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.
On Saturday I left late presuming to stay out until dark and do some cubing. We passed over Browns the current and wind making it very difficult to have a drop so on we went. A couple of miles past the mountain the shot gun was smashed and after a long hard fight Mikko landed a Yellowfin of around 50kg. we continued on and heard on the radio that Gale Force who had been fishing the mountain had had a multiple hook up on Bluefin near where we had caught the Yellowfin, obviously we turned back. In roughly the same area we’d caught the ‘fin we had a doubly hook up excitingly thinking ‘Bluefin at last’. But alas they were two more Yellowfin both in the 45 to 50 kg. range. It makes you wonder what your values are when you can be disappointed at catching great fish like that.
Throughout the day there were boats hooking both Bluefin and Yellowfin all along the coast South of Browns but there was no single concentration where everyone was getting them.
Sunday was a totally different kettle of fish, no pun intended, with calm seas and light winds every man and his dog was out there searching with very few finding. There were a few Yellowfin and Bluefin taken but it was hard going though at least in ideal conditions. The surprises were in the Mahi Mahi and Spearfish that were caught and good sized ones too.
Hopefully the main body of Bluefin haven’t passed us yet and the best is yet to come, here’s hoping…
Tight lines,
Ivan
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…
The numbers of Blue Marlin this year is just phenomenal I have never seen a run like it. There was the occasional big Blue, I mean over 200 kg., amongst them but the smaller fish probably averaging 130 to 150 kg. were just as explosive initially but a lot easier to handle with the benefit of being able to tag and release them.