zmk1962 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 (edited) 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. Edited March 18 by zmk1962 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Epic report Zoran ! Great photos also ! Looks like you got a good day to head out and got a few feeds - never seen smoked bonito before ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, XD351 said: Epic report Zoran ! Great photos also ! Looks like you got a good day to head out and got a few feeds - never seen smoked bonito before ! Thanks Ian ... yes the forecast was spot on for wind and swell but sadly not for temperature !!! .... or a cold eddy had somehow formed ... we could not find a warm stream 22.3C at heads and only 22.8C out wide. Smoked bonnie 🤘👌 ... cherrywood ... you gotta try it. It's very much like chicken or ham. Crumbled on crispy toast with lettuce, or over a warm wasabi and dill potato salad, or check the kitchen for other ideas - like the fennel/apple salad ... hahaha (I target bonnies just for that!) Cheers Z 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Hi Zoran. You don't get out very often but when you do you usually have a worthwhile trip. Maybe not so good this one... especially when the Flathead had vanished. Beautiful looking fish the Mahi Mahi and excellent on the plate. I scored some recently courtesy of Hoods when I visited his part of the world (Taree area). What is an ideal water temp to have Mahi Mahi in good attendance? Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 11 minutes ago, big Neil said: What is an ideal water temp to have Mahi Mahi in good attendance? ... around 24C or higher in my books ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Plenty of dollies there Zoran, at least you had a few keepers in amongst that lot. Good effort on the dollies, but the flatties are rather scarce outside - none at all. Very slow for blue spots down this way, and only small ones. It was like this a few years ago, then eventually picked up again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Thank’s Zoran for inviting me along on DevOcean it was great it finally worked out. I spent the weekend hoping the weather predictions for Monday would hold which it did. Next time I will try to catch my share of the bait! Driving out to the FAD I expected to see the water temp creep up but that wasn’t to be unfortunately but we still managed a few fish in great conditions. As for the flatties they were elusive again despite our best efforts. I really enjoyed the day with you on DevOcean seeing the methods and systems that you use. I will be filleting and skinning Dollies your way in the future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Looks like a great feed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Nice catch Zoran! Great report. plenty of small Dollie’s about atm. They’re everywhere. The larger ones arrived very early in the season. What’s the coating on the mahi? Flour and fried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 21 minutes ago, Larkin said: Nice catch Zoran! Great report. plenty of small Dollie’s about atm. They’re everywhere. The larger ones arrived very early in the season. What’s the coating on the mahi? Flour and fried? Thanks Chris. I tried the FAD in early Jan but ended with nothing to show but a 4ft mako and an undersized kingy (I have a video but didn’t bother posting a report), then I was away on “stiff water” for the rest of the season. Mahi coating, a 50:50 mixture of flour and cornflour with salt and cracked pepper to taste. Flash Fried in hot light olive oil with a couple of garlic cloves. The coating is light, holds a bit of flavour but doesn’t detract from the mahi. cheers Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 5 hours ago, Welster said: Thank’s Zoran for inviting me along on DevOcean it was great it finally worked out. I spent the weekend hoping the weather predictions for Monday would hold which it did. Next time I will try to catch my share of the bait! Driving out to the FAD I expected to see the water temp creep up but that wasn’t to be unfortunately but we still managed a few fish in great conditions. As for the flatties they were elusive again despite our best efforts. I really enjoyed the day with you on DevOcean seeing the methods and systems that you use. I will be filleting and skinning Dollies your way in the future. All good Jason. We ended up with a feed … the water temp didn’t go our way but that’s offshore fishing. The Dollie filleting was a new technique for me as well but as it turned out it was easy to master - and is definitely the way to go. Cheers till next time … Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Great report. Interesting your commentary regarding the flatties. We fished 30/40/50 m out of Broken Bay yesterday for 2 flatties!!!!!!! It was the slowest fishing I have ever experienced out there. We were also tormented by plagues of green toad fish that are like pirahnas!!! Lost a few rigs..................... Thankfully we caught a few blue swimmers and a flounder to make up the fisherman's basket. WHERE ARE THE FLATTIES!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Great read Zoran! At least you got a feed!! We’re those fillets cooked on charcoal 🤷🏻♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madkanu Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Great outing Zoran! Really nice to see you made it out and wound up bagging a couple feeds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 (edited) 1 hour ago, jenno64 said: Great read Zoran! At least you got a feed!! We’re those fillets cooked on charcoal 🤷🏻♂️ Thanks Rob ... the mahi fillets were shallow fried, the bonnie fillets were hot smoked. Finished the last bonnie fillet today for lunch. Crusty toasted sourdough, spread with mayo + wasabi , crumbled smoked bonnie, shredded lettuce 👌 Cheers Zoran Edited March 19 by zmk1962 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 21 minutes ago, Madkanu said: Great outing Zoran! Really nice to see you made it out and wound up bagging a couple feeds. Thanks Rob ... hahaha so am I. At one stage it looked like I wouldn't be able to raise a crew ... I contacted 10 raiders before the calendars aligned ! Cheers Zoran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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