We left Sydney for Port Stephens on Friday at 5am. in great conditions for the run up North. The plan was to run to an area just South of the Norah Canyons and work our way up to the ‘Car Park’ then into Port.

We set the lures at about 8:30 with great expectations in 22.5 degree water of the right colour.

It took about an hour before we got our first strike which was unseen and didn’t jump at all during a screaming 200 metre run. We had just got everything organised when the hook pulled, disappointing but the expectation only increased.

Just on the inside edge of the Newcastle canyons another strike and as before unseen taking a screaming run. With the temp now over 23 degrees we thought maybe a Wahoo. But it didn’t take long before the fish revealed itself and much to our delight a nice Black Marlin proceeded to tear the ocean apart as only they can – I had no idea where he or she was going to come out next (there is a video in the post below shared from Greg Wall’s page ). For young Pat Easson ( Click here for video link ) this was potentially his first Marlin, he’d fought a couple before, he played it like a pro and after time Ron took the leader and the fish was released in good condition.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and after trolling around the ‘Car Park’ I turned Ambition towards Port and headed in with a very tired crew.

Saturday dawned on what was forecast to be NE winds 10 to 15 all day but it certainly wasn’t that. We caught bait and headed out in a very choppy sea with storm cells North and South of us.

To cut it short after marking a couple of fish early we saw nothing all day except the occasional small bait ball. The temperature had jumped up to over 26 degrees and the current was raging South. I did hear of some big Mahi Mahi and of a couple of Blue Marlin raised but it was a quiet day although there are some Blacks showing up inshore.

The change in conditions from Friday to Saturday was dramatic and that’s how it goes – tomorrow is another day…

Tight lines,
Ivan

The weather is looking good for my annual run up to Port Stephens on Friday. Still got room for a few booking over the next couple of months for potentially some of the best Game and Sports fishing to be had on this coast.

For any members of a Game Fishing Club I’ve had a cancellation for the Port Stephens Shoot-out in mid February if you’re interested…

Call me….

It’s finally happening, the Marlin have turned up and in good numbers too.

Over the last week or two there has been the occasional Blue and Striped Marlin around but finally the currents have moved in close, not that you’d know from the charts, bringing with it Striped Marlin in numbers as well as some good sized Mahi Mahi.

I went out yesterday on ‘ REAL SMART’ owned by Elena and Winston Smart and on a blinder of a day we raised six Stripies three of which had a go at the lures and all of which we lost for inane reasons that modesty forbids me to go into. Throughout the day we heard boats raising Marlin, I lost count of how many but many more were lost  than tagged.

I couldn’t get out today but had my ear firmly stuck to the radio and from what I heard there were more fish around today than yesterday with most boats finding at least one Stripy and several having multiple encounters. It was also painfully apparent that most of the fish were either dropped or there was great difficulty in hooking up. Anyone who has had any experience with Stripies will know the problem which can be overcome to a degree by switching or live baiting but it is a step up in technique with a crew that must be on the ball all the time.

As a point of interest one of our club boats ‘MIDNIGHT’ while returning to the harbour this morning found a Marlin cruising on the surface just outside the Heads. What is of interest is that it may be the start of the Blacks turning up off Sydney.

How long this bite will last is anyone’s guess but with some good weather predicted early in the new year you’d be crazy not to give it a shot.

Tight lines,
Ivan

I went out again today with one of my regular clients, Lee Morphy, he’d brought along two friends from the Philippines who hadn’t experienced Game Fishing before and were anxious to see what it is all about.

The idea was to have a shot at some Kingies of which there had been some big ones caught recently, one I saw weighed at the club went 20 kg. on the dot, in shore then head out to see what we could find. After quite a while at several different places we had only caught three baits so I decided to forego the Kings and head out wide and if we found any Dollies we would use the livies then.

I started trolling at the 12 Mile in beautiful water but it wasn’t until I’d reached the other side of a greenish coloured current that I found any action. There were birds scattered through the area and some bait showing at about 50 fathoms. By this time the sea had taken its toll on Lee’s friends who were hanging in but only just.

Finally I found something, a bait ball that must have been under attack for a while because when I found it it was only about 40 cm in diameter. There weren’t any Marlin around the ball but there did appear to be some small tuna giving it their best. Anyway after each time I presented our lures to the bait the ball had decreased in size a little until after my fourth pass I couldn’t find it anymore and the birds had scattered.

We continued on our way eventually turning for home making our visitors feel instantly a bit happier. I’d heard on the radio through out the day of a few Marlin tagged and some Blue Marlin lost also some Dollies and a Spearfish –  the warm Southerly current was settling in and bringing down the goodies. I came in over the 12 Mile with no result and I suggested pulling the lures in but my deckie, Pat, said five minutes more and then after five minutes had passed he said another five so in beautiful conditions and now calm seas we continued on.

Well we had just passed the Nine Mile when the long rigger went of on a screaming run, Lumo accounted for another one. After a good fight we tagged a nice Striped Marlin and all thoughts of sea sickness were gone, elation and excitement took over.

Two Marlin in two days of fishing, doesn’t sound like much but off Sydney at present with the conditions on each day so different I thought we had done pretty well.

Tight lines,
Ivan

I went out today planning to go have a shot at the Kings in close and on the inshore reefs but  that plan didn’t work too well as I couldn’t get any live bait and after losing a couple of jigs to Jackets at the 12 mile – just gave up . So it was off to try and find the warm water in the Southerly current which according to the charts was just inside Heatons . We hadn’t been trolling for more than about 15 minutes when there was a hit on one of the lures, Lumo Sprocket, of course immediately drawing everyone’s attention to the lure in question, but nothing until a few seconds later the rigger went off but still nothing showed though line was peeling off.

Whatever it was stayed deep leaving us to question what we had hooked. Guesses were everything from a Striped tuna to a spearfish or even a Wahoo though the run wasn’t nearly fast enough. Suddenly the fish just took off heading for the bottom bringing the possibility of a big Tuna into play.

Anyway it changed direction again and started coming up and then it jumped not 20 feet behind the boat, there was little doubt now about what it was since everyone on board excitedly yelled Marlin. It took a bit longer to subdue the fish because it was wrapped in the leader – we did eventually release a nice 70 kilo Striped Marlin.

After photo’s and congratulations we headed off again to find the current which to my surprise had moved in and was just over the shelf, the temperature jumping to 23.2 and the current increased to nearly 2 knots.

After zig zagging along the break for a while I found a float and as we trolled past it  a beautiful Dolly jumped on putting on a great show for us before succumbing to the gaff. There were lots of Dollies hanging under this float as well as lots of very small Kingfish but they just would not bite.

That was it for the day’s action – it had been a good day…

Tight lines,
Ivan

It looks like the Southerly current is slowly moving inshore but  the low is blocking its passage. However there were a number of Marlin encountered, I heard of at least three tagged and one lost, over the week-end as well as a showing of Tiger sharks and Mahi Mahi  also, all indicative of the warmer water being out there. At present or at least a couple of days ago there was a good Marlin bite between Port Stephens and Port Macquarie producing both Blues and Stripes – hopefully the current will move close enough in the next couple of weeks for us to get a shot at them.

As a consequence of the Southerly current being held out wide the current in closer is slow enough for Brown’s to be fished and quite successfully by all accounts, producing Blue Eye and some Gemmies too.

In shore Kingies still reign supreme with most of the inshore reefs holding good numbers of undersized or just legal fish with some really good ones amongst them. Apparently the difficulty is finding live bait which is essential for the bigger fish.

So with the ‘Hot’ currents getting closer every day and anticipation running high its time to get out there because by the time you hear about it, it could be too late…

Tight lines,
Ivan

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

There is not much to be said for the Game fishing at present. I couldn’t make it out and from what I’ve heard I missed nothing. It would appear that there is a lot of bait around, so the stage is set I guess it just needs a change in the currents to set the action off.

It sounded like there were lots of boats out there trying on the week-end but the only  action I heard was from Jack Doyle’s boat ‘TAINUI 11’ on losing a Striped Marlin after a short fight. I did hear from Jeff Manson of ‘SPINDRIFT’  that there is a reasonable Snapper bite happening down South.

Inshore the Kings are still there on the inshore reefs and along the cliffs and for those who like protected waters the harbour is alive with pelagics ; Tailor, Salmon, Trevally, the ubiquitous Flathead and some really good sized Kings for those who know how or are just plain lucky.

Well being the eternal optimist and patience being the key it’s only a matter of time before it all comes together, so until then…

Tight lines,
Ivan

With what looked to be a half reasonable day on Sunday with offshore wind in the morning turning onshore and easing in the afternoon I decided it was worth a shot and I really wanted to see what was happening out wide.

We headed out and as expected the wind started to come away.  Just then I started marking bait, at around 70 fathoms and I also heard ‘Gale Force’ had had two hits in that depth but further North, one that Mike confirmed was a Marlin the other uncertain.

We started trolling at the 12 mile and I was surprised that there wasn’t the indications of Kings that I’d see there last Wednesday.  We continued out and the water was getting cooler as the charts were showing, but there was supposed to be a break between Browns and Heatons so on we went. In the mean time the wind was increasing and around the shelf the swell really picked up from the SE and with the Westerly doing a good 20 knots created quite a steep sea.

It wasn’t until we were in about 1000 fathoms that the temperature started to rise again and the water colour cleared up with Mutton birds searching the area becoming more apparent. We continued on but again the temperature started to drop, most disheartening, so the decision was made to go back inside the shelf where ‘Gale Force’ had had the strikes.

By now the wind had shifted to the SSE so the troll back was quite comfortable. At 80 fathoms I found a mass of bait being savaged by Striped Tuna. With great expectations we followed the action for a considerable time then it just disappeared and we’d had enough – it was time to go home – we’d given it a good shot.

Frustratingly when I checked the SST charts at home I found we would have only had to go another three or four miles to find the break – that is if you believe in the accuracy of the charts…

Tight lines,
Ivan