wouldnt have a clue about the species just dont llike the way this thread has degenerated.

[Mr Potato Head]

Hmm, I recon they will have some sort of a marine biologist who can figure it out!

[Dog Catcher]

No matter what the CSIRO says it still wont be a 100% sure ID because they are using a photo to do the ID, so will run into the same problems as everyone else.
The Best way to ID all fish is to have them infront of you.


DC why do you always feel the need to "Educate" people ?
You Dont know everything, But it appear you think you do.



Pukunui would you rather myself or someone else NOT point out a error in a fishy's ID ????

I may not know everything but unlike some I'm allways willing to learn

See that's how porky's get started & there's prob quite a few here who are viewing this thread with a great deal of interest just to find out what species of Marlin it really is.

[xtosea]

The fish is almost defintiely a Stripe IMO, of about 80kg going from the pics according to those in the know and as i suspected and Dog Catcher did also, we will just wait for his CSIRO results, the high Dorsal fin gives it away anyway.
Regardless, Dog Catcher was not trying to poo stir in anyway, its just that if someone knows for sure what type a fish is and someone tells its another one, well what do you do? Its like the great argument is it a Bass or E.P, for people that dont know? He said it from the start i thought it but said nothing, he merely just wants people to know for sure, its also like people that catch a Jew and dont get it weighed properly and say its a different weight to what it actually is, you are only cheating yourself in the end.
Either way its a nice fish and no more arguing about the type.

Well done again Nathan, great fish especially from that boat!!
Kamil

[Dog Catcher]

Pukunui there's more to it than you know I didn't appreciate a pm calling me a Big Richard esp after all I was doing was trying to educate the guy.

Now if I really wanted to put him down I could have so easily done so but I didn't.

Of coarse you can identify a species from a picture if I can do it then the biologists can surely do so.

[BONECRUSHER]

Here is how i tell the differance, if its blue black or striped

[BONECRUSHER]

sorry, i am a retard, :rolling laughter:

[xtosea]

EDIT: Please Refrain from sending abusing or rude PM's to any member. There is no need for this and is not accepted, if you dont agree with someone then no need to name call etc.

Consider this a warning to all involved, now let the thread continue witout this garbage or it will be closed.

Thanks
Kamil

[storms72]

On ya BC:rolling laughter: :rolling laughter:

[KingsRule]

Nice fish nath, regardless of what it is:ohhh yeah:

[salty fil]

Been following this thread as i do every other one.
Ive been trying to put my thoughts down without being seen to be taking sides.
I wouldnt know how to tell the difference between the 2 fish if they stuck their beaks up my ass, but my comments are about the other side of the thread.
Ive met DC a couple of times and can say his knowlege of fishing borders on freakish. He breathes fishing, i only had to have a look at his home to see that. Also his fishing albums.
I do know that now that ive met him and understand his personality i definately would take his advice on board because he doesnt mind 'educating' people on a topic that sits first and foremost in his life (i believe).
I do think his methods of educating are the thing that gets up people.
DC, you know your very abrupt. you know it and it doesnt bother you, so good on ya. Im sure you know your abruptness isnt taken well by people on site, but i know that that doesnt bother you either.
Fishermen, men in general are pretty egotistical and dont like to be 'educated' on something they know, even more so by a stranger on a public forum, and what makes it harder is when the guy is abrupt with his style.
But one thing i can say is that DC adds alot more than sparking a debate on here.
Every day he will add to a post, 'educate', humour and shi7-stir.
One thing he doesnt do much is post what he catches, and he does get out alot more than alot of us.
So many may think he doesnt know much due to not posting fishing reports, but his reports are posted in some of the advice he gives.
My 2 cents.

[Mr Potato Head]

Ill second that Wise Ol Salty One....

But im still hanging to find out... A bit of contraversy keeps life interesting...

[Pukunui]

Pukunui there's more to it than you know I didn't appreciate a pm calling me a Big Richard esp after all I was doing was trying to educate the guy.

Now if I really wanted to put him down I could have so easily done so but I didn't.

Of coarse you can identify a species from a picture if I can do it then the biologists can surely do so.

Fair enough.

My point re the photo ID is that, If guys like yourself and others who regularly see marlin up close are having trouble IDing it 100% via a pic then there is no guarantee that a marine bio would be able to ID it 100% using the same pic.
Im sure they will be able to give a 95% ID but that is still 5% unsure, so will still leave the door slightly open on the issue.

[imnotafish]

Blue Marlin ID

http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/mnigricans.htm

PIC: http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/mnigricans3.htm


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Striped Marlin ID

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater-fishing/sw-species/marlin-striped-itetrapturus-audaxi

(http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater-fishing/sw-species/marlin-striped-itetrapturus-audaxi)http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/163923/marlin-striped.jpg

[Dog Catcher]

Even after recieving this return email from CSIRO Enquires

I still stand by my call that the fish is a Stripe & not a Blue & so do the guys I've shown the pic to, they called it a stripe & that's without me leading them on.

I posed a simple Q

What is this fish ??????????????

Now here's a copy of that return email in regards to my inquiry

Thank you for your enquiry to CSIRO regarding Fish Identification.

CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) is Australia 's largest public research organisation. It conducts strategic research in a wide range of areas, including agriculture, minerals and energy, manufacturing, construction, communications and the environment. It operates an annual research budget, of which some 65% comes from direct government funding, with the remainder from external sources.


More information about the organisation is available at http://www.csiro.au/ (http://www.csiro.au/).


CSIRO Enquiries is the organisation's information service, established to provide the Australian community with information about its research and services. In some instances where an enquiry topic does not relate to CSIRO, our information officers are able to suggest alternative contacts.

From the quality of the photo, it would seem your friend has caught a Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans).

More information about the Blue Marlin is available at from the following weblink.

Australian Museum Online
http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/mnigricans.htm

I hope this assists with your enquiry. If you have any further enquiries regarding CSIRO and its research capabilities, please contact us at enquiries@csiro.au (http://au.f500.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=enquiries@csiro.au).

Peter Fabian


Bear in mind I only sent the last pic posted here with the 2 boys holding up the marlin.

The 2 previous pics show a much better shot of the fishy's pec fin's & I quote from the same departments ID'n notes

The blade-shaped pectoral fins can be depressed against the side of the body. The curved pectoral fins of the Black Marlin (http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/mindica.htm) cannot be depressed. Those of the Striped Marlin (Tetrapturus audax) are more leaf-shaped.

Dont think that quote is in regards to blacks either read the full description here

http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/mnigricans.htm

To me the giveaway as to the fishy's ID were 2 things

* lower elongated jaw not described by CSIRO
* Vibrancy of the fishy's stripes even after it had been Dee Eee Dee DEAD for so long.

When you've caught enough Blues you get to notice such things & the reason I posted those 2 pics was to show how quick a Blue turns to grey it happens right B4 your eyes

[Dog Catcher]

Just had a looky @ the last link that imnotafish posted & here's a quote from it

Confusing species - Striped marlin have a clearly visible lateral line, which distinguishes them from blue marlin where the lateral line is almost invisible. Striped marlin also has a more compressed body structure and a longer lower jaw than that seen in either blue or black marlin.

Now go back to the pic of the dead fishy & have a real good look @ it's lateral line.

Even after the fishy has been dead for some time the lateral line stands out

[Pukunui]

That just makes it more confusing.
Ill have a look and see if i can find the email address of the Aust museum person i have sent a few IDs to.

[Pukunui]

Search and Discover info centre:
sand@austmus.gov.au

They are pretty good and can consult with the fishes collection manager of the Aust museum who produce the website above.

I havent sent the pics to them as they arent my photos, but will provide that address for anyone who is interested.

[Fishaholic]

Good work guys. I don't want to burst your bubble but having seen many (hundreds of both species Blues and Stripes) that fish is a Striped Marlin. At that size they can be hard to pick but the easiest quick ID is that the first three dorsal spines are almost equal in height on a stripey. This can vary a bit but on a blue the dorsal spines decrease in length in a fairly uniform convex crescent shape from the first spine down. Overall dorsal height for a blue is less for a given body size than for stripes, the bill is obviously thinner and longer on a striped, and the forhead is not as high on a striped compared to a blue. Body colour is irrelevent, they can both show stripes or not. The fight is normally quite different with stripes being more aerobatic and often splash, jump and generally make dills of themselves on the strike and throughout the fight with blues normally taking a lure without too much fuss or splash but after hookup all bets are off. I did say NORMALLY several times for those that are going to reply and say "yeah but I had a fish do ????" There are exceptions to every rule and it would take a better fisherperson than any of us to identify any species of marlin by it's fight. Anyway you guys have had a perfect day with great weather AND fish, congrats. Keep at it.

[Dog Catcher]

Good post Fishaholic

We all have our different ways of ID'ing fish & the more you've seen the easier it gets.

I have been around the gamefishing scene nearly 3 decades now which would prob + to 6 decades of your pretty keen Gamefishing angler.

I wont name drop but have learnt & fished from some of the best that ever were in the Sportsfish/Gamefish scene.

BUT when those guys spoke to me I didn't chuck a fit.

I listened & watched what they were telling/showing me that's how you learn

flat rock you're a Yung Fulla & doubt very much you'll ever get to see or be part of captures that the older guys have.

Fish just aren't around in the numbers they used to be.

Next time someone tries telling you something dont go on the defensive you'll never learn anything like.

I congratulated you on your fishy even though it would've been nice to have seen it released then I would've really given you the big thumbs up.

It's a great sport this Gamefishing Thingy

I could prob count around 40 anglers who've nailed their 1st Marlin off one of my boats & these days it's great to see just about every single one of them has no probs releasing their fish.

Lets see if I cant another 2 anglers to that list tomorro

[mr antenna]

Lets see if I cant another 2 anglers to that list tomorro


DC,I would love you to add me to that list,As this summer i never really got around to going after the Marlin.Abit hard to get out there every weekend on a 5.02 metre Quintrex.

[Jewman70]

yes its a stripe, yes he got it wrong...but who cares? cough* DC

Anyway great fish nath, good to see your the only one showing decent fish, geez i don't see many threads with people catching the elusive cousin of the amberjack?

[phytoplankton]

Not a bad little Fish there Nath. Let me know if your heading out again this wekend... we'll be out there looking for the other one you missed!

[flat rock]

mate im heading over to new caledonia to do a weeks worth of popping for 45kg plus GT'S so ill upload pics from my trip as soon as c the photos...:jamm:

[xtosea]

All the best Nathan, hope you get some top fish
Kamil

[flat rock]

Cheers kamily:yahoo: 2 days to go man and im in 50kg GT country..

[fishcrazy]

2nd pic is another Blue & the last one I killed some 10 odd years back, you get a guilty feeling watching a beautifull creature like that fade away to a dark ugly colour & that pic was taken about 2 hrs after death

Looks like a black to me. Got any more shots?

[Dog Catcher]

Why just because it'specs are sticking out ????????????????

Na mate I'm lucky to have that pic, I never owned a camera allways believed them to be taboo on a boat.

[fishcrazy]

Nope, the proportions of the fish more than anything else.

[Dog Catcher]

Oh well camera's do tell lies & that pic was given to me a good 12 months later I never owned a camera back then.

It was a Blue, came up dead & there's not even a gaff mark on it, tried swiming it back to life & ended up just sliping a tail rope on it to haul it on board.

Cant tell you exact weight tried to weigh it @ the Shoalhaven Game Club bat they'd beed kicked out of what I knew 2b their club house.

Scales @ the bowling club only went to 180 kg from memory so no luck their either.