The waters off Port Stephens are among the most accessible blue-water game fishing grounds on the east coast. A day on a charter boat in pursuit of striped marlin.
The Grounds
Port Stephens sits at the edge of the continental shelf at a point where the East Australian Current pushes warm blue water unusually close to the coast. The shelf break — the point where depth drops from 100 metres to over 1000 metres — sits about 30 nautical miles offshore. In the right season (October to April), striped marlin, yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi, and wahoo move through in numbers that make Port Stephens one of the most productive game fishing grounds on the east coast.
The Charter
We went out on a full-day charter — six anglers, an experienced skipper, and a deckhand who had spent twenty years handling fish on these grounds. The boat was a serious sportfisher with outriggers, a fighting chair, and a tuna tower for spotting. We left the harbour at 5am in calm conditions and ran for 90 minutes to the shelf.
The trolling spread was set within thirty minutes of reaching the break: five lures in a pattern behind the boat — long rigger, short rigger, two flat lines, and a centre teaser. We trolled for two hours before the first strike.
The Marlin
A striped marlin of approximately 80kg — confirmed by the skipper's estimate — took the long rigger lure at 10:15am. The hookup was violent: the outrigger line snapping from the clip, the rod loading immediately, the reel screaming before I had reached the chair. The fish jumped three times within the first minute. Nothing prepares you for the speed of a marlin.
We fought the fish for 55 minutes. It was released at boatside in good condition — striped marlin are a catch-and-release species on this charter. The skipper took a quick measurement (approximately 250cm) before the fish kicked free and disappeared in ten seconds.
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