We took Zack who was basically a freshwater fisherman out on Saturday. He had had no experience at Game Fishing but was keen to give it a go. The sea was a little joggly as we left the heads but a hell of a lot better than it had been on Friday. There was still a good swell running but it got lower the further out we went and the wind eased giving us beautiful conditions. We put the lures in fairly close to shore and visited the inshore reefs and FADs in the hope of an early season Black sadly with no result even though there was plenty of bait and the water looked good. Continuing on we reached the shelf still with no action but there was bait in patches down deep and still no bird activity. In the distance I could see lots of splashes which as we approached turned out to be Dolphins balling up some type of baitfish and charging through them. I worked the area until the action dissipated again with no result. They say all comes to he who waits, but that is also true of those who put the time in. I don’t know where I was, lost in some sort of reverie when I nearly jumped out of my skin brought back to reality by Ron yelling… Marlin! I looked back to see a Striped Marlin hitting the short corner and doing what Stripies do best and missing the lure. But Ron had been trained well and teased the fish to the point where he dropped the lure into its waiting mouth – and we were hooked up solid, some would say at last. Zack took the rod and for someone who had never used the gear handled it like a pro. The fish was a stubborn one and by the time we released it Zack was as beaten as the fish. He’ll never feel the same about Northern Pike and Muskies. The only other thing we saw on the day was a very large and very dead Sunfish which I imagine had been hit by something very large. So that was the day. It was good to come back with a result and knowing there is bait out there hopefully starting the food chain. And hopefully ending a very long fruitless run of fishing days. Tight lines, Ivan P.S. : I hadn't planned on taking Ambition up to Port Stephens next year for the Marlin season but I have access to another boat and will be available from mid-January until the end of March for charters.

Well it did turn out to be a good day. Not so much weatherwise though. We had a shot early for Kingfish but it must have been too early for them. We only had jigs and eventually managed to lose what seemed to be a good fish. So, it was offshore we went. The wind was blowing around 15 to 20 knots from the South-West but predicted to ease early in the afternoon. However, as we approached the shelf and the nearly 2 knot Northerly current the resonable swell turned into some really steep nasties. Conditions didn't seem to be worrying the guys so I continued out and just then had a take on the shotgun. At first I thought it was just a Stripy but it turned out to be a Yellowfin of about 7kilo's, enough incentive to keep on going. Sometime later we had a much more solid hit on the lumo. This fish gave the angler a bit of a workout; using a new set of muscles. After a decent fight we gaffed a Yellowfin of about 25 kilo's. There was no turning back now and fortunately the wind was easing, it was still very rocky and rolly but definitely backing off. It wasn't too much later that the rigger went off again and this was a very much bigger fish taking a screamer of a run. Then before I could slow down the flat line took off, again a screamer. Sadly, the second fish dropped off after a few minutes but the other one was still going. It took a while and a toll on the angler but after twenty odd minutes we had our third Yellowfin, this one about 35 kilo's. So, what started out with an interesting sunrise turned into a great if not uncomfortable day's fishing. Interestingly all the fish were blind strikes without any bird activity. But I guess it did show that the rough days are the good ones, at least for Yellowfin. Tight lines, Ivan

We went out on Sunday in ideal conditions. And after hearing of the results of those who fished on Saturday there was an degree of optimism. Boats out on Saturday caught Yellowfin from way wide of Heatons, Northeast of Browns and down on the Southern Canyons. The fish were wide spread but you still had to put in the hard yards to find them. So, we went out optimistic in knowing there were fish to be found. I put the lures out just inside the shelf where there was quite a bit of bait though it was quite deep. There is always the chance of an early season Striped Marlin. Travelling out there were reports of Yellowfin around Heatons and wide of the Bait Station. I continued on moving wider. The fishing was slow and since I had seen a few schools of Striped Tuna put out a small lure to give the clients a taste of what I hoped would come. We caught a few Stripies when in about five hundred fathoms old Brad went off. It was a Yellowfin but not quite as big as was wanted, just a jellybean about 7 kilo’s. Continuing on we saw a couple of whales and caught a few more Stripies. By then it was time to head for home. As we crossed over the one hundred fathom line the Stripie lure went off. It took a good run but since it was only a 15kg. outfit thought it was a bigger Stripie or maybe an Albacore. But then it stuck its head out and we saw it was unmistakenly a Short Billed Spearfish. It took about 20 minutes but we landed the fish to the jubilation of the Sunni and his friends. What used to be a rare capture off Sydney and considered to be a tropical fish only found in the warmest water, water where you were likely to run into a Blue Marlin and there was one of those taken recently too, the number of Spearfish caught over the last couple of weeks defies explanation especially since they were caught in only nineteen degrees. One could theorise that since the SST’s only reflect the top two or three millimetres of the surface there might be a much warmer current running a little deeper. Anyway just a speculation… Tight lines, Ivan

August is when the Yellowfin are often found by both trolling and cubing. In fact they may be caught right up and through to November. In fact some of the bigger fish are caught during summer when the ocean currents bring them and the bait inshore. After all the bad weather and Covid and even the fuel prices have limited the amount of time spent offshore we got an opportunity last Friday. Tuna were the target and the weather was good as we set out. We had a look at a couple of the inshore reefs for the chance of a Kingfish. Sadly after losing a few jigs to Barracouta and no Kingies we headed out. After putting the lures in at the shelf we settled in for the hunt. In about five hundred fathoms the water cleared up significantly with a small temperature break of 0.3 of a degree. I followed this break and saw some big splashes a mile or so ahead of us so sped up a little to get to them. As we approached we could see they weren’t Tuna but in fact a pod of Pilot Whales travelling South on the current. We kept the company for a while then as we moved ahead of them the Shotgun screamed off. As you can see in the video we landed a Yellowfin of about 30 kg. We continued on but alas couldn’t find the Pilot Whales and found no more tuna. The guys were happy with plenty of fish for dinner and the wind was picking up so it was homeward bound. Tight lines, Ivan

Mahi Mahi Yesterday in perfect conditions I took Brian, his father and his two young sons out fishing. They were visiting from America and wanted to experience Game Fishing. Sadly, they didn't get the full experience though they did enjoy the day and succeeding in taking home a nice feed of Mahi Mahi. Mahi Mahi The aim was to get out to the warm current the charts were showing running south behind Browns. Leaving the harbour the water was a very dirty green. I had expected the water to clear up around the 12 mile but it was only slightly better, being what I call 'clean green' and slightly warmer. At ninety fathoms it was improving but strangely whereas I hadn't noticed any floating debris in the water up until now between eighty and ninety fathoms there was a lots of it, ranging in size from small twigs to decent sized branches, a time for caution. Hot Currents... Finally, in about 120 fathoms the water went that 'beautiful blue' we want to see and the temperature reached 25 degrees with the current running South at 2.5 knots. It was a slow transition up to the 25 degrees and in it we caught a big striped tuna, close to 9 kilo's, that put on good show for Brian, lucky they don't grow to Yellowfin proportions. Mahi Mahi We did cover a lot of water, going out to a thousand fathoms, down the thousand fathom line, back into Browns, up the shelf, down the shelf and finally back into the 12 mile. We did catch several Mahi Mahi on our travels, all in the middle of nowhere and curiously none around any floating material. There were also lots of Dolphins but they weren't stopping just travelling North. On the radio I did hear of what was described as a big Striped Marlin but it was taken off Shellharbour. In fact I heard nothing locally the whole day and only saw two other boats out wide. So that was the day, a nice feed some great weather and good company, what more could you ask for - would a marlin or two be too much !! Tight lines, Ivan Weather and Sea State : Buoyweather Bureau of Meteorology Radar Seabreeze Weatherzone Weathercams Ripcharts C.S.I.R.O. N.S.W Bluelink Fishing Tackle : Pakula Tackle Global Tackle Otto’s Tackle Melton Tackle Aftco Campbell’s Pro Tackle Electronics : Furuno Keogh’s Marine Electronics Olectric Systems Home…

After much toing and froing about whether to hold the Peter Goadby Tournament over one or two days; the number of entries and the weather being the matters of contention, the decision to go ahead was bravely made by President Karen at the last minute; it would be a two day tournament. As predicted Saturday’s weather was pretty horrid. The ocean was all over the place, very short and nasty. I know everyone my boat was feeling the ‘mal de mer’, however not enough to stop neither us nor any of the others out there either. Sadly, the fishing was not up to standard for this time of year. The water colour varied from chocolate crap to what I call clean green. In places it almost made it to blue but always with that tinge of green, however it did get up to 24.4 degrees in places. And to make matters worse there was lots of debris of all sizes drifting in the current. Day 1, Saturday saw ‘Smartbill’ tag two Marlin and both ‘Kill Tank’ and ‘Tantrum’ a Yellowfin each. On the capture side ‘Reaper’ killed two Mako sharks, one, a magnificent fish of 330.50 kilo’s by Jayden Hudson and Mia Wright a junior on dad’s boat Tantrum weighed a Striped Marlin of 101.20 kilo’s. Day 2, Sunday was a much kinder day, weatherwise any way, the fishing didn’t get much better. Jack Jones on ‘Rampage’ after a very long fight weighed a Striped Marlin of 68.50 kilo’s on 10 kilo line and both ‘Smartbill’ and ‘Sniper’ each tagged Marlin. Overall seventeen boats fished for a total of five Marlin, six Yellowfin, two sharks and eighteen Mahi Mahi. Incidentally the Yellowfin weighed went 27.20 and 27.50 kilo’s respectively. It was good to see the appearance of Yellowfin even though we generally expect much bigger ones at this time of year. So let’s hope that the crappy water clears up and we get the Autumn we’re used to. Tight Lines, Ivan