First marlin of the season a first for fisherman too
Caleb Moratti was so excited to land his first marlin he jumped off the boat to celebrate.
The Taranaki teen caught the 102.8kg striped marlin while fishing with his friend Joel Clegg and his father Gary Moratti off the region’s coast on Saturday.
News of the catch had anglers from around the region reaching for their rods and heading out on the water to try their luck on Sunday.
The 17-year-old, who has been fishing since he was a toddler, said his intensity increased immediately qhen he hooked the fish.
‘‘I was just filled with adrenaline.
‘‘It went berserk and jumped all over the place, it was a pretty good fight.’’ Moratti said he spent 25 nervous minutes reeling the fish in.
‘‘I was a little bit worried because previous to that we had lost two fish that day already and the season before we had lost quite a few fish.
‘‘I was a bit worried it was going to come off but luckily it didn’t.’’
It was the first marlin Moratti had ever caught and the first to be landed off the Taranaki coast this season.
He said he was elated to finally get the fish aboard the boat.
‘‘I had no words, I jumped on top of the boat and then jumped into the water, I had to celebrate some how.’’
Moratti said the marlin would be smoked and the filets shared with family and friends.
The water off Taranaki’s coast has been described as unseasonably warm which attracts marlin and tuna down from the tropics. The marlin was caught one week after a 14.2kg snapper was caught on a long-line off Oakura, south of New Plymouth. Nobody was available from New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club on Sunday, they were all out fishing.