Lancair
05-02-2012, 08:01 PM
Hi all,
Long time member, first time thread in Off Shore reports. (waited for a decent report to give)
Myself and 2 mates crossed the Richmond River bar about 6.40am ( a tad later than planned but . .) We decided to head straight to the FAD, having had minor success (2 dollys and a hoo) just before Xmas out there the last time we got out. About 1/2 mile from the fad out went the lures, 1st pass a mate hooked up to a respectable 80cm Mahi Mahi (dolly), 2nd pass another hook up. (similar size) Trolled around the FAD and 2 nearby floats for another hour, could see the dollys but didnt hook up.
We decided to try drifting around the FAD area and cast some smaller lures to see if we could get them interested. We could see fish following the lures in the clear blue 25C water but they werent biting. Pete decided a prospecting bottom bash was in order and rerigged accordingly for the next drift (he caught a 65cm flathead on that drift in 60m of water). Davo changed to a popper, I rigged a single hook on a whole pilly.
My pilly got smashed within about 5 secs of hitting the water, after a decent fight including lots of aerial action, a 1.2m Mahi Mahi was welcomed aboard. Needless to say the other 2 quickly rerigged and the fun began.
We had a double and triple hookups going on for the next hour and a half, the action was frantic, baits didnt sit in the water for more than 10secs before being smashed. Most fish were of legal size, with an average of around 80-90cm. Then, as though someone flicked a switch, they went off the bite. We could see them all checking out our baits but no enquiries. Then on the next drift, they were gone :o Didnt see a single fish, at the end of that drift we spotted something LARGE and brown a short distance away, a few seconds later, a 7-8 foot hammerhead shark surfaced about 20m from the boat. Coincidence ? ?
At the end we had 18 Mahi Mahi and one flathead in the esky but we released many many more. We didnt keep an accurate count of released fish but we think about 20.
To add to our great day out, we had a flying fish (about 4cm long) land in the boat after hitting Dave in the leg, caught and released a skipjack tuna while trolling on the way back in and had 2 dolphins playing on our bow for 20mins or so, while trolling back in. Ive seen dolphins playing off the bow of much larger boats, but this was a first for me in a 5.65m boat.
To those who think taking 18 Mahi Mahi might be excessive, we each have large extended families/friends and all fish will be consumed fresh in the next few days. We didnt keep killing to the legal 10 each. I dont know about the other guys but when I had 6 in the esky, I squashed the barb on my single hook.
An example of the size fish we caught. (strange how pictures seem to show smooth seas)
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/Biggles70/P1010072.jpg
Long time member, first time thread in Off Shore reports. (waited for a decent report to give)
Myself and 2 mates crossed the Richmond River bar about 6.40am ( a tad later than planned but . .) We decided to head straight to the FAD, having had minor success (2 dollys and a hoo) just before Xmas out there the last time we got out. About 1/2 mile from the fad out went the lures, 1st pass a mate hooked up to a respectable 80cm Mahi Mahi (dolly), 2nd pass another hook up. (similar size) Trolled around the FAD and 2 nearby floats for another hour, could see the dollys but didnt hook up.
We decided to try drifting around the FAD area and cast some smaller lures to see if we could get them interested. We could see fish following the lures in the clear blue 25C water but they werent biting. Pete decided a prospecting bottom bash was in order and rerigged accordingly for the next drift (he caught a 65cm flathead on that drift in 60m of water). Davo changed to a popper, I rigged a single hook on a whole pilly.
My pilly got smashed within about 5 secs of hitting the water, after a decent fight including lots of aerial action, a 1.2m Mahi Mahi was welcomed aboard. Needless to say the other 2 quickly rerigged and the fun began.
We had a double and triple hookups going on for the next hour and a half, the action was frantic, baits didnt sit in the water for more than 10secs before being smashed. Most fish were of legal size, with an average of around 80-90cm. Then, as though someone flicked a switch, they went off the bite. We could see them all checking out our baits but no enquiries. Then on the next drift, they were gone :o Didnt see a single fish, at the end of that drift we spotted something LARGE and brown a short distance away, a few seconds later, a 7-8 foot hammerhead shark surfaced about 20m from the boat. Coincidence ? ?
At the end we had 18 Mahi Mahi and one flathead in the esky but we released many many more. We didnt keep an accurate count of released fish but we think about 20.
To add to our great day out, we had a flying fish (about 4cm long) land in the boat after hitting Dave in the leg, caught and released a skipjack tuna while trolling on the way back in and had 2 dolphins playing on our bow for 20mins or so, while trolling back in. Ive seen dolphins playing off the bow of much larger boats, but this was a first for me in a 5.65m boat.
To those who think taking 18 Mahi Mahi might be excessive, we each have large extended families/friends and all fish will be consumed fresh in the next few days. We didnt keep killing to the legal 10 each. I dont know about the other guys but when I had 6 in the esky, I squashed the barb on my single hook.
An example of the size fish we caught. (strange how pictures seem to show smooth seas)
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/Biggles70/P1010072.jpg