Shootout
Tournament
Port
Stephens NSW
March
2002
For
the Marine Pro Billfish Shootout held out of Port Stephens in March this year I
had the pleasure of being a guest aboard the 65ft Broome game boat
“Backlash”.
A “pleasure” it certainly was.
I had been busy fishing and travelling for a couple of months and it was
great to sit back and rest in comfort whilst everybody else worked around me.
Tournaments are sometimes quite stressful and tiring, but I found this to be an
exception.
The
relaxed atmosphere surrounded me during the breifing, which began with a
cocktail party at the Anchorage Resort.
Anglers mingled while laughter and “fishtalk” reverberated off all
surfaces of the room.
Although the camaraderie was genuine, the element of competition had not
totally lapsed with the possibility of winning cash and prizes including one
prize of $10 000.
After the Calcutta and further socialising, the crews slowly retired to
their rooms and boats in preparation for the next three days.
The
sailpast began at a reasonable, civilised time of…(you guessed it!) late.
Now that’s what I like to hear when I’m having a relaxing week end!
Fishing start times for the other days were late too, which meant lots of
time for nights out socialising.
The
weather was perfect and the conditions looked good from shore.
I had a slight nap on the steam out only to find that the swell combined
with the current on the shelf made what looked like a great day turn in to an
average one. Unfortunately
we didn’t turn a reel that day.
Day
two was looking promising with the swell and wind decreasing.
The 30 odd boats ventured out and before long the tag reports began
coming in over the radio.
We too were amongst the successful crews and tagged a flighty short bill
spearfish. Before
long we hooked up to a blue marlin and angler Adrian Purdie fought it for a good
40 minutes before it was in range of the tag pole.
Unfortunately the fish had bronzed after several acrobatic jumps and many
long hard runs.
We pulled it in through the back door and measured it up for the weight
estimate. The
crew decided to keep the fish.
It weighed in at 178kg and was the heaviest fish for the event.
However, there was still one day to go.
The
next day the boat Monakea kept an estimated 200 kilo fish, whilst Backlash
tagged another short bill spearfish and caught a blue marlin.
The fish on Monakea weighed in at 195 kilos whilst the fish caught by
Kevin Blatchford aboard Backlash weighed in at 186.
A very close competition
indeed. Monakea
picked up the cheque for $10 000 and all the other crews helped them celebrate.
After talking to many of the anglers who came from places such as farms out the west of NSW to homes 5000 kms away, I realised why they keep coming back each year. It’s fun. It’s relaxing. It’s a good chance to catch up with other fisherfolk. It’s set in a beautiful part of Australia. The fishing is always good and you get the chance to pick up some big dollars. No doubt I’ll see some of you there next year! Good luck.