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Fresh Fishing Reports from Sydney Harbour

Ambition Report 27th.Mayโ€™25
Ambition Report 27th.Mayโ€™25
May 25, 2025
I took Zakk and his friends from North Carolina out on Sunday. Zakk was keen to catch his first Marlin. However, after the weather weโ€™d experienced over the previous week I had no idea what to expect. The charts only displayed the ocean currents which didnโ€™t look very exciting, with no info of temperatures. So, we were basically going out blind, not that I that I trust the charts implicitly, however they do give a good overview. I put the lures in at the Twelve Mile where there were a couple of boats jigging and headed out. The temperature slowly increased to 20.8C at the shelf and as it turned out only increased to 21C at the thousand fathom line. On the way out we saw nothing neither birds nor bait. But I get ahead of myself. Just inside Browns I marked a bait school it wasnโ€™t very solid echo but I did a circle and as I straightened up Ron let us no in no uncertain terms that there was a Marlin behind the *Blue illusion. It hit and took a bit of line but no hook up. When this happens, I always keep an eye on the *Brad โ€˜Jโ€™ on the shotgun. I have found that all too often if a Marlin hits one of the closer in lures and is not spooked it will come in on the shotgun. Sure enough, this one did too and was hooked up solidly, as it turned out the hook went right though the upper bill. It was a long hard fight, the Marlin hardly jumped, saving its energy until Ron took the leader as youโ€™ll see in the video. There was a bit of tag teaming but eventually the Marlin, a quite big Stripy was brought along side and with photoโ€™s taken released. With the pressure off now I continued out hoping to find the Yellowfin which should be here now. At the thousand fathom line I turned around not having seen anything, noting the current was coming from the East, not a very hopeful sign, hoping we might find another Stripy around the shelf. Unfortunately, we didnโ€™t find any more bait, nor saw any birds and with daylight running out it was time to head for home. On the way in we did see a couple of Whales which performed for the charter but conversely also a caution for me. Tight lies, Ivan โ€ข All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .
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Ambition Report 27th.Aprilโ€™25
Ambition Report 27th.Aprilโ€™25
May 11, 2025
Today was an interesting day at sea. It actually epitomised Game Fishingโ€ฆninety 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. Iโ€™d virtually given up on Marlin but as we approached the โ€™12 Mileโ€™ Ron let us know in no uncertain terms that there was a Marlin following the short corner, a โ€˜Pakula Evilโ€™. 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 didnโ€™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 youโ€™ll see in the video. Meanwhile Ron was working to clear the shotgun, frantically trying to keep the Brad โ€˜Jโ€™ 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 โ€˜Lumoโ€™ 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 Iโ€™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
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Ambition Report 27th.Aprilโ€™25
Ambition Report 27th.Aprilโ€™25
April 25, 2025
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 โ€˜Bait Stationโ€™ but no hook up. There werenโ€™t many boats out but out there all caught fish,โ€˜The Domโ€™ informed me that theyโ€™d tagged two Marlin earlier on in this area. I learned โ€˜Reel Smartโ€™ and โ€˜El Pirataโ€™ each tagged one and โ€˜Reel Smartโ€™ also caught a big Mahi Mahi. We found a Stripy sunning itself but couldnโ€™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 โ€˜Jโ€™, 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
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Ambition Report 18th.Aprilโ€™25
Ambition Report 18th.Aprilโ€™25
April 12, 2025
A bit of a late report but better late than never I guess. Last weekendโ€™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 kiloโ€™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 youโ€™ll see in the video, creating excitement and confusion on deck. The, or whichever fish it was finally hooking up on, as youโ€™ll probably guess, Pakulaโ€™s Brad โ€˜Jโ€™. 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
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Sydney Harbour Fishing Calendar

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What anglers said about fishing in Sydney Harbour

Yes, but the seas can be quite choppy so best to take seasick tablets before boarding.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Yes, but the seas can be quite choppy so best to take seasick tablets before boarding.
Find Fish Fast โ€“ Fishfinder
Find Fish Fast โ€“ Fishfinder
November is a shoulder season, however, we were only focused on Marlin fishing
Excellent
5.0 / 5
November is a shoulder season, however, we were only focused on Marlin fishing
Ambition Charters
Ambition Charters
Book a trip with Findfinder and Tony and John will give you all the tips you eed
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Book a trip with Findfinder and Tony and John will give you all the tips you eed
Find Fish Fast โ€“ Fishfinder
Find Fish Fast โ€“ Fishfinder Boston, MA
Well the only thing that you need to keep in mind when you go fishing at all, you may or may not catch what you are looking for and that's why it called fishing and not catching. Put your faith in the Captain and crew and you will have a good day.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Well the only thing that you need to keep in mind when you go fishing at all, you may or may not catch what you are looking for and that's why it called fishing and not catching. Put your faith in the Captain and crew and you will have a good day.
Ambition Charters
Ambition Charters United States
Check the weather before going out and take sea sick tablets even if you donโ€™t get sea sick!
Very good
4.0 / 5
Check the weather before going out and take sea sick tablets even if you donโ€™t get sea sick!
Deep Sea Charters - Reef Runner
Deep Sea Charters - Reef Runner Lilyfield, New South Wales