Story by: David Lockwood and Katherine Staunton
Photos: David Lockwood, Katherine Staunton, DavidGranvillephotography.com, and Craig Dunnicliff – Bull Images

As the light aircraft soars across the clouds, a montage of coral outcrops catches the eye like a string of opals on the gently heaving bosom of a mermaid. The two Americans seated behind me marvel at the stirring views that are part of our flight to Lizard Island. A magnet for tourists, Lizard attracts visitors for various reasons. Some come for the five-star resort, others consider the lagoon the zenith of anchorages in their annual sailing safari from some southern port, and yet others covet the diving among the coral gardens offshore, where a kaleidoscope of curious fish dance about the crystal-clear water without a care in the Coral Sea.

But for the 157 anglers who descended on Lizard Island in October, their mission was to fish the 19th Riviera Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic. This is a celebration of extreme fishing for giant black marlin, attracting purpose-built boats that steamed here from as far afield as New Zealand, with professional captains and crews, and anglers strung-out on the maximum allowable tackle. All very sobering till the presentation night. Gulp.

When I arrived, mid-way through the tournament, there was a buzz in the air other than that from the light aircraft landing on the local airstrip. Yet after three days of tournament fishing on unseasonably calm seas, most anglers were hoping for a change of fortune. Oh, the bite was still world class, but slower than the previous phenomenal few seasons.

The 48 boats, up considerably on this tournament's previous biggest fleet of 29 boats and the smallest of just 11 boats six years ago, were spread out from Hicks Reef in the north to Number 10 Ribbon Reef in the south. All of them were towing deftly rigged skipping and swimming baits. Half were using circle hooks. More on this later.

Tournament organiser Bob Lowe told me the fishing was always going to improve as the week went on, as the incoming tides coincided with the afternoon - when most big marlin bites come from along the reef edge. I was thinking my mere presence might be the turning point. But, hey, I jest. The crappy weather that accompanied me, the howling southeast tradewinds, brought many more giant blacks to the surface in ensuing days (see tournament results in the panel hereabouts).

As ever, there were some special moments in this tournament, a tournament that everyone hopes to win, including the scores of anglers who arrive here with very limited or often no heavy-tackle fishing experience. In fact, every boat, every crew and every skipper had a big-fish tale to tell. Heavy-tackle marlin fishing is like that - profound and bound to leave an impression - especially off Lizard Island and the nearby Ribbon Reefs.

Combine the unique fishery with the unrivalled scenery, the sage captains and chummy crews, their finely honed bait-rigging and boat-driving skills, the serious tackle and often intimidating fish. Add the tension of a tournament and you have all the ingredients for a week to remember.

That it was for the all-female team aboard Fascination II, a new Riviera 51 with enclosed flybridge and twin 1075hp MTU power, with the venerable Captain Bob Jones in the tower and the equally revered Colin "Wombat" Grimes on deck. Each of the lady anglers was a Riviera boatowner invited to fish the tournament. They ranged from grandmother Wendy Tinker (Sydney), to young mother Suzy Clark (Townsville), artist Myra Staffa (Perth), to my partner and lawyer Katherine Staunton (Sydney).

From my observation, the fishing femme fatales proved that: (a) heavy-tackle is not a matter of blokes, brawn and no brains but technique, rhythm and very good tuition; (b) that circle hooks work on giant black marlin; (c) that this is still the best game fishery anywhere in the world; and (d) that the tournament is expertly run with deserved international status and scope to attract many male and female anglers in years to come.

Having now experienced the pleasure and pain of the 19th Riviera Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic, my partner takes up the story. Meantime, what images are etched in my mind? How about seeing a hundred queenfish leaping from the water like silver bullets, grey-hounding back to the sanctuary of the wave-lashed outer Ribbon Reefs, with a mammoth fish in hot pursuit? Captain Bob Jones said it was one of the best bait-attacks he's seen in many years. Then there was the action on deck...

HEAVY-TACKLE'S FEMME FaTALES
I have a confession to make: when I saw the 130-pound Penn International reels on the bent-butt rods in the game chair on Fascination II, I felt sick. And for the first few days, whenever second deckie, Bevan Beauchamp, called "on the right", and the engines growled into reverse, I felt even sicker. After all, I was pitching my 150 pounds against what might be a 1000-pound plus marlin. I'm sure you understand.

Deckie Colin "Wombat" Grimes must have known what I, and I expect the other anglers, were thinking. So he ran us through a crash course in heavy-tackle marlin fishing.

Now to our tournament strategy: we decided that each angler would be on strike for 30 minutes. Each day, a different angler would be on first strike, ensuring that we all had an equal chance.

We also decided that the angler on strike would sit in the chair, that the rods would be trolled from the arms of the chair, and that in the event of a strike the angler would just lift the rod from the armrest to the gimble. Because we were of varying heights, strengths and experience, we decided this was easier than struggling to pull a loaded rod out of the covering board across the cockpit into the chair.

" Don't be intimidated by the tackle", Colin advised us, adding "straight legs, knees locked, feet shoulder-width apart on the footrest. It's not about strength, it's about rhythm and timing." Which is why, I guess, youths and even the most petite women can catch giant marlin.

More good oil was to come. "The footrest is the deck, keep your legs straight, level the line, crank rather than wind, keep your left hand on the reel at all times so that the rod doesn't come back and hit you in the face. The higher your feet are on the footrest, and the more you lean on the reel the more pressure you can exert on the fish. Hold on to the chair with your right hand if the fish takes off and if you think you're going to get sucked overboard" - which I thought a lot about in the coming days, "hold on!"

DAY 1 - LOTS OF SUN BUT NO FISH
The Coral Sea was glassed out. These were the calmest conditions I had ever seen. Fingers crossed that our $600 wager on the Calcutta would pay off, returning a purse of over $30,000.

After a quick snorkel, we donned our clobber, lathered on the sunscreen and boarded Fascination II. The plan was to fish with circle hooks and run two lines. On the left, a skipping mackerel or tuna and on the right a swimming scad or queenfish, expertly sewn and rigged by the crew.

When the fish took the bait, Captain Jones would stop the boat. The anger would grab the rod, lift it into the gimble, then clip on the harness. The marlin would eat the bait and swallow the hook. We would wait until we were sure the marlin had eaten the bait. Then we would gently wind up some of the slack, then some more, until the circle hook found its mark in the corner of the marlin's jaw.

Depending on how the fish behaved, we would ease up the drag to about 20 pounds or maybe higher. If the fish was a deep, stubborn fighter, we might have to break the deadlock by going down to the reel's low-range one-to-one gear, or we might have to take the drag up as far as we could handle, which we expected would be around 40 pounds for us girls.

But first, the official sail-past. And what an event it was: 48 big beautiful boats, most of them at least 45 footers with shiny towers and plenty of excited anglers and crew. They included Fascination I and Fascination II, the sexy silver Riviera 51s; Little Audrey, the gorgeous Dave Warren-designed game boat; Mai Tai, a beautiful Merritt; Jo Jo, one of my favourites, a teal-hulled Precision; and so many beauties including Mistress, Assegai, Mauna Kea and the legendary Viking II, Reel Chase, Tradition and Sea Baby IV, just to name a few. I was fishing amid the crème de la crème of game-fishing boats in Australia - if not the world.

We headed out of Mrs Watsons Bay at about 10am and deployed some tuna lures hoping for bait. Not a bite. At 11am, Lizard Island Game Fishing Club President Bob Lowe announced from our flybridge: "Start fishing, start fishing, start fishing". The fishing was quiet. Lowe blamed it on the bananas in the fruit basket. I suspected that the marlin were more interested in mating than eating or that the weather was just too calm.

DAY 2 - THE BITE IS ON
Another beautiful day on the GBR. Hot and sunny with no wind or swell. We headed out to Number 10 Ribbon Reef at about 9.30am, trolling tuna lures. This time as we passed the shoals something smacked the lure. "It's a marlin. Man, it whacked that lure," yelled Bevan. Captain Jones stopped the boat and we quickly bucketed up Myra, who had never caught a marlin.

The small black danced around and was tagged and released before fishing had started. No points, but we'd got the monkey off our back and the film crew off the lounge.

Minutes before my 3.30pm shift, Bevan called "on the right". He saw a huge marlin, possibly a 1200 pounder, sniff our baits. The big girl didn't bite, but moments later another giant snaffled the swim bait. "On the right, marlin, a big one," he yelled again.

Suzy was on strike and the circle hook found its mark. The hook-up was called and the fish promptly bolted, line fizzing off the reel, motors roaring, water showering the cockpit. And then the fish launched out of the water. And what a monster! Captain Jones called her 900 pounds.

My fellow-angler was lifted up out of the chair, holding on with white knuckles, as the fish burnt off metres of line. She slowly reclaimed territory, upping the drag to 40 pounds as the fish took off again. The stubborn girl wanted to do it the hard way and headed straight down. The marlin, that is.

The see-saw battle went on for close to an hour. "One more wind, Suze and I can take the leader," Bevan declared as he reached out, ready to grab the leader. Then the fish sounded again. There were secret conversations about sharks and we all feared that the fish had donned a grey suit. Meantime, the deckie Bevan re-applied his sunscreen stick, while Colin sipped on a drink! So laid back.

But we were wrong. Up she came. Despite her impressive size, the big girl managed to get airborne several times. One more wind and the leader will be in hand. But, no, off down deep again. The line went slack and after one hour 40 minutes it was all over. The fish was lost and we're moved by Suzy's huge effort.

So this is heavy-tackle marlin fishing. Sheesh!

DAY 3 - HOLY MACKEREL, BUT WHERE ARE THE MARLIN?
The weather is sublime. We put the bait rods out and within seconds, three go off. My fish puts up a good fight and I'm pleased to see a Spanish mackerel hit the deck. Dinner, at last. There's still time for a quick swim at the Cod Hole. The boat attracts a potato cod and a jumbo Maori wrasse among others.

However, the day passes without much action other than a lot of eating by the anglers. Judging by the skeds, Number 10 has gone quiet and the fish are further north. We resolve to follow their lead tomorrow.

DAY 4 - ALL QUIET ON THE NORTHERN FRONT
The weather is turning: I'm hoping that the wind and waves will bring the marlin out for a surf. I'm sure we will hook up in the late afternoon, but instead we draw a blank and head back to the mothership, Reef Connection, for champagne on the bridge and delicious wahoo fishcakes as the sun sets over Lizard Island. It doesn't get much better than this and we haven't even tagged a marlin.

DAY 5 - WE'RE ON!
Time to stretch the legs, with a walk to Cook's Look at the top of the mountain. But it's closed for burning-off, so we decide to walk to the Blue Lagoon. But that walk is closed for burning-off, too. The next night the entire fleet was covered in ash. You have to wonder why Marine Parks would set Lizard Island ablaze during an international tournament when there are more boats and guests here than at any other time. Maybe they loathe us.

The sea is noticeably rougher and the wind is gusting to 20 knots. I'm back in the chair, admiring the sloping horizon and large waves when I hear "on the right". Unfortunately, it's a shark that heads straight down. The upshot is that the big pull has brought me to attention.

Next, Wendy sits in the chair and in desperation performs a marlin dance with the crew. It works. "On the right". She winds in a nice marlin, around 200 pounds, the perfect tag-and-release in a tournament like this. Then in my shift I hear: "On the right, marlin!" No hookup this time. But Wendy does it again, subduing another 200 pounder, which is promptly tagged and released. And Wendy is Champion Female Angler for Day 5.

DAY 6 - GO THE CHICKS
The weather deteriorates: 25 knots of south-east tradewind and a solid swell. Those not on strike claim a piece of lounge or floor. When on strike I hear Bevan call "on the right" once more. The engines rumble, I ease the drag lever forward, and with that I'm up out of the chair, winding like mad. More gain, less pain.

I'm too busy cranking and listening to the crew to see the 400 pounder jump. She takes off and I hold onto the chair and plead with her to come back. I get some rhythm, pump and wind, but generally winch without much grace and style. Some great acrobatics and deft driving and after what seems like 45 minutes, the black is tagged.

I look at my watch, it's been nine minutes, with another 12 minutes left in the chair. But no more fish today. Instead, we finish the evening with a glamorous cocktail party on the beach hosted by Riviera. Scrumptious food.

DAY 7 - PIPPED AT THE POST
I can't believe that the trip is nearly over and this is our last day of fishing. The wind is still about 25 knots, but abating. And the fishing is improving, with the best boat tagging four yesterday.

I'm ready to take on a grander, but it's Myra's day. This is her first big fish and in a couple of minutes it's at the back of the boat. When the fish finally pokes her head out of the water and pulls on the line, Myra is lifted bodily out of the chair and deposited on the footrest.

To her credit, she bravely returned to the chair with some help from the crew and a nice 700 pounder was tagged, released - and disqualified. "The fish eyeballed me and I just lost it," she said, before bravely returning back to the chair.

Next, Wendy, the marlin magnet, takes the chair and, yes, she is hooked up again. This was her third fish, and she had it going on: legs straight, feet shoulder-width apart, left hand on the reel, cranking hard. After some textbook angling the 600-pounder was tagged.

Wendy looks set to be the Champion Lady Angler, but Carmen Darcy on Inkwazi tagged her fourth marlin for the day with only minutes remaining. A great effort by Carmen. Not to be outdone, we cracked a bottle of Bollie and agreed that it has been an amazing trip and made plans to fish together again.

Heavy-tackle fishing isn't for everyone. But for me, it took me out of my comfort zone, and it's a challenge that I'm keen to master. The Great Barrier Reef hasn't seen the last of me. I'll be back, at least once a year.


FASCINATION II: RIVIERA 51 ENCLOSED BRIDGE
Dressed in metallic silver and sporting twin 18ltr V8 2000 Series MTUs with common-rail fuel injection technology, the new Riviera 51 was an eye-watering weapon with the pegs down. Think 35-knots top end and a cruise speed in the low-30 knots that would leave most of the Cairns fleet in its wake. And all the while a smooth, quite un-diesel-like quiet roar, no rattles, and no smoke.

I suspect the Riviera 51's underwater exhausts help reduce running noise and that the boat's underwater tunnels, which reduce shaft angles, assist with the transfer of power. Cruising at a modest 1800rpm, the boat did 22.8 knots for 242lt/hr fuel burn.

Fully-laden as a working boat, carrying up to 18 people and displacing 32,000kg, Fascination II just trucked along.

With an additional 1000lt forward fuel tank and transfer pump with switch on the dash - 40 minutes to transfer the lot back aft - Fascination II carries a total of 3600lt of diesel. Leaving 10 per cent in reserve, the boat has a safe working range of over 300 nautical miles at the abovementioned cruise speed.

And at 22.8 knots, in the new enclosed flybridge, with seating covered in longlife no-fuss blue Novasuede upholstery for about a dozen, it's five-star cruising all the way for the captain, crew and clients. Though this boat has a single helm chair, twin chairs are available for husband-and-wife teams.

With a second set of controls on the aft bridge extension and a (Black Marlin) tower station, the boat can still be fished hard, thanks to a full view of the cockpit. It's also a good view for photographers and observers. One of the lounges doubles as an extra bed, too.

The MTU motors sat on beefed-up engine bearers in a spacious two-pack painted room with stainless-steel ceiling liner.

They were linked to fully electronic Twin Disc gearboxes with functions from slow idle to preset cruise and troll. Nearby were the EQ series 17.5kW Onan with gas/water separator for quiet operation, 60lt/hr HR desal for water at-call, an aftermarket high-capacity deck hose pump, and huge (gel) battery banks. The boat also had two invertors for the deckwash, TV, AC outlets and, at a pinch, the bait fridges.

I noted an oil-change system, assisted by Captain Bob Jones's own portable high-speed pump, redundant Racor fuel filters for each motor, and huge stainless-steel strainers. Automatic fans and washable membranes ensure great engine venting.

Being in 2C survey, the boat had engine-room vent and fuel shutdowns.

The required bilge-pumping and fire-fighting system was a simple one that Assegai Marine's Barry Martin developed - and Riviera adopted with his permission - that uses a generator-driven 240V pump. There wasn't stainless-steel piping strewn throughout the boat but a simple manifold for each of three separate bilge compartments.

Captain Jones was pleased that all the primary servicing items for the motors were forward and in the one area. Water capacity is 700ltr, held in three tanks, one more than usual, and the tanks were smaller than normal, the size usually fitted to a Riviera 42. This way he had more room to access the outside of the motors. There is some discussion of building watertanks into Rivieras in future, I'm told.

On the foredeck, the boat had beefed-up ground tackle, a higher bow rail for survey, and a liferaft. Ladders lead from the cockpit and flybridge to the tower, with repeat seven-inch Furuno screen, VHF radio and PA system. Oh, and I found Captain Jones' favourite old colour chart unit with all his favourite marks. (Madly scrolling and writing waypoints while he's back down below). The storage locker was littered with chocolate wrappers to satisfy the old sea dog's sweet tooth.

The electronics package was all Furuno, including three 10in screens linked to a 64 nautical mile radar, chartplotter and 2kW sounder. The boat had weatherfax, Icom radios, closed-circuit cameras and satellite phone. Besides communications, water and fuel, the next pressing question for a Cairn's boat is: refrigeration?

" Never enough," quips Captain Jones, detailing the custom extended eutectic bait freezer in the cockpit, filled with scad, scaly mackerel, queenfish and milkfish; the second eutectic freezer built into the flybridge near the sink and drinks fridge; the three 12V/240V Waco fridges and the two separate 12/240V food freezers. To make way for them all, he deleted
accoutrements such as garbage compactor, washer/dryer and dishwasher.

On the fishing front, the boat sported Reelax riggers with Jumbo bases; a flush-faced livebait tank for more room between the footrest of the 130lb Reelax chair and the coamings, which were padded; nifty custom gaff and tagpole tubes tucked back up the hull sides; rod racks under the bridge overhang; and a custom bait-rigging centre including stainless steel knife and plier holders, bobbins and replaceable Starboard cutting-board lids. Though well slatted, the teak and stainless-steel boarding platform was left back in dock.

Without a cockpit ladder to the flybridge, but ladders at the foot of the tower for the crew, the working cockpit was vast. And let me tell you, the internal stairwell works wonderfully well, is easily negotiated even in 25 knots of beam-on sea, while carrying lunch in one hand. Such is the ease with which you can waltz up top that the bridge effectively becomes a second living area. And in the saloon, the stairwell takes up so little space that all you lose is a mere storage cabinet. Way to go.

Indoors, the only change to the Riviera 51's three-cabin and two-head layout was the removal of the usual master island berth in the starboard amidships stateroom to make way for three single berths. This way, it was possible to sleep eight anglers aboard, with the crew camping in the bridge. However, Captain Jones normally runs the boat with four crew including himself and four anglers (at $3300 a day) in the heavy-tackle season.

And it's at this point that I must heap praise on his crew: not only Colin "Wombat" Grimes but his - by now - new wife, Lorraine, who took care of our every need during a weeklong stay for me, and 13 days for my partner, that included a special three days of liveaboard cruising and fishing between Lizard Island and Linden Bank immediately following the 19th Riviera Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic.

But that, as they say, is another story. In case you're wondering, the Riviera 51 with enclosed bridge and 825hp MTUs sells from $1.6 million cruise-away. With the bigger motors and everything else on his Riviera 52, Captain Jones is known as the $2 million man. - DL.


PROFILE: CAPTAIN BOB JONES

If experience is the father of wisdom, then Captain Bob Jones is one of the true scholars of The Reef. The laconic skipper has been swinging in the tower for 21 consecutive heavy-tackle marlin seasons. He will tell you, as he did me while we ran back from Linden Bank to Cairns, that he started up here when boats had a steering wheel, a throttle, a depth sounder, a radio and little else.

Captain Jones would hand-steer his boats all the way from Brisbane. No autopilot. They were a luxury. Just biceps. His boats included Karma, a Cresta 32; Inkeeper, a Mariner 43; Prime Mover, a Randall 56; Cervantes, a Pleysier 35; Shoki Maru, a Precision 46; Snafu, a Choy Lee 48; Diamond Girl, a Riviera 48; Iceman, another Riv' 48 extended to 50ft; Sea Strike, a Pleysier 56; Mr Bill, a Randell 56; Fascination, a Riviera 51; and Fascination II, a Riviera 51 with an enclosed flybridge, the boat I was aboard.

" I can remember when water was more valuable than fuel," Captain Jones says from the enclosed air-conditioned bridge of the latest Riviera 51 with one of those de rigueur desalinators for unlimited water. and a real kick in the tail courtesy of twin 1075hp MTUs. But for me, the mention of water evokes memories of the previous night rafted up behind Opal Reef with one of the true old workhorses of Cairns, a boat called Snap Dragon, that's been skippered by Captain Jordie Williams for the past 30 years.

This 30-foot ply-and-fibreglass gameboat was handbuilt by Harold Collis, builder of the original Sea Baby for George Bransford, who started the rush to Cairns in the mid-Sixties. Fitted with a single 260hp Volvo in an engine box that sits proud of the saloon floor and, I notice, complimentary earplugs, Snap Dragon was home to Captain Jordie, one crew and four anglers for a week. The boat holds less than 200ltr of water, but plenty of beer. Fridges and freezers are everywhere and, for a stir, they've fashioned a sign hanging from the bridge that reads: The Best Riviera 30 Prototype.

But I digress. Back aboard the Riviera 51, our crew Colin "Wombat" Grimes also remembers the old days fondly, when he looked forward to nothing more than getting into shore "for a draught beer, a chat with the girls and a long hot shower."

Besides Cairns itself, the biggest changes in recent years have been the Green Zones, which Captain Jones rightfully considers a drastic overreaction as a result of a mushrooming dive industry. Interestingly, he works more closely with the longliners these days, many of whom let skippers know where the big black marlin are aggregating beyond the reef, as happened late this season.

There have also been some huge changes in the way skippers fish, of course, with Captain Jones embracing the circle-hook techniques introduced by another sage skipper, Captain Peter B. Wright, as much as a decade ago. Wind-on leaders and lures are other developments, though the lure fishing for big blacks is usually confined to those times when you need to cover ground or fish the wide grounds.

While mothershipping was all the rage during the heady Eighties, when up to a dozen big boats would be parked on the reef, today there's not one mothership (which cost from $1600-$10,000 a day) doing the complete heavy-tackle marlin season off Cairns. And no seaplanes flying out fresh supplies.

During the tournament, the Riviera all-female team and this writer were among those staying on the mothership Reef Connection, a nice old fibreglass 60-footer run by the delightful couple Captain Brad Hill and Ketra Wooding, who was working on getting her own skipper's ticket at the time of our visit. Not only a great host, but one with mechanical aptitude.

Anyway, these days, the latest production-built 40-60ft game boats rule The Reef. Costing around $3300 a day to charter, boats like Fascination II team fishability with self-sufficiency and creature comforts. And that is attracting more female participation, with partners and wives becoming competent anglers and content liveaboard crew.

" In 1984, my first year on The Reef, I blew up two engines and my wife walked out on me. I thought about giving this game away," says Captain Jones, adding that skippers now demand a lot more, things like three cabins and two heads, a female hostess and satellite communications. In the old days, he says he could miss an election result while fishing on The Reef, with just occasional runs to Cooktown to reprovision, which is something that the rest of the fleet now does as well.

Times change and Captain Jones laments the lack of camaraderie among some of the new-generation skippers. On the few occasions I climb the ladder to join him in the tower you can't get a word in - he is chatting with his old mates on the radio or cellphone.

" Originally, there were only local boats fishing off Cairns. Now they come from everywhere, more private boats doing their own thing, with skippers I don't know," he says.

Yet during the passage of time, some things don't change. Take the fishing. The last three years have been as good as Captain Jones has ever seen. In fact, the 2001-2003 seasons were the best ever, with the most big black marlin in the history of fishing off Cairns.

The 2005 season was late and quieter, but still the big fish were there like no other place in the world, luring people like Captain Jones back to The Reef to work another season. - DL


CIRCLE WORK

Following the bite, the crash on the skip bait or the snap of line from the peg on the swimming bait, came the spine-tingling call from the tower hinting at the fish's size. He or she could be anywhere from 200lb to more than 1000lb. Then the engines grunt in reverse to wash off the speed, as the spool ticks over with purpose and drama.

What seemed like an eternity passed - Captain Jones likes that bait to be eaten - before the angler on strike was given the command to advance the lever. And with that came the unforgettable moment of coming up tight - the moment of truth for the lady anglers on Fascination II.

Suddenly, sometimes violently, they were caught between a giant black marlin and an imposing 130lb bent-butt outfit. And once bitten, once hooked, Captain Jones was anything but shy.

With the circle-hook technique - the hook was rigged well ahead of the bait to avoid fouling - fighting drag pressure was often kept as low as 20lb. I saw this skipper get the boat back within tagging range of unsuspecting 600lb marlin in a matter of, well, minutes. And this way it's possible to tag a 1000lb fish after negligible fight time.

Captain Jones says there are enough hard fish requiring heavy drag pressure, fish that really stretch the angler, such as the 900-pounder that Suzy Clark fought for an hour and 40 minutes in the tournament before I arrived, that the easy ones are a blessing.

Of course, others embrace circle hooks on environmental grounds - it's been proven that the less-damaging jaw hookups increase fish survival. The detractors, meanwhile, say circles extend the fight, which results in more shark-eaten fish. At least one skipper was frustrated from a lack of hookups during the last season that he switched back to J-hooks. But that's fishing.

" When you're having a bad run you just have to stick at it," says Captain Bob Jones. "Some of the young skippers are too quick to condemn new techniques. But no matter how you fish, this is still the best fishery in the world."

" A new skipper here (driving the new Barry-Martin built Assegai, Shaka) said to me he's wanted to come to Cairns for 20 years," Captain Jones explains back at the dock. "His first fish was a 950-pounder. He said it would take 20 years to find a fish like that in American waters. I shrugged my shoulders and said, yeh, a 950 is alright for starters." - DL


WINNERS ARE GRINNERS:
Riviera 19th Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic

A record 48 crews and boats flying flags for every Australian state, plus America, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa and England, revelled in some unseasonably fine weather and some predictably hot giant marlin fishing at the Riviera 19th Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic. In fact, all but one crew had tagged a black marlin by the close of fishing on Day Seven.

The tally from the week-long tournament was 573 strikes for 361 hook-ups and 194 black marlin tagged and released, plus another 11 tagged but self-disqualified by anglers and crews for rule breaches. Unique fishing by any standards, especially considering the estimated size of those fish: 81 tagged 100 to 300-pounders; 51 tagged 300 to 500-pounders; 19 tagged 500 to 700-pounders; 18 tagged 700 to 900-pounders; and 25 tagged 900 to 1100-pounders.

How does this compare to previous years? Very favourably, given the more-than-double number of anglers of any other year and the nature of the season, which would be deemed late and not quite up to the heady rate of the last three years.

The 2005 Riviera Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic produced 4.04 fish per boat, compared to 4.55 fish per boat in 2004; 5.41 fish per boat in 2003; and 10.35 fish per boat in the wild season of 2002. There were no more or less 900-plus pound giant blacks tagged than in other years, pointing to the fact that this remains the premier giant black marlin and heavy-tackle fishing tournament in the world.

Daily awards for the most tags point to the improving bite. Awards went to: Allure (Captain Darren "Biggles" Hayden) on Day One for two tags; Mr Bill (Captain Keith "Slippery" Eels) on Day Two for two tags; Reel Chase (Captain Jim Dalling) on Day Three for three tags: Manu Kai (Captain Kim Andersen) on Day Four for three tags; Iona (Captain Trent Vischer) on Day Five for four tags; Tenacious (Captain Chris "Sharky" Miles) on Day Six for four tags; and Inkwazi (Captain Graeme McCloy) on Day Seven with a terrific five tags.

The presentation night saw ye old Marlin Bar packed to the rafters with well-watered, fed and suntanned anglers and crews.

Champion Tag and Release Team and Champion Boat with 14 tags was Tenacious with anglers Kim McKendrick, Charles Kneale, Bruce Cameron, David Morrell and Mark Calvert-Jones. Champion Male Angler, John Angus, tagged 11 fish on Allure. Champion Female Angler, Carmen Darcy, tagged four black marlin on Inkwazi, which had Graham McCoy on the wheel. Runner-up boat Assegai tagged 11 fish on a countback from Allure. As mentioned, only one boat failed to tag a fish, but the wooden anal fin wasn't presented.

A one-hour feature on this tournament will be shown on FOX Sports during February. Check your local TV guide for details.
Organisers are hoping for 60 teams and as many boats next year when the 20th anniversary Riviera Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic turns strictly tag and release. Tournament dates are October 14-21.

See: www.lizardislandgfc.asn.au
Already the top charterboats are booked, but increasingly, boatowners are bringing their own vessels north for the season. - DL.