Fresh Sydney Fishing Reports

By all accounts the fishing wide of Sydney was a battle both with the seas and to find any fish. I didn't hear of anyone finding the Albacore which were there last week or for that matter any tuna . One item of interest is that because of the strange unseasonable lack of current there are still Blue Eye some Gemfish and the occasional Hapuka being taken off the Mountain. It should be interesting offshore this week-end since it appears from the charts there is a 'low' sitting almost on top of the 12 Mile with the current increasing from the North as you go wider. This change in current has got to be good especially since there was a Wahoo taken off Port Stephens last week proving there is some good water out there; we've just got to convince it to come down here... There was at least one Marlin taken last week-end and I believe it was the first for the Botany Club this season. Other than that the only bright light is the Kings and though there are lots of undersized ones on the inshore reefs there are also some very good fish being taken, 130 cm. or thereabouts is the biggest I've heard of with several over the metre. The harbour is still full of bait and Kings, Salmon and Tailor are on their case, just look for the birds. Tight lines, Ivan

What a beautiful day Sunday was it was a pleasure to be at sea. According to the charts there was a good patch of water North of Sydney and some interesting stuff East of Browns. After hearing about the amount of bait North it was decided to give the Marlin a shot it was also this time last year we had a good run of Stripies in the same area, so off we went. Out around 70 fathoms the water was that colour we look for and there was scattered bait and birds searching all through the area. Further out and with the temperature rising so was the bait until eventually it was on the surface and there was acres of it. It didn't take long before we had jigged up enough large Slimies for the day, had them rigged and were off skipping the baits around the schools, expectations were running high. Over the radio we could hear boats down past the Southern canyons all chasing the Slimy schools and a couple of them had had hits I also believe that two had been tagged. There were a few boats trolling out wide catching Albacore - in past years November was the month for Albacore and Yellowfin maybe, just maybe... Some were fishing on the mountain getting the occasional Blue Eye and even Hapuka. In shore the Kings with some big ones amongst them are causing havoc and the harbour is still alive with Salmon and Tailor the Salmon being their usual frustrating selves and difficult to catch. Meanwhile we continued our trolling around the Slimies for no result but our expectation high. It was only when we turned for home and the schools had gone down that we had a strike. No one on board saw the fish, it took a good run but didn't hook up. After pulling the bait in it was apparent it had been a Marlin, some small consolation but it had been a good day with good company... I will be taking Ambition to Port Stephens in mid-January for three months so if Marlin are what you want join me up there. For any more experienced anglers I am still available for the Port Stephens Shoot-out, call or message me... Tight lines, Ivan

Caught yakkas pretty easily in the Harbour at first light them motored through calm seas past whales to a close reef Kings a plenty