Fresh New South Wales Fishing Reports

It is good to see this amazing run of Marlin continuing off Sydney. Initially it was Stripies but now there are Blues mixed in with then as well as the occasional Black. There are plenty of Dollies on the FAD’s and even some small Yellowfin out wide as reported by Rob on his boat ‘On Call’ who also tagged five Marlin. Last week-end, coinciding with the ‘Bill Heyward Classic’ saw some great catches with several boats tagging multiple fish, most notably the boat ‘WA WA’ tagging twelve Marlin over the two days with more than a few boats tagging multiple fish. As always with Striped Marlin there were lots of missed strikes and lost fish as well. I went out on Sunday with Fred and his friend, expecting great things after listening to the radio on Saturday. However, though there were still plenty of Marlin out there it didn’t compare with the previous day’s bite. I started off in close beacause at this time of year the migrating Black Marlin are usually evident but there was a distinct lack of bait on the inshore reefs so I gave up and headed out. In seventy fathoms I marked a fish and as I turned around to check the lures we got the strike on the’Pakula Brad ‘J’’ but sadly no hook up. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that we had another hit. This time on the ‘Pakula Lumo’, it was a good sized Blue and there was no messing around, it took off like a steam train. Now, being a charter boat skipper can be very frustrating, you meet all sorts of people. You meet good keen worldly fisher people, keen lesser experience fisher people, those beginners who want the experience of Game Fishing and those who teach you new tricks. I would say that Fred and his friend were of the latter group. They taught me a new style of fishing. Akin to Tag Team wrestling, Fred and his friend alternated on the rod at least twenty time in less than an hour, you can see this on the video. Every time they changed over I imagined my rod and reel going overboard. Every time they alternated, they left slack line in the water and I still don’t know how that fish stayed on the line. I have had to mute some sections of the video as it wasn’t fit for prime time viewing. Anyway, it was a better than beautiful day out at sea, the clients were happy and all’s well that end well. Tight Lines, Ivan

I took David and his family from Colorado out yesterday. David hoping to catch his first Marlin. And what a day it was. The weather couldn’t have been better, in fact, it was glassed out nearly all day. After all the rain we’ve had I didn’t know what to expect but I thought I’d try in close to see if there were any Black’s around. The water in close was fairly green not that that matters for the Blacks but more importantly there was very little bait, only small patches and no birds activity. So, it was the wild blue yonder to find a Stripy or maybe even a Blue. Out in eighty fathoms I found some good patches of bait which I worked to no avail so kept on going. It was out in three hundred fathoms where we got our first hit and disappointment, the line screaming off at a rate of knots and young Elliot took the rod. We cleared the gear and I started the chase just then line went slack. I know a lot of people don’t like ‘wind-ons’ but for me in a charter situation they are invaluable. Anyway, we had lost the fish and my ‘Pakula Evil’ because the wind-on let go. I trolled out to six hundred fathoms but though the temperature increased there was neither bait nor birds so it was time to get back near the shelf where there was at least some activity. We got our second hit just outside the shelf. A really good sized Stripy screamed off and David took the rod. It gave him a good work-out but he got it to the boat where photo’s were taken and the fish released. As we continued on our way another boat not far from us hooked up on what looked like a great fish. The temptation to stay and work the area was great but we were a long way from home and it was getting late so the decision was made to head for home. Continuing on down the shelf we raised another Marlin, most definitely a Stripy, playing with the lure yet somehow missing the hooks. A little further on a couple of big Mahi Mahi burst into the spread but were only half-hearted in their attempt to eat. A little later what was either a Wahoo or a Spearfish darted in from the side and yet again missed the hooks. Overall, it was a more than interesting day but not without its frustration but still with happy anglers and a first for David. Tight Lines, Ivan

I am glad to say that this remarkable run of Marlin continues. We took Izzy and her Grandfather Larry out yesterday to chase these Marlin knowing we had every chance of success. Not to say that luck doesn’t play a part. So, on a glorious summer day we headed out. After fishing in some horrible weather over the last week this day was a dream. I ran out to seventy fathoms and put the lures in. The water was twenty-three degrees and a beautiful blue the scene was set, all we needed were the actors. There was little chat on the radio but what there was, was talk of the boats raising Stripies which were only half-heartedly hitting the lures. We trolled for a time without any success so I decided to skip some baits. It wasn’t hard to find a bait ball high in the water column and one drop of the jig gave us six reasonable Slimies. We put the skippies out on the riggers and I decided to leave the ‘Brad’J’’ out there as a teaser. A big mistake. I should have taken the hooks out of it first. Over an hour of running the skippies two Striped Marlin came in and hit the ‘Brad’J’’ of all things. But because we were trolling at a slow speed we didn’t get a hook-ups. Only one Stripy came in to hit a skippy but it hit the leader instead and spooked. By now it was mid-afternoon and the bait had gone down so the skippies were pulled in and the lures re-launched. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time the short rigger took off at a huge rate of knots and a Marlin bust out screaming off at a rate of knots. It seemed to take forever to get the other lures in and the reel was being stripped very quickly. So much so that with a rigger still out I started backing up trying to slow down the rate of line loss. Izzy had taken the rod and was feverishly trying to gain line. In the meantime, the Marlin was greyhounding at what looked like a mile away. It took some time, but we finally got the Marlin under control. It was still hard work for Izzy as the fish was dogging it down deep refused to come up. I surmised that this was either a foul hooked Stripy or a Blue, but a Blue in seventy fathoms seemed unlikely, so I thought. It did take some time but Izzy worked the Marlin up and unbelievably, to me anyway, it was a Blue Marlin looking to be one hundred and thirty to one hundred and forty kilo’s. We eventually did release the Blue much to very weary Issy’s relief; she had done a great job. We had just put the lures in again when to our surprise after not having gone more than a couple of hundred metres we hooked up again, this time to a Striped Marlin with Larry taking the rod. Then and not so surprisingly the Marlin jumped off. It was time to go home. Tight Lines, Ivan

Early morning 5 hour Kingfish trips been priducing the goods

After watching the weather during the week there hadn’t been any moderation, so I was a bit concerned about the day’s fishing on Friday. The marine charts also didn’t seem really good with the current coming from the South. The only interesting feature being the zero line around the fifty fathom line. I gave Mike and his crew the option to postpone the charter but they were keen so off we went. I think their excitement waned a little when one of them was sick as we went through the Heads. Sadly it wasn’t long before Mike was the only man standing. However he was still keen and we put the lures in and started trolling out. We were out in about seventy fathoms. The sea was a little angry as you can see in the video and fighting a Marlin was going to be interesting if not a little damp. I must say I was just thinking it didn’t look fishy at all, no bait, no birds and just over twenty one degree. As if to make a liar of me ‘Brad’ on the shotgun took at a rate of knots. Suddenly everyone was awake, and the excitement was palpable. To my surprise it was a Black Marlin and a good one too and it didn’t like the boat especially when Mark took the trace. After we released the Black we were on our way again and didn’t even have the full spread out when ’Brad’ was hit again, this time a Striped Marlin which put on a great show and was soon released. So, with two Marlin within a short space of time I turned around a to go back over the area again. Well it happened again. This time we raised two or maybe three Stripies. One hit the shot gun another the long rigger but the only one that stuck hit the short corner with ‘Black Betty’. Amazingly for a day which looked like a no go it turned out to be the best day’s fishing for these guys. Actually, a good day’s fishing by anyone’s standard off Sydney. Our final count for the day was six strikes, four hook ups and three released, all this with no bait and a horrible sea. I think the fish are just passing by in the current like us searching for the bait, and if you’re lucky you strike gold. By this time the state of the sea had overcome the excitement of the Marlin and the call was made to head back. Interestingly I think we spent more time fighting Marlin than actually trolling for them. Being so early in the season and with the best Marlin months still ahead of us one can’t help but be optimistic about the days ahead. Tight Lines, Ivan

Anybody who has been out game fishing over the last couple of weeks will know we are experiencing what is the best Striped Marlin bite I can remember off Sydney, especially for so early in the season. To make it even better the Stripies are all of good size. Listening to reports it is apparent that the bite is slowly moving South and maybe the best of it has already gone by as there is a good bite down the coast from Stanwell Park South. Anyway, we were going out to what looked like an edge a few miles North of Browns. I went with Zac and some of his friends in what were ideal conditions, maybe even a little too calm. We caught some live bait intending to either use them as skippies or on Dollies if we went to a FAD. We put the lures in at eighty fathoms where there had been a few fish taken during the week and trolled North zig zagging between eighty and a hundred and ten fathoms. There was heaps of bait, mostly in small schools and lots of Dolphins, not to be confused with Mahi Mahi, possibly why the bait was broken up into small schools, so expectations were high. It was on one of those zigs that we got a hit on the shotgun but no hook up. Steve and Ollie, my deckies saw the strike and said it was a small Marlin or maybe a Spearfish. Whatever it was hit the ‘Brad’ so hard the lure flew a few metres out of the water, damned if I know why it didn’t hook up. We continued further on and as we went the bait started to disperse. I decided then to have a look out wider and head South towards Browns. Just over the shelf I ran into a school of what looked like Striped Tuna and worked the area for a while to no avail, so headed South again. In three hundred fathoms and ten miles North of Browns Brad got smashed and we were on to a very nice Stripy which gave in after about twenty minutes and was brought boatside by some good angling. We didn’t see anything else for the rest of the day but the guys were satisfied both fishwise and beerwise so we turned West and headed for home. In conclusion it appears another run of Stripies has come down the coast. Reports coming in today of most boats encountering these fish. Being so early in the season and with the best Marlin months still ahead of us one can’t help but be optimistic about the days ahead. Tight Lines, Ivan