marty

Thanks all - boat sold this morning (not to a member of AFO)

50hp 4-stroke EFI Mercury (440 hours), Electric Start, Hydraulic Trim and Tilt

Minn Kota 55hp bow mount Riptide electric motor with Auto Pilot, foot pedal, 110ah Ritar AGM battery

Quintrex galvanised trailer, disc brakes, light truck tyres (80% tread), walkway, spare galvanised wheel/tyre

Lowrance HDS 5X sounder with transducer, plus LSS-1 structure scan

Canvas bimini cover (removable)

Under floor fuel tank (approx 50 litres)

LED navigation lights, 1 metre high anchor light (removable), under gunwale LED floor lights

Extended front casting deck (removable)

Swivel bucket seats x 2 (removable)

Plumbed bait tank with variable timer switch

Sand anchor, chain and rope

Electric Bilge pump

Safety equipment (2 x lifejackets, 2 x oars)

Selling due to upgrade

$11,000 ono

Had some family visiting this week and decided Tuesday was a good forecast to chase a few Mackerel. After convincing them of an early start we crossed the Seaway at first light and headed out the local reefs to chase some Mackerel. After trying a few spots and not seeing one Mackerel boated from any of the nearby boats the pressure was on and a new plan was hatched.

Headed a bit wider and decided to bottom bash in the hope of some Snapper. A few undersize fish decided to come aboard then my brother nearly loses my rod overboard as he gets a good hit. After some swearing and a little coaching he manages to pull up a 65cm Snapper. This well and truly upgrade his previous biggest fish of a just legal Bream.

Half an hour later and he gets another good hit and again nearly loses the rod overboard. After a decent fight and a couple of good runs he has a 110cm Jew beside the boat and I am thinking to myself “glad I packed the big net”.

A pretty successful day and always good to see a non angler get the thrill of fighting a decent fish.

There was a run of Hairtail in the Broadwater a few years ago - in fact once the word got out they got smashed and were thinned out pretty quickly.

Yes they are good eating - which is probably why they got fished so heavily. Such a pretty fish - and a very unique swimming action.

Congrats on the capture - and release.

You don't need baitrunners @Hweebe but they are easy to use for this style of fishing. You could always use a basic spinning reel with good drag, and fish it with a light drag setting, then once you hook a fish tighten the drag to the required load. Same result as using a baitunner, but not as clean - and you need to know exactly how far to tighten your drag before you start fishing. Also, these rods are sitting in rod holders - i am not holding them.

As I said this is just what I do - everyone out there has their own method and techniques. Some fish whole pillies, some use no wire when the fishing is slow. What works today may not work tomorrow.

Bait fishing gets results and you can have a few baits out oat one time, but I love spinning for them. Nothing better than a good cast, fast retrieve and coming up solid to a good fish. You work harder so appreciate each fish more.

Setups and rigs for Mackerel fishing vary from angler to angler - no set rules. And I won't list brands to avoid starting a Ford v Holden debate 

My bait setups are fibreglass rods 6-7' long, 6-10kg rating, with bait runner reels (approx 250m line capacity and 9kg drag), spooled with 20lb mono. I don't use braid on the bait rods as it gets a bit dangerous when multiple rods go off at once. The rig is a 4/0 octopus hook, with 100mm of 17-30lb multi strand wire and a swivel. I use cubes of pillies no bigger than 50mm and float them out the back of the boat. Often use a float (ballon or foam) on one rig to vary the depth of the bait.

My spin setups are 7-8' graphite rods, 5-10kg rating, with a 5000 size reel, spooled with 20-30lb braid and 1m of 30lb leader. Slugs vary in size from 15-45gms and colour changes on the day - white and pink are the most successful.

Thanks

Right now Mackerel are firing. Try Palm Beach or Mermaid reef - you don't need GPS marks, just look for the boats! 

If you want to go to 18's or 24's start with the generic marks to get you in the right area, then spend some time slowly motoring around and watch your sounder. Mark any spots that show good bait and/or sort of structure or small humps.

This time of year it is also worth looking at the Seaway Pinnacles - Mackerel showed up there in numbers last season. Again, start with the generic marks and use your sounder. Plenty of structure in this area.

Not sure how much fishing knowledge you have but search the internet for what species are caught at different times of the year, and what rigs and techniques are best for each species. Mackerel are generally caught high in the water on unweighted bait rigs ( I like single hooks, small lengths of wire and cubed pillies), whereas Snapper are caught on the bottom using weighted rigs (I like 3 gang rigs with whole pillies).

Thanks

21 minutes ago, ellicat said:

Which is your favoured eating fish out of that lot ?

First time I have tasted Kingfish and Spanish - so far the Kingfish is the best for sashimi in my opinion.

Magic day on Palm Beach reef this morning - minimal wind and fish played the game. Started early and was second boat on the reef, ensuring we secured the same spot as last week. Some of the astute AFO members may recognise one of the boats in my pic. Action was slow through the morning with the odd fish, but switch was flicked at 6:30am and it was mayhem for 45 mins. We had two triple hook-ups and four double hook-ups which always make us look like amateurs as we dance around the boat.

At one stage I was spinning a slug when one of my bait rods went off, so I gave the spin rod to my mate. I wind left handed (like all true right handed lure fisherman haha) so he struggled - and as soon as he got coordinated the line went tight and drag was screaming. I ended up with a good Spotty from the bait rod but my mate kept fishing my spin rod, eventually landing a 110cm Spanish. He claimed it but I am a little dubious as to whose fish it was 

We managed to land the Spanish, a Kingfish and five Spotties before calling it a day. Our conversion rate was terrible - we must have lost 15 fish this morning. One of the Spotties was lost to a solid Shark that took the fish beside the boat.

Anyway, my decision to extend my holidays by one extra day turned out to be a good one. The mackerel mayhem always brings a smile to my face.

Marty