But there was a method to our madness; we were preparing to set up the pattern we would use for the up and coming, N.S.W. Interclub Tournament. We had entered the tournament with one thing firmly embedded in our minds; we were going to win.

It was 1986, and Colin Grimes, now Wombat. (Wonder who called him that?) and myself had hand selected two young crewmen, who had plenty of promise to join us as the winning team. Their names were Steve Haygarth (Hoggy) and Mark Stephenson (Statue). The boys had done plenty of fishing in the past, but were a little new to the marlin game. Wombat and I had done a few seasons on the deck in Cairns as professional crewmen, and we were keen to teach the boys how it should be done. On our first team meeting it was decided that even though our weekend fishing was for enjoyment and relaxation, we would run the boat as if we were paid professional crew. We emphasized we would still have plenty of fun (and we certainly did) but a certain amount of commitment had to be given by the boys. So Team Splashdown was formed.

After considerable preparation the boys are confident, Hoggie & Statue know we are ready to win.

Tackle preparation was set-aside for half a day every Saturday, but with a couple of beers thrown in, it often got dragged out to a full day. Systems got put into place, and we developed a program that became quite regimented. Of course things back then were a little different to these days, available tackle and cost factors made the use of a little ingenuity essential. Our tackle was 30lb (15kg) that's all we had; the choice of line was Amilan, or Tortue. Leader was a well-known brand called fishermen, with 250lb breaking strain (that's all that was available). Our choice of lures was a mixture of Seven Strand, Striker, and early Pakulas. Once every blue moon one of us would take out a personal loan and buy a Hawaiian import. I think at our peak we only owned 4 imports, and our total lure arsenal would be considered a joke, with what boats carry today. With so few lures, every one was thoroughly tested in the harbour, and a decision made on where the lures performed best.

We experimented with boat speed, and noted the change in the lures action, all in the calm of the bay, we got it very refined. Once we established the optimum position and speed for our spread, we used dental floss and whipped loops on the line at the set distance for the tag line bands, and also marked the flat lines with a tidy dental floss whipping. Every rod had a rod holder it belonged to and that rod had the same lure on it every time.

Boat speed was kept at the lowest possible speed that the lure would work to our satisfaction in the calm, which gave us some tolerance when surfing down sea. We established this successful pattern, and our results were becoming quite impressive. If a lure was lost, (which occasionally did happen with 15kg and 250lb leader), we went to great lengths to replace the lure with one that was identical. We were pretty negative on crimping mono back then so the 12/0 hooks were snelled, and a perfection loop was used at the snap end. We had pre-measured 29ft of replacement leaders, with perfection loops, so as the leader could be replaced after every fish, or if it got slightly damaged from missed strikes. The boys refined their skills to a point, that they where capable of snelling a couple of pre -sharpened hooks onto the leader in one minute, so no valuable time was lost getting the hot lure back in the water.

Three of the original Splashdown team a long way from the interclub, but Winnin & Grinnin just the same.

Hoggy and Statue and Splashdown owner Ian Bryant, were great anglers, so the two boys and Ian did the rod work. Wombat loved the leader, and gaff, and I was in charge of the two big petrol Mercruisers. We broke all records for petrol consumption back then, much to Ian's despair, he elected to supply the boat and pay for the fuel, if we supplied the crew and tackle. We had to be successful or our deal may have come to a grinding halt.

The week prior to the big tournament we were out in the bay, we had new line on all the fully serviced reels, and were setting distances to our successful speed, and fine tuning the whole program. Splashdown was cleaned and polished, there was a place for everything and everything was in its place. We emphasized to the boys that, was how it had to remain through the day, keeping the boat tidy at all times. They had to have most of the cleaning chores done before we got back to the weigh station, even to the point of cleaning the transom of soot, just before we docked.

Splashdown was taken to Port Stephens on the Wednesday before the first weekend of the tournament. We got set in our berth, gave the boat a tub, and the man with all the fur, and myself, headed for the Country Club for a cold beer. Hoggy and Statue were not arriving till Friday night after work, and Ian had to go back to Sydney to make some more money to pay for the fuel we used just getting there. The boat and tackle was all ready, nothing left to do, we had prepared well. With the relaxed feeling of knowing we were all squared away, instead of the one cold beer we decided to have another. At 11:00 pm Wombat and yours truly, casually left the Country Club.

Continued...

Tournament Briefings were often thirsty work for the Splashdown crew. HOGMAN chats-up a very cute can of VB.

Team Splashdown reformed at the tournament briefing on Friday night; the two young boys seemed very motivated, and pumped. Talk about excited, Statue could barely hold on to a glass of beer (but holding three at a time can be difficult). Wombat calmed the boys down a little, and obviously set a good example, while I was trying to explain to Ian, that to have a chance at winning the tournament, we would be burning at least 350 gallons of petrol a day. For some reason Ian excused himself, said he had to make a phone call, something about his stockbroker.

The first day arrived, and the traditional sail past of the 200 odd boats, seemed to drag on forever We were all keen to start the race to the grounds, and get a bit of breeze in our faces. For some amazing reason, the crew and I had picked up some virus from the night before, and the whole boat was feeling a little off colour. The flare finally hit the sky, and we were off.

We had only gone a mile or two, when the starboard motor started getting a little warm. I pulled the throttles back and kept a close eye on the temperature gauge. Then from down below came Hoggy's strained voice, screaming "I am hooked up, I am hooked up". I turned around to see the rod in the Hog mans hands with a hefty bend in it. A small black marlin exploded 200 metres behind the boat. It was quite remarkable, we were still not clear of the outer light, yes we had taught the boys well, of course as soon as they heard the revs start to die, it was the queue to put out the gear. What had happened was that Hoggy was running out the first lure, thinking we were slowing down to start fishing, when the little black jumped on. Unfortunately the excitement only lasted a short time; the line was cut off by the other vessels still in the race to sea. Another half-hour of steaming, and the Splashdowns fuel gulpers, got slowed to our favorite speed. The pattern got set and I steered a course to the kink in the Continental Shelf.

We had another bite on the way out, but did not stay stuck. On reaching the kink, which was just inside a small canyon, we noticed that the bird life had increased, and the water had turned a gorgeous blue. It didn't take long before the ratchet on one of the 30 Inters let out a howl, and we started doing our thing. We were hooked up on fish all afternoon, and at cease fishing at the end of the day, three high point scoring marlin lay on the deck. Back at the gantry, our results were realized, a 148kg Blue, 104kg Black, and an 87kg black, all on 15kg. Wombat started pressing the number cruncher to work out the points. The next day the action slowed, but we still managed another black of 103kg. The next morning we visited the clubhouse, to view the placings after the first weekend of fishing. Splashdown was leading.

Nothing brings a bunch of fishing folk together like winning a tournament, sharing the satisfaction and elation of winning is very hard to beat.

At the end of the second weekend, Team Splashdown had achieved what it came to do, win the largest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. Our two apprentices did an excellent job, and celebrated well into the night. Ian temporarily forgot about the fuel usage, and joined in on the festivities, and of course Wombat and yours truly continued to teach the boys by example.

It is a great feeling winning any tournament, and that was my first. 16 years on I still approach every tournament the same way, I am going to win. Of course I haven't won every tournament I have entered, but I have won my share and been in the hunt more times than I can remember. For those of you who also long for that winning feeling, here are a few tips that work for me.

Believe you will win. Before you start any preparation for a tournament. You and your crew or team must want to win, and believe you can do so. Always remain very positive; even if you are well behind on the last day, never give up, you never know what can happen.

Continued...

Prepare well.

All equipment must be well serviced, and maintained. I hate losing fish due to equipment failure when there are so many other ways to lose them. Use line and leader that are proven. Even some popular line brands are inconsistent and fail. Leader is very important, too heavy, the lure or bait loses action, too light and it may be broken at the boat after being chaffed by its mouth or Bill. With live baits or dead baits, where the leader is completely in the water, the lighter the better, of course you may be running the gauntlet, but some opportunity is better than no opportunity. Have plenty of backup leaders, pre-sharpened hooks, wind-on's, even new line ready to go. Tupperware containers and zip lock bags are prefect for this. Use a black marker pen to write on the bags and the containers, what's inside, is a good idea. Keep the boat clean, tidy and functional. A place for everything, and everything in it's place. Equipment you need quickly should be close at hand, and your pre-rigged back ups, should not be too far away.

Leave nothing to chance.

Be an individual. Learn what works for you. Fishing is such a diverse sport it is the little things that can make the big difference. Experiment on your fun days, and listen to everyone who has an idea. You may be able to modify it to work for your way of thinking. With regards to lure rigging (which always causes some debate) I mentioned we used to snell on our hooks, and it worked great back then, but I don't use it much these days. Here is something to think about. Some of my most successful lures these days, I run with no hooks at all and on 200lb leader! You don't want to be out there doing exactly the same as every one else, very boring. The most successful boats are always doing something a little different.

Know when to be consistent.

Some fishermen are never happy with what's behind the back of the boat. If they have not had a bite in an hour, they open up the draw, with the 101 sparkling choices, and make another selection. Develop confidence in what you have chosen to do. Swapping and changing, in certain situations is not a good idea. Remember marlin, like many other species of fish, do not eat all the time, in fact sometimes they don't eat at all. Learn to use and understand your fish finding electronics, so that you know if the fish are holding in an area. Kenny Rodgers song, The Gambler, explains it perfectly; You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run. There are times you have to be very patient and it's a full on waiting game, other times you have to try something totally different. Other times you have to move just that little bit away. Or make the big move. Bugger the fuel cost, pull them in and let's run to greener pastures. Remember the more people in the Game, the fewer the chances.

Find your own honey hole:

I Strongly believe that in any tournament situation, you need to get away from the pack as often as possible. Don't be drawn in by a group of boats working an area. I have mentioned in previous articles, but just for a reminder, if you divide the amount of fish holding in a given area, by the amount of boats attempting to catch them, the answer can often be Zero. You know what I mean 000. It's a big ocean, try and find your own fishing hole. Once you have found it, other boats may move in on you, but you will have the upper hand in many ways. Fish can be put off the bite by too many boats working an area. Many times if you are the first boat to the grounds, you will get a couple of bites, but once the followers arrive the fish get pushed back down, and become timid.

Winning a tournament may not be where people need to go to enjoy their fishing. But deep down inside it is human instinct to want to do better than the other guy. It's a good feeling standing up their in front of all your peers, knowing that what you planned and the decisions you made paid off. I guess you call it self-satisfaction, and I don't mind looking for it.

Capt. Bill.