Positive signs returning for Gisborne marlin and tuna contest

The biggest yellowfin tuna weighed in so far this year was caught by Chris Stone. The marlin are out there too, with one landed in Gisborne last week.

Hopes are high that marlin will be landed when the annual Gisborne Hunting and Fishing contest hits the water on Thursday.

The marlin and tuna tournament run by the Gisborne-Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club is the club’s biggest game fish contest of the season.

It usually attracts about 400 anglers and about 100 boats, a number of them from outside the district.

The popular contest offers $60,000 in total prizes, with $10,000 for the heaviest marlin or tuna, and an additional $10,000 for a tagged and released marlin that goes into a draw.

A marlin was landed in the waters off Gisborne last week.

“So that shows the marlin are definitely out there, and in the Hawke’s Bay contest at the weekend a number of marlin were caught,” said sports fishing club president Roger Faber.

“We’ve had numerous yellowfin tuna landed this season, it’s the best season for them we’ve had here in decades.”

Weather conditions look good for the contest.

Last year’s contest was amazing with magnificent fishing, Faber said at the time.

“There were 42 marlin tagged and released over the four days, a club record.”

Gisborne’s Richie Needham, fishing from the boat Too Keen, won the $10,000 first prize last year for heaviest marlin or tuna, with a 157.8kg blue marlin.

In a hard luck story, Neil Miller, fishing off Tzer, landed a 225.8kg broadbill swordfish that would have won the contest but it arrived too late for the final weigh-in.

The contest briefing is on Wednesday night at the fishing club, starting at 7.30pm.