460Lbs Marlin for Christmas
December 23, 2017 Port Vila 3 photos
Marlin (Blue)
Marlin (Blue)

Trip Summary

Well today was a good day for the Geddes family from Sydney who are enjoying the festive season in Vanuatu. The weather was perfect with flat calm seas and clear skies. It was only a 4 hour charter today so the pressure was on to try and get Mark a fish in a small window. A quick chair demonstration to show 1st time heavy tackle angler Mark the ropes and we were away. As usual at the FADs the Yellowfin Tuna were busting all around us, with lots of birds working the area. In the calm weather it was hard to tempt the Tuna and despite a couple of tackle changes they were not biting. We decided to stick to chasing the ultimate goal of a Blue Marlin so left the temptation of the birds and Tunas to work our usual Marlin spots. As usual the lure spread was representing some of the best lure craftsmen in the business with Koya's and Crampton lures taking the short corner and long corner. It wasn't long before a good sized marlin appeared inside of the long corner, the fish was lit up with electric blue tail on full display. Just as the Captain gave the shout, the fish piled on the Crampton Hog lure and line started to peel off the Shimano 130. The fish gave a short display of thrashing turning the water white before screaming off into the distance. The crew had to move fast to clear the gear as this Marlin was not waiting for anyone. The speed of the run was blistering! In no time at all the top shot was off the reel and we were well into the dacron! Russ started chasing down on the fish to try and get some line back, despite it being his first time fishing out of the chair Mark put on a masterful display of angling with excellent technique and plenty of grit. As the top shot was safely back on the reel Russ made a few manoeuvres with the boat to encourage the fish to co-operate which she did and up she came. The look on the anglers face and the whole family as they saw a decent sized Blue Marlin swimming along was priceless. In around 30 minutes of fight Laura grabbed the leader and got the fish under control at the side of the boat and Lani deployed the flying gaff with a solid shot to secure the fish. We would normally release the fish but a local village was desperately in need of food for there community Christmas lunch and we thought we would give them a helping hand. The fish was boated and measured and using the IGFA formula had an estimated weight of 213 KG (468lbs). To say that Mark and family were happy is an understatement, and the local islanders from Lelepa have already been calling to thank the Nambas Team and the Geddes family for their Christmas feast. Merry Christmas Everyone!
Russ Housby
Port-vila, Vanuatu
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Blue Marlin on Fly in Vanuatu - IGFA 20L
Blue Marlin on Fly in Vanuatu - IGFA 20L
December 9, 2019
Terry Carter has fished all over the world armed only with his Fly Rod. Travelling all the way to Vanuatu from Cincinnati in the USA was nothing for a man on a mission. Terry wanted to chase Blue Marlin on the fly and that was what he got. Terry brought all his own gear including his Sage Fly Rod and Mako reel, along with an assortment of tippets and lines. The teasers had only been in the water around 15 minutes one morning when we raised a perfect sized Blue Marlin on the long teaser pole. The short teaser was quickly cleared and the fish teased beautifully to the back of the boat. When the boat was out of gear Terry made an almost textbook cast and the Blue Marlin inhaled the fly and was hooked. Completely perfect! But hey this is fly fishing, as the fish started ripping line off suddenly we were not connected anymore!!!! It turned out Terry's connection from braid to fly line had decided to fail us. Gutted is an understatement. We made good later in the trip raising another perfect sized Blue Marlin which smashed the short teaser. Having that temptation cleared out of his way he switched onto the long and the crew teased him to the back of the boat, the wind had started to pick up but Terry got the cast and the fish nailed the fly beautifully. Line started streaming and off we went chasing in reverse, everyone getting drenched in the process. The fish gave us an incredible show on the surface with countless acrobatics before finally sounding. Terry had to fight hard to lift the fish on the fly rod but he did an amazing angling job and was not going to give in. Terry had decided at the start of the trip that he wanted to release any Marlin he caught on the fly...this is easier said than done as it's not like you have a long strong leader to hang onto. This fish helped us out and the hook pulled boat side giving a perfect end to a great day. It wasn't our last shot either, the following day we raised another two Blue Marlin, the first fish was around 500lbs and really far bigger than you want to mess with on a fly rod. It teased and despite the wind the cast was made but thankfully it wasn't that interested in the fly. It was quite happy swimming around the transom lit up neon blue which gave us a great show. It was joined by a smaller fish that again teased several times but was not loving the fly. Any day you get to see multiple Blue Marlin swimming round the back of the boat is a pretty good day though! Terry is already planning his next trip and we are looking forward to fishing with him next year!
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