Marlin galore
2 seconds in it.. for the 2009 Tonga International Billfish Tournament
The Marlin bite leading up to the Tournament was red hot with a lot of fish between the 200kg - 300kg. The expectations for Tonga’s premium line class event were high and both the weather and the fishing did not disappoint.
Day one ..... kicked off with great sea conditions and it was not too long before the first boat, “Lavinuella” skippered by Boris Von E, called in a double hook up on Blue Marlin – both fish were tagged on 37kg line class. This set the benchmark for the day and the Lavinuella Team - Linemupdude of Mike Wood, Tim Dubeck and Peter Lindham never looked back – they tagged another Blue on 37kg late in the day making their points tally 7,500. Other boats all found fish but had difficulty in making them stick with the exception of “Target One” – Danny Williams tagging a nice fish on 15kg to earn 3,500 pts. In all there were 20 confirmed marlin hook ups reported for the day and lots of hard luck stories of dropped and popped fish on the lower line class of 15kg. Baily McIntyre fishing on “Hakula” set a hot pace in the Mahimahi section with 777pts for 3 fish caught on 15kg. Baily is the first small fry angler to ever fish the Tournament and he did it style.
Day Two .... was a stunner with great sea and weather conditions and the Marlin action was unbelievable. All the boats headed into the southern grounds were most of the bite was found the previous day. It was an action packed day with 27 confirmed hook ups with the usual good and not so good news. Lavinuella was on a roll and by the end of the day had tagged another three Blue Marlin. “Escapade” also had a great day in tagging three Blues but unfortunately popped the leader at the boat on an estimated 300kg Blue.
Target one, Reel Addiction and Hakula tagged a Blue by the end of the day but meanwhile dropped or popped a lot of fish on 15kg. The “Linemupdude” team on Lavinuella were looking pretty by the end of day two and making the decision to fish safe with 37kg line class had certainly paid dividends..... but would their luck hold as historically the event was always won on the last day right down to the wire.
Day Three .... another awesome fishing day with a staggering 38 marlin hook ups. Reel Addiction hooked up early but dropped the Blue shortly after, then at 10.00am on the dot, most of the boats had multiply shots including a few doubles. As the day progressed the South Bank area became the hot spot and the action lasted right up to stop fishing. The Linemupdude team kept up the pressure with two tagged fish as did Escapade whilst Target One & Hakula each tagged a fish. Reel Addiction did a late run with four tagged fish and suddenly the tournament was once again wide open. Mahimahi, Yellow Fin and Wahoo were also weighed in at the end of the day.
Day Four & Last day ...... A slow start for all boats but again at around 10.00am the action started and it never stopped. 27 confirmed billfish strikes which included a few Sailfish. Reel Addiction hooked up first and tagged a sail on 24kg, followed by Target One, a blue on 60kg, Escapade a Sail on 24kg and then Lavinuella tagged two blues on 37kg. The pressure was on and Reel Addiction found a patch of fish and tagged two blues on 24kg. The last quarter and the battle was on ..... Reel Addiction hooked up and tagged a fish on 37kg and it just enough to sneak ahead of Lavinuella by 500pts. So for the first time in the Tournament Lavinuella were in second place. Escapade tagged another blue and then as stop fishing roll down commenced 1, 2, 3, 4, .... Lavinuella hooked up. The Reel Addiction team were nerve racked waiting for the call and some twenty minutes later Capt. Boris called Watch Dog .... one tagged & released Blue Marlin ... Mike Wood on 37kg . They had PULLED OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE and just by 2 seconds from stop fishing. A fantastic tournament and Capt. Boris and the team had simply out classed the field.
A good number of Mahimahi, Wahoo and Yellow Fin were also caught over the four day Tournament which were recognised in a separate category contributing to angler points.
Lavinuella tagged 11 Blue Marlin, a new Tournament record, runner up was Reel Addiction with 9 tagged fish and in 3rd place Escapade with 6 tagged billfish.
The tournament billfish figures were incredible .... 115 confirmed billfish strikes, 82 hook ups and 33 tagged billfish - 2 sailfish, 1 Striped Marlin, 1 Black Marlin and 29 Blue Marlin .......... now that is world class fishing.
The Lavinuella Team won the invite to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in May 2010 to compete in the IGFA OffShore World Championship and the Reel Addiction Team the invite to Port Vila, Vanuatu to fish the Marlin Classic in June 2010.
If you are wanting to fish next year’s tournament be quick, spaces are very limited: Contact: Steve Campbell e-mail: ikalahi@tongafishing.com
