Twin brothers Charlie and Oliver Ash (right) pose with the 203.6kg blue marlin, caught by Oliver during the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club juniors fishing tournament. Photo / Supplied
Twin brothers Charlie and Oliver Ash (right) pose with the 203.6kg blue marlin, caught by Oliver during the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club juniors fishing tournament. Photo / Supplied
Two marlins caught on Saturday headlined this year's Bay of Islands Swordfish Club junior fishing tournament held over the weekend.
Oscar Avery, 11, from Australia, was the eventual winner of the tournament with a 95-kilogram striped marlin he caught aboard his father's 50-foot game fishing boat, Nammu.
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Battling the rough conditions, the young Newcastle Grammar School pupil first hooked the fish about 4.30pm on Saturday and took an hour to bring it to the boat in his first experience reeling in a marlin.
The striped marlin tagged and released by Oscar, 11, and father Greg Avery aboard their boat, Nammu. Photo / Supplied
"It was really hard, it was a lot harder than I expected, but we had a good skipper and good deckhands so it made it a lot easier," Oscar said.
"There was a lot of adrenaline but I'd heard the reels go off quite a few times before so I knew what was happening, but it was a lot of fun and it was very exciting."
In last year's competition, Oscar's brother Makenzie took out the tournament's top prize with a 70kg striped marlin. Oscar said he hoped the family could get three in a row when they came back in 2021.
The Avery team. From left Jake, Oscar and Makenzie Avery at the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club junior fishing tournament. Photo / Supplied
Heaviest Tuna (all species) - Sophia Greenhalgh aboard Lily with a 7.45kg Albacore Tuna Heaviest Kingfish - George Wootton aboard Seahunter with a 12.5kg Yellowtail kingfish Heaviest Kahawai – Flynn Beauchamp aboard Family Jewels with a 2.45kg Kahawai Heaviest Snapper – Josh Patterson aboard Lion Rocker with a 9kg snapper Top Female Angler – Stella Corkill aboard Seahunter with 48.25 points Top Male Angler – Oscar Avery aboard Nammu with 500 points Top Team – Nammu with 500 points
The tournament's heaviest unofficial catch went to 13-year-old Kerikeri High School student Oliver Ash, who hooked up a 203.6kg blue marlin aboard Moet straight off Cape Brett at depth of about 350 metres.
However, his father Chris had to take over the rod which disqualified the catch from the tournament.
When the marlin was hooked, it sped away, using up about 700 metres of line before it died. Bob Ash, Oliver's grandfather and the boat's skipper, soon realised the fish had been foul-hooked on its side which made it difficult to reel in.
"Things weren't going right, it just wasn't coming up," Bob said.
"We couldn't even move it at one stage and we thought we had to try something else."
After a five-and-a-half hour battle, which saw Oliver on the rod for about 90 minutes, the crew managed to get the fish on the boat through a number of creative tactics from the skipper.
"It's been pretty special for us and for that to happen to Oliver, that was just something special," Bob said.
"I would have loved for him to have caught it because he would have won the competition if he had."
Eight-seven anglers from 30 teams took part in the annual junior tournament, up from last year's 66 anglers from 22 teams.
Flynn Newton holds his snapper proudly during the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club juniors fishing tournament. Photo / Supplied
Tournament convener Olivia Beauchamp said she was pleased to see so many young anglers take part in what was a great opportunity for families.
"I was talking to one of the Mums [on Sunday] who said, 'there's no better way to bond with your children than taking them out on the boat and teaching them releasing fish and letting them live another day'," she said.
"That's what we are trying to encourage moving forward, the release side of things especially with the bigger fish."
Upcoming BOISC competitions:
Eldorado International Billfish Tournament (Jan 29-Feb 1) Mainstream Reel Ladies (Feb 14-15) Small Boats Tournament (Feb 22-Feb 23) Zane Grey International Billfish Tournament (Mar 11-14)
