Its been a while since my last report for many and varied reasons not the least being weather and breakdowns, well not so much breakdowns but the time taken to get parts, thankfully all good now, except for the cost of fuel. Anyway, I went out yesterday with Alvin and his partner who wanted to catch Marlin and Yellowfin, on an absolute stunner of a day. On checking the charts you could see a good temperature break and around the Southern canyons some eddying also some interesting water to the North, so, which way to go ? On the way out I heard that Ali on ‘Finfinder’ had caught a Yellowfin of around fifty kilo’s wide of the Southern Canyons which motivated all on board and made decision for me. We found heaps of bait on the way out and when we reached the temperature break we could see Gannets diving in over a wide area on the bait. Continuing out and down to the canyons the temperature went up to 24.5C, we were expecting to see a big Blue come charging in at any moment but sadly it never eventuated and neither did the Yellowfin. After several hours of frustratingly unsuccessful trolling in what appeared to be ideal conditions it was time to head for home. I trolled back up towards Browns and in towards the shelf in the hope of finding a Striped Marlin. The bait was still there as were the Gannets and as before no results either. The frustration on board was palpable, so we pulled in the gear and headed in. On the way a friend, Paul, on ‘El Pirata’ called to let me know that he’d tagged a Blue Marlin as well as taken two fifty kilo Yellowfin North of Browns. I can’t tell you how it made us feel. I’d made the wrong call, should have gone North instead of South, but that’s fishing, didn’t make me feel any better though. For a moment I thought about turning around but good sense prevailed, it was far too late. To add to the frustration as I sit here listening to the radio there is a good bite going on North of Browns with several Blue Marlin and Yellowfin being taken. One could so easily be forgiven for giving this fickle, frustrating game away, but then what else would you do. Tight lines, Ivan

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. A not to often weather event, a sea fog, shrouded the whole area off Sydney. Usually these things lift as the sun warms the area or the wind blows it away but this one hung around for what seemed like forever. Being quite a visual sport and with visual range down to a hundred metres at times it was quite hampering and potentially hazardous. Anyway, we carried on regardless. However, probably what caused the fog to linger, had something to do with the VHF signal tunnelling ( a form of VHF propagation), by way of a temperature inversion. On VHF 22 we were receiving radio scheds from Bermagui which apart from being annoying was frustrating because of the numbers of Marlin being caught down there. Off Sydney it seems the Mahi Mahi have taken up residence at all the FAD’s. Mostly small ones but enough larger ones to make it interesting. Usually though the bigger ones are caught while trolling wide for Marlin. There appeared to be a bite around and North of the ‘Bait Station’ with lots of fish raised but from all reports the strikes were half hearted. The boat ‘On Call’ went wide and found good blue water and managed a Yellowfin out there, after having marked others. Also, it seems there are Gemmies and Blue Eye on the mountain. We did eventually raise a Marlin and this one didn’t play around. In fact when it hit I all I saw was a flash and thought it was a tuna. After a short fight it was brought to boat, photo’s taken and released. So that was it for the day. There is some very warm water out wide with fish in it and hopefully it will move in to the plankton rich water we are experiencing at present and get that food chain working. Tight lines, Ivan • All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .

I went out yesterday not knowing what to expect. Prior to the weather last week there had been a good Marlin bite with both Blacks and Stripes along with Blues being found. So, the expectation was high but what affect had the weather had. As we left the Heads the water temperature was good and the water dirty as to be expected. As we went out the colour changed from dirty green to a clearer green but even out at seven hundred fathoms it only got slightly better sadly never going blue. However the temperature did reach twenty-four point six. We put the lures out just inside the Nine Mile to check out the FAD but nothing showed up except some small Kingfish so we headed for the 12 Mile. As we passed over the reef we got a cracking strike on the Brad ‘J’ on the shotgun. I nearly jumped out of my chair, the last thing I expected was a hit in this dirty green water. But there you go, the last thing you expect when you least expect it. Anyway, no hookup. I did a couple of laps with no result so headed out to wider grounds hoping the water would clear. We went out past Browns and headed North not having seen anything of any interest. No birds, only very scattered bait and no blue water but lots of dead plankton lines, what some call coral spawn. In the distance I saw something popping up between swells. As we got closer I could see it was some sort of trap but it was in two hundred fathoms. Whatever it was it made for a great FAD. On the first pass while I was watching the lures I saw a fish leap out from behind the lure and hit it. My first thought was that it was a Wahoo as I’d seen this happen before, and until they brought it to the boat that’s what I thought. However, when it hit the deck it was apparent it wasn’t a Wahoo, it was a Barracuda, a ‘Great Barracuda’ of around twenty kilo’s. Normally found around reefs and tropical seas, what was it doing in two hundred fathoms down here. While we were fighting the C’uda some big Dollies came up to the boat and hung around to watch the fight, but sadly we didn’t have any bait so we just watched, thinking we’d get them on the lures later. Later came and as we passed the ‘trap’ we had a hit but it was only a small Dolly, then as I slowed, the rigger went off with a bigger fish which we all thought was one of the big Dollies. But to our surprise it turned out to be a Yellowfin of ten to twelve kilo’s, dinner at least. I did several more laps around the ‘trap’, we caught a few more smaller Dollies but the big ones didn’t show. On the way in I went past the Botany FADs and though I saw a couple of bigger Dollies they couldn’t be enticed. I know the fish around a FAD can be easily spooked but I’m pretty sure we were the first if not only boat in that area yesterday, so I don’t know why they didn’t come up. The water was definitely warm enough, maybe it was the colour or the algae, but that’s fishing, nothing is for sure. **hidden content** Tight lines, Ivan • All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .

It was a real pleasure to go to sea the other day with Jack and his friends. The weather actually played ball which was a pleasant change from the last few days out. Reports were varied off Sydney but there was a good bite happening to the South and listening to channel 82 was quite frustrating not just because of the chatter but because the bite was just that bit too far for me to get to. However, we headed off in the general direction of the Southern Canyons after putting the lures in at the shelf. I was surprised at how much cooler the water was compared to the previous time I was out and the current was pushing up from the South. After a few hours of nothing, hardly any bird life and only some scattered bait, I moved out to deeper water where the water temperature slowly rose and went that beautiful blue that we want to see. Some life showed up in the form of dolphins and the occasional mutton bird and small patches of bait. Anyway, to cut a long story short after frustratingly listening to the reports now just a few miles South of us the ‘Lumo’ on the rigger screamed off with a good-sized Striped Marlin heading East. After the usual turmoil of getting the gear in order the fish was dutifully released and we set off again looking for another. Sadly though we did get another strike we didn’t hook up. The bite was continuing South of us with a few Blue Marlin taken amongst the Stripies. I also heard there were a few fish taken around ‘Browns’ and further up the coast near the ‘Bait Station’ however South was definitely the place to be. **hidden content** Tight lines, Ivan

Another interesting day at sea yesterday, interesting in that it all seems to have changed again. The bait was not as prolific and the water a little cooler with hardly any current. We started trolling in eighty fathoms where the was some patchy bait and worked our way out zigzagging across the shelf between eighty and one hundred and thirty fathoms working northwards. After a couple of hours of futile zigging and zagging I turned East and started to pick up bait balls but they were quite deep. So, we did eventually get a strike on the ‘Lumo’ but nobody saw it because the sun was behind us and there was a decent chop due to the twenty knot North Easter blowing and the fish didn’t jump. Consequently there was a lot of guessing as to the species as you’ll hear in the video. All in all it was a good day made so by a beautiful Striped Marlin being a first for the angler and his more then ebullient mates. So far this has been a great start to the Marlin season especially since the currents have not really set up yet. Tight lines, Ivan • All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .

What a remarkable day at sea today was. I took out Qing and three of his friends for their first day at Game Fishing and they had a baptism in fire. The video will give you some idea of the mayhem, but you had to be there to appreciate it. Bear in mind that these guys’ experience was only some small fish caught rock fishing. The day started slowly for us, but the radio was telling that the bait schools hadn’t moved on and that several Marlin had already been seen and tagged. I worked the bait schools for a while with no result so had decided to move on and that’s when we got our first strike, a blind strike on, surprise, surprise the Brad’J’ bullet. One of the guys took the rod and the others moved in to help him, one holding the rod, one winding and the other holding the guy with the rod, we were in trouble. It didn’t take long to realise it wasn’t a Marlin and as they brought it closer, I was surprised to see it was a Yellowfin around twenty to thirty kilo’s. Sadly, as luck would have it and with the help of some slack line the fish won its freedom. Though there have been a couple of Yellowfin taken around these bait schools recently it still comes as a big surprise to find any inside the shelf these days. So, we carried on and shortly after all hell broke loose. We had five, maybe six Marlin in the spread hitting the lures. Ron was running around like a chook with its head cut off trying to tease them into solidly striking the lures but to no avail. We had a couple on for a short time however not one of them stuck, but it was exciting to say the least. Sadly, the video does not do it justice. Fortunately, the day wasn’t a complete failure, we did end up tagging a Striped Marlin. Later in the day we had a double hook up and between the four of them on the rod they got one to the boat where Ron released it. The other fish was left to its own devices, the rod just left in the holder, so lost. By this time none of the guys were feeling terribly well so they decided it was time to go back in. A frustrating decision since it seemed the bite was happening with several boats hooking up as we left. Other than the seven or eight Marlin that came into our spread throughout the day, I saw another couple tailing down sea. Also, considering that three other boats, Rampage, Shoki and another whose name escapes me, had caught three when we left, not to mention several others boats with at least one to their credit it is hard to imagine the number of Marlin in the area. This Marlin bite has been going on for quite some time now and it is only October, the next few months could be quite something. The question is, are they holding in the area because of the bait or are they constantly passing through? Tight lines, Ivan • All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .