The Catch of a Lifetime | 1000lb Black Marlin caught on the Great Barrier Reef (Short Stories Ep.06)

Episode 6 of Short Stories showcases that one of the best Giant Black Marlin fishing destinations in the world is right on our doorstep on the Great Barrier Reef. Every year the heavy tackle season brings renowned captains, boats and serious anglers to Cooktown in Far North Queensland, on a mission to catch a Grander - the 1000lb Black Marlin. We spent 5 days and nights fishing with our good mate Kleiny, one of Australia’s top game fishing captains, who runs “Deploy” - a 58 foot Assegai, built purely for this type of fishing up on the Great Barrier Reef. With 5 of our best mates and 2 awesome crew, we had the experience of a lifetime. Mornings started with swims and snorkelling on the reef, followed by spearfishing for some Coral Trout and a jig for some Dogtooth Tuna, or mixing it for a stick bait on some GTs - to then bait fishing catching bait big enough to call dinner for a week – which includes Spanish Mackeral, tuna, wahoo, scaleys, the list goes on. Afternoons were spent trolling the reefs, targeting marlin in comfort on the deck and enjoying the boat's mezzanine. And in the evenings we'd relive the moments from the day, catch trevally right off the back of the boat (on a handline with a hook and no bait!), and drank and ate like kings with 5-star catering cooked fresh by the crew.  Our first fish was one most only dream about; a giant black marlin well over 1000lbs!! Followed by a 700lb, 600lb, and a few other monsters, totalling 9 marlin in 5 days and hundreds of other fish and good times.  Once you experience a trip like this, safe to say, you'll never go a year without heading north again.