Live baiting
This article is written by Leigh Holtsbaum, an experienced angler and Black Magic Brand Ambassador based in Queensland, Australia. Leigh has been chasing baby Blacks for many years, and this article outlines his live baiting tips and techniques.
SPECIES - Black marlin (Istiompax indica)
FAMILY - Istiophoridae
DISTRIBUTION - Found in the tropical and subtropical Indonesian and Pacific oceans
SIZE - Black marlin are one of the largest marlin species and can weigh up to 750kg (1,650lb) and measure up to 4.65m (15.3ft) in length.
WORLD RECORD - The current IGFA All Tackle world record is held by Alfred Glassell Jr, who landed a 707.61kg (1560lb) black marlin on 4 August 1995 in Cabo Blanco, Peru. In Australia, the biggest black marlin was caught by Michael Magrath on 1 November 1973 in Queensland, weighing 654.08kg. The biggest black marlin caught in New Zealand, belongs to the legend, Alain Jorion. He landed his 473.2kg black marlin off the Gisborne coast on 9 February 2002.
DESCRIPTION
Black marlin are more solid than blue marlin. They have a shorter bill and a rounder, lower dorsal fin. They can be distinguished from other marlin by their rigid pectoral fins which can’t be pressed flat against their sides, but can be tilted further backwards to reduce drag.
From December through to April, baby black marlin (ranging from 20-100kg) swarm off the Queensland coast. The main concentrations are usually around the 50 fathom line from North East of the Jumpinpin Bar trough Spot X to Deep Trag. All are well-known grounds that have produced good numbers of baby black marlin on the schools of slimy mackerel, yellowtail scad, scaly mackerel and bonito that are plentiful in the area.
Targeting billfish on live baits is an excellent way to ensure that you have a decent conversion rate on fish raised to fish tagged and released. Fishing light tackle and using lures normally results in tagging one fish in three but on live baits it’s closer to nine out of every ten. There are many ways that you can use live baits but for me the best way when there aren’t many boats fishing the bait schools, is switch baiting. But if there’s plenty of boat traffic then drifting the bait schools is extremely effective.
RIGGING UP
Due to the varied size of baby blacks you can encounter, a mix of 8kg to 15kg set ups are used.
In tournaments I use 8kg class tackle but on social days I use the heavier 15kg tackle just in case I hook a larger model. I like to fish 2.5kg of drag on the 8kg and only 3.5kg on the 15kg. With the 15kg you still have the option of going over the strike pre-set if the fish goes deep but even on a 100kg+ fish with good boat driving the lighter drag works and prevents bust off on the lighter leaders we use to get more bites.
Whether I’m switch baiting or drifting the bait, I use exactly the same tackle set up. It consists of 2 meters of [Black Magic] 60-80lb Fluorocarbon leader and a 6/0-8/0 KLT® hook.
The beauty of KLT® hooks are the inline design which makes them tournament legal. All game fishing tournaments are regulated following the GFAA game fishing rules and these hooks tick the box for legal terminal tackle. Circle hooks are also much more fish friendly than J-hooks and significantly improve fish survival rates, not to mention that a circle hook will rarely pull out during the fight even when the fish is jumping all over the ocean.
I prefer to tie the hook to the leader using a snell knot and then crimp a 10cm loop at the other end to attach to the swivel on the wind on leader. The loop allows a weight to be added to the rig if required when slow trolling or dropping a live bait down to a marked fish on the sounder.
6/0 hooks look small for marlin fishing but I can personally guarantee they work on the big fish as I have caught a 250kg black marlin on a 6/0 circle hook and 60lb leader. Lighter leaders and smaller hooks are less obvious to the fish and as a result get more bites. KLT® hooks are super strong and can hold up against these tough fish.
To complete the rig, a small braided line bridle is added to the hook so that the live bait can be bridle rigged to the hook. This will keep the bait alive for longer and prevent the hook from turning into the bait when swallowed.
SWITCH BAITING
Switching is a very visual and exciting way to fish for the normally very aggressive black marlin. All that’s required is two teaser rods and two teaser lures rigged with a mahimahi belly flap stitched up inside the lure. These can be trolled off the riggers and set on the third and forth waves behind the boat. You want them reasonably close so that you can keep a close eye on them for any sign of fish stalking the teasers. As soon as you raise the marlin clear the teasers and pitch back the live bait.
As the blacks are usually lit up, they will find the bait within seconds and engulf it often right at the back of the boat is plain sight. As soon as the fish hits the bait, free spool so the fish does not feel any weight and use your thumb very lightly to apply pressure so that an over run does not occur. At this time, you can also have the ratchet on to help prevent the over run and also allow the skipper to hear what it is going on.
Allow for 5-10 seconds for the fish to swallow the bait and then slowly ease up your drag to the pre-set and with a steady wind take up the pressure, but make sure you don’t strike. The gentle increase in pressure will pull the KLT® circle hook into position in the corner of the mouth to lock it in and away you go.
DRIFTING BAIT SCHOOLS
Another very successful method of targeting marlin on live baits is to drift around the schools of baitfish and deploy weighted and unweighted live baits at various depths. This is also the easiest way to fish when a number of boats are fishing in the same area, and this are harder to raise on lures and teasers.
To drift the bait schools firstly you need find the best school of bait in the chosen area and position the boat up current from the school so you can slow drift through the bait. I find it best to run an unweighted bait about 30 meters back on one of the riggers attached with a rubber band and a lightly set clip and on the other rigger a 1/2oz weight on the rig set about 50m back.
I then have a 4oz weight on a third bait that is set deep just under the bait school. By having the two lightly weight baits in the rigger it enables you to bring in the deep set bait and then slowly troll back above the bait school once you have finished your drift and often this is when you get the bite.
Another great tactic whilst drifting, is to continually jig fresh baits – the activity of the bait jig as you bring it to the boat will draw the attention of the hunting Blacks towards your main baits.
Always use light set drags. When you get the bite, free spool the bait and allow 5-10 seconds for the fish to swallow the bait and then slowly ease up your drag to the pre-set and with a steady wind take up the pressure to pull the KLT® circle hook into position in the corner of the mouth.
It pays dividends to watch the rubber bands in the riggers as you will often detect when the bait gets agitated, and when the band starts to lengthen the bite is about to happen.
