Richard Obach

Richard Obach is credited with catching “the fish that started it all”. On September 25, 1966 while working as a deckhand for IGFA Hall of Fame Member George Bransford on the Sea Baby, he landed Australia’s first 1,000-pound black marlin and put Cairns on the map as the new “black marlin capital of the world.”

Cairns claims more black marlin IGFA world records than any other location. In 2016, the 50th anniversary of Obach's catch was commemorated with the unveiling of a life-size bronze sculpture of the fish along the Cairns waterfront.