Spring is an interesting time of year to fish out of Sydney. The Kingfish start setting up on the offshore and inshore reefs, Yellowfin can be found and quite often we get an early run of Striped Marlin and big Mahi Mahi as well as some of the other summer species. And this was surprisingly the case when I went out yesterday. I say surprising because on looking at the charts the current inshore was running to the East and out wider to the North with no apparent temperature breaks, not really conducive to good fishing. After taking Su, his girlfriend and her friend out the previous weekend when they all got seasick Su was keen to have another shot. The girls however gave it a miss. Anyway, we headed out to the 12 mile and to let Su do some jigging. It looked very quiet and after a few fruitless jigs we left and trolled out, heading for Browns. Between the eighty and ninety fathom lines there were huge bait schools, some deep some high up with Gannets flying high above. There had to be a Marlin around but sadly we never saw one, however a couple of other boats did see cruising Marlin and at least one free jumper. After working the area for quite a while I headed out wider and in five hundred fathoms found a temperature break where there were small schools of Striped tuna popping up on each side of the break. I always run a small lure on fifteen kg. line for the clients who do enjoy catching the Stripies. Well as luck would have it after we’d caught a couple of Stripies the rod went off and it was apparent this was no Stripy. After nearly half an hour Su brought the fish to the boat. We saw it was a nice Yellowfin in the order of thirty five kilo’s, a great effort by Su on his first big fish. Incidentally the fish coughed up several small fish of which I could only identify one, a green toad the others were pretty well digested but had the shape of bream, about six centimetres long. After working the area with nothing other than more Stripies I headed back inshore where a couple of boats had found Mahi Mahi around the bait near the shelf. In eighty five fathoms I found them too. We caught two and lost one. A fine end to an interesting day, it was time to go home. So, we found early season Mahi Mahi, caught a Yellowfin among Stripies, heard of a few Marlin and saw heaps of Whales and Dolphins to top off my clients day. Who could ask for more from a most unexpected day’s fishing. Tight Lines, Ivan

After checking the weather on several different weather sites, three of which were pretty well corresponding, however one, incidentally the BOM, showed the worst case scenario, I decided to see what the conditions were like in the morning before making a final decision. As it happened surprisingly, conditions looked perfect in the morning, there was no wind at all. At present there is a warmish current with twenty degree water pushing down the coast between ‘Twelve Mile’ and ‘Browns’ covering the shelf were bait generally accumulates. Ideal for an early season Marlin . There had also been word of Yellowfin tuna on the edge of this current but further North. So, we headed out in great almost Summery conditions. We put the spread out near the ‘Twelve Mile’ and headed towards ‘Browns’. On the way inside the shelf there was huge amounts of bait but not very densely packed. I did mark a couple of fish and worked the area for a while to no avail so continued on to ‘Browns’ looking for the cooler edge of the current where I hoped we might find the Yellowfin. However by then the North Westerly was beginning to puff so I decided to move back to the warmer water and then head North to get a better run home . Then, in about two hundred and fifty fathoms a Marlin came up and hit the short corner (Black Betty), missing the lure and surprisingly didn’t come back to hit any of the other lures which Striped Marlin usually do. I worked the area for a while but nothing happened so continued back on course. Back in the warmer water I found some birds working and to my surprise they were on Mahi Mahi, not something you usually find at this time of year. After a couple of passes with hits from smallish fish we got a solid strike on the shotgun and old ‘Brad’ was into a more decent fish. This turned out to be a good six kilo’s of good eating Mahi Mahi. By that stage the wind had come away blowing around fifteen knots, not something that would worry me, but I got word from Scotty Torrington ‘Freedom’ of twenty-five to thirty knots of Westerly heading out way. In light of the fact that a couple of guys on board were quite seasick they decided enough was enough, so the course was set for home. It had been an interesting day and with that warmer water moving down and the build up of bait on the shelf area we could be in for an interesting Spring. More reports of Marlin sighting and Yellowfin are coming in as well as Kings on the offshore reefs, it could make for an interesting times. Tight Lines, Ivan

It seems like forever since I last wrote a report. Being overseas and then experiencing a rather unfriendly virus causing me to miss a lot of fishing days not to mention probably the best run of Bluefin Tuna off Sydney in recent years, that didn’t help my reporting either. Well, the Bluefin seem to have moved on, pushed out by the warmer water moving down the coast. However, some good-sized Yellowfin turned up to replace them but at present they seem to have moved on too. The Yellowfin do come and go depending on the currents but from my records they should be coming and going for the next few months. Sadly, by the time most people hear about them it’s too late they are gone. On a more positive note, I have heard reports of Yellowfin further up the coast and with a bit of luck they will move down and give us another shot at them. Also, with this warmer water there have been more encounters with Striped Marlin, always a treat. Incidentally the last time I was out, a couple of weeks ago chasing those Yellowfin, I saw a heap of Sauries take to the air and to my surprise they were being chased by Mahi Mahi, who would have thought, Mahi Mahi in August . So, getting away from the Game Fishing, Kingies are showing up on some of the offshore as well as the regular inshore reefs. The last time I was out, Browns Mountain looked like the ‘Car Park‘ at Port Stephens with all the bottom bashers looking for Gemfish and Blue Eye. Tight lines, Ivan

There are two types of day out at sea, the good days and the not so good days. Well, Friday was one of those not so good days. Though the weather was perfect and the sea as flat as a pancake and the clients, Richard, his son and father more than keen the fishing was less than perfect. The guys were keen to catch a Marlin or a Yellowfin. Though getting late in the season for a Marlin still a possibility and with the Yellowfin due to turn up at any stage there was a degree of expectation. The water has cooled down considerably in the last week or so, the best I found was 22.7C in eight hundred fathoms. There were some interesting current lines but hardly any bait or bird activity and the current was going South at a rate of knots. Nonetheless we continued out. I decided to put out a light line to see what else might be around, and we ended up catching the occasional Skipjack and Mackerel tuna as well as a just legal Mahi Mahi in the middle of nowhere, keeping the clients busy and motivated. Then, out of the blue the ‘Shotgun’ took a hit and a beautiful Mahi Mahi burst out. It was a nice fish around the fifteen kilo mark, sadly the video doesn't do it any justice. Richard took the rod and gave it all he could. Sadly, when we had the fish close by, excitement at the sight of the fish all lit up got the better of him and didn’t maintain the pressure consequently the fish threw the hooks; disappointment all round. But that’s fishing. We neither saw nor heard of any other action and it was time to head back. A friend of mine had been out the previous day and seen Pilot Whales and lots of Sauries in a thousand fathoms but we didn’t see anything like it. I suppose that that action has moved further South with the current. Hopefully it is not the end of the Marlin season yet and those enigmatic Yellowfin will turn up soon. Tight lines, Ivan

Last weekend, coinciding with The Port Hacking 100 Tournament was an interesting if not frustrating couple of days to go fishing. Though it did have its highlights the fishing was disappointing when compared to the last few weeks with Striped Marlin. The Saturday was very quiet, a few Striped Marlin tagged and as many lost, Stripies being what they are. Undoubtably the most outstanding catch of the tournament was by a junior, Hunter Davies, fishing on ‘Tantrum’, who spent seven hours on a Blue Marlin which later weighed one hundred and seventy four point five kilo’s. Sunday was just as quiet but there were more encounters with big Blue Marlin, fish in the three hundred kilo range. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Sadly, there were no reports of Yellowfin tuna. The unluckiest boat of the tournament would have had to be Rob Molnar, ‘On Call’. They fished solidly for two days for virtually nothing but then just after the end of fishing hooked and tagged three Striped Marlin. I went out on Saturday taking Thomas Criniti and his family out to celebrate his father’s sixtieth birthday. The weather was pretty average to start with but soon calmed down. It was decided that Micky, Thomas’ sister would be first up. Sadly, listening to the tournament scheds with seventy two boats almost all calling zero’s didn’t inspire confidence. Then, just after the high tide the sounder beeped marking a couple of fish twenty fathoms down. I turned back on them and only a few minutes later there was a fish coming up behind Brad and yet another on Black Betty at the short corner. Black Betty hooked up and young Micky took the rod, the excitement on board was unbelievable. She did a great job on a very stubborn Striped Marlin which was eventually brought to boat and released. We saw nothing else for the rest of the day but in general it had been a good fun day and happy to have been among the few who caught fish. If the water stays as warm and the currents play the game hopefully the Blues will show up and maybe even the Yellowfin will show up too. Tight lines, Ivan

The Marlin bite here off Sydney continues as it has over the last few weeks with lots of reports coming in yesterday as well. Most boats out there are finding fish and more than a few experiencing multiples strikes. Most of the Marlin are Stripies but there is the occasional Blue as well as larger Mahi Mahi among them. We generally associate Striped Marlin with the shelf area, between eighty and one hundred and fifty fathoms where the bait congregates. However, this latest run has found the Stripies in numbers out to and over the thousand fathom line. There have been sightings of Yellowfin but they remain aloof though a few have been taken. I took George and his son Chase out today they saying it was their one-time chance to catch a Marlin. So, if it was going to happen today was the day. I put the lures in at eighty fathoms and trolled out towards Browns where there had been lots of action. At around four hundred fathoms we raised our first fish, a Striped Marlin which played with a couple of lures and did what Stripies do. We tried teasing it but no go. Expectation was now high, the guys had now seen their first Marlin and all eyes were glued to the lures. The second strike was a screamer but it only lasted a few seconds, the line snapping for no apparent reason and I sadly I lost one of my Brads. My only conclusion being that the line had tangled on the outrigger clip, one of the many ways to lose a Marlin. We continued on heading wider without seeing much but hearing that the action was further North, so off we went. It took a while for the next strike, but when it came it really took off, I thought it was a Blue. A long greyhounding run then sounding. George had the rod and was worked hard but he wanted to give his son a shot so they swapped over. This was a tough fish and Chase did a good job eventually bringing it to the boat and it was a Stripy a very very good one. The next fish hit us as we crossed the shelf on our way home. George took this one and made quick work of it. It put up quite a spectacular show much to the joy of George and Chase whose ambition, no pun intended, had been satisfied. Tight lines, Ivan