FINDING THE FAST FISH

The East Australian Current starts to run south along the NSW and Queensland coast in early summer and brings large numbers of pelagic game fish with it. At this time of year the water temperature increases to over 25 degrees and big schools of slimy mackerel and pilchards hold on many of the inshore reefs. These large bait schools attract a wide variety of predators including black and striped marlin, Wahoo in the north, dolphin fish and a variety of tuna.

Game fishing is always dictated by water temperature and prevailing currents. As the current swirls its way south along the continental shelf it creates enormous twisting eddy currents that push close inshore. If the wind is from the south east the blue water is pushed in close to the coast. If the blue water stays well offshore it can pull the inshore water north and pull colder water up from more southern areas and it is not uncommon to see cool green and relatively lifeless water on the inshore grounds in summer due to this effect. Last week I headed out and for the first 10 kilometres the water was green, dead looking and only 21 degrees. As I pushed out