The Game Fishing Video Gallery
More and more boats are sporting Garmin VIRB or the older GoPro or similar mini HD video cameras mounted on the flybridge, outriggers, anglers' and deckies' hats and even on poles for underwater action shots. Be warned - editing the footage from these cameras is usually harder than catching the fish, but you end up with a great record of your most memorable fishing experiences once you learn a few basic editing skills and find the time!
These are just a few of the videos from our efforts, and if you want to add some video records of your own game fishing experiences to this page, just get in touch. . . .
A word of warning, the server that supports this website is notoriously slow when it comes to streaming these videos, and if your internet connection is less than stellar, it may take a while to buffer it all up. Select play, go make a cup of coffee, and then it should work OK for you. If it's jerky on the first run, it will be better on the second play.
These are just a few of the videos from our efforts, and if you want to add some video records of your own game fishing experiences to this page, just get in touch. . . .
A word of warning, the server that supports this website is notoriously slow when it comes to streaming these videos, and if your internet connection is less than stellar, it may take a while to buffer it all up. Select play, go make a cup of coffee, and then it should work OK for you. If it's jerky on the first run, it will be better on the second play.
The 2018 Heavy Tackle Challenge
In an inexplicable act of bastardry, the Solitary Islands GFC's 2018 Heavy Tackle Challenge game fishing tournament was held hostage to unrelated club politics, and consequently set up to underperform after the impossibly late release of tournament details, no advance PR, and no marketing.
When it became obvious that no effort was going into promoting this tournament, I sat down and put together this short video in frustration over a cup of coffee one morning as a reminder to game fishermen that the tournament is bigger than the machinations of those with other agendas. Sadly though, this video is probably more requiem than celebration.
When it became obvious that no effort was going into promoting this tournament, I sat down and put together this short video in frustration over a cup of coffee one morning as a reminder to game fishermen that the tournament is bigger than the machinations of those with other agendas. Sadly though, this video is probably more requiem than celebration.
The 2016/17 Season
This Coffs Coast video was submitted to a French game fishing short video festival as an Australian entry in the amateur category. The professional entries were awesome - 4K video from multiple cameras, drone and towcam footage, lots of in-your-face marlin action, and all with professional editing.
Us amateurs can't match that of course, but it was great to be asked to submit an entry nonetheless...
Us amateurs can't match that of course, but it was great to be asked to submit an entry nonetheless...
Friday, 24th February
Friday was a good day... any day you go 1/1/1 on a decent blue marlin is a good day. The colour of the water was exactly as the camera saw it... electric blue, calm, and drop dead gorgeous. Fortunately, we found a good fish that hooked up solid and gave Paul a nice workout for 25 minutes. It's hard work finding a marlin out there in that unseasonally empty ocean, but it's worth it when you meet up with a blue like this.
Saturday, 11 February 2017
After a long time between drinks out on the edge of the shelf, the marlin would seem to be moving back in... here's one of the latest clips of a recent day out.
Saturday, Christmas Eve 2016
It's been a long time between marlin with the most dismal start to a game fishing season in memory... We finally got back in the groove again with this nice 120kg blue marlin for new team member Sam French on Christmas Eve 2016
Tuesday, 3rd May
There was a strong afternoon bite out at The Canyons off Coffs Harbour on Tuesday, and we had our share. Two missed blues and a tagged striped marlin was our score at the end of the day. The Billfishman Chronicles added another chapter, and the beat goes on...
Friday, 29th April
Slow day, but one nice striped marlin...
Big Saturday
Now that I have a new waterproof Garmin VirbXE action camera, life is a lot easier, and telling the whole story of a day out on the edge of the shelf a lot more fun. The new camera doesn't require a waterproof case, so I can just clip on a power lead (they have a waterproof power connection as well as an internal 2 hour battery) to power it all day, slot in a 128gb card (horribly expensive in Australia, but available for $60 with free postage in the US) that allows it to record 1080p HD video for 11 hours continuously, and that way catch all the action, and all the strikes, of which there are 2 in the video below. The latest editing programmes make it all a lot easier, and you can have a lot of fun in the process instead of wasting hours in front of the computer. Here's the first effort with the new camera... bit tongue in cheek, but it gives a great feel for our day last Saturday when we raised six blue marlin.
Juvenile Black Marlin - 3 February 2016
Gorgeous day, but hard fishing, with very few fish around. We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and angler John Stafford had a fun time on 15kg gear while Phil and Steve looked after the rest.
Double Striped Marlin - Yeah!
At the start of the 2014/15 season, we had an extremely rare event - not only a double striped marlin hookup, but both anglers were also on their first marlin. Damien the Frenchman did a sterling job with a tough fish, and Jess the surfer chick turned out to be a natural with more grit than John Wayne. The fish were a couple of great 80kg marlin that gave as good as they got.
Autumn Black - April 2014
We see a lot of first time anglers on Foreign Exchange, and game fishing being what it is, only a small percentage of them get a marlin on their very first trip. Neal Warren was one of those lucky few, and for his trouble, he got hooked up on a very athletic 40kg black marlin that put on a fine display in close once it saw the boat and our wireman Lee McKeown, and decided that it liked neither. Conditions were pretty ordinary that day, so tagging this fish after 20 minutes was a great outcome.
George among the Antipodeans
George is on track to be one of the top three anglers in the Solitary Islands GFC this season, and he's a Pom, so it's only fair to take the piss...
New Years Eve Marlin
We went out in near perfect conditions on 31 December 2013, and after thinking the fish had all been taken by Martians or something on a day when they should have been jumping into the boat, crewman Lee McKeown was on strike late in the afternoon when we finally found this nice 50kg marlin.
The fish was only just hooked and only the tip of the Jobu was stuck in its bill, but good pressure from Lee and trace man Nick meant we got it to the boat and tagged before the hook dropped out. So the video clip is pretty short, with no closeups of the fish beside the boat - because it wasn't beside the boat for more than a couple of seconds. Still, who cares as long as the tag goes in and the flag goes up... which leads to today's trick question... who can spot the error?
The fish was only just hooked and only the tip of the Jobu was stuck in its bill, but good pressure from Lee and trace man Nick meant we got it to the boat and tagged before the hook dropped out. So the video clip is pretty short, with no closeups of the fish beside the boat - because it wasn't beside the boat for more than a couple of seconds. Still, who cares as long as the tag goes in and the flag goes up... which leads to today's trick question... who can spot the error?
Termination (...with extreme predjudice) of boats with overdue marina fees
Every now and then, there are jokers with way too much time on their hands and a video editing program on their computer. The following short video clip was sent to me as a warning about the consequences of late payment of marina fees...
Perfect November Day 1/11/13
After a winter of poor conditions, George, Lee and I took Foreign Exchange out on a drop dead gorgeous day in November and found this nice 200kg blue marlin. The skipper claimed to have been a bit busy and missed turning on the GoPro in time to get the strike and first huge run of the fish, but you get the idea. . .
Third Time Lucky... Aaron Kilmurray! 31 April 2013
Here's the first video to be posted - a nice clip that has Aaron Kilmurray's first blue marlin churning up white water for over 30 seconds as it runs off to the right and then heads straight for the boat before settling down for the fight. This was the third of three fish he hooked up - the first two jumped off for various reasons, so this one finally got the monkey off his back.
You'll see excellent, no-fuss crew work from Rob Lang and Nick Brunyee which was a big help in getting this fish done and dusted.
It was a good fish of about 140kg, and Aaron got it to the boat in 30 minutes, which is good for a first-timer. It left with its new tag jewellery, and in healthy condition, with smiles all round.
Gorgeous weather, blue water, blue marlin. . . does it get any better?
You'll see excellent, no-fuss crew work from Rob Lang and Nick Brunyee which was a big help in getting this fish done and dusted.
It was a good fish of about 140kg, and Aaron got it to the boat in 30 minutes, which is good for a first-timer. It left with its new tag jewellery, and in healthy condition, with smiles all round.
Gorgeous weather, blue water, blue marlin. . . does it get any better?
First Time Lucky... Brian May! 27 April 2013
Brian May came out to see what big game fishing was all about and went home with a Black Marlin to his credit after just his very first trip! He was even fighting this fish only 10 minutes after we dropped the lures in the water that morning.
That's such a good record that it was suggested at the time that we drop him back at the marina immediately because it wasn't ever going to be better than this!
Another excellent day, and the usual high standard of expert deck work from Andrew, ably assisted by new recruit Aaron (who shows us a bit more of his anatomy than we really needed to see), both of whom made it look easy for Brian.
That's such a good record that it was suggested at the time that we drop him back at the marina immediately because it wasn't ever going to be better than this!
Another excellent day, and the usual high standard of expert deck work from Andrew, ably assisted by new recruit Aaron (who shows us a bit more of his anatomy than we really needed to see), both of whom made it look easy for Brian.
...And again, First Marlin on the first trip for angler Jon Heinz 16 May 2013
Jon Heinz joined the club, came out on his first ever big game fishing trip, and caught this nice blue. Again, first trip, first marlin - as everyone agreed, we should have taken him straight back to the marina, 'cause it doesn't get better than this!