The Captain – Jeff Brooks

I am Jeff Brooks, the captain of Aspro. I started fishing when I was about 8 years old off the beaches on the north coast and around Botany Bay, with my father and grandfather. Later progressed to rock fishing for Drummer and Blackfish.

When I reached my teens, I started spearfishing . When I was 15, I started competing in spearfishing competitions up and down the NSW coast – practically diving the whole NSW coast.

I started commercial Abalone diving in Tasmania in the early 1980′s, diving all over Tasmania for 10 years. I then purchased a NSW Abalone licence and dived with that licence for a further 10 years. Meanwhile, I became interested in game fishing after many close encounters with Marlin and Tuna whilst diving.

Fishing in NSW

I started game fishing in run-abouts, mainly targeting Tuna. In 1994, I purchased a 43′ Mariner called ASPRO, which I chartered out of Botany Bay for 8 years. During this time, I caught many Marlin and Tuna, winning tournaments in NSW.

In 2002 I purchased a 34′ Blackwatch and moved to Batemans Bay, the south coast of NSW, where I now run my charters and work as the captain of my boat.

The bottom structure off the coast of Batemans Bay is fantastic for game fishing, with numerous canyons and sea mounts. The Striped Marlin fishing in the summer months is probably the best on the NSW coast. Striped Marlin over 150kg are regularly encountered, as are record sized Blue Marlin. Quite a few large Black Marlin are also encountered.

The Yellowfin Tuna fishing is very good during the cooler months, with Yellowfin weighing around and over 70kg being encountered. I have also fished in Cairns for 6 years with some of the best skippers and deckhands. Targeting Black Marlin, the largest one I have caught was in 2005 – weighing in at approximately 950lbs!