Day 3 of the Two Oceans Marlin Tournament.

Two anglers have sent in reports of their exciting experiences catching marlin in this year’s Marlin Tournament. Thank you Serge Wessels from Indigo and Grant’s tells how Jacque got his first stripey

Serge’s Story

I was on the boat, Indigo, skippered by Gawie Bruwer. Being a novice to Marlin fishing, I did not realize what a team activity it was, and what experience was required by the other crew. Without the skipper keeping the fish correctly positioned in relation to the boat, the crew member pulling in the leader and grabbing the bill, the member removing the hook and importantly the camera person confirming the catch, there would be a very slim chance of successfully catching and releasing such a magnificent fish. I was fortunate to catch a striped marlin and be part of the crew to catch a black marlin thus, being able to witness the glorious colours of both excited fish as they lit up close to the boat. The black Marlin gave us a fantastic aerial display, making for memorable moments.

Jacque’s Fifth species of Marlin – Story by Grant van der Westhuizen

From zero to complete pandemonium can best describe the sensation of raising a marlin and enticing it to strike in the 2023 Two Oceans Marlin Tournament. The hours of preparation, maintenance, planning, research, and monies that go into catching one of these beautiful creatures of the deep and extremely vast oceans all become worth it when you finally see the silhouette of one of these majestic beasts in the spread.  

The skipper and crew of Mojo had managed to raise a couple of Striped Marlin on day one and two of the tournament and to the frustration of all aboard the fish just wouldn’t commit to what we had to offer. The fish on these days seemed well-fed, lethargic and hesitant to strike. After careful deliberation, we decided to stick to our guns and fish the same area as we did the previous day, after all, we had seen the fish.

Now let me paint the scene for a more than typical day in the 2023 TOMT. Generally, the day starts out full of optimism and as the day grinds on without any result or worse, disappointing results the mood can change, and combined with a little sun, wind, salt, and doubt it can become a mental marathon.

At the start of day three, we reached our fishing grounds and started setting the spread running two teasers short (starboard and port) with a flasher in between with two short Konners, two long and the Japan running way back. The usual tweaking to get the Konner’s running at their optimum and the continual adjusting to keep them running at their optimum in the ever-changing conditions is a responsibility bestowed on Mojo’s fishing master (Gareth Beaumont) and myself.

It had been pre-arranged that be it a Striped marlin skipper Jacques “Mojo” van Niekerk would be on the rod after all the man has a Pacific Blue, Atlantic Blue a Black and a White marlin under his belt and it would only be befitting to give him the opportunity to catch his fifth specie of marlin here in his local waters.  

We had been trolling for a half an hour when one of the competing boats literally five hundred meters away from us went tight on a Marlin. As in the nature and the spirit of the 2023 TOMT we were happy for them, but it was disheartening to say the least. Not long after the vessel Indigo and skipper Gawie Bruwer and crew had successfully caught and released a healthy-sized Striped Marlin. The pressure was on.

We kept grinding away and at 12h00 under the watchful eyes of Beaumont and me we spotted the dorsal fin and shoulders of a Marlin protruding from the beautiful purple blue colour of the ocean behind the Long. As per usual the adrenalin shot threw my veins just in time to see the fish disappear and just before the disappointment could set in the fish was back. The anticipation of a screaming rachet was short-lived as the fish disappeared again and before all hopes were crushed the fish was back behind the same Konner for a third time. Surely this was the moment but to everyone’s despair the fish vanished again just to reappear, and this is when the fish decided to commit. Within milliseconds the unmistakable screaming of a Marlin reels ratchet blasted the silence.

Enter the well-oiled crew of Mojo kicking into action to man their designated stations for the day.  Skipper Jacques van Niekerk stayed behind the wheel as fishing master Beaumont very carefully and patiently set the hook. As the fish took of Beaumont moved to the wheel and Hannes Schreuder leader man and vocals, Anthony Tait cameraman and I scurried to bring in the lines, clear the deck and to get the skipper in the fighting chair. This was it the moment we had all been waiting for. The skipper was a couple of minutes into the fight when this beautiful Striped Marlin breached and showed herself in all her majestic glory. From here it is hard to say how long the fight lasted but after what always feels like an eternity the fish was leadered by Hannes Schreuder and after a quick measurement and tag with the hook removed the fish was released to fight another day. High fives and congratulations all around and the Konners were back in the mix.

What an absolute privilege to see the speed, strength and agility of these animals. See you in the 2024 TOMT.

Watch this space for the final results and Prize Giving as well as more stories from the anglers.