Sydney’s strange winter of fishing continues.
Under the influence of the warm water offshore the Tuna that we are all chasing have all but disappeared with the exception of the waters a little further South where the occasional fish has been found.
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I spent the week end chasing the Tuna all to no avail but found huge amounts of slimies around the shelf area. So much that I jigged some for bait and trolled them alive around the bait schools feeling sure there would be a Marlin or two hanging around. We actually got a strike and thought we were in but when I looked back there was a bl–dy seal enjoying our slimy so that was the end of that. In fact over the last couple of weeks there have been more Marlin encountered, and good sized Stripies too, than anything else, except for Kings which are still hanging around the local reefs and being hammered by the local drop liners.
The only problem with the Striped Marlin is that of keeping them hooked up. One boat, who may not wish to be named had the good fortune to raise three of them on Sunday and the misfortune to miss them all.
What I did find over the week end was the current is pushing to the North West, by the way not shown on any chart, which might indicate that the Tuna could return and bring with them the sharks that have been in numbers just South of us. A couple of boats ran into schools of Albacore just wide of Browns but they were very localised you would have had to be very lucky to find them but it must be taken as a positive.
Just to add to the weird fishing whilst we were pulling up a string of Gemmies on the mountain two really big Mahi Mahi followed them up but left just as quickly guess it was too cold for them. The Gemmies have increased in size and numbers making it more difficult to catch the Blue Eye but so far thankfully the sharks and seals have not turned up in numbers yet. This is not such a good thing as the Sydney Game Fishing Club’s annual Mako tournament is being held this week end, but we all know how quickly everything can change. The one unfortunate constant is the number of people flouting the bag limits on the mountain with a bit of luck it could end soon with fisheries and the police becoming more active and as a fringe benefit cracking down on the radio chatter which is, I can only describe as obscene, one can only wonder at what listeners must think of us fisher people.
Anyway the week end weather is looking up so Tight Lines,
Ivan
Saturday was much the same but with more boats out and again captures of Marlin, Mahi Mahi, small Yellowfin and some larger ones. I think some Bluefin were taken but they were further South. I decided to go out wide and wide of Heatons I found a nice break which I followed for a while and ultimately was rewarded with a triple strike. One was definitely a tuna which we lost, another was a Spearfish which we caught and the other an unknown which dropped the hook on its first run which was a screamer.
Well what a weekend we’ve just had, Yellowfin, Bluefin, Albacore and just to confuse the issue Mahi Mahi and Spearfish. You may well ask just what season we are in; it can’t be the middle of winter. The only problem is that you have to be on the spot to catch anything, the bite being short and sweet.
I went out again on Monday but the water had changed out wide with the break having been pushed in by the colder water – we caught nothing and to add to the frustration we had a school of Yellowfin come down our trail, leaping out of the water like torpedoes, and virtually under the boat without touching anything – Â you have to wonder how two days can be so different. Even the inshore reef fishing was quieter but that was mostly because a couple of pro’s were drop lining.
In even closer to shore on the reefs there are Kings on both Jigs and live bait or fresh squid with some good Snapper, as you would expect after the storms last week, for those in the know.
Started out with a jig at 12 Mile with limited success but managing one nice King of a metre before the jackets moved in. The sea was up a bit despite weather reports to the contrary. However we ventured out to the spot and started cubing. All was quiet except for the occasional upchuck but then as the sun was setting one of the rods went off, it wasn’t a ‘fin but it had us guessing – a Stripy, a shark or maybe even an Albacore – well after a short but solid fight Marty landed a Striped tuna of 8kgs. , thank God they don’t grow to the size of their bigger cousins.
The drift was over 4 knots due to wind and current so I was most surprised when one of the guys hooked up just before sunset, excitement was high and after the first half hour was even higher as we realised this was no small fish and the tackle was having very little effect on it.
 
Attached are a couple of shots of a Striped Marlin we caught late on Saturday…