Fresh Sydney Harbour Fishing Reports

Today was an interesting day at sea. It actually epitomised Game Fishing…ninety nine percent boredom and one percent mayhem, a lot of the time anyway. I took out Kin and some friends from Hong Kong today. These guys had never caught anything bigger than the equivalent of a Black Bream and were keen to catch a big fish. By any measure it was a very slow day out there today but after hearing of Yellowfin and Marlin caught yesterday the motivation was there to persevere. After several hours of trolling we hooked a Striped Tuna which created a lot of excitement and photo taking. After which we continued on just hoping something else would happen. After several more fruitless hours and with time running out I turned for home. I’d virtually given up on Marlin but as we approached the ’12 Mile’ Ron let us know in no uncertain terms that there was a Marlin following the short corner, a ‘Pakula Evil’. It hit the lure but no hook up then turned away, I thought that that was it but then it or another Marlin came in and took the lure solidly, hooked up and was off running. At the same time the starboard rigger got hit but didn’t hook up. Then amid the mayhem the port rigger was hit and took off at a rate of knots. It was absolute mayhem on deck as you’ll see in the video. Meanwhile Ron was working to clear the shotgun, frantically trying to keep the Brad ‘J’ from being eaten by yet another Marlin. With these guys of limited experience and limited English the last thing we needed was a triple hook up, a double was going to be problematic enough. Fortunately the fish on the ‘Lumo’ dropped off after a few minutes so we could concentrate on just the one fish which after some tag teaming, and lots of motivation, some of which I’ve had to mute from the video, was brought to the boat and released. Thankfully the perseverance paid off and Kin and his friends ended up experiencing the excitement of Game fishing as well as the tedium. Tight lies, Ivan

It was interesting fishing last week-end. I took Changyu and his friends out on Thursday hoping for a Marlin or Yellowfin. However there was still a residual swell running with a short frequency which exacerbated by a runout tide made for quite uncomfortable conditions. However conditions did ease a bit when we got out past the bounce back from the cliffs and the effects of run, but by then the damage was done. So, we headed back in and spent the day fishing in the harbour. Not something I can get excited about. It was back to grass roots fishing, catching lots of different species and seeing the excitement of newbies catching their first fish is in itself quite satisfying. Friday dawned a different day, it was pouring rain out to sea but the swell had ironed out and as the rain dissipated the sea calmed down. Again, Yellowfin and Marlin were on the menu. On Wednesday there had been a good bite from North of Broken Bay up to the Norah canyons. A bit too far for us to go but we did work our way up in that direction. We got our first strike just shy of the ‘Bait Station’ but no hook up. There weren’t many boats out but out there all caught fish,‘The Dom’ informed me that they’d tagged two Marlin earlier on in this area. I learned ‘Reel Smart’ and ‘El Pirata’ each tagged one and ‘Reel Smart’ also caught a big Mahi Mahi. We found a Stripy sunning itself but couldn’t excite it into taking the lure even after a couple of passes. Other than some flying fish and a patch of birds working on what appeared to be Striped tuna there was little bait in the area. However, it was patently obvious there were fish in the here so it would have been silly to leave the area. Eventually patience was rewarded when after hitting the Pakula Lumo and not hooking up a Striped Marlin found the Pakula Brad ‘J’, Ron then successfully teased it into striking and hooking up. After a short fight we released the fish, a nice Striped Marlin. Tight Lines, Ivan

A bit of a late report but better late than never I guess. Last weekend’s Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament held by the Sydney Game Fishing Club was held in great weather with thirty-four boats competing. There were thirty-eight Marlin tagged, both Blues and Stripes. Twelve Yellowfin were taken and one good one going sixty-eight kilo’s also a thirteen-point seven kilo Mahi Mahi. There were also a couple of Mahi Mahi, Spearfish and even a couple of Wahoo tagged and taken. Generally speaking, a great weekend of fishing even given that the moon was full and however you want to interpret its relevance. We on Ambition had a frustrating time of it. We tagged a Striped Marlin early on the Saturday and our high hopes were slowly dashed having not seen any further action for the rest of the weekend. One of the interesting things during the tournament was that on Saturday there were lots of Yellowfin, seen and hooked yet on Sunday they had virtually disappeared with only a couple taken - the fickleness of fishing. We were actually mass attacked, as you’ll see in the video, creating excitement and confusion on deck. The, or whichever fish it was finally hooking up on, as you’ll probably guess, Pakula’s Brad ‘J’. The water is still especially warm and with Striped and Blue Marlin out wide and even Blacks inshore not to mention Yellowfin amongst Spearfish and Wahoo in evidence it should be interesting fishing over the next few weeks. Tight Lines, Ivan

It was an interesting day out yesterday. The wind held off, even though the predicted North-Easterly turned into a moderate South-Esterly later in the afternoon, it was like roller coaster ride with long low swells. The charts were showing that the warm water had pushed in closer and with it the temperature break. As we went out the temperature was what I thought to be an amazing 24.3 C at the Heads and at the 12 Mile over 26 C. It was going to be interesting to find out how the last few days of weather had affected the fishery. So, onward we went. Reports I’d heard were of Yellowfin out wide and longliners working in the area too. Before the weather there were good numbers of Marlin, both Blue and Striped, our targets for the day but if a Yellowfin got in the way it wouldn’t be a problem. The lines went in at the 12 Mile where we caught a couple of Striped tuna but nothing else eventuated until we were over the shelf. We were over the shelf in the cooler water when the band on one of the riggers broke and as Ron was winding the Lumo back a Striped Marlin raced in, Ron dropped the lure back and hooked up. After a stubborn fight the Stripy was brought to the boat and photos taken, and the fish released. I continued out to where I hoped the Yellowfin and a big Blue might be. And it struck me that though the VHF radio can be a punish to listen to, it can provide good info if you have the patience. When you’re out there alone you are fishing blind to a degree. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the Yellowfin or the longliners, though I have since heard they are down off Wollongong now. I went out to eight hundred fathoms but having found neither bait nor bird activity moved in closer where a Striped Marlin came in and hit a couple of lures without hooking up. Then in three hundred fathoms what I thought was a Blue smashed the Lumo and hooked up. It was brought to the boat without much fuss and we realised it was a Black. Unfortunately, while Ron was holding the bill waiting for the guys to take photos with a shake of its head the Marlin slipped free. Connor and his mates wanted to catch some Mahi Mahi so I headed for some FAD’s that I knew. I wasn’t sure if they’d be there after the big seas but we had to try. As suspected we couldn’t find them, whether they were pushed down by the current or lost altogether is unsure. As a last ditched effort we went to the fisheries FAD on the Nine mile reef but it too was gone. So ended an interesting day… Tight Lines, Ivan

By any standards yesterday was a glorious day to be at sea, especially as look out of my window this morning. The sea was calm and warm, actually it was hot, the temperature was over 25 degrees at the 12 Mile getting up to 26.7 degrees at Browns, and the current was raging. We left the club with Linwea and his group with high expectations and reports of Blue and Striped Marlin as well as Yellowfin and Mahi Mahi of varying sizes being taken over the last couple of days. We put the lures in at the 12 Mile, there is always the expectation of a Striped Marlin between there and the shelf, but not today. A couple of boats found Yellowfin around fifteen kilo’s in the Browns area and were working patches of birds. We arrived in the area and worked it for a while, marking fish down twenty to thirty fathoms which we couldn’t induce to come up. I thought about jigging but with the current raging didn’t think it was a feasible option. Meanwhile the boat ‘Shoki’ had moved wider and caught a Blue Marlin and a big Mahi Mahi, later on they also took a good sized Yellowfin. That made up my mind and we headed off. At around eight hundred fathoms the water temperature started dropping and the current slowed considerably. It was looking really good but also as we headed out each one of Linwea’s group succumbed to sea sickness and at nine hundred fathoms they wanted to go back. So, we turned back, I was disappointed, but seasickness is a horrible thing which cannot be appreciated unless you’ve been there. And then it happened, a splash behind the Pakula Lumo and the fish took off. It was a big Mahi Mahi. The seasickness was forgotten, Linwea took the rod and with a bit of instruction brought the fish to the boat where Ron gaffed it. As you’ll see in the video it did what Mahi Mahi do and went crazy. Also, it appears that tag team angling is very popular amongst the Chinese, the tourists anyway. We continued trolling in and just on the shelf a Striped Marlin came up on Pakula’s Brad ‘J’, took off some line and just let go. Shortly after we go attacked as a big Blue Marlin came into the spread and had a go at all the lures finally deciding on Pakula’s Brad ‘J’, taking off like an express train, as they do, trying to overtake the boat. After a bit of chasing and backing up the fish went deep, and stayed there, I couldn’t get it to come back up. We were at a stalemate. I figured the fish had died and tried planning it up but that didn’t work either. By this time Linwea and his crew had each had a shot at fighting the Marlin and were stuffed so Ron stepped in, but after nearly an hour he was done too. I must say this was not the sort of fish you expect to run into inside the shelf. Then, almost as a relief the line gave way, and it was to home we pointed. Tight Lines, Ivan

I can only describe yesterday’s fishing, for me anyway, as one of the most frustrating days I have ever spent at sea. I won’t go into details but it could best be described as a ‘good news, bad news day’. The good side was that the clients caught some beautiful Mahi Mahi and experienced the excitement of catching a Marlin which put on a great aerial display. The bad news side the details of which as I have already said I will not go into but suffice to say the current run of Marlin continues unabated. All three species are evident with several Blacks being found on the inshore grounds. Out wider there are both Blue and Striped Marlin and even further out you’ll find Yellowfin tuna. The Yellowfin are moving around and moving pretty quickly so take a bit of finding. However around them there is always the chance of running into a big Blue Marlin. Surprisingly for the number of pelagics around there is not much bait. I did find patches but I would have expected more. Interestingly, I did see something I haven’t seen off Sydney for years. As I was approaching a private FAD I saw Mutton birds working over a small patch of what looked like a pool of blood in the water. It was in fact a bait ball of ‘Red Bait’ with a school of Mahi Mahi rounding them up from below. If you’ve never seen ‘Red Bait’ before I can assure you that you’ll never mistake it for anything else. Tight Lines, Ivan