Many visitors to this website may never have been big game fishing, but everyone will have heard of it. No problem there, and it's good to see you showing an interest.
These articles talk in general terms about what a day out on a game boat can be like. For someone who's never had the experience, this will give you a feel for how a day with an experienced crew will unfold, and what's required of anyone contemplating giving this sport a try. It can't give you much more than just a hint of the beauty, the excitement, the spectacle, and the surprises in store, but at least it may just be enough to help you decide that this sport may be for you.
And if you still want to give this a try, read the companion article about crewing on a game boat, and if that still hasn't turned you off, then the Contact Form is your next move...
These articles talk in general terms about what a day out on a game boat can be like. For someone who's never had the experience, this will give you a feel for how a day with an experienced crew will unfold, and what's required of anyone contemplating giving this sport a try. It can't give you much more than just a hint of the beauty, the excitement, the spectacle, and the surprises in store, but at least it may just be enough to help you decide that this sport may be for you.
And if you still want to give this a try, read the companion article about crewing on a game boat, and if that still hasn't turned you off, then the Contact Form is your next move...
Crewing on a Game Fishing Boat
Almost every big game boat up and down the coast needs crew at some stage. Crewing on a game boat means a big day out further from shore than most fishing trips would normally go, with the added possibility of the challenge of catching some of the strongest, biggest, toughest fish in the ocean. Women and 10 year old kids catch marlin, which means you can too. Many of us believe this sport is the ultimate leisure time activity.
And for those of you who think that sport shouldn't be about killing fish, you're right... nearly all the marlin caught by game fishermen are tagged with a special identifying tag under a special Dept of Primary Industries program, and released alive within a few minutes of being brought up to the boat - we usually only bring home photos.
***What you DO need to crew on a game boat:
- Commitment
- Enthusiasm for, or even just curiosity about big game angling. This sort of fishing is different, and involves very heavy fishing gear generally using up to 37kg line on high-tech reels, short powerful rods, sophisticated skirted lures armed with hooks up to about 15/0, live and dead baits rigged on circle hooks, and some unusual angling techniques.
- Teamwork
- Patience, with the old adage about "hours of nothing, then moments of high adrenalin action" being very applicable to game fishing.
- The ability to enjoy a day at sea in both sublimely beautiful, and occasionally, truly lousy conditions and everything in between
- The ability to survive out of mobile phone range much of the time
- An entire day free at least a couple of times each month.
- Lunch
- Willingness to fish to clearly defined and basically simple game fishing rules
- Willingness to chip in to share fuel costs and help clean the boat at the end of the day
***What you DON'T need to crew on a game boat:
- Your own boat
- Fishing gear of any sort - the skipper provides it all, and maintains it all for reasons that will become obvious.
- Experience - you'll pick up enough to fish with confidence after a couple of outings
Game fishing is a sport, not necessarily a seafood catching exercise, and the primary target here on this coast is marlin - blue, black, and striped. The objective is to find, catch, and then tag and release these magnificent game fish, and even after the best day imaginable, you may go home without a single fish to eat. Generally though, about one trip in three results in some fresh fish for the freezer, as mahi-mahi, wahoo, tuna and other sportfish are often caught along the way.
The Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club is the biggest club on the NSW north coast, and has two formal competition days per month for the nine month fishing season. There is another smaller but strong club in Coffs that fishes one day per month all year, and a small but very active club at Port Macquarie. Comp days usually involve a full day out game fishing, followed by a BBQ after fishing, and even a couple of beers the evening before to plan for the day ahead.
Some days amount to droning around an apparently empty ocean watching a set of lures in the wake of the boat that never raise a single fish. Even on these days though, there can be all manner of things to see around you - whales, dolphins, albatrosses, and all this against some of the best sunrises you'll ever see, and the backdrop of the mountain ranges and magnificent north coast of NSW to the west.
...If you know what this is all about, there are skippers who'd like to talk to you, and if you've never done it, but it sounds like you, there's really only one way to find out what it's like.
And for those of you who think that sport shouldn't be about killing fish, you're right... nearly all the marlin caught by game fishermen are tagged with a special identifying tag under a special Dept of Primary Industries program, and released alive within a few minutes of being brought up to the boat - we usually only bring home photos.
***What you DO need to crew on a game boat:
- Commitment
- Enthusiasm for, or even just curiosity about big game angling. This sort of fishing is different, and involves very heavy fishing gear generally using up to 37kg line on high-tech reels, short powerful rods, sophisticated skirted lures armed with hooks up to about 15/0, live and dead baits rigged on circle hooks, and some unusual angling techniques.
- Teamwork
- Patience, with the old adage about "hours of nothing, then moments of high adrenalin action" being very applicable to game fishing.
- The ability to enjoy a day at sea in both sublimely beautiful, and occasionally, truly lousy conditions and everything in between
- The ability to survive out of mobile phone range much of the time
- An entire day free at least a couple of times each month.
- Lunch
- Willingness to fish to clearly defined and basically simple game fishing rules
- Willingness to chip in to share fuel costs and help clean the boat at the end of the day
***What you DON'T need to crew on a game boat:
- Your own boat
- Fishing gear of any sort - the skipper provides it all, and maintains it all for reasons that will become obvious.
- Experience - you'll pick up enough to fish with confidence after a couple of outings
Game fishing is a sport, not necessarily a seafood catching exercise, and the primary target here on this coast is marlin - blue, black, and striped. The objective is to find, catch, and then tag and release these magnificent game fish, and even after the best day imaginable, you may go home without a single fish to eat. Generally though, about one trip in three results in some fresh fish for the freezer, as mahi-mahi, wahoo, tuna and other sportfish are often caught along the way.
The Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club is the biggest club on the NSW north coast, and has two formal competition days per month for the nine month fishing season. There is another smaller but strong club in Coffs that fishes one day per month all year, and a small but very active club at Port Macquarie. Comp days usually involve a full day out game fishing, followed by a BBQ after fishing, and even a couple of beers the evening before to plan for the day ahead.
Some days amount to droning around an apparently empty ocean watching a set of lures in the wake of the boat that never raise a single fish. Even on these days though, there can be all manner of things to see around you - whales, dolphins, albatrosses, and all this against some of the best sunrises you'll ever see, and the backdrop of the mountain ranges and magnificent north coast of NSW to the west.
...If you know what this is all about, there are skippers who'd like to talk to you, and if you've never done it, but it sounds like you, there's really only one way to find out what it's like.
