FROM THE PRESIDENT
May saw the end of the summer season and we begin to welcome in winter fishing. The Tuna Slam & the Geoff Woolley Monster Mako Tournaments are coming up soon so hopefully some good weather and plenty of fish. Congratulations to Sammy-Jay winning The Port hacking 100 in the Tag & Release section and young Jayden won Champion Junior Angler. The weather conditions on the Saturday made it very sporty with rain whirly whirls and gusts of over 30 knots. Sunday was calmer on the wind side but the swell still hung around. The $50,000 prize for the heaviest marlin saw boats head out wide trolling for that monster Blue but unfortunately no joy for that weekend. The champion boat in capture went to a 45kg Yellowfin. The 2021/2022 central zone season is now completed, and this year’s sees Individual club boats doing exceptionally well with Reaper winning Champion Boat Capture and heaviest shark with their "356kg Tiger" caught during the Botany Bay round of Central Zone. Jayden Hudson will be champion adult capture angler. Smartbill has won Champion boat tag & release and Byrom will be champion angler tag & release. In the junior section Jayden Millauro has won champion junior Tag & release with his efforts during the Sydney & Port hacking rounds. Mia Wright has won heaviest Marlin with her 101kg stripe marlin weighed at Sydney. Congratulations to everyone involved in those teams. I'm excited to announce the running of the Tuna slam again and we start with a healthy $2600 in the pool. Remember you need to pay your $250 boat entry before you go out to be in it. Two categories Heaviest Bluefin and heaviest Tuna. The boundaries are central zone waters go off your grid map.I can’t believe that another season has gone so quickly and so this means it’s renewal time. Your membership run on the financial year so renewals are due by the 1st of July. Invoices will be emailed out. Tightlines. Tiddles
Calendar of Events SGFC May 2022 31st Committee Meeting June 2022 1st Start SGFC Tuna Slam + Winter Pointscore continues 7th Club Meeting 28th Committee Meeting July 2022 1st SGFC Tuna Slam continues + Winter Pointscore continues 5th Club Meeting 31st Committee Meeting
Tight Lines is a members based magazine. We welcome and ask for any articles, stories and photos contributions from our members. If you have a great story to tell, please let us know. No matter how big or small "remember it's your club too". Send all info via Email: stephen@pitchforkprinting.com.au or Call Stephen Pitchfork on 0404019683
ww.tantrumlures.com
Trophy List 4th Place Boat Tag & release Sammy – Jay 2,134 pts 3rd Place Boat Tag & release Kill Tank 2,387 pts Champion Smallfry Tag & release Lucas Millauro 29 pts Champion Junior Tag & release Jayden Millauro 2,091 pts Champion Lady Tag & release Makira Wright 29 pts Mia Stripe Marlin 101.2kg on 24kg is a club record Champion Junior Capture Jack Jones 10,792 pts Runner Up boat Tag & Release Sniper 8,500 pts Runner up boat Capture Rampage 10,792 pts Champion Boat Tag & release Smartbill 23,199 pts Champion Boat Capture Reaper 29,692 pts Heaviest Shark 330.5kg on 15kg also a club record 15;1
2022 PETER GOADBY MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th April
SGFC Report After much contemplation (looking at forecasts) on whether to hold the Peter Goadby Tournament over one or two days it was decided in the end it would be run as originally planned as a two day tournament. The Saturday's weather as we all predicted, was pretty "Sporty". The ocean was all over the place, very short and nasty. Sunday however turned it on for us all with a beautiful blue day (quite rare for us here in Sydney as of late). The SGFC Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament is normally timed perfectly with one of the best times of the year and typically a massive tournament. It would seem however, that that this year the fishing was a little more challenging than usual. The colour started close inshore from baby poo brown and got up to green (almost blue) out past the shelf. The constant rain (since November last year) has had a massive impact on the water quality, colour and clarity not to mention the amount of logs, trees and fence posts we had to avoid during the Saturday. The water temp did get up to 24.4 degrees in places. Day 1, Saturday saw ‘Smartbill’ tag two Marlin and both ‘Kill Tank’ and ‘Tantrum’ a Yellowfin each. On the capture side ‘Reaper’ killed two Mako sharks, one, a magnificent fish of 330.50 kilo’s by Jayden Hudson and Mia Wright a junior on dad’s boat Tantrum weighed a Striped Marlin of 101.20 kilo’s. Day 2, Sunday was a much kinder day, weatherwise any way, the fishing was still challenging. Jack Jones on ‘Rampage’ after a very long fight weighed a Striped Marlin of 68.50 kilo’s on 10 kilo line and both ‘Smartbill’ and ‘Sniper’ each tagged Marlin. Overall seventeen boats fished for a total of five Marlin, six Yellowfin, two sharks and eighteen Mahi Mahi. Incidentally the Yellowfin weighed went 27.20 and 27.50 kilo’s respectively. It was great to see the appearance of Yellowfin even though we generally expect much bigger ones at this time of year (perhaps the big ones are close now). A massive thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors who support us as always and we look forward to the end of this rain and clear blue water again off Sydney. Report by Ivan Bennett (www.ambitioncharters.com.au) & Greg Wall
Thanks again to all our Amazing Tournament Sponsors of the 2022 PETER GOADBY MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT Sat 9th & Sun 10th April
Smartbill's Dominance in the tag and release category continues with back-to-back tournament wins. Two weeks ago we won the Broken Bay Invitational Tournament and last weekend Sydney game fishing club held their annual Peter Goadby Memorial 70th anniversary Tournament. The Smartbill crew took out top honours in the tag and release category once again winning Champion Boat and collecting great prizes and the big cheque last night at the presentation at the club house in Watson Bay. On Saturday, we fished with lures all day and managed to tag 2 Marlin, one Black and one striped. On Sunday we switched to live baits and were rewarded with another Black Marlin taking our total to 3 for the weekend and enough to win. Thanks to my hard working crew and our newest angler, Jordan who did a great job securing 2 of the 3 marlin. Special thanks to all the sponsors, sgfc committee and tournament organisers. Also thanks to all the boats who entered despite the not so pleasant seas on Saturday. With only one more tournament left in the season, Smartbill is currently overall in first place for tag and release for Central Zone with a lead of three Marlin. We will be hard to beat! Captain Sam
Species and Sex of the Bluefin tuna are in! Huge thanks the Julian Pepperell and the team from CSIRO in providing the below data - Muscle sample was picked up by courier from Olivia Seeger at Macquarie Uni, packed in dry ice and delivered to CSIRO in Hobart Arrived in A1 condition - Geneticist there, Dr Peter Grewe (one of top fish geneticists in the world) extracted DNA. DNA was excellent. - Identified as a Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis, 98% certain, but they sent it to an independent lab in Canberra to make sure. Confirmed ID. - CSIRO are undertaking to describe the full genome of all the tuna species.This DNA from this fish was perfect, so it will be the individual from which the genome for the whole species is described. - Also, the fish was identified as a "female" from its DNA. This is very new technology which CSIRO have developed (Fish do not have X and Y chromosomes so in the past, it has not been possible to sex fish from tissue. The new technique has only just been developed). That's incredible data and understanding coming from the capture of this fish. It's great when anglers and science can work together to help everyone gain a better understanding of different fish species!!
TUNA SLAM Fishing area all of central zone waters as per map
The 2022 PH 100 has been run and won for another year and what a year it was! 41 boats entered and fished in some tough conditions on Saturday morning before a glass off in the afternoon. Askari got things going with the first Marlin of the comp around 10:30. The bite was a bit patchy on Saturday, though Cookie managed a blue and 2 Spear fish from a double. There was a few sharks tagged and a nice yellowfin caught by Ulysses. Rampage had some bad luck loosing what was thought to be a large tuna after more than 4 hours and also loosing a blue Marlin afterwards. Sunday morning saw a hectic start on the tide change with around 6 marlin by the first sked alone. The bite slowed a bit after but boats kept plugging away and getting some tags into fish. See below for the final results and once again we can’t thank our sponsors enough and all the boats and crews for making it a memorable tournament once again, see you all next year . Champion Team T & R - Sammi-Jay SGFC 48,770 2nd Place Team T & R - Cookie PHGFC 33,000 3rd Place Team T & R - Askari PHGFC 15,000 Champion Team Capture - Ulysses Botany Bay GFC 45kg yellowfin on 15kg
Champion Snr Female T & R - Elly Offord - Cookie 17,000 Champion Jnr T & R - Jayden Millauro - Sammy-Jay SGFC 41,870 Champion Small Fry T & R - Tyler Stubbs - Triton PHGFC Highest Point Score Team Sharks - Sammi-Jay SGFC Heaviest OGF - 45kg Yellowfin Ulysses Botany Bay GFC
The 2022 SHIMANO PORT HACKING 100 30/4/2022 - 1/5/2022
Short Marine have inked a deal with Viking Yachts to bring class leading sports fishing boats from Viking and Valhalla to Australia. If you are into game fishing in Australia or simply love the appeal of a sleek and brilliantly designed sports cruiser, Viking Yachts should be at the top of your list. Viking, a U.S brand, are synonymous with high-end fishing boats, almost cornering the market in the semi-custom sports fishing segment. The boats are fast, beautiful, exceptionally seaworthy and built tough. Perfect for the types of fishing we do daily all over Australia. Viking Yachts began back in 1964 and it remains a family run business to this day. The Viking Yacht company prides itself on its family values. CEO Pat Healey is a third-generation boat builder from the original family. Their people are the key to what they do. Anyone that touches a Viking Yacht is a boatbuilder first and foremost, and secondly, a keen fisherman. “We stand out, and we must deliver on standing out. That is another Viking difference. We are built by boat builders, not by suits. We have third generation boat builders from the same family building boats at Viking and that is a big thing.” “Our company is built by fishermen. That is the key that we have. There are a lot of good boat companies but none of them eat, live it, and sleep it.” says Pat Healey. Viking Yachts focus on fit, finish, quality, and ride. They have produced over 4700 boats and dominate their home market in the U.S. The interior layouts are second to none and the cockpit function is integral to every boat. The range covers 38 up to 90 feet. There are multiple boats in the pipeline for delivery over the next few years in Australia kicking off with the 46 Billfish followed by a 48 Open. The Viking 46 Billfish is designed as a ready to go fully fledged fishing machine. Perfectly balanced for inshore and offshore fishing, the boat comes with a strengthened cockpit deck for a game chair, table, or rocket launcher. There is a generous 140 square foot cockpit which is integral to the design. This offer fishing space, but also the room to entertain when fishing is not at the top of the list. While there is a significant focus on fishing, the living area is all class with a brilliantly styled U-shaped lounge, adjustable table, and second lounge along the starboard side.
Viking and Valhalla land in Australia
Up top, you can see for miles, offering a truly breath-taking view of all the action. The flybridge features a tournament style walk-around helm with a single teak chair flanked by lounges either side. Dash space is generous for your own choice of electrics. The air-conditioned cabin below is adorned with teak cabinetry and custom flooring while the starboard-side galley has an L-shaped Corian countertop, a two-burner electric stove, a microwave/convection oven, cabinet storage and under-counter drawer-style refrigeration with a built-in ice maker. Accommodation consists of a master running north/south at the bow and twin bunks on the port side. The toilet has a large walk-in shower with a sink and storage. The next three boats to arrive will be from the Convertible range. All come from what CEO Pat Healey regards as Viking’s dominant segment. "No one has done a better job in this segment of the market," says Viking President and CEO Pat Healey. "Over the last 20 years, we've designed more boats from 50 to 60 feet than any other manufacturer in the industry. This is absolutely our sweet spot." The convertible models all feature expansive cockpit space without sacrificing the onboard luxury that is required when you are fishing hard offshore for days on end. The fit-out and finish is world class with natural timbers offset against solid upholstery colours and Corian benchtops. The Convertible 54 is a three-stateroom, two-head open bridge yacht delivering the highest levels of engineering, performance, accommodation and sportfishing capabilities. It made its world premiere at the 2020 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The Convertible 58 is the second generation of its iteration and is a stunningly balanced boat. The design was guided by the first generation and the wildly popular 55. The 58 delivers more onboard space and a brilliantly dry ride. It is a triple room layout with a choice of bed orientation in the bow stateroom. The 64 convertible is in its second generation and premiered at the 2021 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The longer length affords four staterooms and three heads. It sets a new standard for tournament fishing in Australia and a new standard in luxury, accommodations, and comfort. “We never stop – it’s that simple,” says President and CEO Pat Healey. “Every new model is an improvement from the last one because we are a design and engineering-driven company. We have the best team in the business, and this is what we do – design and build incredible boats.”
Valhalla Boatworks was set up by Viking Yachts in 2019. It specialises in semi-custom high-performance luxury centre consoles offering four models from 33 to 46 feet in its game-changing V Series. TheV-33, V-37, V-41, V-46 and all new V55 deliver unmatched performance, engineering, comfort, quality, and fishing capabilities. The V Series centre consoles thrive as hard-core fishing boats, fun family sport cruisers or luxury yacht tenders. With already a V-37 here in Sydney, next to follow is a sold V-41 and V-46 – powered by V12 Mercury 600HP’s due here next year. The V Series combines the Viking Design & Engineering team with renowned yacht designer, Michael Peters Yacht Design (MPYD). The boats all use MPYD’s patented Stepped-V Ventilated Tunnel running surface that reduces drag while increasing speed, stability, and efficiency. “It’s the most advanced and proven stepped-hull design in the world,” says Viking Design Manager David Wilson. “The twin steps and tunnel not only give you fast and efficient performance but also precise handling and a very stable ride.” Both the Viking and Valhalla range of boats are available via Short Marine. With offices in NSW and Queensland, Short Marine are available to service, fit out and supply and of the Viking or Valhalla product and deliver it anywhere in Australia. Visit www.shortmarine.com.au or call( 02) 8057 5993.
Striped marlin have been the subject of significant research efforts over the years to better understand this species.Blue Planet Archive/Alamy
Striped Marlin in Trouble? Unravelling the mysteries of this unique billfish species with satellite tagging By Dr. Bruce Pohlot March 8, 2022 https://www.marlinmag.com/travel/striped-marlin-in-trouble-satellite-tagging/?fbclid=IwAR26SmqaVpZSVwqbEZ3crdk3walooZKyTmPYwe3vU1hAno0_MPiZxHy9Ngo
Striped marlin thrive throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans in both tropical and subtropical waters. In fact, they are the most widely distributed species of billfish in the Indo-Pacific, and are more abundant in the eastern and central north Pacific than in the western Pacific. A by-catch species in a variety of commercial fisheries, they are both targeted and coveted by recreational anglers throughout their range, so it goes without saying that some science should be directed the striped marlin’s way. Watch:A belly-strip teaser is a great way to raise marlin and sailfish. Learn to rig one here. So Many Questions Striped marlin have been an object of significant research over the past decade in an effort to better understand their population structure for regional stock identification and assessment. Unfortunately, in recent years, their numbers have declined due to commercial-fishing pressure in the western and central north Pacific and Indian oceans, where the stocks are overfished and subject to overfishing.
coastal phase transitions to large-scale movements into the open ocean. Of the 17 PSATs reporting, 10 exhibited westward and southwestward movement away from the eastern Pacific, potentially indicating that these fish mix with those of Hawaii. The two tagged striped marlin that traveled the farthest west also began to return to the east before the tags popped off after 240 days. This potential return to the tagging area of the eastern Pacific could explain why conventional tagging shows limited movement—possibly because the fish make long, cyclical migrations between Hawaii and the eastern Pacific—something that is not recorded with traditional tags. This new striped marlin movement information collected using PSATs is critical to understanding how to manage the species given that IATTC states, “Tagging studies in the Pacific, using pop-off satellite tags, indicated that there is essentially no mixing among tagging areas, and that striped marlin maintain site fidelity.” The IATTC stock-assessment model used to determine stock health does not account for the level of mixing found in IGMR data, and additional tracking data could help improve the assessment process, which could lead to significantly improved conservation and management measures. Given the importance of striped marlin to the recreational-fishing community, learning more about their behavior and environmental preferences can change how we manage them. Based on the limited results from the IGMR, does more mixing occur between eastern and central Pacific stocks than previously thought? If we could track fish for a year or more, it’s possible we would discover that these fish travel between Hawaii and California/Mexico many times, or determine if this happens only with certain individuals, and would those fish be considered migrants? Conducting more scientific research and advancing the state of knowledge about striped marlin will definitely help us answer the questions we have. To address the unknowns of striped marlin movements, the IGMR is continuing to deploy PSATs as part of the Master Angler Billfish Tournament between California and Cabo. In fact, six more PSATs were deployed in late 2021 offshore of Cabo, with expected pop-ups in summer 2022. And four more PSATs will be deployed off Hawaii on striped marlin over winter 2022.
In the eastern Pacific, however, the stock is in better shape, although the level of exploitation from artisanal fishing off Central America is not accurately known due to limited availability of catch statistics, according to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. So, why would this same species be managed separately by location when there are no physical borders between the management regions of the Pacific Ocean? As it turns out, there are distinct genetic populations among striped marlin throughout their range. In 2018, one genetic study revealed as many as five distinct populations, and the western Indian Ocean and Oceania account for two of those five. An eastern central population was also found, along with two in the north Pacific. The striped marlin in the western Indian Ocean appear to be the most isolated of the populations; however, the genetic study found some overlap among Oceania, the western Pacific, Hawaii, and even Ecuador in the eastern Pacific. This suggests that some striped marlin make extremely long migrations—potentially across the Pacific—although this has never been validated through tagging studies. The genetic connectivity of these fish from spatially distant locations, combined with a lack of validated tracking data, is a clear indicator that we need to learn more about striped marlin migratory and behavioral patterns. This is especially true considering the differential results from assessments conducted by regional fishery management councils and the large spatial scale of international fisheries that operate in the open ocean, as well as commercial operations that land billfish as bycatch. Finding Answers Luckily for stripey, the IGFA Great Marlin Race is trying to do just that. Over the past seven years, the IGMR has been deploying pop-up satellite archival tags on striped marlin as part of the Master Angler Billfish Tournament, which takes place off Southern California each year. These PSATs have been deployed between Los Angeles and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; to date, a total of 17 of them have successfully transmitted data to the IGMR’s scientific partners at Dr. Barbara Block’s lab at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station. In general, these striped marlin tend to remain nearshore for a period of time, hugging the Baja Peninsula. In some cases, tagged fish never leave the coastal region before the tags pop off but, more often than not, the fish’s coastal phase transitions to large-scale movements into the open ocean. Of the 17 PSATs reporting, 10 exhibited westward and southwestward movement away from the eastern Pacific, potentially indicating that these fish mix with those of Hawaii. The two tagged striped marlin that traveled the farthest west also began to return to the east before the tags popped off after 240 days. This potential return to the tagging area of the eastern Pacific could explain why conventional tagging shows limited movement—possibly because the fish make long, cyclical migrations between Hawaii and the eastern Pacific—something that is not recorded with traditional tags. This new striped marlin movement information collected using PSATs is critical to understanding how to manage the species given that IATTC states, “Tagging studies in the Pacific, using pop-off satellite tags, indicated that there is essentially no mixing among tagging areas, and that striped marlin maintain site fidelity.” The IATTC stock-assessment model used to determine stock health does not account for the level of mixing found in IGMR data, and additional tracking data could help improve the assessment process, which could lead to significantly improved conservation and management measures.
SAINTLY WHISPERS
The IGMR’s primary goal is to provide the information necessary to better conserve and manage billfish stocks around the world, and we hope that additional focus on striped marlin stock connectivity will improve our knowledge of a stock that is currently in desperate need of conservation. The IGFA Great Marlin Race is a research collaboration between the International Game Fish Association and Stanford University. It is presented by Costa Sunglasses, and sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Edgewater Boats, and Release Boatworks. For more information, please visitigfa.org/the-great-marlin-race. This article originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of Marlin.
ADVERTISE WITH US Tight Lines advertisement is open and welcome a good way to get your message out to your fellow members For more information please Email our club secretary Annita Flannery on secretary@sgfc.com.au
Dead Frog
A definite no-win question. (The real answer, of course, is “Buy a sports car.”) No matter how you answer this, be prepared for at least an hour of follow-up questions, usually along these line: WOMAN: Would you get married again? MAN: Definitely not! WOMAN: Why not - don’t you like being married? MAN: Of course I do. WOMAN: Then why wouldn’t you remarry? MAN: Okay, I’d get married again. WOMAN: You would? (with a hurtful look on her face) MAN: Yes, I would. WOMAN: Would you sleep with her in our bed? MAN: Where else would we sleep? WOMAN: Would you put away my pictures, and replace them with pictures of her? MAN: That would seem like the proper thing to do. WOMAN: And would you let her use my golf clubs? MAN: She can’t use them; she’s left-handed . . . Whoops!!!!!
A Baby Boy, Finally
Love the SAINT
Tough Question for Husbands What would you do if I died?
Q: Why did cavemen pull their wives around by the hair? A: Because if they pulled them around by their feet, they’d fill up with mud.
There was a middle-aged couple who had two beautiful teen-aged daughters. They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted. After months of trying, the wife became pregnant and sure enough, nine months later delivered a healthy baby boy. The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son. He took one look and was horrified to see the ugliest child he had ever seen. He went to his wife and said that there was no way that he could be the father of that child. “ Look at the two beautiful daughters I fathered.” Then he gave her a stern look and asked, “Have you been fooling around on me?” The wife just smiled sweetly and said, “Not this time.”
Little Billy went up to one of his kindergarten teachers and said that he had found a frog. The teacher asked if the frog was alive or dead. Little Billy said it was dead. The teacher asked how he knew. The boy said, “I pissed in its ear.” The teacher said, “You what?!!!” He said, “You know, I went to his ear and said, “PSST!” and it didn’t move. So it must be dead.”