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The marlin, they are fickle!Word of the fish at Lena Reef seemed to have spread with a number of other boats arriving Tuesday to join us, although the fish and the weather were not cooperating. Quite a bit lumpier than Monday, with a few rain squalls thrown into the mix and just the two fish reported in this area. KEKOA continues to plug away with another smaller fish from three bites. And Shaka, fresh from changeover at Cooktown caught an estimated 400lb-er at the top of Lena Reef.Down at Linden Bank, Capt. Kim on New Moon raised a group of smaller fish and managed to release one of the bigger ones at 450lbs from three as well. And that was it on the marlin front.Capt. Dean on Castille sent me this picture of a nice size Dogtooth they caught up to the north. On board Reel Chase we enjoyed a morning snorkel and spearfish behind the reef on the last day before the reef finfish closure with the bonus of a couple of nice sized trout for tea. And we also enjoyed some more TowCam PoleCam action behind the boat and can prove that its not just the barracuda’s and wahoo who enjoy eating the camera but the red bass, spangled emperors and other assorted reef fish do too. Today it seems everyone is heading south. Hopefully to find that magic congregation of fish.And a message to Peter: the boys are enjoying your tim tams and Dire Straits on board and said to let you know that they miss you

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Updates from Ultimate Lady on the way and marlin action on the Gold Coast today as well.Up on the Ribbon ReefsSkytrans continues to lose friends. Not only have they cancelled many of the scheduled flights between Cairns and Cooktown but yesterday they left our clients behind all but on the tarmac! A hastily arranged charter flight, a few hours later, and finally, just after lunch, we were on our way to the reef. But all the hassle became worth it when within half an hour putting the baits in the water at 2pm, Danny was onto his very first black marlin at Lena Reef – a stocky 650lb-er which crash tackled the big bait. With the seas nice and lumpy, the fish did what all big blacks do and headed straight into the weather. After taking many waves over the back, and plenty of water on board, we put the tag in beside the boat. And got some excellent footage on the TowCam PoleCam as well. Top: Danny’s fish swims beside Reel Chase. Below: Danny’s fish again jumps beside the boat & on KEKOA, a 250lb-er gets some great air! Also at Lena, KEKOA released an excitable 250lb-er straight after putting the baits in the water, while the rest of their group, on board The New Allure, had to wait until just before cease fishing to hook-up on their only fish for the day, a solid 700lb-er who did some damage to the outrigger in the rough seas.I’ve also managed to finally have a little catch up with Capt. Ross on Top Shot who has been plugging away at the fish day after day including four tags in the one day last week. Yesterday, fishing the middle Ribbons, releasing another one at the end of the day as well. Up at Day Reef, Tradition tagged one from two bites and ran into some of our sailfish up there as well while Capt. Dean on Castille missed a big one.Ultimate Lady News from Capt. Tom and the big blue boat we’ve missed seeing up here so far this year. They are having a good trip despite the weather mid Coral Sea. They have jumped off a bunch of small blues, and caught a few as well – not too bad for just straight lining. And word is they may have Australia’s first grander blue marlin in the boat. Hopefully they will be able to weigh it when they are in Townsville on Wednesday. Gold Coast Marlin ActionA call from Capt. Ross McCubbin on Sunday to let us know that one club boat tagged two blues and another a blue and a stripie on the weekend. Could be the year of the blues! Lets hope so because the blacks are being trying

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The fish had another reasonable chew Sunday, although the up to 30 knot winds and rain continue to keep things interesting. In one hour at Number 2 Ribbon, Capt. Luke on KEKOA released three from four to 400lb, making a fabulous start on the first day of this trip. Capt. Bobby Jones has returned to the helm of Fascination IV this week and returned from a few days on the high seas yesterday reporting a solid 700lb-er in the middle. Also in the middle, Capt. Jared on Shaka continues to plug away at the fish, with angler Ed Vander Kruck’s second marlin in two days – an 850lb-er – which crashed the tuna on the last downsea run of the day. She was tagged and successfully released just on dusk. Left: Jeff on the leader on KEKOA. Right: Angler Ed and CP on the deck on board Shaka. We’re out for the first of a five day trip with the returning Scotts today. Although the weather is not ideal, we’re looking forward to getting stuck into it. Peter – watch this space!

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Today, some learned best guessing from Capt. Jim as to why the fish have not shown up in numbers as yet: The fish turn up on the Ribbon Reefs thanks to the south equatorial current which historically hits the north coast in the Lizard Island area. The main body of the current turns south and eventually heads all the way along the east coast of Australia to Bermagui in the south. The small northern eddy swings around the gulf of Papua and back onto the south equatorial to complete the loop. For some reason, this current is extremely important to the spawning aggregation of the giant black marlin. At the moment, the current appears all wrong, and is hitting the coast just north of Port Douglas and the majority of the water is looping around the gulf of Papua. Hopefully the current will adopt its normal proportions and the bulk of the fish will again swim into the Ribbon Reefs. Because the main congregation of fish don’t seem to have arrived just yet, the fishing is best described as patchy. This picture shows some of the recent catches, spread right along the entire reef system. Some reports from yesterday though indicate with the last quarter moon phase now approaching, and the legacy of the full moon disappearing out of the system, the fishing may be turning around…At Linden Bank, WatchDog tagged two from three, 200 and 600lb and lost the third at the boat. At the bottom of Number 4, Shaka continues to deliver for their virgin black marlin anglers with the first for Ed (and in 30 + knots and 3 metre seas no less!) At Number 8, Capt. Laurie on Ningaloo released one in the first hour of fishing. And back at Number 10, on 2nd corner, Capt. Dean on Castille took advantage of a late bite to release number two for the day at an estimated 700lbs and Capt. Tim on Tradition released another smaller fish there as well.The weather is certainly making conditions trying. With the forecast all red (20 knots + category) for the next 7, we certainly hope the fishing will be making up for it. This year is shaping up to be worse than 2006 on the weather front. But its got to end some time….!

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Capt. Luke has saved us from reporting oblivion again with another good day at the Marks on Number 10 Ribbon Reef. After jumping off a smaller fish early, the tide turned again for boat builder Pete O’Brien as he hooked up on a nice estimated 800lb-er (photos) mid-afternoon. She gave a great jumping display for all on board before being released. And later, team KEKOA released another smaller fish as well ending with two from three for the day. Capt. Dean on Castille also reported missing a big one up that way. And, up the very top, Sparticus also released a smaller fish on Hicks Reef.**One day soon I’m going to do a map of Number 10 Ribbon, so all these spots make more sense to those who are not familiar. At the very bottom, Capt. Kim on New Moon this time reports fish down at Euston Reef, releasing three of the small guys to 200lb yesterday as well.We are light tackle fishing again today in the vicinity of Lizard Island. Tomorrow, we head into Cooktown – our first time into port in 3 weeks(!) – for a well deserved two day break. So, unless any other boats make a special effort to send me their reports, I will be taking a blogging holiday until Monday as well.