Townsville Gamefishing Club

Fishing Reports 30/10/08

2008-10-30T11:01:00.004+10:00

Bowling Green Report

Far Call, Oi Bud & Bad Company ventured down to Bowling Green on the weekend in search of a late season Billfish. Conditions down there were definitely allot different to what they were 4 weeks ago as there wasn’t any birds & not a skerrick of bait to be found between the 3 Boats. Fortunately though, Far Cry managed to tag a little Black Marlin with Bad Company also getting a look at one but with out any luck.

Oi Bud, ended up checking out the Mackerel Patches on Sunday & with flying fish being smashed all over the place they managed to get stuck into some good sized Spanish mackerel, Trevally & Northern Bluefin to 20kg. They also raised a little Sailfish but were unable to get a bite out of it

Myrmidon

OB26, Burgundy Lady & Pirate II dusted off there heavy tackle gear & headed out to Myrmidon Reef to do some exploring hoping to get attached to one of the first Big Black Marlin of the season. With reports stating that water clarity wasn’t the most ideal & Scad being hard to find they all had a pretty quiet first day. On Sunday, Pirate II managed to successfully tag an estimated 180lb Black Marlin on the top end of Myrmidon. With the fishing being very quiet OB26 & Burgundy Lady decided to head into the closer reefs where they got amongst some good sized Spanish mackerel

Lucinda

For everyone thinking of traveling up to this weekends Lucinda Light Tackle Game Fishing Tournament you can still expect Billfish to be hanging around the Reefs, as local reports state that there has been recent captures of Black Marlin & Sailfish around the Brittomart & Bramble Reef area within the last week. Spanish Mackerel have also been thick around the place also

Photos From Top: Ken Phipps cradles a 20kg Nothern Bluefin which was caught at the Mackerel Spot (Bowling Green) aboard Oi Bud
Photo Below: Mick Djstra caught this whopping Mackerel at Brimble Reef aboard Burgundy Lady

Mid Week Madness

2008-10-09T14:47:00.004+10:00

Just got a call from Club Life Member Mick Meiers who could hardly contain his excitement as his first Statement was "Bowling Green is still firing"...With flat weather conditions yesterday some lucky members managed to arrange the day off & head down to the grounds. Mick reported that even though the water temperature was higher then usual and the bait was scarce, the fish were still there in numbers and were hungry. With only 2 onboard Princess C, they managed to get 3-8 for the day and although Mick didnt have confirmed numbers he reported that the other 2 boats that were fishing with him were kept very busy throughtout the day also, including Trevor & Vicki Albrey who managed to christen there brand new boat with Vicki's first ever Sailfish!!

Fingers crossed we get a good weekend soon so the people that have to work during the week can get down there :-)

October Monthly Comp

2008-10-08T16:15:00.003+10:00

Well once again the weather forecast left most of us who stayed land bound on the weekend scratching our heads as the predicted 15/20 knot winds did not eventuate, which meant it turned out to be ideal conditions for the 10 Club boats who made the trip down to Bowling Green for the October Monthly Comp.

With 14 Tag Cards (11 Black Marlin & 3 Sailfish) handed into the weighmaster on Sunday Night, Bowling Green Continues to provide anglers with some red hot billfishing action late into the season. Leigh O'Brien aboard OB26 reported that although the bait was very hard to find the fish were still there in great numbers & continue to attack troll baits in packs of 3&4 fish.

Far Cry finished the weekend with 4 Billfish & went on to take Champion Team mean while Cool Change & OB26 finished with 3 tags each (including Jordan O'Brien's first ever Billfish) & Burgundy Lady & Envee with 2 fish each

Although we are fast approaching our Heavy Tackle Months out at Myrmidon, I have no doubt there will be quite a few skippers & anglers biting at the bit to get back down to Bowling Green to enjoy this fantastic season while it lasts

Bowling Green Madness Continues

2008-09-23T13:21:00.005+10:00

Last weekend the TGFC held it's September Monthly Comp & with predicted 10 knot winds, 10 Club Boats made there way down to Bowling Green in search of some late season Billfish.

With the wind blowing more around the 15-17 knot range boats found conditions very uncomfortable & compared to previous weeks the bait was becoming very difficult to find but the small patches of bait that were found still held plenty of fish. Out of the 10 boats, there was 20 Black Marlin & 4 Sailfish tagged for the weekend.

With water temperatures rising & the bait dissapearing, lets hope the fish can hang around for next weekend's Billfish Bonanza (3rd & 4th October)

Photo Above - Russell O'Brien & Todd O'Shaughnessy with a little Sailfish

Photo Bottom - Champion Junior, Cassis Powis with a 7.85kg Northern Bluefin caught on 6kg - Great effort!!!!

TGFC finds Sucess at Innisfail

2008-09-23T13:06:00.004+10:00

By Greg Gibert (Gilbert Group QLD)

Just a quick e-mail to let you know that my team representing The Townsville Game Fishing Club fishing on our boat G'd Up, won the Innisfail Game Fishing Clubs annual billfish tournament last weekend, Our team consisted of Mick Mears (Skipper) Rob Vearing (decky and angler) Craig Fitzsimmons (angler) Jan Gilbert (angler) and myself (angler and team captain) all TGFC members.

We had perfect conditions all through the three days from Saturday through to Monday afternoon. We caught a sailfish and a small black marlin and were coming second on count back at the end of on day one, the second day condition were fantastic but we failed to land one sail fish and two black marlin that failed to hook up, this saw us going into day three in fourth position with Mauna Kea leading, and Iona and Kanahoee second and third respectfully,

We got a strike by a large black marlin just after start fishing but did not hook him up, shortly after a nice sail fish took the shotgun lure and we had him at the boat in about fifteen minutes tagged photographed (see attached) and released, soon after the sail fish was released a small black marlin took a swimming scad and we had it tagged and released in five minutes, this brought us back into contention as none of the lead boat scored any fish on the first sked's. Not long after the first sked was finished a nice black marlin took another swimming scad and after about ten minutes we had a tag in him and let him on his way. We now were leading the tournament and held the lead with no other lead boats tagging any bill fish on day three, this saw us win the event by one billfish. Our team won the champion team, Mick Mears won champion skipper, Rob Vearing won Champion Decky and I won Champion angler days one and three and also won champion angler and champion visiting angler.

We all had a great weekend at Innisfail with twenty four boats competing, it was great to win a large tournament against some of the best boats and skipper in the country and in our own boat. The event was very well run and was the best in it long history.

CONGRATULATIONS TGFC!!!

Oh what a magnificent week!!!

2008-09-23T13:00:00.003+10:00

Well this years Gilbert Group NQ Mining Billfish Challenge continued to prove that it is one of the most successful Game Fishing Tournaments on the East Coast Australia with these years event turning out to be the largest ever held in the Tournament’s 26 Year History.

With a over $100,000 worth of Cash & Prizes up for grabs as well as some awesome fishing action experienced in the lead up to the Tournament it wasn’t hard to see why over 40 Boats & 142 anglers made the trip North to be apart of this Spectacular Fishing event.

With anglers experiencing Good & bad weather conditions throughout the Tournament the World Renowned Billfish Grounds continued to live up to International Standards with 408 Billfish seen, 318 Hooked & 183 Tagged throughout the 5 Day Event.

Local Boat ‘MOJO’ skippered by well known local Game Fishing Identity Mark Parkes took out the 8m & Under Category with a total of 9 Billfish & Gold Coast Boat ‘GAMETIME’ took out the 8m & Over Category with a total of 16 Billfish.

On behalf of Club President, Tom Hatrick & the Organizing Committee I would like to personally thank all the Sponsors, Volunteers & everyone who participated as without you all it would not have been the success it was. We look forward to seeing you all in 2009.

Tournament Fever hits Townsville

2008-09-02T10:25:00.004+10:00

Well the feeling around the place is becoming more & more electric in the final countdown to this years 2008 Gilbert Group NQ Mining Industry Billfish Challenge. With visitors starting to arrive in Townsville they are being blowen away by the fishing reports that have been coming from the Bowling Green Area. Confirmed Reports have several boats averaging 8 - 10 Billfish tags a day, with packs of both little Black Marlin & sailfish harrasing baits.

With the the fishing action absolutely going off & the predicted light winds forecasted for the start of the Tournament, it is building to be one hell of a week.

If you are unable to participate in this wonderful event, The Townsville Game Fishing Club would like to invite the Townsville Public down to be apart of this wonderful occasion. Boats will be in Port at the beautiful Townsville Marina on Friday Night, Sunday Night & Wednesday Night and we encorouge families to come down & check out the multi-million dollar Game Fishing machines.

The Traditional Cleveland Bay Shot gun start will also be held at 7am on Saturday Morning - The best vantage point will be from the Rockwall which can be accessed on the Strand side of Jupiters Casino

For more information, please log onto www.townsvillegamefishclub.com or go aboard well knowen Game Fishing Vessel Reel Chase with Kelly Dalling at www.blackmarlinfishingblog.com

August Monthly Comp Report

2008-08-19T10:37:00.004+10:00

With another weekend of decent weather, over 10 Club Boats headed down to the Bowling Green Grounds to compete in the August Club Monthly Comp and with fishing conditions continuing to be favorable it wasn’t long before everyone shared in on some Bill fishing action. Burgundy Lady was first to tag a fish, with Karen Foley successfully tagging a Black Marlin at 8.12 am. A total of 9 Billfish were tagged by club members on Day one including a couple of memorable captures such as, Jenny Haines first Sailfish aboard Burgundy Lady & young Zac Ryan tagging his first ever Black Marlin aboard his Dad’s boat, Far Cry. Congratulations to both of you & I have no doubt there are many more Billfish to come!!

With the Day 2 forecast expected to come up, most boats headed back but it was Sea Baby IV who continued there fantastic form with Angler Simon Hallam tagging the only Billfish for the day at 11.15am

Sea Baby IV went on to take out the Champion Boats honors with a total of 3 Billfish for the weekend, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Although there was only 10 Billfish tagged by Club members there were several others tagged by Non-members as many boats are starting to arrive pre-tournament from down South

With this weekend looking like its going to be a blow out for the Billfish Bonanza, I’m sure it will give anglers , crews & skipper the opportunity to get organized for the up & coming Gilbert Group NQ Mining Industry Billfish Challenge which is due to start in early September.

Midweek Bowling Green Report

2008-08-06T11:23:00.007+10:00

With the good weather continuing into the early part of the week, most of us get frustrated as we have to spend the perfect days at our normal Day Jobs. But there is a lucky few that can manage a day off here & there. Its emails like this one which I recieved while at work, that only make a girl cry with jealousy ;-)

"Hi Talina, Trip down to Bowling Green on Tuesday. Was supposed to be until Thursday but came home when the predicted s.w. winds coming in early Wednesday morning. Tagged two but saw plenty of bait!! Cathy (Princess C)

Top - Cathy Bambling with her little Black
Bottom - Mick Meires gives Todd O'Shaughnessy a hand with his little Black

Marlin Action Continues off Townsville

2008-08-03T18:29:00.009+10:00

With another great weekend of awesome weather, 14 Townsville Game Fishing Club boats made there way down to the waters of Bowling Green Bay and were once again treated to some magnificent Billfishing Action. I have not yet confirmed actual numbers tagged but after witnessing a heap of little Black Marlin jumping behind boats all over the place, I believe everyone got amongst some action at one stage or another. I do have actual confirmation that on the first day Sea Baby IV tagged 4 Billfish including a double hookup on Sailfish & then went on to tag another 4 on Sunday, Kanahoee tagged 6 for the weekend, the boys aboard Elektrakushen tagged 4 on Saturday & both Sedative & MOJO tagged 2 litte Black Marlin each.

The bait & marlin were very inconsistant thoughout the weekend but as usual the hot bite started like someone flicked a switch & numerous boats were hooked up at once.

After a red hot days fishing, a total of 9 club boats came together back at the Cape Bowling Green Spit for there tradional raft up & party...& as you would imagine it was one hell of a night

With the Billfish around in great numbers, as you would imagine the excitement is building around the place especially in the lead up to Billfish Bonanza (23rd & 24th August) & Gilbert Group NQ Mining Billfish Tournament (5th-11th September) and after a dissapointing season last year, I have no doubt this year will make up for it!!

Confirmed Stats are as follows:

Sea Baby IV - 8 Tagged (Including 2 Sailfish)
Kanahoee - 6 Tagged
Elektrakushen - 4 Tagged
Nail It - 4 Tagged (Including 1 Sailfish)
Sedative - 2 Tagged
MOJO - 2 Tagged
Flo-tation - 1 Tagged

Day Out at Bowling Green

2008-07-28T09:03:00.005+10:00

With the postponement of last weekends Billfish Bonanza due to the bad weather on Saturday, 12 Club boats still made the trip out on the Sunday and although that it was a little untidy during the morning , weather dropped nicely to the predicted 5/10knots.

Todd O'Shaughnessy who was fishing aboard Anthony Florence's Boat, Flo-Tation, reports that conditions were a little different compared to last week with the grounds lacking in baitfish and the clean water very hard to find...

Although the fishing conditions weren't ideal, I have confirmed reports that Flo-tation, Cruisecraft, Cleveland Steamer & the crew from another(un-confirmed name) boat all successfully tagged one billfish each.

With weather predictions looking real good for this weekend I have no doubt that there will be more Billfish news from the grounds real soon.

Above Photo: Todd O'Shaughnessy with a little Black tagged aboard Flo-tation

Bowling Green On Fire!!!

2008-07-21T09:50:00.007+10:00

With some good weather last weekend a contingent of Club boats hit the waters of Bowling Green Bay hoping to get amongst some 2008 Billfish action & boy was there some action.

With bait schools the size of football fields, gannets all over the place like they were 10 years ago, there were packs of 5-6 Billfish at a time terrorising baits with multiple hook-ups not uncommon. Every boat experienced action sometime throughout the weekend but it was the stand outs such as Rose Red who had a massive 19 hits on one morning, Leigh O’Brien on his new boat OB26 who tagged 4 fish & Mark & Jan Parkes aboard there new Boat, Mojo with 3 tags. All fish have grown slightly compared to the early season captures with most fish up around the 15kg-20kg.

All this excitement has happened at the right time with the Billfish Bonanza fast approaching this weekend 26th & 26th July & with the grounds firing, it is looking like it will be a fantastic Tournament. See you down there!!

Photo Right: Young Reece O'Brien first ever billfish caught aboard his Dad's new boat OB26

Princess C Tags Marlin

2008-07-02T12:58:00.004+10:00

Further to my report from yesterday lunch time, I'd like to advise that Princess C successfully tagged & released a little 12kg Black Marlin yesterday afternoon...Good job guys!!

Update from the Grounds

2008-07-01T10:39:00.004+10:00

Mick Meires aboard his good ship Princess C is currently on the Billfish Grounds down at Bowling Green. Mick has reported that the yakka schools are still very plentiful throughout the area but at this stage the crew have only witnessed the 1 small Black Marlin which he estimated at approx 10kgs when it presented itself in there spread, unfortunately though they were unable to get a bite out of it. In the mean time, they have been kept very busy with great numbers of Yellowfin Tuna to 20kg and Spanish Mackerel to 8kg

Stay tuned for further updates as they come to hand

Black Marlin Show up in Numbers at Bowling Green

2008-06-09T17:32:00.003+10:00

With a week of good weather out on the water last week, Club members jumped at the chance to head down and check out the Billfish Grounds. Reports from earlier in the week proved that the fish are starting to turn up in quantities, with Princess C seeing numerous fish but without hook up and Mark Parkes aboard his new Cairns Custom Craft "MOJO" also seeing a number of fish before successfully tagging a little black on Monday.

With Black Marlin sightings becoming more & more frequent, as well as the occasional capture in the past couple of months, it was the report from the crew aboard Screamer that really lifted the excitement around the place with Wade Medill, Jon & Greg Millard tagging 4 fish on Friday and another 3 fish (with a spectacular triple hookup) on Saturday morning, with all 7 fish estimated around the 10kg Mark.

With the bait still in great abundance and proof that the fish are there, it is looking very very good for a bumper Billfish season.

Final Day Results from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

2008-05-21T13:02:00.003+10:00

Heres the 3rd & Final Days Stats from the Gilbert's in Mexico

Day 3 - LOTS-6-4

Overall Stats: 131-20-13

On the final day of the tournament Greg has reported that they saw in excess of 70 fish in which they hooked 6 & tagged 4 and although there were large amounts of fish seen, fishing was still very quiet compared to Mexican standards as the water temperature had been lower then usual.

Even though they didnt get a lot of fish, Greg said, that it was without question the most exciting marlin fishin he has ever done. You sight the fish's tails in the water, drive over to them and throw liveys at them!!

The winning team were all Cabo locals who finished the comp with a total of 57 fish for the 3 days

We look forward to the full report & photos upon there arrival back...Time to get into those $ 10.00 buckets of Corona's now!

Thanks also to Nikki Gilbert for sending through the updates!!

2008 World Championship Billfish Release Tournament Update

2008-05-20T15:25:00.003+10:00

As everyone knows, well known TGFC Members & Sponsors, Jan & Greg Gilbert are currently fishing the 2008 World Championship Billfish Release Tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Thanks to there Daughter, Nikki please find following the first 2 days results:-

Day 1 Skeds - 25-0-0 - Greg advised that the first day was extremely slow & claimed that it was very frustrating seeing so many fish without results

Day 2 Skeds - 36-14-9 - Day 2 saw the Aussies put some points on the scoreboard with Greg advising that the Cabo Stiped Marlin are very different fighters compared to our North Queensland Black Marlin.

Greg also advised that they were having a fantastic time meeting the American & Mexican anglers and was also excited that they could buy a bucket of 10 x Corona's for the total amount of $10.00, BARGAIN!!!

Stay tuned for the 3rd & final days results as they come to hand

Good Weather + Bait = Billfish

2008-05-18T19:37:00.003+10:00

With the offshore weather forecast predicting winds of 5-10 knots on Saturday, a few Townsville Game Fishing members did not hesitate to take advantage of the very unusually seen oily conditions and made the trip down to Bowling Green Bay in search of some early season Billfish. With boats welcomed by ‘football field’ sized pilchard and yakka’s schools it wasn’t long before that live bait tanks were fall and the lines were in the water. With the temperature gauge showing the water temp of 25.4 degrees and the water colour cleaner then what it has been all year, our
expectations were high and it wasn’t long before Anthony Florence aboard Flo-tation advised us that they had just raised a little 8-10kg Black Marlin but was not able to get a bite out of it. As you would imagine after that report of a sighting the excitement continued to build and it was only 30 mins later that we spotted a little black marlin cart wheeling at the back of Flo-tation and after a short fight Anthony’s fist punched the air a couple of times after successfully putting a tag into it.

Throughout the day we witnessed several free jumping marlins around the boat which all averaged between the 7-8 kg mark. With the fish being so small, we were finding it very difficult to hook them because of there size.

With a quiet period over lunch it was about 2pm before the bait started forming again as the Pilchard schools started glittering across the surface it wasn’t long before we noticed Mick Meiers aboard the 40ft Riviera ‘Rose Red’ reversing back on Roxanne Hislop fish and after a lengthy 2 hour fight, she successfully landed her first ever Billfish which was a 15-20kg Black Marlin. Congratulations Roxy!!

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend… It was great to finally see some good weather and with huge amounts of bait around and another 2 early season billfish tagged & released, its looking real promising for the up & coming season which is due to start in June/July

What to do when the weather is bad

2008-05-14T11:18:00.004+10:00

With another weekend blown out, unfortunatley I have no fishing reports....So what do mad keen fisho's do when the weather is bad???

Heres a mad keen North Queensland fishing addict taking his passion for fishing to another level...This was a $ 385.00 21st Birthday present!

Crazy but nice!!!

With the weather forecast looking a little kinder for this weekend, I look forward to bringing you some exciting fishing reports soon

First two Billfish of the season tagged & release

2008-05-07T09:37:00.001+10:00

With bait in plague proportions, it was only a matter of time before a couple of Billfish showed up, with the first two Billfish of the season tagged & released during last weekends Predators Tournament.

Ken Phipps couldn’t believe his luck when a small Black Marlin leaped out of the water early Sunday morning after taking a Gold Halco Pro mackerel lure while trolling near Lodestone Reef. Ken reported that they were trolling in between reef’s hoping to get a big mackerel and couldn’t believe there luck when the estimated 10kg Marlin greyhound out of the water. They successfully released the fish after a short fight & were ecstatic to take out the First Billfish prize at this years Predators Tournament Presentation.

Rose Red continued to prove that there boat is a billfish magnet with the crew experiencing some late Billfish action on Sunday afternoon near the Northern Bait Schools, not far from Cape Cleveland. Wade Hislop was the lucky angler who caught a another smaller then averaged size Black Marlin (pictures above) with this fish also taking a Halco Pro mackerel lure.

Another billfish report came from Leigh O’Brien who was aboard his new boat OB26. Leigh & his family were bottom fishing in shallow water on John Brewer Reef when a sailfish swam up to the back of the boat. Leigh said that everyone aboard couldn’t believe there eyes as the sailfish appeared in very shallow water. Unfortunately they couldn’t get a bait to it quick enough before it disappeared again.

With the 2007 Billfish Season one of the quietest in recent years, Club members can’t help to get a little excited about these early season billfish captures and with the conditions down on the grounds looking very promising, lets hope this is a start to a great year

Bowling Green Bay Update

2008-04-30T15:09:00.006+10:00

Todd O’Shaughnessy, Anthony Florence & Chris Pease took advantage of some perfect weather on the weekend and made the trip out to Bowling Green Bay aboard Todd’s new boat ‘Oi Bud’. The trio reported that the grounds were absolutely full of life with yakka’s and small tuna schools everywhere and pilchard schools the size of football fields. Todd also reported that the water clarity wasn’t the best with neap tides all weekend but the water temperature was a good 26 degrees.

Even though they didn’t see any Billfish, unconfirmed reports have been received that 2 small black marlin were caught off Salamander Reef by Mackerel fisherman.

Although it’s still early, Todd mentioned that the signs are looking very good as there is definitely allot more activity down there compared to this time last year.

I look forward to seeing everyone at this weekends Predators Tournament!!

Photo above: Heres a sailfish caught by Kaye Hatrick at last years Predator Tournament

AIBT Update

2008-04-28T19:38:00.002+10:00

Well the 2008 Australian International Billfish Tournament is over with for another year and even though the beautiful Sunshine Coast provided us with Perfect Weather Conditions unfortunately the fishing on the weekend was extremely slow. A total of 29 Boats participated in the event with Teams coming from Dampier in the west, Cairns in the North & Port Stephens in the South. The tournament gave teams the option either to fish Light Tackle or Heavy Tackle and Team TGFC who were aboard well known Townsville Boat Reel Chase decided to fish Light Tackle. With 5-10knots conditions on Saturday morning, we were quick to arrive on the grounds (which mine you are only 19 miles offshore) to find huge schools of yakka's and dolphins and with start fishing called as you would imagine our expectations were high. Leigh O'Brien caught a 9.6kg Wahoo on 8kg which put Townsville on the scorers board and it wasn't long after that we raised a couple of little Black Marlin which weren't interested in taking the beautiful Live Yakka that we presented them. On day one, there was only 3 Blue Marlin tagged & 1 Sailfish.

Day two & the weather had increase to 15 knots and with a Strong Wind Warning forecasted for later in the day, most boats fished the inshore grounds. Once again the fishing was very slow with only a handful of Billfish tagged

The Champion Boat went to Diversion from Port Stephens who successfully tagged & released 2 Blue Marlin.

Even though the fishing was slow, great times were had by everyone & on behalf of the TGFC team we would like to thank Jim, Kelly & Brenton aboard Reel Chase for a fantastic weekend!!

Please stay tuned for the full report, including photos & exact stats which will be posted later in the week

Foley's get stuck into some Hinchinbrook barra

2008-04-22T16:09:00.006+10:00

With most of us preferring to sleep in last Sunday morning it was Jim, Karen & Jackie Foley who were up before the crack of dawn and on there way up to the magnificent Hinchinbrook Channel. In February, Jackie was lucky enough to receive a personalised Guided Barra Charter from her Mum & Dad for her 18th Birthday and even though Jackie has already mastered the art of Bill fishing she was very excited to have the opportunity to catch her first barramundi

With the experience of Steve Jeston of Hyperspace Fishing Charters at the helm, the three didn't have to wait long before they experienced some fantastic fishing action, with Jackie landing a nice little barra which was released, Jim jumping off an estimated 80cm+ barra and then Karen's 60cm fish assuring them that they would have fresh barra fillets for dinner Sunday night.

Once again its always great to hear when our members are getting out on the water & stuck into some fish…Even if it is rough offshore

With the weather forecast looking great for the weekend…Stay tuned for some exciting fishing up dates early next week.

From Game Boats to Canoes

2008-04-22T15:48:00.002+10:00

As the weather continues to to keep most offshore anglers land bound...It's great to see the wind doesn't deter some Club members including Alan & Anna Deaner who recently sent me an email to advise that they have swapped there outboard motor for a paddle.

Alan & Anna were amongst 12 Kayaks who participated in the full moon paddle along the beautiful freshwater reaches of the Ross River recently and even though they didn't come across any Monster barramundi's there was still plenty to Freshwater Croc's to keep them entertained. The paddle was organised by NQ Kayaking Club

It's always great to see our members get out & about on the water somewhere!!

TGFC Member finds success on the Gold Coast

2008-04-15T20:43:00.006+10:00

With the Billfish Season still a couple of months away, well known Townsville Game Fishing Club member, Ronny Stephens travelled down to Gold Coast recently to take advantage of some perfect weather conditions and a hot Blue Marlin bite

Ron got stuck into two fantastic fish including this Estimated 180 Kgs Blue Marlinpictured) as well as another Estimated 100kg fish on 24 Kg stand up.
They successfully tagged & released 3 for the boat "Tsunami" - 3-3-3. & as most would say "Not a bad day's fishing at all"(

Fingers crossed the Blue's continue to hang around, as Team TGFC are heading down to Mooloolaba next weekend to contest the 2008 AIBT aboard Reel Chase...So stay tuned for the daily reports

Great Weather.......Apparently!!!

2008-04-15T19:55:00.004+10:00

Well with the weather forecast including the number 10 for the first time in a few weeks, as you would imagine Club members were excited to get out on the water to wash the cob webs off their boats.

With boats heading in all directions from Cape Bowling Green to the Palms, it soon became apparent that the 15/20knot change had come through earlier then expected, which unfortuntely turned most boats around and in search for some sheltered waters.

Even though the weather let us down once again, there was still some great reports of good size mackerel & bait schools around the Cape Cleveland area, with one member successfully pulling up a full bait jig of big yakka's...

Another great report came from Todd & Kelly O'Shaughnessy, who successfully launched there new boat 'Oi Bud' for the first time and with there 2 year old son Malcolm also onboard, Todd was ecstatic at they way it handled itself in the 15 knot conditions...Look out Billfish!!!

Photo: The Team of Ken Phipps, Talina O'Brien, Ashley Cotter & Ashley's dad Dennis proved it's not just about the fishing...With the crew escaping the stiff 15 knot breeze and enjoying a beautiful lunch and a cold beer on Falcon Island

Don't forget to visit back soon for more great fishing reports

Fishing Withdrawl Symptoms

2008-04-08T19:50:00.013+10:00

Have you ever wondered what our Members do during the off season? Here are some photos that have been sent to me recently to answer your question...

1/ Get stuck into the run of Winter Whiting

& thats exactly what Russell & Katrina O'Brien did on Sunday morning infront of their new house at Toolakea Beach...With double hook ups not uncommon it's always great fun to go back to basics and have a bit of fun with the light tackle...When asked, "Whats the difference between Whiting Fishing & Game Fishing" Katrina replied "Its definitely more relaxing & quieter as we don't have Russ yelling at the top of his lungs, MARLIN ON THE LEFT RIGGER!!! FREE SPOOL!!! FREE SPOOL!!!"

2/ Maybe you can maintain your lure collection

This photo here is part of....yes thats right, only part of, Ashley Cotter's lure collection, that he thought he would show off, pretty impressive huh!! This lot here does not include his Bluewater lures as he ran out of space on his pool table...So the question is, "Have they all caught a fish"??

Now this persons is suffering from real bad Fishing withdrawl symptoms...

3/ Paint your nails to look like fish scales

This photo here has come from an anonymous club female member (well I hope it's a female)in which they spent $ 80.00 recently to get her nails done in the pattern of fish scales...Lets hope in a couple of months time, that you'll have a reason to paint Tag Flags on there

Hopefully we get some good weather soon, so I can bring you some exciting fishing reports!!!

Calm Weather at the wrong time

2008-03-31T11:09:00.003+10:00

Well we were fortunate enough to get some good weather last week, the only bad thing about it was, as usual it fell mid week while most of us were working hard at our day jobs.

I had a call early Friday morning at work from an excited Ashley Cotter (Tackleworld) asking me to ring Anthony Florence (our club’s weigh master) to find out what he has to do to claim a Queensland Game Fishing record, without further hesitation and some bad phone service I put down the phone without even asking him where he was or what he caught. I contacted Anthony & got all the details and rang Ashley back, Ashley answered the phone and said “I’ll call you back, I’m hooked up to another one”…As most people would know, it’s hard enough going to work knowing the weather is good let alone receiving a phone call from someone who is hooked up to a fish, so as you would imagine, my motivation to be at work in front of a computer was growing less & less.

After a short time Ashley rang me back & told me that he was fishing the flats over at Magnetic Island on 1kg line and the Golden Trevally and Salmon’s were absolutely going off!! and he had caught a nice 2.5kg Golden which at the time he thought was a possible Qld Game Fishing Record. As I gave him all the instructions about what he had to do to claim the record, he all of a sudden shouted with excitement “Check out the Golden’s, there swimming underneath the boat” and with a nice calm voice I replied “Ashley, I’m at work remember, I can’t see the fish” Once again we had some phone reception issues so I was unable to talk to Ashley until the next day

Unfortunately due to technical issues Ashley wasn’t able to submit a claim for the Qld Record and despite, putting the boat in at the ramp and forgetting the bung as well as jumping in the water to land a fish forgetting that his mobile phone was in his pocket, he said it turned out to be a fantastic day of light tackle fishing out on the bay

Blue skys but still plenty of wind!!

2008-03-24T16:39:00.004+10:00

The rain has cleared but the wind continues to blow with the forecast keeping anglers on dry land for another week... Reports are still coming through from Todd O'Shaughnessy that there are still plenty of barra's around to be caught if you know where to find them, Todd is also stocking up on teaser baits with plenty of Tarpon's around also.

With not much else to report on heres a bit of 2006/2007 Bilfish action which will hopefully get the the excitement going as the the good weather & the billfish aren't to far away!!

Bad Weather & Barra!!

2008-03-06T12:09:00.009+10:00

"Showers, storms and rain areas with moderate to heavy falls continuing over thefar northern tropics. Isolated to scattered showers along the east coast and over parts of the northern tropical interior. Moderate to fresh SE to E winds across the interior, becoming fresh to strong along the east coast. "

Unfortunately that's the forecast we've been reading for the past couple of weeks now & with another Strong Wind Warning forecasted for this weekend the club has had no option but to postpone this weekends Nelly Bay festivities which were coincinding with the March Comp

With the bad weather like it is, most anglers decide to sit at home and watch TV, but it's keen anglers like Todd O'Shaughnessy who can't stay away from the water!!! Todd recently landed this nice Barra (Pictured left with Todd's son Malcolm) and lost several others during a trolling session in one of the local rivers close to town & only 5 minutes from the ramp.

With Todd receiving a little bad luck in February with his boating incident over at the Palms it seems that some Good Luck is coming his way with Todd also recently purchasing his new rig, a

6.4m Blue Fin which is due to arrive in the next couple of weeks.

At the moment Todd stands as Runner Up on the Club's "Champion Boat" tally and if I was a betting person and taking into account that he's due for some good luck, I'd definitely back him to take out back to back awards this year!!

Final Interclub Report from our President

2008-03-04T14:34:00.005+10:00

Although reports from the weekend have been a little sketchy, here is a quick report from Tom with all the info...

14 club members fished the event on 4 different boats, Reel Chase, Kekoa, Reel Lady and Fascination. The weather was very wet and windy with the thermometer only hitting 14 degrees on the second Saturday which was also

cancelled as with the first.

Congratulations to Peter, Leigh & Captain Luke from Kekoa who won the interstate team prize and if they had been a NSW team would have won the overall Inter club Tag and Release. Both Peter and Leigh tagged 4 fish each during the Inter club comp. They also tagged 6 fish between them on one of the 2 day mid week comps, which they would have won except for the fact they couldn't get the required number of anglers for a team to qualify. The winning boat tagged 4.

Us aboard Reel Chase were the centre of attention on the second Saturday morning when big Phil tried to park his boat "Little Audrey" on top of us & as you can see from the hole in Little Audreys bow in the pic, our local boat building identity Alan Christian definitely built a strong boat, as we only got a bent bow rail.

Reel Chase did end up fishing on the last day but unfortunately in the wrong area, with 15 to 20 other boats who didn't get a bite.

The hospitality shown to us by the NSW teams combined with the size and professionalism of the event was great and enjoyed by all . Well over 200 boats competed and around 1200 anglers.

TGFC Members find Success at NSW Interclub

2008-03-03T08:09:00.005+10:00

First of all, I'd like to apologise for not mentioning in previous posts that besides our team aboard Reel Chase we also had another Townsville Game Fishing Club team participating in the NSW Interclub with Leigh & Peter O'Brien fishing aboard Kekoa with well known local skipper, Luke Fallon.

It was the guys aboard Kekoa who took out 'Champion Visting Boat - Tag & Release' trophy as well as Champion & Runner Up Angler trophy's for Visiting Boat also. They finished the tournament with a total of 7 tags including a Marlin Grand Slam (Stripe, Blue & Black) for Peter on the last day of competition. Congratulations guys!!!!!

For more info, photos and results go aboard Reel Chase with Kelly Dalling and checkout Australia's best Game Fishing Blog http://www.blackmarlinfishingblog.com/

Weather continues to dominate Interclub Tournament

2008-03-01T17:11:00.002+10:00

Unfortunately for the second weekend in a row, organisers have had no other option but to cancel the first day of the NSW Interclub Tournament. With over 200 boats and the 1000's of anglers participating, the gusty 30 knot winds and big sea's have caused nothing but frustration for everyone involved, especially knowing that the fish are out there.

Fingers crossed that the weather decreases overnight & the TGFC Team aboard Reel Chase can get out there and amongst the action on the final day of the tournament.

2008 Riviera NSW Interclub Update

2008-02-26T18:44:00.005+10:00

The 2008 Riviera NSW Interclub Tournament kicked off last Saturday with a spectacular Sail pass and with the reputation of being the largest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere numbers were excellent with over 200 participating boats. With 25 knot winds forecasted and 3m swells the organising committee had no other option but cancell the first day.

With the weather a little better on Sunday TGFC Life Member, Jim Dalling aboard Reel Chase helped our TGFC team of Tom Hatrick and Tim Ryan put some points on the scorers board with Tom tagging a nice 90kg Stripe Marlin.

At the end of the 1st weekend show First Place :Dobbo from Sydney GFC Team 4 with 42,000 points Second: Pelagic from Newcastle and Port Stephens Team 4 with 40,000 points Third: Fascination IV from Newcastle and Port Stephens Team 10 with 30,000 points

With Mark Hislop joining the team this Saturday it looks to be an exciting finish and with the Legendary Jim Dalling skippering our team, anything could happen, so stay tuned for regular updates over the weekend!! For more info, results & photos go to www.blackmarlinfishingblog.com or http://www.riviera.com.au

Myrmidon Continues to Deliver

2008-02-25T20:00:00.002+10:00

With perfect weather conditions on the water last weekend Jon & Greg Millard aboard Cruise Craft together with Mark and Jan Parkes and myself (Talina) aboard Wade Medill's boat Screamer made the 70 mile trip out to Myrmidon. With a quick stop off at Faraday for a quick jig, both boats were fortunate enough to start the weekend with some nice Coral Trout including Jan's 8kg whopper. With dinner in the esky the troll lines went out & we made our way over to Myrmidon. With beautiful clean water and small yellowfin schools in plague porportions our expectations were high but we had to wait until late Saturday Afternoon until we experience some action with a a small 100lb Black Marlin free jumping not far from the boat, so as we pointed Screamer in that direction it wasn't long before the fish appeared in our lure pattern. He managed to pull both lines out of the riggers before he dissapeared not to be seen again. Both boats enjoyed a swim back in the lagoon before experiencing a
traditional Myrmidon sunset. Sunday and the perfect weather continued and just before departing Jon offered us a scad that he had caught on Saturday, and as we did not have any bait aboard Screamer and we were relying totally on lures, Jan jumped at the chance to weave her magic and rigged up a beautiful swimming marlin bait. With the big gear out we started trolling back to Faraday and it wasn't long before one of the 50's went screaming off (the one with the scad on it) & we shortly realised Parkesy had an estimated 200lb Black Marlin on the end. After a surprisingly quick 10 min fight the tag went in and we were ecstatic to see him swim away in perfect condition. Sorry about the photos but this was the best I could do with the video camera while I juggled the tag pole as well!

Big Fish Reports From Myrmidon

2007-12-07T20:29:00.000+10:00

The word on the water is that there are some mighty big fish off Townsville. It seems that the big blacks have moved south of Cairns. A small fleet of boats have followed them out to the sea mounts off Cairns, and then down to McDermont Banks off Flinders Reef. There has been talk of a tuna longliner about 50nm off Myrmidon with BIG MARLIN jumping on his hooks. Peter 'Mutta' Mamino spent a week on LITTLE AUDREY (76' warren,http://www.littleaudrey.com.au/ ) and tagged a big one around 800+lb. Capt Dean Beach on CASTILLE 3 (47 O'Brien, http://www.castillecharters.com/) tagged one around 850lb a got a bite from a bigger one. Captain Luke Fallon on KEKOA (47' O'Brien, http://www.kekoa.com.au/) who has spent the last couple of days off Myrmidon also caught a 2 small fish around 200lb.
With the weather looking good & the fishing reports sounding red hot, I'm sure a few Club boats will heading out following the Xmas Party on Friday Night.