Marlin for beginners by Glen Booth

That first marlin: it's a significant angling milestone, certainly on every fisho's bucket list, and there's no better time to do it than right now. Billions of words have been written on how fantastic they are to catch, but let's look at some basics to get you successfully hooked up for the first time.
THE MAIN PLAYERS
We're looking at black, striped and blue marlin along the east coast of Australia, and maybe a stray spearfish or sailfish if you're lucky. Outside of the Cairns scene, most fish can be caught on 24kg tackle. This may prove to be overkill in some fisheries and dramatically insufficient in others, but for newcomers it's a good starting point.
Black marlin in varying sizes can turn up anywhere from just off the beach to well over the continental shelf, but the smaller ones that are the subject of so much fishing interest during spring in the north and summer further south prefer shallower water out to about 60 fathoms.
Stripes are much the same, but depths of around 30-150 fathoms would see more spangled line tanglers caught.
Blues traditionally lurk in deeper water along the continental shelf line and beyond, showing an affinity for deep structure like canyons, but on some occasions they will push well inshore, which can come as a shock for light line aficionados.
Blind strikes from any of the species are commonplace, but working rippling or sub-surface bait schools, features like canyons and reefs, and colour and temperature changes puts you in with the best chance. Blue water is best, but in saying that, plenty of marlin are caught in water that is less than cobalt, a bit cooler (or hotter) than what is considered ideal for the species, often with the current running the wrong way.
Fish don't have calendars, they don't look at temp charts, nor do they visit websites. They do, however, have big tails, can traverse many miles in a day, and will want to be where the food is and where they feel the most comfortable. Yesterday's hotspot may be a desert today, so it pays to be mobile, shifting camp up and down the coast if necessary to follow the bite.
And always remember, the more often you go, the better the chances of hooking one are!
REQUIRED TACKLE
Reels
Most bluewater anglers opt for lever drag reels these days, and in the overall game fishing scheme of things aren't too expensive. Even the second tier lever drags are pretty good in comparison to the star drags of yesteryear.
If wound on tightly, a 50 'wide' reel from a variety of manufacturers will hold approximately 1000m of 24kg line, which is more than enough for most fisheries. A '50' size, however, will hold sufficient line for most billfish encounters, is easier to use, and can become a high capacity 15kg class reel if you get into game fishing further.
The drag should be set at 1/3 of the line's breaking strain at strike through a quality pair of scales, so with 24kg line it should start to slip at 8kg. If we're dealing with small fish like inshore blacks, 5kg of drag would be heaps. You can always bump the drag up if need be to break the will of a dogged or slightly larger fish.
High viz fluoro line in orange, yellow or green is easiest to see when chasing after a fish under a range of light conditions.
Don't discount spin reels for marlin fishing, as they've been popular in light tackle fishing for decades. The gearing and drag systems of modern day threadlines are capable of tackling most marlin and you just might find that the jigging/popper reel you already have will do the job quite well. The only drawback is the lack of an adequate harness attachment for a long fight.
Rods
As this article is directed at the first time angler, it's most likely going to happen out of a small boat, so standup rods with a short butt and a long fighting foregrip are the way to go. Game rods come with a choice of fixed guides, fixed guides with a roller tip, or a suite of roller guides. If maintenance isn't your strong suit, stick with fixed guides and maybe a roller tip, but rollers rolling smoothly will protect the line from friction damage generated by a hot runner.
For spin rods, try something about 7' long matched to the chosen line class. As with spin reels, your jig/popper rod might be a good option.
Rod Bucket and Harness
A comfortable rod bucket and harness are necessary with overhead tackle, because the fight could be a sprint or a marathon. Furthermore, those metal gimbal butts designed to hold the outfit right way round in the rod holder bruise stomachs like nothing else.
Black Magic, Braid and Aftco make some extremely comfortable rod bucket/harness combos that are worth every cent you'll pay for them.
If you don't want to remain harnessed up all day (some people consider this the ultimate in bad luck, on par with bananas on boats), get the angler measured up before start fishing so no time is wasted attaching the gear and adjusting settings during the fight.
Wind-ons
For many years lures and baits were rigged on long leaders that required the services of a skilled deckhand to get an active and still jumping marlin into range of the tag pole or gaff. The development of wind-on leaders has changed all that though. The angler can basically wind the leader onto the reel and the fish to the rod tip. Just remember to spread the wind-on evenly across the spool, as its greater diameter in comparison to the main line can see it jam very quickly at the closing stages.
Fishing wind-ons mean you will need to learn how to tie a double knot though, as the Dacron on the end of the wind-on requires a loop-to-loop connection. There are plenty of step-by-step guides available online and the Plait is probably the best double knot, followed by the Bimini Twist, with the Spider Hitch a distant third.
Just ensure that the leader the lure is rigged on is shorter than the tag pole is long, otherwise it will be difficult to reach the fish.
A note of caution regarding wind-ons here; the quality of overseas-made product is questionable at best, so stick to an Australian-made brand like Black Pete or Goodger.
Remember too, that wind-ons don't last forever and must be binned on a regular basis. This is especially important if they've caught a few fish, the mono is scuffed and/or stretched (as evidenced by the whipping at the Dacron end separating), or the Dacron itself is frayed. When you consider the cost of the lure, hooks, snap swivel and the many hours spent to put a fish on the end of that line, frequent changes are a small price to pay.