Exmouth trip - big dolphin fish
Hey guys, just got back from two days fishing off Exmouth with Josh from Onstrike! Had awesome weather and plenty of action, catching and releasing all sorts of fish over the two days. Got some nice queenies, shark macks, spanish macks and dolphin fish.
On the last day decided to try for a big marlin so we trolled for most of the afternoon with no luck but right as we contemplated giving up and heading in out of nowhere this big blue came flying in bill and fins right out of the water waving around. It smashed the lure and dissapeared with the reel screaming. We where on, finally!
I grabbed the rod and held on for a blistering first run, in the distance we could see a good size marlin getting airborn followed by another big fish jumping all over the place right near it. After 10 mins or so it dove deep and we didnt see it jump again for the next 20 mins or so as I slowly began to regain some line.
After a good fight I finally had it in close, Josh had the tagging pole out and as we finally saw some colour we couldnt believe our eyes. Somehow I was now connected to a horse of a dolphin fish - the marlin was nowhere to be seen!! No idea how that happened as all of us on the boat watched the Marlin come in and nail the lure with our own eyes - only explanation is that the dolly somehow smashed it out of its mouth or beat it to the strike by a split second without us seeing!
So no Marlin this time but was stoked with the size of this dolphin fish, pics dont quite do it justice! Cameras where all out of battery so had to snap a quick shot with an iphone.
Definitely an unusual way to cap off an awesome couple of days fishing.
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sea-kem
Posts: 14931
Date Joined: 30/11/09
That's a hooter Dollie there
That's a hooter Dollie there mate and nice Spaniard. Weather looks aweful.
Love the West!
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
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Cheers mate!
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
Big bull
Nice one dude, shoulda put it on a brag mat for the FW record board. That phucker would take some beating!
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
FW Record board
Oh man im gutted now, totally forgot about the new FW record board!! Wish I had of gotten some measurements, tail was touching the ground holding his head up in front of me and im 6ft1. Have got some footage of the last part of the fight and us dragging him into the boat - shows the size a lot better then the photos, ill chuck it up on youtube later!
snappermiles
Posts: 2100
Date Joined: 05/11/10
so your the bastard that had him booked
i tried to book the boat out for monday but he was fully booked!! great fish bet the mahi mahi was a surprise! bloody nice mackie too
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
Onstrike
Haha sorry mate! Definitely worth booking anytime you get a chance, couldn't recommend Onstrike more highly!! Been out 3 times now and Josh has always put us onto some awesome fish. Great bloke and a wealth of knowledge, always come home with improved technique and a few extra tricks up my sleeve!
soupster51
Posts: 2723
Date Joined: 29/11/06
Mahi
Top Mahi, but I bet you were spewen..... LOL. At least you don't feel bad about putting mahi on ice. Top of the top shelf as a fresh fish. I caught one last weekend and saw it jumping out of the water, clearing ten feet each time, to hunt down the lure. Nat Geo stuff.
The best reason for doing what's right today is tomorrow.
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
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Haha yeah, was definitely mixed emotions! Sucked to lose the marlin but was impossible to not be stoked with a horse dolphin fish. I know what you mean about the jumps, a few of the launches I saw where so high they could have jumped clean over the boat - awesome to see!
Dreamweaver
Posts: 4688
Date Joined: 01/12/07
Awesome catch.fish
Yup, as the others said - absolute stonker of a Dolli - probably because there's a marlin stuffed inside it's jacket going from your story LOL - great report too BTW - and yes, conditions look "awful" LOL
Soon to be de "dreamweaver" ed!
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
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Cheers mate! Haha yeah I still can't get my head around how it happened or where the marlin went, would of made more sense if I hooked a dolphin fish and it got smashed by the marlin not the other way around lol. We where a bit worried about the weather being october but it turned out great with two days of glass on the water!
SABRE
Posts: 404
Date Joined: 17/05/12
Jealous
Well done mate great catch-so jealous-how far offshore were you trolling when you caught him ?
If fishing is a sport I,m an elite athlete
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
depth
Cheers bud, was caught in around 200m of water from memory!
uncle
Posts: 9461
Date Joined: 10/02/07
very nice fish
that would have been a suprise! we saw one that was 13 kilo at the fads about 25 years ago, but the flesh was all mushy, how did that one taste
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
taste
Was very sweet tasting flesh, had him straight on the BBQ in some alfoil with a few vegies and spices for seasoning. Was one of the best tasting fish I have tried for sure!!
catch.fish
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 12/10/11
More pics
Here are some pics of the dollies I got earlier in the day before we went chasing marlin, the last one was pretty big but still looked small next to the one that knocked the marlin outta the way!! Weather was amazing and water was super clear, we where watching all the dolphin fish cruising around the boat and sight casting for them - also saw a couple of nice Wahoo cruise past!
Also my PB coral trout, unfortunately he didn't fight a whole lot and tasted like crap haha.
:)
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
well done mate some top
well done mate some top fish
also Top boat that Fury Josh has :)
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17997
Date Joined: 11/03/08
gotta be pissed about the
gotta be pissed about the marlin but stoked with the dollie. certainly a monster. from what i have heard the dollies are very agressive feeders when they are on . not the first time i have heard about them stealing lures from other mouths
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together