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NEWS
Port Stephens Interclub underway
A good bite on the billfish and loads of school yellowfin tuna at the halfway mark for the 130 boats and 600 happy hookersDespite the somewhat diminished fleet of 130 boats, the annual Interclub remains the biggest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The two-weekend tournament starting last Saturday attracted some 600 keen anglers representing 20 clubs from Townsville to Tassie and even Taiwan.
A group of visiting Taiwanese scientists, in cooperation with our own marine biologists, is on hand to sample black marlin and determine if our east-coast stock is the same as that which migrates to their Asian waters.
If it can be established the black marlin are from the same gene pool then Australian fisheries management can be used to help maintain and conserve the stock rather than let it fall into unregulated commercial hands.
Of course, Australian game fishers release more than 90 per cent of their marlin and other game fish these days. The information garnered from the recaptures not only underscores the hardiness of hooked fish, it also provides great insight into migratory patterns and growth rates.
But while this year’s modest Interclub fleet has been curtailed by rising campaign costs, the good news is that means more fish to go around. It was tough fishing over the weekend, but the cream of the crop certainly rose to the top. Sydney leads the locals from the Port Stephens club in tag and release at the halfway mark, though the top individual tag boat hails from Tasmania.
While not as wild as some years, the billfish have been biting at the aptly named Car Park. There have been some nice black and striped marlin tagged, especially by boats Smartbill and Casey, and a 166.2kg blue marlin was weighed. A smattering of huge tiger sharks to 359kg came in, as did school-sized yellowfin tuna to 25kg.
In the recent lead-up event, the Shootout, a blue marlin of 174.2kg was taken by Dennis Jake on Casey. The prize for the most fish tagged in the Shootout went to team SmartBill from Sydney Game Fishing Club, while champion boat under-8M was local Billistic run by gun Brent Harding.
As a sign of the times, the trailerboat fleet has been taking it to the battlewagons in the Interclub. Running frugal four-stroke outboard engines on trailerable sportfishers is proving a cost effective way to compete.
Today’s (Monday Feb 24) Ladies’ Day is looking balmy for what’s destined to be a great day for the Dolly Dyers of the game-fishing world. Interim and eventual final results for the Interclub and for Ladies’ Day are posted at www.nswgfa.com.au.
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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