Almost Stripey Sunday 7.4.19

[zmk1962]

Hey Raiders,

It's not often that I get to go out twice in a week, but the stars aligned so following up on Throw-a-Line Thursday II, I launched into the second trip —  Almost Stripey Sunday.

I met Saad a few years back and had promised to take him fishing - little did I know that he had never fished from a boat before - let alone been offshore. Saad invited his brother Joseph to make up the trio. Jospeh had a bit of Hawkesbury boat experience so was very keen to try the wider space.

Plan was to hit the 50-60m flathead grounds of Barrenjoey and then depending on how the crew felt head out to the Sydney North FAD.

Conditions at 7am were warm, 1-2m seas with 12kts SW winds, that were predicted to die down to 4kts by 9am.

Had salted pilchards and the salted tailor fillets from the Thursday trip as bait, along with the usually SPs. 

Well we found the tailor were still at the 50m grounds. Along with some yakkas, leather jackets, and squire sized snapper. The snapper fell for the salted tailor fillets which were nice and firm but still juicy - so I'm quite impressed with this as a bait. We boated 2 keeper flatties. One at 57cm which fell to a fresh yakka head. Had a seriously powerful hook up on tailor fillets that put a nice bend in the rod with lots of head shakes and a few good solid runs before the paternoster rig was bit clean through - snapper?, shark? we'll never know. 

Lost a few sinkers and rigs to the leatheries so we upped anchor and drifted a bit for zero before moving to the 60m mark. Found nothing but juvenile flatties there. Had zero keepers on the SPs this trip - infact all the SPs were demolished by leather jacket bites - it's as if the SPs were attracting the leatheries.

Has anyone had luck with flatties lately?

So by about 9am Saad was suffering big time and had retired to the cabin. Joseph was keen to push out so we set a course for the FAD. I had not heard of any pelagic activity so was not very confident we'd find anything - guess that made me a bit lazy and rather then get the game rods out I laid out a spread of 6in skirts on the bottom bashing rods - thinking 40lb braid with 50lb leader on Penn 950s would easily handle a bonnie, or dolly that we might encounter.

Well bugger me, 1km SW of the FAD the shotgun Pakula pinky went off. A look over my shoulder and there was a solid stripey tail walking.  Got Joseph onto the rod (who the hell gets to tangle with a marlin on their first trip offshore…seriously!). Anyway, 3-4min into the play the leader broke - bye stripey and along with it my favourite lure.  Lesson learnt - expect the unexpected !!!

Anyway, rest of the day was filled with trolling runs past the FAD, with lots of learning for a new crew, another good hookup with what I estimate to be a 1m+ dollie that gave us a few aerials before throwing the hook - we were a bit slow on the rod for that one. But finally we hooked and landed a keeper dollie around (62cm) so the boys did get to go home with something. 

I put together a short video for the new crew - there's lots of boating action and unfortunately very little views of the fish but your welcome to skim through it. I'm seriously reconsidering where to best mount my GoPro .

Cheers Zoran

PS - not sure if this should go in the GameFishing section or here ... its got a bit of both I guess.

 

[masterfisho7]

Nice report Zoran top video mate

[PaddyT]

nice report- chase after 'em straight away dont let 300m of line out unless you have to (like on a double hookup) and if that happens -back the drag off - dont palm the spool . Better luck next time

[zmk1962]

Thanks @PaddyT...agree 100%.... a bit of stage fright, wonder and amazement from a virgin crew.... forcing me to leave the helm to clear the other rods...  we should be a better oiled machine on the next trip !

But what a learning experience !

Cheers Zoran

[PaddyT]

Yeah always fun- my usual briefing is this- When (not if) we hook up (always start the day on a positive note) your job is winding machine- if your not on the rod- wind everything else in, if you are on the rod- wind and keep winding until i tell you not to!! And dont touch the spool or the drag - unless i tell you too.

[Plethora]

On Saturday morning a friend and I went out to the East Sydney FAD around day break - what a waste of time that was (hung around for an hour) with nothing to show for it (with lives in hand we set off for Marley Beach area in the National Park) the only thing we had to show for the morning was a couple of rock cods

PS - This the third trip out to a FAD and nothing on the scope to show it 

[zmk1962]

11 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

my usual briefing is this- When (not if) we hook up (always start the day on a positive note)

LOVE IT !

11 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

your job is winding machine- if your not on the rod- wind everything else in, if you are on the rod- wind and keep winding until i tell you not to!! And dont touch the spool or the drag - unless i tell you too.

Hahaha... effective and simple advice... maybe we should refer to crew as "winch 1", "winch 2" .... thankfully we are on a fishing site so unlikely to get some politically correct counselling.... 

6 minutes ago, Plethora said:

On Saturday morning a friend and I went out to the East Sydney FAD around day break - what a waste of time that was (hung around for an hour) with nothing to show for it (with lives in hand we set off for Marley Beach area in the National Park) the only thing we had to show for the morning was a couple of rock cods

PS - This the third trip out to a FAD and nothing on the scope to show it 

All I can say is keep trying mate - it's fishing. I was at the Sydney North Fad on Wednesday and we scored 3 keeper dollies trolling skirts, and released about as many. There was a boat there dropping livies and drifting that didn't bend a rod. Then everything went quiet. We changed to trolling hard body poppers trying to stir up some more surface interest, then changed to a mix of poppers and skirts ... for zero. Maybe something big came in and scared them all off... who knows - it's fishing.

There's only one certainty - if you're not on the water and keeping your gear wet then you won't catch anything.

One other comment, on both Thursday and Saturday we ONLY got hits on the lures running with the waves - not a touch running into the waves or across them.  Maybe some of the more experienced folks can comment on that observation. My guess is that bait fish do not generally swim against the current/waves...but tend to swim more with the water to conserve energy. So perhaps the lure's were more "natural" going with the wave.  But I had not observed this phenomena previously.

Cheers Zoran

 

 

[Scratchie]

Nice work Zoran! Good to see you out and about! Lucky man to get two fishing days in a week! 👍

cheers scratchie!!! 

[Berleyguts]

3 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Nice work Zoran! Good to see you out and about! Lucky man to get two fishing days in a week! 👍

cheers scratchie!!! 

Yeah, lucky man. I’m lucky to get 2 fishing days in a quarter lately!

[Berleyguts]

16 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

LOVE IT !

Hahaha... effective and simple advice... maybe we should refer to crew as "winch 1", "winch 2" .... thankfully we are on a fishing site so unlikely to get some politically correct counselling.... 

All I can say is keep trying mate - it's fishing. I was at the Sydney North Fad on Wednesday and we scored 3 keeper dollies trolling skirts, and released about as many. There was a boat there dropping livies and drifting that didn't bend a rod. Then everything went quiet. We changed to trolling hard body poppers trying to stir up some more surface interest, then changed to a mix of poppers and skirts ... for zero. Maybe something big came in and scared them all off... who knows - it's fishing.

There's only one certainty - if you're not on the water and keeping your gear wet then you won't catch anything.

One other comment, on both Thursday and Saturday we ONLY got hits on the lures running with the waves - not a touch running into the waves or across them.  Maybe some of the more experienced folks can comment on that observation. My guess is that bait fish do not generally swim against the current/waves...but tend to swim more with the water to conserve energy. So perhaps the lure's were more "natural" going with the wave.  But I had not observed this phenomena previously.

Cheers Zoran

 

 

Yeah, I’ve always been told to try and set the lures on a wave.

[zmk1962]

4 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Nice work Zoran! Good to see you out and about! Lucky man to get two fishing days in a week! 👍

cheers scratchie!!! 

Thanks Scratchie... I am just trying to follow in the footsteps (wake?) of my Port Stephens raider buddies !   Cheers Z

[PaddyT]

26 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

LOVE IT !

Hahaha... effective and simple advice... maybe we should refer to crew as "winch 1", "winch 2" .... thankfully we are on a fishing site so unlikely to get some politically correct counselling.... 

All I can say is keep trying mate - it's fishing. I was at the Sydney North Fad on Wednesday and we scored 3 keeper dollies trolling skirts, and released about as many. There was a boat there dropping livies and drifting that didn't bend a rod. Then everything went quiet. We changed to trolling hard body poppers trying to stir up some more surface interest, then changed to a mix of poppers and skirts ... for zero. Maybe something big came in and scared them all off... who knows - it's fishing.

There's only one certainty - if you're not on the water and keeping your gear wet then you won't catch anything.

One other comment, on both Thursday and Saturday we ONLY got hits on the lures running with the waves - not a touch running into the waves or across them.  Maybe some of the more experienced folks can comment on that observation. My guess is that bait fish do not generally swim against the current/waves...but tend to swim more with the water to conserve energy. So perhaps the lure's were more "natural" going with the wave.  But I had not observed this phenomena previously.

Cheers Zoran

 

 

Yep, at the end of the day the boat driver is the most important person on a marlin boat-as for dollies, quite often changing it up is the key- if trolling doesnt get a bite- try spinning, try poppers, i find floating stickbaits to be very effective- use the walk the dog retirieve- or long thin soft plastics. Jigging works well as do livies. Small yakkas generally go down a treat- not so much the big ones- sometimes downrigging can be deadly, run the bait 15-20m down bigger fish can hang a bit deeper. If livies arent getting whacked then deadbait, if you are seeeing fishing keep trying different thinks until you get a bite

[GordoRetired]

Sounds like a fun day. I had heard that there were Marlin in close at the moment, when we were out last Thursday we had a pair cruise by while we were drifting the broken ground not far from the FAD off Manly.
If the leader broke you must be using too light line. When I was regularly chasing Marlin on the big boats we ran 600lb leader to our lures. What have you got on?

[GoingFishing]

Awesome work Zoran..... you did well with inexperienced crew. I almost gave up hope this weekend but after reading your report im motivated to have another go this weekend.

[zmk1962]

1 hour ago, GordoRetired said:

If the leader broke you must be using too light line. When I was regularly chasing Marlin on the big boats we ran 600lb leader to our lures. What have you got on?

Yeah...... maybe I misread it but the recent game reports were quiet, so I thought odds were we'd just get smaller pelagics if anything and I got lazy and used the bottom bash gear (50lb leader) to troll the first set, rather then break out the game gear (100lb leaders). Lesson learnt ! 

54 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Awesome work Zoran..... you did well with inexperienced crew. I almost gave up hope this weekend but after reading your report im motivated to have another go this weekend.

It was a fun day ... I think I have ruined Joseph in regard to future fishing trip expectations ... I mean where do you go after holding onto a marlin on your first offshore trip !!  Yup... you gotta be out there and keep it wet...otherwise guaranteed no fish! ... But I  don't think you and I need a lot of encouragement to get motivated to wet a line... hahaha.

Cheers Z

[GordoRetired]

41 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

Yeah...... maybe I misread it but the recent game reports were quiet, so I thought odds were we'd just get smaller pelagics if anything and I got lazy and used the bottom bash gear (50lb leader) to troll the first set, rather then break out the game gear (100lb leaders). Lesson learnt ! 

It was a fun day ... I think I have ruined Joseph in regard to future fishing trip expectations ... I mean where do you go after holding onto a marlin on your first offshore trip !!  Yup... you gotta be out there and keep it wet...otherwise guaranteed no fish! ... But I  don't think you and I need a lot of encouragement to get motivated to wet a line... hahaha.

Cheers Z

Even 100lb is light if you're after a Marlin... I run 100lb leader on my livebait trolling rigs if I am after kingies or dollies... Maybe I am over gunning a little 🙂

[zmk1962]

24 minutes ago, GordoRetired said:

Even 100lb is light if you're after a Marlin... I run 100lb leader on my livebait trolling rigs if I am after kingies or dollies... Maybe I am over gunning a little 🙂

Can't advise you there mate. Maybe others more experienced can chip in... I have not had a need to run greater than 100lb trolling for the stuff I regularly catch. But then I have not landed that many pelagics (marlin) consistently. 

I do run 200-300lb leader on my deep drop Brown's gear 😳 toothy critters down there ! 

Cheers Z

Edited April 9, 2019 by zmk1962

[Berleyguts]

It might depend on the line class you’re fishing or the size fish you’re targeting. I’m running 70lb on my live bait and skip bait leaders, as that’s what I was recommended by the local tackle store owner when I said I wanted to target the inshore black marlin. He said, “You can go heavier but you’ll get less bites”. All my skirted lures are prerigged (so I don’t know the b/strain) except for the Konaheads I rigged in the early 80s and still have. Most of the Konaheads are on wire. I fish 6, 10 and 15kg line class, with mono mainline.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Berleyguts

[61 crusher]

Another great report, good to here that the salted tailor fillets worked we’ll, bummer about your favourite pakula lure & the 2 good fish lost, you mentioned the go pro what about the centre rail on hard top between mid rail & rod holder rail & having a pivoting arm that can be locked into various positions

[zmk1962]

12 hours ago, Berleyguts said:

It might depend on the line class you’re fishing or the size fish you’re targeting. I’m running 70lb on my live bait and skip bait leaders, as that’s what I was recommended by the local tackle store owner when I said I wanted to target the inshore black marlin. He said, “You can go heavier but you’ll get less bites”. 

Yup makes sense to go lighter (70lb) on the livies - you want them to be natural free swimming as much as possible.

 

11 hours ago, 61 crusher said:

Another great report, good to here that the salted tailor fillets worked we’ll, bummer about your favourite pakula lure & the 2 good fish lost, you mentioned the go pro what about the centre rail on hard top between mid rail & rod holder rail & having a pivoting arm that can be locked into various positions

Yeah... I actually contacted Pakula yesterday and they immediately identified it and said they stopped production of the Uzi "pinky" in 1990  !!! I know I bought it around 1997 when I started the off shore thing. Holy crap didn't realise that lure and I went back that far. It's had the leader and tackle part changed over the years but has taken marlin, dollies, kings, salmon, bonnies and tailor .... boo hoo hoo.   RIP "pinky" :

Re GoPro.  Yes the centre rail would be ideal. If I mount under the hard top I'd still capture the deck action but I am worried about the head clearance for my taller friends - especially on choppy or bumpy seas. If I mount ontop of hardtop inbetween rocket launchers then I will get a great view behind but may miss the deck action. I'll just have to trial mount and experiment.... oh dear there's another reason to head out on the water - what a bummer eh!

Cheers Z

[New Signing]

On lures i dont run anything under 250 where marlin are the main target. Sometimes with smaller 4-6" targeted at tuna i will drop down to 150. When trolling lures there is no need to go any lighter.

Skip baits i mainly run 130-150. Live baits i start at 150 and work my way down from there. IMO anything lighter than 100 and youre playing with fire when it comes to marlin

[New Signing]

29 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

Yup makes sense to go lighter (70lb) on the livies - you want them to be natural free swimming as much as possible.

 

Yeah... I actually contacted Pakula yesterday and they immediately identified it and said they stopped production of the Uzi "pinky" in 1990  !!! I know I bought it around 1997 when I started the off shore thing. Holy crap didn't realise that lure and I went back that far. It's had the leader and tackle part changed over the years but has taken marlin, dollies, kings, salmon, bonnies and tailor .... boo hoo hoo.   RIP "pinky" :

Re GoPro.  Yes the centre rail would be ideal. If I mount under the hard top I'd still capture the deck action but I am worried about the head clearance for my taller friends - especially on choppy or bumpy seas. If I mount ontop of hardtop inbetween rocket launchers then I will get a great view behind but may miss the deck action. I'll just have to trial mount and experiment.... oh dear there's another reason to head out on the water - what a bummer eh!

Cheers Z

Im pretty sure pete still makes Uzi's just reskirt one

[zmk1962]

57 minutes ago, New Signing said:

Im pretty sure pete still makes Uzi's just reskirt one

Yup ... Uzi's are still in production (and I have other colours)... just the "pinky" skirts are not.  There are colours that are close... but no more "pinky".  Pete said it was not a popular colour .... bugger me... it's the one that has consistently produced for me.  Just show's how varied experiences can be !

Cheers Z

[Fishn50]

Thanks Zoran for the great fishing report and the video. I've never caught a dollie yet trolling so its good to see how others do it and what lures are used. Thanks for sharing..

Cheers

Terry

[PaddyT]

2 hours ago, zmk1962 said:

Yup ... Uzi's are still in production (and I have other colours)... just the "pinky" skirts are not.  There are colours that are close... but no more "pinky".  Pete said it was not a popular colour .... bugger me... it's the one that has consistently produced for me.  Just show's how varied experiences can be !

Cheers Z

Do what i did- grab a couple of Uzis and reskirt them with a pink squid- work fine- so leader size- I reckon for Uzi's and other little lures 60-80lb is fine, for 6 inch skirts I mainly run 150lb, for large I run 250-300lb but I am not targetting blue marlin- the guys I know who do run 4-600lb, Id rather get the bite and worry about the result later- as for wire Baz- re rig them , chances are it will have micro rust all through it after that long- I usually rerig a lure after a couple of fish- or even one if there is a lot of scuffing. I fish windons so only use 3-4 m leaders- the cost of a couple of new crimps and a few feet of leader is pretty small when compared to the cost of the lure or the pain of loosing a good fish to a rigging error. Ive told the story before but last year I fought a small black that I hooked on a bait jig- it took 30 minutes for that fish to wear through the baitjig nylon- so again get the bite first, heavier leaders will get less bites