Port Macquarie Black Marlin

[Fergofisher]

Gday all! 

New to the site and first of i am sure many posts around tips/reports in the area.. after any tips & tricks on how to hunt down a black marlin. I have seen the responses on many other forums and the community here sounds very helpful so thought i'd give it a go! Apologies if this isn't in the correct forum or if this is to long but i want to be as thorough as possible. 

I have a 4.75 Quinny Top Ender with a 75hp on the back pushes about 30 knots top speed. I have been up to 45km wide (obviously picked the right day) and completely comfortable if the conditions are suited. I do also have outriggers but i have been using rod riggers to push the rods out further. I have been trolling at 6.5-7.5 knots. I have the short corner on the second pressure wave followed by the long corner, long rigger and shotgun on the following pressure waves. Lures troll great, breathe as they should and produce a huge bubble trail.. 

Gear i am using: 

- x4 Okuma TG30 2 speeds with 15kg yellow mono all the way through. 

- x4 Shimano backbone elite 15-24kg non rollered.

- Pakula's new 3D printed fish skirts link https://buypakula.com/slimy-pak-40-light-tackle-rat-pack-8kg-to-15kg-16lb-to-30lb-line-class?search=rat pack

- Pakula withdoctor hippy with his new x3 slimy flash strips https://buypakula.com/witchdoctor-the-lumo-hippy-1856874474?search=witchdocto  &  https://buypakula.com/Tow-Rope-Slimy?search=strips

- Williamson bird teaser with a few spare small non hooked skirts every 40cm ish off the back as a secondary teaser.

- Simrad GO7 which is quite clear and precise with sounding out bait balls and fish around them as well as temp reasonably accurate etc. 

 

I am subscribed to Ripcharts and have access but am no means an expert on how to read or piece it all together to well. I have reached out to Ripcharts on more videos and help but they haven't been to helpful and there isn't to many forums out there to assist. I am mainly focusing on Altimetry, currents, sea temps, true colour & chlorophyll charts to try and assist me in finding the best area to work. Charts from last session i had below and where i was roughly fishing: 

Temp chart area roughly i was roughly 24degrees: 

 

Cholorophyll chart area roughly where i was (bit of cloud cover):

 

Altimetry chart area roughly where i was (Have added lightly the current direction as well): 

 

Day 1 of trolling: Worked the edge of the temp break in close about 8km off land in roughly 100-250 ft water - not far but plenty of fish caught recently in the Golden Lure comp in this general area. We did mark 1 marlin we believe under a school of pilchards on the surface. The marlin was sitting maybe 15ft deep but did not come up to have a look at the lures nor did we see it in the spread. Was clear as day.. A big bow off to the side of the pillie school.. unless this was a shark. 

Day2 of trolling: Similar to the above tried to work the edge of the temperature break with the current as best we could & zigzagging through the high concentration of Chlorophyll as per the charts which did lead us to balls of pilchards but could not get any interest from a marlin. We fished both dirty and clear water as per the Ripchards "True colour" chart. 

 

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS: 

- Am i trolling the right direction/speed etc? 

- Am i in the zone if i can match up the Altimetry, currents, sea temps, true colour & chlorophyll charts as best i can? trying to follow the bait as best i can. 

- Am i trolling to close to the school of bait? 

- If these fish aren't taking lures should i be slow trolling a yakka or slimy mack at different depths? ie surface, mid water, bottom etc. 

 

 

Again sorry for the absolute novel, just trying to get some sort of help to land this dream fish of mine! I don't want exact spots as i know the fish move i just need some help piecing what i have learnt so far together so i can land one of these beasts. Catch and release is the goal of course! Thanks all - appreciate anything you willing to share. 

[Scratchie]

Firstly welcome to the site! 
 

Your definitely on the right track. 
A rule of thumb for trolling.......

Live bait 2 knots

Skip bait 4 knots 

Deep divers 6knots 

Skirts 8 knots 

These are a general maximum speed you should troll at. 
 

If you are finding bait in those locations then without a doubt I’d be trolling live bait. This time of year there are a lot of smaller inshore blacks and stripes. 
Like with all game fishing it’s a patience game. 95% waiting for 5% mayhem! 
Keep at it and your time will come. 
Hope that helps. 
 

cheers scratchie!!! 

[PaddyT]

If you are marking bait-dont leave it-personally looking at those charts i would of pushed a little wider or a bit north to the intersection of the north vs south current and fished that edge- best direction for lures is across current- zig zag-a lot-lure positioning is all about getting them "in the window"-so in your clear water "tunnels"on the face of the wave which is why i dont faff around with 4 lures and two teasers in a small boat-mostly run 3 , 4 if i have crew that know what they are doing. Also in a small boat because of the compact wake its difficult to position more than 3 lures without  outriggers-use them if you have them. Also if you mark a fish under bait have a sabiki ready to go , catch some slimies and get one over the side- far more effective than lures.

[PaddyT]

PS little blacks can really be single minded about the bait they are on-much more than stripes-i use lures for stripes off Sydney because we dont get the bait aggregations that Port Stevens or the south coast get so the fishing is "search and destroy"-when you have bait aggregating like you described-livebait will be far more effective-even if it is not as spectacular. Finding fish is all about edges-reef edges,pinnicles, current edges, colour changes-little blacks will be in suprisingly dirty water at times as long as there is bait. The least amount of success ive had has been in hot , purple fast running current , look for everything else you would look for chasing pelagic fish-birds, bubbling bait, bait on the sounder, ripple lines. Ripcharts is a good starting point but its not a magic blanket-once you are out rely on your eyes and your electronics-not a 24 hour old satellite image , use it as a guide to plan.

[Hoods]

Hi Fergo, We trolled on Sunday from wide of Laurieton down to Crowdy & did not raise a fish. Plenty of talk on the radio of blacks off PMacquarie. Water out wide was over 25* but in close was 20* early then over 22* later in the day as the southerly persisted. We are still learning too I think its the old saying - find the bait fond the fish - & dont forget persistence. I would find out where the other boats were as they were all pretyy close (I think up north). Tight lines. Hoods

[rickmarlin62]

We have generally fished further north  bout a mile south of plomer or out from barrys bay  livies  are best but dont dis count skipping slimies   very effective  and less fuel used

[rickmarlin62]

This area is reefy  and holds bait  the little blacks hang around it     the oval shaped rise in the centre

[Fergofisher]

11 hours ago, Scratchie said:

Firstly welcome to the site! 
 

Your definitely on the right track. 
A rule of thumb for trolling.......

Live bait 2 knots

Skip bait 4 knots 

Deep divers 6knots 

Skirts 8 knots 

These are a general maximum speed you should troll at. 
 

If you are finding bait in those locations then without a doubt I’d be trolling live bait. This time of year there are a lot of smaller inshore blacks and stripes. 
Like with all game fishing it’s a patience game. 95% waiting for 5% mayhem! 
Keep at it and your time will come. 
Hope that helps. 
 

cheers scratchie!!! 

Thanks for the feedback scratchie, you're a legend! 

[Fergofisher]

10 hours ago, PaddyT said:

PS little blacks can really be single minded about the bait they are on-much more than stripes-i use lures for stripes off Sydney because we dont get the bait aggregations that Port Stevens or the south coast get so the fishing is "search and destroy"-when you have bait aggregating like you described-livebait will be far more effective-even if it is not as spectacular. Finding fish is all about edges-reef edges,pinnicles, current edges, colour changes-little blacks will be in suprisingly dirty water at times as long as there is bait. The least amount of success ive had has been in hot , purple fast running current , look for everything else you would look for chasing pelagic fish-birds, bubbling bait, bait on the sounder, ripple lines. Ripcharts is a good starting point but its not a magic blanket-once you are out rely on your eyes and your electronics-not a 24 hour old satellite image , use it as a guide to plan.

Thanks for the feedback PaddyT, you're a legend! 

[Fergofisher]

8 hours ago, rickmarlin62 said:

We have generally fished further north  bout a mile south of plomer or out from barrys bay  livies  are best but dont dis count skipping slimies   very effective  and less fuel used

Thanks for the feedback Rickmarlin62 - less fuel the better, you're a legend! 

10 hours ago, Hoods said:

Hi Fergo, We trolled on Sunday from wide of Laurieton down to Crowdy & did not raise a fish. Plenty of talk on the radio of blacks off PMacquarie. Water out wide was over 25* but in close was 20* early then over 22* later in the day as the southerly persisted. We are still learning too I think its the old saying - find the bait fond the fish - & dont forget persistence. I would find out where the other boats were as they were all pretyy close (I think up north). Tight lines. Hoods

Thanks for the feedback Hoods, you're a legend! 

[Fergofisher]

Thanks boys - what you're all saying makes sense. I do have some gear ready for a livey so will keep that in mind if i'm struggling to raise one. 
Heads up - if i can hopefully land one beers are on me!

[Fergofisher]

Also lads - this may be a dumb questions but i'm going to ask it.. I know blacks can come quite close in if the bait, conditions etc warrents working 1 km off land would you be working this area or trying to find similar conditions out wider abit? 

 

Not having a Marlin back round - still crazy to think these fish come in that close 

[Fergofisher]

10 hours ago, Hoods said:

Hi Fergo, We trolled on Sunday from wide of Laurieton down to Crowdy & did not raise a fish. Plenty of talk on the radio of blacks off PMacquarie. Water out wide was over 25* but in close was 20* early then over 22* later in the day as the southerly persisted. We are still learning too I think its the old saying - find the bait fond the fish - & dont forget persistence. I would find out where the other boats were as they were all pretyy close (I think up north). Tight lines. Hoods

Hoods, another dumb question - what radio channel are you using in the area for the general chat? thanks mate

[Fergofisher]

Another one on my mind, i know where to get Yakkas off Port usually just go to Bird Island or around that general area but not slimy's.. any reef hold heaps of slimy's if i can't find them out wide? 

[Hoods]

Ch80

Slimies are the best livebait.

[Hoods]

Slimies seem a bit hit & miss recently. Keep looking around the area using your sounder. They have a different look on the sounder compared to yakkas etc. We keep a larger bait jig ready for when we mark bait out wider - match the hatch.

[Rebel]

Welcome to the Forum and good luck.

[TK01]

Hi Fergo I'm new to the area and by no means an expert on marlin or where to chase them.  I am actually hoping to get my first marlin this season and have had a few days out trying to no avail... yet!  You seem a few steps ahead of me with how to go about it.

With regards to slimies, there's a bait ground in close about a mile or so north of the river mouth.  I got slimies there last week.  It took a bit of time but I found that jigging straight up and down was useless as I only found yakkas that way.  The slimies were popping up on the surface occasionally and a bait jig cast into the school was the only way I was able to get them, but it was very effective once I figured it out.  Hope that helps.

[Fergofisher]

3 hours ago, Hoods said:

Ch80

Slimies are the best livebait.

To easy mate - thanks for the heads up.

[Fergofisher]

3 hours ago, Hoods said:

Slimies seem a bit hit & miss recently. Keep looking around the area using your sounder. They have a different look on the sounder compared to yakkas etc. We keep a larger bait jig ready for when we mark bait out wider - match the hatch.

Yep to easy, thanks for the heads up mate makes sense! 

[Fergofisher]

3 hours ago, Rebel said:

Welcome to the Forum and good luck.

Cheers mate, will keep you all updated with how i get on

[Fergofisher]

1 hour ago, TK01 said:

Hi Fergo I'm new to the area and by no means an expert on marlin or where to chase them.  I am actually hoping to get my first marlin this season and have had a few days out trying to no avail... yet!  You seem a few steps ahead of me with how to go about it.

With regards to slimies, there's a bait ground in close about a mile or so north of the river mouth.  I got slimies there last week.  It took a bit of time but I found that jigging straight up and down was useless as I only found yakkas that way.  The slimies were popping up on the surface occasionally and a bait jig cast into the school was the only way I was able to get them, but it was very effective once I figured it out.  Hope that helps.

Mate hopefully we can get on them while they are on! Good luck - hope you land one. 
To easy mate, thanks for the info. Hoping to burley them up if i can't sound the school out, usually works back down the coast. 

[Scratchie]

6 hours ago, Fergofisher said:

Thanks for the feedback scratchie, you're a legend! 

Good site aye!!! Throw up a few questions and get some very experienced responses! 🤙🤙🤙

[Fergofisher]

37 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Good site aye!!! Throw up a few questions and get some very experienced responses! 🤙🤙🤙

Yeah man very helpful! 

[Fergofisher]

Trolling a livie mate behind the boat, is there a rule of thumb around distance back? Do you think also i should chuck out the witchdoctor as well for extra flare? 
Thanks mate!