Just to make sure I was not imagining things the otherday I went out today to maqke sure there wqas actually a FAD and not just a big floating yellow piece of cheese in the middle of the ocean.
The FAD was still there - Phew.
I was with a mate this time and not just on my own. The conversation always gets more interesting on those days.
I made sure we were at the FAD by daylight this time and we arrived to see Dollys jumping around all over the place. We trolled past the FAD and had a quadrouple hook up. Good fun with 2 guys. Only one keeper, the rest were too small.
Turned around and trolled past again for a triple hook up. All too small. Turned around again fore a single hook up which we kept getting every time we went passed for the next half hour or so. Everything was undersie by about 5 cm.
A couple more boats had arrived by this stage so I decidsed to head to the Port Hacking FAD.
Well I hadn't read the posts here so after a 40 minute bumpy ride in choppy water I discovered the FAD was gone. We turned around and went back to the far FAD off Botany and hooked up a few stripeys on the way. We used them for bait when we got to the FAD and managed to pull in about 20 more dollys but only 2 were legal.
There were a few boats that came and went but then another boat arrived who really pissed me off. We were watching them pulling in dolly after dolly and they werew keeping them all. I could see how small they were and I knew from all the ones we caught there weren't many big ones round. They just kept pulling them in and keeping them.
I wanted to say something but the guy I was with made a good point that you just never know when you will see them again and what they will do.
Headed back in and stropped off at the peak for a quick look but didn't get anything so made our way back to the boat ramp.
As usual, I wouold rather be catching undersize fish and throwing them back than floating around not catching anything at all.
Dan