Back from ASU - California Fishing

TerryMCEWEN · 11-07-2006, 12:24 PM

This is a general e-mail I’m sending out to all my fishing friends and associates. It has some individual personal remakes but mostly a quick trip over view.

G’day mates
I’m back after 10 days of AUS GBR/Coral Sea fishing (out of Cooktown on the Moana III skippered by Dan McCarthy). I’ll start with the bottom line everyone wants to know. My 3 biggest black Marlin were 1200 lbs, 1050 lbs and 950 lbs.
I caught all three in suggestion, each a day apart all between 4:30pm and 5:30pm. Almost 3 Granders in a row (the 1200 lb one was my first Grander).
Total Black count was 8 brought to the boat. I maybe lost 3 or 4 others on the jump right after the bite, but we were fishing with pretty big bait so anything under 500 would never get to the hook.
It was a great trip; I couldn’t have scripted it before hand any better. All my travel plans went as planned. Baggage (all my tackle) arrived with me. The weather had been pretty bad I was told, the ocean was pretty ruff for the first 2 days, but after that it calmed down. When trolling for bait and anything else (we used only my rods/reels) I never lost a fish to a bad hook/line/knot/rigged lures etc. It’s really nice when all your tackle preparation works out (I’m just as proud of that as landing my first Grander (well maybe not really ha ha))
Other fish caught: Yellowfin Tunas (biggest 50 lbs)(we used it for bait); DogTooth Tunas, Great Trevallys; Potato Cod 100 lbs, Dolphins (MAHI-MAHI); Queenfishs; Rainbow Runners; Tiger Sharks; Scads; Spanish Mackerals (biggest 35 lbs); etc.
We had a camera man aboard, so all the Marlin action and others stuff was captured on film. It was great, each night we would watch the footage from that day. I should be getting the DVD sometime in the next month I would think (hope). I will be able to get some great individual pictures, in fact some will be as good or better then the one’s we see on and in Marlin Magazine. I new everyone would want some pictures (now) so I took some pictures with my camera of the film we paused on the TV at night on the boat. I’ll send along some of them so you will get to see something now until I receive the DVD that will be created.
It should be noted that I caught no Marlin until my 3 day out, and none on my last 3 days.
All my Marlin was caught in a 5 days period (It’s not easy; even in AUS in there prime Marlin Season).
Fun trip things: catching tiger sharks off the back of the boat at night (with a rope and baited hook), and dragging them onto the deck; seeing a DogTooth Tuna jump from left to right over a skip bait at about 5:45 pm. What was so special was the orange light of the setting sun. It made the white of the tuna into a flashing orange as he made his jump (what a mental picture that will always be); seeing a big Black come out of the water and crash bait then hearing that clip go; and always the GBR it is always something special.

Attached are 2 pic's from the boat TV. I'll have better later. (I dont see how to attach pics here. will try later)

Good Fishing
Terry

tompayne · 11-07-2006, 01:45 PM

Wow! Congrats to your nice catches! Really happy for ya that all your stuff got there and worked great for ya. Welcome back, although you prolly didnt wanna leave lol

Beresford13861 · 11-07-2006, 01:51 PM

Yellowfin Tunas (biggest 50 lbs)(we used it for bait);

id love a few of them, and you used them for bait

anyways terry congratulations on them granders!

BIGFISH4YOU · 11-07-2006, 08:23 PM

WELCOME TO THE SITE. GREAT PICS!

esteban · 11-07-2006, 08:27 PM

nice pics

Local Rookie · 11-07-2006, 08:37 PM

Welcome Back! I am glad you had a lot of fun! I really cannot wait for the rest of the pictures! Must be great to use 50lb yellow fin tuna as bait LOL. Did you catch a marlin with it btw?

TerryMCEWEN · 11-08-2006, 09:53 AM

Hi everyone
Gee back at work what a drag.
Thanks for all the kind words.
Now about using the 50lb yellow fin as bait. I got her in fast; the boys gaffed him in the mouth. They bridled the hooked and put him back out. We trolled very slowly, and you hold the line with your finger, so you can feel the fish swimming. You can tell very quickly when something is around (Shark, Marlin etc) that it things wants it for lunch.
A this point we were pretty much looking for record size Marlin, that’s why the big bait, and no we didn’t get any bites. I’ll try and load a picture (from last year) of the normal bait you use down there.
Terry

Wahoo! · 11-08-2006, 10:40 AM

Great report and pics! I'm glad you had such a good trip. I can't wait to see more pictures.

PlatinumHooks · 11-08-2006, 10:33 PM

Hey Terry, Glad you made it back safely. Great report and pix! I'm JEALOUS!!

Let's get out there sooner than later, what'a you say?

TerryMCEWEN · 11-09-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlatinumHooks

Hey Terry, Glad you made it back safely. Great report and pix! I'm JEALOUS!!

Let's get out there sooner than later, what'a you say?

I'm broke and my wife has me fishing grounded, but give me afew weeks.
Terry