First Marlin

A Dutch angler hooked a striped marlin at 12.35pm on 28th December  and tagged and released it after a half hour fight. The fish was estimated at 120kg and was caught on the charter boat ‘Target’ skippered by Mark Vezey at the 190 metre mark out from Piercy Island in the Bay of Islands. The same angler dropped another estimated at 70-80kg about an half hour later. The tagged fish was hooked on one of Mark’s own special single hook lures which was fashionably attired in a metallic green and silver youzuri skirt. The second fish which escaped without a pin washooked on a black and purple lure.

‘Target’ was out with one angler and his girlfriend targeting Kingis and as the water and area looked good and they thought they’d spend an hour or two trolling lures. Without any additional crew Mark managed to do the job of Captain and Deckie for a successful T&R. Mark is fishing in the Bay for the first time in several years after fishing in a number of premium gamefishing locations around the world. No doubt we’ll be hearing more from the ‘Target’ team.

On the same day The Goings on ‘Rona G’ caught a Striped Marlin off Tutukaka that weighed in at 99.8kg.

The Whangaroa club got their season first, a marlin caught by the boat ‘Night Shift’ off the Cavallie Islands. And another Stripey was weighed in at an 126.9kg by Paul Ratcliffe fishing on "Masquerade.  The club are also waiting for confirmation about a pending junior world record yellowfin (weighed in at 70.8kg) caught on the boat 'Sea Quell'.

On the 29th Saltshaker II also Tagged and Released a marlin, and on the 30th an 90kg striped marlin was tagged and released by the crew on ‘Iki-Nui’ - skippered by Hamish Faire.