# NSW - SWR: Marlin report, Video and Photos added



## Game fisher (Jul 5, 2006)

I caught and release a monster of a Marlin

































I caught and released a monster of a Marlin from my Hobie Adventure at South West Rocks (SWR) on 28th February.

I arrived at SWR at around 8:40pm on Friday, in the midst of a rain shower. Got to my weekend parking spot and found my good old mate there. He refused to exit his car due to the showers. Drove to my other mate, Shane's camping site to set up for the night and organised the kayak. Grant came over and we discussed the days fishing and the tactics for the following day. We aimed to be on the water at 5. Saturday morning was overcast and rainy. Grant was already on the water and we moved over to another bait spot to fill our bait tubes.

There were about 25 to 35 kayaks on the water that day! What a sight. Caught one hammerhead and had 2 fights with something big. Saturday arvo we had a team talk and strategised for Sunday.

Sunday was a perfect morning. We launched at 5 and catching bait was tough, but once we caught some a couple of us headed off into the distance. The water was warm, smooth and windless - perfect conditions. There were only 3 kayaks that I could see until 10:30am. It was quiet, real quiet. Towed the livies around for hours without a touch, and the slimies were dieing off one by one. Eventually I had one left and had to go over to my old friend for a slimy. There were a couple of kayakers around Grant so I decided to head off slowly to fish alley.

I wasn't even 20m past fish alley when I noticed that my left line had a bow to the left in it, as if a fish was on and passing me. With lightning speed I reeled in one, then line 2 with the livey still alive swimming in 1-2m of water. Figured it must be a shark on the other line so I might cut line 3 later! Little did I realize what was to unfold&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.

Got reel 3 and started reeling the slack, with no drag then all of a sudden he started to peel off slowly. I applied fighting drag and the fight was on. It peeled off 20-30m and then jumped and I realised this is no shark. This is action! This is what we were waiting for&#8230;.. after planning the past couple of weeks, reading, servicing reels, all sorts of tackle, getting all the gear ready and going to bed late!

The jump of the Marlin makes your heart leap with joy. Seeing its majestic jump makes your heart race. I could hear the screams of joy from the other kayakers, seeing the marlin jumping amongst them. Shucks, I have another line in the water so I just winched the livey up and put the rod out of the way!

The fish didn't really want to take off as I expected and anticipated. After another couple of jumps I knew we were heading for the open ocean, fast! The marlin jumped 5 or 6 times before really taking off! I was pedalling as hard as I could trying to regain back my line while applying max pressure. I was trying to cut it off, and turn it, but it had a plan for the open ocean.

Shane was disappearing behind me, until he set his sail on the Adventure Island and came racing back to me after 10min.

The marlin kept a 20-30m distance between us. At stages it would dive down to the bottom, peeling off line with ease. I had lots of worries when the marlin decided to peel off 150m of line. I knew that there were 4 knots between us. I had all 3 rods tangled up on Saturday and I cut all 3 lines and rejoined them at various stages. I didn't have spare line to re-spool the top section of line on that rod, so I was fishing with 4 knots in the line. Seeing the knots flying past you every time, is a uneasy feeling.

The marlin jumped, went down several times and I would force it up each time. Every now and then he would leap with joy, showing us who was the boss.

The whole time I was trying to force it to change direction or turn it around, but it would stop and then just continue straight to the open ocean. Marlin are dangerous to catch and are very unpredictable. The last one I caught off a ski came and harassed me on the ski, so I wasn't game to bring it too close too soon to the kayak.

At one stage it came out within a few feet of Shane's kayak, putting on a great performance!

On many occasions, Shane tried to go in front, forcing it to turn or something, but it made no difference. It just dived and then carried on going straight for the open ocean. This carried on for some time.

After a while, Shane came over, told me that an hour and a half has passed from when it all started. Some muscles were starting to cramp.

The wind was really picking up by this stage. I started fighting harder to get it closer in order to tail rope the fish, as I have done before with others. Little by little it came closer and closer, until it was less than a meter away, before diving into the depths again, making me work to get my line back.

Eventually it was close to the kayak again. I had it 50cm below me for about 5min, this was after 1:45min. I could only touch the top of the tail fin, and not the stem. I wanted to rap a rope around its tail, but it was too deep.

We saw a commercial fishing vessel, waved him down, and asked him to gaff the fish. He said he had paying customers onboard and there was a severe weather warning for strong winds. He just left. Jealousy sometimes makes you nasty.

Shane came around again, and it tail walked right around my kayak for at least 20m, what a show off!

The weather was deteriorating, the sea was really on its head and we were going further and further out to sea. It was decision time.

I fought hard to get him back close and when I saw it for the last time I cut the line. Depth was 67m.Time 2:10min from when it all started.

In a straight line from the coast, we weren't that far out. We could clearly see the 2 Islands, the lighthouse and Hathead beach all the way to the light house.

Shit, the sea was on its head, quite daunting. If it wasn't for Shane sticking there I might have been dead. We tied a couple of ropes together and he towed me back in under sail, which would have taken me 4 hour plus to pedal.
Thanks Shane.

How big was it? I don't know, but it's free. Its head was close to the front tip of my Adventure kayak and the tail tip was close to my rear Hobie rod holder. So it couldn't have been less than 20kg, or more than 300kg??? It was still green when I left it, so it should recover &#8230;..

Thanks Shane, for sticking by a friend. That is another tale for our book.
Thanks Grant for all the updated trade secrets on Marlin / SWR fishing.
Thanks Camera men for the video clip, its worth a million dollars. Please PM me.
Thanks to all my friends & SWR friends for your moral support over the last 3 years, wish I could have been there the whole time, but I will be up there over the weekend as promised (a certain fish has my hook in its jaw that I need to retrieve!).

Thank you Micka for your video footage and permission to post it.

Thank you Josh for posting Micka's footage of the Marlin catch. It is on the front page of www.yakass.net or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e9vY645 ... r_embedded


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Killer stuff! You really are a "Game" fisherman. Thank god for mates hey? Was it a black? estimated size?


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## Southerly (Apr 20, 2007)

Wow, sounds like some great reading to come in this week. Well done on the fish of a lifetime. If it was close enought to tag then it is a caught fish in my books.

David


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Awesome! That's about as intense fishing gets. Cant wait to see some footage. Its a bugger the stinky boat didnt help.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

What a great effort mate.


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## paulb (Nov 12, 2006)

Well done on getting it to the yak - definitely counts as a catch. That's a long way to be out in the open ocean, esp with the sea's picking up.

Nice to hear SWR is turning on the goods this year.


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## LoboLoco (Feb 1, 2008)

Fantastic stuff well done!!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Game Fisher well done mate , the fight of your life , you wont forget that in a hurray , shame the boatie didnt lend a hand wouldnt have taken him long and i.m sure his client would have had a wonderful memory of seeing a marlin close up


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Fantastic effort, mate. Congratulations. Now for the video!
Cheers


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## shiznic (May 14, 2008)

Hell yeah thats a great capture, even double thumbs up as it swam away. Good luck to all heading up there.


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## JazzaMagoo (Feb 17, 2010)

Whhhyyyyyyy do we have to wait so long to see the video/pics . . . the suspense is killing me . . .

wait 5 mins . . . refresh . . .wait 5 mins refresh . . .wait five mins . .

hahaha jk jk

Sounds like an adventure of hemingway proportions!!!! def cant wait to hear about it. Congrats to all who got one.

Any good cobia or kings taken?


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## gummyshark (Jan 12, 2010)

Great post, read it 3 times already :lol: 
yes thank goodness your mate was with u, he would have been rapped to be
with u, with that amazing catch 8) 
cheers gummyshark/ norm


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## whoohoo (Feb 3, 2006)

Another legend made!! Well done, that's a huge effort.

The best thing is the fish swam away


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

That's insane, can't wait to read the full reports & see the photos and video!


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## Marty75 (Oct 23, 2007)

Hey guys,

Micka was out there with Louis and got some footage on his Sanyo video camera of the marlin jumping 

After Grant reported that Louis had disappeared over the horizon in worsening conditions we were all a bit worried for him but in the end he made it back safely helped along by one of the others in an Adventure Island. He was still pumped after the fight when he made it back to shore.

Have seen the clip on Micka's camera but looking forward to seeing it on a larger screen.

Micka's driving back today but should be home in a couple of hours so hopefully not too much longer before the clip gets uploaded.

Marty


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## Tbone (Mar 17, 2009)

WOW dont get anything like that here in Adelaide, I am pumped just reading your story.
Takes balls to hang in there that long, big ups to Shane as well for staying with you  
Bit slack of the damn stinkboat captain not to lend a hand though, I am sure karma 
will catch up with him :twisted: 
BRING ON THE VID I cant wait!!!


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## spottymac (Aug 29, 2005)

WELL DONE, good on you mate on landing one, I can''t wait to get back there,


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

Sounds like one hell of a ride.

Can't wait for the video!


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## Bart70 (Jan 28, 2007)

Well Done Buddy,

I could tell you were still pumped yesterday evening when you came round the camp to say goodbye before leaving. Great work mate.

Just to prove how tough it can be out there.....Here is a picture of Lou getting his feet rubbed with Aloe Vera gel to soothe his sunburnt feet before the drive home last night!










Well Done again mate - Can't wait to get a good look at the video.

Bart70


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## Safa (Aug 4, 2006)

Blood#[email protected]^%y awesome, 
Fishing was tuff and you deserve the Glory ,loved the place and will be back
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Still on my bucket list ...............I think Stu's aswell :lol: 
Safa


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## malhal (Jul 8, 2008)

Nice job Loui, I will catch up with you soon and hope to hear the story first hand.
It must be good mojo from the blood we donated at the bloodbank a couple of weeks ago at work. Well done on both counts.
Cheers Mal


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

Great effort and massive congrats on a sensational fish.

From what I read about the huge distance you were taken from shore, the length of the fight and the deteriorating weather conditions, this is a full on yak fishing story that hopefully discourages many yak anglers.

Some highly capable and experienced yak anglers found themselves in extremely hardcore circumstances at SWR this weekend. I'm glad your capabilities paid off on the day and luck dealt the best possible hand for all concerned.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

Unreal, what a read! video please!


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## yakattack (Jan 12, 2008)

Well done Lou it was an awesome sight to see your Marlin jumping around with your rod buckled over. I feel special to have witnessed such a fish being caught from a kayak on my first trip to South West rocks. Well done on your perserverence and dedication to making this happen. To all those who think that you that you can rock up to South west rocks and land a marlin let me tell you it aint that easy. Catching bait in itself is a mission with the slimies proving to be reel finicky. Hours and hours of trolling livies and mostly for nothing with a few bonnies thrown in for a little exitement. I really admire all the guys who make the effort year in year out these are the guys who will get results and deserve the trophy fish. I have met some top fishos up at south west rocks and learnt a lot about offshore gamefishing from a kayak but i still get the feeling there is so much to learn. Guys like Grant Ashwell and Lou put in the hard yards and reap the rewards and are both great ambassadors to our sport it was a pleasure.

Cheers Micka


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

> Its a bugger the stinky boat didnt help.


True, and it probably wouldnt have taken much time, however, if he was one of the charter guys, and he had customers on board, and the weather was turning as bad as it sounded, his first responsibility had to be getting them back onto dry land safely. If you have ever crossed the Macleay river bar ( or any number of other river bars ) in nasty conditions, you would know that it is not something to take lightly, even in a big boat.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Its a bugger the stinky boat didnt help.

Mmmmmmm I can probably see why stinky wouldnt / couldnt and didnt help. I think to a degree we as the plastic flotilla need to rely on ourselves and brothers/sisters to get the job done perhaps without relying on stinkos.... unless of course we have a mother ship to help when required.

I suppose in their eyes is that well you got yourselves hooked up well what are you going to do now with it - it is an honourable thing to chase game fish from a yak - but like I said before I think we need to look at the plans we have in place to finish the job off - weather thats CnR or some how boating the fish.......

Anyhow a valliant effort regardless of the stinkos... cant wait to see some footage and hear the other stories too

Cheers


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Yep, I reckon that if you choose to chase and hook a marlin in a kayak then you can't really expect anyone else in another boat to help out. Of course if you were in trouble or your kayak was sinking then its a different story, but asking them to help you with a hooked fish it is not something I reckon 99% of boat owners would do..

Well done on an exciting hookup and fight - that's the best part anyway!

Looking forward to seeing some pics/video, and glad that everyone (mostly) had a safe trip.


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## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

Congrats Lewis, almost gets me motivated to dust off the revo again!

Maybe soon..... Broughton hmmm, maybe


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## YAKADDICT (Mar 1, 2009)

Loui you done it!!! Congratulations!!!!! Unbelievable... WHAT A RUSH...............

I tell yah I've caught' one out of a boat & seen a few landed amongst my mates out of stinking boats, however to be out their in my yak within say 60-80metres of you & see the Beakie dancing!!! now that was the most amazing moment for me personally & feel so privledge & lucky to have witnessed it.

( I'm sure you could hear me in the background)

But I must admit it's a total diffrent ball game out their & will take many years before I ever have an opportunity like that...

It really was a pleasure meeting you Lu. Grant, Paul, Danny & a few of the other guy's ( I do apologise for leaving any other names out.)

I can't wait until our next encounter takecare & be safe on the water guy's.

Cheers Big Ears

Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol:


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

sounds like it has been an eventful trip this year.
I would have loved to be there but alas i'm freezing my tits off in China.

Well done Louis that sounds like one hell of a fight, any idea on the size.
There was no way Paulo's one would come up high enough to get a gaff in it, so it's interesting that yours was so close to the yak.
The thought of them dancing around the yak scares the shit out of me. I've seen videos of guys on boats getting stabbed by the beak, so on a yak that must be a real worry.

Looking forward to the vid.

cheers


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## butterfingers (Aug 21, 2009)

bunsen said:


> > Its a bugger the stinky boat didnt help.
> 
> 
> True, and it probably wouldnt have taken much time, however, if he was one of the charter guys, and he had customers on board, and the weather was turning as bad as it sounded, his first responsibility had to be getting them back onto dry land safely. If you have ever crossed the Macleay river bar ( or any number of other river bars ) in nasty conditions, you would know that it is not something to take lightly, even in a big boat.


Yeah but 2 mins of the boats time wouldn't matter though. Also if he was that worried and being a experienced skipper of a charter boat he should help anyone back to shore and also tow the yak along not just leave them in the middle of an ocean.


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## Macbrand (Feb 15, 2010)

Maybe the charter company has a policy of catch and release?

Just a thought.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Whew-WEEEEE!
That's a tale! Fantastic report!


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## wardeyak (Apr 30, 2008)

Absolutely amazing experience, so cool you have a few pics to remember and show.
Awesome-----


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Incredible report, what an experience!


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## Gundy (Jan 5, 2010)

The Grail - well done!!!!!!!!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

Great effort dude - sounds like it was a solid 60-80kg fish from the length you describe. Nice work.
I'm looking forward to having a crack at them too down my way in the not too distant future....(just waiting for the buggers to turn up in numbers :? )

Well done - cool story you won't forget in a hurry..
regards,
Greg


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## FHM (Mar 21, 2008)

Well done on the fish. It would be awesome to see the marlin at close. Darn stinkboat not tolling it for all to see.

It would make a front page on fishing mags has it been tolled and photographed.


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## rural (Mar 5, 2008)

It was an awesome sight, seeing Louis hook up and then watching the aerial display for the next two hours. It's the first time I've seen a marlin in person and it definitely didn't disappoint!

At one stage I thought I may have ended up with it in my lap. Towards the end, Louis had it beside the kayak and was setting himself up to tail rope it. I was on the offside of his kayak and just as I was maneuvering around the back of his kayak to come in from the other side of the marlin, it shot under Louis's kayak and launched itself out the other side. I reckon if it had of done the same thing 10 seconds earlier it would have speared straight through the sail! I initially thought that it had busted him off but he still had it under control.

It would have been good to spend some more time out there and attempt to land it again, but the weather was pretty bad with strong winds, increasing swell and plenty of white caps, so I have no doubts the right decision was made at the time. However, as it turned out we had a quick and uneventful trip back and the conditions didn't get too much worse&#8230;.. better safe than sorry though.

It was unfortunate my waterproof camera broke last week as there were plenty of opportunities to get some good footage up close, particularly when it was tail dancing right around the front of the kayak. I guess that will give Louis a good excuse to get back on the water and catch another when there are a few more cameras around.

I was surprised how well the Adventure Island towed Louis's kayak back in and I look forward to the day when Louis can return the favor and tow me back home after catching the fish of a lifetime ;-)

It was an amazing experience and I'm glad that I could be a part of it.

Good luck getting your hook back this weekend Louis!!!


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

I love this thread! Really impressive and I've read it multiple times. Makes me want Summer back.


> Of course if you were in trouble or your kayak was sinking then its a different story, but asking them to help you with a hooked fish it is not something I reckon 99% of boat owners would do..


Hey Davey,
Is that really how it is? If you have it ready to go, a little gaff assist is always a radio call away, in my waters. And 99% of the time the boater is stoked to be part of it, because if you actually took the time to make a call it must be big. Marlin (striped) are rare, summer guests here, but big threshers/makos are always caught and are the #1 assist-fish, I'd say. I guess in this guys case, he was a pro and would be taking time from his patrons if he waited for the fish to be at gaff.


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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

Louis earned this fish if hours on the water, endless discussion, enthusiasm and preparation are counted. He sure is a tenacious fellow who would have gone another 10k if the weather wasn't so poor. This would have been a tagged fish off a game-boat and is a "fish caught". It's a tough decision letting the fish of a lifetime go but is helped by having pictures and witnesses. A well written report too which I have read 3 times now. You have my admiration Louis.
Other than this fish and another big hookup which was unstoppable after an hour plus, it was very poor fishing for those hoping to have a go at more moderate specimens such as tuna and cobia. The sea has been blown out since Sunday with very limited ability to get offshore. It has rained on and off every day. I have come home early but will return if the seas flatten and wind subsides.

Good on you Louis.

Grant


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## Bruyaka (Nov 12, 2009)

Super effort , well done . :shock: :shock: :shock: I just experienced my first marlins that week at Pt Stephens , though only from a mates stinka and that was a buzz I'll never forget .   
You told a brilliant story you'll replay in your head and smile about forever I'll bet congratulations . Cool as 8) 8) 8)


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## Davebeat (Aug 17, 2007)

And the you tube??

Cheers


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

No-one deserved it more than you this year Louis. Well done. next year could be a different story. :twisted:  
I cant help but think an AI is required for fish this size. As you experienced, getting home after a 2-3hr battle is not easy. Good on you Shane for sticking around and providing the necessary support that enabled Louis to claim the prize and get home safely.
Well done!


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## Nofish (Jan 12, 2008)

Top work and well done!


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2010)

Congrats mate 8) great fish, great read 8)

Just interested to know opinions from the guys who target this species, if hooked up to a big Marlin, would it be worth deploying a very small drouge on a very short tether to slow down the tow and tire the fish out a bit quicker? Or is this just a really bad idea (fish could get tangled, etc etc etc) 8)


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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

Dallas,

I don't think that it is such a good idea. Firstly you have to deploy it whilst the fish is running off into the distance--and it happens very quickly, It helps to be able to run after the fish (when you have a Hobie) so that you can get a lot of line back, turn it and lift it up ( by moving away from the fish). There is the risk of entanglement towards the end when the fish is close in, you limit your manouverability and in effect the best option is to try and get the fish side in so that whilst it is running forward, you are out port or starboard utilising the hull against the fish. If you get into a position where it is towing you in a direct line then the fish can go for hours. Sometimes these critters run straight at you and barely miss the yak so not a good idea in my book. It would be worth contacting Louis or Paulo for their ideas seeing that they have experience in this situation.

Grant


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2010)

Yeah Grant, I can see how things might go pear shaped if not done with enough care, I've never fished for game fish like this myself, and I'm new to offshore saltwater fishing so might be a while off before I think about targeting something like Marlin, I was just thinking out loud I guess 8) getting as much resistance on the fish I guess was what I was trying to picture in my mind, to help stop being towed half way to China 8)

Big, fast running fish on a kayak takes a bit of practice to perfect I imagine, and would also be different from yak to yak as well


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

"from what i've seen" sitting side ways in the yak works.


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## yakattack (Jan 12, 2008)

I also think sitting side saddle is a good option ( provided you know how to balance yourself and the rod/fish under load) i can imagine that using the Adventure island would be a great help for fighting a large fish from side on Eg large marlin,cobe or a thumper tuna.

Cheers Micka


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

Awesome catch, I can only imagine the rush you would have had having that beast on the end of your line!


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## hoit (Aug 29, 2005)

Fantastic effort and a great read. Its also good to hear the AI is such a capable support craft.


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## MICKOMARLIN (Oct 8, 2008)

my hats off to you louis!!!!! well done mate!!!!!!!


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