FISHING THE PACIFIC 



to Eden, some 500-odd miles away. Black marlin have been 

 picked up at Port Maitland, off Newcastle, Sydney, a real 

 hot spot, and Bermagui, 242 miles south of Sydney by auto- 

 mobile. At Bermagui there is an attractive hotel about three 

 minutes' walk from the dock, operated by a charming Mrs. 

 O'Shea. This is the headquarters of the Bermagui MarUn 

 Club where certificates are given to you for any fish you may 

 take. Provision is made for handling and weighing the fish 

 when they are brought ashore. Five or six good launches 

 are available for charter and the boatmen know their 

 business. Every effort is made to see that the angler feels at 

 home. 



If you were to go to Bermagui for two weeks and then 

 spend a week off Sydney on the way back you should catch 

 two or three black marlin at any time between January to 

 April. These fish may not run as large as the black marlin 

 off Peru, Panama and New Zealand, but weigh from 200 

 to 300 pounds nevertheless. They certainly provide plenty of 

 excitement and sport, particularly if you missed one in New 

 Zealand and then flew over to see the Australians and to fish 

 for a few days. I know several fishermen who, having no 

 luck in New Zealand, accomplished the trick over here. 



There are also many striped marlin in Australia running 

 around 200 pounds. Strange as it may seem, there are more 

 small blacks than there are small striped marUns. Very few 

 black marlin over 400 pounds have been taken off Australia. 

 Striped marlin do not come in as close to shore as the blacks. 

 These are caught close in to the beaches and on the rocks in 

 comparatively shallow water, as they are in New Zealand. 



In addition to marUn there are many varieties of shark and 



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