Port Stephens Offshore Fishing Excursion

Port Stephens is home to Australia's largest gamefishing tournament - the NSW Interclub. This event can attract more than 200 boats and 1000 anglers. Boats of all shapes and sizes enter the competition and the sailpast is a real spectacle.

Come tournament time hundreds of bystanders line the docks to see fish being weighed. Although these days the large majority of fish are tagged and released.

A large baitball is pushed to the surface by a pack of hungry striped marlin. It's generally not too hard to get a bite when you come across activity like this.

Striped marlin free feeding right next to the boat. Port Stephens is one of the few locations in Australia where sights like this are common place.

A 'lit-up' striped marlin piles on the teaser. Bait and switch fishing for stripers is gaining popularity Down Under where pitching live mackerel on circle hooks results in a very high conversion rate.

Boats travel from all over Australia to fish Port Stephens. Outside Edge is a Queensland based boat that regularly makes the journey down the coast to get amongst the action. Here they fight one of 16 marlin caught in one day.

What stripers lack in size they certainly make up for with spectacular colour changes, high flying acrobatics and blistering runs if hooked on appropriate tackle. 30lb gear is perfect for Port Stephens stripes which average between 120 and 200 pounds.

A small stripe about to be tagged and released.

The 43ft O'Brien, Calypso is one of the gun charter boats based in Port Stephens and while there are never any guarantees in fishing, if you can get a seat on this boat Capt Tim Dean is bound to provide you with a memorable day on the water.

A sight well worth traveling for.

You don't need a big boat to fish Port Stephens. While it can get rough, if you pick the weather then any offshore capable 20 footer is plenty big enough to get amongst the marlin mayhem. Here the boys are putting the final touches on a chunky black marlin.

Most of the black marlin caught off Port Stephens average 150 to 250lbs so are also good fun on 30lb tackle and offer a nice surprise when all you can see is stripes.

Port of Plenty