The Marlin fishing off Sydney is coming into its best period. At this time of year the water off Sydney is at its warmest. We generally catch the biggest of species...the quality specimens. The 200 plus kilo Blue Marlin, Stripes over 120 kilo's, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, big Yellowfin which have already made their appearance felt and even Spearfish. This prime time could and has in the past lasted until as late as mid-May. I've just returned from Port Stephens spending my last day fishing up there on Saturday. I had taken Livio and some friends out for his brother's birthday. After the break in the weather the 'Car Park' fired up again. Double hook-ups seemed the norm. I started trolling skip baits a few miles North of the 'Car Park' hoping to find my own patch of bait and avoid the crowds. As it happens I did find a patch and we soon raised and caught a good sized Black which gave the birthday boy a good work out. Unfortunately I lost the bait so I worked my way down to the 'Car Park'. It was crowded and the radio was full of boats calling out for others to move out of the way of their hooked fish ( sometimes not in nice terms ) - it was crazy. Anyway we managed to drop a bait to another Black I'd marked and this time Livio had to do battle. Sunday was home time with Lee his friend Dave my deck hand Howie. We left Port at 6am. I was going to fish down the thousand fathom line looking for Blues and Yellowfin. I did troll down the line in 26 degrees of totally dead water for an hour or so then decided to move back into 500 fathoms on the other side of the eddy. Here there were occasional groups of birds working and patches of bait but no real action. Then as we approached Norah canyons we ran into thick algal blooms which seemed to go forever. Finally after several miles we came out of the blooms into clean indigo coloured water just South of the canyons. The water was absolutely full of bait which appeared to be pilchards feeding. We went around them a few times with no result so headed off again. Shortly afterwards I marked a fish. Lee and I turned back to the lures in time to see a big Blue crash the Blue Illusion on the short corner and take off as they do. Dave was on strike and took the rod on what turned out to be a Blue of around 170 kgs.. He'd never caught a Marlin before and had no idea what he was in for. This fish gave him a workout and a half. It didn't want to give up and stayed just out of range for ages by know we were on sunset and Dave was working hard. Inevitably we tagged the fish and then Dave had to struggle another half hour to get my lure back. No way was it getting away with that one. We continued on and raised a Striped Marlin of around 70 kilo's. It hit half the lures we had out before succumbing to the Brad 'J' bullet on the shotgun. Lee made quick work of the fish much to Dave's annoyance. By the time we had tagged Lee's fish it was time to pull stumps. We still had forty miles to get home. As I sit here writing this report I keep getting calls telling me about all the Marlin and even Tuna down here. It appears the water we had at Port Stephens a couple of weeks ago has move down here and brought the fish with it. I need to get out there again... Tight lines, Ivan

Port Stephens deep sea fishing is at the best I have ever experienced. All three species of Marlin are there in numbers. Also Mahi Mahi, Yellowfin tuna as well as the occasional Wahoo and Spearfish. During the previous week the 'Car Park' really fired and out wider we had caught Blue Marlin and a couple of big Yellowfin. Consequently I decided to take Dr. Stephen and his wife out wide to chase Blues. So out went my new favourites, 'Brad 'J' ' bullet on the shotgun, 'Lumo' and 'Brad 'J'' sprockets on the riggers and 'Blue Illusion' and 'Fallen Angel' on the flats. As luck would have it the conditions out wide had changed. The current was from the South and the water cooling so I turned back inshore. On the radio the 'Car Park' was really going off. I have never heard so many double hookups nor so many calls for boats to get out of the way of their hooked fish. As we approached the 'Car Park' and we were actually only a half mile away when we had a screaming hookup ( Brad J' on the rigger) and a good Blue headed East at a rate of knots. This proved to be a very stubborn fish and poor Dr. Stephen had to work really hard to bring it back to the boat. However, after nearly an hour a very tired Stephen had it boat-side. We took some photo's and let it go and set off again. Not really expecting either the Doctor to take another fish nor his poor wife who had been sea sick pretty well since we left Port. Well, as Murphy would have it it didn't take long for another Blue to climb aboard the 'Lumo' this time, and it was a significantly bigger fish. The Doctor was there in a flash ready to go. Fortunately it was a much easier fish and only took about half an hour to subdue. Due to the circumstances we decided that we should head for home. We put the lures out again and headed off for home. As we passed over the shelf we had yet another strike, on the shotgun this time, a Striped Marlin which dragged off some line then did as Stripies do and went on its way. The next two days were not so exciting. We had a shot at Blues but that was over so it was bait fishing at the 'Car Park'. For all the fish that were at there on Saturday there were significantly fewer on Sunday and even less on Monday. The action on both days had moved further South and it was hard fishing for everyone. I reckon that nearly every fish in the area on Saturday had either a toothache or a backache. Or, I guess I could just blame the moon or the water colour or the temperature. Anything but the fact that I couldn't do a thing right on Sunday or Monday - but that's fishing... Tight lines, Ivan

At present there is a Port Stephens Marlin frenzy going on. The inshore fishing for the small Blacks hasn't really taken off being more of a day to day proposition. However it's more than made up for by the good numbers of larger Marlin further out. At the well known 'Car Park' all three species of Marlin ( Blues, Blacks and Stripes ) are feeding in numbers on the schools of mackerel present. It is frustrating when using 10 or 15 kg. line for Striped and Black Marlin only to hook a rampaging Blue. I can't give actual numbers but over the last two tournament weekends every boat saw action but the local boats doing exceptionally well tagging up to and over ten a day. For more information on results go to the 'NSWGFA' and 'Newcastle Port Stephens Game Fishing Club' web sites. Wide of the 'Car Park' and mostly trolling lures around the shelf you will find more Striped Marlin as well as Blues and Blacks. As you move wider towards the thousand fathom line which is as far as I went, there are bait and birds working and masses of flying fish. I trolled out wide using my favourite lures as you all probably know and found schools of Striped tuna and if you're lucky, some very good Yellowfin tuna. I managed a couple going 69 and 59 kilo's coincidentally both took the 'Brad J' bullet on the shotgun position. There are Blue Marlin both small and large but you won't know what size will hit next ; the most exciting kind of fishing. The Marlin build up hasn't just happened over night but built over the last few weeks. I first encountered the increasing numbers of Marlin wide and North of the Port. In one day of trolling when I had twelve strikes and as I previously posted ten of them were on that 'Brad J' bullet. The Blues are in numbers that I have never even heard of before, other than off the Gold Coast. This all bodes well for Sydney in the coming months. March and April and even into May is when the biggest fish ( Marlin etc. ) are caught down here. So, if what is happening at Port Stephens now continues moving down the coast with the currents we could be in for a bonanza. Tight lines Ivan

I left Sydney early on Saturday morning with Lindon. Rhys, Michael and Frank in perfect conditions to chase the Port Stephens Marlin. No wind, no sea and nothing untoward expected weatherwise. I cruised out to an area just short of the Norah Canyons where we put the lures out and proceeded to troll. As we moved North and further out the water temperature continued to rise. In fact it was rising at an alarming rate, over 26C. Anyway, we continued North seeing nothing but conditions were so good it didn't matter. Then as so often happens with Blue Marlin just as we crossed over the Northern edge of the Newcastle canyons we had a massive strike on the 'Lumo'. The Blue did what they do and proceeded to greyhound up past the boat then circled back behind us. After a tough fight Michael brought the fish to the boat where photo's were taken and the fish released. We continued on without seeing anything else but kept hearing of a bite at the 'Car Park' several miles North of us. Unbelievably the water temperature had reached up to 27.3 degrees and was jumping up and down a half a degree over short distances. A couple of friends fishing even further North tagged and lost Stripes and Michael of 'Restless' found a pack of Dollies too. It was so frustrating we kept hearing of Marlin being tagged but they were much to far away for us to reach. As it happens it was time to head in, clean up and get some sleep, tomorrow would be another day. On Sunday I went out with Mike on 'Restless' to where they were fishing on Saturday. Slimies were no problem and it wasn't long before we were heading out to the shelf. When we arrived the temperature was nothing like the day before and in fact never went over 24.7 degrees. But there was bait and there were fish on the bait. Throughout the day everyone caught at least one Striped or Black Marlin. A couple of boats caught more and I think 'Born Free' tagged five. All along fishermen were encountering Blues, Blacks and Stripes. Not to mention the Dollies and at least one Spearfish. On 'Restless we ended up with a Black of about 80 Kgs. , and lost a Stripy and a Shark of unknown species. Generally speaking I think we could agree that it is Marlin time. I have heard that from Bermagui in the South to South East Queensland the Marlin are on. That doesn't mean they are easy to catch but nothing worthwhile ever is, so good luck... Tight Lines, Ivan

The year 2017 certainly ended with a bang. The fireworks celebrated not just the end of a successful year but a great couple of days for me. Hopefully it will continue into my summer Chartering at Port Stephens. Funnily enough while I was preparing Ambition last week I received a deposit from a passing Gull. What is purported to be good luck certainly proved to be true. I took Dr. Cody Hanish and Nick Seaward and their friends out chasing their first Marlin last Thursday. Conditions were ideal. It took a while but as I crossed the shelf inside Browns we took a hit from a beautiful Striped Marlin. As with most Stripes it put on a great display before being brought to the boat, photographed and released. We continued trolling up to the 'Bait Station' but with no sign of bait or bird activity it looked grim. I turned to run down sea back to the '12 Mile' and hadn't gone a hundred metres when we hooked up another Stripy, this one smaller than the first but just as feisty. So with two Marlin under our belt we headed for home much to the relief of a seasick angler. On Friday I took Jesper and his friend from Sweden out. After the previous day's fishing we and they were all fired up. Again it started out slowly but at least there was a lot of bait showing but still little bird activity. As if to repeat the previous day just as we crossed the shelf inside Browns we connected with a nice Marlin. It went crazy and when it first showed itself I saw it was a Blue of around 120 kilo's. I was surprised to say the least even though there had been a couple taken previously. Anyway, Jesper handled it like a pro and soon had it boat side. I repeated my track of the previous day and just as had happened then after turning to run down sea we had another hit. We weren't so lucky with this one though. For some reason the wind-on failed and all we got back was the loop at the end of the double. Worse I lost my favourite Lumo, now I have to break in another one. As if to make up for this loss shortly after we landed a good sized Mahi Mahi. So, the next time a present comes down from up high go fishing...imagine your luck if it was a Pelican's present, the mind boggles. Most boats trolling are encountering Mahi Mahi and all good sized fish. They don't seem to be hanging around the traps and FAD's in numbers yet but they are a welcome catch while chasing Marlin. Port Stephens fired last week with quite a bit of action around the Norah and Newcastle canyons. Not long to go now before I'll be running Charters at Port Stephens. Tight lines and all the very best for the New Year, Ivan Home

Striped Marlin, Blue Marlin and Mahi Mahi though not in any numbers yet are all on the menu. They're not easy to find but a few have been caught over the last couple of weeks and conditions are becoming more conducive to their presence every day. I went out last Thursday on a perfect day in ideal conditions. Out past the shelf there were bait balls all over the place and out to 500 fathoms which was as far as I went. To say expectations were high was an understatement. Unfortunately all I found was a lone Mahi Mahi of about 7kgs. On Sunday the weather was just too good not to go out. I didn't have a charter so there was just me, Pat ( my deck hand ) and Mark his father. We put Mark on strike. On his bucket list were a Marlin a Mahi Mahi and a Yellowfin so we out we went... hunting. Conditions had changed markedly since last Thursday. I went North to the 'Bait Station' and found there was nowhere near the amount of bait nor bird activity as the previous week. Apparently it had moved further South. Still we persisted and after several hours of trolling in what appeared to be a dead sea we had a strike on the short corner and a small Marlin did its window wiper imitation. It pulled off some line and then unfortunately just fell off the lure. However disappointment soon turned into panic. Whilst repositioning the short corner the left rigger took off at a thousand miles an hour and a small Striped Marlin took to the air. Incidentally it took one of Peter Pakula's Bullet Heads in lumo colours which I'd decided to try out. Obviously a good choice. Mark did well on the rod and we tagged the fish in fairly quick time. Soon after we hooked up a 6 kilo Mahi Mahi so we had dinner. I had only heard about one other Marlin which had subsequently been lost so I was feeling pretty good about our fish. Then my old friend Rob Curry ( Marquis ) caught a Blue Marlin of 250 to 300 kilo's which had died. He had it at the boat after several hours fighting and lifting it from the bottom but as there were only two on board they couldn't get the fish into the boat. I have attached a photo in which you can see the Blue doesn't look real pretty. I suppose though that anything would look pretty battered after being towed for two and a half hour through the sea. Irrespective a damn good fish which when weighed pulled the scales down to 273.5 kilo's. A great fish at any time but who would expect one like that at this time of the year. It all just goes to show that you'll never know what's out there unless you go... Tight lines, Ivan PS: Port Stephens is drawing closer... Attached is a short video Mark's Marlin with some Mahi Mahi mayhem at the end, enjoy...