ord

Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club Inc.www.scgfc.com.au

P.O. Box 998 Buddina, 4575

REEL TALKDecember 2013

ORD MINNETT CLASSIC 2014 BROCHURE ENCLOSED

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Investment Themes for 2014 A number of investment themes present themselves in 2014.

It is worth noting firstly, that Janet Yellen, the incoming Federal Reserve Chairman is focusing on reducing US unemployment and ensuring inflation remains in check. It nat-urally follows that for unemployment to reduce that the US economy must strengthen.

Assuming we have a strengthening US economy, which should manifest is a stronger global economy, we should see the gap between perceived growth and real growth nar-row which is favourable for developed markets.

Additionally, with less artificial sweetener in the system the $US should improve against global currencies, including the $A. There is no doubt the Reserve Bank of Australia would be satisfied with this outcome as it would provide support to our exporters. In relation to imports (goods & services) we should see an inflationary effect which RBA would look through initially.

The above story should result in improving developed economy stock markets.

For the anticipated upside to be met the Federal Reserve will need to ensure that US bond yields remain in check. If we see borrowing costs increase the awaited returns on equity and property markets will be muted as the ‘cost of doing’ business will increase.

All in all, central banks globally still have significant influence on market returns and their co-ordinated behaviour will greatly determine the outcome for equity and property markets. None the less, it is important to find the significant themes, determine the most efficient means of access and then to execute the trade. Sounds easy.

Chris Harris is an Authorised Representative (no 435773) of Ord Minnett Ltd, AFS licence 237121. This article contains general financial advice only and does not consider your personal circumstances; you should determine its suitability to you. Before acquiring a financial product you should consider the relevant product disclosure statement. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Chris can be reached on 07-54304444.

Ph 07 5430-4444 www.ordsbuderim.com.au

Ord Minnett Sunshine Coast

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Welcome to the December quarter edition of the Sunshine Coast GFC’s Reel Talk Publication.

This quarter we have for you the usual updates from our esteemed Committee, a 2014 outlook from our major sponsor, Ord Minnett, a report on the SCGFC Spring Shootout Competition and some narratives from our members regarding their exploits so far this season! In addition, we have more information from Sam Williams on the Black Marlin Research Project, de-tails of our upcoming competition in February and provide you with an outline of the new South-East Queensland Club Championships. Plus there is plenty of photos in this editions brag board. With reports of Blue Marlin out wide and plenty of bait on the inshore reefs, it surely is and looks to be a cracking 2013-14 season. Should you wish to form part of our Reel Talk contributions team, please get in contact with me on 0410 758 244 or mholland@mcgrathnicol.com. Don’t be shy and jump on-board.RegardsMark HollandReel Talk Coordinator

07-01-2014 Monthly Meeting@ brett.barton@raywhite.com Kawana Waters Hotel

30-01-2014/ ORD MINNETT brett.barton@raywhite.com 02-02-2014 SGFC CLASSIC

04-02-2014 Monthly Meeting @ brett.barton@raywhite.com Kawana Waters Hotel

Front cover photo courtesy of: James Yerbury .

PLEASE FORWARD YOUR REEL TALK ARTICLES TO:

mholland@mcgrathnicol.com

Committee Contact Details

Brett Barton - Presidentpresident@scgfc.com.au

Ph: 0408 607 344

John Longworth- Vice President Ph: 0418 712 898

longy57@bigpond.net.au

Paul Jones - Secretary ph: 0404 926 031

secretary@scgfc.com.au

Jay Graham - Treasurer Ph: 0409 694 154

treasurer@scgfc.com.au

Brent Higgins- Club Captain Ph: 0414 775 133

clubcaptain@scgfc.com.au

Mark Holland- Reel Talk Coordinator0410 758 244

mholland@mcgrathnicol.com

Upcoming Events

Date Event & Venue Contact Details

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Presidents Report

Firstly, we are nearly ready to welcome in 2014 and at the time of writing this report, I

hope you all have a safe and hap-py festive season and tag a heap of billfish in your holiday break. As the year flies by, you stop and think about what has already hap-pened in the past 6 months of the 2013/14 Game Fishing season and what the SCGFC has been involved with and has once again been recognised for.

In the last edition of Reel Talk, I mentioned the GFAA awards and how the club has been waiting in anticipation for the re-sults. The results have now come out and the Sunshine Coast GFC was once again awarded the John O’Brien trophy for the highest points scoring club in Australia. Jeff Oates was awarded the Sir Garrick Agnew trophy for the individual honour of most tagged billfish in Australia and Kamikaze skippered by Heath Irvine was awarded the top scoring boat & most tagged Marlin in Australia. It’s a sensa-tional effort by all skippers and crews that fish for the SCGFC and you all played a huge part in making these awards possible!

The October Spring Shootout was

hosted and the tournament ran smoothly with a fantastic turnout. A total of 28 boats, 92 anglers fished, with a good mix of ladies and juniors throughout the field. It was one of the best attendances for any tournament in South East Qld for a few years. The fishing was a little slow but the party atmosphere and good times will be spoken about for a long time. This is exactly what the October Spring Shootout is famous for. We had boats & anglers from the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Mooloolaba & Coffs Harbour GFC and from what I can re-member, everyone had a great time. Day one was tight and I am sure Brent will elaborate more but the last hour of the second day was pretty impres-sive watching joint SCGFC and GCGFC “Zeus” run around backwards dealing with a double header amongst a fleet of maybe 20 boats!

Between the time this was written and published, I am sure the game-fishing season will have really kicked off and the Xmas party was no doubt a fun night with a few pos-sible sore heads the following day.

Planning is well under way for the SCGFC February Classic with the entry and flyer included in this edition of Reel Talk. I hope as many of you as possible can get involved with this comp as it is our Flagship tournament with bigger and better prizes for the winners. The tournament is also a qualify-ing event for the prestigious OWC (Offshore World Championships)

again hosted in Quepos, Costa Rica and as a club we have had many representatives head over to the other side of the world to compete. After being a spectator last year, I can say it’s a whole lot of fun!

All clubs are about introducing new members to the exciting sport of game fishing and when you have a fishery like we do in SEQ how could you not get excit-ed about it. We have had mem-

bers up in Cairns, Towns-ville and Fraser Island to the north down to the Gold Coast and

into NSW heading south, all chas-ing these mighty billfish. With a large membership base, you will always have people coming and going from our sport, but as far as I’m concerned, the most exciting part is meeting new members and watching their ex-citement grow as they hone their skills and learn from some of the best anglers in the country. Time on the water is the key to more fish and it also ensures that you improve. If in doubt ask someone with more experience, but make an effort to jump on another boat even if you own one yourself, as it’s a great way to learn…..

The SCGFC is an extremely proud club and the club will con-tinue to strive for further great-ness and with new member, we can make this happen. Get out there and find the fish...BartoSCGFC President

The most exciting part is meeting new mem-bers and watching their excitement grow as they hone their skills and learn from some of the best anglers in the country.

The Sunshine Coast GFC was

once again awarded the John O’Brien

trophy for the high-est points scoring club in Australia.

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Club Captains ReportWell what an exciting and advent-full 1st half of the

year! The club is tracking beautifully with over 100 billfish tags accounted for by early December and thats before the arrival of the juvenile Black Marlin.It certainly looks like a big score will be required to defend the GFAA #1 tag and release club with the excel-lent fishing going on in WA this year.

Winning GFAA for season 2012/13 really is a testament to the commitment of our members to get out on the wa-ter and continue to develop and hone skills. Efforts by the experienced teams of Kamikaze & Reel Capture to tag over 100 Billfish and Jeff Oates “Sir Garrick Agnew Trophy” for 86 billfish tags should serve as great motiva-tion of what skippers, crews and anglers can achieve collectively as a team. The next generation is certainly making a presence on the scoreboard and there are to many of you to name individually. It’s your fresh energy and high morale that contributes more than anything to the heartbeat of this great club. People sharing ideas, gear and locations is exactly what entices new mem-bers, creates friendships and see’s our much love sport continue to evolve.

On another significant note the club was also highly suc-cessful winning QGFA champion club and 7 of the top 10 QLD anglers.

Champion QGFA Anglers for 2012-13 as follows;1st - Jeff Oates2nd - Jay Graham3rd - Brett Barton4th - Jamie Behrens5th - Barry Alty (GCGFC)6th - Channon Arbuthnot7th - Brent Higgins8th - Mark Bird9th - Daniel Cartwright (GCGFC)10th - Tim Starling (MGFC)

At this turning point of the season we can have a mo-ment to reflect and time to prepare for whats ahead. A steady early Sailfish bite occurred for the first time in a few years enabling the club to get off to a good start. Mostly the 18 mile produced with fish also on the inshore grounds right into the 8 mile. A buzz was cre-ated just in time for the October Spring Shootout and 28 teams competed under the new long weekend/footy final format. The perfect ending was in store with the sponsor boat Zeus, including new major sponsor Ord Minnett racing home with a double header of Sails in the

last hour to close the deal. Well done guys!

The club has been well represented throughout Queensland year to date with anglers fishing sev-eral Northern QLD Comps and the heavy season at Cairns. Kamikaze just missed out on count back for a first visit win in Townsville to Billy The Kid & OB1 - not bad company to keep tying scores with Jim Dalling and the O’Brien family. The club captain managed to bring home champion angler. Evan Jones also fished on Rampage at Innisfail and won champion team over 7.5m. Several boats have ventured to Fraser Island as well, while the fishing wasn’t exceptional crews were rewarded for their efforts with Blues, Blacks and Sails.

The big news is the return of the Blues, typically Octo-ber is the month to dust off the heavy gear with No-vember being one of the best times to catch them. This season seems set for a good one and expects to see Blues peaking in February/March and into April. This season has definitely had it’s share of above average fish mixed in, the news of Barco’s 892lb fish at the Gold Coast and Top Shots 838lb at Cairns tantalises the taste buds that a grander will be caught soon in QLD. With our Dogleg grounds easily accessible by trailer boats everyone should have a crack this season, they truly are a great fish.

With the bait concentrating on the 18 mile area it will only be a matter of time before a current hits with sum-mer water and little Blacks. The Trench should also produce again this season and it was so exciting to see it fired last season after a dormant period. With the deployment of the fad a feed of dolly›s shouldn’t be far away either as the water warms.

Now the focus of the members turns to the February Classic over the 30th January - 2nd February. The club looks forward to hosting another fantastic, social week-end on our new pontoon. Many will gear up to chase light tackle Blacks however with the extra point incen-tive for Blues it should make for an exciting format. Once again thank you to all our sponsors that make it possible, I cant wait to hear Albert call «go get em» on Friday 31st January - go hone the skills and have a great Xmas break. See you on the water.

Tight Lines,

Brent HigginsSCGFC Club Captain

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Treasurers Report as at 03/12/13

First of all, my apologies for not presenting a report at the last few meetings. I have been away on business and fishing trips.

Significant Transactions since September report: ($200+ and outside of Tournament costs/income):

· $250 Paid to Solas for presentation night voucher redemption· $240 Reimbursed to Rob Smith for FAD parts· $450 Paid to JPG Design and Print for Reel Talk Publication· $339 Paid to Wellsys for presentation night voucher redemption· $4,815 Profit from Spring Shootout (once last calcutta cheque is banked)· $5,000 Received from Ord Minnett for 1st and 2nd Installment of Sponsorship – Big

thank you to Ord Minnett Buderim for their continued support.· $883 Transferred from Investment Account to cheque account (accrued interest over

the last few terms)· $1,632 Transferred from Investment Account to cheque account (accrued interest

over the last few terms)

Financial Members: We currently have 156 Financial Members. This is an increase 59 members more than my last report.

Bank Balances:· Cheque Account: $23,952· Term Deposit: $10,000 @ 3.70% p.a. Matures 6th March 2014. · Term Deposit: $20,000 @ 3.90% p.a. Matures 8th April 2014.

Total: $53,952. This is an increase of $11,234 since last report.

Trade Debtors: Nil

Trade Creditors: Nil

Un-presented Cheques : $100 worth of Monthly Prize Cheques from last season and third place Calcutta cheque of $466.00 from Spring Shootout. Please get them banked as soon as possible.

Unaudited SCGFC Cash Profit (Loss) 01/07/13 – 29/11/13: $9,859

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Myself and two mates made our way up to Fraser

Island from Brisbane on 9 November 2013 and were rewarded with excellent blue water in the 24-24.7 degree mark with large schools of pilchards and yakkas. We

fished on-board my new Contender, “Swordfight”.

We fished 1-2 miles north and south of the 13 mile entrance in 30-40m of water and went 5-3-2 on Sailfish and Black Marlin from a day’s fishing before engine issues made us cut the trip a little short. We picked

up the fish on live baits, lures and

skipping garfish around the pilchard schools.

James Yerbury

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The black marlin have continued to turn up in numbers on Australia’s west coast and off Weipa with great numbers of samples being taken. And over on the east coast the run of juvenile blacks is starting to

stretch further south while with a big season on adults off the GBR continues. The knowledge of black marlin stocks has also been re-written with the proceedings of the 5th international Billfish Symposium held recently in Taiwan. This third edition of the Black Marlin Bulletin will share an overview of these updates, as well as giving an all-important update on our latest finclip entries.

Stock Structure of Black Marlin

The international billfish symposium is irregular occurring conference where billfish research scientists from around the globe gather to share their work and discuss the future direction of billfish research. The 4th conference in 2005 resulted in the reclassification of the billfish phylogeny and the 5th symposium held over the first week of November 2013 in Taiwan has not disappointed either with some exciting outcomes that are expected to be published in the proceedings. To Recap: Until now black marlin were assumed to be a single global stock with spawning only confirmed to occur off Australia’s Ribbon Reef group. Hsiao-Yun Chang, a master’s student from National Taiwan University investigated the gonads of mature black marlin from Taiwan and the South China Sea. She was able to confirm the presence of fully hydrated oocytes and post-spawning follicles indicating that spawning does occur in the South China Sea and the South-Western Taiwan region between March and April.

To accompany this finding, Dr. Wei-Chuan Chi-ang (“Riyar”) at the Taiwan Eastern Marine Biology Research Center revealed that from 9 black mar-lin that were satellite tagged of southeast Taiwan (tag duration up to 360 days), no fish moved out of the waters that comprise the east and south china seas. The movements were seasonal figure of 8 patterns between the two seas. These interesting results raise many questions about the black mar-lin population structure in particular; Are there other breeding sites? Are the fish spawning in Taiwan the same fish we find off Cairns or two indepen-dent populations? Could some of the juveniles we find in Australian waters be from a South China Sea spawning site? Whilst in Taiwan Dr Pepperell and I stayed at Taiwan Eastern Marine Biology Research Center and worked with local researchers collecting samples from the fish markets taken by ‘harpoon fishermen’ which hopefully in the future can help us to answer some of these questions.

Black MarlinOCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013

Attention all Billfish Anglers Black marlin fin clips needed

Number 3

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Fin Clipping Progress

West Coast

Since the last newsletter reports of the fishing off Broome throughout October has seen a sensational number of billfish with many little black marlin on the bite within a strong sailfish fishery. Compliments to Jeda Ellen (Makaira gamefishing charters) and Chris Nisbet (Broome Billfish Charters) who both were able to extend their tallies of fin clips. Jeda managed to top the leader board across the country with a remarkable 15 clips while Chris managed to extend his tally to 5. Elsewhere in WA, Sandra Lymbery reports that Bernie Vale of Coral Bay Ocean game fishing charters has managed 3 fin clips, 2 of which were from 40 kg fish and the other from a 8-10kg black.

Further north at Nickol Bay Sportfishing Club Luke Leech has collected another two fin clips for the club taken for anglers Greg Milliken and Warren Tucker who, along with all other anglers mentioned, will both re-ceive an entry into the lucky draw. At the King Bay GFC in Dampier Len informs me that the club has stayed on 10 clips total since last notice, however they are working on getting the word our through local media to increase awareness. Charter captains in Exmouth Josh Bruynzeel (On Strike) and Eddy Lawler (Peak Sports Fishing) at last report were on 4 apiece, while during the Exmouth game fishing club tournament Mike Smith managed to take a fin clip. Once again, thanks to Dennis Byran-Smith, Jeni Gates and an anonymous other who are helping to co-ordinate the region.

The Gulf (Weipa to Darwin)

Ben Bright from Weipa Game Fishing Club has been actively engaged in taking fin clips – with great success. The Weipa Game Fishing Club has been able to take 11 clips consisting of 6 from Ben, 2 from Duane Singleton, 1 from Allan Jackson, 1 from Chris Davidson and 1 from Darren Lee. Recent reports saw a number of baby blacks raised in the region on Monday the 18th of November suggesting there are more to come as well. Bomber Farrell has been trying to take fin clips fishing out of Groote Eylandt in the Gulf but has only seen sails so far, and Steve Roberts from Darwin Game Fishing Club also informed us that they weren’t able to take any samples from there tournament, but are definitely on the lookout!

East Coast

As the fishing shifted focus to Cairns for the run of adult blacks we would like to give a mention to who we believe was Tim Richardson who took a fin clip from a 950 lb fish off cairns. Beyond that much of the fin clipping action has moved south with the run of small black marlin down the east coast of Australia. Paddy Diamond increased his tally to 2 after taking a clip when landing the first fish during the Sunshine Coast GFC shootout.

A Big shout out to Doug Sanderson who made the sampling program’s presence felt throughout the Hervey Bay Game Fishing Club tourna-ment, collecting 5 finclips from anglers, one clip taken by Chris Thur-

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kettle on his new (broken in now!) boat ‘VIKING’ – reported to be from a tiny fish of just 3kg (800mm long) being too small to safely tag! The other tournament finclips were taken from ‘Foreshore’ with Glen Radon getting 2 and Anthony Tyson 1. Also amongst the other Hervey Bay clips was a 20kg black by Graeme fisher aboard Rampage. Over the same weekend Robert Smith was out with ‘Ruff and Tuff’ owner Matt Collinge, who were able to take 4 clips also on the Fraser coast to kick of their account. On another positive note for the project on the east coast Nick Curry informed us that Moreton Bay GFC are also eager to get involved.

Remember that all participants mentioned have gained entries into the draw to win a signed copy of Dr Julian Pepperell’s award winning book “Fishes of the Open Ocean” (one for each coast), which will be drawn at the end of January!

ORD MINNETT SPRING SHOOTOUT2013 Ord Minnett Spring Shootout.

With the promise of fish as the earlier weeks fired with good reports on the 18 mile and the 8 mile, entrants were excited with the possibilities of high numbers of tagged fish. Boats from Mooloolaba, Redcliffe, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast all turned up alongside our own club members, for a strong fleet of around 30 boats. This tournament was also Round 1 of the SEQ Championships and all SEQ clubs were invited to participate.

Day 1 saw great conditions but the fishing was slow. After a cooked breakfast down on the pontoon for the fleet, boats travelled far and wide in search of light tackle and heavy tackle fish. Many boats had their chances but at the end of the day it was Catapult in the lead on 1 fish. The fleet had spread out, the 18 mile was failing to produce and reports of grounds further afield were not encouraging either.

Cease fishing was called and the boats returned to the informal party atmosphere that the Shootout has become known for. Over the years this tournament has been very hit

and miss with some years recording over 100 tags and others barely 10 tags. Fortunately being the first tourna-ment in SEQ for the season, anglers are lured to the social aspect of catching up with old friends. Satur-day night was no exception and the long weekend had created a buzz with the lovely raffle girls, raft up and social gathering around the boats rafted up side by side.

Day 2 had many skippers guessing as it was going to take someone to find their ‘own patch’ to run away with the tournament. By lunchtime after some searching the field had started to gather on bait that was forming at the top of the 8-10 mile re-gion. By lunch, Catapult was wining on count back still with one fish from Old Salty Dog, Whitehorse, Dragon Lady, Big Splash and a couple of others. Shortly after lunch the team on Zeus which had the tournament sponsors on it made a charge. Shortly after tagging their first fish, they had a fur-ther two following teasers both frus-tratingly failed to bite. It wasn’t until the last hour of play that that Zeus had a double hookup on a swim and skip gar after teasing the fish up

from a small bait school. Both fish were tagged giving the team 3 for the tournament and the sponsors’ first win from Catapult and Old Salty Dog on count-back with 1 fish each. Champion Angler was Mike Holmes, Champion Female was Sophie Cur-rey and Champion Junior was Josh Alwood.

Sunday night was the NRL Grand Final night and the party was on! The raft up continued into the night and the Kawana Waters Hotel proved to be an excellent venue for the Spring Shootout. The SCGFC will continue to develop this ‘first for the season’ tournament especially now that we’ve recently installed another 40ft pontoon for the raft up. This year, the breakfast was a welcome addition and next year’s plans are already under way with amenities planned for the overnight boaties.

A special thanks to all those who entered and were involved and a special thanks once again to our sponsors.

Regards

SCGFC Committee

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South East Queensland

Club Championship

• AnySEQClubaffiliatedwithQGFAcanenter.

• Noextracostinvolved.

• TwoboatsfromyourClubmustenterthenominatedtournaments.

• Pointswillbeawardedbasedonbothboatsfinishingplaceattournament.

• FantastictrophiesandcamaraderiebetweenClubs.

• ForfurtherdetailspleasecontacttheClubslistedbelow.

TournamentQualificationList-

October4-7,2013SunshineCoastGFCSpringShootoutJanuary9-12,2014GoldCoastGFCLightTackleMasters

February21-23,2014LittleShipTournament(TBC)March21-23,2014MoretonBayGFCBacktoTanga6

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The season on Cat-a-pult started earlier this

season than last. Last season we didn’t have our first fish until just before Christmas. This year we were out on the 18 mile on a Monday in early September after hearing reports of a few fish showing up. It was just Paddy and I as Lachlan was away up on Fraser Island. I was soon into a Sailfish, and was very pleased when Paddy got the Tag into the fish as it was my first ever Sail. I first saw a Sailfish 24 years ago and always wanted to catch one. Since that time, I’ve had them follow baits right to the boat, free jump, watch other anglers catch them, but have never managed to get one to take my bait. Fortunately this time, we tagged the fish and boated it for a quick few photos before releasing it to fight another day. Paddy caught a small Black Marlin shortly thereafter (his first aboard Cat-a-pult) and then I followed it up with another Sailfish in the afternoon. It was a very successful start.

The Wednesday of the same week I was out solo in my boat “Malarky” and headed to the same area. There were already a few boats there before me, however I pulled up near Jubilado and Ymer and had another Sailfish on shortly thereafter. This would be my first ever solo Billfish, which took 25 mins before getting the tag in. Despite having the fish close a number of times, it’s not easy when on your own. That day, I learnt a lot about positioning the boat to the fish, so hopefully I will be better prepared next time.

The Friday of the same week, Paddy, Lachlan and myself were back out at the 18 mile onboard Cat-a-pult. We were just thinking of calling it a day and heading in to re-bait the Shark gear, when Paddy hooked up to a nice Sailfish. After a 20 minute fight it was tagged but unfortunately, the fish had been hooked in the gills and couldn’t be revived. The decision was made to bring the fish back to the pub to be weighed. The fish weighed in at 45.7kgs

and it gave us a much better indication on the size of Sailfish, so we can more accurately estimate other tagged fish. On the Sunday of the same week,

with Paddy away, Lachlan and I went out to the 18 mile once again. I hooked another Sail reasonably quickly that took over 2 hours before we could tag it and then another 20 minutes before we could get hold of the leader. During this time, the reel was on sunset. This Sailfish was a completely different animal when compared to the other fish we had caught during this week in September. Once getting it onto the leader, we could see it

Cat-a-pult – FY14 season to date.

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was much bigger than the one weighed earlier in the week. Unfortunately it popped the leader next to the boat and we couldn’t get a measurement. However, we were all surprised how powerfully it swam away after a long fight. We also ended up 3.5 miles from where we hooked up.

After that week I had to go and do some work.

Now onto the Ord Minnett Spring Shootout. This time, Mark Holland and Travis joined the Cat-

a-pult crew and I hooked a lively Black Marlin early on the first morning. Mark was on the tag pole and Paddy went wildly in reverse. Not only was this the first time I’ve seen Paddy scream and shout so much, but the first time I’ve seen so much water in the back of

Cat-a-pult. It was great to see the tag go in quickly for the first Billfish of the tournament. This was an important fish and had us in the lead until 50 minutes from the end when the team on Zeus managed two tags from a double hookup (thanks Crossy and the boys). Overall, we still came second and got some great prizes. Plus, Mark’s Sydney Roosters won the NRL grand final!That was it for us on Cat-a-pult until the Blue Marlin turned up

in November 2013. By now, it’s common knowledge that Cat-a-pult has raised more than its fair share of Blues but has never managed to convert one of them. Pleasingly in mid-November, I was able to catch Cat-a-pult’s first

Blue Marlin. This was also my first Pacific Blue and was followed up later that day by Paddy, who also caught a Blue. We’ve been out since and Paddy has caught another. We’ve seen quite a few more, and lost a few as well, but those stories will have to wait for another day.I would just like to thank both Paddy and Lachlan for all the great days out on the water. It’s good to see Paddy out on the back deck this season with Lachie doing the driving. Without Paddy I wouldn’t have caught nearly as many fish as I have over the last couple of years that we’ve been fishing together. It’s always a good laugh with lots of banter, most of it at my expense, my accent, my love of Carp fishing and at present, the English Cricket team aren’t helping either!

Looking forward to the rest of the season after such a busy start.

Cheers Jonesey --<”)))><

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At the start of November I was trying to line up a crew to go

light tackle off Mooloolaba. After ringing around the usual people it was still looking like I may have to do a solo trip. I started looking for crew on the forum when I remembered Lachlan Tuckwell was keen to do a trip on “No Name” as he had done a lot of his junior fishing on it when it belonged to Chris Yeh. When I texted him his reply was “Light or Heavy”. I was pretty keen on doing some heavy tackle fishing but I regretfully told Lachie that I didn’t have any gear. His reply was “That’s cool I’ll borrow Paddy’s gear”. While I held some doubt that someone who I didn’t know would be generous enough to lend me their gear, sure enough Lachie came through with the goods the following morning. The plan was that we would head out at 4am and pull the pin at lunchtime when the conditions were due to blow up from 10-15 knots to 25knots+. Lachie had offered to skipper for the day and I was going to be decky. T yler, one of my snapper fishing buddies had joined the club the day before and he was going to be on strike.I got a text at 3:30am from Tyler saying he was still drunk from the night before. As our window of opportunity for fishing was so small, I decided to let him sleep it off rather than pick him up. Tyler would later regret his decision more than he probably cared to

admit. We headed out in beautiful 5 knot conditions and were in 150m in under 2 hours. We put out a purple and black “Bobby Brown” and a red and white “Wellsy’s Hyperhead” on Paddy’s beautiful Tiagra outifts, threw out the witchdoctor and headed for the “Imaginary Circle.” The water was up around 24 degrees and

still flat as a tack. There were birds and dolphins scattered throughout the area and it looked like we were shaping up for an awesome day. I spent the start of the day watching the lures like a hawk for the slightest shadow or sign of movement. By 9 o’clock however I was starting to lose a bit of interest and instead started getting into my Subway lunch. I was

halfway through my sandwich when I spotted a strange shadow under one of the lures. I asked Lachie if he could see it too and he confirmed my suspicion “It’s a blue!” I threw my Subway in the drink and ran for the 15kg outfit which had a pitchbait ready. Lachie set me straight before I pitched though. “That’s about

400 pound you don’t wanna be hooking that on 15kg!” Before I could put the bait back in the

tank the fish had came up on the opposite side on the “Bobby Brown” and snapped it out of the outrigger. I set myself up with the gimbal and clipped myself onto the screaming Tiagra 80 reel. Shortly after my heart sank as the line that had previously been screaming off the reel went slack. After a short run and a few jumps the fish had spat the hook. After letting fly with a few four letter words we put the lures back out and tried trolling the same area trying to pick up the same fish or at least one of his mates. After about half an hour with no luck we decided to troll north to the Noosa Canyons, so we could come home with the building Northeaster at our backs. After having a look at the spread I decided to set the long rigger out a bit further. Not realising the extra inertia that a heavy tackle has on the spool I managed to overrun the line slightly. I was madly trying to fix it when I heard the outrigger clip snap, luckily on the other side. I turned around to see another blue going completely mental behind the boat and stripping line like no tomorrow. By the time I had harnessed up, the fish had stripped the 300m, 37kg top shot and was down to Dacron with no signs of slowing down. In the

time that it took to get the other lure and teaser in, the fish had dumped the best part of ¾ of the spool under 12kg of drag before we had any chance of chasing it to get some line back. While I had seen plenty of

footage of big blacks and blues in full flight nothing compares to seeing the real thing. It was

“First Blue” Tim Bidencope

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completely different to anything I had experienced in light tackle fishing. The buzzing TLD20 was replaced with a Tiagra 80 that sounded like a chainsaw, and the little black marlin greyhounding on the surface was replaced by a big powerful Blue that was throwing splashes that a whale would be proud of. After a great aerial display that lasted about ten minutes the fish went down deep, really deep. I was still yet to see the mono top shot and the line was pointing straight down.After about half an hour cranking on low speed we had the double back on the reel. It was then we looked over the side to see a nice blue marlin coming up backwards. The fish must have tail wrapped itself in the early stages of the fight. We tagged it, untangled it and started swimming it as soon as possible. The fish did seem to be showing some signs of life but in hindsight I think it was only because I wanted to see signs of life. After trying everything to get the fish swimming again the call was made to bring it in and weigh it. The last thing that Lachie or myself wanted to do was tag and release a dead fish. Then came the hardest part of the fight.Initially we had both called the fish at about 110kg, however after trying to lift this thing over the gunwale I was starting to think either I was weak or it might actually be a fair bit heavier. The easiest way would have been to just lift the fish over the side of the boat, but with the weight of the two of us, and 100kg+ of fish on one side of the boat, my little 5.2 tinny started feeling like she was

going to tip. The only option was to drag it up over the transom. We realised pretty soon that we weren’t going to do it in one go, so we looked around the boat for ropes and the gaff. We managed to get its tail up over the transom (not by much) and locked it off with a truckies hitch. For the next

two hours we lifted

centimetre by painful centimetre and locked off our progress with the ropes. All the while we were watching the forecast northerly build from 15 to 25 knots+ and we were still 40Nm from shore. We were really starting to wish Tyler hadn’t

slept in. We tried motoring with the fish hanging of the back, but when we realised the fastest we could go was 8 knots we both cracked the you know whats. Through sheer anger and frustration (and plenty of Maria Sharapova noises) we got the fish onto the outboard and onto the transom. Just as I was about to push the fish onto the deck Lachie stopped me and suggested I should pose for a photo. I’m glad he did because the result was my favourite photo

of the whole experience. We headed in as quick as we could before the conditions got any worse. The boat rode surprisingly well with the marlin

as ballast, maybe even better than normal. We were doing 25 knots in 25knot winds. Lachie didn’t look too fussed with the conditions though, while I was hanging on for dear life he was texting his mates and updating his facebook status. We came into the pub flying the SCGFC flag and were greeted by a fair few club members and a lot of confused patrons. With the aid of the

winch the fish was hoisted out of the boat and put on the scales. It was well over our estimate of 110kg before its head was even off the ground and tipped the scales at 134.8kg. All in all it was a bittersweet experience. Not many anglers get an opportunity

to weigh a fish like that but I would have much preferred to tag and release it.A special thanks must go out to Paddy for lending me his gear, Lachie for skippering my boat for the day, and everyone that came down and helped out with the weighing. Last but not least the chef at the Kawana pub rates a mention for his filleting skills.

Tim

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Tim, Matt, BJ and Smithy had a big weekend fishing Breaksea Spit in November 2013 onboard “Ruff N Tuff”. Skipper Matt got a nice 8kg Dolphin Fish on Friday morning, followed up with a nice 20kg Sailfish on 8kg line on a skipping garfish shortly

thereafter. Tim managed a nice 15kg Cobia and a 15kg Black Marlin, which was switch-baited off the downrigger on 8kg spin gear. The boys anchored outside on the Friday night with the intent of getting a few reefies, however the current was howling and they tried desperately to ignore the massive thunder storm coming across. The second day saw BJ getting

touched up on a possible Amberjack or

Team Ruff N Tuff hit Fraser IslandKingfish on a jig before breakfast. The boys left the reef with a good mixed bag of reef fish in the box and headed to the bait grounds. BJ was live baiting and hooked up straight away to a nice 20kg Sailfish on 4kg. The fish gave BJ’s antique TLD 5 a good workout but unfortunately, the

line popped after a good hour.

The team had another six or so small Black Marlin take livies, however they only con-verted three. BJ got a 15kg Black Marlin on 6kg line and shortly thereafter, redeemed himself on his 4kg outfit with a nice Black Marlin

around 10kgs. Smithy also got a nice 10kg Black Marlin on 6kg before lunch time. From there on, the guys

struggled to find the bait and pulled the pin at 4pm after no more strikes. The conversion rate for the trip was horrible with micro fish climbing on baits but not staying connected. The final tally was ap-prox. 13-10-5 for the trip. The team can’t wait to get up there again!

PHOTO BOARD

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ENQUIRIES President Brett Barton – 0408 607 344 Copies of tournament brochure, entry forms, and sched sheets are available on our website at www.scgfc.com.au

WELCOME The SCGFC is pleased to present and invites you to join us for the Ord Minnett Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club – Classic, hosted from January 30-February 2, 2014. The Classic is designed to test skippers, crews and anglers’ skills in the light and heavy tackle arena. The Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club is ready to turn up the heat and have some fun!! We wish our competing anglers and boats every success, and hope that you enjoy our famous venue, camaraderie and fun atmosphere. Welcome and good luck.

 ENTRY FEES AND PACKAGES $200.00 per Senior Angler Junior Anglers (under 16 years) Fish Free $165.00 Non-competing Crew Package Angler fees include: Competing angler fees, RED levy,

tournament shirt, tournament pack, briefing party Thursday evening, Refreshments Friday evening, Bistro Dinner Saturday night and Brunch / Presentation Sunday. Non-competing crew package includes: Tournament shirt, briefing party Thursday evening, Drinks and nibbles Friday evening, Bistro Dinner Saturday night, Brunch Presentation Sunday. Entry to Mystery Angler Draws not included. Additional Purchases and Function Tickets: Tournament Shirt $35.00 (S, M, L, XL, XXL) Breakfast Presentation $15 per person Late Entries: Late entries cannot be guaranteed a shirt bag etc. Entries are accepted on the night until 6pm. Early Entry Prize: All entries received and paid for by 6.00pm Thursday, January 23, 2014 will be eligible for an early entry draw. Early entry draw prize is refund of angler’s entry fee.  TOURNAMENT ENTRY Nominations Close 6.00pm Thursday 30th January, 2014 Please complete the included entry form, and post with payment of entry fees to SCGFC Spring Shootout 2011, PO Box 998 Buddina Qld 4575. Cheques / money orders should be made payable to Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club. Alternatively, nominations and payments can be made online. Go to scgfc.com.au / tournaments page for details. Entry to the tournament is at the discretion of the SCGFC Tournament Committee. The Tournament Committee reserve the right to refuse any team or individual anglers entry, and shall not be required to give any reason for doing so.

Entries received after early entry date cannot be assured of tournament pack on the night of the briefing. SCGFC will endeavour to provide tournament packs to late entries at a later date, subject to availability.  Boat Insurance All boats nominating to fish the Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Classic are required to have current boat insurance. Details of such insurance must be completed on the entry form supplied along with a photocopy of your insurance certificate. Should a boat not have insurance, nor be able to supply evidence of insurance and certificate prior to the commencement of the tournament, that boat shall be excluded from participating in the tournament. All onboard safety remains the responsibility of the owner / skipper.  MISCONDUCT The SCGFC Tournament Committee reserve the right - at any stage of the tournament - to disqualify any individuals or teams who are deemed to have brought disrespect to the sport of game fishing, the SCGFC or its sponsors, or who have been observed to have made a public nuisance through their behaviour or actions. Such disqualification will immediately null and void any pending prize allocations.  BRIEFING NIGHT & CALCUTTA A compulsory briefing night will be held in the “Marina Bar” at the Kawana Waters Hotel at 6:30pm. At least one member from each competing team is to be in attendance, unless prior arrangement has been made with the Tournament Director. The Calcutta (auction of competing boats) will be held immediately following the skippers briefing. Payment by cash or cheque or EFTPOS (credit card or debit card) must be made on briefing night. Eftpos and credit card facilities are also available at the Kawana Waters Hotel.  FUNCTIONS All functions will be held in the Marina Bar at the Kawana Waters Hotel – Nicklin Way, Kawana. There is no official function on the Friday night. Some refreshments will be provided at the raft up. Thursday 30th January, 2014 Presidents Address & CC - 6:15pm Skippers’ Briefing - 6:30pm Raffle and random boat draw. Calcutta to follow Friday 31st January, 2014 Raft up & Refreshments from 4.30pm Raffle and random boat draw from 6:30pm Saturday 1st, February, 2014 Raft up & Refreshments from 4.30pm Raffle and random boat draw from 6:30pm Bistro Dinner from 6.30pm in SCGFC Tournament Area Sunday 2nd February, 2014 Presentation Breakfast from 9:00am

ACCOMMODATION Rooms at the Kawana Waters Hotel have been reserved for tournament guests and competitors. To book, please contact the hotel directly (07) 5444 6699 and advise you are booking for the tournament. Reservations will be on a “First in, first served” basis. Alternatively, accommodation is available at Bluewater Point Apartments adjacent to the hotel. Bookings can be made on 07 5477 9900 or www.bluewaterpointresort.com.au  BREAKFASTS & LUNCHES

Excluding the Presentation Brunch on Sunday 2nd of February, the SCGFC and the Kawana Waters Hotel do not supply breakfast or lunch for anglers as a part of the competition package.  SHOWER FACILITIES For the convenience of our competing anglers, the SCGFC have secured a room at the hotel to provide shower facilities. Please supply your own towel and toiletries.  TOURNAMENT RULES GFAA rules apply for the duration of the tournament, with the following amendments and additions:  TEAMS Minimum of 2 anglers and a maximum of 6 anglers per boat. All anglers must be current financial members of a club affiliated with GFAA or QGFA, and may be required to provide proof of current club membership. Each angler is to receive equal fishing time.  LINE CLASS AND ANGLING Light Tackle: 8kg in any depth Heavy Tackle: 15kg, 24kg, 37kg and 60kg in greater than 150 metres water depth Dead bait / lure - A maximum of 2 rods per angler may be in use at any one time. Live Baiting - One (1) rod only per angler may be in use at any one time. -Non offset circle hooks must be used for live bait.  ELIGIBLE SPECIES AND POINT SCORING Light tackle billfish: 500 points Heavy tackle billfish: 1500 points irrespective of line class used Tag points will apply to all billfish captures. Only GFAA Billfish tags are to be used. Failure to use correct tags will result in no points being awarded. Game Base must be notified immediately a billfish is tagged or boated for weighing. All other GFAA game fish species are eligible in this tournament on a capture basis only and must equal or exceed line class. For species other than billfish: A limit of three (3) captures of any one species, per angler, per day applies. 1 billfish per day per angler is allowed to be weighed, game base must be notified if billfish are to be weighed.

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The SCGFC promotes billfish conservation and encourages all species of billfish to be tagged and released. In the advent of a weighed billfish tag points will be allocated. Capture points for other species: Fish weight x 100, divided by line class. An allowance of 10% will be made for gilled and gutted fish. Record claim fish must be intact.

 

FISHING TIMES AND OVERTIME Friday 31st January, 2014 (Day 1) 7:30 am – 4.00 pm Overtime permitted Saturday 1st February, 2014 (Day 2) 7:30 am – 4.00 pm Overtime permitted Weigh In from 4.30pm each day (refreshments will be provided on pontoon) Live bait may be collected prior to start fishing on both days, however fishing for target species may not commence until start fishing is called on VHF 21.

 

RADIOS All competing vessels must carry a VHF radio in good working order. All competing vessels must remain contactable at all times via radio, by either Game Base or another vessel. Failure to maintain radio contact may result in team disqualification. A boat logging off from game base for the day (even before cease fishing) will be deemed as no longer fishing within the tournament for that day and thereby no longer be eligible to score points for fish caught after doing so. (This does in no way mean a boat may not log on with Marine Rescue Services for safety purposes).

 

SCHED TIMES Saturday (Day 1)10.03am 1.03pm and 3:03pm. All hook ups after the 3:03pm sched must be called in to Game Base. Sunday (Day 2) 10.03am 1.03pm and 3.03pm. All hook ups and tags after 3.03pm to be called into Game Base. Sched’s Channel: Primary VHF Ch 21 in the advent of boats fishing north of Mooloolaba a secondary sched will be called on Ch 22 for boats missed on the Ch 21 sched. Details required: # Strikes - # Hookups - # tags or captures.

TAG & CAPTURE TIMES All tagged fish and fish to be weighed MUST be called in to Game Base for a verified time to be allocated. This can only be done once the tag is inserted into the fish, or the fish is boated. On contact, Game Base will confirm the details of the tag / capture, and will allocate your time for tag / capture. Only verified times will be accepted on daily activity sheets. Times will be allocated when we hear from you. Therefore, if you cannot contact game base, you must relay through another boat or via mobile phone. Failure to provide scheds may result in nil points being awarded for the day. Tag and capture times must be accurately recorded on the daily activity sheets. Tag and capture time is the time provided by Game Base.

Please do not repeat tag and capture time information during scheds. Only hookup / strike / tag or captures. For example “1 – 1 – 1 as previously recorded”. Radio silence is to be maintained five minutes prior to and during scheds. Game Base must be kept informed of the progress of all hook-ups that go into overtime, and must be immediately informed when the fish is tagged, boated or lost. Each team must present their signed and completed activity sheets, tag cards and captured fish, in person to the weigh station before 7.30pm on both fishing days. Exemptions may be sought from the Tournament Committee prior to start fishing on Day 1 for any boats not returning to Mooloolaba Harbour after the first day of fishing. Failure to do so may result in nil points being awarded for the day. Tackle used in the capture or tagging of fish must also be presented to the weigh master for inspection at the SCGFC’s discretion. Failure to adhere to IGFA specifications will result in fish being disqualified and nil points will be awarded. Teams forced to fish into overtime must present their signed and completed activity sheets, and any captured fish, in person immediately upon arrival at the weigh station. Failure to do so may result in nil points being awarded for the day. In the advent of a vessel assisting or aiding

another vessel in distress you may request an allowance to return to port after 7:30pm to present signed and completed activity sheets, tag cards and captured fish, in person to the weigh station.  FISHING GROUNDS A line running due east of the Point Lookout to a line running due east of Double Island Point. Boats departing from other ports may proceed directly to the fishing grounds to commence fishing when called on Day 1. All competing boats must return to the Kawana Waters Hotel after cease fishing is called on Day 2 (Saturday 1st February) of the tournament and present tag cards and sched sheets in person from the competing boat by 7.30pm unless game base has acknowledged the boat fishing into overtime. Boats wishing to stay away from port on Friday night must seek permission of the tournament director. No exception to these rules will be accepted.  BOAT LENGTH

For the purpose of this tournament, boat length overall is to be determined by the measurement taken from the bow, (excluding bowsprit) to stern (excluding outboard pods). This measurement will be used to determine 7m and under or over 7m.

DISPUTES A Dispute Committee comprising members from a minimum of two clubs will hear any protests provided they are submitted in writing and received no later than four (4) hours after cease fishing on each day. The committee’s decision will be final and no further discussion will be entered into.  BAD WEATHER AND

BREAKDOWNS No allowances will be

made for fishing time lost due to bad weather or breakdowns. In the event of breakdown, teams may apply to the Tournament Committee to fish a substitute vessel, with the same team members. In this event, the decision of the Tournament Committee will be final and no further discussion will be entered into. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to alter fishing times, postpone, or cancel the tournament or any tournament day, in the event of bad weather.  PRIZES

In case of a tied score, the angler or team to reach the tied score first will be deemed the winner. Tag and capture times must be accurately recorded on the daily activity sheets, and must be the verified times supplied by Game Base. The Tournament Committee will decide all trophy winners. Their decision is final. All eligible trophy winners must be present at the Presentation Brunch to receive their award. Failure to attend the awards presentation may result in the trophy being awarded to the next most eligible angler / team. Junior anglers are not eligible to win Champion Male and Female prize categories.  MAJOR TROPHY/PRIZE LIST Champion Team Overall Champion Angler Overall Champion Angler – Runner up Champion Male Angler – Light Tackle Champion Male Angler – Heavy Tackle Champion Female Angler – Light Tackle Champion Female Angler – Heavy Tackle Champion Junior Angler Champion Junior Angler – Runner up Champion Angler Other Species Champion Boat – 7 meters & under Runner up Boat – 7 meters & under Champion Boat – over 7 meters Runner up Boat – over 7 meters Meritorious Effort Award First and Last Billfish daily Other trophies as decided by the Tournament Committee. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to alter the prize list without notification.

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