zmk1962 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 (edited) Hey Raiders, It's taken a bit longer than I wanted to find time to write up this report but here it is. Forecast for Monday 15.03.2024 showed great offshore conditions - infact ideal for a trip out to Browns. I had Gilford pre-arranged as crew (the man that first took me to Browns way back in the 90s) so it was all systems go for a 5am Launch from Ermo ramp. As I reported on the last few previous trips, there has been very poor visibility on early morning starts with cold, misty and moist conditions. Part of the problem was the condensation that formed on the plate glass screens... so in the two weeks since the last trip, I purchased and installed two windscreen heaters/demisters. They're mounted with industrial velcro so easily removable. The plan was to turn them on when leaving home and hopefully by the team we hit the ramp the windscreens will be clear. This was their maiden run. Well, happy to report they worked like a treat. Arrived at Ermo ramp at 5am with clear dry screens - problem solved. The plan was to fill up with yakkas at Balmoral and then hit the FADs and 12mile before heading on to Browns. Although the Yakkas were plentiful they were very shy .. it was a bit of struggle but we managed to put 30 in the tank and were racing out the heads just on dawn. Conditions offshore were ANYTHING but the forecast. No 7kts breeze... more like 15kts. No 2ft swell ... more like 4ft with white caps and a short interval. But the water temp was a surprisingly warm 24.3C. We bashed our way to be first at the FAD and boy were we glad we had the yakkas ... the dollies were ready to play. Check the angle of the boat ... rock and roll conditions ! But the dollies were on fire .... Fish of the day ... just a tad over 1m Then as quickly as they came the dollies were gone .... but we had 15 in the kill tank chilling on ice ! We left the FAD without seeing another boat. Given the conditions we contemplated the next step and decided to punch on ... hit 12mile to find a charter and group of boats drifting ... the crew on a 23ft Carribean had rods bent over so we stuck around to see the catch - 2 undersized kings. We dropped some pillies, but they were being picked off super quick and with the current running pretty hard we decided to head to Browns. We found one other boat at Browns .. it was not pleasant there at all. In went the deep drop rigs ... and up comes an Alfonsino .... Gil shows he's still the Brown's master ... The action was slow but we stuck around for a while adding 3 more gemmies to Gil's tally .... making him Brown's Grand Master ... before deciding to point devOcean west for the 65km trip to Ermo. Final count for the day 15 dollies, 1 alfonsino and 3 gemmies. An absolute mixed bag of a day weather wise and fish wise but what a great adventure to share with a good mate. I finally finished cleaning the rig, rods, gear and fish at 3am ( a few whiskeys were required to see me through that) but the reward was superb ...My share of the dollies came to exactly 10kg of skinned and deboned dollie fillets. What a blessing as we have several birthday celebrations coming up in the next 3 weeks - I know what will be on the menu !!!! Gil messaged me the next day that he had a similar yield ... way to go! Tight lines Raiders ... Cheers Zoran Edited April 18 by zmk1962 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Wow what a huge day in average conditions, so much for the forecast. Stopping at the FAD paid off big time it looks like some of them are getting up there in size as well. After making the call to persevere with heading to browns it is good to see you boating a few fish from the deep to add to the catch. I knew it wouldn't take you long to come up with a solution for the foggy screen. Great report Zoran. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rev Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Great report Zoran - well done on the dollies. A warm current has just pushed into Sydney so I am not surprised to see the result. Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Great work there Zoran. What's wrong with a bit of rock 'n' roll (music) ? How do the alphonsino go on the plate? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 1 hour ago, Welster said: Wow what a huge day in average conditions, so much for the forecast. Stopping at the FAD paid off big time it looks like some of them are getting up there in size as well. After making the call to persevere with heading to browns it is good to see you boating a few fish from the deep to add to the catch. I knew it wouldn't take you long to come up with a solution for the foggy screen. Great report Zoran. Thanks Jason .... once on the water I guess you keep going .. as long as it's safe to do so. Getting wet or bopped around is just a part of offshore fishing. 1 hour ago, The Rev said: Great report Zoran - well done on the dollies. A warm current has just pushed into Sydney so I am not surprised to see the result. Bruce Thanks Bruce ... Yes surprisingly warm. I watched a similar current on the forecast a few weeks back when Jason and I headed out to Syndey N FAD ... but the forecast didn't eventuate on the water at all with a max that day just below 22C from memory. 31 minutes ago, Yowie said: Great work there Zoran. What's wrong with a bit of rock 'n' roll (music) ? How do the alphonsino go on the plate? Hahaha ... nothing wrong with rock 'n' roll at any volume ... but when it's underfoot with a big fish on and another on the deck it really gets interesting 🙂. We'll have to wait for Gil to report on the Alfonsino ... but judging by the pic below he was pretty happy with how the day went. Cheers Z 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Some good sized Dollies, Well caught Zoran! A bit of water movement out there usually gets them going. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Great stuff mate, real quality in that box of fish. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinness Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Sensational catch of dollies Zoran. What size reel were you using? They look like 4500 threadlines from the photos or did you upsize to something bigger? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Fabulous late report Zoran. Having recently had my first taste of Mahi Mahi, and thoroughly enjoying it, I would have to say how envious I am. Beautiful boat that you have Zoran, a fine complement to the skipper and 1st mate. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Well done Zoran and Co. You braved the conditions and scored some very nice fish👌 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 3 hours ago, Larkin said: Some good sized Dollies, Well caught Zoran! A bit of water movement out there usually gets them going. Thanks Chris ... yup nothing like a bit of the washing machine to stir things up 🤢 hahaha 3 hours ago, Isaac Ct said: Great stuff mate, real quality in that box of fish. Well done. Thanks Isaac ... can't complain ... a blessing that made the trip entirely worth it. 3 hours ago, Guinness said: Sensational catch of dollies Zoran. What size reel were you using? They look like 4500 threadlines from the photos or did you upsize to something bigger? Thanks Guinness, We were fishing with two outfits both 7ft. One had a Penn 750 SSM, and the other a Penn 6500 SSVi. I think you could do it with a 4500 size letting the fish play out, but generally it would be on the tad small size for the stuff we encounter offshore - especially with a hot bite when you want to get them in ASAP before they spook the rest of the school or the tax man shows up. 3 hours ago, big Neil said: Fabulous late report Zoran. Having recently had my first taste of Mahi Mahi, and thoroughly enjoying it, I would have to say how envious I am. Beautiful boat that you have Zoran, a fine complement to the skipper and 1st mate. Cheers, bn Thanks Neil, Yes dollies are delicious and they seem to cook up well in various styles. I've had them as cubes in tacos, fried like flattie fillets, in a green curry - they never disappoint on the plate. Thanks for your kind words re the Cruisecraft. It is everything I had hoped it would be. 22 minutes ago, jenno64 said: Well done Zoran and Co. You braved the conditions and scored some very nice fish👌 Thanks Rob, it was one of those days where reality did not match forecast... but it looks like it may have played to our advantage. Can't complain. Cheers Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Very good result, well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 On 4/19/2024 at 7:58 AM, bessell1955 said: Very good result, well done. Thanks mate. It was a team effort on the day. cheers Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 What a top day @zmk1962. Devocean delivered again. Lots of premium fish for the next few feeds. Well done indeed sensei Zoran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 4 hours ago, Pickles said: What a top day @zmk1962. Devocean delivered again. Lots of premium fish for the next few feeds. Well done indeed sensei Zoran Thanks Bob .. as per my text ... we have to get our calendars lined up in the near future. Cheers Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 On 4/18/2024 at 2:05 PM, Yowie said: How do the alphonsino go on the plate? Here's the reply from Gil ... "Yes, absolutely beautiful, nice white flesh, quite sweet with nice texture, not that different from snapper, big scales but quite easy to skin. good sized fillet enough for both of us (wife and I), still have the other fillet in the freezer, hope it freezes well, Cheers Gil" 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 a worthwhile trip, well done and thanks for sharing! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted Thursday at 09:52 AM Author Share Posted Thursday at 09:52 AM On 4/22/2024 at 9:54 AM, kantong said: a worthwhile trip, well done and thanks for sharing! Thanks @kantong ... sharing info on rigs, conditions and fishing experience is what Deckee is all about. Happy to do my bit. Cheers Z 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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