Tag Archives: The Peak

Fishing Reports

Ambition report 29th. November’20

Leave a comment
Sydney Fishing…
Off Sydney fishing –  as I sit here listening to 30 knots of North Westerly howl against the windows, I am glad I’m not at sea. Especially so because the fishing off Sydney has been less than mediocre.
Off Sydney the Kingfish bite has been the only positive scene outside. The Kingies have been biting well with lots of fish over the magic metre.
A metre Kingy...
A metre Kingy…
The only problem, well one of the only problems is in locating the fish. The Kings are ranging between the inshore, offshore, harbour and coastal reefs, only by checking out the various spots or good intel will allow you to locate them.
Consequently the other problem is that as soon as word gets out every man and his dog jumps in. Therefore those who find the Kings are being very secretive, some to the point of distraction but who can blame them. On a couple of occasions I have seen up to forty boats on one spot. I’m sure they must spook the schools with all their sounders pinging the depths.
Kingfish....
Kingfish….
On the couple of occasions I have had a shot at the Kingfish bait was a problem for me, probably because I start out too late. However perseverance pays off and by avoiding all the boats on the regular spots I found enough. Ironically when I did get onto the fish the biggest a 105 cm. fish was taken on a jig.
Game fishing…
Offshore Game fishing has been for the most part hopeless. There are increasing sightings of Marlin and a couple caught. Yellowfin are also still showing up but generally to the South, from the Southern canyons down past Woollongong. To give an idea how poor the Game fishing is off Sydney at present all I heard about from last week-end was Sydney boat ‘Gale Force’ managing an Albacore near Browns and the Botany Bay boat ‘Marquis’ a decent Yellowfin and someone on a a trailer boat catching a Striped Marlin.
At this time of year most club anglers are out there vying for their prestigious ‘First Marlin’ trophy. Looking at the latest currents and Altimetry it all seems to be coming together. The Zero line is within reach and there is some current from the North wider offshore pushing in. All we need now is for the weather to be kind.
Tight lines,
Ivan
LINKS…

P.S.  I will be available at Port Stephens from 1st.February for the month a must especially for those who want to have the best chance at catching a Marlin. If this year’s results are any indication of what to expect next yearit should be a great season – Call me…

Fishing Reports, Home, Uncategorized

Ambition report 13th.March’20

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…
A nice Black...
A nice 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  

Buoyweather
Bureau of Meteorology
Radar
Seabreeze
Weatherzone
Weather cams
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 Syste

Fishing Reports, Home

Ambition report 30th.October’19

Leave a comment

Spring Gamefishing is always a bit hit and miss but this Spring has been more unusual than most. The weather has been fickle and the currents even more so.

Day One:

I went out late last week during a break in the weather . The charts showed some good water East of Browns  and some colder  water out a bit further, the edge was the target. There  was a build up of bait just inside the shelf. So, hoping for that first Marlin the lures were put out.

Yellowfin Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna

Amazingly from just outside the shelf  to about 250 fathoms there was huge amounts of bait. I can truly say I have only seen bait like that at Port Stephens. Needless to say I worked it for a while , didn’t mark anything so after about an hour moved wider to the temperature break.

On the way there was still a lot of bait but in smaller schools. The whole scene looked very fishy and just to prove it as I started to work the area we hooked a  Yellowfin of around 25 kilo’s which made the inexperienced angler work for it. Their excitement was palpable.

Yellowfin Tuna
Yellowfin Tuna
Day Two:

I went out again on Sunday with some friends and club members. This time aiming for that first Marlin. After all the bait I had seen on my previous trip it had to be on the cards.

I couldn’t believe how much the water had changed. Inshore the water was blue and 20 degree but as we approached the shelf it got cooler and cooler. There was still plenty of bait around the shelf so out went the lures.

Strangely even though the water was getting cooler there was still huge amounts of bait out to 300 fathoms. A couple of boats South of me reported similar bait build ups. I surmise  there was a warmer current below the cooler surface . Well we continued out but this time I was marking good fish deep around the bait. I made the decision to bring in my shotgun (Brad ‘J’) and put out a  ‘Bluewater Livy’ . The idea was to stop the boat and let it drop into the bait school when I marked bigger fish around them.

As it happened the first time I tried it we hooked up. After a good fight that took two anglers we landed a Yellowfin of around 45 kilo’s. We continued, optimistism running high, unfortunately no more hook ups.  Later in the day and well away from the bait I marked what I thought was a Marlin. Sure enough the ‘Lumo’ went off but no hookup. I knew I shouldn’t have left that ‘Bluewater Livy’ out there because Murphy stepped in and it went off in a screaming run and then just stopped.

A lesson learned, like most , the hard way.

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

Home…

Fishing Reports, Home, Uncategorized

Ambition report 21st.October’19

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.

Yellow gold
October Yellowfin

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.

October Yellowfin

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.

October Yellowfin

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

Home…

Fishing Reports, Home

Ambition report 30th. Sept’19

Leave a comment

Unseasonal seems to be the catch cry at present. Even though the water temperature is  quite normal for this time of year  there have been species off Sydney that normally aren’t seen until the summer currents  come in.

Though we do often see a run of bigger Mahi Mahi in November a few have turned up  over the last couple of months in cold water. On Friday John Sartori in his new boat caught a good sized Spearfish  that he estimated at 40kgs. and yesterday both Rob Curry and we on Ambition both hooked Spearfish also.  Spearfish normally show up in the warmest water with Blue Marlin not in 19 degrees. Over winter a couple of Tiger sharks turned up . Whereas the normal run of Mako’s and Blue sharks didn’t eventuate  nor did the  much anticipated run of Bluefin.

We went out on Saturday in less than favourable conditions but it was forecast to abate . Also I know how Yellowfin like rough water. It was getting rough past the 12 mile so we put out the lures in anticipation.   All was going well until we reached the current, a Southerly current of at least 2knots and  the sea really stood up. The plan was to work down the edge of the current staying outside the rough water until I was South of Browns then to work out wider with the following sea.  Well the best made plans of mice and men, what was supposed to abate went the other way and the wind was doing a steady 25 knots.

The new plan was to run in, catch some live bait and hopefully a King. This plan worked until it came to catching a King and after a fruitless hour or two we gave up and returned to the club. The funny thing was that after the clients left, Rob my deckhand decided to put out one of the livies while we cleaned up. As luck would have it he ended up the a 70cm King.

Sunday was the opposite of Saturday, calm seas and a light breeze, hard to believe it was the same ocean. Without going into to much detail we trolled out to the thousand fathom line then worked North. We saw lots of Whales and Dolphins but little else. The radio however was really annoying. Yellowfin everywhere were the constant calls which would have been great  but they where all off Kiama, I had to turn the radio off.

I picked up a boat in the distance which looked like a long liner so headed towards it.  To cut a long story short as we approached  the boat we had a strike on the short corner. At first it looked like a Marlin doing its window wiper  imitation.  However as it settled down I could see it was much too small for a Marlin and was in fact a Spearfish.

So, that was the weekend two totally different days but both frustrating.

Tight lines,
Ivan

P.S.  – I will be in Port Stephens from mid-January until mid-March and am taking bookings now…

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

Home…

Fishing Reports, Home, Uncategorized

Ambition report 16th.September’19

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.

Inshore Yellowfin
Inshore Yellowfin

 

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.

September Yellowfin
September Yellowfin

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 :

Furuno
Keogh’s Marine Electronics
Olectric Systems

Home…

Fishing Reports, Home, Uncategorized

Ambition report 5th.September’19

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

Robs Yellowfin

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.

Robs Yellowfin

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 .

Out of season Mahi Mahi
Out of season Mahi Mahi

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.

Out of season Mahi Mahi
Out of season Mahi Mahi

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

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

Home…

 

 

Fishing Reports, Home

Ambition report 18th.August’19

Leave a comment

Albacore and Kingfish were the name of the game  off Sydney last week. However  there  were enough encounters with Yellowfin  to keep the hope alive. Unfortunately  since then the weather has intervened  and looks like  doing so for another few days.  So we must wait. Sadly it looks as though the ‘Low’ system that held the Yellowfin up North moved through very quickly but last Wednesday we were still able to reach the Northern edge.

I went out primarily to chase Kingfish but then to go wide and if conditions permitted to have a late afternoon cubing session.

With Wahyu from ‘Global Tackle’ and Lloyd we headed out. We didn’t take any live bait just jigs. A moderate Westerly was blowing but not enough to stop us. When we reached the reef there were a  few boats as well as a ‘Pro’ drop lining .  A quick pass over the area to locate the fish and down went the jigs.

A beautiful Winter Kingfish....
Another nice King…

It was quite interesting to watch. Wahyu was using an electric reel and a ‘knife’ jig and LLoyd  jigging the hard way with a ‘flutte’r jig. Surprisingly, to me at least, the slow worked flutter jig consistently caught the larger fish.

After an hour or so we had caught enough Kings and the wind had dropped so we headed out to do some trolling. We hoped to find those elusive Yellowfin.  The plan was to go out to the thousand fathom line then go South and hopefully reach the ‘Low’ system.

I was just passing Browns when I got a call from the boat ‘El Patrone’ advising me that he’d caught  Yellowfin and Albacore at a position roughly14 miles South East of me. Then another call came in about Yellowfin in the same sort  of area.

I made the decision to pull in the gear and run out . Even knowing how quickly the ‘fin move around and the chances they would still be there in the 45 minutes it would take to get to the area, it was worth the risk.

On the run out I noticed a half degree temperature break with a few birds in area, just not enough to stop us from our goal – a mistake.

We finally reached the spot and the only action was another boat working the area. After setting the gear again we continued on our quest. It became apparent that the fish had moved on and since we were in a radio dead area could not get any further information. We ended up trolling back to the temp. break and to set up a cube trail.

It was a beautiful afternoon and just as the sun was setting Lloyd took a hit and after a good fight landed a 7 kilo Albacore. We took another two strikes after sunset and after very lively fights landed 7 and 8 kilo Striped Tuna. If Stripies grew to the size of Yellowfin we would be in trouble.

So that was the day.

After getting back in radio land I heard of a few more Yellowfin and Albacore being taken.  So now we have to again wait until the weather clears  before we can find out if the fish are still here.

LINKS:

Ripcharts
CSIRO
Bureau of Meteorology
N.S.W. Bluelink
Archived Fishing Reports
Home

Fishing Reports, Home

Ambition report 16th.June’19

Leave a comment

We went out yesterday,  winter  fishing,  in ideal conditions. I was aiming to have a shot at Kings then go to the Mountain do a drop or two and go wide to have a late cubing session on the thousand fathom line where there were supposed to be long liners.

 
Winter Striped Marlin
Winter Striped Marlin

As it happened live bait was hard to find but we did manage a few. Arriving at 12 mile the soundings looked good but after several lost rigs and a couple of jackets landed it was time to get out of there.

 
 We put the lures out and we headed off to Browns.   As we neared the

Striped Marlin

shelf I sounded schools of bait and they were fairly high in the water column. Even though it was June and the temperature and water colour weren’t great it was looking increasingly fishy.

 
Just on the edge we had a hit on the shotgun where Brad ‘J’ lives. It took off a bit of line but no hook-up so Howie tried teasing with the lure to no effect then as I made a turn to circle the area the fish hit again we had our hook-up. We’d hooked  a good Striped Marlin of around eighty kilo’s which put up a great show for the novice angler.

Winter Striped Marlin
Winter Striped Marlin
 
We ended up coming back inside Browns and starting a cube trail. Rhys put a jig down and to my surprise hooked up on his first drop. We were all speculating as to what it was. The fish was going pretty well so  I thought it  was an Albacore. Unfortunately  it broke the line  however later on the guys using cubes caught a couple of big Striped tuna so I guess that was what we lost, I think…
 
 
Tight lines,
Ivan
 
 
 
Fishing Reports, Home

Ambition report 27th.May’19

Leave a comment

We went out last Wednesday to try and find those mysterious Yellowfin. Reports had been coming in of the Yellowfin ranging along the temperature break South-East of Browns. Along with the‘fin were occasional encounters with Blue and Striped Marlin. One of which we caught last week.

Striped Marlin playing up...
Striped Marlin playing up…
 
We took Joseph Liu out, he primarily wanted to deep drop on Browns and have a go at Kingfish on the way. Unfortunately the current was not favourable at all.
 
The Peak were there had been some action over previous days was completely shut down. To top it off there was no way to fish Browns, in my opinion, with 3.5 knots of current. So, the last option was to go wide, find the temperature break and maybe those mysterious  Yellowfin and Marlin. Well we did just that and we were working the break when Ben who was just ahead of us in his boat ‘Markoo’ called up to say the were hooked up to a Yellowfin which they ultimately landed, it weighed 62.5 kilo’s. So we were in the right area but unfortunately to no avail. Of interest it was apparent the current was easing.

Striped Marlin playing up…
 
I got another chance to chase those elusive Yellowfin on Friday. I took out Tim and Scott who had just arrived from Minnesota after an unexpected delay, so were a little fatigued. The aim again was to go to the temperature break, work it and hopefully find them a fish.
 

We got to the break were it was immediately apparent the current had eased and moved further out. I know a lot of anglers believe in the change of tide but I am a sceptic having caught heaps of Marlin well away from the changes. In this case the change was at 12:38pm. We had a crashing strike at 12:20pm., I’m still a sceptic.

Striped Marlin playing up...
Striped Marlin playing up…
 
When the fish struck I thought I’d seen a bill but the fish never showed itself, maybe it was a ‘fin. Then after nearly half an hour it started to move up to the surface where I got a glimpse, it was a Marlin and when it jumped a big Stripy revealed itself.
 
Either because this fish had conserved its energy by staying deep or because Tim and Scott were jetlagged and had had a VB or two it put up a tough fight and both of them fought it a couple of times. As you will see in the video it didn’t want to give in and was incredibly aggressive even at the end .
 
The current out there has eased further and the fact that there are Long liners working near that break is indicative of Yellowfin in the area. Hopefully when the weather stabilises again we’ll find them, we’ll certainly be looking.
 
 
Tight lines
Ivan