View All Blog Entries Latest Post
Coffs harbour game fishing club member Rick Wilson went out on CARLIV for some deep droping chasing Blue Eye before they went for a troll and ended up with this litte baby Broadbill. Thank you to Troy boulton for the report and the photo.
If you have any reports you would like to share, please sent them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The day has come to a close with a total of 47 teams consisting of a total of 209 anglers with 144 Striped Marlin released and 1 Mahi Mahi weighed for the days fishing. Myself and the team from Australia from the Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club fished onboard Falcon a 37 Bertram going 5 from 5 on Striped Marlin releasing the first fish of the Championship to Ash Warland. Ash Warland released 2 Striped Marlin for the day, myself Ross Martin released 2 Striped Marlin and John Dwyer released 1 Striped Marlin. Below is the final standings for day 1, stay tuned for tomorrows report or you can check like stats here.
'Striped Marlin caught by Ross Martin, Photo by John Dwyer'
Top 10 Boats Day 1.
1st - 2010 IGFA Offshore World Champions - 2200 Points
2nd - San Carlos Cantina Cup - 1400 Points
3rd - XV Torneio De Marlin Azul do Rio de Janeiro - 1400 Points
4th - 7th Campeonato Int de Pesca Grossa de Portimao - 1200 Points
5th - 39th Annual Bluewater Tournament - 1200 Points
6th - Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club - Spring Shootout - 1000 Points
7th - Open Pesca Altura Port Torredembarra - 1000 Points
8th - VI Lobito Big Game Fishing Tournament - 1000 Points
9th - Herbie Paul International Festival - 800 Points
'Team from the Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club'
Well it’s that time of year again for the IGFA Offshore World Championship which will run from the 13th - 18th May based out of Cabo San Lucas in beautiful Mexico. This year there are 53 competing teams from all around the world fishing and competing for one right, to be crowned world champions.
One of the competing teams from Australia which I am proud to be a part of which includes team members Matthew Wallace, John Dwyer, Adam Moore, Ash Warland and myself Ross Martin will be competing in this years Championship for our chance to be crowned champions in this prestigous event. Our team won the invitation to compete after our win in last years Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club’s Classic.
'Sunshine Coast Game Fishing Club's Competing Team For The IGFA Offshore World Championship 2012'
I will be covering the championship day to day getting you involved as if you were part of the championship yourself. The team here at Game Fishing hub are people just like yourself, who fish for enjoyment and compete in tournaments here in Australia and around the world.
Make sure you keep up to date by checking in daily for all the latest updates and behind the scenes of this years IGFA Offshore World Championship.
Following through on the theme from the entire season, the Sailfish Pro Series came to a fast-paced and action-packed ending that, once again, featured one team biting its fingernails as another fought multiple fish. By the time the final gun sounded all Team Advanced Roofing could do was breathe a huge sigh of relief as they watched Team Get Lit release the last of a quadruple header about 10 minutes before lines out. When the fourth fish was released and Get Lit couldn’t hook up again, the Sailfish Pro Series title was Advanced Roofing’s to keep. Both teams finished the day with six releases, but Advanced Roofing took home the title based on the fact it released its last fish first. “That’s the hardest I’ve seen this crew work in years,” said Advanced Roofing Capt., Jeff Scott. “There were a lot of people rooting for us. It was a great way to end the season.”
'2012 Sailfish Pro Series Champions, Team Advanced Roofing. Photo by Endless Imagery'
The series finale took place out of Miami Beach; featuring the top six boats from the season standings, plus one wildcard winner, team Lights Out. The two-day, head-to-head, elimination-style tournament pitted six teams against each other, with Advanced Roofing receiving the bye and automatic entry into the Final Four.
However, even with the bye Advanced Roofing hit the water. “We got the bye, which was much needed, but we decided to go out anyway and fish along with the rest of the teams,” Scott said. “We were doing some research and learning some things, but it was raining and pretty bad weather.”
Despite entering the first day trailing by half a fish to the higher seeded team, underdogs Get Lit and Blue Time both managed to advance to the final showdown. Sandman won its head-to-head battle 10.5 to 6, beating Lights Out.
When dawn broke on the final day, the weather had deteriorated and getting out of Government Cut (inlet) was a challenge in itself. For Advanced Roofing, a 39-foot SeaVee and by far the smallest boat fishing in the finale, it took some tactical planning just to clear the inlet.
“We got all ready, put on our new rain gear, went out that morning and I just followed the biggest, heaviest boat I could find. And that was Blue Time,” Scott said of the 68-foot Viking that offered protection from the waves. “I figured, at that point, we were probably fishing wherever they went the rest of the day. It was pretty rough.”
Scott estimated the waves to be 12 feet as they were setting up for fishing. In fact, it was so bad that, about 10 minutes before lines in, tournament president Chris King polled the four teams as to whether they wanted to continue with the day. The consensus was they would fish until 1 p.m. and declare a winner.
Advanced Roofing wasted no time, releasing the first fish of the day from a flat line. Scott considered putting the kite baits out but there was an approaching storm, so the team fished flat lines for the first couple hours. They released three more fish between 9:30 and 9:45 to take the lead.
Sandman, which beat Advanced Roofing in the World Sailfish Championship on time of release, jumped out to a 5-4 lead on their rival and led Get Lit 5-1 by 10:15. But that turned out to be Sandman’s last fish as they finished third.
Advanced Roofing scored fish No. 6 at 11:30 and felt safe with their score – until Get Lit got the quad right at the end of the day.
“I was sitting next to them and I wanted to make a run back and do another drift, but there was only about 20 minutes left and it was taking that long to, literally, go a quarter mile, so we stayed where we were,” Scott said.
All they could do was watch as Get Lit carefully released all four fish and then failed to hook another as time expired.
“Luckily enough, it was just enough to tie us, not beat us,” Scott said.
Thank you to Doug Cox for sending the results.
If you have any tournaments you would like us to include in our weekly list or the tournament calendar please send the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
All Australian tournaments can be found in our tournament calendar and flyers/entry forms can be downloaded where available. Tournaments on this weekend and into next week are as follows and results will be available after completion where available.
Australia:
'Bribie Island Bluewater Classic', Bribie Island, QLD, May 4 - 7
'Port Lincoln Blue Water Classic', Port Lincoln, SA, May 6 - 10
'CGFC Annual Yellowfin Tournament', Bermagui, NSW, May 19 - 21
International:
'Bertram Hatteras Shootout', Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, May 1 - 5
'14th Annual Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament', Georgetown Cayman Island, May 3 - 6
'12th Steilager I'A Lapo'A Fishing Tournament', Pago Pago America Samoa, May 7 - 12
'Cape Eleuthera Championship', Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas, May 8 - 12
'Mercury/SeaVee Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout', Pompano Beach, FLORIDA, May 10 - 13
'Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout', Pompano Beach, FLORIDA, May 10 - 13
'Grand Slam/Castaways KDW Tournament', Jupiter, Florida, May 11 - 12
'Hawk's Nest 12th Annual Bill Fish Blast', Cat Island, May 13 - 16
'IGFA Offshore World Championship', Cabo, Mexico, May 13 - 18
'17th Annual Hatteras Village Offshore Open', Hatteras, North Carolina, May 15 - 19
'Custom Shoot-Out Tournament', Bahamas, May 16 - 19
'Babes On The Bay Tournament', Rockport,Texas, May 18 - 19
'39th Annual Bluewater Invitaional', St Augustines, Florida, May 20 - 26
'Harbour Island Championship', Harbour Island, Bahamas, May 22 - 26
'New Smyrna Beach Striker Tourny', New Smyrna Beach, FLORIDA, May 24 - 27
'Mobile Big Game Fish Clubs 35th Memorial Day Tournament', Orange Beach, Alabama, May 25 - 28
If you have any tournaments you would like us to include in our weekly list or the tournament calendar please send the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Viking Diesel & Electrics Port Hacking 100 Tournament was held on April 28-29th, with an enormous fleet of 49 vessels comprising of over 160 anglers. The weather provided a mix bag of conditions over the weekend, as Saturday 28th offering up fantastic variable winds and flat seas before an unfortunate strong 25-30knot southerly change early on Sunday morning, making conditions tough for most of the fleet.
However many still braved the conditions in search for all species as day one results were quite tight with a few boats vying for champion status. Great water temperature and plenty of bait were around; however it seemed to be the shark boats having more fun as Marlin sightings were few and far between.
'Champion Team & Angler T&R, Gail Force, photo taken by Chris Belton'
Day one action saw Junior Riley Page on board BBGFC boat RAMPAGE capture a Striped Marlin of 82.5kg on 15kg line and Brother Ryan also boat a Tiger Shark of 177kg on 15kg line. PHGFC President’s boat DARK HORSE captured a solid Tiger Shark of 478kg to angler Stan Dickson taking out Champion Boat and Champion Angler Capture. The Shark was also the first fish over a 1000lb to be weighted on the club’s new weigh station only installed 3 days before the tournament. Other notable catches were PHGFC boat SPICEY SARDINE with a 53kg Yellow Fin Tuna to angler John Downey who took out heaviest other game fish category
'Champion Team Capture, Dark Horse, photo taken by Dom Kieler'
Day two saw many vessels spend limited time on the grounds due to the weather, however SGFC vessel GALE FORCE successfully switch baited a striped Marlin on 10KG line in tough conditions and spent most of the fight trying to clear their cockpit of white wash, this tag along with their previous Dolphin Fish allowed them to claim Champion Boat and Angler T&R for the second year.
The Sunday night presentation was held at the RMYC Port Hacking with over 120 guests; all reports have been that all competitors and sponsors had a great time and are looking forward to next year’s tournament in 2013.
FINAL RESULTS:
Capture:
Champion Boat Capture: DARK HORSE, PHGFC
Runner Up Boat Capture: RAMPAGE, BBGFC
Champion Male Angler Capture: Stan Dickson, DARK HORSE, PHGFC – 478kg Tiger Shark
Heaviest Other Game Fish Capture: John Downey, PHGFC – 53kg Yellow Fin Tuna
Champion Junior Capture: Riley Page, RAMPAGE, BBGFC – 82.5kg Striped Marlin
Heaviest Marlin: Riley Page, RAMPAGE, BBGFC – 82.5kg Striped Marlin
Heaviest Shark: Stan Dickson, DARK HORSE, PHGFC – 478kg Tiger Shark
Tag & Release:
Champion Boat T&R: GALE FORCE, SGFC, 12,655 Point
Runner Up Boat T&R: BLOOD N GUTS, SGFC, 2,500 Points
Champion Male Angler T&R: John Wise, GALE FORCE SGFC
Champion Female Angler T&R: Jillian Coyle, ONLINE, PHGFC
Champion Junior T&R: Jack Connellan, TIME TO TANGO, PHGFC
Champion Small Fry T&R: Clayton Rayment, TEAM SEAFLEX, PHGFC
Highest Point Scoring Boat T&R Other Game Fish: LOCKOUT, BBGFC
Thank you to David from Port Hacking Game Fishing Club for the final results and photos.
If you have any tournaments you would like us to include in our weekly list or the tournament calendar please send the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Miamian, Alex Vazquez led team Fish Tales to an impressive victory at the Bahamas Billfish Championship’s first tournament of the 2012 season at Great Guana Cay, Abaco. Vazquez and teammate Joey Souto caught and released four blue marlin and a white marlin to earn 2,600 points for the win.
The BBC’s new format allows teams to fish three out of four days with a required ‘captain’s choice’ lay- day. Like most of the twenty-one boat fleet, Fish Tales took day one as their lay-day. Shortly after noon on day two, Vazquez released the team’s first blue marlin and Souto solidified the tournament lead by releasing the team’s second blue of the day shortly before three o’clock.
'1st Place Winners Fish Tales'
Fish Tales added to their lead on day three with another released blue marlin. However, on day three, all eyes were on Give It Away. BBC newcomers John and Anne Aramendia of Garden Ridge, Texas brought Give It Away within 300 points of the leader when Anne released a sailfish, white marlin and a blue marlin for a ‘grand slam.’ John added another blue and, at the end of day three, Give it Away had accrued 1,500 points to Fish Tales’ 1,800.
More importantly, in BBC tournaments, 700 ‘grand slam bonus’ points are awarded to a team catching a sailfish, white marlin (or spearfish) and blue marlin in one day during the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Grand Slam Bonus points are added to the team’s overall score for that tournament. This meant that the Hatteras 60, Fish Tales, needed more points on day four to avoid losing the lead.
'2nd Place Winners Give It Away'
But on day four, Barry Weshnak’s Miss Annie grabbed the spotlight releasing three blue marlin and edging Frank Rodriguez and Fa-La-Me out of third place because Miss Annie was the first to achieve 1,800 points. Meanwhile, Fish Tales added another blue and a white to finish with 2,600 points. Anne Aramendia released a sailfish adding another 100 points to Give It Away’s total.
The Guana Cay Championship win earned Alex Vazquez and team Fish Tales a Randy Rich designed trophy presented by tournament sponsors MarineMax and Hatteras Yachts. In addition, the Miami, Florida based Fish Tales received a $500 gift certificate from Treasure Coast Propellers and a custom set of teasers from Reel Tease and Chum Buoy. Capt. Chris Zielinski and the Fish Tales crew each received a Randy Rich designed trophy sponsored by Steve Lewis of the Lewis Marine Group.
Second Place honors at the Guana Cay Championship went to Give It Away, a 58 Randy Dixon. Aramendia’s team finished with 1,600 points; however, with the added 700 grand slam bonus points, Givbe It Away amassed 2,300 points and a solid grasp of second place. Give It Away was also awarded a Randy Rich trophy from MarineMax and Hatteras Yachts.
'3rd Place Winners Miss Annie'
Former Bahamas Billfish Champion, Barry Weshnak from Allenwood, New Jersey finished in Third Place with 1,800 points. In addition to the Randy Rich trophies, the three winning teams also received Anejo Rum from Bacardi and Bristol Wine & Spirits and gift certificates from Maui Jim Sunglasses and Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service (ROFFS).
Twenty-one teams competed in the Guana Cay Championship, hosted by Orchid Bay Yacht Club & Marina. Of the 42 billfish caught and released, 19 were blue marlin, 15 were white marlin and 8 were sailfish. As with all BBC tournaments, all catches are validated using time and date stamped digital images. Affidavits signed by all participants fishing on each team further confirms that the fish was released in accordance with IGFA and Bahamas Billfish Championship rules.
MarineMax and Hatteras Yachts were the hosting sponsors of the Guana Cay Championship. And the new Hatterascal made its tournament debut at Guana Cay before heading to the Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast of the US competing in numerous blue water tournaments.
Social function during the tournament were hosted by CAT Marine Power, Ocean Club at Port Canaveral, Silver Airways and Treasure Coast Propellers.
Now celebrating its 39th season, the BBC is the oldest billfish tournament series in the world. Anglers can fish any or all of the tournaments with cumulative points determining the overall Bahamas Billfish Champions. In an effort to give-back to the Bahamian people, the Bahamas Billfish Championship endowed two scholarships that enable Bahamian students the opportunity to pursue a degree in marine biology or advanced education in the marine technologies.
For the very latest tournament information, results and overall standings visit our fact-filled Internet website at www.bahamasbillfish.com. Download the new BBC App for your Apple mobile device. Search 'Bahamas Billfish Championship' in the App Store.
If you have any tournaments you would like us to include in our weekly list or the tournament calendar please send the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Five Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club boats fished Saturday's comp day, with Wicked Weasel and Kikino both tagging Striped Marlin. The Blue Marlin seem to have deserted the Solitary Island GFC home waters hopefully only temporarily, as the water is still blue and warm up to 24.5 degrees.
The longliners have been reported getting into some massive Yellowfin Tuna between Smoky Cape and Port Macquarie. So we can only hope there are still some for the club members to have a shot at this week.
Thank you to Glen Booth from Fishlife for the report.
If you have any reports you would like to share, please sent them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Eddy Lawler from Peak Sport Fishing Adventures fished from the 17th-20th with Karen and Ben from the NT Chasing Blacks and Sails, the guys had and awesome few days releasing 6 Black Marlin between 20-70kg and 3 Sails.
21st -24th Eddy had the guys from Wilson fishing on board Tackle testing! We only had a few hours on the first day so fished the on the edge between 150 & 200 meters, catching a nice Striped Marlin and dropped a nice Black after a few minutes. The boys tested there gear out on the GT's for the following days, the GT fishing was Red Hot to say the least with fish between 18-40kg.
Eddy had this picture below sent to him by Wayne Lee, he took the family out west of the light house the other day and caught this nice Black Marlin in 90 meters of water.
Fished yesterday 29th out wide with Craig Riley and Leigh Freestone looking for blues the water has now started to cool 27.5, Craig released his first Blue Marlin 150kg est on 24kg. Leigh caught a nice small black for the day.
Smithy on "The Bear" also fished yesterday catching 2 black Marlin and a Striped Marlin and dropped a nice Blue Marlin.
Below is a video clip from on board Peak Sport Fishing from the 2012 Gamex.
If you have any reports you would like to share, please sent them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Attached is a copy of the seventh edition of the Tag Times Newsletter produced by the NSW DPI Game Fish Tagging Program.
This newsletter provides information on interesting recaptures and other news on the Program.
In this issue:
» Top Taggers 2010-2011 Season
» SA SBT Recapture
» Recent PNG Recaptures
» Recent Dampier Recaptures
» Dolphinfish and Yellowtail Kingfish Research
» Correct Tag Locations / Types
» Top Taggers 2010-2011 Tables
