Michael Hatte

I was using Inox for a little while and i to used to use a truck load of it till i found a product call LANOTEC, this stuff is great! Its a spray and it sets hard on any surface after a couple of minutes, completly waterproof and lasts alot longer then Inox. There is a heavy duty Lanotec available which i think is up around 50% lanolin, may be a little more expensive but lasts alot longer than any anti-corrosive products i have ever used. Give it a try boy's, dont think you will be disapointed. Mick

ha ha ha what a ripper!!!!! Need some fish for dinner..... No worrys i will be back in half an hour!!!! Love it Im with mike, id never get any work done if i lived by the river.

Auto pilot on your leccy is just a hand/feet free operation of your trottle. You will still need to move the motor side to side and also adjust the trottle speed according to how much current there is. Auto pilot is great for just holding your position when working dropoffs,snags or holes. You will get the hang of it mate, i think i may have seen you fly past us under alfords point bridge on the weekend? Nice looking rig mate!!!!

Cheers boys, id forgoten how good blackie fillets taste!!!! Bloody sensational Might have to give them another nudge over the next few weekends. Cheers Mick

Bloody ripper mate!!! What sort of yak do you fish out of and how did it handle the offshore conditions?

Started at the crack of dawn sat morning walking the rocks around cronulla in search of some nice weed, the tide was a little high to get some cabbage but the weed was in abundance and end up with 3 different types to try in the Georges River today. Got down to the boat ramp nice and early this morning and headed to the mouth of the Woranora River where we fished the last couple hours of the making tide. Fishing was a little slow with alot of small fish pinching bait but we managed 3 nice fish all around the 30cm and we were off to a pretty good start. With the tide coming to a stop at around 8ish we moved to Alfords Point where we set things up for the run out tide. As soon as the tide began to move the fishing was fantastic with fish coming to the boat on nearly every drift, it was a small run of fish but occasionly there would be a keeper fish amongst them. After around an hour the fishing got a little tough with huge amounts of rubbish in the water and it was making float fishing nearly impossible. Moved around the corner to fish some ares in the Moons but we were still meet by huge amounts of muck in the water and only managed a few fish each. We ended going back and fished the same area at Alfords point, this time the water had cleared up. The next few hours was fantastic, the blackies were smashing every bait that we put in front of them. The average size would have been between 25-27cm with an occasional horse thrown in to get the heart pumping. Got smashed up on the rocks twice but absolute stonker blackfish!!! We got our limit of 5 fish each pretty quickly in the morning so the afternoon was all about having some fun and we honestly lost count of the fish we caught today. All up it was a fantastic day out on the water!!!! Few beers, good company, plenty of laughs and at the end of the day some fillets for dinner, does'nt get much better. Mick

Unreal Trip Guys and some great photos Nothing comes close to fishing the top end, hele fishing would be out of this world!!!! Mick

I know the feeling mate,i rubber neck all the time over that baby!!! Squid session coming up very soon off cronulla then we can go give these stinky things a touch up of a night

Mate that 39cm model of yours will keep you smiling for weeks Those larger ones go pretty good on the light gear! Good luck on the Jew mate, stick at it and im sure you will get rewarded over the next few months. Hopefully catch up with you guys on the water next week. Mick

Thats shocking news mate! What a friggin joke, im sure if there was a chemical spill around the harbour they would be doing everything they could to contain it. It happens in western sydney and no one wonts anything to do with it, bloody disgusting Poor upper Georges copping it again.

Awesome rig mate!!!!! Sounds and looks like it is decked out for some serious fishing, that 40 on its bum is going to make it fly. Good luck with it. Mick

Basscatcher- Drop us a message any day your planned to hit the river mate, work starts to slow up for me at this time of year so plenty of afternoons free. I never fish that far down for Ep's and no sounder on the Yak yet so its a little tough going. At this stage im only trying to remember what areas i was fishing last year. Picnic point to Kelso i think ive got covered and they are all top of the tide spots. The lure was a 110mm squidgy flickbait. Bubba- Yeh mate its great fun out of the yak but its bloody testing on the back, lower back starts to get a bit sore after a few hours but i get out and walk around every now and then. When the XL model decides to latch on i dont know what i will do, those little guys today were towing me around!!!! Mick

The morning could not have been any better for a flick ,no wind, overcast skys and a nice little high tide just after sunrise had me a little bit excited Got down to boat the ramp at around 6.30 and the conditions looked fantastic, unloaded all the gear and noticed i was missing something...... THE BLOODY PADDLE!!!!! (what a knob) Quickly got all the gear back in the car but i knew i had missed the high tide and my chances of fishing my fav little honey hole for Ep's were quickly shut down Ended up getting back on the water at 7.30am and went straight to Lugarno/Alfords point area and started fishing for Jews. Managed 2 small Jew in the first 30mins and i was feeling good. Kept on fishing the same area for another hour for one small flathead so decided to move to the moons and flick the shore with small blades and plastics, fished that area for around 2 hours for a big fat 0. The wind had started to pick and was throwing the yak around so called it a day. Ended up being a fairly tough day out there, only a few fish in nearly four hours but still happy to get the first Jew come aboard the Yak. Mick

Well done guys!!!! Great to see you getting stuck into a few. That EP is a friggin horse!!!!! How good has that hole been to you guys. Mick

Well done boys, Great little session!!!!! Thats one healty looking sambo. Mick

Ripper of a report mate!!!! Sounds and looks like an incredible week up in the mountains That area up there looks magical!!!! Mick

Id be targeting Trevs and Bream at the drums and the container wall in the bay mate, both not very far from foreshore drive boat ramp. Achor up at either postion burly with bread and pillies and float a bait down your burly trail with a 00 ball sinker, your've got a SW wind forcasted which will be pushing against the tide so it going to make bait fishing a little tuff. Should be salmon and tailor patroling the bay to mate so id troll some small deep diving lures in the same general areas. Good luck anyhows Mick

ONYA HODGEY!!!!! Gonna have to come for a flick down you way soon.

As soon as we got off the boat we asked steve when his next available wet season or april/may run off spot was. He quickly replied you have to get up here when the run off starts, no spots for 2011 but april 2012 we are booked to do it all again. This time just targeting the rivers and monster barra on live bait. Cheers for the replys guys and drop us a pm if you wont any info on the area if you planning a trip up there soon. Mick.

Im taking the yak next time!!!!!

Now im just teasing.... Things to do at the the top of the tide Crocs are everwhere!!!! Roy and his killing stick Barry with another jack Yep there were crabs too

Heres A few more..... Magic sunsets Roy Flyfishing The flats on sunset Barry With the best jack of the trip Drains that were holding the barra, queenies and salmon Mick

The crew consisted of 9, Terry,Roy,Barry,John,Nath,Todd,Pete,Alex and myself Arrived in Weipa on friday the 18th of june. We wer'nt picking the house boat up till monday morning so we had booked a few cabins at Weipa Caravan park, it was going to take a few days to settle in and get our supplies ready for 6 days on the house boat but this did'nt mean we could'nt have a flick from the shore and work some mud flats and drains with small hardbody Shallow diving lures. We did'nt fish on the friday but sat morning there was a small group of us that could'nt contain ourselfs and headed to a rocky headland just east of the caravan park. The tide was high covering most of the rock but we had a flick anyhow, after 30mins and no fish we decided to call it quits and Wait for the receding tide. The plan worked, when returning to the same area at nearly low tide the place was alive. All the bait that were protected in the rocky headland were now exposed on the mud flats and the barra, queenfish, blue salmon and threadfin were having a field day. It took us only a few cast till we were all hooked up, the action was only short lived but it had us a pumped!!! Next morning same story but this time i was in for a treat, I was working a small run off that was draining form the reef using my lightest flick stick 2-4kg rod with 2500 reel. My lure was belted and the fish took off out over the flats, id seen a large fork tail come out of the water a few times and my heart was pounding, I had on my first ever Threadfin and it was a nice fish!!!! After a few minute i had him beat and slowly walked it to the shore Ended up calling it a morning and headed back for some breakfast with a big smile. A few of the other guys persisted with the area and managed barra, queenfish and blue salmon all out of the drain. Next day was the last on land so we were preparing things for the trip and stocking up on last minute lure, hooks and sinkers. Monday morning we were meet with a stiff 20knot SE and we were told by steve(houseboat owner) that the Gulf had a gale warning for the next 6 days But i can tell you now when your've waited 2 years for a fishing trip there was no way a little Breeze was going to stop us!!!! We hit the reefs offshore south of weipa for the for the fisrt 3 days, fished off Pera point on a series of reefs in 20m of water. I dont think i have ever lost so much gear before in my life then what i lost in 2 days. There was no name for the reef but we called it MONSTER REEF!!!! First day i stayed in close and fished the bommies and shallow reefs and the rest of the crew hit monster reef. When returning back to the house boat that afternoon the boys were looking a bit excited, Hanging from the back of the houseboat was a 17kg cobia Stories of bust ups on 50lb stand up game gear, broken rods and sore backs. Next two mornings we all fished the same reef with good catchers, Gts,Fingermark,Spanish Macks and massive sharks. The weather only allowed us to go a small distance offshore so no longtail were caught offshore on this trip. Day 4 had us heading for The Hey River and we were bound for the very bottom of the system to a place called the Fingers, which were a series of small creeks that drain into the main river system and it was time to get the flick sticks out again 1st morning after pulling some crab traps that we set over night Barry and myself came to a beaut little drain which had barra going nuts in it so we could'nt resist to have a flick, 2 casts in and i Was into a monster!!!Another Threadfin but this time an XL model, it took me 50m from where i had hooked it and was the absolute highlight of the trip for me The next two days were some of the best fishing that i have ever come across!!!! Queenfish,Barra,Gts,Threadfin,Mangrove Jack,Finger Mark,Cobia,Black Jew Were all being caught by the boys and everyone on the boats were cheering. One particular morning 2 other boats fished a drian for an estimated 40 barra in an hour. The River fishing was out of this world and i was one very tired boy yesterday but i would do it all again in a heart beat. Weipa houseboats are fantastic and Steve goes out of his way to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable trip, he calls you in the morning and at night to check up and provides you with priceless info when your up there. One particular night he called to tell us where to fish for jew on the top of the tide and on that session 4 jew were landed, thats the reason his boats are booked out for nearly 18 months. Im over writing so heres some pics of the trip, there are plenty more to come but i will make an album for everyone when i receive them from the other lads. Mick

Thought it might have been a good one to put up because i know a few people like to target them over the winter period from this site, hate to see one of them cop the $500 fine for keeping an Ep for the table. Sorry i did'nt know if i was putting this in the right place or not, maybe better off in Fisheries News. Regards, Mick

Found a nice little article this morning when i was checking size limits for EP's. 3 Month ban taking them from rivers, estuarys and bays. 17 May 2010 Industry and Investment NSW has warned anglers a three-month ban on taking Australian bass and estuary perch from all rivers and estuaries in NSW will commence on June 1. I&I NSW Senior Fisheries Manager (Inland) Cameron Westaway said the zero bag limit was introduced because of feedback from the community during the three-year review into recreational fishing rules. “The zero bag limit is designed to protect these important recreational species while they spawn,” Mr Westaway said. “Both Australian bass and estuary perch form schools and migrate to parts of estuaries with the correct salinity to trigger spawning.” "These great native sports fish are vulnerable to fishing when they are in large groups,” he said. Mr Westaway said the three month ban did not close any waters to fishing and would not affect anglers fishing for other estuary species such as bream or flathead. “Any Australian bass or estuary perch caught must be immediately returned to the water with the least possible harm," Mr Westaway said. “Fisheries officers will be increasing their patrols of bass and estuary perch waters to advise anglers on fishing rules and to enforce size and bag limits for other species. “Anyone caught retaining Australian bass or estuary perch can be issued with an on the spot penalty of $500,” he said. Mr Westaway said the zero bag limit did not apply to Australian bass and estuary perch caught in freshwater impoundments and dams, as they will not breed in these areas. "All fish in freshwater impoundments, like Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and Toonumbar Dam’s in the northeast are stocked fisheries, and anglers may continue to fish for these species in these waters all year round," Mr Westaway said. "I&I NSW stocks approximately 150,000 Australian bass in impoundments each year from our hatchery at Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, and also helps angling and community groups buy more than 100,000 Australian bass fingerlings each year for stocking under the Dollar-for-Dollar Native Fish Stocking program,” he said. Detailed information on fishing rules can be found on the I&I NSW website, at I&I NSW Fisheries offices, and at most bait and tackle stores Mick.