Endless Summer of Mahi

At Port Stephens back in February for the Interclub Game Fishing Tournament. Most of the marlin were inshore and we fished for them with slow trolled or downrigged live baits. We covered a lot of country and found some interesting reefs and pinnacles. Check the predators stacked underneath this baitball:

Really wanted to get back up there in my own trailer boat, but bad weather kept getting in the way. With an okay forecast, I booked in for this week ten days ago. The accom was great, but doing a three point turn in their car park was a nightmare (:^D)

One thing I was super keen to do was, fish FAD 15. It’s a fair way out – 13 nautical miles – and in deeper water than most NSW FADs – 122 metres. So, a week or so ago I stopped by Balmoral Wharf in Sydney to catch some garfish. Mahi go nuts for these, when they are fished on one of our Head Start rigs. Always remembering that any contact with fresh water or ice makes the garfish washed out and faded. Use chiller blocks from your freezer to keep garfish looking fresh and new:

Head Starts

Out to the FAD solo on Monday morning. The first ten miles were great but up ahead an ugly dark storm cell loomed. As I got closer the wind picked up and the rain poured down – so heavily, that I missed seeing the FAD 150 metres to port. All good! Got a bait down and started to find a few keepers:

But it was tough. Water temp 21.5C, and it was hard work getting a hook up. Eventually I put a few in the esky – including a monster LJ that was flopping on the surface, after a trawler went past – and headed back home to dry out:

When I got back to the ramp a welcoming committee was waiting:

Decided to leave the boat in storage at Port Stephens because (for me, anyway) Sydney fishing has been so tough recently. Going to give it a try up there for a month or two and see how we go on snapper and kings. Port has got some excellent offshore fishing options - which is probably why I kept spotting hardcore boats everywhere I went:

On another topic, I want to sincerely thank all the readers who responded magnificently to our tackle offers in last weeks’ email. In case you missed it, a good friend is facing some serious medical challenges and his wife asked me to sell his fishing tackle to defray the expenses. Our readers responded magnificently, with every item on a very long list sold. What’s left is mostly small stuff and I’m basically selling it at half or less of retail prices. If any of these items are of interest, just send me an email for a Paypal request? First come, first served:

As to bass lures, we have probably four times the number shown in the pic above to clear. Have decided to take them all up to the Carp Muster at Lake Glenbawn in the upper Hunter on Saturday 10th June (the long weekend.) More to follow on what will be a great event and thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

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