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Fishing Reports

Ambition report 6th. August’18

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It is Shark time off Sydney at present with Mako’s,  Blues and Whalers on the bite. On the  week-end  a  rare Thresher Shark was also caught and a couple of Whites were encountered.

A Beautiful Mako Shark...
A Beautiful Mako Shark…

 

 

 

Now that the Bluefin have moved on and the Yellowfin haven’t turned up Sharks have become the mainstay of game fishermen. These sharks are widespread, other than Blue sharks which are  rarely found inside the shelf all the others can be caught from close inshore out to as far as you want to go.

High Flying Mako Shark...
High Flying Mako…

Of all the available sharks Mako’s are the most spectacular. When hooked they make long, fast runs and they can jump. I have seen them reach up to at least four metres into the air; they are truly spectacular. Seeing a big Mako come out of the water rollover and come down head first is something not to be forgotten . Sadly as a result of these huge leaps more than a few unlucky anglers have ended up with a Mako in their boat.

A Mako Shark being tagged...
A Mako Shark being tagged…

One of the hot spots for Mako’s is Browns mountain where they congregate to feed on the Gemfish. Consequently because of the number of boats in close proximity also trying for the Gemmies and Blue Eye there is a real danger of having an uninvited guest drop in , literally.

As for the Yellowfin I’m still hearing of the occasional fish being caught but I guess it is just a waiting game.

In the meantime Kings are showing up on the inshore and offshore reefs but are being hit very hard by both professional and amateur fishermen. One has to wonder at how sustainable this resource is.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 30th. July’18

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Winter and Spring are the time for Sydney’s Tuna,  Albacore, Yellowfin and Bluefin.  Though it looks like the Bluefin have passed there are enough reports of Yellowfin both North and South to be optimistic.

A Very Big Mako...
A Monster Mako checking us out…

Sadly we are in post Bluefin season though I’m sure we all hope they’ll return. It amazes me how they just disappear, here one day in numbers gone the next.  Interestingly this year there were some good sized Yellowfin amongst the Bluefin.

In this post Bluefin time fortunately for us there are other options. We can concentrate on Kingfish, Blue Eye, Gemfish and Mako sharks as well as hope the Yellowfin turn up.

Last Saturday I took Dan and his friends out looking for the Yellowfin but still hoping a Bluefin might show up. We started by catching some live bait to have a shot on the outer reefs where the Kings were making an appearance. To cut a long story short we caught a few baits which were quite quickly converted into Kingfish. Not really large ones but good enough. However what they lacked in size they made up for in numbers.

Gemfish a Browns
Gemfish a Browns

Dan and his mates shared my love for the horizon and whatever it may hold, they’d caught enough Kingies and wanted bigger game. I headed out toward Heatons with my usual spread and a lot of optimism.

Around the thousand fathom line the temp started to rise and a few birds started to appear. Meanwhile on the radio I heard a couple of boats up North had found Yellowfin. They’d seen them breaking and even caught a couple on cubes. They were North of us but I didn’t know how far so I turned left hoping they weren’t too far. I later found out they were off Port Stephens.

We didn’t end up finding any ‘fin but knowing they were there was interesting enough. I later heard someone caught a couple around Heatons and South around JB too.

Winter mixture from Browns....
Bottom dwellers from Browns…

Meantime the mountain is fishing well for Gemfish and Blue Eye. To cap it off the Mako’s are showing up too just in time for this weekend’s Monster Mako Tournament held by the Sydney Game Fishing Club.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 23rd. July’18

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Sydney has been the place for Tuna Fishing with Bluefin the  occasional Yellowfin and even  Albacore taken last week but it is a day to day proposition.

On Thursday we headed out to where the fish had been caught the previous Wednesday.  After my fruitless day on Tuesday I and the crew were keen to play.

Luke's Bluefin Tuna...
Luke’s Bluefin…

We set the lures out North-East of Browns and proceeded to listen in on the radio for clues to where the bite was happening. As is usual when nothing is happening the idiots came on air providing what their small minds consider entertainment. Thankfully word of the fish started filtering through.

I noticed a stationary boat about a mile from us and headed over for a look when a couple of hundred metres from him we had a crashing strike and landed a Bluefin of around 45kilo’s. We no sooner had the lures in the water when the second fish struck. This one was much bigger and gave the ‘newby’ angler a hard time. He eventually brought the fish, which back at the club weighed just on 70 kilo’s, to boat.

Bagged out...
Bagged out…

Meantime the radio had come alive with reports of Bluefin, Yellowfin as well as a few Albacore coming in. We continued working the same area marking fish down at 40 fathoms but couldn’t get them to come up. I decided to move away and come back a little later. I spent another half hour searching for more fish out wider but nothing. On returning to the previous spot I had no sooner marked the school than we hooked up, a double, missing another when it hit a lure as it was being taken out of the water.

These when weighed went just over seventy kilo’s and gave the guys a hard time too. We kept one fish out wide while fighting the other at ‘sunset’ so as to get it in fast.

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

It took a little time but we landed both the Bluefin. Since now we had bagged out we turned around and headed for home. I must say the only downside to the day was that I lost my favourite Brad ‘J’. Otherwise it had been a long but very satisfying day.

We went out again on the Monday after a week-end of bad weather with Luke who was dead keen to catch a Bluefin. I went back to the area South East of Browns. Reports were coming in of fish being caught down below the Southern Canyons but I noticed a boat that looked like they were fighting. Shortly after they gave their position and that they had the fish under their boat. I and another boat whose name I have forgotten was behind me and heading towards them too.

As we approached the boat behind me hooked up on a triple and Bruce who was on board called me back. I had obviously missed the school and it could have only been by metres. Anyway as we approached we were rewarded with a triple hook up which was a problem since we only had one angler, my deckie, ‘Howie’ and me. Howie went straight to sunset it nearly killed him but he got the fish in in time to gaff Luke’s Bluefin. Then Luke went straight into battle with his second fish. After what seemed an eternity to him a very tired, relieved and happy Luke finally brought the fish to the gaff.

It was time to go home.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 11th. July’18

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I went out yesterday looking for the Tuna. I’d heard the long liners were working wide and South of Heatons so headed off in that direction. It was a bit lumpy going through the heads but eased up a few miles out away from the backwash. There were just a few mountains with which to contend. Happily it calmed right down during the day.

Yellowfin Tuna...
Yellowfin Tuna…

Out over the thousand fathom line I picked up a long liner on my radar. He was another ten miles further out. About a mile short of the him we passed through a current line where there was a marked temperature change and lots of bird activity.

I managed to contact the skipper of the fishing boat who told me he’d caught a few fish on their first string and that there were a couple more long liners working 15 to 20 miles South of him.
To cut a long story short I didn’t find any Tuna but I must say it looked really good out there with lots of birds and bait showing.

Ronny struggling

On returning to Port I was told a boat caught a couple of Bluefin a few miles North-West of me and another wide of Norah Head.
There are quite a few boats going out today so will be interesting to see how they go.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 4th’ July’18

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After over three weeks of nothing to say about the Game Fishing  off Sydney I needed to say something so…..

A very good Yellowfin
A very good Yellowfin

Game fishing off Sydney has certainly taken a turn for the worse. Actually it has been pretty hopeless for the last month.  The weather hasn’t helped either. After what was amongst the best Smmer and Autumn seasons I can remember it has crashed. All those Marlin and Tuna as well as all the other pelagic species have gone.

A good day's fishing...
A good day’s fishing…

Since mid-May the ocean currents and altimetry have conspired to keep the usual run of Tuna down South. There have been a few good sized Yellowfin taken around Wollongong and Kiama but off Sydney nothing.

The Bluefin we are all awaiting showed up on time on the South coast and have been caught as far up as Ulladulla and Batemans Bay. There are rumours of them being as close as the Shoalhaven but only rumours.

The Groups Yellowfin
The Groups Yellowfin

Up until last year when the Bluefin showed up off Sydney in early September they had turned up in early July. So far no sign of them up here but the altimetry this year compares with that of September last year. If the offshore ‘High’ moves a little to the South and inshore the water the Bluefin are in could come within range.

Well you have to be optimistic to be a fisherman…

At Browns the Gemfish are starting to run and the Blue Eye are on the bite. Unfortunately the current is pretty fast so though the fish are biting you lose a lot of gear. Also, Mako’s and Blue Sharks are making an appearance.

Winter GemFish and Blue Eye
GemFish and Blue Eye

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kings and Snapper are there for those in the know. The offshore reefs are a day to day proposition and inshore lots of small Kings with the occasional good one thrown in.

So that’s it – hopefully the currents will ease and the Tuna will make an appearance soon.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 11th.June’17

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Yellowfin and Albacore are the prime target at this time of year with Kingies and dropping on Browns thrown in for good measure. The warm currents are slowing and cubing is also on the agenda.

I took Brad, his groomsmen and future father-in-law out on Saturday. The aim was to catch live bait, which we did. Have a jig and drop baits on 12 Mile then a deep drop on Browns followed by a late cubing session out wide.

Brad's Albacore
Brad’s Albacore

We arrived at 12 Mile and after several passes sounding it out I couldn’t find anything. There didn’t even appear to be any ‘Jackets, normally a good thing. Irrespective we dropped a couple of live baits down and one of the guys feeling energetic started jigging. Sadly the sounder was telling the truth, not even a nibble.

Consequently we left 12 Mile to troll out to Browns. On the way the radio was telling a sad story of a 3 to 3.5 knot Southerly current making it impossible to hold bottom at Browns; so much for that idea. The only option left was to head out wide and see if we could find some good water to start cubing.

After a couple of hours trolling and reaching the thousand fathom line the only real change was the speed off the current. There was neither bait nor any bird activity so I headed back to an area where the current was slower and we started a cube trail.

To cut a long story short after a couple of hours cubing Brad took a strike and landed a good Albacore of about 7 kilo’s. Unfortunately the guys had to be back early for a dinner pre-wedding so we had to leave early.

I feel sure that if we could had have stayed until dark we would have had more action.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 28th. May’18

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Striped Marlin and Mako Sharks as well as Tigers were all the news off Sydney last week-end. Two Tiger Sharks over 450 kgs. were taken as well as another of unknown size lost after several hours of fighting. With the thought of XOS Tiger sharks in mind I went out with Glen and Karen on their boat ‘Tantrum’ to see if we could find one for their daughter Makira.

We headed out on Sunday to the eighty fathom line off Long Reef where we planned to start our trail. On nearing the area we found large numbers of Gannets diving on schools of bait fish. It was more than one group too. We could see several gatherings all in roughly the eighty fathom area. With so much bait around this had to be a good place to start.

With baits set at varying depths on a couple of 15’s and 24’s  and the kids punching the burly, it was that time of waiting. I must say there is something really pleasant about shark fishing, other than the smell and mess. It is quiet and peaceful with a tangible sense of expectation as all on board watch the floats for any sign of movement.

After about an hour one of the reels starting slowly ticking off drawing everyone’s attention. The speed increased then the fish took a run. Makira took the rod and wound in the belly of line and struck when Glen told her. She had weight and was hooked up.

Unusually the fish stayed near the surface then we saw a splash as a bill and head broke the surface. We had a Marlin and after a reasonable fight Makira brought a good sized Striped Marlin to the boat where it was tagged and released – not the 400 kg Tiger we were hoping for but a nice surprise.

All the gear was re-set and again we settled in, watching and waiting. The currents were doing strange thing though. We had drifted through two strong current lines. Now our deep baits were on one side of the boat while our burly was going in the opposite direction. This was obviously due to the very light breeze but still indicated a deeper current going opposite to the surface current. Hopefully our burly was heavy enough to reach the deeper water.

It took a while then at the witching hour a small Mako turned up taking scraps off the surface. We drifted a bait out but no takers and after about ten minutes he/she disappeared. Shortly after our deep bait on 15 kg. started to run and again Makira took the rod and under Dad’s instruction struck the fish. This one took a couple of runs and went deep, this had to be the Tiger. The fish continued to take line with the occasional head shakes causing concern. Eventually Makira started to gain line, slowly at first then steadily. After nearly an hour of give and take she had the double up and we got our first view of the fish. Howy took the leader and much to everyone’s  dismay brought up a 30 to 40 kilo Mako hooked in the tail. I don’t think anyone could believe a Mako that size could fight as hard as this one had.

So that was the day, we’d tagged a Striped Marlin and a Mako shark. I heard of another boat losing a Striped Marlin and that Browns was fishing well. Generally it seem it was a very quiet day off Sydney.

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 15th. May’18

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Yellowfin charter
Peters Yellowfin

After the great Yellowfin Tuna bite two week-ends ago when we caught three Yellowfin up to 73 kilos I was really keen to get out there again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the following Wednesday when opportunity arose.

Wednesday was going to be our last chance before the weather moved in. Unfortunately reports that I’d read from the previous two days were less than exciting, irrespective we were going.

I put the lures in at around eighty fathoms and headed to where I had found the fish on Sunday. Where we were there was plenty of bait near the surface and Gannet were diving on it. I wasn’t really surprised when a Striped Marlin popped up behind the Lumo. What did surprise me was that it had one swipe at the lure and disappeared and didn’t come back for another shot.

Yellowfin charter sydney
The Groups Yellowfin

We continued out with no further action other than that the bait was thinning and the water cooling, not what the charts were showing. Anyway, we arrived at the spot and it was dead, no birds, no bait no nothing. As you do I was listening in on the radio and in amongst the usual garbage I picked up that the Yellowfin had moved North, wide of the bait station. So I pointed Ambition North and off we went.

It was about an hour’s trolling to get to where the fish were. On the way the water cleared up and warmed with bait starting to show. Eventually, I saw the boats ahead and also our first ‘bust up’.

Throughout the rest of the day we  trolled the area which was definitely fishy but the action was very slow. The Yellowfin were coming up irregularly in small groups and were not staying up long enough for anyone to get to them, a very frustrating scenario. A couple of boats caught the fin on blind strikes, ‘Little Audrey ll’ tagged  a Marlin and ‘The Sheriff’ caught a Wahoo taken.

We had a nearly forty mile run to port by now so I turned for home. Everywhere you looked you could see baitfish flipping undisturbed on the surface. We also saw pods of Dolphins and Pilot whales moving amongst the bait,  obviously well sated. One of they guys on deck spotted a log not far off. On passing we had a double hook-up, a good sized Mahi Mahi and the smallest Kingfish I have ever see, the hook was bigger than the fish.

As we neared the shelf and inn near darkness a Marlin came up and swiped at the lumo but again not hooking up and yet again not coming back, so frustrating.

As predicted the weather went bad but should be good by Thursday. Will the Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna still be there ? I don’t know but you can be sure I’ll be going out to find out…

To join us on a Yellowfin charter in Sydney, give me a call!

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 5th. February’18

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port fishing tours
A good day’s fishing.

Port Stephens firing is every Game Fishers dream and it fired last week-end. The weather, however, didn’t play ball. On the shelf where a lot of the action was taking place it was far less than comfortable.

On Saturday I took Daniel and a couple of his friends from Wollongong out. We didn’t bother taking Live bait with us choosing to catch it out on the shelf. It was a long and bouncy trip out because of the short steep Easterly swell.

port stephens charters
Wild seas…

There was no real problem catching the Slimy Mackerel needed. Once the schools were located it was more of a balancing act between standing up and holding the boat in position against the wind the current and the swell.

Port Stephens fishing
Marlin time…

It didn’t take long for the action to begin and in short time we had an active Striped Marlin tearing up the ocean.  The guys loved it especially when I was backing up into those swells and surfing down waves backwards, adrenalin inducing stuff. We eventually brought the Marlin to the boat and tagged it. Then I screwed up and ran over the dredge. It was too rough to go in and clear the prop so it was a long slow trip back home.

Port stephens marlin fishing
Another Mighty Mar;lin…

On Sunday Lindon and three of his mates joined us. The weather was a little kinder but only marginally.  This day we had the advantage of knowing where the bait was. We soon caught the bait we needed. Soon we were skipping baits around the bait schools and dropping livies onto Marlin we had marked. This is an exciting way to fish, watching a Marlin come up and take a skipping bait is very visual, the best kind of fishing. All the boats out there caught a mixture of Striped and Black Marlin. Unfortunately there were a lot of sharks out there too, mostly Whalers but also Hammerheads.

We ended up the day with four Marlin tagged plus a Whaler which was hooked in the dorsal fin.  A couple of the local boats did better  than us but I think everyone caught something.

My only comment after the last few days up here is that Port Stephens is firing…

Tight lines,
Ivan

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Ambition report 20th. November’ 17

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I couldn’t make it out fishing on the week-end due to the weather on Saturday and ‘ brownie ‘ point gathering on Sunday.

From what I’ve heard there doesn’t appear to be much happening out there.  I did however get a phone call mid-morning telling me about a Marlin, possibly a Black, free jumping about 5 miles out… I can’t tell you how good that made me feel. Apparently there were some Dollies taken and a couple of really nice Yellowfin from somewhere South of Sydney. If anyone knows anymore or can clarify I’d be happy to hear about it.

The SST’s  don’t look very exciting either but I don’t know how much they can be relied upon at the best of times because of their lack of resolution. You really have to get out there and see for yourself. The way it appears the current is  pushing from the North around Sydney but the temperature within the current varies widely indicating there are breaks in the main current which are always worth a look.

Inshore there are Kings but it requires some hard work and lots of looking to find them. I heard of one that Mike Clarkson of ‘Reef Magic’ caught going 1.2 metres, so they are there.

The harbour is alive with schools of pelagics, Kings, Bonito, Tailor and Salmon. They are not big fish but are still a lot of fun on light gear. You will need very small lures to catch them because they are feeding on very small baitfish.

To me the wide grounds are where I want to be. None of the charts have the resolution to show the spin-off currents and minor eddies that often hold the fish we want. It changes from day to day out ther. By the time the average fisho hears about the bite it’s generally too late…

Tight lines,
Ivan