006 Land a marlin from the rocks

Here’s a slight fudge: some marlin have been landed from the shore in other parts of the world, generally by accident, but nearly every recorded land-based marlin catch has come from a few select rock ledges in Jervis Bay, NSW, about 170km south of Sydney.

Here’s a slight fudge: some marlin have been landed from the shore in other parts of the world, generally by accident, but nearly every recorded land-based marlin catch has come from a few select rock ledges in Jervis Bay, NSW, about 170km south of Sydney.

Big game anglers spend millions chartering boats for this ultimate thrill, and the unique thing about Jervis Bay, providing you’re a very clever fisho and know exactly what you’re doing, is that you can realistically target marlin from these ledges. How? Well, Jervis Bay is a huge mass of water, three times the size of Sydney Harbour, and at 27m it’s thought to be the deepest sheltered harbour in Australia. It projects about 16km further out to sea than the surrounding coastline and is constantly being washed through by warm oceanic currents.

All of this fits nicely with the behaviour of marlin, which tend to hang around to feed on baitfish – and landing one is considered one of the holy grails of fishing, with boasting rights surpassing just about all else. A lonely blogger from Gisbourne, NZ, recently wrote: “I write articles for NZ Fishing News in the land-based/rock-fishing section and have been targeting them in our local waters for a couple of years. No-one has landed one in NZ yet.” Hard luck, cheps.

Where // Jervis Bay is 170km south of Sydney. As to the precise location of those rock ledges? If you’re a fisho, you’ll know how to ask the right questions without sounding sort of silly. And be careful, please. www.sportfishextreme.com  

Did you know? // Marlin are the largest members of the perch family and can grow up to 5m and weigh 900kg. And rock fishing, in terms of deaths per participant, is by far the most dangerous sport in the world. Bar none. Daylight second.