Mighty marlin a winner
An eight-hour round trip to weigh a big fish paid off for Amber McIntyre – but only just.
The New Plymouth woman caught a marlin off the Taranaki coast on Waitangi Day and then drove it to her club in Auckland in the hope it was the first game fish of the season to weigh more than 100kg.
If it was she’d take home a game fishing rod and gold reel, together worth $1000.
In the end the Clevedon Game Fishing Club weighed the striped marlin at 101.4kg – a mere 1.4kg over the minimum weight.
‘‘It was very lucky,’’ McIntyre said, after a day that began around dawn on Wednesday and didn’t end until the the early hours of yesterday.
McIntyre had left the Port Taranaki boat ramp at about
6.30am with Stephen Morrison and Bryce Rea aboard the Morning Star.
They were fishing about 30 kilometres north of New Plymouth.
The crew had a quiet morning but their luck turned at around
1pm – McIntyre hooked the marlin and played with it for about half an hour before getting it on the boat.
On the way back to land the trio discussed if they should try to head up to their Auckland fishing club and be the first members of the season weight.
‘‘I was 50/50 and we thought ‘we’ll take a risk’.’’
McIntyre also told her crewmate Rea that if the striped fish, the fourth she’d ever caught, won the rod and reel combo he could have it.
They drove up to Auckland and arrived at 7.40pm, with plenty of club members waiting for the big reveal.
‘‘It was fantastic,’’ McIntyre said.
Even though she didn’t get home until 2am yesterday and was back at work a few hours later, McIntyre said the long drive was worth it.
But when will she be heading out next?
‘‘In a couple replied.
‘‘I need a rest.’’ to beat of the target weeks,’’ she