When Philip Johnson, owner of e'cco - one of Australia's premier restaurants - joined us for a charter he had no expectations whatsoever. Phil had never caught a fish of any kind in his life!

He brought along three of his chefs (past and present) for a "gourmet and adventure" trip to check out Shaka's cuisine and to see what fishing for Giant Black Marlin was all about.

The weather was not the best so we ran from Cooktown up to Hick's Reef, north of Lizard Island, to get what little protection was available. Phil was first up and was given the usual instruction for beginners - "Stay calm, work hard and do what we tell you." Late that first afternoon, he was put to the test.

If you've been fishing the GBR unsuccessfully for years in search of a "grander", right here would be a good place to skip to the next story. On his first day fishing ever, Phil hooked up to a monster! We called it at around 1,100lb and it gave him a hell of a fight. Not wasting too much time jumping on the surface, the fish went deep and fought hard. However, skillful driving by Captain Jared kept Phil in the fight and following the instructions that were coming thick and fast from all over the boat. Phil handled the lumpy conditions like a pro and about a hour after hookup had the fish to the transom and released.

"That's not for the faint hearted" said Phil. "Still, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. With the boys telling you what to do, it was pretty organized."

Just shows what you can do when you take advice. Congratulations Phil.