Game Fishing December…
We took Zack an American who was basically a freshwater fisherman out on Saturday. He had had no experience at Game Fishing December off Sydney but was keen to give it a go.
The sea was a little joggly as we left the heads but a hell of a lot better than it had been on Friday. There was still a good swell running but it got lower the further out we went and the wind eased giving us beautiful conditions.
We put the lures in fairly close to shore and visited the inshore reefs and FADs in the hope of an early season Black sadly with no result even though there was plenty of bait and the water looked good. Continuing on we reached the shelf still with no action but there was bait in patches down deep and still no bird activity.
In the distance I could see lots of splashes which as we approached turned out to be Dolphins balling up some type of baitfish and charging through them. I worked the area until the action dissipated again with no result.
At Last…
They say all comes to he who waits, but that is also true of those who put the time in.
I don’t know where I was, lost in some sort of reverie when I nearly jumped out of my skin brought back to reality by Ron yelling… Marlin!
I looked back to see a Striped Marlin hitting the short corner and doing what Stripies do best and missing the lure. But Ron had been trained well and teased the fish to the point where he dropped the lure into its waiting mouth – and we were hooked up solid, some would say at last.
Zack took the rod and for someone who had never used the gear handled it like a pro. The fish was a stubborn one and by the time we released it Zack was as beaten as the fish. He’ll never feel the same about Northern Pike and Muskies.
The only other thing we saw on the day was a very large and very dead Sunfish which I imagine had been hit by something very large.
So that was the day. It was good to come back with a result and knowing there is bait out there hopefully starting the food chain. And hopefully ending a very long fruitless run of fishing.
Tight lines,
Ivan
P.S. : I hadn’t planned on taking Ambition up to Port Stephens next year for the Marlin season but I have access to another boat and will be available from mid-January until the end of March for charters.
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