srushton

Went looking for the cold water. Could not find any. Didn't matter. We managed to hook up on four simultaneously halfway between Heatons and Browns in 19.2 degrees water. Never seen anything like it. Managed to hang on to one. No birds. No visible bait until the water exploded around us. A sudden huge commotion with sauris and fin everywhere. These guys can manage the most amazing aerials. We were using for the first time one of those Scent Blazer Bowling Ball Teasers stuffed with Mackeral. Not sure if it made the difference but we will be using it again. That's for sure.

Great Report Clarky and great fish. We have had real problems this season getting anything to stick. Somehow they seemed to have grown jaws made of concrete. Many strikes but they manage to toss the lure. We also lost two big ones out towards Heaton's a few weeks ago where the lures stuck but then they nearly spooled us before breaking off on 24kg. Lost the fish and the lures. Thanks for sharing the lure colours. Most of the strikes we have had this season have been on lures with lumo. Black Barts and Pakulas.

We managed to get out yesterday. One of the best days on the water in terms of conditions. We hooked up on a very large blue marlin about half way between Browns and Heatons. Luckily he managed to hit the only 37kg reel in the spread. Unluckily because he peeled off the line like a roll of cotton I panicked and put on too much drag too early. The result.. he busted off with our only Magoo lure which has been consistently hit over two seasons. I have been unable to find any supplier of Magoos on the net. Does anyone know whether you can still get them in Sydney? Ottos used to have them a few years back. For those heading out from Sydney over the weekend it might be worth a look at the area between 12 Mile and Browns. On the way in it was teaming with birds and bait and the water temp/quality was pretty good. My mate Mr T managed a decent Mahi Mahi (photo attached) and we dropped another good fish before getting a look at it.

Thanks Bob I reckon you are on the money. But now I am in deep Sh*t. The photo of the happy angler was not me but my mate Mr T who owns an Italian Restaurant in Balmain. He is a mad keen fisho after his first Marlin. He also wanted a feed. I thought he was being a dickhe*d. So I snipped it off at the boat. No tag. Nothing. The video records it all. Thought this little fella with the broken bill deserved another day. Brilliant! One of the things that blows me away fishing out wide is that there is always something new every time. Whether a pod of dolphins having some fun, a mother whale showing off her calf, a fat seal pinching fish, you just never know. Can't wait to tell him that he is still zeroes !

Rabs You are probably right. I give up on this identification thing. Have to say though that we have caught stripes and blacks in the past and this one seemed to be different. An angry stripe can turn electric blue but you still see the stripes. This one was very blue, very angry but no stripes whatever. Looks like we will have to head out and meet him again for some proper photos. BTW not sure how others have been finding things this year but we have come across very little bait. That changed on Sunhday. Once we found some decent water there were lots of sauris and birds.

Rick It was about 2pm. Just as we hit the good water.

Went out from Sydney last Sunday. The water quality and temp in close were pretty terrible. However we managed finally to get some quality water and temp of 24.4 in about 130 fathoms. Over a period of about 20 minutes we were hit 4 times. Not sure if it was the same fish but this little fella was finally boatside. The happy fellow in the snaps is my mate Mr T. who managed his first marlin at last. T is for "trouble". I think it is a juvenile blue but I am not 100% on that as I have never seen one. We snipped it off at the boat. Didn't waste time with a tag as it looked as though it had snapped off most of its bill on the way in and we wanted to give it the best chance of giving a big thrill to someone else in the future. Let me tell you he was on fire as he took off. Suppose I would have been too in the cirecumstances. Photos attached. Sorry about the quality but they were grabbed off a video which my son took on his mobile. Resizing the photos is harder than landing the fish !!

Mate You did much better than we did. Long Reef Wide only gave us rubbish this time around. I haven't caught a nannygai for years. I was begining to wonder whether they were extinct.

Went out Saturday. Didn't turn a reel between North Head and the Bait Station. However picked up a nice Dolly around a fish trap between the Bait Station and Long Reef Wide. There were plenty more around the trap but they were spooked. Great day to be on the water.

Musty I am pretty sure it is a ribbon fish. Has the same knarly mouth as a gemmie.

A couple more

Just a few more pictures

Took out the good ship Hakuna Matata to Browns yesterday with my son Tom. We were looking for yellowfin. Although we didn't turn a reel on the way out we managed a great mixed bag on top of the mountain. No yellowfin but plenty for the table.It was pretty windy on the way out but by about 1pm it had dropped to a breeze. I think we counted about 17 boats out there. A great day. Can anyone identify the orange coloured fish? More photos to follow

What a great post Ross. As I recall it there was another fact back then that meant that there was not a great deal of pressure on stocks in close. Most of us ate tuna out of a can. In the 80's they could barely give it away at the Sydney Fish Markets. How times have changed.

A long day yesterday without much to show for it except for a few reasonable flathead and plate sized snapper caught on the way in. That said I reckon we are about to have a brilliant game season or I will eat my hat. Set off at about 5.45 am from the Heads and hit Browns around 8am. As soon as we arived we noticed a big show of birds about 1nm to the SE and headed over. The water was boiling with bait balls. Not one but I reckon about half a dozen perhaps 50 to 100 mtrs apart. They kept us busy for an hour or so until we landed yet another striped tuna and realised that they were the chasers but nothing was chasing them --yet. Water temp was about 22.5 - 23 Decided to head for the Bait Station. Did not turn a reel on the way over so went in close off Palm Beach for a bottom fish before coming in. At Palmy we saw something I have never seen before. These pint sized slimeys about the size of a small pilchard. They were so thick that you could have scooped up a few kilos in a bucket. Again water temp was around 23. My tip is that as soon as we get a few temperature breaks out wide it will be humming.