Ambition report 28th.May'18
May 28, 2018 Sydney 3 photos
Tuna (Yellowfin)
Tuna (Yellowfin)
Marlin (Striped)
Marlin (Striped)
Shark (Mako)
Shark (Mako)
Shark (Tiger)
Shark (Tiger)

Trip Summary

Striped Marlin and Mako Sharks as well as Tigers were all the news off Sydney last week-end. Two Tiger Sharks over 450 kgs. were taken as well as another of unknown size lost after several hours of fighting. With the thought of XOS Tiger sharks in mind I went out with Glen and Karen to see if we could find one for their daughter Makira. We headed out on Sunday to the eighty fathom line off Long Reef where we planned to start our trail. On nearing the area we found large numbers of Gannets diving on schools of bait fish. It was more than one group too. We could see several gatherings all in roughly the eighty fathom area. With so much bait around this had to be a good place to start. With baits set at varying depths on a couple of 15's and 24's and the kids punching the burly, it was that time of waiting. I must say there is something really pleasant about shark fishing, other than the smell and mess. It is quiet and peaceful with a tangible sense of expectation as all on board watch the floats for any sign of movement. After about an hour one of the reels starting slowly ticking off drawing everyone's attention. The speed increased then the fish took a run. Makira took the rod and wound in the belly of line and struck when Glen told her. She had weight and was hooked up. Unusually the fish stayed near the surface then we saw a splash as a bill and head broke the surface. We had a Marlin and after a reasonable fight Makira brought a good sized Striped Marlin to the boat where it was tagged and released - not the 400 kg Tiger we were hoping for but a nice surprise. All the gear was re-set and again we settled in, watching and waiting. The currents were doing strange thing though. We had drifted through two strong current lines. Now our deep baits were on one side of the boat while our burly was going in the opposite direction. This was obviously due to the very light breeze but still indicated a deeper current going opposite to the surface current. Hopefully our burly was heavy enough to reach the deeper water. It took a while then at the witching hour a small Mako turned up taking scraps off the surface. We drifted a bait out but no takers and after about ten minutes he/she disappeared. Shortly after our deep bait on 15 kg. started to run and again Makira took the rod and under Dad's instruction struck the fish. This one took a couple of runs and went deep, this had to be the Tiger. The fish continued to take line with the occasional head shakes causing concern. Eventually Makira started to gain line, slowly at first then steadily. After nearly an hour of give and take she had the double up and we got our first view of the fish. Howy took the leader and much to everyone's dismay brought up a 30 to 40 kilo Mako hooked in the tail. I don't think anyone could believe a Mako that size could fight as hard as this one had. So that was the day, we'd tagged a Striped Marlin and a Mako shark. I heard of another boat losing a Striped Marlin and that Browns was fishing well. Generally it seem it was a very quiet day off Sydney. Tight lines, Ivan
Ivan Bennett
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Other reports from this captain

Ambition report 11th.March’24
Ambition report 11th.March’24
March 12, 2024
Autumn has always been the best time of year for Game Fishing out of Sydney. Generally speaking, this is when we encounter the larger fish of the species rather than numbers. Although having said that this Autumn has been exceptional, so far. Over the last couple of weeks both Blue and Striped Marlin as well as Mahi Mahi have shown up in numbers off Sydney. The Mahi Mahi as is usual are found around the various F.A.D’s with live bait producing the bigger fish, being the first boat at the spot helps as they can become spooky when there is too much boat traffic. As for the Marlin, they could be anywhere. Usually however, if you find the bait you’ll find the Marlin, but not always. Sometimes you’ll find the bait before the Marlin, as a friend of mine, Steve Baker (Fly By Night) did. He found heaps of bait well North of the ‘Bait Station’, worked it for several hours for no result. The next day Rob Molnar in his boat ‘On Call’ had a blinder of a day raising fourteen Marlin in that same area. On the day Steve found the bait North of the ‘Bait Station’ I was out with Jamie McKay on ‘Ground Swell’ fishing an area a couple of miles South of them where there was scattered bait. We had a great day too. We’d already bagged out on Mahi Mahi and ended up raising eight Marlin of which we tagged three, all Blues ranging from 130 kg. to 180 kg. We should have had two more but for a broken hook and another mishap which I will not go into, if you want more info just ask Jamie. From what I heard on the radio almost everyone fishing for Marlin over the last week or so have caught or raised Marlin with many being pack attacked by Stripies. Around the shelf area where the bait tends to stack up is where most of the action for them has been. But out around Browns both North and South out to four hundred fathoms there have been Stripies and Blues with the occasional sighting of Yellowfin tuna. Frustratingly Stripies are habitually finicky when it comes to lures and tough to hook so ‘Bait and Switch’, live baiting as well as skipping baits is the most effective method to hook them though teasing them on lures works too. What to me is most interesting is the water temperature. We were reading 28.5 degrees which I confirmed with other boats. In the past we’d consider 27 degrees too hot and look for cooler water. Yet here we are with a great bite and much hotter water. I suppose one answer is that our on-board gauges have a limited range over which they are accurate. Another potential answer is these above high temperatures are only a surface layer of maybe only a metre or two in depth leaving the bait below in a more comfortable zone. Well whatever is happening the fishing is great and if it keeps up the S.G.F.C’s annual Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament on the 13th. and 14th. April will be awesome. It is at this tournament where we have regularly weighed Blue Marlin over two hundred kilo’s with several over three hundred kilo’s also Yellowfin tuna over seventy kilo. For those that chase sharks big Tigers are a regular at the weigh station. So, the Marlin are there and if you don’t go … Tight lines, Ivan
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Ambition report 15th.December’23
Ambition report 15th.December’23
December 15, 2023
I was keen to get out today after being out last Monday when we raised a Striped marlin but sadly missing the hook up. However I was surprised today to see how conditions had changed. On Monday the inshore water temperature was around the 23 C which is unusual enough for this time of year but offshore at 300 fathoms I read 25.2 C a temperature more normally found in February and March. Even allowing for error in my temperature guage the STC’s were showing 24.7 C, so it couldn’t have been too far out. Today the inshore waters were a more normal 21.7 degrees but dirty green probably from the rainwater runoff. However offshore, past the shelf, it was still over 24 degrees and a beautiful blue. The colour which induces confidence even if it is unseasonably warm. We trolled towards Browns where we raised the Marlin on Monday when in roughly the same area the rigger with ‘Pakula Lumo’ took off at a rate of knots. Surprisingly even though both Ron and I were watching the lures neither of us saw the hookup. The Marlin jumped once and just raced off on one huge run leaving poor Cuyler (I hope I got his name right) an awful lot of line to get back. He did eventually get the Marlin which turned to the boat and released it. Then while Ron was resetting the gear the rigger with ‘Pakula Lumo’ went off again sadly this time it didn’t hook up. We had another strike later in the day on ‘Brad’ by what I thought was either a Wahoo or a Spearfish but again no hookup. It was only because of the water temperature that I even considered a Wahoo a fish not often seen around Sydney these days. What this unseasonal warm ( hot ) water might mean to the Sydney fishery is going to be anyone’s guess. Will it continue to warm up?, seems most likely. Will it bring more tropical species down here? , hopefully but whether this is good thing or bad thing is another question. Will is push our Striped Marlin fishery South?, I hope not. I am sure there are many other questions and likelyhoods but whatever the end result it will be interesting. Tight lines, Ivan
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Ambition report 26th.November’23
Ambition report 26th.November’23
November 24, 2023
I took Joe and his wife, from Florida, out last Friday on what turned out to be beautiful day at sea. The sea calm and the rain cleared as we headed out. Joe had experience having caught Sailfish and Mahi Mahi in his home waters in the Carribean. However he hadn’t caught a Marlin and that was his ambition, no pun intended. So we headed out and after hearing of Mahi Mahi around the FAD’s did a couple of circuits around the Sydney FAD with no result so headed out over the twelve mile to the shelf. Just past the twelve the current picked up and the temperature started to climb and the water turning that beautiful blue and 22.5 C. I started to mark bait around the shelf and out to around 140 fathoms but it was very patch and obviously not being harassed. On approaching Browns I saw another boat and it looked like they were fighting a fish which was confirmed when I saw a Marlin jumping. Turns out it was a boat called ‘HotRod’. Later on they told me that they had a 2.5 metre Blue Marlin on board which had sadly died during the fight. Spirits were now high and expectation great. Further out as I was watching the Mutton birds migrating South I could see that some patches were circling and indeed working an area. I concentrated on them for a while and though it was obvious they were on something I couldn’t make out what it was and nothing was marking on the sounder. Subsequently as I move further North I saw several more patches of birds working the same way. I have in the past seen similar behaviour when the Mutton birds were chase Flying fish in that hey scare the fish into taking flight then pounce on them. Then Ron screamed out Marlin! and there behind the short corner was a Striped Marlin coming up behind ‘Evil’ mouth open and ready to eat. Ron dropped the lure back but no hook up. The Marlin came back onto the lure, Ron teased it a little then dropped it back and this time hooked up and the fish took off. It was a very stubborn fish and I actually thought it might be a Blue which stayed deep and made Joe really work for it. However, he did eventually get the fish up and we released a good ninety to a hundred kilo Striped Marlin. It was getting late by then so I turned for home anticipating my next trip out into the blue. Tight lines, Ivan
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