It is fair to say that this winter’s fishing has been unusual to say the least. Earlier on, just a few weeks ago we had a run of big Yellowfin, what I have heard called the Fijian Yellowfin. It would be interesting to know if these fish have actually come in on a current of tropical origin it would go a long way into explaining the appearance of some of the other warm water fish we have seen lately. At the same time as these Yellowfin, I will call them the Fijian Yellowfin, turned up we experienced a very short run of Bluefin with several over one hundred kilo’s caught. Yet at the same time there were a couple of Blue Marlin and Striped Marlin taken, sighting of Mahi Mahi and the weirdest of all more than a few Spearfish caught. So, a strange mix of warm and cold water species. At present we are catching smaller Yellowfin in the twenty five to forty kilo range though a couple of bigger ones have been taken. In the past these smaller fish were found in large schools, often busting up, and when you found them you’d get multiple hook-ups. However, lately to find the fish you have to cover a lot of ground and the hook-ups are from blind strikes in the middle of nowhere with little if any bird activity to indicate their presence. The last time I was out, a couple of days ago, we caught a couple of thirty kilo ‘fin. The first in three hundred fathoms South-East of Browns and the second in seven hundred fathoms on the same line. There were few birds around in fact for all intents and purposes the area looked barren. What was of interest was that the fish had been eating what looked like baby octopus or squid, hard to tell at the size they were, about two centimetres long and transparent. It amazed me that the fish were feeding on really small bait and yet still took old ‘Brad’. Tight lines, Ivan

After checking the weather reports and seeing three different scenarios I thought I’d give Mikko and his friends the option to postpone. However, the lure of the fish ruled and the decision was made to go on out and see what the weather does. Exactly what we used to do before ( in the old days ) before everyone had computers and GPS. The plan was to head out to where some fairly slack water was edging up to a slightly warmer and faster Southerly current. When we headed out the weather was quite good but at around 10:30 the South Wester started to show it teeth and that combined with a building Southerly swell in the warmer water made it quite ugly. I worked the edge for a while unsuccessfully and since couple of the guys were decidedly green I moved back into the slack water which was marginally calmer and headed to where we had caught the fish on the last trip. We had just reached the general area when we had a double hook up. It’s amazing what a shot of adrenalin can do. All hands were on deck and ready to go. The rough sea made it tough going but both fish around the 30 to 40 kilo’s mark were brought in. Meanwhile the South-Easter had dropped off a little so I headed back out to sea and was rewarded with another double hookup and almost twin Yellowfin of the previous pair were brought on board. Rob hadn’t even reset the gear when we had another strike and while that was happening something grabbed my teaser and was stripping line off the teaser reel. I have never had a Yellowfin do that, plenty have hit the teaser but none have tried to escape with it. I guessed it might have been a Marlin but not having seen anything, who knows. In the mean time the wind had turned to the South and picked up again. So, with five Yellowfin aboard and a happy crew I started trolling home. Tight lines, Ivan

With a much-awaited moderation in the weather and reports of Yellowfin North of us and Bluefin to the South with both groups getting closer I had to get out there. The plan was to head East around to where there was some interesting looking water around Heatons. Out there a cooler Northerly current was eddying on the Eastern edge of a warmer tongue of water from the North, all looking very fishy in theory. We put the lures in at eighty fathoms after dodging all the whales, there’s always the chance of a Striped Marlin around the shelf and headed out. As it was we didn’t encounter anything on the way and as you can see or rather hear in the video below the wind was howling. When we reached the warmer water, the conflicting currents caused the already uncomfortable sea to stand up. To my great surprise there were a couple of smaller boats out there too – I know I wouldn’t have been there in those conditions in a boat smaller than mine – hell, I didn’t even like it in mine. We spent a little time in the area but there was neither bird activity nor bait so I picked a relatively comfortable course and started heading inshore. On the way I heard one boat say they had caught a couple of Albacore wide of Heatons, another had caught a Yellowfin somewhere inside Heatons yet another had caught a Spearfish wide of the Bait Station. Oddly enough it was the third Spearfish I’ve heard of recently…strange times. To cut a long story short I was trolling towards the Bait Station when if five hundred fathoms we were rudely awakened by three rods screaming off. Fortunately, since there were only three of us on board, myself the client and my deckhand, one dropped off. Rob took one of the rods and muscled the Yellowfin to the boat in ten minutes while Colin kept tension on his fish keeping it out of the way until the other was landed. Colin took a little longer but he duly brought his fish to the gaff. So, an interesting day with a good result and hopefully the start of a good Tuna season. The Bluefin aren’t far away and there are enough Yellowfin to make it interesting. Inshore there are Kings on the reefs and in the harbour and for those in the know some good Snapper too. So, get on out there… Tightlines, Ivan

The Peter Goadby Tournament was certainly held on an interesting week-end. Saturday saw seventeen boats head out into what were ideal conditions. There had been reports of Yellowfin a little South of us, Blue Marlin were evident, Striped Marlin were apparent having pack attacked a couple of boats including mine, there was a Black Marlin speared at Long Reef and to top it off the FAD’s were loaded with Mahi Mahi. In the past this tournament has produced big Blue Marlin and Yellowfin so anticipation was high. Sadly, the fish just weren’t there. The water was good, over 24 degrees at the shelf. There was bird and bait activity to be found out wide though you did have to cover some ground to find it. Trouble was, to the detriment of a couple of boats, that were the birds and bait were there were no predators. There was, however, bait on the shelf and as Little Audrey and Greyhound found it did produce some Striped Marlin. Little Audrey tagging three and Greyhound one. Most other boats found Mahi Mahi many of which were in the middle of nowhere, shame was there were none of the usual bigger ones. I started trolling just inside the shelf and found patches of bait then worked my way out to the thousand fathom line. On the way out the water was cooling and the birds and bait thinned out. By then both Little Audrey and Greyhound had each tagged a Marlin so I started coming back in. I was around the two hundred fathoms area, no bait nor birds, when the rigger went off. The fish didn’t jump just screamed off, so thoughts were of a Yellowfin. Those thoughts were however soon dispelled by a Blue Marlin charging straight at us. It was a very strange fish, it was Black…not a Black Marlin but a very dark coloured Blue Marlin, unlike anything I have ever seen before. It put up a solid fight certainly making Mark work for it, but we did eventually tag it. It was then that we heard Little Audrey had tagged another two Striped Marlin, tomorrow has got to be good. Sunday’s weather wasn’t looking too good but you have to be in it to win it so I headed off to the club in high spirits only to have them dashed as a Gale warning had been issued for waters South of Port Hacking meaning we could not go fishing. NSWGFA rules stipulate that if there is a Gale warning in your zone fishing is cancelled. The decision was made to wait for the 10:00 am. weather update and see if the Gale warning is lifted. On the one hand the news was good, the Gale warning was lifted, we could go out. Going out was interesting in itself. The wider we went the bigger the swell got and near the shelf it got even steeper but it wasn’t too bad and was dropping off. As it was only seven boats ended up going out and only one Marlin, a Stripy and several Mahi Mahi were caught. It was an interesting two days, sadly the fish weren’t there but there is always next time. Tight lines, Ivan

After the last couple of day’s out and checking the SST charts it was apparent that little had changed. In fact the zero line was still pretty well encompassing Browns and the warmer current still running hard out wide with very little current inside. Maybe it is just me but it seems strange that with such warm water persisting the Dollies are not in the numbers I would have expected. However, reports are saying there are Dollies to be had around the various FAD’s but you have to get there early with live bait preferable. Anyway, I was after Marlin so headed out to work the zero line planning to go out to the thousand fathoms line, where a lot of fish have been caught recently, later. I put the lures in at the 12 Mile which is always worth a shot and trolled out. The water was 23 C pretty well all the way to the shelf where it slowly started to rise. We started seeing birds in groups obviously looking and occasionally coming together. After spending some time following and working the area it became apparent the Mutton birds were chasing Flying Fish. Continuing on in the middle of nowhere we had a massive strike on the rigger and Grasshopper took off at a thousand miles an hour. There was no jumping just one long run that threatened to spool us. Could be a Yellowfin was the thought and if it was it was huge. The fish stayed near the surface most of the time going deep occasionally, I thought it had to be a Marlin no Yellowfin I have ever caught has gone this hard. After nearly an hour Rob brought the fish which indeed turned out to be a Blue Marlin around 140 kilo’s to the boat. Sometime during the fight the line had become wrapped around its pectoral fins, the angle of pull impeding it from jumping. Even worse when my deckie finally took the trace he had little control over the fish. He did win in the end and eventually freed the lure and let the fish go. We continued out finding more Mutton birds working but they all seemed to be on Flying fish. On the thousand fathom line we got a massive strike leaving a big hole behind Evil on the short corner. The Blue missed the lure but came flying out of the water. If I’d have had a looping camera I would have had a great shot of a 150 plus kilo Blue Marlin high in the air and broadside to the transom but alas. Shortly afterwards I could just make out a fish following the Illusion. I couldn’t quite make out what it was but after it had had a couple of shots at the lure I figured it was a small Striped Marlin but in retrospect I think it was a Spearfish. So, with three fish up within the last couple of hours I thought this is going to be a great day. As it happens we saw nothing else for the rest of the day – I guess that’s fishing. Tight lines, Ivan

I went out on Tuesday far from ideal conditions. The wind wasn’t bad but the residual sea from the day before left a crazy ocean. I had on board with Kane, his wife and three kids from Montana and they handled the conditions well. They hadn’t fished salt water and wanted to try for a Marlin. Since I couldn’t travel at any speed due to the bounce back from the cliffs the lures went in early. To both mine and Ron’s surprise a Marlin came up and hit the short corner within minutes but didn’t hook up. We continued on and the kids had a great time catching Striped tuna and the occasional small Mahi Mahi then just past the 12 mile a Striped Marlin came up on the rigger. It hit the lure, ran a few metres and again dropped off. I had recently decided to change over to single hooks but that isn’t going to last long. We continued out and as expected once we got out a bit the sea calmed. In about 150 fathoms inside Browns I saw a mass of Mutton birds working. So, we joined in and worked the area too. We were hoping for Yellowfin. And Yellowfin we found but only jelly beans up to 5 kilo’s in size. Though we didn’t get any Marlin it was still a fun filled day and one I don’t think those kids will forget. On Wednesday I was working in the club with the radio on and it was driving me crazy. Afew boats fishing between the Southern canyons and Kiama were catching what seemed like thousands of Blue Marlin, Spearfish and Yellowfin. I got so frustrated I had to turn the radio off. Later that evening Jamie Mackay ( Groundswell ) rang me after listening to the same reports and asked if I wanted to go out. Consequently, we left early this morning heading to the Southern canyons. We put the lures in at 150 fathoms and headed down to the canyons. Strangely there was virtually no radio chatter as there had been the day before when it was continuous. We hadn’t gone very far when the shotgun took off and after a good fight we tagged a Blue Marlin of about 140 kilo’s. Continuing on we found several flocks of Mutton birds working as I’d seen on Tuesday however today there were no Yellowfin. Working back up to Browns I saw Winston Smart’s boat ‘Reel Smart’ they informed me that they’d tagged a Spearfish and raised another. We worked the area for a while and raised a Striped Marlin which took the rigger and screamed off but again the line went limp. To our surprise in the distance the Marlin was jumping and thrashing the surface. What seems to have happened is that when it was running it dropped the rigger lure and subsequently got tangled in the shotgun, got hooked again and broke the line. We then started for home and later learned that ‘Reel Smart’ had lost another Spearfish and later on Elena Smart had lost a Blue Marlin after fighting it for two hours. Thought we didn’t find all the fish that we’d heard about the previous day there is obviously still plenty of action to be had out there. I for one can’t wait to get out there again. Tight lines, Ivan