A late season Striped Marlin, late season Striped Marlin are more common than most would think. SGFC records show that Striped Marlin have been caught in every month of the year.

I took Zakk and his friends from North Carolina out on Sunday. Zakk was keen to catch his first Marlin. However, after the weather we’d experienced over the previous week I had no idea what to expect. The charts only displayed the ocean currents which didn’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.

Browns Mountain

Just inside Browns I marked a bait school it wasn’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 ‘J’ 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 you’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 photo’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. I Noticed the current was coming from the East, not a very hopeful sign, however hoping we might find another Stripy around the shelf.

Unfortunately, we didn’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

• All lure used unless otherwise specified are Pakula Lures .

Thursday…

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. Were there Marlin to be found…

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…

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.

http://www.ambitioncharters.com.au

Tight Lines,
Ivan

Ambition Report 18th.April’25

Mark’s Marlin was a great start to the tournament. Sadly Mark’s Marlin was the only one we saw all week-end.

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 Connor’s day to catch a Marlin. However Connor’s day turned into a two Marlin day.

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 long liners 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.

 

Striped Marlin…

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.

Black Marlin…

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

It was a beautiful day as we headed out to sea with Wang and his group. The Marlin bite was continuing off Sydney but with more action further down the coast yet still enough up here to be confidant about.

I headed up towards the ‘Bait Station’ but listening to the radio it seemed pretty quiet with more action a few miles further North. Consequently, because it was just that little bit too far I decided to head East to see if I could find the Yellowfin that Rob on ‘On Call’ had found previously. There were a couple of Long Liners about so I was half confidant. As it happened I didn’t find them but Rob did later in the day.

We got our first strike just inside Browns, again a blind strike. The Marlin just took off and by the time the crew was ready it was a long, long way off. As you can see in the video there was a lot of angler changes. I think there is a new style of angling becoming the fashion, ‘Tag Team Fishing’. Though it is funny to watch, it is extremely frustrating…they always pick the wrong time to change over. Doubly frustrating an overheat alarm went off on one of my engines. Fortunately the fish was close and we managed to release it without too many problems.

Because of the overheat I had to shut down the engine and we continued to troll on one motor. Shortly after I noticed a ‘kill slick‘ with a few birds working it. So I went over and headed up wind from it and was rewarded with another strike and another Stripy took to the air. This Marlin took a bit of doing without the manoeuvring ability of two engines. After what had become a regular routine the Tag Team anglers eventually brought the fish to the boat and released it.

I must say though, this current ‘Tag Team’ added a new variant to the theme in that they included my decky in their routine. In fact he did most of the work, both fighting the two fish and tracing them too, very versatile indeed and extremely tiring.

Tight Lines,

Ivan