Interclub Game Fishing Tournament at Port Stephens

Spectacular 170-strong fleet of fishing boats battle it out on the high seas.

These aren’t your ordinary pleasure boats. The flotilla putting to sea for the 50th Anniversary NSW Game Fishing Association Interclub tournament at Port Stephens today has just one purpose in mind — the pursuit of big game fish, perhaps several in one day, maybe some subsequent glory, and a nod of approval from their fellow anglers at the marina or bar.

All told, some 800 anglers from game-fishing clubs across NSW, interstate and overseas have descended on the otherwise sleepy coastal village of Nelson Bay in Port Stephens to go fishing. After long days at sea, they walk with a swagger or stagger down the local streets, sport racoon-like tans from wearing their polarised shades, and flaunt the latest fishing shirts festooned with sponsors' patches as they flood the restaurants.

MILLIONS INVESTED

- But the action pays dividends

Mind you, economic times have curtailed the fleet. The biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the Interclub sponsored by Nautilus Marine attracted 182 boats last year, down somewhat on the usual 200-strong fleet in former years. Yet, at the same time, the boats are getting bigger. The sailpast, the day’s call to arms, is just spectacular.

Such is the passion, millions will be spent in fuel, marina fees, food and accommodation. But the rewards more than make up for it. In an exceptional season like this, the odds of catching a marlin are stacked firmly in your favour. The odds of catching many are just as high. But as for winning the tournament?

Besides fishing skill, purpose-designed boats that are highly manoeuvrable and seaworthy, loaded with high-tech fish-finding gadgetry, play a huge role in game fishing today. The top end of town continue to gravitate to luxury boats from 48 feet and above, however, for many the fish-boat market has come back down to earth.

Express-style boats with fish-spotting towers in the 30-35ft range are popular with anglers who aren’t into living aboard, while dual-purpose rigs that keep the family happy on no-fishing days recognise that fish-boat ownership often needs to be all-inclusive these days.

At the same time, trailerboat anglers continue to push the boundaries in outboard-power craft. Along with lower running costs, the advantage of a trailerboat lies with manoeuvrability, efficiency and portability. If the fish aren’t biting in one port then tow your boat to the next. Hence the reason so many of them have descended on Port Stephens. The mosquito fleet.

FISH-FINDING GADGETRY

- Electronics find and capture the fish

Every skipper leaving dock today will be glued to the GPS chart plotter to navigate straight to the action, a spot affectionately known as the Carpark in 160 metres of water 40 kilometres east of Port Stephens (S33.02.688, E153.24.403). You can’t miss the virtual floating boat show.

Of course, a high-definition depth sounder is mandatory to locate structure and bait schools. The latest super sensitive depth sounders also spot the marlin swimming below. After ‘marking’ a marlin, the standard procedure involves lowering a live bait asunder to the required depth. A hook-up is usually forthcoming, but where the marlin surfaces is anyone's guess. Often it's on the other side of a nearby boat. Ping announces the parting of ways as the fish leaps to its freedom.

While the Interclub retains a capture division, more than 95 per cent of all game fish are tagged and set free these days. Recaptures are common to the point that in the past few weeks the same fish have been landed in the space of a few days. The mandatory use of circle hooks that lodge in the fish’s jaw rather than stomach lowers the mortality rates of released fish.

Capturing the action is all the rage using GoPro cameras mounted on outriggers, tag poles, hats and the flying bridge overlooking the cockpit. The day’s footage is edited and viewed onboard before as a kind of crew-bonding exercise before lights out. Then it's uploaded on Youtube.

Needless to say, it costs a motza to fish a tournament like the Interclub, which actually spans two weeks when you include Lady’s Day on Monday and the mid-week tournament on Wednesday and Thursday. Then there is the trip into town by car and/or boat.

Meantime, marine biologists and PHD students will be hovering around the weigh station to collect samples of captured fish. Studies are being conducted into the biology of tiger sharks and dolphin fish. Yet due to the tag-and-release ethic, there are relatively few fish to see on the gantry.

To keep landlubbers entertained, the Nelson Bay Bluewater Festival is being held along the foreshore, with free music, entertainment, wine and food, a classic and vintage bike show, fishing clinics and workshops.

TOURNAMENT TO REMEMBER

- Best marlin season in decades

But it’s on the water that this Golden Anniversary Interclub will be remembered when it concludes Sunday March 4. Hundreds if not thousands of marlin have been caught and tagged around the shimmering bait schools in the 80-100 fathom area in the past few weeks.

It’s a truly an amazing game-fishing season along the Eastern Seaboard where, it seems, everyone is catching marlin. Even those going it alone on a day off mid-week are coming up tight.

You can see the exploits of a solo marlin-fishing enthusiast called Matt in his trusty 4.5m Polycraft below.

As they same in the game, tight lines.

Interclub Game Fishing Tournament at Port Stephens

Tags