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Ambition Report 20th.September’20

September 21, 2020 Ivan Leave a comment

The Mighty Yellowfin Tuna:

At last something to write about…

For weeks I have been hearing about the Yellowfin Tuna off Port Stephens and the Bluefin Tuna well out of reach down South not getting any closer than Kiama. The action well out reach of most Sydney based boats especially since the weather has been less than favourable.

Finally the mighty Yellowfin Tuna at least are getting closer.

I went out on Saturday a little more optimistic than usual because I’d noticed a couple of long liners working wide and North of Broken Bay. Also a warm current pushing down with the break almost within my reach. However I was a little apprehensive also since the weather report was a little bit iffy. We were going anyway, worst case scenario we’d be coming home with the weather best case the bureau was wrong.

We started trolling in 300 fathoms after passing through some very

green water of 18.5 degrees which was a lot better than the 17 at the shelf. There was still very little life , other than Whales and the occasional Albatross in the area. But with still 14 miles to the break. I noticed a blip on the radar, too small for a tanker and too large and far away for a Game boat, possibly a Long Liner. As we got closer to it , about 5 miles away, the water colour changed and warmed then out of the blue a double strike. After a relatively short fight we landed two Yellowfin 25 to 30 kilo’s.

A little hope…

Consequently I worked the area but there was no sign of life, still neither

birds nor bait so I moved on, out towards the Long Liner. After another hour of searching I decided to head back to where we caught the fish. You wouldn’t believe it, we were within a couple of hundred metres off the spot when we had another strike, this one a much bigger fish. After a solid fight that only a Yellowfin Tuna can put up we landed a 50 kilo fish much to the excitement of the crew , as you can hear in the video, who had never caught a Gamefish before.

And so we headed for home, thirty five miles away.

With some luck the current will move in closer and bring with it the Tuna and bait and hopefully some Marlin will follow.

Tight lines,
Ivan

Fishing Tackle :

Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle

Electronics :

Buoyweather
Bureau of Meteorology
Radar
Seabreeze
Weatherzone
Weather cams
Ripcharts
C.S.I.R.O.
N.S.W Bluelink

Ambition report 31st.May’20

May 31, 2020 Ivan Leave a comment

Bluefin off Sydney a couple of years ago…

As I look at my past reports I see that during last year’s May and June Yellowfin produced some really good fishing, most fish well over 55 kilo’s, here’s hoping…

Below are a couple of paragraphs from last year’s ‘Ambition Reports ‘….

‘Over the last few weeks Yellowfin tuna running between 25 and 70 kilo’s have been caught off Sydney. These fish are ranging over a wide area having been caught from wide and North of the ‘Bait Station’ all the way down the coast. Consequently they take a lot of finding and the changing conditions at sea every day don’t make it any easier. However once located the fun begins… if you’re lucky.’

Tuna time off Sydney... — Tuna time off Sydney…

‘Even though we arrived at the area late we managed this one fish and had another two strikes that sadly didn’t connect. I would have liked to stay until dark but the wind was picking up, probably doing 25 knots when we eventually left.

The bite was an early one and while we saw the end of it Markoo skippered by Benn Dullard had left port very early and managed four fish around the 35 kilo mark before we got there.

The area was alive. There were more than a few Sperm Whales obviously feeding. Also , Gannets all waiting for the tuna to push the bait to the surface.’

So with restrictions being lifted and competition fishing commencing on 1st. June (tomorrow) it is all starting to come together.

There was a Broadbill taken off the Southern Canyons yesterday and Ben Dullard on his boat ‘Markoo’ went out wide and found some Yellowfin tuna. The one he landed looked a good 60 to 65 kilo’s , unfortunately due to the current restrictions he couldn’t weight it, but that will change from tomorrow.

Unfortunately the weather is not looking too good for the next few days but Friday and Saturday look the goods. If you can trust predictions this far out.

Hopefully the fish will still be there…

Tight lines,
Ivan

LINKS…

Weather and Sea State

Fishing Tackle :

Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle

Electronics :

Furuno
Keogh’s Marine Electronics
Olectric Syste

Buoyweather
Bureau of Meteorology
Radar
Seabreeze
Weatherzone
Weather cams
Ripcharts
C.S.I.R.O.
N.S.W Bluelink

Ambition report 13th.March’20

March 13, 2020 Ivan Leave a comment

]Port Stephens to Sydney

I brought Ambition back from Port Stephens last Monday. I fished all the way down starting just North of the ‘Car Park ‘ trolling skip baits.

The plan was originally to come back on Sunday but due to the weather on Saturday my charter was pushed back to Sunday. Consequently we made the trip back from Port Stephens on Monday. Surprisingly the weather was pretty good as we left the Port even though the week-end’s weather pad been pretty ordinary.

On the Leader…

Blacks in action... — Adam takes the leader…

The plan was to run out North of the ‘Car Park’, find some bait and troll skippies for an hour or so then put out the lures and work our way back home to Sydney.

All went to plan, we found some bait and slowed down to put out the skippies, Adam had just put out one . Then as he was setting the second one it was pulled out of his hand and a good sized Black tore off at a million miles an hour, so to speak. This fish gave a good account of itself giving us a good run for our money however the 24 kg. inevitably took its toll and the Black was soon released. Excitement all round as it was the angler’s first marlin.

A good Black…

So, with one fish under our belt, with the baits deployed we started again. It took a little longer to find the second fish and a bit more difficult to finally hook it. This Black came in on one of the skipped baits , hit it and dropped back without getting hooked. We then put out a live bait which it again picked up and again no hook up. Then while we were waiting and hoping for it to take the live bait again the other skipped bait was taken while it was sinking and this time the Black was hooked.

It was a strange fight in that the fish , quite a large Black that we called at least 120kg., never took a run and didn’t even go deep as you’d expect from a Black , So after a very short fight we dully released the Marlin .

Continuing our trip down we had changed over to lures. Oddly just past the Newcastle canyons the water started going green and cooling. I went closer looking for better water, no go. I went out to 500 fathoms , no change. Conditions didn’t change for the rest of the run down. We did however get a strike from a good sized Striped Marlin on the Southern edge of the Norah Canyons. On examining the leader it was obviously the fish had been bill wrapped. The water was only 21.5 C , green and apparently lifeless.

Conditions don’t seem to be getting any better off Sydney as we approach what I’ve always considered the best time of year for our offshore fishing.

But ever being the optimist , it will get better.Nothing stays the same for long in the ocean.

Tight lines,
Ivan

LINKS…

Weather and Sea State

Fishing Tackle :

Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle

Electronics :

Furuno
Keogh’s Marine Electronics
Olectric Syste

Ambition report 21st.October’19

October 21, 2019 Ivan Leave a comment

Decisions, decisions, which way to go – do I go North or South, stay here or keep looking . These dilemmas are what I suppose most of us face every day we head out.

These were the thoughts going through my head as I headed out last Friday. In previous days other boats found Yellowfin East and South of Sydney between five hundred and a thousand fathoms. However I liked a patch of water showing on the charts to the North -East.

Because of the weather conditions I decided to go East, work my way South and come back with the wind.

Inside the shelf I found heaps of bait so put the lures out hoping for a Marlin which didn’t happen. We pushed on to the area were previous reports indicated Yellowfin encounters but there was no sign no life, no birds and no bait. I worked the area for a while to no avail. To save the day we put out a Stripy lure and caught a few Striped Tuna which as a fringe benefit cured some seasickness.

So Saturday came around and there was no decision to make. We were going North-East to the patch of water in three hundred fathoms.

Again , around the shelf there was a good build up of bait so we put the Marlin lures out in anticipation as well as a Stripy lure for insurance. We didn’t catch a Marlin but we did get a couple of Striped tuna. Then in the middle of nowhere the rigger with Blue Illusion went off and it definitely wasn’t a Stripy.

After a short fight before a very excited and less than experienced crew , as can be seen on the video, we landed a Yellowfin of around 25kgs. Photo’s taken we continued on. At this stage one of the clients who was quite sick started looking really bad with a couple of the others also looking the worst for wear. So with a nice fish on board we made the decision to head back. However since we were still in fishy waters I suggested we continue trolling for a little longer . Unbelievably another strike , Blue Illusion again, from obviously a much bigger fish this time and remarkably within a hundred metres of were we caught the first fish.

This Yellowfin went through two anglers and after and hour they brought to gaff. Back at the club it weighed in at 69 kilo’s.

Interestingly we caught both ‘fin on blind strikes with no indication of bait or bird life and in much shallower water than previous reports indicated. It makes you wonder just how many fish we drive over.

The other thing of interest is the build up of bait on and around the shelf . I don’t think it will be long before the Striped Marlin become more prevalent.

Tight lines,
Ivan

LINKS…

Weather and Sea State :
Buoyweather
Bureau of Meteorology
Radar
Seabreeze
Weatherzone
Weathercams
Ripcharts
C.S.I.R.O.
N.S.W Bluelink
Fishing Tackle :
Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle
Electronics :
Furuno
Keogh’s Marine Electronics
Olectric Systems

Ambition report 16th.September’19

September 16, 2019 Ivan Leave a comment

The offshore fishing off Sydney is all about the Fickle Yellowfin Tuna. Here one day gone the next. There are long liners working offshore so they must be somewhere.

After the spell of bad weather last week I was keen to get out on Friday since there had been a few ‘fin previously. The ocean still looked a bit lively on Friday morning but the decision was to go. So we set off.

I planned to run out to the shelf before putting the lures out. Unfortunately with wind against current I was forced to slow down and as it happened, fortunately.

The lures went out in about 70 fathoms, at least there was the chance of an early season Striped Marlin. Surprisingly it was only a few minutes after the lures went out that the shotgun, with you know what lure, screamed off. My first thoughts were of a Marlin, but no jumping and running too hard to be a Striped tuna. So you can imagine my surprise at seeing the yellow sickles of a 30 kilo Yellowfin in only 75 fathoms, something I haven’t seen in many a year. The interesting thing about this fish is that we caught it on the ‘Zero’ line. Maybe we should take more notice of it even when it is close inshore.

Photo’s taken and gear reset we continued on our way. My original aim was to reach the other side of the ‘Zero’ line in a thousand fathoms.

The further we moved offshore the greener and warmer the water, and also more lifeless . Then just inside the thousand fathom line we had a double strike. We saw no birds and no bait, absolutely no sign of life yet we were hooked up. We landed one of the fish, a Yellowfin about 30 kilo’s but lost the other when it crossed one of the the lines as it was being cleared.

After Friday’s fishing I was keen to get out again on Sunday. Unfortunately at the last minute my clients cancelled their charter so I never made it out . However after talking to some of my friends who were out it appears as though the fish have moved on again. Though they found long lines and Long liners setting their gear I didn’t hear of anything caught off Sydney but there was some action around the Norah canyons.

Even the Kingfish are playing hard to get. One reef one day another the next. However they are still making an appearance in the harbour especially middle harbour.

Until next time…

Tight lines,
Ivan

LINKS…

Weather and Sea State :

Buoyweather
Bureau of Meteorology
Radar
Seabreeze
Weatherzone
Weathercams
Ripcharts
C.S.I.R.O.
N.S.W Bluelink

Fishing Tackle :

Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle

Electronics :

Ambition report 5th.September’19

September 5, 2019 Ivan Leave a comment

Sydney tuna fishing is fickle at present but not to the North and South. Yellowfin and Albacore are still to the South with some still to the North. However, it was looking promising off Sydney last week before the weather set in. So I was really keen to get out there once it settled down.

Last Sunday was the day, so off we went. Latest reports indicated

the Southern Canyons and further South was the place to be and that’s where the ‘zero’ line was within range. On the way we saw lots of Whales out wide travelling South, a reminder to be careful on our return. We had just crossed into five hundred fathoms when I saw birds working and showers of what we thought were Sauries showering. Over the next couple of hours we saw several bust ups but they were difficult to approach. However I did get close enough to one school to elicit a strike and hook up. Rob did a good job on the fish and landed a 30 kilo Yellowfin. By the time we put the gear back in the water the area had gone dead, no birds, no baitfish and no tuna, I still don’t know how they can just disappear like that.

We kept on hunting and covered quite a lot of ocean seeing nothing until about 3:30pm. It started with a few birds appearing then the Sauries followed by the ‘fin. Unfortunately I couldn’t get near them and it was time to head for home. Incidentally one of my friends who stayed out had two hookups later in the day .

And then the weather did its thing so I had to wait another few days to get out again to what I thought was the start of the run. Unfortunately when we did get out everything had changed. The water was green and lifeless. Again I headed down to the Southern canyons but radio talk indicated it wasn’t worth it. So I turned East heading for Heatons, had to try something. At around eight hundred fathoms we had a blind strike which most surprisingly turned out to be a Mahi Mahi of about 6kilo’s, strange times. To finish the day we did some cubing until dark and again saw nothing.

I learned after returning that a couple of Yellowfin were taken off Broken Bay and a couple further South of the Southern Canyons.

What the future holds is anyone’s guess but I’ll still be out there looking.

Tight lines,
Ivan

Fishing Tackle :

Pakula Tackle
Global Tackle
Otto’s Tackle
Melton Tackle
Aftco
Campbell’s Pro Tackle

Electronics :

Ripcharts
CSIRO
Bureau of Meteorology
N.S.W.
Bluelink
Archived Fishing Reports
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Ambition report 29th. October’18

October 29, 2018 Ivan Leave a comment

November often sees an early run of the pelagics i.e. Mahi Mahi and Marlin. As the warmer water up North really starts pushing down the shelf it bring with it the first of these oceanic wanderers.

However this October, after what has seemed the longest run of bad weather and bad timing as far as Charters goes, has come alive. For those who could take advantage of a break in the weather last week the rewards were there. Don’t get me wrong you’ll still have to work for the results but at least we know it isn’t futile.

The last time I was out conditions looked good. I found blue water nearly 22 degrees with birds searching and small schools of bait down fifteen fathoms. It felt like it was going to happen. I noticed small tuna hitting the swivels on the bigger rigs so put out a feather jig and started catching Striped Tuna. So the bait is there.

Marlin doing it thing... — Marlin doing it thing…

For those who haven’t heard ; at Port Stephens Paul Leaming’s boat ‘Hoodlum’ tagged a good sized Blue Marlin and raised another. Off Broken Bay the Findlay’s boat ‘Murrifin’ also tagged a good sized Blue Marlin. It doesn’t end there. I have also heard of at least one big Mahi Mahi and another Spearfish.

I think the big question is will this season’s run of Marlin, especially the Blues, be as good as the last one ?

Though the current is pushing hard some of the boats bottom dropping are getting results, Blue Eye and Deep Sea Perch being the main catch.

I don’t know how the wider reefs are going for Kings. The last time I was out there was nothing but that changes daily. Closer in shore and in the harbour is where most of the Kingfish action is to be found.

In short, if Game Fishing is your thing the action is definitely on the up. But as is usual the weather is the enemy.

Tight lines,
Ivan

LINKS to…