Late start for the marlin
February really is the peak of the offshore season and with everything appearing to be running late this year things are looking good. At present there is a good bite of small blacks on the Gold Coast. This is certainly wasn’t predicted but it is still a good sign. Chances are they will be head south over the next month and places like Coffs Harbour, SWR and Port Macquarie will all be worth a s hot if the current pushes in against the coast. If the fish make it as far as Port Stephens be very wary about the Marine Park boundaries. Some of the best marlin grounds up Seal Rocks which are already producing fish as well as near Broughton have been locked away and the Marine Parks Authority will be eagerly slapping fines on any angler they can. Just remember the fines are even greater than drinking driving and assault charges so that gives you an idea of just what the MPA think of fishermen!
Out past the 60 fathom line you are safe form the hard line MPA. Stripes and mid-weight blacks will start to come on the bite. Port Stephens is reporting clean water bait and a few fish while Sydney is producing sporadic fishing as is JB. Further south there have been a few fish at Eden over the last few days.
I suspect the South Coast will be hot to trot over this month especially with the large quantities of bait recorded. The key is to hold out to the last minute before you go monitoring the marlin bites up and down the coast. On top of this watch the SST charts for the edge of the eddy. Remember to avoid the hottest water because chances are the only thing you will find will the odd blue marlin.
When initially searching don’t just look for the marlin instead focus in on bait concentrations. The bait is the aquatic version of a takeaway shop so the bigger the bait school the larger the counter!
Wahoo bite
There have been some great reports of wahoo in southern Queensland. James Yerbury and Denis Gugliotti caught a heap while trolling north of the border. These high speed predators will be well and truly in NSW waters this month and not only make great sport but are sensational on the plate too.
The best technique is trolling high speed lures especially jet heads like the newly released Strikezone series which can be trolled at ten knots or more. Deep divers like the Laser Pro 190 in metallic are also deadly. Run a short length of singe strain wire linked with a haywire twist.
You will certainly encounter the fish offshore as by-catch while chasing marlin, but there are also so hot inshore locations as well. Places like the Solitary Islands off Coffs Harbour as well as Fish Rock off SWR are reliable starting points but to be honest any decent reefs with clean blue water pushing over them can hold wahoo. Just remember that wahoo are a schooling fish so don’t stop if you hook up, instead keep trolling and turn a single hook up into a double!
Kingie haven
Can it get any better! Down on the South Coast the headlands south of Eden continue to produce some great fish up to ten kilos and bets are we will hear about some bigger fish this month. Whether or not you can stay attached and keep them out of the reef is a different matter.
Bermagui’s Montague Island will also be worth a shot however the resident population of seals is causing major headaches for anglers. What is frustrating is that the seals don’t seem to want to eat the fish and instead just rip them apart and leave them, which is a complete waste of the resource.
Jervis Bay and the Banks are another reliable location although recently there have been a few too many anglers getting fined for supposedly being inside marine park boundaries. Be careful and make sure you know your rights if your approached by the MPA, because anglers aren’t criminals!
This is a prime month of Sydney as well and I have been having a ball chasing kings in the new Strikezone boat catching heaps of kings. Queensland gun angler Vern New came down for a few days to catch up with guru producer Jason Franklin. The plan was to all go fishing but poor old Jas had to work so Vern came out and we caught heaps of fish live baiting around North Head. The best part was sending the pics of all the big kings to Jas while he was in a meeting!
While live baiting will still produce the biggest fish don’t discount jigging on the deeper reefs as well. With the fishing so good this season chances are the deeper reefs will start firing early this year.
Makos on the menu
By now everyone will be rejoicing about the mako ban being overturned and this is a great month to go and celebrate by catching one. Berleying is the easiest technique but if you want marlin as well then live baiting around the offshore bait schools with circles will also work.
We may have one this battle but I highly recommend we learn from it and start imposing our own rules. At the end of the day killing a shark or any fish for that matter, for nothing more than hanging it upside down is criminal. These sharks are an important resource and there is certainly wrong with eating it but weighing it then dumping it for nothing short of criminal as they say these fish are too good to catch just once!
Bluefin reports
Last season the big bluefin were already on the Victoria’s Western Coastline so get out there and have a look. The bigger fish often come through first so if you wait till everyone else starts catching them then you might miss out. High speed lures like jetheads are the best option and will allow you to cover more ground effectively. There are already fish turning up off South Australia so get ready they are coming!
Filming the new series
It’s taken a while but 2010 is a big one and we will be out filming so if you see us on the water come over and say G’day. Who knows you might even get your mug on the tube! Remember to keep up to date on what is happening on Al's blog
