garryl

My brother is planning a camping weekend at Bundeena. Is there a boat ramp near the camp ground or somewhere close by? I searched the web a while ago and remember that there was a sand one, but I think it was closed for refurb? Any info would be appreciated. Garry

You'll always get a heap of advice on this one. Use a few different search terms on the site and you'll be going through the info for days. For me 5"Gulp JerkShads in nuclear Chicken or Lime Tiger; 4" Gulp Minnows; 3" Shrimps always a size 1/0 jighead. Also have had some success with Squidgies. But I'm still learning, I get more fish dragging Poddies around. Am trying to learn SPs so I spend more time on the water trying to catch fish and less time catching bait! So I'll be keeping a keen eye on the post to see if anything new comes up. for starters have a looking in the Saltwater Lure section, there's a post stuck at the top and starts off talking about Winter Flathead. Enjoy... Garry

A couple of weeks ago I saw a guy pull one up that looked a bit smaller than that in the mouth of Jerusalem Bay just up in Cowan Creek, not too far away. I struggled with my fishing and didn't get much either. good luck with it. Garry

I was up there last weekend and took the kids out twice with no luck. Threw everything we had at them as well. I had a spare 15 mins and had a quick flick just upstream from Cottage Point and was lucky enough to land a flathead a bit above 40cm. While dragging the kids around on the tube saw a bust up a bit further along as well, so there must be a few tailor around. The most interesting fishy thing I saw was a few Kingfish under the pontoon where the boat was moored. Started throwing my plastics at them but they weren't interested. Last year I picked up a bonito in Looking Glass Bay, so it sounds like there are a few surface fish in the area. Certainly is a nice part of the world, and some MASSIVE boats cruise around there.

I've been trying hard to look after my boat and gear (which doesn't ccome naturally). I wash down everything in fresh water and then lay everything out to dry. I have some 90lt plastic tubs that I keep my stuff in, life jackets and Tubing gear. Even though I let them dry out for a few days a couple of the jackets must have had a bit of water in them and when I pulled them out of the tub after a couple of months they had a heap of black splotches on them. Any tips out there on keeping them in good condition? I thought about putting holes in the tubs to allow the air to get in also thought about some absorbant material like you get in new shoe boxes (wife's favourite collectable, shoes, that is) Also a similar problem with my nylon covered cushion seat pads that sit around the bow in the bow rider. I can take them out of the boat, wash them down, and leave under the pergola, but they are still full of water after a week. I don't want to even try to open the zipper in case the guts fall apart. Any tips on drying them out and looking after them Thanks in advance Garry

I bought the same kit a couple of years ago for my 12ft Tinny. I tried a few different configurations but eventually gave up. In the end it was probably a bit too big for the Tinny. Now I've upgraded to the 530 I am looking at where to put it and how to set it up so I'm really interested in what you come up with. Agree with the previous comment that the outlet probably has to be bigger than supplied. When you set up the intake it drags in a heap of water when you are motoring along. I installed a shut off valve and used to throttle it back to keep the flow rate down. Also agree that you need to install the overflow outlet and the plastic pipe above the rim of the boat, or above the outlet hole if you are keen enough to drill a hole in the side of the boat. I can't bring myself to do it. it's too permanent for me! My thinking is that it will be best mounted up high on the back of the boat, in the bait board . rod holder area area. Would also help so you don't have to bend over and get the bait out. The problem is building the frame so you can put it in and take it out easily. Using this solution you don't have to worry too much about overflow, like you do if you mount it on the floor. Other problem will be (I think) is the weight is very high in the boat, especially in choppy water. it will need to be very secure. You can run the inlet water pipe up as per your red line, but if you are OK with punching a hole in the side of the boat then I'd run the inlet pipe up the back and put the hole in near the top rim so the pipe doesn't run over the top of the flat area (might sound a bit confusing). In the tinny I changed the container to a round barrel shape so the volume was less (less weight), it could sit on the floor (reduced brackets required) of the boat and the top was naturally higher than the rim, so the overflow pipe was an easy solution, that's why I still have this container, and am looking to put it back in the new boat. Have you done any searches on the web site/ There are quite a few different ideas. Try search "Tank" and "Bait Tank" so guys have put a heap of effort in. Keep us posted with some pics, I'm sure you will get it finished before I get a chance to get started!

Mustad Wide Gap or (Khale) hooks, especially when using poddies. Size of hook depends on the size of poddies, but normally 1/0. Good luck

I am not a very experienced boatie, have just upgraded my 12ft tinny to a 540 Feedomsport. I have been out around Lion Island quite a few times and never felt in danger. Heading out from patonga common sence tells you when it's too rough and stay in the sheltered areas. The North Side can get bumpy so I stayed away from there. I didn't have any trouble shooting across to Ettalong, or via versa when the weather was good. Take it easy and hve a back up plan to stay in close when the swell is up. Have fun. Garry

They love to take my poddies intended for Flatties around Half Tide Rocks. Biggest one I have caught was tucked in the corner, opposite the sand boat ramp. I've never targetted them. I believe the rocks around West Head is the only I place I know of people targetting them, although I'm not a local, or an expert,or do much squid fishing!

Hi Raiders, thanks for the replies. Bisso, all I can say is I know know how my wife felt when I tried to explain to her how a Rolling Mill works. I checked the GPS system and it was set to WBS84 thingamy, and I couldn't find an offset as being set to anything. Basically I knew it was time to hit the big button, ie I found the "factory reset" menu option. Pressed, it, waited, and it came back on! Had to make a couple of guesses at some defaults but,,,,,, hooray! I checked a couple of reference points that I got off google maps and it all looks good. Even the way points that I had set are now in the water, and no longer on land! All is good. There is even a stack of extra information on the screen that wasn't there before. Even some photos of landmarks have been stored, just hover over the little camera sigal, and press enter. A-mazing technology. Next thing to do is to get it down to the ramp and head out into the wide open yonder. The ocean. Can't wait. A few more weeks on the sidelines, then I'm out there...... Thanks again, Garry

Yes, I have a downloaded one off the Navman Web site. I'll do some searching on the "datum" used. Can't seem to find anything on calibration or similar. Thanks

Bought my new boat that was fitted with a navman Trackfish 6500. When the guy showed me the GPS functions it all looked OK out in the middle of the water, and he said that he didn't use the maps / GPA very much. Now I've come to use it I've found that there is an error between where the GPS is saying the boat is, and what the map is displaying. I found a marker on the Map and put the curser over it. The curser said the marker was at 33 deg 38.915min S 151 deg 11.830 min E The GPS was sayign teh boat was currently at 33deg 37.113min 151deg 12.020m The distance difference was 1.83nm 173deg to the marker. Looked through the manual and can't find any fixes. Also tried referencing against Google maps but they don't use the same decimal system for measurement. Any ideas on what I could do????? Thanks, Garry

I went through the process and bought a 2002 5.3m Freedom Sport with a 115 2-Stroke a few weeks back, have been out in it nearly every weekend since. Before that I has a 12 foot tinny which I fished out of and the kids got bored quickly in. I don't have a lot of boating experience, my brother and another mate have fibreglass boats that I have been out in a few times. For me the boat has been great, for fishing I'd say three comfortably, probably only 2 out of the back, especially when the bimini is up, as it reduces the space at the back a bit. I would normally fish alone, or with one other anyway. The kids do love sitting up front and getting dragged around on the 3-person tube behind. It's really easy for them to get in and out with the ladder and the transom platform (whatever you call it). Heaps more pwer than I could use at this stage, had adults wake boarding on the weekend and they enjoyed it as well. They have spent a lot more time around boats (skiing etc) than me and their comments were that it was a perfect boat for the family. With the steering wheel in the middle of the boat it can be difficult to see out the front in choppy water, but I don't mind standing up occasionally, again the bimini does tend to get in the way a bit. I think I'll be taking it off if I'm going out purely to fish, or even if it is not stinking hot, and I don't need the shade. I have started leaving it folded up on the windscreen when I don't need it. You can get a bit wet in very choppy stuff, and the bimini doesn't give a lot of protection when it rains, storm sides would come in handy, but not sure about visibility if they were up. Good luck with the search.

We stay up there regularly. Check out the recent posts on Patonga in teh Fishing chat section, or do a simple search on Patonga, also do a search on "Broken Bay" and "Brisbane Water". Biggest and best, and busiest, boat ramps are at Lion's park in Woy Woy. If I'm going into Brisbane Water or Ettalong (Half Tide Rocks) I use the Blackwall boat ramp as it's a bit closer to Umina and the Bay area. If I'm going to Lion Island or Patonga I launch at Patonga. It's a one lane, long, steep ramp, but never any trouble with lots of people, or being busy. Good luck, Garry.

Hmmmmm, I used to launch the tinny like that to keep the trailer bearings out of the water. I was always scared of them rusting away. I thought the "proper" way was to dunk the trailer, I guess it's the way "everyone" does it. I'll certainly be giving it a go.

There are sharks everywhere! I wouldn't say that the lake is a place people go fishing for them, which says to me there aren't many. I've taken my kids tubing and don't have any concerns. I've never had a great deal of success fishing wise just the odd flatty. Like most rivers if you know the ins and outs you can be quite successful. There are quite a few posts in this forum on the lake. Do a search and you'll find heaps of info. Good luck!

What Chappo and Toght Lines said. Excellent advice for fishing in that area. If you landed the snapper that's in your photo you don't need any advice from me! Garry

Thanks again guys, Went much better this weekend, although the quiet conditions helped a bit. Interesting skid arrangement Wazz, most of the trailers I've looked at have the skids running "North South" along the trailer, from the picture your skids run east west and would drop the keel into the centre. I don't have any skids, just Rollers on swivels, maybe something for me to look at. I also like the tip of standing in the middle, when I drove on standing behind the wheel it was also difficult to judge where the centre of the boat is, standing in the middle would certainly help. Now, just need to make some more time to practice! Also agree with Thy's comments about the location of the steering wheel, can be a bit uncomfortable when it's choppy, and it is hard to stand up, also the bimini takes up a bit of fishing room becasue it is so far back in the boat. It's OK for me because I generally only fish with 1 or 2 in the boat. The kids love sitting up front so I wouldn't swap it for another configuration at the moment. Garry

If you are coming out of the Hawksbury head over toward Patonga, a few hundred meters up from the point, out toward Lion Island, there's a big boulder on the shore, drift around there at varying distances from the shore flicking lures and you'll get a Flatty, I promise!

Here's my new purchase, a 5.3m Quintrex Freedomsport Bowrider with a 115hp 2-stroke Yamaha. A bit bigger than what I set out to get, but we all know size matters! Has now been christened for fishing and tubing, hope to get a bit more use out of it before the kids soccer season kicks in. I also need the practice at getting the bloody thing back on the trailer by myself. Nightmare!

Yeah, sounds like me. Hope I didn't look too much like a fool. Took a while and I ended up getting right in the water to push it sideways, all good fun. Before that I tried driving it on but got it crooked, also hurt my wife's hand on the winch handle when I pushed the boat back in and the handle spun. Just think I mneed to get out and get a heap more practice! It will probably take a while before I go out by myslef methinks.

Well, there's nothing like getting my mind set on something and just going out and doing it! Hope it all works out OK. Found 2 good boats. One was a 500 the other the 530 that I mentioned above. The 500 had a 90hp Yamaha on it, and it was a bit newer, had the foam infills on the side and the live well in the middle. Overall it was probably in a bit better condition, corrosion and marks wise. The engine was about the same, around 150hrs. I took the 530 out on Friday with the owner drove from Kincumber to Gosford sailing club. When he let me take it I hit a weed patch protruding out between the markers (travelling pretty slow). A few minutes later the high temp alarm went off, pulled the motor up and it was covered in weed, but it certainly got me thinking. When we got out I was surprised by noise level from the motor, even at WOT (love that term) I didn't think the noise was too much, and I didn't notice much smoke, even when it started up (engine was cold). Had the engine checked out and it was all OK according to the mech. In the end I couldn't go past the extra person capacity (6 v 5), and the extra hp (115 v 90). As it was a bit older the 530 was going a bit cheaper as well. The kids are getting bigger and the more mates they can fit in, the faster I can go, the more liekly I can keep them happy and involved. Took it out on Lake Illawarra today with the family. Stopped in at the boat shop on the way and bought a 3 person tube, ropes etc. Kids had a ball, especially the 11 yo. The 4yo (her birthday) even got out and had a run on th etube, the little dare devil. Didn't miss a beat and was pretty easy to get in, away, and drive around. Trouble came when I had to get it back on the trailer with a current and wind blowing (about 2:00pm). Wife was on the winch, and I've got a heap to learn about handling the bigger boat. I would have looked like an absoloute fool. It a lot harder than the 12 ft tinny! Anyway, great day out, well worth the $$. Next test will be next weekend up at Umina, hopefully I'll get a fish in as well. Thanks for the advice, fingers crossed. Garry PS It's got an awesome Navman Trackfish 6500, (not 100% sure if it is awesome, but a heap better than my base model fishfinder!)

Thanks guys, pretty much what I had thought. I originally started looking at the 4.7 as I mainly fish by myself and am worried a bit about getting it back onto the trailer with a bigger model. Then this one came up (friend ,of a friend, of a friend) and made me think a bit. I figure I'll be up for a bit more in running costs. He has offered to take me out for a spin, but for me the main thing is to get someone who knows what they are looking at check the engine out. Checking the trailer condition is a good tip, thanks for that. I hope he looked after it better than I did my old one! I guess the noise is something I haven't really considered too much. Another friend of mine has a similar sized 4-stroke, but I should probably get a bit more up closs and personal with a 2-Stroke before making up my mind. Thanks again, Garry

Hi everyone, I've been doing my research for a while, reading articles and the like, quite a few great posts on Fishraider too! I'm interested in a bow rider around the 5m mark for fishing and dragging the kids around on a tube (kids age between 4 and 12). I've come across a 2003 5.4 Quintrex Freedom Sport with a 115hp Yamaha Saltwater Series 2-Stroke, it has 170 hours on the engine. My brother has gone to have a look (long story) and taken some pics and reports are it looks pretty good. My thoughts are it seems like a good buy at $23,000, compared to other boats I've seen on Boat Point, e-bay and the like. Anyone got any thoughts before I take the drive to check it out in the flesh? I'm a little concerned about the hours on the engine, but it's got a good service history and I'll probably take it to a mechanic to get it checked out before I part with the $$. Any comments appreciated.

First time out in ages so i havnt had a lot to report for a while. On Sunday I hit the ramp at patonga a bit after 6. Headed out around the point and the motor conks out. Looked down and then petrol tank had caved in, fogot to release the vent valve! That's what happens when you are out of practice! Then the damn thing wouldn't start. Tried everything. Put the anchor out and threw a couple of poddies over the side while I was figuring out what was going on and hooked up to a nice salmon! Tried for a bit longer on the motor but no good. I think I damaged the fuel line and it was sucking air. Tried lifting the tank to prime the line, but still no good. Another fisho saw I was having trouble so he offered me a tow. Thinking I wasn't going to use them I thanked him by offering over my poddies. back at the ramp by brother turned up after his trip from campbelltown. Then I found the reason I couldn't get it started was I'd flicked the stop switch in my frrenzy to get the motor going. Turned it back on, lifted the tank, pulled to start, and we were away! Putted around and tried a few starts all good. Just to be safe we headed just to the point. Figured we could paddle back from there. After a fairly long session in the boat we headed back to the ramp at 11 with 7 flatties around 40cm and a bream. I gave the salmon to the kids as they were the easiest to fillet. I've read a lot that salmon don't taste any good but to my surprise the kids ate them, and they Are normally pretty fussy. I had Bit And I thought they were ok as well for the record! A quick trip to pick up a new fuel line and I was set for the next outing. Tuesday morning and my other brother cme up for a drift around ettalong. Didn't do quite as well numbers wise. Managed 4 keepers, BUT, I landed a 72cm model on a simple lump of Pilly dragging behind the boat. Gave her a kiss and sent her back to provide lunch for us next year she was pretty fat and full of eggs so I just couldn't keep her. My brother also hooked up to something huge. we pulled up the lines and fooled it around for a while he got too excited and gave it a bit too much on the drag and it busted off. It could have been a bit ray, but i guess well never know, could have easily have been the 10kg Jew fish we are looking for! All in all a great way to break the drought. I'm posting on my new iPad and I can't figure out how to download the photo of the flattie. Will add it later if i can get it sorted! Garry I'm posting on my new iPad which I havnt really worked out yet, will post the pic of the flat tie when I've got it sorted. Wow! Tapatalk works!