james7 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 We intended to head out to the FAD to try for a few dollies, but despite generally good conditions, there was a decent swell, so "Pick-A-Box" Syd (the skipper) decided to troll for half an hour along the coast before drifting for some flatties. (What a waste of time trolling I thought to myself) Maybe we’d pick up a tailor or two like we had on some recent previous trips? Despite the swell it was a beautiful morning. Syd said that we might pick up a stripey or two. I tried to explain to him that there had been no stripies caught close in for ages and on top of that, there were no bait schools around. We were wasting our time. Nothing … and more nothing. Maybe we should've gone all the way out to the FAD? We had turned and were heading back to Bate Bay because there were still no indicators of any likely action, no birds, no bait breaking the surface, and nothing on the sounder, no likely sign of any action. Suddenly out of the blue, Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. “Pick-A-Box” Syd’s TLD starts screaming. Judging by the bend in the rod, this was no tailor or salmon. A few minutes later a nice stripey comes on board. For a 3-4kg fish it really put up a good fight. We (I) thought it was a one-off, a loner, but decided to try another 10 minutes trolling just in case. We passed a floating bit of wood and Syd reckons he saw a dollie near it. I tell Syd that “he’s dreaming” as I’ve never seen a dollie that close to the coast (i.e. less than 500m from shore and in only 30m). A minute later, Zzzzzzzzzzz another stripey hits. However, as it comes to the surface we notice 6 or 7 dollies following it. (They were there just to prove me wrong) Syd reminded me several times that I was foolish to doubt him - however, his language was a bit more colourful. As I fumble around like an old woman trying to put a sp on to have a flick at the dollies, Syd has dropped a jig down and is on already. It was only a small one, but he was rapt as it was his first fish jigging and more amazingly, a dollie! (Who needs to waste all that fuel going to the FADs!) A quick release after a few photos. A few dollies have a go at my lure, but no takers. Then I notice some smaller fish following my lure … jackets maybe? A couple of these creatures came right to the surface and looked like cross between a jacket and a toad. They were sort of a “boxy” shape and a dark greenish brown, about 30cm long. I’ve never seen them before. This is what they did to my lure. As Syd is having a look, his line goes slack. Bugger! He loses his best jig and a few meters of braid. We decide to continue trolling to get away from these sharp toothed critters. The trolling action continued for the next few hours and all in the same area. The tracking on the screen of the GPS looked like Mr Squiggle on drugs! We were getting hookups about every 15 minutes. All up we scored about 20 stripies and 6 dollies. It was sensational fun and almost non-stop action. My little Charter Special had never seen so much action. Syd noticed some big splashes in the distance, so we head off to investigate. A seal was smashing a small shark on the surface. We sat next to him for about 15 minutes while it ripped off chunks and showered us with spray. This was an incredible show. The day was getting better and better. (I’ll put up a few more photos of the seal vs shark in the general photos section) We decided to leave the dollies and stripies and have a break drifting for some flatties off the beach to rest our aching backs and arms. After an hour or so, I scored big flounder (yahoo!) and a couple of flathead. As Syd had caught the only two legal dollies, I at least now had some “eating” fish to take home. The afternoon was drawing to a close and both of us decided that it was one of the best days we’d had for years and despite all the action, we still only had half a dozen fish to eat on board. What we didn't realise was that it wasn’t over yet. Syd spots a few birds working so we decide to have a quick troll around to see if there were any tailor amongst them. When we got there, we could see huge bait schools everywhere, some more than 50m across. The birds were going crazy now. It was like being in a battle zone. The tailor were jumping on the lures and there were even a couple of stripies amongst them. For an hour we trolled around with the tailor hitting anything we put in the water. It was now almost dark, so we left them biting and headed home with the kill tank full. We were both exhausted, but elated. It had been a top day! And one of the incredible parts is that we never got more than 3km from the mouth of the Hacking! The "eating" fish - 2 dollies, 2 flathead, 1 flounder, 15 tailor (The tailor will be smoked tonight) The "bait" fish - stripies ready to be be filleted and salted for the next trip A happy "Pic-A-Box" Syd with a few stripies Syd's two legal dolies It was an amazing day that we'll both remember for years! Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Gotta be happy with that! What a top day fishing and a great haul of decent fish as well. Good stuff mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano2233 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 well done sounds like a top day, and a great report too. very well done again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Top day on the water guys, kinda makes me wish I were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 G'day Pete and Syd, wow what a day you guys had, that would have been so much fun, I bet you wont be doubting Syds gut feelings any more hey Pete. Now you have some good eating and a shedload of prime bait, love to have some of those stripey fillets in my fridge, great shots too Pete. Congrats .. Cheers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alasdair Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Well done guys. Days like that is what keeps us all going back for more. alasdair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WANNAFISH Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Nice!!! Plety of fish for the rest of the family. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 well dont fellas, awesome day. Im just wondering, are stripies any good to eat at all? If you were to bleed and ice them down etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard1 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 what a ripper of a day! damn i need a boat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie big bob Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) Pete Cracker report there. Good to hear you had some non stop action just of the heads . One question i need to ask is to you wet salt or dry salt your stripes. Cheers Bob Edited May 11, 2009 by aussie big bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim77 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Great report guys Damn i need to get out for a fish... Shame work gets in the way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishin.kiddo Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Top day on the waters. Nice flounder Spend the money you saved on the fuel for the cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Wow, what a day out. .... Its gotta be a good day when you have to rest up cos your arms are too sore to go on. ........ Ya wouldnt be dead for quids, would ya.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 PeteCracker report there. Good to hear you had some non stop action just of the heads . One question i need to ask is to you wet salt or dry salt your stripes. Cheers Bob Hi Bob. Just going to cover the fillets with salt - layer upon layer ... then bag them or put them into containers and into the freezer. Never tried "wet salting". Is that where you soak them in a saturated salt solution for a while? Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahajo Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) WOW What a great sesion guys Well done on getting the dollies so close to shore Edited May 11, 2009 by hazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss z Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Sounds like a great day good stuff ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman5 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) well done mate, can't ask for much more of a better day then that!! Dollies in that close is amazing has anone ever heard of or pulled one out of the harbour ?? fisho 5 Edited May 11, 2009 by Fisherman5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussie big bob Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi Bob. Just going to cover the fillets with salt - layer upon layer ... then bag them or put them into containers and into the freezer. Never tried "wet salting". Is that where you soak them in a saturated salt solution for a while? Cheers Peter Pete Thats correct and they say it keeps the flesh much better than dry salting. Cheers Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wttmrwolf Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 LOL - I was driving along the beach at Cronulla and I saw that bait school about 2-3km off the coast late in the afternoon. The gulls were going crazy. Was half thinking about running home to launch the boat. I'm glad someone got out there in the action. There was no boats nearby when I saw the gulls. Was this late Saturday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Wow Peter, What a fantastic day That's an incredible mixed bag to pick up inshore around Sydney, or anywhere for that matter... Flatties and Dollies... don't read that too often Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve07 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Wow what an awesome day out for you guys.Good variety of fish too. Very well done!! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SZ1 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 What a top session mate, gota be happy with take. Cheers, SZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Got to love a session like that!!! Doesn't happen to often! Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil D Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 what an awsome trip on the water, have one on me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Couldn't happen to a nicer pair of blokes! Well done fellas .... what a crackin' session. Top photos, terrific report, and the usual high quality photos. Good stuff Peter and Syd Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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