Hi all, hoping to fish the Rottnest trench over Xmas / New Years break, weather permitting, any suggestions? Ran into a few green eyes last time out there. I've heard the northern wall of the trench in around 600m has some good coral. Can anyone confirm? Any reports of mackies yet?

Think u may be too deep for mack

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Mark _australia said..
Think u may be too deep for mack

why is mark red thumbed . No need to go 60km out the back of rotto for macks .



Hilly what boat are you thinking of doing it in ? How big is the fuel tank , do you know what the hourly burn is .

I would suggest leaving for the trenches by at least 4am weather permitting . Make sure you logon with FSR and give them some rough cords of where you are heading . I haven't been out wide in a long time . I cbf going further than the fads , especially when the wind turns ugly it can be a loooooong trip home .

Hey Dusta what boat are you running to the fads in? I am in the research "dreaming" phase... of boat purchase

the nearest fad is nearly 50 k offshore. on a good day with low swell and light winds all day you can get there in a 20 foot plus boat with good sea keeping abilities and enough fuel. you really need to pick your days in a small boat. I run a survey built 48 riv enclosed which tips the scales at close to 30 tons with full fuel and water and i pick my days before i head out there. if it gets too rough its best to pull into rotto and spend the night on the island.(worse places to spend a night). A day like monday 28 dec looks like the day to take out a small boat. light easterlies and a late light/moderate seabreeze.

^^ isn't there a couple of FADs just west of Rotto...?

Prefer super shallow fishing,
Light gear, poppers, slices,, unweighted baits,
Love fishing in 2 to 3 Mtrs over and around structure, IMHO it beats deep water ,
Cracks me up watching crew on their big boats travelling big distances to get what's available just close to shore

Cauncy, it's easy for you to say that but Perth Metro has been slaughtered over the last 50 years and there's SFA left so we have no choice but to go wider to maximise our chances of success in catching decent fish. Thhere is little challenge in dropping circle hooks and 2kg of lead on an electric reel with 130lb braid but i can understand people wanting a solid fish or 2 after spending 50k++ on a new toy.

Isn't the closest FAD only around 6nm off Rotto? I've fished them once or twice in a 19ft centre console and never had any issues other than getting a bit wet on the way home.

the closest one was about 6 and a half nautical miles behind the west end. about a 40 km steam from the heads.

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shunter said..
Hey Dusta what boat are you running to the fads in? I am in the research "dreaming" phase... of boat purchase

36ft , 5 tonne boston whaler

and i still pick my days to go out there.


and cauncy you wouldn't be saying that if dongara was like perth

as MDSXR6T said , anything east of rotto is shocking . Fished out

Wouldn't be living in Dongara if it was like Perth dusta, used to get a good feed around yanchep area close in a few yrs back, is it that bad,
I enjoy a broad range of fish big and small, we certainly have a culture of chasing the prime species , something that might have to change,
I'm happy with one or two for a feed, most want to bag out and forget about it in the bottom of the freezer , I enjoy a nice baked skippy as much as a piece of black snapper,

Never knock back a skippy, black ass cod- can't beat it.

Here's my fave skippy recipe baked
Lay the skippy gutn gilled on some all foil curled up and doubled up
Little drizzle of peanut oil
1/4 a teaspoon of Thai green paste( authentic)
1/3 cup of coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon peanut paste
Fresh coriander and mint
Roll it up and turn up the ends of alfoil
Bake over hot coals for 6 mins
Sensational

^^ Lot of alfoil to wrap up a skippy

My last one was 60kg and about 6ft tall
Shot him with a .22/250 halfway to Mullewa.

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Mark _australia said...
^^ Lot of alfoil to wrap up a skippy

My last one was 60kg and about 6ft tall
Shot him with a .22/250 halfway to Mullewa.

Why? Shoot it

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cauncy said..

Mark _australia said...
^^ Lot of alfoil to wrap up a skippy

My last one was 60kg and about 6ft tall
Shot him with a .22/250 halfway to Mullewa.

Why? Shoot it

Easier to bleed out And to skin. Plus they wreck the fire if they are still kicking

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dusta said..

Mark _australia said..
Think u may be too deep for mack

why is mark red thumbed .

hes all thumbs mate. he must type with his nose