Australia

Australia 2019

A dream come true – we did it!
World’s first triple grander marlin slam

Great Barrier Reef, October 2019

I can still hardly believe it and have to keep pinching myself to make sure it wasn’t all a dream. No, it’s real and the mission has at long last been accomplished. After 8 years and a total of 96 days’ fishing the Great Barrier Reef I finally succeeded in officially catching and weighing a grander Black Marlin of 1,032 lbs. and thus become the world’s first angler to achieve a Marlin Grander Slam. It was a tough time but the hunt for this ultimate record is now over. You can’t imagine how huge the burden was that fell off my shoulders. From now on marlin fishing will take on an entirely new dimension; no more stress, no more record hunting, just pure fishing for fun.

How it all began

On 30th January 2007, in spite of a cyclone behind us, I had the great fortune to catch a Pacific Blue Marlin of 1,238 lbs. off Rodrigues Island with skipper Yann Collas, which at the same time was an IGFA world record for 80 lb. tackle. This record still stands today.

This was followed in May 2011 by a second weighed grander, an Atlantic Blue Marlin of 1,150 lbs., which I was able to catch with skipper Zak Conde off Cape Verde.

All my fishing pals kept at me, saying I should write history by catching a black marlin of over 1,000 lbs. and thus achieving a so-called Triple Grander Slam. Until then nobody had ever managed to do this. A 1,000 lb. black marlin ought to be an easy job anyway, they all said. Just try the Great Barrier Reef and achieving the world’s first triple grander slam would be a cup of tea…

I didn’t have to think too long about this. The idea was good and I had the goal firmly in my sights. In reality this couldn’t have been further from the truth. Even on the Great Barrier Reef grander black marlin don’t simply jump into your boat. During the season from the beginning of October to the end of November more than 20 charter boats and numerous private vessels target heavyweight black marlin in a 200 nautical mile area. If you are in the right place at the right time and are then fortunate enough to find a really big fish, entice it to take your bait, hook it, fight it to the side of the boat and gaff and capture it in compliance with IGFA rules, you have managed it. Ensuring that everything goes without a hitch (irrespective of weather, current, captain, angler, crew, boat, material, all your knots, timing, sharks and lots and lots of good luck) is a completely different matter altogether. Marlin of this size will not forgive the slightest of mistakes or carelessness and make all the difference between success and failure. There is also a huge difference between fighting a black marlin until the wireman grasps the leader (the fish thus having been officially caught) and actually gaffing a black marlin and getting it into the boat to be officially weighed.

From one year to the next on the Great Barrier Reef I began to realize that this mission was going to be anything but simple. Then after 8 years and a total of 96 days’ fishing everything slipped into place at last. It was an extremely tough job and to be honest I was beginning to have my doubts.

8. Record attempt at achieving a triple grander slam of officially weighed marlin

Days 1 to 7

The plans for this trip were for 13 days’ fishing on Amokura with skipper Brett Goetze (Australia) and his mates Jimmy Krauszer (USA), Jake Flynn (USA) and Richard Abela (Australia). We set off from Cooktown and for the first couple of days fished the central reefs down to the Linden Bank located to the south.

Things didn’t look particularly promising for us this time. The current was flowing from the wrong direction. The water was cooler than usual and very few fish were being caught by the other boats either. We had a tough time until day 8. Although we had contact with fish almost every day we were only able to hook and catch a few smaller ones – so where had all the big marlin gone?

On the afternoon of day 8 Brett decided to make a move straight from the Linden Bank in the direction of Ribbon Reef No. 10 (some 70 nautical miles away). We arrived at Ribbon Reef No. 8 and dropped anchor at around midnight. Until then I had only experienced manoeuvres like this with a small number of Cape Verde skippers – what a ride… great respect for so much commitment!

Days 8 and 9, at the height of our frustration

These two days provided 3/11 marlin caught including a fine specimen in the 800 lb. class. During the late afternoon we had one strike after another but were unable to hook any of them. Then what can only be described as a super grander cruised past our boat without showing any interest in our baits. None of us is ever likely to forget the sight of its tailfin – an absolutely awesome fish. We were totally frustrated by our modest hook-up rate of 9/28. Obviously there was no point in carrying on like this so we had to change our system. Nevertheless, the atmosphere on board remained good and positive. Arguments, pressure, recriminations and shouting were not likely to help one little bit. Together we tried to improve our quota by carrying out a few minor technical changes to our setup. True to the motto “One Team – One Dream” we had to persevere as a unit with all the ups and downs this entailed. As a matter of interest the hook-up rate on the other boats was also far from optimal.

Day 10

Plenty of wind and rain and again only small fish. We finished the day with 2/5 marlin caught.

Day 11 – the day of all days which we will never forget

First thing in the morning a good fish took the bait but we pulled the hook after the marlin made some spectacular jumps. This can’t really be happening, we thought. Shortly afterwards we caught a 400 pounder which put up a good show. Towards early afternoon the strikes came in quick succession. A double strike and yet another 800 lb. marlin. Half an hour later another double strike. One of the strikes was formidable and the gaffs were brought out just to be on the safe side. It turned out to be a fine marlin specimen of some 900 lbs. on the end of the leader and we then duly released it. I simply couldn’t believe it. Yet again so close – it wasn’t to be – or was it?

Half an hour later another specimen-size fish struck. After some 20 minutes we had it close enough to grab the leader for the first time but weren’t sure whether or not it was going to reach the magic 1,000 lbs. mark or not. We all agreed it was going to be a close thing. We left the marlin on the leader and then decided to take the next opportunity to gaff and capture it. We got a second chance and the lads did a bombastic job gaffing it. It took five of us to drag the marlin on board in a joint effort, as quickly as possible since the sharks were closing in.

Now we had to steam off to the nearest mother ship (Beluga) to have the marlin officially weighed. We knew it was going to be a damned close call and measured it a couple of times. According to the conversion tables it could have been anywhere between 980 and 1,050 lbs., depending on how well nourished it was. Thus began the torture of a long wait… was it going to be enough this time?

The calibrated and certified scales on the Beluga settled at 1,032 lbs. and you could have heard the jubilant cheering as far away as Cooktown. Mission accomplished, we hugged each other at least a hundred times and celebrated late into the night. By the way, we had previously placed several bets for every day at sea, including a haircut by the skipper for the exuberant angler who caught a weighed grander…

Days 12 and 13 – no stress any more

We took it easy but still managed to catch a 700 lb. marlin which put on a great show, and on the last day set off early back to Cooktown. We finished the trip with a ratio of 16/40 marlin caught and were all delighted and proud of what we had achieved.

Summary of the Catch Results:

Day 01 – 0/1 Black Marlin
Day 02 – 1/2 Black Marlin
Day 03 – 0/0 Black Marlin
Day 04 – 2/6 Black Marlin
Day 05 – 1/2 Black Marlin
Day 06 – 2/4 Black Marlin
Day 07 – 0/2 Black Marlin
Day 08 – 1/2 Black Marlin
Day 09 – 2/9 Black Marlin incl. an 800 pounder
Day 10 – 2/5 Black Marlin
Day 11 – 4/6 Black Marlin 400/800/900/1032 pounders
Day 12 – 1/1 Black Marlin 700 pounder
Day 13 – 0/0 Black Marlin

Synopsis

I first accepted the challenge 8 years ago, learned more about fishing the Great Barrier Reef from year to year and increasingly realized how difficult this undertaking was really going to be. Over the 96 days we had strikes from a small number of marlin weighing over 1,000 lbs. but lost all of them. Leaders snapped, hooks pulled and we even lost a big fish while it was being gaffed. At times I had given up any hope of catching the elusive fish. It even reached the stage when I was unable to get any joy from an 800 lb. marlin. This is the point where you have to consider seriously what you are doing. I told all my friends and family that if things didn’t turn out this year either it was highly probable the mission would never be accomplished and that I most definitely needed a break. Now that my dream has come true I am over the moon since a new phase has begun in my marlin fishing. No stress anymore and great pleasure with every fish caught, irrespective of big or small, and I have promised myself to keep the gaffs firmly stored away in future!

A thousand thanks to the Amokura crew with skipper Brett Goetze and his mates Jimmy Krauszer, Jake Flynn und Richard Abela – yeeeees we did it!!!! My thanks also go to Tim Richardson and his mates with whom I fished for the first few years, and to everyone else involved in the Triple Grander Marlin Slam project.

Here are some figures for the statisticians

After 98 days spread over a period of 8 years we caught 95 of the 178 black marlins that took our baits. We lost one weighing in excess of 1,100 lbs. on the leader and one during the gaffing process. One marlin weighing 906 lbs. was foul hooked in its caudal fin with a circle hook and unfortunately died by the time we got it on board. Another one weighing 950 lbs. (caught on our Big Smoker lure) was tail-wrapped and also died. We fought a third marlin of 917 lbs. for three hours in the darkness, gaffed it but this one regrettably didn’t reach the desired weight on the scales. We were able to conclude the great challenge on day 96 with a black marlin weighing 1,032 lbs. All the other marlin were released.

Contact details for Brett Goetze, Amokura:

Captain – Brett Goetze

Amokura – 57ft Assegai

www.facebook.com/ReelChaseCharters

www.reelchasecharters.com

Photos – Richard Abela