The Viking Yachts by Short Marine 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament has wrapped up after four days of fishing, with 72 black marlin successfully released across the tournament.

Fishing remained remarkably consistent through the first three days, with 22 releases on Day 1, 21 on Day 2 and 20 on Day 3, before the fleet added another 9 releases on the shortened final day.

And while the final leaderboard might make the results seem clear-cut, the tournament fishing was anything but!

CHAMPION TEAM

Viking II took out the Champion Team gong with 6 releases, ahead of Reel Work with 4 and Askari with 3.
Behind them, the leaderboard was extraordinarily tight.

Relentless Pursuit, Mood Swings, Bounty Hunter, Tataki, Zulu, Rum Chaser and Mauna Kea all also finished on 3 releases, meaning a huge portion of the top ten remained very much in contention heading into the final day. (no particular order!)

With so many boats sitting together on the leaderboard, a fish or two on Day 4 had the potential to completely reshuffle the final standings!

DAILY WINNERS

The daily honours were spread across four different boats:
Day 1: Askari — 3 releases
Day 2: Reel Work — 3 releases
Day 3: Relentless Pursuit — 2 releases
Day 4: Zulu — 2 releases

CHAMPION ANGLERS

It was an outstanding tournament for Jeremy Goon aboard Viking II, who finished as Champion Male Angler with 6 releases.

Jeremy finished ahead of Baiden Sager and Michael Hill, who both recorded 3 releases.

Karen Wright aboard Bounty Hunter was crowned Champion Female Angler with 3 releases, ahead of Kirsten Sandy aboard Akira and Sue Ahlers aboard Hellraiser, who both finished with 2.

In the junior division, Zachery Trefz aboard Infinity claimed Champion Junior Angler with 1 release, winning on countback from Byron Pallister, James Frogatt, Joshua Pallister and August Hermann who also each recorded one release.

THE BIG FISH

The really big fish were unfortunately few and far between this year, but there were still some impressive fish among the 72 releases.
Leading the way was Calypso with an estimated 900 lb black marlin, followed by Moana III with an 800 lb fish, Tataki with a 750lb fish, Centrefold with a 700 lb fish and Tataki with a 650 lb fish.

Big Business, Hellraiser, Kiama and Abyss also each released fish estimated at around 500 lb.

TAGS AWAY!

A special mention must go to the team aboard Tataki, who successfully deployed one of the Black Marlin Foundation satellite tags into their estimated 650 lb black marlin.

It was a fantastic contribution to the research effort and we’re now very excited to see where that fish travels and what information its tag can provide.

MORE THAN $130,000 IN PRIZES AND CALCUTTA WINNINGS

There was plenty on the line as the tournament headed towards its conclusion, with more than $130,000 in tournament prize money and Calcutta winnings combined.

Champion Boat Viking II also won the Calcutta and took home close to $65,000.

Reel Work had an equally rewarding tournament, finishing second overall, second in the Calcutta and winning Day 2, for a total return of around $40,000.

Third-placed Askari collected just shy of $15,000.

Four days, 72 black marlin releases, an incredibly tight leaderboard, some great fish and more than $130,000 on the line made for a fitting competitive celebration of the 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament.

Congratulations to all of our winners and placegetters, and to every team that joined us on the water for this very special tournament.

Lastly the biggest thank goes to our ‘fleet’ of wonderful sponsors. We could not have done this without your support!! Marlin images from Trevor Teo on board Viking II.