Offshore fishing advice

[pod]

Hi all,

Getting the new boat next week and was planning to head out offshore for a fishing session, would greatly appreciate all advice and thank-you in advance:

I've got all safety equipment for offshore and will register my epirb on the day I get the boat, I've got boat licence with a few hours experience.

1. Heaton/Browns Mountain (how many Kms / nM out? and is it safe for a beginner to head out to these markers?)

2. What is the safest wind/swells for a comfortable ride? I don't have much experience so would like to stick to recommendations.

3. Heard alot of leather jacket snipping lines, anywhere to avoid this?

4. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated, I'll be trolling all the way out and will use livebait on one side of the boat while jigging on the other side. Going with a few people so I am not alone.

Many thanks,

Cheers,

Pod

[Crossfire63]

POD

What type of boat did you get.its a longway to Browns in a small boat

[bennoz]

its a long way to heaton's in any boat ! (about 50nm)

[pod]

5.5m Fibreglass with 90HP 2stroke brand new with radio, gps, 125L underfloor fuel tank, fishfinder, lights, compass, safety equipment etc..

wow 50 nm... omg that would take like 3hrs? forget heaton then, I heard browns is 30km out?

Up for any other suggestions.

Edited April 3, 2014 by pod

[tasksta]

We copped a southerly in my mates 6.5 on the way back from browns and honestly thought we were done for. Had triple checked the weather but blew in early.

Probably dont want to hear it but i wouldnt venture outside without atleast a few seasons experience inside. Atleast inside you can learn all these things yourself naturally but close to help if you get into trouble.

[fisholb]

Mate...congrats on your new boat...pls know your boat very well before you go out offshore...weather offshore changes very quickly...we go out once a month on a 51 footer and it gets very rough out there when the swell is over 2m winds over 20kph...

Sent from my C5303 using Tapatalk

[Crossfire63]

wouldn't go to browns in that small of a boat because if the weather turns bad you stuffed and even when the weather looks good it can turn bad

I'd have to agree with that one... Been out there in a Balckwatch 41 when 4 blokes in an old Haines V17L turned up.. we had a mongrel of a trip home and they followed in the wake just in case..ijits

[Crossfire63]

^{Until you get used to your boat and find out what it and you are capable of i'd stay a bit closer to sure. Try Long Reef or Dee Why Wide for starters}

[Paikea]

Don't even think about going that far offshore until you gain experience in handling your boat in all types of conditions.

There is plenty of good fishing to be had within 1-2 KMs offshore.

To get experience have a go at taking your boat out when the seas are up, don't go out too far but practise handling the boat across incoming swells/waves/ chop etc, and running before a following sea. (the most dangerous of all).

Start with a moderate sea and work your way up. Better still, have someone with experience show you how. It may save your life.

Cheers

Paikea

[bennoz]

plenty of other great fishing locations closer in than browns.

12 mile reef...is 12 miles out from syd heads

lots of marks around longreef - 30m depth line has proved for me in the past - also lots of wrecks about if you can find em

reef just outside of broken bay

head out to the FAD

offshore cronulla theres a few spots

lots of places to go and build up your experience.

and to be honest browns isnt all that special. Its a boat park and gets really busy. the current rages through sometimes so you really have to know what your doing fishing/drift wise, and its freaking hard work bottom bashing with a massive weight or jig on the line - let alone a big blue eye that weights 10kg +

[tasksta]

Dropping house bricks in 400m of water aint all its cracked up to be.

[pod]

Thank-you all for your experienced feedback, I just mentioned Browns and Heaton as an example as I did not know how far out it was hence my question.

Now knowing I would never wonder that far until I am experienced and with a good crew, I'll try 1-2Km out to test the boat and gain some experience trolling around the waves etc.

Might troll to long reef or FADs and go from there, I have no idea how to get there yet or how to even set the GPS to get there on the garmin echomap 50... so wont be doing anything silly so please do not worry.

I was more after tips on offshore fishing, cheers.

[lostproperty]

Have a look at all the reef markers up to 50m depth to start off with, there are plenty outside of the heads an will give you an idea of what kinds of conditions to learn in. I honestly agree with above, especially spend a season inside the harbour first learning how to handle your boat properly, plus there are still plenty of fish in the harbour. A suggestion would be find a mentor who maybe has a boat and take turns going out in each others boats so you get some good experience. I'm lucky enough to have a great mentor who has a number of seasons under his belt in offshore conditions, he has a 5.3m Quintrex and furthest we go us 12 mile, but the last 4 times we've been out, 2 of them we haven't even headed offshore because the conditions weren't suitable / safe enough. And the weather can change so quickly, we've been pretty lucky and avoiding storms but we study the weather patterns every day, and even then you can't predict the unexpected

[Nolongeramember]

I've got boat licence with a few hours experience.

Hi mate. I don't know about some of the other advice on here but I wouldn't recommend you go anywhere near the heads until you have much more experience controlling a boat.

Stay inside, get experience with changing conditions and how it affects your boat. You need experience with reading forecasts, how to approach choppy water, swells, boat wakes. How much fuel your boat uses and if you have enough to return is another one. Many things can and do go wrong pretty quick while out on a boat. The open ocean is no place for a boating beginner.