Early marlin
Well I was out chasing snapper for an episode of River to Reef’s new series and ended up catching a marlin. Fishing off Crowdy Head we found the snapper were seriously dead and with the pressure of filming upon us I headed wide for some bar cod action which was also crap. I don’t handle failure well so I was slowly beating myself up about what we were doing wrong when suddenly I spotted a bait ball on the surface. Initially I thought it was a pack of seals but then a blue flash confirmed there were three marlin on it. In the last three years I have dreamed about finding a bait ball to film for Strikezone and there I was with no Strikecam!
Nonetheless this is certainly a good sign especially when Paul Miller fished Coffs Harbour encountering two marlin on the shelf as well. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come with an early start to the marlin season. At this time of year I recommend trolling to cover as much ground as possible so you have the best chance of locating good water or concentrations of bait and fish. Use the SST charts to identify the edges of the warmer currents and focus your efforts along these edges.
Marlin aside the fin have been slow with the odd fish turning up down south around Kiama. Again focus your efforts around the front edges of the East Australian Current especially where the water temperature is around 21 degrees. A careful eye on the seabirds will also guide you in on the action. If you want to catch tuna then mix up your spread with a couple of deep divers like a Laser Pro or a Halco Trembler.
Prime time for kings
With the water starting to warm up the kings will start to show up in every increasing numbers over inshore reefs bommies and islands. There have already been some reports of some big fish including divers encountering fish to 30kg at Seal Rocks and further north we encountered plagues proportions of kings while fishing around Coffs Harbour. I expect these fish will work south with the current over the next month. I also ran out of Sydney the other day and found heaps of small kings at Long Reef feeding on the surface.
Live baiting is the best method for big kings either slow trolled or drifted over structure like reef edges or pinnacles. Kings aren’t too fussy when it comes to bait but my favourites are slimies, yakkas and squid. Alternately when the fish are feeding on the surface try throwing either Halco poppers or those Bozos 6inch stick baits in white.
Another trick I can offer is to watch your sounder like a hawk and focus over any concentrations of fish or bait. The more you use the sounder the better you will learn to interpret the picture and eventually you will be able to tell the difference between various bait species. Understanding the picture on your sounder like my Furuno will help you catch more kings.
Swords on the cards
Last year at this time Kev Ward and his meets caught a sword while fishing off Wollongong. This year I think the water will be further north but don’t let that stop you getting out there on a calm night and giving it a shot. If you miss out on swords then I chances are you will still have fun with some makos.
River to Reef
After just two weeks filming we have completed the series with some awesome footage of kings snapper and sambos as well as the season’s first marlin. On top of this we also filmed an encounter with the great white sharks which was seriously up close and personal. Series starts in November so go to www.rivertoreef.com.au
Don’t forget to check out my new book How to catch fish and cook them as well.
