Mahi Mahi Fishing off Sydney: FADs, Live Bait and Finding Better Fish
Mahi can make you feel like a fishing genius. Then the live bait runs out, three more boats arrive and the fish that were climbing over each other suddenly become difficult to impress.
Mahi mahi, also called dolphinfish or dollies, often gather around fish aggregating devices, or FADs. I have had plenty of both sorts of session. The useful preparation is to leave the ramp with more than one way to fish: healthy live bait, something to cast and a plan for changing the drift or the location. A yellow buoy gives you somewhere to start. What happens around it tells you what to do next.
Check the FAD before you check the tackle
Sydney's mahi fishing usually comes together with warm offshore water in summer and autumn. NSW Fisheries describes their seasonal arrival with the warm East Australian Current. That makes it a sensible period to plan around, but the calendar cannot tell you what size fish will be there.
In April 2026 I found hundreds at the Waverider in 23.1-degree water. Good weather, good temperature, and fish about a foot long. The previous year the same period had produced much better ones. In March 2026, strong current at a FAD still gave us tiny mahi. Warm water and current are useful clues, not a booking confirmation.
Check the official NSW FAD page before leaving. Read the status as well as the coordinates. Devices are seasonal and can be retrieved, lost or moved; an old waypoint does not prove a buoy is on station. The official coordinates use WGS84, so check your plotter's datum too.
Our map opens directly to Sydney North FAD, off Broken Bay, or Botany Bay Wide FAD. Read the status warning on each card and confirm the latest official information. Use the map to plan the fishing, with proper charts and navigation equipment for the passage.
Choose a departure point and offshore run that suit the boat, crew and forecast. Check wind, swell, warnings and the trip home, including any expected change. Carry the required offshore safety equipment and enough fuel for the whole plan, with a reserve. A second FAD is an option only while the conditions, distance and fuel still make sense.
Make the bait stop earn its place
Small live yellowtail have been excellent for me. In March 2023, Zac and I got them at Obelisk just before dawn after a little bread brought the school up. The following week's bait stop at Valiant was a different story: we could get oversized yellowtail and a small bonito, but not the little yakkas we wanted. At Broken Bay FAD, another boat was catching keeper mahi steadily on small live baits.
The lesson is to look at the bait you are catching. A tank with a few healthy, suitable baits is more useful than a crowded tank of fish you cannot present properly. If the sounder is busy but the right bait is not coming aboard, adjust the depth or try another bait ground while there is still time.
Have the livewell running before the first fish arrives. Check water flow, keep it clear of scraps and watch the bait after the run offshore. Use a small wet net and have the fishing rig ready before lifting a bait out. The yellowtail and slimy mackerel guide covers the catching and holding routine. For Broken Bay trips, the Valiant Wreck bait guide explains when a bait stop is no longer doing its job.
Take a fallback: a little suitable cut bait, some burley, small metal jigs and a surface lure. In one March 2023 session my livewell was off the boat for repair, leaving us about ten yellowtail in a small esky. We used them quickly. That was also the morning a southerly was coming, so after 45 minutes we headed home. Running out of bait does not oblige you to stay offshore.
Set up two useful presentations
A casting outfit and a separate live-bait outfit let you change methods without rebuilding everything. Keep the deck clear enough to fish both safely; if the drift tangles them, fish one properly.
For a useful reference, the outfit I described in Mahi Motel in 2018 was a seven-foot graphite rod with a 4000 spinning reel, 15 kg braid and four metres of 10 kg fluorocarbon leader. That was a casting setup for jigs and unweighted baits. Match the rod's casting range to the actual lure, check the leader knot travels cleanly through the guides and set a smooth drag before fishing.
Small poppers are a separate light-tackle pleasure. I have fished them on 3 kg gear, but there is no need to copy that when the fish, sea or nearby boats call for more control. Carry spare leader and hooks, check the last metre after each fish and replace anything roughened or damaged.
For a small yellowtail, a light single-hook presentation through the nose leaves the bait free to swim. Match the hook to the bait and keep the point clear. Put it in gently and watch its swimming action before letting it farther away. A dead or spinning bait deserves attention straight away.
For a larger live bait, a bridle is another option. My FAD Hopping method used a big bridled bait on a light overhead outfit, with the ratchet on so a take would get our attention. The live-bait rigging guide shows the bait-needle method. Keep the hook exposed and the finished rig swimming freely. With a circle hook, wind steadily into the fish instead of giving a sharp strike.
Watch one drift before committing to the next
Approach slowly, keep outside the boats already fishing and work out their drift direction. Check for swimmers, spearfishers and dive flags before putting a line in. Do not drive through the middle of the fishing or cut across another boat's trailing lines.
The NSW FAD code of conduct calls for taking turns and sharing the water. Wait until spearfishers have completed their drift past the FAD before deploying lines. Keep clear of the device, people and other boats, and never tie up to a FAD.
In my 2022 FAD Hopping report, I started about 100 metres up-current or upwind, depending on which had more effect on the boat. Use that as a way to think about positioning, not a fixed distance to insist on in a crowd. Watch where the boat and a small piece of burley actually travel. Set a drift that carries the presentation towards useful water without carrying the boat onto the buoy or somebody else's line.
Recover the lines before motoring around for another pass. If there is no room for a clean drift, wait or move. On the March 2023 trip with Zac, extra boats arrived at Broken Bay and we moved north to Terrigal. We found room to fish and had a ball. Terrigal was a separate leg of that trip, not a short move that suits every Sydney departure.
Keep the burley working, then fish the trail
My routine is a little burley often. Start the trail and keep it going while somebody fishes. If everyone stops to admire a hookup, the trail stops too. Give one person the job when there is enough crew.
Use the surface-burley and drift method to keep the feed and the presentation moving together. Watch the trail before increasing the amount you throw in.
Fish the water the trail is actually reaching. Keep a live bait clear of the boat's other lines, with someone watching it. If the boat is moving one way and the trail another, reposition before feeding out a great length of line.
Zac also caught fish by drifting unweighted yellowtail strips at Terrigal in 2023. Small strips or pilchard pieces can be useful alternatives when the fish will take them. Let a bait drift with the loose pieces, keeping enough contact to notice a take without towing it back unnaturally.
But do not assume a substitute will work because the live bait did. On the trip described in Downrigging for Dollies, pilchard cubes and lures did nothing for us after the live bait ran out. We had to change again.
Cast a small jig down the trail
The 40 g jig method has been one of my favourite ways to fish a FAD. Cast well down the burley trail, let the jig sink, then lift and bounce it back much as you would a soft plastic. Give it time to fall between lifts. You are working the trail through different depths, not simply racing a metal across the surface.
Use the first few casts to work out the drift and sink time. If the line is sweeping sideways through other lines, reset. If fish follow the lure without taking it, try a longer fall or a change of pace before opening the whole tackle box. Check that the assist hook is clear and has not wrapped around the jig.
Our 40 g jigs are the size used in that report. Carry a weight your rod can cast and you can control in the current. The important thing is a clean presentation through the fish, rather than using 40 g regardless of conditions.
Have a popper ready for fish looking up
I like the little black poppers. At Terrigal in March 2023, I used the same light outfit I used for squid and blackfish, and the surface hits were tremendous fun. Most of the small kings and mahi went back. A busy surface session does not have to become a full fish box.
In March 2025, after a quiet day, we found a set of lobster-trap floats with mahi around them. The black popper and 3 kg gear made the afternoon. Floating structure is worth observing as you travel, but keep well clear of ropes and working fishing gear.
Make a few controlled pulls and recover the slack between them. Watch whether the lure is chugging properly or being dragged out of the water. If a fish misses, keep the lure under control and respond when the line loads, rather than striking at every splash. Look behind you before every cast, particularly with trebles aboard.
The saltwater popper guide covers retrieve changes and fouled hooks. The shop's small black poppers give you a starting option. My liking for black is a preference based on those sessions, not a reason to throw away every other colour.
Try deeper water, but let the result speak
I have put live baits deeper and worked farther from a FAD while looking for better fish. It is worth trying when the surface is full of little ones. It is also worth remembering the days it did not improve the size.
In the trip published as Downrigging for Dollies, Fitz and I went from FAD 23 to FAD 24 and downrigged live baits. We still caught just-legal fish. After the live bait ran out, I rigged garfish in Head Starts and ran them about ten metres behind a hookless spreader bar on the downrigger. At about five knots that produced a few more keepers.
That is a useful alternative to have ready, rather than a compulsory rig for a first FAD trip. Check the bait swims cleanly beside the boat, set the release clip correctly and keep downrigger gear away from other boats, mooring lines and divers. Allow room for the whole setup before making a turn. The Head Start rigging guide covers bait preparation and testing its action.
In April 2023 I also wanted to try fast trolling with planer boards from the downrigger. The boards had not arrived for the first trip. On a later outing with Jeremy we caught mahi on downrigged Head Start garfish, including the 68 cm fish below, so the garfish worked. Those catches did not prove that the planned fast-planer setup would find bigger fish.
Use the sounder and the fish's response to choose the next depth. If a deeper bait changes nothing, try a different drift line, presentation or location. Do not spend the whole morning repeating a theory that the fish are refusing to support.
Decide what to change before another pass
- Fish take free pieces but ignore the hook bait: check the bait is fresh, the point is exposed and the line is not pulling it away from the trail. Try a smaller piece or a cleaner drift.
- Live bait works, then runs out: try an unweighted strip, a cast jig or a popper. If those fail and you have the gear and space, a swimming garfish is another option.
- Only small fish respond: change depth or position, then consider moving. Bigger bait and stronger current have both failed to select bigger fish on my trips.
- The crowd prevents a proper drift: wait your turn or use another verified destination within the day's safe plan.
- Wind or sea is getting up: finish while the return trip is still comfortable. Brendan's first mahi, an 83 cm fish in February 2025, was a lovely result; we still left as the nor'easter picked up.
Have the net and ice ready
Mahi are lively at the boat. Clear loose hooks, have pliers and a suitable net within reach, and tell the crew which side you will use. Keep a fish destined for release in the water while removing the hook where practical. If it comes aboard, use wet hands, support its body and keep the time out of water brief. A loose treble and a jumping fish are a poor combination.
The current NSW minimum length for mahi mahi is 60 cm, with a daily bag limit of ten and a possession limit of ten, including fish stored at home. Only one may be over 110 cm. Measure before keeping a fish and check the current NSW saltwater limits. Pay the recreational fishing fee unless exempt, and check rules and closures at any bait-collecting stop too.
Keep only what you intend to use. Dispatch retained fish promptly and get them onto ice straight away. Keep the catch cold and covered, with bait and its juices away from food. The NSW Food Authority's seafood advice is clear about chilling recreational seafood immediately and cooking it thoroughly. A fine catch deserves better than a warm esky for the run home.
For the trips behind these methods, read FAD Hopping, Popping at the FADs, Downrigging for Dollies and Dollies Down Deep. Check In At The Mahi Motel is the earlier 2018 account of the floating-structure obsession. Start with a workable plan, watch what the fish actually do and keep another presentation ready. The best part is often the change you nearly did not make.