FAD Hopping

Up to Port Stevens last week for the 2022 Interclub gamefishing tournament. Very grateful to be invited to fish aboard the beautiful Black Rat. Needless to say, the ride up was a rough one:

And it occasionally got a little damp:

The good news was, we had some quality intel on where the marlin were. Hunting the humps in 30 to 50 metres, around Seal Rocks. The winner of the Shootout Tournament the weekend before had fished that area, tagging four black marlin. The marlin were chasing massive schools of slimy mackerel around the inshore pinnacles:

But when we got there it was all slimy mackerel, no marlin:

We fished hard all day without result. Got back to the marina - a 25 mile run - in time to refuel. Not cheap:

Next morning, a change of plan. We decided to go wide, and fish with skip baits and lures. Tomaree Head was swarming with bonito, so getting bait was easy:

But Day Two was tough, too. The crew stayed upbeat and positive, despite the challenges:

Day three - the last day of the comp – just as tough. The only excitement being when a marlin charged through our lure spread, slashing wildly at multiple lures - but not hooking up. We consoled ourselves with some health food at the Diggers Club:

Monday’s plan was to take Black Rat back to Sydney. With the weather settling down, a course setting along the 100 metre depth line, and only two of us on board, we decided to fish the FADs on the way home. The target being mahi. They weren’t super big - but they were super hungry. This one took a big yellowtail off Newcastle FAD:

Swansea FAD was missing, so our next stop was one of our favourite spots - Texas Reef. I predicted the three fish showing on top of the bait were kings:

Hooked up first drop on a king – then the braid was clean cut. Figured it for a leatherjacket. But as we hooked up barracouta, and experienced more cutoffs and slashed jigs, the culprits were obvious:

The Garmin technology on James’s Black Watch is fantastic. He used the radar to manoeuvre around storms as we headed south:

Last stop was Terrigal FAD. Plenty there, with a few legals - but nothing big:

One technique I’m finding deadly on these dollies is micro jigging. Out in the clear blue current ten or twelve miles offshore the visibility is incredible. I’m sure the mahi can see reflective lures or baits from one hundred metres away – maybe more. Here’s the simple system that works for me:

40 GRAM JIGS TEN FOR $62 DELIVERED

Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

Put the FAD plan together: Use this jig-and-burley method alongside bait preparation, drift decisions and current rules in the Sydney mahi guide.

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