Mojo’s Story by Gareth Beaumont
Tuesday 15 February 2022
Marlin Mojo
After three days of not raising a fish, the mood on Mojo was a bit glum. The skipper even threatened to sell the boat and find a new hobby.
We had changed lures countless times and with the sea being a bit short I was not happy with the way one of the lures was swimming. I decided to revert back to one of my old faithful Konas (even though it hadn’t raised a fish in 2 years). About 20 minutes later, I was checking the spread and as I looked at my old faithful there was a fin and a flash and a screaming reel, then the pandemonium ensued!
Rods cleared, teasers out, rigger up, some shouting and swearing and Hannes got in the chair. We were finally on a fish. The fish never jumped, and we were unsure whether it was a marlin or a mako so radioed in the hookup as such.
A few minutes into the fight we were blessed with the sight of a beautiful marlin jumping out the water a few hundred metres away. Now knowing it was a marlin everyone settled down and focused on the task at hand, as calmly as one can in that situation. I cannot stress how critical good communication between the skipper and angler is while fighting a marlin. Fortunately, Hannes was very vocal and kept all of us well informed of every move the fish made! After about 20 minutes, I had the leader in hand, and as I put pressure on the fish it lit up as only a stripey can, absolutely beautiful! We got her alongside and got the hook out quickly.
After a few photos, it was time to release the fish and it swam away strongly back into the big blue. High fives all around on a job well done. It was back to work, now even more hungry for another bite. We had another strike about 2 hours later but it didn’t stick. However, we were still happy and grateful for the one we had released.
Hannes got his first marlin in sixteen years of fishing in the TOMT. Jacques got his first marlin on Mojo and his first stripey ever and most importantly, team Mojo got their mojo back.
Adventuring into Retirement 