Latest News

August 14 2005 - Leaving the Gold Coast today headed for the top of Fraser Isalnd , then up the outside of the Swains Reef complex to see if there are any nice blues hiding up there, then over to Townsville for the light tackle black marlin and sailfish until Sept 8, still a few days open end of August for Townsville.

July 30 2005 - Ran out on the slick calm Pacific ocean out to the wide grounds. Trolled for a bit the deep dropped for a few hours and caught a bunch of really nice big fish, hapukas and blue eye trevallas. Lots of porpoise and a few whales still heading north to Hervey Bay. We will be there in a couple of weeks. Marlin fishing was slow, with only a couple of stripys seen inshore, back out in a day or so, so will see where they are.

July 16 2005 - Fished Well the wind backed off all day and by lunch was beautiful, water was dirty inshore and out to about 20 miles, then got cleaner as the day got on, but only to the north up by Jims. Had a drop on Jims and caught a big Hapuka on the first drop, then had a second drop and caught an even bigger one around 40 pounds. Live well was full with 2 fish!! So back to trolling, caught a nice 25lb bull dolphin and called it quits and ran home in a flat calm sea, a few humpbacks cruising north about 10 miles off the seaway. On the coast for a few more weeks, then off to Townsville where the little blacks are still biting strong, come and join us if you can.

July 14 2005 - finishing some loose ends, and fishing next week out of the Gold Coast for blues, the bite has been good when the weather has been good. Townsville continues to fire with 4-6 little blacks per boat per day. Will be up there middle of August, have a few openings for this great fishery. A few opportunities still available for Cairns in Sept/Oct and Dec.

July 2 2005 - Out of the boat yard at last, took too long as usual, but the results are really impressive. Now if it would just stop raining I could finish a few little jobs. Cobia have been really biting out in 24 fathoms, and once this weather is gone we will be out there next week trying to catch a few of these tasty fish.

May - June 2005 - TRADITION is in the boat yard with lots of major work being undertaken to bring her up to my requirements. The new Lees 36 foot outriggers are on and really sharpen up the look of the boat, Scopinich Chairs in the cockpit and bridge make for a beautiful and functional work place. All the Furuno Navnet gear is in, and ready for testing!!! The bridge has had a major restyle, that now gives more space and better seating and comfort for everyone. As well as an additional Freezer for bait and important items such as ice cream!!!

April 18 2005 - After consulting with some of the trawler guys in town I got some marks for some different areas to try on the way back up to the Gold Coast. Ran out and with the angle of the swell ended up a bit further north than where I wanted to start, but did find some good territory off Evans Head, and then also up off Fingal /Hastings area in about 250-500 meters. Tagged a really nice blue around 400lbs after a great fight in ordinary conditions with a short crew of myself, and dad in the chair. Fun trying to fight a fish with out being able to really use the boat, so we cheated and put the drag up!!! Really nice fat fish, single hook corner of the mouth, easy to remove so I did after tagging him, and off we went. Kept in about 500-700 meters from there till up off Kirra out wide, there are no canyons out that far, a few areas where it drops off, and the 500 hook on the C-map does not exist north of the Pt Danger area from what I could see. The boat is back on the Gold Coast till we head north in early August. Got some charters to fish in the next few weeks and with the ship arriving this week, all my toys will be here soon, so off to the boat yard after Sanctuary Cove.

April 2005 - If the wind ever stops blowing we can go fishing!!!! Check out the specials for travelling up and down the coast this season for Cairns in the Bookings and info page.

March 28 2005 - Fished out of Yamba again, great deep country out here, drops from 100 fathoms to 660+ in a few miles, jumped off a small blue, and caught a big dolphin, yellowfin tuna and wahoo off a big floating piece of steel ship. Flat calm and beautiful conditions.

March 27 2005 - fished today out of Yamba and tagged a 300 lb striped marlin, fish was lit up like a Christmas tree, and piled on the bridge teaser before switching to the short rigger.

March 23 2005 - Talk about rough!!! The Couran Cove tournament was held in big seas with wind around 20knots, fishing was really tough and not much fun. no bites Saturday, and fished in the river and had a quiet day Sunday. Top boat had 3 fish, and one boat had someone washed off the flybridge by a wave on Sunday!!! Brought the boat to Yamba , and once the wind lays down will try the canyons off here.

March 17 2005 - I have been working on the boat on the Gold Coast , getting the systems sorted and waiting for all my stuff to arrive from the US. We are fishing the Couran Cove Tournament this weekend, it is an all species tournament, so we will be fishing for Blue and striped marlin out wide, as that is the only tackle on the boat at the moment!!! Fish have been scattered the last week or two, and with the tournament and then 2 more days out in the canyons fishing down to Yamba for Easter, we should get a real good feel on what is happening. The moon is coming up, so that should help out a lot, forecast is 15-20 knots, big boat weather!!!! Will give a run down next week when I get back online.

Feb 24 2005 - Well after a great Miami Boat Show and lots of time spent in the Big Game Room, I am now on a plane and heading for the Gold Coast to fish and refit the boat over the next few months. Miami was a lot of fun, saw a whole lot of old friends, made some new ones and arranged sponsorship with a couple of major companies to use and continue to develop their products under the harsh Australian conditions. Spent the last couple of days with my best friends and was a great, but somber time. Luckily everyone is coming to visit and fish on the TRADITION with me over the next 12 months. Booked some more days for Lizard Island this week, and with only a few gaps to fill in , it is going to be a really huge season!!!!! A few 5 day prime slots still available - let me know what will suit your needs!!!

Feb 11 2005 - Good numbers of blues and striped marlin off the Gold Coast still, Meanwhile further south in Port Stephens the striped marlin bite is going off!!! quite a few boats are tagging 10 or more fish per day on average for the past week or so. One boat tagged 21 striped marlin today, and another boat caught 15 a couple of days ago.!!!! Due to other commitments, TRADITION will not make it there this year, but will be next season, and am now already taking bookings for Feb and March in 2006!!!! Contact me for more info.

Jan 25 2005 - The blue marlins seem to be here, a couple of days have been put in out wide between the windy weather and some really nice blues and stripes have been tagged and released already. March is the real time to be here so if you have some days spare contact me to arrange some really exciting fishing on the TRADITION.