Marlin on stickbaits!!!
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=118066
Printed Date: 05 Jun 2026 at 5:32am
Topic: Marlin on stickbaits!!!
Posted By: fsholc
Subject: Marlin on stickbaits!!!
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 2:15pm
|
Over our last 3 trips to the Wanganella banks we have been targeting marlin on stick baits and with the large body of fish its enabled us to try different things and actually have multiple attempts at fish with different rigs/set ups! First up just remember we are on a large boat with 0 to no ability to chase these fish so most of the fight we just have to fight them from a stationary boat!!!!  On our first trip we tried single and treble hooks soon finding that the hook up rate was much higher on treble hooks when we first tried we used the normal leader we would use for kingfish which was 4-5m of 170lb casting leader... this was not long enough for the way would have to fight these fish off a large boat(would be fine on trailer boat) and also the bill was wearing through the 170 very fast! We tried both 200-300lb bite leaders and found the 300lb was sweet with fish still happily eating the lures but strong enough that when leadering the fish we could really hold onto it We then ran into capacity issues as with 200m spools was just not enough when we couldnt chase the fish and there is no way of stopping a 100kg+ marlin while its jumping away!! Now we use Stella 20000 and daiwa 8000 size reels on our second trip we landed one fish and on our last trip we landed 5 fish ranging between 100-140kg!!! Rod wise we have been fishing Carpenter TBL 80/40 and Carpenter Monster hunter 79 and 80 all 3 rods have been awesome We did try out Carpenter BLC range at the beginning but we felt we needed a little more power in the upper section of the rod as most of the fight is at a higher angle Our set up now is the following: 400m of pe8 casting GT plus FG or PR onto 5-6m of 170lb shockleader to a heavy swivel then 1.5m of 300lb tied to another swivel which is then attached to the stickbait via split ring only trouble with this very long leader is casting it but we just make sure we dont over power the cast we we havnt had many issues on the last trip.. (if you try to cast to hard the odd wind knot or guide wrap can be a problem) For hooks we have been using the following: Owner st-66 4/0 and 5/0 Owner st-76 5/0 BKK GT Rex 5/0 6/0 All of the above have been barb less with but we have been favoring the BKK GT REX with there interned points as once the fish is on they didnt seem to fall off like on the ST-76           ------------- www.yeehaa.co.nz www.justanotherfisherman.co.nz |
Replies:
Posted By: eynon
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 2:19pm
Bloody awesome 
|
Posted By: Titahi
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 2:58pm
|
Nice work and great photos........ having fish in numbers suitable for trial and error would no doubt focus the mind... ------------- "I love standing by the ocean and just knowing what its for" |
Posted By: Fenien
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 4:34pm
Excellent post & some great info.
|
Posted By: coxie
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 6:32pm
|
Wicked
|
Posted By: Plonker
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2016 at 7:32pm
|
Cool pic's Luke |
Posted By: Marligator
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2016 at 8:58pm
|
Awesome Luke, what is your hookup rate like on the stick baits ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: Rockstar from Mars
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2016 at 3:09pm
|
Good article Luke looks like fun.... ------------- Winning..... |
Posted By: fsholc
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2016 at 4:43pm
About 50% or higher Once they on they dont seem to fall off though during the fight ------------- www.yeehaa.co.nz www.justanotherfisherman.co.nz |
Marligator wrote:Posted By: Marligator
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2016 at 6:37am
|
Luke have you guys tried trolling one up on the banks to see how they go as a trolled lure compared to a conventional lure. In the 1990's there was a lure brand called Sperry which was similar in concept, the guys using them had a lot of hits but the hookup rate was terrible, they tried trebles, singles, also tried them with holes drilled through the center to make them slide up the line so they could be rigged like a conventional lure, they even cut a slot in the top so the point of the hook was a lot closer to the front of the lure, all of this was to no avail as the hookup rate was always lousy.
------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
|
Posted By: fsholc
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 8:36am
|
Nah we have never trolled them Vance as i couldn't see the point haha. Hard enough to hook em with 2 tiny hooks let alone with 100g's off wood thrown in the mix! We just cast for them while the other boys are hooked up. Pretty cool seeing a dorsal come sliding in from about 30m away straight to the stickbait to smash it ------------- www.yeehaa.co.nz www.justanotherfisherman.co.nz |
Posted By: Marligator
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 8:56am
|
Yes it would be great to see that alright. It is a great place to try new ideas out alright as you have enough fish to get a really good handle on what works and what doesn't, and who cares if it falls off, just go and catch another. ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">
|
Posted By: DenimViper
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2016 at 9:09am
| Having caught my first marlin on a stickbait this year, I can say its one hell of an experience. A day to remember for a long time to come! |
Posted By: fsholc
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2016 at 9:28am
|
for you first thats a hard one to beat!the bite has to be the best part ------------- www.yeehaa.co.nz www.justanotherfisherman.co.nz |
Posted By: Cheeko
Date Posted: 01 Jul 2016 at 12:46pm
| Awesome!! A marlin on a stick bait is definitely on the bucket list!!! |