Blue Water Magazine 2011 1

8/12/2019 Blue Water Magazine 2011 1

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This article is provided courtesy ofBlueWaterBoats & Sportsfishing magazine.It originally appeared in Issue 85, 2011

www.bluewatermag.com.au


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This is a guide to prepare you fortackling a blue marlin of over1000lb. In Madeira, where Irun the charter boatKatherine B,

a fish like that is not uncommon.In fact, some years we catch lots of

huge blue marlin, with our averagefish something like 800lb.Before moving to Madeira to chase

big blues, I spent decades catchinggrander black marlin off Cairns.These are quite different animalsand the fighting techniques thatIll outline here are not the sameprocedures that I would suggest forgiant blacks.

In a playground like Madeira, weget to see many anglers hooked-upto their first truly enormous marlin.Its not an easy situation for most

first-timers. There is a lot going onand it all happens very fast.

Most anglers get flustered andconfused, and fumble the initialstages, when they should beenjoying one of the most exciting

spectacles on earth. This purposeof this article is to prepare you,so that when your opportunitycomes, youll be confident, relaxed and successful.Imagine yourself facing a big fish

on heavy-tackle for the first time.Its all very well that youve been ona boat before. Perhaps youve evendone some serious gamefishing forsmaller game. Even so, the feelingof being up against a 1000lb fish israther daunting terrifying wouldbe closer to the truth.

Youll probably feel thateveryone is watching you and youmight think that youre expectedto know everything. The realityis that what you experience inthe heavy-tackle chair, especially

when connected to a huge bluemarlin, will be quite differentto anything youve experiencedbefore. Because of this, Im goingto run you through the procedureas though this is all new to you.

Approach this informationwith an open mind and absorbwhat you can. When themoment arrives and youre inthe spotlight, you will most likelyforget everything I have said itis a phenomenon I like to call an

adrenaline blackout.

Catching a blue marlin of over 1000lb is easier when you have a master coachlike Capt Peter Bristow. Hes helped his anglers catch more grander blue andblack marlin than perhaps any other skipper in history. In this first instalmentof his detailed guide to catching a grander blue, Captain Bristow outlines his

invaluable step-by-step procedure to prepare anglers for the battle of their lives.Youll discover the correct way to adjust and set-up a fighting chair and harness essential skills whenever youre using heavy-tackle.

AUT HOR : CAPT PETER BRISTOWPHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL WATSON; BRYAN TONEY; CAPT PETER BRISTOW; JOHN ASHLEY

PART 1: PREPARING FOR BATTLE

BLUE

GRANDERS

WINNING

STRATEGIES FOR


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gimbal and cannot be moved foreand aft. If the harness rides upyour back during the fight, thenshorten the footrest to move your

bum back into the harness. Donot shorten the harness straps orit will all go pear-shaped.

First-timers have a strongtendency to try to lift the rod toohigh when retrieving line andto rise up on their toes. Thisis wrong! You must take yourweight on flat feet. Do not try tolift the rod any higher than youcan manage with your feet stillflat on the footrest and dontstrain yourself backwards. Youare only going to hurt yourself tono advantage.

It is technique and co-ordination, rather than

strength and size, that makes a good angler.

THE HARNESSWhen the fish is out on the surface,there is nothing you can do but getline when you can achieved either

by the boat backing up or the fishswimming towards you. Dont forone moment think you can wind ina 1000lb fish with you own strengthin this situation. Just get line whenyou can and dont force it. Yourturn to pull will come when thefish is down there at a good angle,allowing you to apply techniqueand skill.

There are seat harnesses availablethat are designed to slide up theback, so the angler can pull on afish while it is out on the surface.However, keep in mind that your

back muscles are weak and if youwant to hurt yourself seriously, thenstart pulling with your back. I cantell you for certain that you wont

be able to do this for long.So far, weve addressed the lengthof the chairs footrest. Next, we lookat the height. The correct settingdepends entirely on the body weightof the angler. As Ive said, it istechnique and coordination, ratherthan strength and size, that makesa good angler I cannot emphasisethis point strongly enough!

For smaller or lighter anglers,we raise the footrest until you arepushing right against it. When thepressure is on, the fish now has to liftyou straight up. Now you can use

Above:Capt PeterBristow takes hisangler through atraining session.Before the lures are

put in the water,the angler should befitted to the chairand harness, and becomfortable withthe procedure. Thechairs footrest shouldbe set so that theanglers knees areover the edge of theseat. The feet arespaced wide and keptflat to distribute theload. The lower thefootrest, the easierthe tackle can lift anangler.


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Winning Strategies for Blue Granders

48 BlueWater Boats & Sportsfishing

your weight to its full advantage. Forbigger anglers we lower the footrest.The rod under pressure can now liftyou up out of the chair because ofmechanical advantage.

Setting the balance between yourweight and the fishs ability to liftyou up off the chair is adjustedby raising or lowering the footrest,

and is set according to the pressureof the drag on the reel. Whateverpressure you have on the line willdetermine that balance.The feel of this balance point

is largely up to the individual. Ifyoure fishing with experiencedcrew then listen to them, but useyour discretion. If youre fighting afish and it feels wrong or that thefish will pull you out of the chair,just back off the drag.

Mistakes with the footrest settingare easy to make. I see a lot ofyoung skippers set the footrest far

too low for novice anglers. Theymay set the rod low thinking thatit gives the angler more chance oflifting the fish, but this is wrong.With the footrest too low, your bodyweight cannot be used efficientlyand the fish will be able to lift youout of the chair with little effortat all.

When weve finished adjusting thechair around you, Ill want to seeyou sitting in the seat harness withyour rod tip resting at a 45-degreeangle to the horizon. If that is not so,then something is wrong.

As soon as we hook-up, I will be

driving the boat so that the angleof the line from the rod-tip is keptat 90 degrees, angling the line at 45degrees to the water. There are tworeasons for this: first is to keep the

fish swimming and the second is togive you maximum lifting power.Throughout this initial period, Iwant to see you relaxedat all times.There is no need to ever strainyourself. Relax and let the fish dothe work. Use your weight it comesat no price to you.

THE REELHave you ever used a reel the size ofthis thing? Most likely not if its yourfirst time on heavy-tackle. They arebig and cumbersome. They are thatsize because we need a lot of line todeal with that first run. Even withits substantial size, it is difficult toget more than 850m of 60kg line onthe spool. Nevertheless, that shouldbe plenty, as in 50 years of giantmarlin fishing Ive only run out ofline twice and we still managed tocatch both fish!

Get some practice changing gears.

Each brand of reel is different.Modern designs have a press-buttonshift, which is absolutely idiot-proof.If the reel youre using doesnthave this luxury, make sure youknow how to change gears thenpractise until you can do itwithout thinking.

Now I want you to place your lefthand on top of the reel and it isimportant that it stays there! Yourright hand goes on to the reelshandle. Next, Im going to put mytwo hands on the rod and pull downwith all my might. This will havethe effect of lifting you up from

the chair. With a correctly set-uprod, chair and harness combination,you actually have the power to liftme right off the deck, using yourbody as a counterweight. Thats

how much power you have withouteven trying to pull.

If I loaded your rod with myweight then suddenly let go, youmight fear that the reel would flyback and hit you in the face. Thisis not so although the situationsimulates what happens if the hookpulls out or the line breaks under

extreme pressure. With your lefthand still sitting relaxed on top ofthe reel, the backwards motion ofthe rod is completely neutralised.Your reaction to stop the reelfrom flying back into your face isautomatic you dont have to thinkabout it. Had your left hand notbeen there you would have sufferedserious damage to both your faceand demeanour. There have beensome horrible accidents resultingfrom ignoring this principle butnot on my boat! The other reasonfor your hand to be on top of the

reel is for guiding the line. Whenretrieving, I want to see that linegoing back on like a cotton reel;each revolution should lay side-by-side with the one before it.

I can demonstrate the necessityof this by winding on some line inan erratic criss-cross manner. Applya little drag and pull the line offfast under some pressure. Hear thatripping noise? That is the soundof friction and the line destroyingitself by rubbing over the adjoiningstrands and we dont want that!So carefully guide the line all theway to the edges of the spool, each

strand lying neatly next to thestrand before it, so that when itcomes off under pressure, it is goingto come off like silk. You would besurprised how many new chums getthis wrong without a bit of practiceon the real thing.

THE STRIKENow, imagine a marlin has justappeared back there in the lurespread, or has actually taken one.There will suddenly be a lot ofscreaming and yelling from thecrew (I love it). Stay calm! Whatever

you do, stay calm!If a reel is screaming, coolly andcarefully determine which rod isgoing off. If the fish is simply stalkingone of the lures, determine whereit is. If you dont have polarisedsunglasses on then get some! Theywill enable you to have a chance ofseeing what the crew is watching.

When the fish strikes and the linecomes down from the rigger and thereel starts screaming, go to it butdont do anything until I tell you to.Until you know the fish is hookedbeyond any doubt, you should not

The

sizzling run

of a big blue

marlin will

shock most

anglers into

disbelief.

Once yourehooked-up, youllfind it difficult toremove a loaded

heavy-tackle

outfit from therodholder unless

you pull the tip upto disengage thepressure holding

the butt against thefront wall of therodholder. Make

sure you grasp therod as shown, sothat your hands

are positionedcorrectly to carrythe outfit and to

place the butt intothe gimbal-fitting

on the game-chair.


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Winning Strategies for Blue Grand

www.bluewatermag.com.au

take the rod to the chair. If thefish drops the lure and they quiteoften do and then climbs on to adifferent one, you will be in the chair

with the wrong outfit. Thats a bigmistake and you wouldlook stupid!

Something to bear in mind at thispoint: a blue marlin usually jumpsand runs in circles, whereas blackmarlin generally jump and run instraight lines. Only on the rarestof occasions will a black marlinrun back on you its not in theircharacter. Once were hooked-up, Ihave some fast decision-making todo. I want to get the boat away fromthat fish as quickly as possible toavoid it jumping across the otherlines. Even worse is if the fish runs

ahead of us then cuts across in frontof the boat. In that scenario, wewould be trapped in a circle of linelaid down by the runaway fish. Ihave been there before and it wasnot good! Another bad outcomeis if a fish takes a second lure.It does happen!Therefore, once I have cleared

the fish from the pattern of otherlures, I will stop the boat and youcan transfer the rod to the chair

When transferring tothe chair, place thebutt into the chairsgimbal cup beforeclimbing over it toget seated. Oncein, clip your harnessto the reel alwaystowards the outsidefrom between thereels harness lugs.

in comfort and safety. When youhear my confirmation to make thetransfer, consider carefully whereyou are going to place your hands

on the rod. You do not want to endup with your arms crossed over asyou step into the chair and try toguide the rodbutt into the chairsgimbal socket.

As the rod will have load on it, youshould pull the rod back slightlywhile it is still in the rodholder. Thiswill relieve the pressure between thebutt and the rodholder tube so youcan more easily extract it.

Youll find the transfer manoeuvremuch easier if a Hayes Handle isfitted to the rods bent butt. Theseclamp-on grips make it ever so easyto control the bulk and weight of

this top-heavy equipment duringthis critical time. They are highlyrecommended and are availabledirect from Capt Roddy Hayes (visit:www.legendlures.com).

So that this is all familiar to youwhen the pressure is on, before weeven start fishing well do a coupleof dummy runs and youll practicegetting the rod from the coveringboard to the chair. Get used to thefeel and the weight of the outfits, it

helps and practice changing gearrepeatedly, until you have it right.Big 80 and 130 reels have two-speedgears with ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 asstandard. The low gear is 1:1 andthis is very useful when the fish goesdeep and there is a lot of pressure tocrank against. You will find it verydifficult to retrieve line under heavypressure unless you go down to low

Blue marlin have a tendency to run and jump in circles. Theres adanger that it will turn back and run towards you.

STEPONE

STEPTWO

STEPTHREE


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Winning Strategies for Blue Granders

50 BlueWater Boats & Sportsfishing

The heavy-

tackle chair

will be quite

differentto anything

youve

experienced

before.

Capt Peter Bristow has over 45 years experience in commercial and sport

fishing. In 1968 he moved to Cairns, Australia, to work on gamefishingvessels. The following year he built the 38ft gameboatAvalon, then ran her out

of Cairns for the next 23 years. By 1976 his boat had caught 1000 giant black

marlin. By 1991, Capt Bristow had caught nearly 2000 giant blacks, 51 of

which weighed over 1000lb, and the largest of which weighed 1323lb. Along

the way, he accrued numerous world and Australian records for his clients.

In 1992, Capt Bristow tookAvalon2000 miles to Pohnpei in the central

west Pacific. Together with the founder of the Cairns fishery, Capt George

Bransford, they ranAvalonfor four years under the Australian flag. Since

this stint in Micronesia, Peter has operated in Madeira, where he runs his

40ft Katherine B,chasing the worlds largest blue marlin. For more on this

fascinating captain, visit: www.fishmadeira.com

gear. The faster 2:1 gear is used onthe strike and at all times when thefish is near the surface. You simplycant wind fast enough in low gearto pick up line when the fish iscoming easily.

NOW YOURE HOOKED-UPWe all have our own way of doingthings. For the beginner I will set thestrike drag for 60kg tackle at around4kg (8-10lb). There are a number ofreasons for this. If the hook is sharpand the fish hammers it on thestrike, then it will get hooked. Oncethe fish starts running, the lure will

slide up and crash into the end ofthe leader, acting as a slide hammerto help set the hook. If the hook isonly on the bill, then the light dragwill not dislodge it.The sizzling run of a big blue

marlin right out of the gate willshock most anglers into disbelief.If there is any excessive drag andit is not backed off immediately,the additional pressure from inertiaand water friction will pop 60kg linein an instant. The drag of the linebeing pulled through the water atthis speed is sufficient alone to hold

the hook in place.Do not put the drag up until thefish stops running. If you are gettingshort of line, I will turn the boat andchase the fish to keep you connected.Once the fish slows and the pressurerelaxes, you will have to put thedrag up in order to retrieve. Untilyouve got a lot of experience andare familiar with this reel, take thedrag up in small stages. This wayyou can become accustomed to thepressure and how to handle it.

Keep in mind the adrenalinproblem and keep your wits about

you. Try to imagine what the fishis doing. Adrenalin overload is acommon problem with first-timers.The result is that they fight thereel and not the fish. For example,when the line is running out, thereis no point in winding. Likewise, ifyou are cranking the handle butnothing is coming on to the reel,you are only burning your own

energy against the drag. I see it allthe time. So once again, concentrateand fight the fish, not the reel. If thedrag setting is not sufficient to crankthe line up out of the water, do notturn the handle. Make sure thatonly the fish is straining against thereels drag.

Whenever your right hand is

moving near the drag lever, be verycareful not to accidentally bumpit back into the free-spool position.This catastrophic event could alsohappen during your transfer tothe chair.

Experienced anglers, who areaccustomed to catching giantblacks off Cairns, might think theyknow it all but they are in for ashock when they hook their firstbig blue. When youre hooked toa huge blue, youd better back thedrag off in a hurry or it will all beover very quickly! Giant blacks are

very different.We now have a fish on and allis going well, but I do not wantto get too close to the fish in theearly stages of the fight. Blues arevery unpredictable and extremelydangerous when theyre green. So,what happens from here? All willbe explained in our next instalment The First Five Minutes.

When your big bluefinally piles on, theaction is going to

unfold very quickly.You need to be

comfortable withthe drill before-

hand because yourchances of success

will be much betterif you can react

automatically.

Capt BristowsKatherine B.


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Winning Strategies for Blue Grand

bl t

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