http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/five-marlin-from-a-kayak-in-one-day?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#jYQVsCR1FQ2X5qFx.01 (http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/five-marlin-from-a-kayak-in-one-day?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#jYQVsCR1FQ2X5qFx.01)
GRANT Ashwell has been a very keen kayak angler for over 18 years. Sadly he became ill recently and was booked in for a round of chemotherapy. Before he went to hospital, he took his kayak out for a big day on the water targeting marlin. Incredibly, Grant was successful in landing not just one marlin but five, an accomplishment that pushed him to his long coveted target of 50 billfish from his 'yak...an incredible effort. This is his story, as told from his hospital bed.
WOW!!
Now that's a real fisherman. Imagine having someone like that to mentor you.
Most enjoyable and thanks for the posting, .. Lou
:o :o :o
Most of us won't see five marlins in our lifetime.
That's incredible!
Last time I saw a Marlin was 1967. I think it was a Plymouth, ; ;D
Much respect....well done...Bill
Great job!!!!! ;D
Awe Inspiring right there. ;)
I am no stranger to a Kayak, but I only use it to deploy baits.
I can't wrap my head around fishing in one for eight hours.
Congrats to you Grant!
Godspeed my Friend. ;D
This is a pretty major achievement. I like hearing of stuff like this... Jeff
Quote from: Shark Hunter on February 13, 2018, 06:20:50 AM
I can't wrap my head around fishing in one for eight hours.
I hear you there mate. Four hours is a big session for me.
I wonder how much of that was fueled by Marlin though :)
Grant would put to shame most blokes half his age - what a great veteran kayak endurance athlete.
~
That's a strong and spirited angler , respect .
Great article Brett, Grant sounds pretty down to earth describing his extraordinary achievement.
"Blow me down but I had only gone a few hundred meters when this bait was taken......" Haven't heard that expression for ages - Great stuff!
Mike
You are now a legend !! Congratulations and hope the health improves !! :) :)
Grant Ashwell:
I guess I was a bit lucky with the double but it also took a fair amount of seamanship and rod work.
The fish on my lap is not one of those involved. It was a wriggler of about 22k that I landed 2 days earlier.
The double was of bigger fish about 40 k and too heavy for me to lift.
Great Grant, Blow me down, I think your total catch, would have to be a world record, well done, thanks for posting Brett, Grant do you eat many of them, if so, whats your prefurd way of cooking them, cheers Don.
Quote from: Donnyboat on February 18, 2018, 03:02:34 AM
Great Grant, Blow me down, I think your total catch, would have to be a world record, well done, thanks for posting Brett, Grant do you eat many of them, if so, whats your prefurd way of cooking them, cheers Don.
Grant: I have only ever kept 2. My first and then a few years later I had an 80kg one die boat side.
There is a huge amount of flesh to deal with and more than 2 people can eat in a month. I gave a lot away.
The fish is not particularly distinctive but rather, just fish that improves with some form of condiment or flavoring
(in my view as I used to eat a lot of fish b4 I got sick) I would BBQ it, mix it with coconut cream, smoke it.
The greatest value is that it is boneless and comes up as steaks.
Marlin is not a fish that I would deliberately hunt for food but if it dies then eating it avoids waste.
~
Thanks Brett, waste not want not, good work, cheers Don.
How about sight fishing for marlin in the shallows?
https://www.facebook.com/GuidedFishingDownUnder/posts/686534321555146
An old mate of mine has been hosting quite a few clients from the US lately.
cheers
Steve
Howdy Steve. My first post here. I'm no expert but this is my take on billfishing inshore.
The Marlin your friend speaks of are probably around the Frazer Island area up at Hervey Bay. This is on the inside of the Island near a Black Marlin nursery and quite shallow so you can see bottom. The water can be very sheltered and the fish responsive to a range of techniques. These fish eventually travel down on the East Coast Current being joined by 2nd and 3rd yr juveniles so they range from 20kg to 80+kg by the time they arrive at South West Rocks. They gain a lot of weight as they travel. Here at SWR the water is 60ft to 150ft deep where I fish. This spot is very close to the Continental Shelf and so larger fish(and other versions of Marlin) are around. Sometimes the fish can be seen sunning themselves or swimming past the yak but this is too rare to make sight fishing viable from a yak. All my fish are live baited. These fish are not resident but rather follow the current and bait going much further down the coast before apparently moving out into deeper water. The trick is to be there on the day. Some times I have done 18 trips for nil then every now and again a "mob" of fish come through for the day. This run starts in late November and goes til April but very sporadically according to when the current pushes inshore.
Hope this is of interest
regards
Grant
Quote from: Hobie2 on February 20, 2018, 07:42:36 PM
Howdy Steve. My first post here. I'm no expert but this is my take on billfishing inshore.
The Marlin your friend speaks of are probably around the Frazer Island area up at Hervey Bay. This is on the inside of the Island near a Black Marlin nursery and quite shallow so you can see bottom. The water can be very sheltered and the fish responsive to a range of techniques. These fish eventually travel down on the East Coast Current being joined by 2nd and 3rd yr juveniles so they range from 20kg to 80+kg by the time they arrive at South West Rocks. They gain a lot of weight as they travel. Here at SWR the water is 60ft to 150ft deep where I fish. This spot is very close to the Continental Shelf and so larger fish(and other versions of Marlin) are around. Sometimes the fish can be seen sunning themselves or swimming past the yak but this is too rare to make sight fishing viable from a yak. All my fish are live baited. These fish are not resident but rather follow the current and bait going much further down the coast before apparently moving out into deeper water. The trick is to be there on the day. Some times I have done 18 trips for nil then every now and again a "mob" of fish come through for the day. This run starts in late November and goes til April but very sporadically according to when the current pushes inshore.
Hope this is of interest
regards
Grant
50 billfish from a yak makes you an expert in my books Grant! - welcome to the site and thanks for sharing your experiences, I'll bet there's a few more interesting stories around the 50 you've caught.
Good luck with the chemo and looking forward to hearing about the 51st.
Mike
Quote from: David Hall on February 12, 2018, 09:50:29 PM
Most of us won't see five marlins in our lifetime.
Not to underscore the accomplishment of 5 marlin from a kayak but several years ago fishing from a cruiser off of San Jose del Cabo we brought 7 marlin to the boat and released them. We also had another 6 marlin that threw the hook or would not take the bait. It was great fun. There were 4 of us on the boat and we were all arm weary. We had a double on at one point and New Jersey Joe and I had to keep passing under and over each other to keep the lines from tangling. The best part of that day was getting back to the hotel to a couple of cold cervezas, there were 3 guys at another table bemoaning the fact that they had been out all day and were skunked. They practically said we were full of poop. It was probably one of my best fishing days. We don't target marlin anymore preferring to target tuna, marlin and dorado as they are good food fish. We do hook into an occasional marlin trolling for the targeted food fish and it is fun to bring them to the boat. I'm planning on 3 trips to Los Cabos this year, April, June and November. Good weather and good fishing times, although the April trip will be hit and miss. Dominick