TEAMS fishing the 2012 Lake Macquarie Game Fishing Club Big Fish Bonanza Tournament on the weekend were rewarded with picture perfect weather conditions and world class fishing.
Most of the 55-strong fleet fished the area known as the “Car Park”, which lies about 28 nautical miles north-east of Newcastle. The area, which can see upwards of 100 boats crowded within a few square miles, can hold large quantities of bait which in turn attracts predatory game fish, in particular marlin.
More than 200 marlin (striped, black and blue) were tagged and released over two action packed days with leading boats tagging upwards of 10 marlin a day. The official results will be released soon. The fishing and radio traffic was frantic with many boats simultaneously hooking up having to jostle for position to avoid having their fish accidentally cut off. Many boats experienced double hookups with anglers fighting fish from the stern and bow.
The crew on In A Meeting, representing Broken Bay GFC, fished the surface with skipping baits and “switch bait” techniques. In a Meeting, a 51 Bertram owned by Reub Hayes and skippered by Steve “Hoggy” Haygarth, raised more than 20 marlin and tagged six for the tournament. Skipping and switch baiting is a very visual and exciting way to fish, allowing anglers to appreciate the full beauty of these magnificent fish. See the attached images for an idea of what I mean!
The shark fishing was also very good with some impressive tiger, mako and whaler sharks captured and tagged & released.
The excellent fishing on the weekend is a good sign for the upcoming Nautilus Insurance NSW GFA Interclub Tournament, the largest such event the southern hemisphere, to be held out of Port Stephens on February 25-26 and March 3-4.
Reports from the Interclub will be posted on fishingworld.com.au so stay tuned!
Chris Yu
Fishing World associate publisher
Team member of In A Meeting
