# Balmoral Bonito Bonanza - 18/01/07



## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

Thought about the Malabar trip but passed on that one in favour of a pre dawn start at Balmoral or Clifton. I have never really done that well at Clifton so Balmoral was the choice.

Checked Seabreezes at 0400 and it was a marginal call but went all the same, took a look at the breeze once I was at the beach and had another bout of forboding.

After Monday's run in with pike, pike and more pike, today the intention was to troll up a bait size pike and it would go on the downrigger. Plan started to fall apart at this point. Had a 10kg overhead for the downrigger, a 10kg threadline for throwing SP's at any surface kingey action and a 3kg baitcaster for the bait trolling.

Trolled Balmoral Beach to Middle Head green mark with a 4" trollcraft pelagic and a CD13 for zip. It was decidedly uncomfortable once I rounded the reef at Middle Head but persisted to put one lap of the marker in before deciding to head in. Where are the pesky pike, 4 days ago I stopped fishing 2 rods as they were a pain in the butt, this morning nothing.

I hooked one pike on the way back past Middle Head reef by which time I though sod it not worth dropping the down rigger.

By this time I just had the baitcaster with the trollcraft HB out. Passed over a big bait ball holding on the Cobblers side of the reef and have one of the penny dropped moments, little fish = bigger fish feeding.

First bonnie belted me seconds after having this epiphany. Trolled a run just clear of the rocks between Middle Head reef and the headland just seaward of Cobblers Bay for another 3 bonnies. 2 for the table tonight and 2 C&R. They were peas in a pod all around 40cm but some were quite a bit broader than others. They went like trains on the 3kg gear.

There were a few boats squidding along this stretch so I provided some amusement to them. Comments ranged from derisory to out and out complimentary. Spoke to one guy in a tinnie that took the shot for me as he was very interested in the yak.

Off the water at 0700, late for me but pretty chuffed with the proceedings. I had trolled back from Cobblers to the beach for no result, my favourite tailor troll seems to have shut down for the time being.


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Lovely fish Lloyd!   And a great report. It always amuses me the different reactions you get from people when fishing from a yak.

I'd be interested to hear how the bonito go on the plate 8)


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## aleg75 (Dec 20, 2005)

Sounds linke a top morning out Lloyd! great read, thanks for the report!

Starting to get dreams of salt water! cannot wait till I live in bungendore and day trips to the coast will be frequent.

Ash


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

Great report and result Lloyd. I am interested, how are you going to prepare/cook them? The Japanese sear the outside of the flesh and leave the inner raw and eat the sashimi with spring onions and or slivers of red onions. Very good eating. So what's the plan?

Also what Hobie model are you riding there?

JT


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

JT,

I posted a thread about the "Classic" in rigged yaks, here is the link.

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3760

As far as eating the bonnies, the one I got off North Head a few weeks ago followed your recipe pretty much. Lightly oiled, dusted with fresh black pepper and thai seasoning then seared. Thinly sliced after searing and served with a soy/ ginger / chilli dipping sauce.

Todays are going into a tuna bake which is a family staple recipe. I microwaved it and flaked it before being used in the bake, tasted pretty good straight out of the microwave.

The meat is white once cooked which suprised me, the fish are killed by bleeding so that might have something to do with it.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Pysgodwyr said:


> Spoke to one guy in a tinnie that took the shot for me as he was very interested in the yak.
> 
> .


Nice result LLoyd, and not at all surprised at the attention you get with the Classic, for me they are the prettiest of the pedal hobies


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## Russ (Feb 24, 2006)

Well done LLoyd

I was at the Amazon store at Wetherill Pk on Wednesday and overheard a conversation with a bloke who said he fished Old Mans Hat on Monday morning for 28 Bonito he took 3 and released the rest. Agreat result and a great C/R, What a fella

I couldn't help but picture the bloke in the Tinnie scootin off with ya camera, such is the society we live in.

Then again you could probably catch him in the Hobie. Well done mate and thanks for the report. I may take Tugboat out on the Harbour next Wednesday my Bro In Law wants to see what all of the fuss is about with these Yak thingy's.

 fishing Russ


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## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

Hi Russ,

Hadn't thought of the camera being stolen until you mentioned it. He had my 3kg outfit in the boat with him as well as it was in the LHS rod holder and that was side from which I approached the boat. Of the boats that were squidding he was the one that seemed to be most in tune with the fishing the others rocked up throttle wide open, a couple of casts move on throttle wide open you get the picture.

That guy must have had some fun at Old Man's Hat if he took the bonnies on light gear that would have been a great morning's effort.

Dodge,

You seem to have a thing about the Classic. I must admit she is something of a favorite I have no idea of her history as she is currently 3rd hand as far as I know. Compared to the Sport the pros and cons are as follows.

PROS:

Faster, quieter on the water, good deck form at the bow so she sheds water rather than directs it into the cockpit, OK so this is not a problem with the mirage drive access but I would rather not have a submarining kayak.

CONS:

Lack of moulded in carry handles that made the Sport so easy to move and lift, no moulded storage that was very handy. No self draining well behind the cockpit, the Classic well is deep, narrow and sealed. No scuppers that the new Hobie trolley fits, that was so easy to use. No large hatches and no hatches accessible on water. Lack of surfaces to be able to fit Scotty mounts, I have fitted one deck mount forward on the RHS that is the only accessible available area. Did fit 2 flush mount rod holders behind the seat.


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## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

Gatesy,

Just about up for any day that the wind is light. I would like to have another bash around North Head but that really is subject to good wind and a yak buddy in case of trouble. How about launching from Shelly, is the beach still closed?

The pulsing at the end of the fight with the fish directly below is a bit disappointing in some respects as I have been catching these fish in <20 feet of water so you know the fight is just about over just a case of hanging on at that stage.


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## Fishing Man (Oct 4, 2006)

nice work lloyd,

mate how do you cook them and how do they taste, 
i have always seen them as bait more than a table fish but hey if they are ok il have to try them


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## THUNDERBIRD2 (Sep 26, 2006)

LLoyd

Great report - I'm green with envy. The green mark off Middle Head that you refer to where exactly is it as I can't remember a mark around there unless you mean there is one further down the Harbour once you get past Middle Head ( i haven't had the courage to venture that far yet.)

Thanks
David


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

Another way to prepare them is to clean them and salt them in a clean bucket with rock salt for a few months. I'm pretty sure this is the way the old man used to do it?

I was never game to try it, but not once was anyone ill after eating it? Apparently its good for you as its an oily fish and rich in omega 3's?

Milt,


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

I've found that if bled and then put on ice immediately, bonito makes for a mighty tasty meal. When properly handled you don't get the overly fishy taste that most people seem to associate with bonito. I haven't tried to make the katsuo tataki myself yet, but I think I'll give it a go. I usually grill on an extremely hot BBQ/gas grill. The picture below is what I like to call bonito ranchero. I cut the fillets into 3-4 inch pieces, drizzle with olive oil and apply generous amounts of chile de arbol, black pepper and a little cumin. Serve on a bed of rice and top with salsa fresca. Mucho gusto!










Also very simple is a quick marinade in teriyake and pineapple juice. Sear or grill very quickly and serve on rice with scallions for garnish.










We've been lucky this year. Lots of large bonito most of the summer and some have stuck around through the winter.


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## Fishing Man (Oct 4, 2006)

looks pretty good Douglas,

my only question is how do you bleed the bonito from your yak?


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## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

Dave (TB2)

You cant miss the green mark off Middle Head as you round Middle Head it is directly in line with South Head. A word of warning about the MH area, it directly faces the open sea so you can get a fair swell coming straight into it. The reef that runs out towards North Head generates some nasty water around the corner as it comes up to 20' from 40/50' for about 50 yards from the shore.

Any N'thly or NE'thly winds tend to be funnelled down Middle Harbour so it can be quite uncomfortable coming back round from the front of the head or Obelisk Beach. I got caught out one morning sitting in the lee of the cliffs thinking this is OK to get absolutely belted coming back round Middle Head on the return to Balmoral

Fishing Man:

My method of bleeding them is pretty simple.

Bring them in a landing net as it gives you some control of the little buggers, unhook them in the net, then over the side still in the net and cut the gill latch, then move smartly on towing the landing net. The way I look at it if a man in a grey coat wants the fish he can have my $15 landing net as well. The fish will bleed out in a matter of a minute or so then straight into a non draining bucket I have in the crate. I normally gut them a little later. I really think berleying with fish gut after landing a distressed pelagic and bleeding it all in the same spot may be asking for it.

Did anyone read the fishraider report of the jew that was taken by the bull shark up at Gladesville recently, I heard that a 3m bully was netted at Grotto Point so precautions against sharks even in the Harbour are worth considering.

As an aside I had a team of specialist divers from the US working for me in Cairns last October they dived at Trinity Wharf (in town) after heavy rain and during the night so the visibility was 6". They mentioned crocs and sharks and dismissed them as a hazard of the job. Better men than me I can tell you.


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