A GAME fishing club move to Fitzroy Island is expected to put the spotlight back on the Far North as the black marlin capital of the world.
The Cairns Bluewater Game Fishing Club is negotiating with the owners of the Fitzroy Island Resort to open a clubhouse on the island.
Club president Ian Hodge said he had been working for three years to find a new home after the original
organisation went bust in 2000 after a 35-year history.
The city’s only affiliated game fishing club was originally based on the Trinity Inlet waterfront where the Reef Fleet Terminal is today.
A new club, the Half Moon Bay Game Fishing Club, was formed at Yorkeys Knob and then later renamed to be based at Bluewater Marina.
But Mr Hodge said plans for a clubhouse at the marina had faltered. He said the Fitzroy Island move was the best for the club.
"We want to revive the club and its history," Mr Hodge said. "We have found original memorabilia, which we will display in the new clubhouse.
"We want to put the black marlin capital back on the map. That’s what we’re known for."
Mr Hodge said the 123-member club planned to celebrate with a three-day, 6kg, light tackle billfish tournament with $15,000 in prizes in August.
"We’re expecting at least 20 boats," he said.
Former president and committee member John Pecl said he was looking forward to a return of the heyday of the club.
He said game fishing and black marlin put Cairns on the map and was one of the pioneers of tourism.
Hellraising Hollywood legend Lee Marvin and his friends were regular visitors to fish for black marlin.
"We’re the only true, original game fishing club in Cairns," Mr Pecl said.
"We’re affiliated to the Queensland Game Fishing Association, the Game Fishing Association of Australia and the International Game Fishing Association."
He said game fishing was worth at least $60 million a year to the Cairns economy, based on a James Cook University study.
Fitzroy Island Resort general manager Buddy Byrd said he hoped to reach agreement with the club as well as the Cairns Yacht Club to establish a clubhouse in the old day visitors’ centre once used by backpackers.
He said they wanted to make the resort a place for locals and the clubhouse was one way to foster the relationship with the community.
