The 26th Annual Billfish Bonanza hosted by the Mooloolaba Game Fishing Club was held mid-April from the Mooloolaba Yacht Club at the Wharf Mooloolaba. The light tackle bite off the Sunshine Coast has been unbelievable the past few months and because of that 16 boats from seven different Game Fishing Clubs and 50 keen anglers ventured off Mooloolaba in search of Billfish. Average weather conditions were forecasted for Saturday so the bulk of the fleet decided to fish the light tackle grounds. The bite was slow at first but by mid-morning the fish had started to fire. By the second sked 5 Back Marlin and a Sailfish had been tagged with other boats still hooked up.  Two Under 7 meter boats remained hooked up for over two and a half hours on fish as the conditions made the battle challenging. By days end 8 Black Marlin and 2 Sailfish had been tagged.  Sunday saw the conditions deteriorate with a handful of boats retiring early.  Persistence paid off for ‘’Release’’ scoring a Billfish and a weigh-able Wahoo on 8kg which gave them the overall win. Peter Mintzas aboard ‘’Deep Blue’’ tagged a late Black Marlin to win the Champion Male and Light Tackle angler while Sarah Postan fishing on ‘’Reel Lady’’ took out Champion Female and Other Species with a 12.15kg Mahi Mahi. Bryce Bartleson scored 2 tagged Billfish on ‘’Pole Dancer’’ which saw him take out Champion Junior. The presentation on Sunday night was a fantastic event, enjoyed by all who attended. Thank you to all our sponsors and everyone who supported the Garmin Billfish Bonanza...

In total we had 18 vessels entered and 55 anglers participating in both sections. In the gamefish section, 11 Vessels and 34 anglers entered. Weather Friday was pretty ordinary, with some vessels deciding not to attempt to cross South Passage bar due to the poor conditions. There were 21 Strikes, 14 hook-ups and 7 tags recorded, 2 blue marlin, 1 black marlin tagged, a Spanish and a Yellowfin and 2 Mac Tuna. In the reef section a number of snapper, spanish mackerel and jewfish were recorded. On Day Two the breeze did not come in early as expected, which affected the fishing to some degree, although the reef guys had a great time, some fishing in the bay and others heading offshore. Grassy sweetlip, Amberjack, Spanish Mackerel and Pearl Perch were all measured. On the gamefish side, the totals came in at 11-7-3, 1 Blue marlin was tagged and released along with a Wahoo and Dolphinfish. Gamefish results, 32 Strikes, 21 Hookups, 10 Tags, 3 Blue Marlin, 1 Black Marlin, 1 Wahoo, 1 Dolphinfish, 1 Spanish, 1 Yellowfin Tina and 2 Mac Tuna   RESULTS: GARMIN Reef Rumble:   Champion Team Snapper: Predator Champion Team Grassy Sweetlip: Garmin Bottom Bashers Champion Team Spangled Emperor: Spanyid Champion Team Pearl Perch: Suzuki Double or Nothing Champion Team Yellowtail Kingfish: Spanyid Champion Team Amberjack: Sea Hawk Champion Team Jewfish: Spanyid Champion Team Spanish Mackerel: Spanyid Fish of the Tournament: Champion Junior: Jacob Mirosch Champion Senior: Richard Love Champion Cruisecraft: Predator Champion Reef Rumble Boat Overall: Suzuki Double or Nothing   Garmin Gamefish Classic:   Highest Points Day 1: Black Habit, Shannon Zammit. Day 2 Wellcraft, Peter Watts Runner-up Male: Peter Watts, Wellcraft Champion Angler Heavy Tackle: Shannon Zammit Champion Riviera Boat: Site Office Champion Cruisecraft Boat: Predator Champion Vessel Over 8m: Site Office Champion Junior Angler: Brea Thomsen Champion Female Angler: Amy Richards, Site Office Champion Male and Overall Champion: Shannon Zammit   CHAMPION TEAM NAUTILUS MARINE INSURANCE INTERCLUB SHIELD Black Habit Moreton Bay Game Fish...

The Newport Game Fish Club ran its inaugural fishing tournament, the ‘Brisbane Marine Tag & Brag Marlin Extravaganza’ on the weekend of 17-18 March.  The weather was a bit ordinary on the back of a cyclone that appeared – and disappeared just as quickly – and this ultimately hindered entrants for the tournament.  None-the-less, the new club still managed to field 22 boats with 98 anglers on a hunt for the great cash prizes and bronze trophies that were on offer. Conditions on the Saturday were below par, with the weather bureau not getting it right entirely and fishing was not so fast.  However by the end of the day the fleet had scratched up a good tally with fourteen marlin tagged, consisting of Black Marlin, Blue Marlin and Sailfish. Over the course of two days there were a total of 46 fish tagged, with Blacks, Blues, Stripes and Sailfish all hitting the score board in multiple numbers. Probably the highlight of the fishing weekend was hearing the boat ‘Incognito’ over the radio on a quadruple sailfish hook-up…nothing out of the ordinary for a tournament, except for the fact that it was Bevan Barnes, and he and his 8 year old son were the only crew on board.  Despite the fact they were two up, and with extremely sloppy weather, they managed to tag the first two fish.  Young Tyler got his Sailfish first, and then drove the boat, videoed and tagged his father’s fish.  Way to go – and certainly a deserving win – with Tyler ending up Champion Junior for the weekend. The Newport format proved exciting for all involved, as it was mandatory for all tagged fish to be videoed for the tag and the release, so the club now has a wealth of video that it will release in edited video as promotions for its next event. One patch of water at Never Fail held plenty of Blue Marlin, with team Seahawk picking up two at this spot.  The area was full of flying fish and dolphins, and they were surprised to find an entire family of dolphins stop and watch the safe release of one of the Blues – something they were lucky enough...

Back 2 Tanga 10 Moreton Bay GFC GARMIN “Back 2 Tanga 10th Anniversary tournament was held across the first weekend in March 2018. With a favourable weather window, a total of 33 boats were registered at the briefing held at Redlands Sporting club on the Wednesday night.  A total of 99 Anglers including 10 female, 9 juniors. A further 23 crew were registered. David Trask kindly was auctioneer for the Calcutta raising a pool of $5825. The fishing was slow with fish scattered and also a doughy billfish bite. All up there were 101 strikes, 82 hook-ups and 49 fish landed or tagged. This included 1 Blue marlin, 11 Black marlin, 2 Sailfish, I albacore, 5 Mack tuna, 6 Mahi Mahi, 12 mackerel, 1 cobia, 6 wahoo and 4 skipjack tuna. Champion boat was Bangalee (MGFC), with 6,000 pts, followed by Spartacus (NGFC) with 4,606 points then Reel Affair (MBGFC) on 3,000 pts. At the presentation a comprehensive prize pool ($27,000) was distributed to 38 categories including prizes for a funfish section.   PRIZE                                                                      ANGLER (Boat/Points) Early Entry Prize:                                              Bluey – “Dr Blue” Sked Draws- Friday 1005:                              Chris Hagen – “Summerblaze” Sked Draws- Friday 1205:                              Michelle Hicks – “Reel Affair” Sked Draws- Friday 1505:                              James Threadingham – “Oofa” Sked Draws- Saturday 1005:                        Paul Cook – “Caddy Shack” Sked Draws- Saturday 1205:                        Luke McLaren – “No Name” Sked Draws- Saturday 1505:                        Graham Kroehnert – “Gray Triton” First Billfish tagged – Day 1:                         Patricia Minzas – “Spartacus” Last Bill fish tagged – Day 1:                         Gary Venniekerk – “Reel Affair” First Billfish tagged – Day 2:                         James Threadingham – “Oofa” Last Billfish tagged – Day 2:                          Tony Ford – “Choppy” Champion Angler Tuna:                                 Harrison Billing (J) – “Get Bent” Champ Ang Other G’Fish Sp:                       Ryan McKinnon – “Galaxy II”   3rd Place Junior :                                              Robbie Flynn – 50 pts Runner-up Junior :                                          James Threadingham 1620 pts CHAMPION JUNIOR:                                      Harrison Billing – 1650pts 3rd place Female Angler:                              Debbie Dahl – 1500pts Runner up Female Angler:                           Charlotte Ditchfield  -1500 pts CHAMPION FEMALE ANGLER :                   Patricia Minzas – 3000 pts 3rd Place Male Angler:                                   Ryan...

It’s a wrap on the Ben Campbell Classic for another year, after moving to our backup dates we final got the tournament underway. Boats and crews tested their skills in conditions that were not perfect, but manageable to produce some excellent fish numbers as some boats demonstrated their superior fishing skills. In total there were 118 Strikes for 87 Hookups which resulted in 57 fish. 48 Black Marlin, 1 Sailfish and 2 Striped Marlin were eventually tagged with 3 Mahi Mahi and 3 Wahoo also going the 8kg line class. Official Results Were: Champion Team Overall – Reel Capture Champion Angler Overall – Channon Arbuthnot Champion Angler Runner Up – Brett Barton Champion Male Angler Light Tackle – Channon Arbuthnot Champion Male Angler Heavy Tackle – Brett Barton Champion Female Angler Heavy Tackle – Wendy Pendrick Champion Junior Angler – Bryce Bartleson Champion Junior Angler Runner Up – Ben Massurit Champion Angler Other Species – Ryan Parry Champion Boat 7m & Under – Preposterous Runner Up Boat 7m & Under – AThrill Champion Boat Over 7m – Reel Capture Runner Up Boat Over 7m –...

The fifth annual Billfish Babes Tournament was a highly anticipated event for the women of South East Queensland. The second largest of its kind, 28 keen fishing women descended on the Sunshine Coast to participate in the Ladies Only Game Fishing Shootout hosted by Mooloolaba Game Fishing Club. As if by magic, the wind dropped out just long enough for the ladies to go out for their day of fishing in glamour conditions. With 36 strikes, 23 hookups and 10 fish caught there was plenty of excitement for the girls who were fishing across 10 boats. By the end of the day, 6 Black Marlin were tagged and released along with a sole Sailfish. 3 Mahi Mahi were also brought in to weigh. Kelly O’Donnell, a Mooloolaba Game Fishing Club member who tagged a black and weighed in with a 10kg Mahi Mahi, was dubbed Champion Senior Angler. Moreton Bay Game Fishing Club boat, Black Habits took out the comp after the Babes on board tagged a Sailfish within the first half hour of the tournament. They cemented their win when they tagged a Black Marling later that morning. Billfish Babes is a one-day shootout which also includes a fancy dress boat parade and an exhilarating shotgun start. All Babes, both seniors and juniors, are encouraged to participate and try their hand at this amazing...