Catching Mahi Mahi EVERY cast! - Our 'plan b' paid off (fishing the FADs)

Hey there legends! As you can tell, in this video we were lucky enough to hook into a few beautiful dolphinfish, also known as mahi mahi or dorado. We actually went out chasing some snapper off the Gold Coast at first light, but when they weren't biting we needed a 'plan b'.
Dolphinfish are a pelagic fish that love to hang around floating objects. Logs, seaweed, coral spawn, rope, and any other floating debris attract sea life and the mahi mahi love to hang around them. Luckily here in South East Queensland, the Queensland Government deploy FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices) in different depths. These are a great option when trying to find fish around the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast as well as New South Wales and Western Australia.
These fish are extremely popular worldwide due to their spectacular fights, their size, and their stunning looks. As well as this, they're delicious when looking for a feed. You will see all of this throughout the video, as well plenty of tips on how to catch mahi mahi for yourself!
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[@aidanrolls8201]

i cant watch some fishos on youtube who never bleed their fish. good video mate

[@willkitching]

Hahaha yes we bleed all of our fish now, even whiting! 😅 thanks for the comment mate, tight lines! 🙌🎣

[@TheRealMrCods]

Great video Will, Thanks for showing and explaining the dispatching of the Snapper. Very few videos show or explain this, Excellent for the newbies that have just started fishing. Awesome job on the Mahi 👍

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps mate I appreciate the comment!! I’m glad you found it helpful, it definitely makes a difference 👌 the Mahi Mahi were so fun! It’s definitely handy having the FADs there to have a crack at them. Tight lines 😁🎣

[@nikkiandandrewcallow1580]

Nice session Will. Darryl's fish radar tuned in nicely.

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps guys, I appreciate the support! Hahaha yes, Dad always finds a way to get the most fish 😂👌

[@flippa1976]

Great stuff Will, going to head out in the morning, hopefully I have the same luck🤷 thanks got the tips🍻👍

[@willkitching]

G’day Flippa, thanks heaps for the comment!! I hope you got onto a few mate, there have been a fair few snapper starting to show up finally too. Fingers crossed for you! 🤞👍😁

[@cobbasadventures-Aus]

Nice work mate!

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps mate! I appreciate it, keep up the great videos yourself 😁👌

[@CamBill_ROBLOX]

Awesome video some great fish there mate 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍never caught them or seen them caught

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps Cam!! Yeah until the FADs got put in, we only caught the odd one ourselves. They mostly get caught very wide of the coastline most of the time, and as bycatch of people trolling for Marlin which we don’t do very often. Sometimes there will be a good run of them in around 40-60 metres off the coast, but other years they are mainly out wide. The FADs have definitely made them more accessible, even though the average size is fairly small. Still fun and tasty though!

[@marcofergo8935]

Beautiful fish 👍

[@willkitching]

Thank you so much for the comment mate! They definitely are pretty fish 😁🙌

[@karl4793]

Nice work!!

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps Karl! Appreciate the support mate

[@Matt7337S]

Nice work gents. Another great informative Vid. Did you say they were still getting caught over winter.

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps for the comment mate, I really do appreciate it! 🙌 I’m actually not too sure, I think they definitely slow down in winter. I’ve heard they don’t like it when the water temp drops below 22 or 21 degrees but I’m not completely sure. This session we had was only around 3 weeks ago though so it would still be worth a shot - if you’re fishing near the FADs it could pay to check them out!! Tight lines mate 👍🎣

[@rush.gang.fishing]

Awesome work mate an beautiful sunrise snapper! How’s far do you guys have to travel to the FADS? We have them here but so damn far out iv never been out there boys with bigger boats are always out there scoring dolphin fish though, epic looking fish! Great vid 👊🏼👊🏼🐟

[@willkitching]

Thanks heaps mate I really appreciate the kind words and support! And yes gotta love those early morning snapper, too bad there was only one 😂 On the Gold Coast there is one that is in 40m of water which is just over 10km out, but this one doesn’t fish as well as the others I believe. Then there are 3 in a triangle in 60m of water - about 20km out. Then 2 more in 80m of water- 30km out. We have long lines of reef here that run North to South so they drop them on those lines. We were actually at one of the ones 30km out in this video (for the first time ever), as it was a calm day and we have the fuel capacity to do it with the new Mercury fourstroke. It’s definitely a long way to go if the weather isn’t very calm, and for people in smaller boats. We’re in a 5 metre boat. How far out are the FADs in WA? I see people do really well over there and get larger fish, but I figured they must be a long way out 😅😅

[@EndlessWeekendlife]

23:12 I could smell that through the screen. 😂 Cracking session. What sort of fuel consumption did you guys do with the new Mercury there and back?

[@willkitching]

Hahahah gotta love a bit of stomach juice hey 😳🤮😂 We added up our travels and we did around 65-70km all up for the day, and used 30 litres. Not bad at all! We used to get about 1km per litre on the old two stroke, and this one is averaging just over 2km per litre. Thanks for the support as always mate, I appreciate the comment 🙌

[@EndlessWeekendlife]

@willkitching That's some good numbers! But must say though, miss the old 2 stroke fumes.. that's adventure in the air. 😁

[@willkitching]

Definitely mate, we’re very happy with it! And hahaha yes that old motor was an absolute cracker, gotta love the smell of two stroke 😂👌