Well today was a good day for the Geddes family from Sydney who are enjoying the festive season in Vanuatu. The weather was perfect with flat calm seas and clear skies. It was only a 4 hour fishing
charter today so the pressure was on to try and get Mark a fish in a small window. A quick chair demonstration to show 1st time heavy tackle angler Mark the ropes and we were away. As usual at the FADs the Yellowfin Tuna were busting all around us, with lots of birds working the area. In the calm weather it was hard to tempt the Tuna and despite a couple of tackle changes they were not biting. We decided to stick to chasing the ultimate goal of a Blue Marlin so left the temptation of the birds and Tunas to work our usual Marlin spots. As usual the lure spread was representing some of the best lure craftsmen in the business with Koya’s and Crampton lures taking the short corner and long corner. It wasn’t long before a good sized marlin appeared inside of the long corner, the fish was lit up with electric blue tail on full display. Just as the Captain gave the shout, the fish piled on the Crampton Hog lure and line started to peel off the Shimano 130. The fish gave a short display of thrashing turning the water white before screaming off into the distance. The crew had to move fast to clear the gear as this Marlin was not waiting for anyone. The speed of the run was blistering! In no time at all the top shot was off the reel and we were well into the dacron! Russ started chasing down on the fish to try and get some line back, despite it being his first time fishing out of the chair Mark put on a masterful display of angling with excellent technique and plenty of grit. As the top shot was safely back on the reel Russ made a few manoeuvres with the boat to encourage the fish to co-operate which she did and up she came. The look on the anglers face and the whole family as they saw a decent sized Blue Marlin swimming along was priceless. In around 30 minutes of fight Laura grabbed the leader and got the fish under control at the side of the boat and Lani deployed the flying gaff with a solid shot to secure the fish. We would normally release the fish but a local village was desperately in need of food for there community Christmas lunch and we thought we would give them a helping hand. The fish was boated and measured and using the IGFA formula had an estimated weight of 213 KG (468lbs). To say that Mark and family were happy is an understatement, and the local islanders from Lelepa have already been calling to thank the Nambas Team and the Geddes family for their Christmas feast. Merry Christmas Everyone!