{"id":27934,"date":"2022-10-14T18:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T07:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oceanbluefishing.com\/magazine\/?p=27934"},"modified":"2022-10-19T21:02:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T10:02:45","slug":"catching-black-marlin-dean-silvester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanbluefishing.com\/magazine\/catching-black-marlin-dean-silvester\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean Silvester demonstrates how to sound Black Marlin using the Simrad EVO3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up on the east coast, Dean Silvester<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Marlin<\/h2>\n\n\n
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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. <\/p>\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounder Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

A-scope<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Range<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pallete<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Different pallets can be used for different styles of fishing<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Color Erase<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Before and after colour erase<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

TVG<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Getting Your Drift Right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Black Marlin Fishing With Live Bait: Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three main details to always keep in the back of your mind whilst live baiting for Marlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n