Friends who have never seen marlin capture 96kg fish off Whangamatā

Scott Parker, Luke Slater and Daniel Carbery with the marlin. Photo / Supplied

A group of Coromandel friends have achieved a lifetime dream by catching a 96.7kg marlin off the coast of Whangamatā - and for at least one on board it was the first time seeing the big fish in the flesh.

Scott Parker was credited with the catch after shooting it with a spear gun and being towed at around 5 knots for several kilometres before the fish finally tired, before Luke Slater and skipper Daniel Carbery helped get the fish on the boat, Sam BJ.

The trio took the fish into Whangamatā Ocean Sports Club where it was weighed, and they had the chance to take a photo with their prized capture.

It was the first marlin Carbery had seen, and Parker’s first chance in 25 years of fishing to try to capture one.

The trio saw the marlin jumping out of the water amongst a group of kahawai before disappearing.

An hour later, it re-emerged and Parker told the Herald there was a mad scramble to get in the water.

The fish came within 4 metres of Parker before he fired his shot.

“I hit it really good and hit it in the spine with my big spear, so it didn’t take off anywhere near as fast as what a marlin should take off,” Parker said.

“Being around 62kg, it dragged me through the water pretty good. At stages it was powering up and getting faster and so I gave it more line on the bungee and let it wear it down.

“There were a lot of big celebrations going on in the water. It was cool.”

What made the occasion more special was that it was an impromptu trip out on the water.

“We’ve spent the last 25 years, since we were kids, dreaming about catching a marlin,” Carbery said. “I’d never even seen one in real life until that day.

“I saw this huge electric blue and purple shape launch out of the water like a rocket. It was zig-zagging like an F1 car.

“To do it with your best mates, on a glassy blue day like that - it was absolutely once in a lifetime.”

Within two hours of capturing the marlin, it was taken to the local butcher, where it is being cut down for some raw and smoked fish.

Parker said there were a few beers to celebrate the haul which he described as a “dream come true”. While he isn’t sure if he will shoot another marlin, he has his eyes on another prized fish.

“It was a pretty cool experience just being in the water with it, but my main target this year was a yellowfin tuna,” Parker said.

“We haven’t actually had that opportunity yet so we’ll be still hunting them down for the next few months until they bugger off but that’s definitely next on the list.”