Is it a marlin? Is it a shark? No. it’s a yellowfin!
The day started with high hopes as three crew had never caught a marlin and it was our first troll for the season. However, as we got further out conditions were not as good as forecasted and crew were settling in for a long bumpy day.
Cody McMillan and friends set out from Raglan in search of a marlin, only to come back with a decent yellowfin tuna that surprised all on board. Here’s his story.
“The day started with high hopes as three crew had never caught a marlin and it was our first troll for the season. However, as we got further out conditions were not as good as forecasted and crew were settling in for a long bumpy day. As skipper, I had looked at the forecast the night before and knew it was going to flatten out.
“So we trolled on seeing signs of bait and bird life around the 120m mark and picked up a small albacore and a skippy by 9 am. Brandon was feeling a bit sick after having injections in his eye at the hospital the day prior so he was sleeping on deck and another crew member was catching up on some sleep in the cabin.
“At 9.55am the shotgun rod went off and within a matter of seconds everyone was up and looking for a jumping marlin, as the adrenaline set in everyone went to work clearing the gear while Brandon picked up the screaming reel. By the time we cleared the gear the spool was 3/4 gone, so it was time to chase the fish down. As time passed we still hadn’t seen the fish and thoughts were going around that we had a large shark, then the fish went deep which made us think it could be a blue marlin.
“I started working the boat in circles around the line to try to get the fish up, however, what line we got back soon disappeared. As the adrenaline settled, Brandon realised he was still sick and let out a power chuck all over him and the reel but he wasn’t giving up and after 1.2 hours we saw colour for the first time and it was grey!
“Hearts sunk as we all thought we had a shark, however when I grabbed the leader and Luke took over the helm, the grey sparkled and before I could process that it was a shark, up popped this big yellowfin and within seconds the flying gaff was in and it was in the boat. It was almost too hard to believe and a yellowfin out from raglan is a rare and unheard of catch. “We sat in the boat for 20 minutes almost in shock as we realised what we had caught and to do it on our home turf. It was an experience that my crew and I will never forget. The fish was caught on a Bonze lure ‘the heat’. I must say thank you to my dad, without him we wouldn’t have had a boat to use and the knowledge I’ve learnt from him. Also to Sheryl and Richard Hart and the rest of the Raglan Sport Fishing Club for the weigh and keeping a great fishing club.”
