Massive catch for young Waihi angler and dad

Quinn and Cade Henderson land a 221.8kg blue marlin. Photo supplied.

History repeated itself for Waihi angler Quinn Henderson when he and son Cade caught a stonking 221.8kg blue marlin.

Quinn too, had caught a blue marlin with his father eight years ago.

That day was a special one for Quinn and he had always hoped to do the same with his son Cade, 12.

''I was something I had always hoped for. It's like a script that was in my head that came to reality. And catching a fish that was such a good prize was the cherry on top.''

Quinn, a Waihi Beach Coastguard member and Bowentown Boating & Sport Fishing Club member, says Cade had worked hard the day before, so a day's fishing would be a good reward.

They headed to Mayor Island and had their lures out around 10.30am.

''There was not alot of action, the sea was a little lumpy, we were about half way between Mare Island and Alderman Islands and I just looked out the back and noticed the swirl of water and 10-15 seconds later something hard yanked on one of the lines.''

Then the big fish leapt right out of the water in front of them, making their jaws drop.
Quinn knew it was all on.

'''Keep calm,' I was telling myself,'' he says. He knew there was a process if they were to catch the fish.

The pair sprang into action while the marlin took off, emptying the reel. They cleared the other lines, Quinn harnessed up while Cade took instructions from his dad driving the boat.

The battle to get the marlin took about an hour.

''It probably came up to the boat about four or five times and each time it turned and took off again but it was getting more and more tired. After one hour and 10 minutes — right on 12pm — we hooked the fish.''

But the fishing enthusiasts had a problem. Their little boat wasn't designed for big-game fishing and the pair struggled. They had to tie it to the boat, crawl along at 6 knots and put the call out for help to get the fish onboard for safer travel.

It was quite a sight tied to the side of the family's 5.5m aluminium boat Trophy Hunter.

Waihi Beach Coastguard helped out a fellow member and got the fish on board.
''Fishing is our happy place, even if we don't catch anything.''

''If something like this happens — it goes from relaxing to the polar opposite. Cade was very calm. I couldn't have been prouder. We were rapt.''

Quinn and Cade received a $1000 prize for catching the first marlin of the season.

Quinn thanked everyone involved for their help.