"Fish Tales and Techniques"
by Captains Ross and Glenn Hunter

SHARK FISHING

As a dedicated marlin man I have never been interested in the “Mud Wallopers Sharks” althoughwe have caught many hundreds of different shark species over the years whilst tuna fishing, they have never been targeted specie on our boats.

As a matter of fact all sharks that we do catch are banned from being brought on board, mainly because they make the boat stink for days afterwards and also because there is an element of danger involved in dragging them onboard, with in many cases inexperienced anglers.
Makos and blue sharks are particularly dangerous in this situation so it is the safer approach we adopt on Broadbill and Billfisher

A GIANT MAKO AROUND RUNAMUK	Now let's pull him in with us
An awesome shot by Dave Granger	Matt Ghosen and his 350kg tiger caught last week
Big Tiger

There are some along our coastline who live to catch sharks be it tigers, makos, whalers, hammers and blues.

The Toohey lads on Avanti, The vessel Rampage skippered by the Page boys are great historical shark fisherman and very competitive in their field.

However it is the Ghosn family, Nathan and Matt who own and run SylvaniaMarina who are extremely good on the sharks. Their boats Razorback and Thresher are legendary shark boats and I believe they are two of the most talented sharkers around the scene today.

David Granger on his boat Runamuk  too, has been around the shark scene since he was a lad fishing on his Dad’s boat Bounty Hunter.

These lads have been competitive fisherman all their lives.
In the case of Matty Ghosn he deckied a season with me on Broadbill, catching and releasing many marlin in that ‘91 season Matt was 13 years old back then and a great reliable crewman..

The Goshen boys and David all work to gether at Sylvania Marina and live for the long enduring tussles and seemingly never ending fights with the “BigTige “ The other thing that makes the thing more special is that they have been catching these monsters for years from their 18 foot trailer boats.

So many times in can recall fights that go into the wee small hours of the morning.

 Ten hour battles through the night, miles from home on a lonely ocean, great efforts indeed from these dedicated fishermen, pursuing their craft of big sharks from small vessels

Just check out the great photos of the lads recent 350kg tiger shark capture.

Here’s a verse that describes it all from one of my songs.

SHARK FISHIN SHARK FISHIN’
JUST SITTIN’ IN LOUNGE ROOM WISHIN’
I WAS OUT THERE SHARK FISHIN’

“THE BIG DUNBOGAN GROGAN” BEEN and GONE   (WE HAD A BALL)

Our annual blokey’s get away fishing get together week has been and gone and what a wonderful time it was.

We had 15 visitors over the week all staying at the Fisherman’s Shack at Dunbogan.
Some targeted blackfish others chose the flathead on soft plastics from their boats.

Us OLD FARTS Inc… myself  Brian Nesbitt The Moose , Bob The Road Runner Morgan, Graham Lees (the tourist) all love it to see the antics of the YOUNG BLOODS….they are as keen as mustard up at 4-30 am and into their fishing.

No siestas like the Old Farts may have……. no fishin, fishin, fishin all day and of a night …drink…we couldn’t keep it up to them.

THE”BIG DUNBOGAN GROGAN” A HOTLY CONTESTED EVENT IN ‘07

This years the “Big Grogan” was fished hard and fast and the results were nothing short of spectacular.
The Young Bloods, fishing in two boats made up of the “Coonas” and the “Crystal Cowboys” worked their magic by thrashing every inch of the Camden Haven River with their soft plastics and they caught a heap of good flathead, including the winning fish.
The teams made up from Glenn “The Captain” Hunter, Martin “Macka” Hunter Ricko “Koala” Clay, Kevin “Banga” Banks, these were the coverted “The Crystal Cowboys”

And The Coonas headed up by…. “Banana Bob” Cartwright, Paul “The Target” and then the experienced and devastatingly lethal the old Farts Graham “The Tourist” Lees, the Moose and Bob “the Road Runner” Morgan and Ross the Cogga Hunter

Other late arrivals were “Aqua Monster”, Steve “Emu” Fielding, Ian Redwood Rann and Roberta

The Crystal Cowboys fished hard and fast with soft plastics, acres of enthusiasm and packed eskies. They pulled flathead all day and were a definite early threat to the Coonas
 They fished well catching 30 or so flathead over the two day Big Grogan, but in the end were no match for Banana Bob’s very aggressive Coona team ..In Paul’s brand new boat with Banana at the helm, they pretty much run up on all the sand banks in the river (keep port on your port when coming to port Banana) but these blokes go hard and their 50 flathead left the Crystal Cowboys wanting. The nice shiny white prop was by now shiny alloy from its constant ploughing of the sand flats.

In the meantime The Moose hooked up a remora on some spider web line and was last seen motoring after it at hi speed, and of course his vast experience shone through in the end, as they boated the remora, which Moose fastened it by its sucker to The Tourists leg for a while before releasing. Nothing affects professionals!

A good blackie session	Banana and Paul in the hunt for flathead and sandbars
Paul lands a flatty..a most consistent competitor	Ricko gets lucky with a small flatty on the plastics
Road runner catches a beauty	Roberta and Redwood They are happy
Roscoe with his 44 cm model	The crystal cowboys Glenn and Martin Hunter and Banga Banks...Just Crusin
The magnificent river	They were tough but when we caught them they were beauties
Waiting patiently for a down	We nearly caught a kangaroo as it swam across the river
Banana with that fish A swab is being taken on this one

As for us more elderly crew (we were like the young bulls and the old bulls) we just wandered down the blackfish grounds and did the job well, no fuss , no hype just pure traditional blackfishing…Ah! The joy of the float diss appearing as the blackfisherman watches with keen eye, ever alert to his surroundings and adjusting constantly to the bite and the current ….A style of fishing reserved for gentleman and scholars …and rarely entered into by the young and impatient.

I was lucky enough to score a 44 cm gem that took out the blackfish award (this fish was caught on conventional tackle and green weed unlike Banana’s blackfish which was caught in the mouth, so the story goes on a soft plastic) jagged with a plastic…………..or was it?
 After a swab was taken, there is a strong rumour, it may not have been caught at all or even caught by someone else and a photo taken at the cleaning table of Bob Holding it up.

This I personally cannot believe this, as only a desperate man, a cad and a bounder, would resort to such tricks and then accept the trophy, even after all contestants were asked if there were any confessions, re any kind of any indiscretions, but alas silence was golden.
So Banana gleefully accepted his trophy whilst guzzling copious quantities of beer in the process.
If the truth ever comes out on this incident it will not be pretty if Banana has to face a full committee from the Old Seaman’s Mission..   They’re a hard and sea wearied bunch and would not take kindly to dishonest behaviour even if the tournament motto is;

CHEATING IS NOT ENCOURAGED, BUT IF DONE WITH FLAIR MAY BE ACCEPTED

Banana also made a clean sweep winning Tournament Pest  trophy, which he expected from the onset.
Ricko Koala Clay stared aimlessly into the surrounding scrub for his first glimpse of a Koala which visits us at the shack whenever Ricks not there.
Redwood Rann had a PB. When he actually caught his first blackfish whilst fishing with myself and Roberta, she had joined us for a couple of days as did the Aqua Monster Gav Sharp he also tallied up with some great blackfish.
Of an evening Aqua Monster, Banana and myself played some Buffet and some of Roscoe’s songs on the veranda on our guitars after dinner around the campfire and that was most enjoyable after a hard days fishing.

Next late arrival was Emu Steve who had a mission to catch one of the many cobias we had seen running the edge off the wall but first he had to catch a mullet live bait after two days no mullet ..No cobia.

The week just flew and we all had a great time We fished hard , eat too much and washed it all down with copious beers but isn’t that how it’s supposed to be when good mates go fishin’ !

AN ATTEMPTED MILITARY STYLE “DE COUP” TAKEOVER BY THE YOUNG BLOODS

There was a diss appointing incident when the Moose, The Road Runner, myself and Graham Less The Old Farts were set upon by the young bloods in a miliary style Coup in an endeavour to get one of their kind on the Big Grogan committee.  This traditionally has been reserved purely for members of the most dignified and respected Old Seaman’s \Mission
A petition was signed and presented to us one evening after the Young Bloods had drunk several beers (and had been on the chrome water bag, the chateau cardboard as well) to the elders of the group (The old farts, all fully paid members of the Old Seaman’s Mission, I might add)..
 We took on the attempted coup and just smiled and took this aggressive approach in our strides as you would expect, tearing up the petition and leaving it in the toilet for arse paper, where it belonged.
I think the young bloods were a little taken back by our actions but never the less the message came through good and strong.
At the end of the day this tournament is serious business and you can’t have wankers running it .It needs a sensible stable of experienced and matured fisherman, overseeing such serious affairs, not a bunch of snotty nosed tossers trying to establish themselves, whilst revelling in total obscurity of their mostly miserable lives…Yes! The Old Farts rule with an Iron fist and that’s how it should be, otherwise the whole scene can become a ridiculous debacle….needless to say it was a failed de coup

Winners were;

Biggest Blackfish Banana Bob caught on a squidgy and still under investigation by the committee of Old Seaman
Biggest Flathead……… Paul “The Target” with a 58cm gem
Traditional Blackfisherman’s Trophy …Ross The Cogga (from the old Farts) Hunter (recognised for fishing with a traditional float and green weed, not for jagging one on a soft plastic or taking a photo of someone else’s fish)
Tournament Pest …..Banana Bob (we are thinking that this will remain as a perpetual trophy dedicated to the great man

We had a fabulous time fishing this magnificent area with great company and we will all look forward to Dunbogan ‘08

The photos tell the story of a great time at Dunbogan

Banana Bob the master chef cooks up a massive seafood extravaganza	Banana gets the biggest blackfish and tournament pest trophy
Banana's big fish cook up	Competitors in the Big Grogan
Paul also takes out biggest gut trophy in a clean sweep	Paul wins biggest flatty and the elder Roscoe gets the blackfish
Ricko Koala Clay reckons he's won them all prior to the presentation	Roscoe and Banana do a version of The Bue marlin Blues
The Moose reads out the rules of the The Big Grogan	The winners Paul, Ross and Banana Bob witheir trophys

DOLPHIN FISH (and How to cook them)  By Ross Hunter

As a charter Captain of too many years I have not met many anglers who don't enjoy a session on the dolphin fish, many times after a fruitless marlin expedition they have saved our bacon.

They are great fun on light spin-cast gear or similar, once hooked they are amazing air dwellers as they clear the oceans surface time and time again, much to the joys of the anglers.

Visual fish like these will bring squeals of "Yeh! Did you see that" from even the most experienced angler, as time and time again they jump metres into the air.

Dolphin fish are one of the fastest growing fish in the ocean. I recall many years ago, tagging a heap of them on a FAD off Sydney, all season we went back to that FAD which we had personally put in………….so not a lot of others new about it .

At the start of the season the fish were around 2 kg at the end of the season the fish could be seen swimming at the back of BROADBILL with their bright yellow tags having grown to 6 to 8 kg and that's in a period of 6 months.

As an eating fish they are 5 star rated it is almost impossible for the worst chef to bugger up a dolphin fish.

Dolphin fish or Mahi Mahi are caught in our Sydney waters from the start of summer thru to around August (depending on oceanic temps)

I have seen seasons where we have caught them right thru winter as well, however that year the temps. remained around 21 degrees all season so the dollies stayed with us.

Nsw fisheries fad a must	The barbeque will be fired up tonight
Soft plastics work well	Happy anglers on Broadbill after a session on the dollies
Natalie Hunter with her first dolphin fish at Pt STEPHENS	We always catch some great dolphin fish in a season
Circle hooks The modern way to go	Natural baits are great
Nikee experience the thrill	Everyone's favourite dolphin fish

BEST METHOD TO CATCH THEM
Dolphin fish are a most aggressive feeder, they will pounce on lure live bait as a matter of fact anything that looks edible to them.

Sometimes when trolling a bunch of dolphin fish will be spotted jumping clear of the water when this is seen there will in most cases be  a Fad , trap buoy of a piece of flotsam floating near by.

It is like striking gold out on Mother Ocean as guaranteed hook ups are about to happen and the action will be thick and fast.

Because they frequent flotsam, such floating objects as tree branches, logs etc..These items, if found on the ocean are "walk up starts" for dolphin fish.

They use such floaters as their security blankets.  Fads too (Fish Aggregation Devices) are popular with these species they set up their whole community around such items all season
Trolling baits such as garfish, squid or live yellowtail and slimies is dynamite especially around FADS

We prefer light gear say 6kg spin cast rods or similar.
Another favourite, once a log or a Fad is worked is to cast small live baits into the zone. The dollies just cannot resist these morsels and will be seen shouldering each other out of the way to get to the bait first.

TROLLING
When trolling the bigger of the species around 15 kg and over will jump on any thing skirts, garfish minnows etc, they are quite ravenous.

If trolling around a log in the middle of no where then catch a few on lures, mark the log on the plotter so you do not loose it and then work the fish with cubes( cut up pilchards) they go mad on this technique and will stay with you for much longer.

If you keep trolling it is only a matter of time before they spook and go sulky.
We prefer to troll baits for marlin so the mahis are a bi catch.

Many times we have set up our boats with a mix of garfish and mullet only to be raided by a bunch of mahis necessitating a back to the bait rigging table for the deckies much to their disgust.

They are a great sportfish to catch on light tackle. And better again on the barbeque

Another technique is cubing with pillies around an area such as a FAD this will work well, with the fish taking up residence at the back of your boat in the berley trail.

I have, however seen times when a popular Fad has been worked over by a dozen other boats before you arrive and the fish are wise to the whole scene and will not bite.

In this case the live baits area must, without live bait the fish will be seen but not caught. They are a dumb looking fish but in fact if harassed too much they do get the drift on what us fishos are up to and go totally off the bite. Their normally aggressive persona now goes shy.

At our annual trips to Pt Stephens we often put in a FAD or two and give the dollies a touch up on the way home from the marlin grounds, because these FADS are private , they are not found by the masses so we have a bunch of agro dollies that generally are caught easily on the way home.

Fresh dollies on the barbeque after a great day’s marlin fishing a few tall tales over a coldy reliving the day…that’s what fishing’s all about

If, however it is boneless fish you prefer then skin and fillet, then add a little corn flower to a plastic bag, jiggle fillets in bag until cornflower covers, then dip in egg whipped a little red curry, then roll in lightly in bread crumbs.

Then cook in a pan with a drizzle of grape-seed or peanut oil …….Yeh! Gotta go I'm hungry

A MAGNIFICENT MONTH OF BRILLIANT SNAPPER FISHING

By CAPTAIN ROSS HUNTER…..16/8/07

It can be a long journey that life long experience we call fishing. For me it has been the guiding light, the lighthouse beam that has had a major influence on my life for over 50 years.

There are some spheres of fishing that, as a charter Captain I enjoy more than others after all on our boats we cover a fair gambit of fishing styles and techniques during a 12-month season.

The summer we fish my favourite part of the world and what I do believe are the most productive marlin grounds in the world for big striped marlin. Pt Stephens…Even if this were not so I would still go there I just love the place that much However it is not just the brilliant marlin fishing, it is also the superb scenery of the place that I never get sick of looking at, it really is a breathtaking port to leave from and then come home to after a busy days fishing.

The entrance to the port is made up of Headlands and Islands that are remnants of an extinct volcano from a long forgotten dinosaur era.

The highest mountain to the south Tomaree forms an embattlement that protects the mariners from bad weather, making the port a most safe passage for our boats

To the north Yaccabah with its picturesque, almost vertical mountainous slopes and giant wind eroded gorges that the sea pounds into with great force, sending plumes of spray forever skyward.
Always, a most spectacular sight as we steam to the bait grounds at first light.

The colours of these beautiful steeped cliffs changes constantly with sunlight, depending on the light of the day.

Then there's Cabbage Tree Island with its western rain forest and gorges full of cabbage trees, home of the tiny Gould's Petrel and a resident family of white-bellied sea eagles.

To the south Little Island and Boondelbah Island they all form the breathtaking oceanic entrance to the Port. Over the years there have been many fishing milestones, Broadbill's twenty-one marlin in a day in February 2005.

A day when a bait ball was found with an estimated 80 striped marlin working it up all day.
All we had to do was to back up to it, throw two live baits in and immediately hook up a double on stripes.

There also has been many World and Australian records on all kinds of tackle all caught from this world-class fishery.

As a charter Captain of too many years it is these fish I love to catch and I am convinced that to be really proficient as a marlin skipper it is a life long journey, there is so much to learn

These days, however my personal passions have turned full circle and I find myself enjoying the simple forms of fishing so much this is a normal transition, maybe going back to a second childhood if so it's OK by me.

On my days off from charter duties I sneak down the river a couple of minutes from home with my trusty blackfish rod and get lost in the beauty of the Georges as I watch my float for hours If the fish bite that's good if they don't I still love the serenity.

Another type of fishing I really do adore, is snapper, these are by far our most sought after table fish and they are great fighters on light gear.

I don't think there is any thing that is so exciting as a big snapper laying on the surface, having just appeared from the depths.

We fish an area called the "Hump' it is about 20 nautical mile from our port Botany Bay, for me personally I have fished the area for 40years

Our normal day starts at daybreak and ends at 5pm long but most enjoyable and productive days on our boats BROADBILL and BILLFISHER.

Having picked up my crew we generally steam to Marley Point (around 12 nautical mile) and then troll minnows along the cliff face embattlements of the Royal National Park.

We often get kings and a few salmon on the trip down.

Trolling only 20 metres from the shoreline, it is not uncommon to see wild deer, kangaroos, and white-bellied sea eagles as we head slowly southward.

The scenery leaves you with the feeling that you are in the wilderness, it is so wild and untouched…..no houses, no man made catastrophes, just Australiana at its best and ya gotta love that!

This passage may take an hour, but it is an hour that every customer will take in the magnificence of the area and remember for a long time …There place makes me feel good, just to be there. First Marley with its wild beaches, Garie, Burning Palms Era and Bolgo, all just as beautiful as each other.

The high cliffs are now punctuated by grassy valleys, silky white beaches, adorned by the high mountain ranges above, just so beautiful.

We then change course at Thirroul and head sea ward to our snapper grounds
I have accumulated many great fishing spots over the years, some in 25 metres and some as deep as 70 metres .

We choose an area that may look good on the sounder and then anchor; the pre-rigged rods of floater style and paternoster rigs are baited as the deckie starts the berley trail. The anglers grab a rod and get busy in anticipation.

I am first to grab my trusty Shimano Corsair and start feeding back a big lump of stripey in the light current.

The bait reaches the bottom maybe 80 metres back and Whack the line is pulled through my fingers with a non-mistakable vengeance of a big snapper on the rampage.

Next thing an angler yells "I'm on too" as his rod bends over and line pours off.
The big reds are netted, accompanied by screams of joy, as they are ice slurry in the fish box.

The sea lazily rolls by as we are fanned by light west winds Broadbill lays on anchor as the sun warms my back, the snapper are biting their heads off,every one on the boat is loving it………an me …….well what do you reckon.

THE FOLLOWING PHOTO GALLERY IS A COLLAGE OF HAPPY CLIENTS AND THAT MAKES US CAPTAINS HAPPY TOO!

A cold winters morning and the rising sun is most welcomed as we head out a day break	Cold maybe, but the thought of big snapper warms me up
An eastern grey kangaroo, we see heaps on the way down	White bellied sea eagles roam the high cliffs
Heading to the snapper grounds	Billfisher caught a heap of snapper as well
Broadbill on anchor and into the snapper on floaters	The Scenery on the way to the grounds....Magnificent
We catch a couple of salmon on the way	A snapper that looks like a giant bream Some are not as red as others
A beaut crew and a great catch of reds	captain Glenn Hunter with a great catch on Billfisher on Sunday
A couple of beaut snapper in anyone's book	The winch Anthoney Chaffey and Steve the shooter and Stew The Swordfisherman, what a great haul of big reds
Friends on mother ocean	Chris with a thumper of a fish
Matt and daniel with a couple of the 21 Snapper caught	Hals 3.5 kg snapper
Don't ever give a kid afishing rod, Next thing they're catchin more than you, Luke catches his first	Mark Rea had a great day on BROADBILL
Paul Hobb's with a beaut snapper he caught on Broadbill on Sunday	Proud of the effort You Bet Steve with his big snapper
Roscoe gets lucky last Monday. The lads had a great day on the snapper	What good fish..They don't catch them like this in Cowra says Maurice
24 fish kept 10 released	We all enjoyed the magnificent scenery on the way to the snapper ground

FISHING FLOATERS FOR SNAPPER
by Ross Hunter 7/11/06

Snapper are one of Australia's favourite recreational fish they are great fun to catch and they are five stars as a table fish, they simply are everyone's favourite.

On Broadbill and Billfisher we love a day on the reds as a change from the gamefishing.
There is nothing better that fishing on anchor with engines turned off , maybe a little soothing music on the stereo whilst fishing at our favourite snapper area the Stanwell Park Hump.

This place is the home of the big reds, it is found 19.8 nautical miles south of Botany Bay Heads, which is our homeport.

To visit "The Hump" is a wonderful experience if only for the scenery itself, as it quite breathtaking, to be in this part of the world always makes me feel good.

Miles and miles of National Park, the rugged unspoiled coastline is made up of magnificent cliff faces, reaching one hundred metres high, so rugged and so shear. Home for many families of white bellied sea eagles as they majestically soar in the updrafts searching for food. We often troll the washes along the edge of the cliff faces and catch kingfish and bonito on the trip home.

Deep diving lures trolled slowly will get the job done as we sit back and breath in the serenity of this wonderful area of the Royal National Park, usually with a fine catch of snapper in the fish box.

It is always a pensive thought that only 30 miles northward is the big smoke, Sydney, the biggest city in Australia, but down here we are in a bit of wilderness, that is the beauty of this wonderful country we call Australia.

PLANNING THE TRIP
When planning a trip we ensure that the following factors are in place. (After all it is a long haul down there and it can be a waste of fuel and time if the following are not right)

(a) Current flow…To fish the floater system the current must not be running too fast, any more than one knot and this system is in jeopardy (more on that in techniques)…The current should be running lightly to the south.

(b) Wind…The wind must be reasonably light and from any direction but the south. Light west light nor east but not south. The reason is that because we are fishing on anchor if the currents light from the north (IE running southward) and the wind is from the south then we could find our selves fishing under the boat and back up the anchor rope, this never works.

If the breeze is from any other direction other than against the current the boat will generally lay with the current flow thus allowing the baits to be fed back from the transom with the current assisting to take them down to the depths with the berley.

(c) Selecting a spot to anchor……This is the most important part of the day. Having fished this area for many years I have land marks I work with and still use to day.

Yes! Believe it or not people actually used land marks once……that is before a thing called GPS was invented.

After all how else could you find your fishing spot, mind you we still use the GPS to check our landmarks.

Having established that we are now in our spot we then sound the bottom carefully, we are fishing in 20 fathoms and the bottom is broken reef and gravel We pick a section of reef to anchor on and drop the reef pick allowing for breeze and current to drift us over the small reef outcrop below. Anchoring on hard reefy areas will result in rubbish fish all day Such species as pike, sweep, jackets etc will plague all day making it impossible to get a bait to a good snapper.
The wider reefs are where the big fish forage for their food and that's where we have selected to anchor.

Ok! So all the above are in order so we can plan our trip an early start for these sorts of trips is essential.
In the Spring, which is the best month by, far, we leave around 5 am getting us on the spot at 6.15 am, first baits hit the water about 6.30am.

A couple of good size reds caught on floaters on BROADBILL.	Dave Bogle with a nice snapper caught on BILLFISHER.
Even Roscoe gets lucky sometimes.	Glenn Hunter witha couple of snapper caught on floaters.
Snapper like this can be caught on floaters from now through to spring.	Spring snapper We love them Glenn Hunter holds up a 5.8kg.

TECHNIQUES FOR FLOATER FISHING
(d) Techniques………Ok! if you have not fished the floater method for snapper then there is a great experience waiting for you…. Basically what we are doing is not rocket science. Once we have anchored on our favourite spot, a spot that in our instance has produced some great days over many years on the reds, we then get the system going.

Firstly pilchards are cut fine on the cutting board and berley slick is started as they are thrown in small pieces cut into 8 or ten cubes per pillie and fed back down the slick. This never stops all day. We have now sent a message to any snapper feeding below in the adjacent area that we have arrived and there is food above.

Snapper like all fish have a great sense of smell and will pick up such a berley trail from a along way away.

Sometimes you won't get a bite for maybe 2 hours, be patient it will pay off and when they arrive it can be in numbers.

Tide changes can play a part in the snapper's feeding habits an hour before and an hour after is always good. Also after big seas and bad weather, this too will work well.
Once the berley slick is working then the baits go in.

BEST RIGS
We use a Shimano bait caster loaded with 6kg line, a ball sinker of enough weight to carry the bait slowly down in the light current sits directly onto the mustard 2/0 bait holder hook.
No swivel is used with this sort of fishing.

Yes! Small hooks are the best; I prefer 2/0 to a max of 3/0 they never come out and are easier to set on the light drags we are using.

The bait is striped tuna cut into a triangular shape complete with skin…The hook is fed thru the thin end of the triangle once only The baits are 120 millimetres in length .

I use big baits as it helps with the drift and the pickers cannot eat them but snapper are "guts" and they have no trouble getting them down.
Ok! Now the baits are on correctly and we are ready to present same to a waiting snapper below

Good sized slabs of striped tuna are our favourites.	A range of circle hooks Great for snapper.

It is now important to feed the bait back in free spool in the current, not too fast but at the same speed that the berley is flowing back. How far do we feed the bait back? …Depending on the day up to 100 metres, if you get snagged up on the bottom then go to a lighter sinker You do not want to be on the bottom at any time as the snapper will feed right up in mid water once they are in the berley slick.

To experience a snapper's run on this light gear is a buzz and is so instant and powerful you will never miss it. You will be dreaming away, feeding back your line, you may have done it for a few hours with out a bite and all of a sudden line is screaming off the reel and the fun has started You have just hooked a big red and the fun has started.

At this point the reel is clicked into gear and alight strike is made and then hang on as the light line pours of the drag. But the best is still to come and that is the sight of a big snapper coming out of the depths after a 20-minute fight.

The landing net is called for and one hell of a beautiful specimen joins the boat.
These days we release a fish or two especially the big breed stock the best table fish are the 1.5 to 2.5 kg size.

Yep! The barbeque will be fired up tonight ….Fresh snapper a nice wine and a great days "Floater Fishing".

Sounds good!………………………………… well go and give it a go and good luck….send us the photos!

YELLOWFIN TUNA (THE GUT BUSTERS) 12/05/07

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN by Captains Ross and Glenn Hunter

THE COMPLETE DO'S AND DON'TS OF IT ALL

It seems so long ago when I add up the years, however as a memory my first yellowfin tuna experience seems like it was just yesterday. I can vividly recall the power of the fish's runs that seemed endless and the helpless feeling that after an hour I had not gained one millimetre of line. After 2 hours of frustrating "hanging on" my back was hurting, my forearm was aching and I had the distinct feeling that this was bloody hard work, maybe even too hard for this most inexperienced tuna angler.

But there is always seem to have a mate or two on the boat who reminds you that only a wimp would complain, let alone giving the rod to someone else, just 'cause the lactic acid has kicked in and you are in diabolical pain. Then after 2.5 hours we get colour "Oh! Shit he's a monster" every one yells in unison at the first sight of the huge fish circle below us. What a magnificent sight it is in vivid gold's, yellows and silvers, the huge anal and dorsal fins trailing back to the tail……… The fish is now visible all the time as it circles 20 metres under us, it is by far the biggest I have ever seen, but every bit of line is still so difficult to gain. This then makes the angler more nervous because every one has told you that this is when you can loose a big tuna.

Then for another 20 minutes the big fish fights in circles, he is "just there", but "just there" is now taking every bit of energy you can muster to gain those precious pumps of line. Inch by inch line is gained until a giant of a tuna joins the boat…..The boats shakes as the fish's body reverberates through it as its' giant tail beats its last. The wild screams of delight, handshaking and the backslapping are all part of the joy. The angler is wondering if there may be a local chiropractor still open, back on land for a quick spinal re set. The 2006 season off Sydney was a screamer with some great fish like this being caught since May on BROADBILL and BILLFISHER.

That first tuna is a wonderful memory and whilst it was three decades ago, as a captain of a charter boat I have related to the same scenario so many times, when I experience one of our anglers struggling with their first tuna encounter…….The memory is an un-forgettable one because these are the toughest of all fish and make any angler work extremely hard to earn the final result…………We are talking about the gut busters of the ocean . The most power full fish that swims…………….."the mighty yellowfin tuna"

HOW THE SEASONS VARY FROM YEAR TO YEAR
Every season in our business is different; it all revolves around the thermo clines and isotherms, the oceanic currents.

An example is the '97 marlin season off Pt Stephens, that season we tagged 248 marlin inc 18 in one day on Broadbill..a season where the water didn't get to hot, but stayed blue, right to coastline and never went over 24 degrees, perfect for great marlin fishing
The 2006 yellowfin season has been the same off Sydney.

Glenn and myself have caught more tuna this season than we have in the past decade…….Why?
The current flow had eddied off Sydney in a giant swirl of tuna rich water…20 to 21 degrees right through winter and has basically not moved. As a result the tuna have taken up residency off Sydney as well.

We caught tuna since May rarely missing out.
On our boats we like our anglers to release a fish or two, having all caught one each.
The fish have averaged around 25 to 30 kg……… The biggest going 58kg.so far for the season.

A great fish we trolled in 200 fathoms on a soft plastic saurie.	Artificail garfish work well The hardest thing is getting them back.
Everyone loves catching these speedsters.	Gavin Sharp's yellowfin caught on the old BILLFISHER
JIsaacs YFin 75.5kg caught on 24kg A great effort.	Sometimes a tuna will get sharked This one a mako bit off its' tail.

HOW TO FIND TUNA
Two factors are paramount here;