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sydney harbour fad / 12mile


fisholb

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hi all

just need advice on taking a 4.5m stacer with 50hp to the sydney harbour fad and 12mile. my mate wants to take his boat this weekend to the fad and 12mile hoping to catch kingys and dolphinfish. he caught a couple of dolphinfish last week on live yakkas off the sydney artificial reef and now hes very keen on checking out the fad and 12mile and try his luck. planning to be in the water by 3am from the rosebay ramp then head out at 1st light. forecast for this weekend looks ok atm but wont be going out if the swell is over 1.5m and wind over 20kph. how far is the fad and 12mile from the heads??? there will be 3 fishos on the boat and got all the offshore safety gear except the 2way radio is not working 100%.

thanks in advance

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Sort the radio out- 12 mile is getting marginal for mobile range if you get into trouble. At this stage the weekend looks pretty crap- strong northerlies Sat and a sthly change Sunday. The close FAD off nth head is about 4 miles from Nth Head and is in a fairly useless position, the 12 mile- well ,its 12 miles from the heads, the Sydney East FAD is closer to Botany but is just south of the Peak which is about 7nm from Sth HEad, there is also the waverider which is in 100m of water off Dee Why- 3 blokes offshore in a 4.5 M boat is going to be a tight squeeze

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I think you will find if your radio isn't working properly then it isn't legal to start with. But forgetting the legalities the important bit it is more about safety. You shouldn't even be offshore without your radio. A couple of years ago we upgraded from a 27Meg radio to a VHF as we struggled to get coverage on the 27Meg at 12 mile. 12 Mile is about where mobile reception starts to get sketchy depending on weather and other stuff that you can't count on or control. You shouldn't be out there in a bigger boat without a radio either. You may find that your radio is fine and that the times you are talking about it not working you were in black spots like behind the cliffs, remember that the radio works pretty much on line of sight. We have had radio contact problems at both boat harbour and different places along the Royal National Park due to the cliffs and the radio was functioning fine.

If you are after kings and dollies they have been in closer than the 12 mile and wide FAD anyway. If you are confident that your radio works then make a decision based on weather but i would imagine it would be easier to catch a king in near the cliffs or the harbour and i would try the closer wave rider buoys and FADs before heading out wider anyway. Basically when you show up to the FAD or buoy you want the water to be 22 degrees or warmer and blue with a bit of current running. 

Don't forget to log on and off with marine rescue.

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What Captain Spanner said- if you dont have a functioning VHF - dont bother going wider- 27meg is not up to scratch- the blackspot issue is very true,I normally dont log on going out the harbour until im clear of north head- MR Sydney is up at Terry Hills so under the cliffs you are in a blackspot.

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Hmmm... was thinking about going to the Port Stephens FAD on Friday, weather permitting, myself.  It’s about 9nm from the heads and I haven’t been that far in my boat yet, although I’ve fished wider in other boats. I have VHF and EPIRB and will probably be solo. I won’t take chances, so will have to see what it’s like on the day, I guess!  There’s always a backup plan!

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45 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

Hmmm... was thinking about going to the Port Stephens FAD on Friday, weather permitting, myself.  It’s about 9nm from the heads and I haven’t been that far in my boat yet, although I’ve fished wider in other boats. I have VHF and EPIRB and will probably be solo. I won’t take chances, so will have to see what it’s like on the day, I guess!  There’s always a backup plan!

I might be allowed out Monday if you want a crew member? 

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I used to own a Quintrex Renegade 460 and have taken that boat to the Botany Wide FAD (18kms) dozens of times over the years.

The conditions need to be right, you need to have the right safety gear (in good working order and you also need to know how to operate them) and most importantly.... be an experienced and safe skipper who knows how to handle the limitations and characteristics of the boat as the ocean can throw almost anything at  you.

Never risk your life for a fish, but as long as its safe and you have the experience there shouldn’t be any problems.

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I own a 460 coast runner with a 50hp Yamaha on the back and I’ve been to the wide fad off port hacking (I think it’s about 20km out) multiple times. You definitely need all the safety gear and I always wear a PFD and make my mates wear them too. Even if the conditions are perfect, I only even have one other person on board when going that wide! Good luck and I hope you get a few, like everyone says be sensible and know the weather! You’re not going to fly home with a 50hp on the back if the weather turns to crap, so allow enough time and know when enough is enough. No fish is worth your life.

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Thank you very much for all the replies...yes we need to get that radio working 100%...looks like we need a bigger boat...been outside many times before on a 50ft and only taken a 4.5m around the heads from manly all the way to bundeena...well just have to stay close around the heads this weekend hoping for a dolly or 2...thanks again everyone...

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14 hours ago, Jewhunter said:

It's a small boat to take out that far. The conditions would have to be perfect for a boat that size.

You can't go out that far without a radio. You will also need an epirb.

Thanks for the advice...got an epirb...flares etc etc etc...yes...really need to fix that radio

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3 hours ago, Stu-SP said:

I own a 460 coast runner with a 50hp Yamaha on the back and I’ve been to the wide fad off port hacking (I think it’s about 20km out) multiple times. You definitely need all the safety gear and I always wear a PFD and make my mates wear them too. Even if the conditions are perfect, I only even have one other person on board when going that wide! Good luck and I hope you get a few, like everyone says be sensible and know the weather! You’re not going to fly home with a 50hp on the back if the weather turns to crap, so allow enough time and know when enough is enough. No fish is worth your life.

Thanks mate...i always ask everyone to wear pfd when we go outside no matter what the  weather is...been caught outside a couple if times when the weather changed from good to bad in minutes...took forever to come back in...

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6 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

I used to own a Quintrex Renegade 460 and have taken that boat to the Botany Wide FAD (18kms) dozens of times over the years.

The conditions need to be right, you need to have the right safety gear (in good working order and you also need to know how to operate them) and most importantly.... be an experienced and safe skipper who knows how to handle the limitations and characteristics of the boat as the ocean can throw almost anything at  you.

Never risk your life for a fish, but as long as its safe and you have the experience there shouldn’t be any problems.

Thanks mate...yes its not worth the risk...always a next time...i never go outside when the swell is over 1.5m and wind over 20kph...been stuck out there around long reef in 3-4m swell in a 50ft boat...not very nice...took awhile to get back inside the heads...we were going minus 4knots for while...

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13 hours ago, Captain Spanner said:

I think you will find if your radio isn't working properly then it isn't legal to start with. But forgetting the legalities the important bit it is more about safety. You shouldn't even be offshore without your radio. A couple of years ago we upgraded from a 27Meg radio to a VHF as we struggled to get coverage on the 27Meg at 12 mile. 12 Mile is about where mobile reception starts to get sketchy depending on weather and other stuff that you can't count on or control. You shouldn't be out there in a bigger boat without a radio either. You may find that your radio is fine and that the times you are talking about it not working you were in black spots like behind the cliffs, remember that the radio works pretty much on line of sight. We have had radio contact problems at both boat harbour and different places along the Royal National Park due to the cliffs and the radio was functioning fine.

If you are after kings and dollies they have been in closer than the 12 mile and wide FAD anyway. If you are confident that your radio works then make a decision based on weather but i would imagine it would be easier to catch a king in near the cliffs or the harbour and i would try the closer wave rider buoys and FADs before heading out wider anyway. Basically when you show up to the FAD or buoy you want the water to be 22 degrees or warmer and blue with a bit of current running. 

Don't forget to log on and off with marine rescue.

Thanks for the advice...well stay close this weekend...

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