Hard fight lands Gangloff a 98.90kg Blue Marlin

THE usually calm waters off Kokopo erupted with excitement yesterday as Aundrea Gangloff – a seasoned angler with roots in the region, reeled in a massive 98.90kg blue marlin during day four of the National Game Fishing Titles – a catch that may go down as one of her most thrilling moments as well as the tournament’s. Gangloff began fishing at the age of 12, in Kokopo with her family.

“We used to live here in Kokopo this is actually where we started fishing. “We had a little banana boat and it was just my dad, my brother, and I out there on the water,” she said. Now a formidable competitor on the national stage, Gangloff described the harrowing four-hour battle to land the marlin with a mixture of raw endurance, strategy and luck.



“It was an easy catch to put on the boat but it was a hard fight. “The first hour was fighting it while it was alive, then once it got tail-wrapped, it went straight down. That was for the next three hours just pulling up dead weight from nearly 200 metres deep,” she said.

Her team had initially planned to target marlin later in the day, expecting a bite in the afternoon. “But we were lucky enough to get a marlin early in the morning around eight or nine, but it was good for us,” she added. The fight wasn’t without its heart-stopping moments.

“There was a time the line went under the boat and almost cut,” Gangloff recalled. “When I wound it back up, it was black covered in fuel from under the boat that could have broken the line and lost me the fish.” Despite the challenges, her father’s advice echoed in her mind before heading out to sea: “If it looks over 100 or close to 100, kill it.

” And while her catch came in just shy of that milestone, Gangloff did not hesitate. “Normally, we tag and release. But this one was too hard.

The fish died, so it made sense to bring it in.” Her passion for the sport remains unshaken. “We have enjoyed it especially the marlin fishing.

“It’s an adrenaline rush, it’s the best fighting fish, honestly,” she said with a smile. With this stunning catch, Gangloff honoured the family tradition that first brought her to the sea at an early age..