zmk1962

Excellent result @Tarik ... you did way better than we did at SydN FAD on Monday... interesting re the water temp ... we could not find any water warmer than 22.8C on Monday ... go figure. Cheers Zoran

Wrong Monday 🤪 ! Report is up.....

Hey Raiders/Deckees, It's taken a bit longer than expected to post this report. Finally managed to get out last Monday 11.03.2024 with Jason @Welster. We had discussed an offshore trip since 2019 and the calendars finally lined up ... The warm water shown on the BOM chart was enticing and with the conditions looking good for a run out to the Sydney N FAD we hatched a plan to leave my place at 4am, launch from Parsley Ramp at 5am, load up with yakkas at West Head and be on the FAD by 6.45-7.00am SUNRISE ! We were first boat launching at the ramp and pulling away as the other rigs started to enter the water - all going to plan. The trip to West Head was very slow with a thick mist significantly reducing visibility all the way to Juno point. It was also very humid and there was a lot of condensation forming on the inside of the boat windscreen further restricting vision (I've since purchased a 12V windscreen heater that I will keep on board). Anyway, once at West Head, burley went out and the yakkas showed up - a strange mix of horses and lollipop size - and pretty soon we had 30 in the tank. The forecast indicated it was going to be a bumpy ride out to the FAD with the NE wind facing the 1M E swell.... and it was. We found there was one other boat already at the FAD and the water Temp was 22.8C which was a lot lower than the BOM charts. The conditions were very calm - again as predicted. We spun devOcean around, reversed up downstream of the FAD, activated Fishpoint and sent out the first yakkas .... I got an immediate hit but no hook up. Out goes another yakka and bam ... a hit and hookup and the first dollie comes onboard - a keeper. By now the other boat had moved on to the wider FAD about 300m away so we had it to ourselves. I threw out a strip bait from a yakka that didn't make the trip which resulted in another hookup followed by a short tussle .. a juvenile dollie released to fight another day. And so it went for the next two hours, lots of hits but alas they were mostly juveniles. The day was still looking promising as the dollies were hanging around, and by now we had managed to put 3 keepers on board so there was the possibility of others. But then the yacht we had passed on the way out showed up and started to drift back and forth upstream of the FAD. With each drift the bite quietened and eventually there were no dollies to be seen. We called it and raced back to the flathead grounds. 60m nothing. 50m Jason gets a hit on the paternoster .. and pulls up a juvenile dollie ... I reckon it followed us from the FAD ! But no flathead ... tried 40m again for zero flathead ... I must admit I have not idea where the flathead are this season ... or sadly I have lost my mojo !!!!!! Here's a video of the slow action at the FAD ... By now it was getting close to noon and the wind had picked up, so we decided to run to Bangalley head and slow troll some livies - but the swell had also picked up (as forecast) making it difficult to slow troll so we wound them in and put out some hardbodies. Second pass and Jason hooked up on a chumpy bonito which gave a very good account of itself. So with the bonnie in the tank we called it a day and headed back to the ramp. 3 keeper dollies and a chumpy bonnie - enough for a couple of feeds. Thanks for a great day offshore Jason @Welster ... we'll have to do it again. Cheers Zoran PS: Mahi is delicious ... esp with a touch of wasabi ! I am also partial to Smoked bonnie ... Maria and I have enjoyed a couple of cold lunches already.

I guess that qualifies as a UFO - unidentified floating object 🧐

Nice effort Ian - 4am and already at the ramp is keen! Glad you got a feed. cheers Zoran

Well 🤔 it appears you guessed wrong - coz you were one that referred to me as @zoran 🤪 ... but you are correct - I don't worry about many things - especially comparing fish by quantity ... when it's QUALITY that really counts. Have you got better yet ... or are you dragging your feet again?? Cheers Zoran

I have not caught any off Sydney - Wollongong beaches .. but have caught them in 30-60m offshore fishing for flatties. So they are around but not something I have personally caught off a beach. cheers Zoran

Well done @saltrix … time on the water and a feed to boot. Not all trips are record breakers but each trip on the water is special. Well at least it is to me. cheers Zoran

That’s the Samson of Sampson fish Chris … another Herculean effort congrats. cheers Zoran ps - note all the referenced legends… Samson, Hercules, Chris …. 💪💪💪

Thanks @Jimmy 75, I was just interested in the Sarca but as it turns out it's too small for my rig. Best of luck with the items. Cheers Zoran

Just thought it may simplify things .... several folks lately have referenced me as @Zoran in their posts ....

Hi @Jimmy 75, is this a Sarca? Just wondering about the dimensions (length / weight) to see if its suitable as a spare for my rig. Also what do you want for it and where would pick up be? Cheers Zoran

Look after yourself mate. Cheers Z

We will just have to remember to call you Nimrod going forward ! Take care Nimrod. Cheers Z

Nice one Bob ... I can already taste it on the plate ! Cheers Zoran PS - I've canned tomorrow ... things came up ... so looking at early next week now.

Thanks Donna ... out of curiosity is there a way to swap to @Zoran without losing connection to all my past posts ? Cheers Z

Tasty catch again Dave ... congrats ... hope everything goes well today. Cheers Z Don't let him fool ya ... he's just saying that to get in with the "cool kids". 🤘🤘 I have the supersized SP bonnie rigged and ready - the slappin' is a-comin' !! BTW several folks have referred to me as @Zoran but I have no idea who this @Zoran is ... appears he joined and never came back ... and he's taking up a valuable Deckee id !!! Maybe I should talk to Donna about swapping to this id 🤔 Cheers the real "Zoran"

Excellent result Bob. But I must admit with that many squid I’d be tempted to pack up and take that home as the day’s “bag” … delish cheers Zoran

Not sure if you cleaned the flooring in the boat or took it out of the boat to clean. From memory you have an ally plate boat - the general guidance is you should not use bleach on aluminium - it will corrode and blacken the ally. Also, from my understanding bleach does not actually kill the mold/mildew spores - it does "bleach" the colour out of the mildew so gives the appearance of removing it. Hydrogen Peroxide 3% is a very effective mold/mildew killer. It actually breaks down the protein chains and when you spray it on mold/mildew you will see it bubbling as this reaction takes place. It's quite cheap and available from the big online Amazing store. You don't need more than 3% strength so don't get carried away with buying the higher concentrations unless you plan to dilute it down. Cheers Zoran

Chris ... mate .... that one trumps them all ! ... congratulations ⭐ and 🏆. You'll be sinking a few beers over that one for quite a while. Cheers Zoran

@Burger mentioned “wind swell” on top of base swell. I think it’s important to add to that point…The rule of thumb for wind and swell is you get 1m of swell for every 10kts of wind, where the wind has been been blowing across the ocean for quite some distance. So a 20kt south easter will bring up a 2m SE swell on top of what ever else (tide, swell etc) is going on. So look at the wind speed and how long it’s been blowing in that direction as well. cheers Zoran

Thinking back it’s been like this with very few flatties since that minesweeper was conducting training mid 2023. That low freq sonar must really play havoc with fish stocks. cheers Z

Sorry to hear. But at least you got out on the briny and had a go.

Well done Ian, you always put in a solid effort and great report. Pity about the hairy ... but that's fishing. Reminds me a bit of when you threw away the gemfish at the boat 🤭🤭🤭 Cheers Zoran

Nicely done Rob .... definitely whetting my appetite for some fresh flat fish ! Cheers Zoran