Whether it’s your first black marlin or your 1000th – each and every billfish will always be special, from their acrobatic skills to hour-long fights.

Trolling skirts around for hours on end can get tedious and frustrating. Especially when you are marking bait and fish without any bites. This is where live baiting comes into play.

Growing up on the east coast, Dean Silvester is a go-to for ‘how to’ when it comes to many different styles of fishing. Let’s debrief his recent video on how to set yourself up when it comes to catching black marlin on live bait, using the Simrad Evo 3.

Black Marlin

Black marlin can be found on the east, west and also northern coasts of Australia. They can grow in excess of 1500lb (680 kg). Anglers from all over the world flock to cairns between September to December to chase the giant black marlin that are on offer year in and out.

Live baiting can be quite tricky when you are first starting out as there are a few factors that need to be taken into account including drift, depth of bait and of course, having the right sounder settings.

Sounder Settings

Setting up your sounder correctly is integral to live baiting so let’s run through a few settings used on a Simrad Evo 3.

A-scope

An A-scope is a vertical flasher on the right side of the screen. It gives you near real-time data of what is directly under your boat so having this on will tell you in near real-time what depth the bait school or marlin are at.

Range

When chasing black marlin, as they like the shallower water, you will want to set your sounders range on custom. This is to cover from 10 meters from the top to 10 meters from the bottom of the water column.

Pallete

You may find that pallet three on the screen shows the bait and marlin arches along with your bait and sinker a lot better than any of the others.

Color Erase

Colour erase is a great feature on the Simrad Evo 3 that not a lot of anglers know about. By choosing the colour that you want to erase from the screen, it will show a very clean reading.

TVG

TVG is an important setting as it reduces sea clutter throughout the water column, especially just under the boat. This setting can be adjusted as the sea state changes.

Getting Your Drift Right

Once you have marked a bait ball and or marlin, it’s important to set your drift up appropriately to the current and wind. Once you have figured out your drift, put the stern of the boat into the current so you can back up to it. Doing this will allow you to back up into the current keeping your bait directly down. With your bait being directly underneath the boat you will be able to mark it on your sounder and can adjust the depth of your line to where the marlin is.

Black Marlin Fishing With Live Bait: Summary

Three main details to always keep in the back of your mind whilst live baiting for Marlin.

• Pay attention to fish depth
• Aim for the top-end of the school
• Keep bait on-screen at all times

Master All Things “Fishy” With Dean Silvester

Want to learn more about live bait—and other fishing tips? Get inspired with Dean Silvester. He is an outdoor enthusiast keen on sharing his knowledge. Anyone who follows Dean won’t be disappointed when checking out his fishing adventures. Make sure you follow Dean on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Silvester placed 2nd at the Bassmaster Eastern Open in 2019. He funds his passion for fishing as a social media manager for fishing tackle companies.  

Watch Dean Silvesters YouTube on how to catch black marlin on live baits here:

How big was your first black marlin? Let us know in the comments. Check out more in our How To section here!

You may also like:

• A Beginners Guide to Getting Started in Fly Fishing
• The Art of Slow Jigging vs Light Jigging with Dean Silvester
• Sustainable Sport Fishing: 3 Simple Steps to Manage your Sport Fishery
• Water Safety Tips for Anglers: How to Stay Safe While Fishing
• Understanding your Barometer. Top 5 tips to catch you more fish!
• Lobster Catch and Clean with Vicky Stark
• Keep bait lasting longer. Brooke Frecklington shows you how!
• Catch More Fish: How Often To Change Lures While Fishing?