After a somewhat slow and uninspiring start to the marlin season off the mid-NSW coast, things are starting to look up in time for the fast approaching NSWGFA Interclub tournament.
Some great fishing is currently being experienced off the Port Stephens coast, with the famous (infamous?) “Carpark” grounds seeing the bulk of the action. Several local crews have been taking advantage of the recent warm water and solid bait aggregations, and last weekend (29/30 Jan) provided some excellent fishing.
Capt. Tim Dean on Calypso kicked things off on Friday the 29th, releasing seven fish from the afternoon bite. Saturday morning saw approximately 20 local crews, plus a few wanderers from down south, working the main Carpark grounds; with the sleek 48 Viking Gunrunner taking honours for the day tagging six marlin including two from a triple hook up, and finished up with five stripes and a black.
Capt. Tim backed up for the Saturday onboard Born Free to tag a further four marlin and several other local boats, including Garry Holt’s Diversion, tagged three to four each for the day. The juniors onboard Anarchy, a sweet Cabo 40 Express, tagged two fish late in the day. A rough guess would suggest that at least 70-80 per cent of the fleet saw a minimum of one to two fish on the day including the lonely black marlin that we managed to tag on board The Force, and go one from two bites.
Capt. Hoggy tagged one from three whilst delivering a Cabo 48 up from Broken Bay, and also had the pleasure of witnessing first-hand as Capt. Adam Jordan on Iona II tagged his ninth fish for the day at the southern limits of the Carpark. His final tally was seven stripes and a blue and a black marlin to round out the grand slam.
Sunday saw Ron Jacobs’ Aluhra – having just arrived for the season from Broken Bay – tag four fish while Shane Sipthorp and the boys on Askari tagged three to bring their weekend total to four.
Plenty of other crews found action over both days and while the bulk of the fish appear to be striped marlin there are plenty of smaller blacks in the warmer water and the odd blue mixed in for good measure. If you’re yet to catch your first marlin, or just keen to get out and catch a couple, the next month or so presents the perfect time to get in touch with the local charter operators and book a day or two on the Port Stephens grounds – there’s a very good chance you’ll get to experience some action.
