home | about kim | target species | charters | vessels | about cairns | press | fishing report | photo gallery | enquiries

Barramundi Fishing | Giant Trevally Fishing | Black Marlin Fishing | Blue Marlin Fishing | Light Tackle Marlin Fishing | Billfish On Fly

		Captain Kim's Fishing Report		Cairns Australia
		Updates of latest fishing conditions,outstanding captures, tournament results, upcoming events and comment on current issues.
		GRANDER WEEK!!!!! Nov 20-24 Triple Species "Granders" The week of Nov 20-24 was perhaps the most successful week of my fishing career for "Big Fish" of the big three Black Marlin,Giant Trevally and Barramundi. "Grander" black Marlin are 1000lb, GT's 30kg and Barramundi 100cm (1000mm). The week didn't start the best when angler Mark Boys plane was delayed from Sydney and we didn't leave the wharf until 2.30 and got to the bottom of Linden Bankat 4.45 but the timing was good the fishing was good but we went 0 from 3 two missed bites and a 700 pounder that was lost when another fish swam through the line and popped it off. The following morning during a hectic light tackle session we managed to release a 35kg GT on 15kg tackle.The Marlin fishing was quiet until about o'clock when a huge head appeared behind the large scaly mackerel and engulfed it. 1100 lbs of marlin took to the air and after 20 minutes, Mark joined the grander release club after 4 seasons and a couple of 950plus fish. A few minutes later it was joined by a 350lb fish. Wednesday saw a change in water conditions and I slipped up Opal Ridge and was rewarded by releasing another fish of 1000lb for Markand a fitting way to end the "season". I had to be in Cooktown the following morning to pick up my next charter and the dawn cruise along the Cape Tribulation Rainforest in glass calm seas helped cure a sore head after some celebration at Port Douglas's famous "Iron Bar". Chica,Shin and Masa regular GT anglers and keen Barra fishermen boarded at the cooktown fisherman's wharf and an hour later Chica caught and released a 14kg GT with his first cast!!!, Masa took 3 casts to release his first GT, and just to prove it was no fluke Shin caught and released a 12kg GT on his first cast!!!. The day continued in a blur of GT bites. The following mornig after a hectic session on big GT's including a 31kg specimen for Masa, we anchored in Ninian Bay. Conditions were ideal and when the tide started to rise the Barra went nuts!. Fishing from the rocks we managed to release 22 Barramundi from 74cm to 102 cm, and popped off a couple of "Animals". Everybody managed to catch their personal best including Lavain with her first Barra. That evening a strong Southeasterly change came through and we enjoyed a quieter session. We enjoyed a couple of good GT sessions on the way back to Cooktown despite terrible weather. An articles on this trip have featured in many japanese fishing publications. NEW MOON TO THE RESCUE On the 12th of December I was GT fishing off Innisfail at about 4 O'Clock in the afternoon when a large Squall came bearing down on us, I decided to run for the closest reef and find a suitable anchorage for the evening before conditions deteriorated. I was almost at the reef when I received a Radio call to advise me that a vessel had hit Gilby's Reef some 12 miles to the east and was awash and the tide was rising. We battened down hatches and ran at high speed through 30 knot winds and big seas, the O'brien is certainly an excellent sea boat and 25 minutes later we were at Gilby's and as the wind eased and rain lifted we could see the 30ft commercial fishing boat laying on it's side with 3 people clinging to the top of the Starboard wheelhouse. We had prepared the rubber duck but there were large waves breaking on the reef in front of us and over the stern of the fishing boat. I received a radio call from the Emergency Services Rescue Helicopter to advise they were 12 minutes out and asked for a Sitrep. After accessing the situation I decided that whilst the fishermen were not having a great time the water was rising slowly, we probably had 1 1/2 hours before they were going to be submerged. There was no doubt that the rubber duck would be capsized at some stage and whilst I could have got them off it would not be without drama, with people in the water and injuries from the reef. I advised the pilot that we would stand by until they had arrived and everybody was winched off. It was an awesome sight watching the chopper winch the crew ,off the skill level of the pilot and winchman was awesome. My japanese anglers sure had a trip to remember apart from some awesome GT fishing! FISHING WITH FUMIO In January I had the pleasure of fishing Fumio Suzuki, who is recognized as the 'God Father' of GT fishing in Japan. Fumio san is the owner of FISHERMAN brand ,a range of Rods,Lures and accessories designed for GT fishing. He joined Egawa san and friends and we enjoyed some excellent GT fishing despite some adverse conditions. Craig Smith was along to record the action, and to get some photo's and see the different species to assist him with an upcoming commission from the PNG Gamefish association for an identification booklet on trevally species We managed to catch the full spectrum of trevally species, Craig rather took to the Bluefin Trevally, be on the lookout for a rash of Bluefin illustrations!!! Check out the thumbnail images below and click to enlarge them.   FISHING REPORT (Courtesy Les Marsh fishingcairns.com.au ) Akashi & Tomiko were on their honeymoon - two days ago they were at Monkey Mia in Western Australia swimming with the dolphins, yesterday they arrived in Cairns, today they wanted to catch a marlin! Phew ! You have to be quick some times but that's the way of the modern world. Everything is done at a hectic pace as we all lead such busy lives and have limited down time. Kim Andersen, the skipper of New Moon III, eased back on the throttles. A quick change of plans, "lets try for a G.T first". Akashi was handed a two-metre spin rod loaded with 50lb braid and BIG surface popper. Chuck it as far as you can towards the bommie and crack as hard as you can - first cast nothing, second the same, two more brief stops and crash. The monster G.T. Swallowed the popper in a boil of foam. Pump and wind as hard as you can yelled Kim, Moose the deckie (don't ever call him Jason) did his best to help as the rod buckled under the pressure an Akashi struggled to gain line. Tomiko was ready with the camera and peeled off a few shots of her husband straining under the weight of a good fish. We soon had the 30 lb G.T. Thumping on the deck, a quick de-hook, some more happy snaps and ...............FULL REPORT FRIDAY THE 13th (BLACK MARLIN FRIDAY) The season is starting to get into full swing and the best areas at time of writing were the Middle Ribbon reefs, Linden Bank and Euston Reef. The full moon traditionally sees a couple of slow days on the edge of the reef until it starts to wane, and this year it fell on Friday the 13th of October so it was with some trepidation, I set to sea with a more then thorough check of the engineroom anticipating a day full of disasters. The wind had fallen away so I made a decision to head for the seamount some 90 miles East of Cairns, and leave the normal grounds for the first day of a four day trip with Aussie anglers Ivan and Jason Karizaic. I pulled the engines back about 20 miles short of the seamount as a commercial boat catching yellowfin reported a lot of marlin in the area. About 6 miles short of the seamount the "Shotgun" Purple Pakula lure disappeared and reappeared with 650lb of Black Marlin hanging of the back of of it. Jason took the rod to the chair and after 15 minutes of bedlem it was tagged and released. Peter Lacy captain of the Real Screamer was a couple of miles ahead and as soon as his lures passed over the 40m pinnacle of the mountain a 900lb Black ambushed him......................................................................................................................FULL REPORT CIRCLE HOOK DEBATE I read with interest the article written by by John Ashley questioning the use of circle hooks on Giant Black Marlin. I started using them early last season after being given a couple of dozen by Peter B. Wright and as far as I am concerned having gone the full circle I am not going back to"J" hooks again in bait trolling for Giant Blacks. The incident that made me put the j hooks away was in early November last season when I caught a 950lb Black in 1 minute and had to get the crewman to drop the leader to try to make a fight out of the gut hooked Giant. It was angler Mark Boys largest Marlin to date , but a severe anticlimax that made me and him question the damage we are doing to the fish, there is a better answer. Anglers that see a gagging bleeding fish generally become a bit distressed themselves and that is not in my interest as a charter captain who makes a living out of marlin fishing, I like my clients to come back. We are now in the middle of the 2000 season which has seen fewer bites then last years but fishing had been kind to us with fish to 1100lb+ released. Fishing circle hooks in rigged and live bait trolling has been an interesting and rewarding experience as it has forced a radical rethink in bait rigging....................FULL REPORT