Al McGlashan’s fishing report - November

Billfishing up and down
I am glad to report more and more reports of billfish are filtering through although the fishing is a bit up and down. There have been a few turning up on the Car Park off Port Stephens but the fishing is good one day slow the next. Strikezone trolled a mix of skip baits and Laser Pros and scored a couple of shots at marlin and successfully missed them both. The problem was they eat the Halcos instead of the skip baits.

We still managed a couple of nice yellowfin so the day was not a complete waste. I should also add that there was heaps of bait already marking up which certainly bodes well for the upcoming season.

Further north the Hot Currents Tournament suffered badly from poor weather and slow fishing. However there were some nice blues including a 280kg model caught to the boys on Dilligaf. At SWR there are already reports of 24 degree water in the bay and lots of bait so hopefully some billfish will appear soon. Spring really is a good time to chase blue marlin on the NSW North Coast. Trolling over the deepwater canyons and ridges is the best option and not only will you find the elusive blues but stripes and blacks are also on the cards as are tuna and even the odd early chance of a mahi as well. The only problem with trolling is that it can be expensive chewing a lot of fuel and I have to say the only way around this is with a four stroke outboard. To give you an idea trolling close to 200 kilometres in a day which includes running 100kilometres will set me back less than 100 litres on a calm day with my 225 Honda, so just be mindful of your fuel consumption.
 
Further south around Sydney the marlin fishing has been sporadic with one boat raising a fish in 50 fathoms another bumping into one out past Browns, so guess you could say they are where you find them this early in the season. Although the last couple of days the current has been raging and the fishing has slowed down. Hopefully this is just associated with the full moon and things will pick up.

On another subject I hear Cairns is still bloody slow. There are a few reports of boats catching multiple fish but as a whole things are pretty quiet. I hope it picks up and the big fish turn up soon. 

Sword success
Spring is not the traditional time of year to chase swords but that certainly didn’t stop Kev Ward and his mates from putting in a night on the Stanwell canyon south of Sydney. Inspired by the swordfish caught in Strikezone Billfishing 2 they set out to fish the same waters south of Sydney and catch their own gladiator of the deep. Drifting in 300 fathoms with a mix of baits they instantly found success with some mako sharks. Sometime well after midnight they got a bite on a stripy fillet on a double hook wire rig just 5 metres off the back of the boat.

Naturally they presumed it was just another shark, but when Kev got a glimpse of the fish an hour later he realized it was the fish of a lifetime. Mind he reports that his mates were not so confused and still felt it was a shark so they prepared the tag pole. Eventually after a torrid battle the fish finally came to the boat and the tag pole was hurriedly replaced with flying gaffs. Back at the ramp the fish weighed an impressive 73 kilos which is a sensational effort out of a trailerboat.

After capturing that swordfish on film I have been inundated with anglers keen to chase these billfish of the dark. Unfortunately too many anglers dream about it and not enough get down and dirt and put in the hours. On Kevs first go he caught a swordfish exactly as we did when we filmed it so there are a lot more swords out there  than most anglers thin. The morale of this story is head into the darkness and start soaking baits!

Fin slowing down
There are still a few fin around like the ones we encountered on the shelf at Port Stephens but they are mostly smaller fish in the 5 to 20kg range. Trolling is probably the best option and the key is to cover the ground. Definitely focus your efforts along any temp breaks or anywhere there are concentrations of birds. While the action is concentrated from Sydney north at present over the next few months the south coast will see increased action on both yellowfin and albacore. Don’t forgot the makos spring is prime time to find encounter these blue rockets

Great white encounter
While on the subject of sharks I have also been seeing a lot of great white sharks. Once considered critically endangered the great white shark is making an impressive comeback. Over the past three years I have been encountering them on an increasingly regular basis, everywhere from Sydney’s coastal waters to well past the shelf. Every season I find more and more of these awesome apex predators.

Now while it is still illegal to target white sharks you can still observe them and believe me there is nothing more awesome than coming eye to eye with these beautiful predators. So while you are out on the water keep a watch out for any distinct black shapes cruising about. Check some wild shots of Great White Sharks breaching at www.almcglashan.com

Kings
The kingy fishing off Sydney has been good with lots of small fish keeping everyone entertained. Small poppers like Halcos are ideal for this surface feeding fish. For some reason the big fish have been few and far between but hopefully as the water continues to warm up the big fellas will appear.

There was a monster 37 kg beast speared up at Seal Rocks but a local which is an awesome kingy. Seal Rocks is one of my favourite kingy spot but it was taken away from anglers and turned into a marine park by people who have never been there a couple of years ago. To make matters worse the MPA who seem to be opposed to sportfishing in all forms are eager to hunt down and book any anglers for anything they can pin on them. Personally with no buoys marking the edges it is near impossible to determine when you are ‘crossing the line’ so be careful.

As an angler it is pretty distressing to see that since we have paid for a fishing licence the areas we can fish have been steadily eroded away by the likes of marine parks – so much for our right to fish!

Strikezone Tuna Time 2 – search for a jumbo
Due for release in mid December these is easily our best DVD with amazing underwater footage of feeding yellowfin tuna, great white sharks and of course that massive southern bluefin tuna being  captured in Tassie. Check the trailer out at www.strikezonemedia.com.au