The spoils of war, one snapped rod later and a very happy young fisho!
Suncoast Skutes Hollowcore Flashers are the only flasher on the market that doesn’t go down the hatch with the business end of the rigs.
Suncoast Skutes enjoyed some epic research and development.
Still providing sensational sport on the FADs, 20lb mono and light spinning gear. Page 22 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, October 2023
Time for a mahi mahi switch up
H
AVEN’T had a crack at a mahi mahi or two off the fish aggregating devices yet? Why not? It can be very easy to drive right past the FADS in search of your usual reef fish as the temperature starts to rise slightly, but as a novice to this species and different style of fishing, if there’s something holding you back, read on. If you’re heading out for snapper on the 36-fathom lines, chances are you have everything set up anyway. Producing a feed of tasty fillets and plenty of sport too, there’s been heaps of mahi mahi action on the Gold Coast FADs. Most commonly associated with their bright gold flanks, electric greens and iridescent blue spots, mahi are also known for their instinctive aerial escape attempts during combat – particularly on light spin gear. We’ll get to that soon… first let’s talk about the basics for catching mahi – also known as dolphinfish. Mahi are one of the fastest growing fish in the ocean and favour a huge range of temperatures, which makes
Gold Coast by ANDY MELVILLE
them a fairly predictable target for trolling lures, casting stickbaits or floating pilchard tails in a small berley trail. The obvious first port of call is on the FADs that are dotted offshore between the 60-80m reefs. GPS coordinates can be found at qld.gov.au/ recreation/activities/ boating-fishing/rec-fish ing/fish-aggregating-de vices/find-a-fish-aggre gating-device These act in two ways to attract target fish. First, the chains and the large buoy grow weed, creating an ideal habitat for baitfish to seek refuge in open water, which of course opens up a food chain gathering point. Second, mahi are a pelagic species and spend most of their active life near the surface scanning for food and migrating, so when they
come across structure of any kind they will seek shade on particularly bright days. In the past, I’ve always favoured floating baits into the FADs using pillie tails because that’s what I’ve set up for the day chasing other reef fish. However, various slow pitch jigs and jerk shads mechanically cranked, stickbaits cast and sunk deep or even bucktails rolled through a school will get smashed. Keep in mind, that as for any school of fish, they will shut down after too much disturbance and may need to be fired up again. In an ideal world, you could catch live bait the night before and keep them in a river, or get lucky on the way out and get them as the sun comes up… but that’s unlikely. * continued P23
Sinking pilchard tails with Hollowcore Flashers on a single hook are to thank for this stunning shot.
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