[Botany Bay 25/07/11]

Took the bro in law for his first time fishing from a boat today in Botany. Fished the run in tide in some deep water and ended up with about 14 trevally ranging from 32 - 40cm.

Also caught a very fat 37cm bream that was lurking about under the trevs, caught by bro in law. Most of the trevs were let go at the end of the day, however, unfortunately for bream, he was kept for dinner, bro in law deserved to keep it since it was his PB. Good to see some fat winter bream around the bay.

I noticed the water was very very brown and murky, even with the tide running in. There was also a lot of debris floating around. Must be all the dirty run off from all the rain lately.

Overall it was a good day out, the rain finally cleared and wind stopped blowing allowing for a nice calm day on the water.

[Thailand Fishing Charters]

Hi Proline

i also went to Thailand for my honeymoon and went on a couple fishing charters in both koh samui and phuket. The charters i went on were reputable and well known in the area. However my experience there was dissapointing to say the least. There was one charter i went on, where the guide took us to a reef and i remember how the guide got so excited when we started catching small baby spangled emperors no bigger than my palm. Clearly undersize. He kept them all and fed it to us for lunch.

On another trip i chartered an entire boat with crew on what looked like the most professional gamefishing charter business in thailand. We trolled for about 6hrs without a touch, and eventually landed a small striped tuna. Couldve been bad luck or just went in the wrong season. I went in February last year, so it might not be the best time to go.

It just seems like the local waters around thailand are barren and overfished commercially, not as plentiful with fish as other countries like fiji, vanuatu etc... If you really want to give it a try, make sure you haggle on the price. On one of the charters, i spoke with other customers asking them how much they had paid and i got about 6 different prices, so be sure to negotiate with the operators and book directly, and not through the hotel or other agencies.

Dangas

[Botany Bay Boxing Day]

awesome results buddy, theres plenty of activity all round the bay at the moment. Rat kings and bonito are great fun on light gear. What sort of lures were you trolling?

[Jigging For Kings At Peak And 12Mile]

It doesnt matter whether you like eating them or not, these stripeys are an awesome sportfish. These 50cm plus guys were like bonito on roids. If you downsize your gear to 4-6kg it would be like fighting a huge kingy.

[Jigging For Kings At Peak And 12Mile]

Thanks for the report.

What was the water temp at the Peak and the 12?

Also what do Stripies taste like? Pretty much everyone i know uses them for bait or burley. I feed em to my dog - he loves them!! Are they worth saving for a feed in the future??

Bleed them put em on ice then take em home and make a plate of fresh sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi. Youd pay $30 for a small plate of it at a japanese restaurant. Or marinade in teriyaki sauce for a couple of hours then grill em till its about medium rare. Delicious

Make sure you cut the bloodline out and save it for bait.

[Mowie - Approx 50 Cm]

nice fish elite, how do they taste?

[Georges River]

Its amazing to see the River completly change form last year Dang.

I fished the river pretty hard last winter with lures and i would rarely come back to the ramp without having a good session on something. The coldest temp i can remember when fishing last year was around 14deg and i was thinking shit thats cold, no wonder with temps in the 12's the system has shut down.

We have had loads of rain this winter mate so salinity levels would also be a major factor up that end of the river,its gotta be screwing up winter spawning fish like Ep's and Jews its either been brown,browner or filthy.

I hav'nt been for a flick since the start of july and prob wont start hitting the system again till the end of the month.

Nothing wrong with fishing for blackfish, ive turned to blackies and been having a ball with them recently but carefull i reckon its just about as addictive as lure fishing.

Mick

Hi Mick, I guess the recent rain hasnt helped i could see all sorts of crap floating downstream during the run out tide and the water was quite brown. Maybe im just trying to find excuses, Im still new to lure fishing and reckon i might need to improve on a few things too.

Ive heard the blackies pull prettty hard on light tackle so im gonna be getting some green weed soon and went out last night to my tackle shop to get floats, stoppers etc... all geared up for a blacky session next week. Thankfully i have an understanding wife, shes confused as to why i would need more gear considering i just went out and spent a fortune on lures and plastics for breams recently. It is an addiction.

[Georges River]

Hi Raiders

Just a quick report for yesterday. Launched the boat from Carinya Rd ramp right on the high tide in the morning and got the leccy out for a soft plastic session. Within 3 casts i managed to hook up a 40cm flattie on a 3" nuclear chicken jerkshad. I thought it was gonna turn out to be a hot session however things went downhill.

Ended up drifting the run out tide from Carinya to Lugarno for zilch over the next few hours and ended up with one more small bream just on legal at the moons at the end of the day.

The strong winds didnt help either, making it very hard to control the leccy and drift properly. The water was showing a chilly 12.6deg on the sounder (which i need to check with a proper thermometer)

Not a successful day but better than being at work. Might have to learn how to fish for blackfish to keep me occupied during the colder seasons when the bream and flatties dont wanna play.

Dang

[Botany Bay Today]

Hi Mate

Thats a nice looking morwong you got there. looks like you had a good days fishing and a good feed too.

[What Braid For Saltist?]

Gday mate

any braid of a reputable brand should do really, just depends on your budget. 40-50lb should be fine for fish around sydney. I use power pro 50lb braid which is a good mid priced brand which works. But ive used other brands too which are all pretty much the same in 50lb. Just keep away from bright yellow colour as it seems to attract the leatherjackets. Maybe give red braid a go because the colour is less visible in deeper water and less prone to bite offs from leatheries.

[Botany Bay]

Lucky for us then that Little Hooker was grabbing it by the leader and i was using long nose pliers with insulated handle to take the hook out. Didnt realise we were that close to getting electricuted for the sake of a jighead haha

The bay seemd really shut down yesterday, everywhere we went seemed empty of life. The usual spots that would fire in the warmer months were just dead,to my suprise we didnt even land a pinky snapper which are usually around.

I wonder where all the bream and flatties go in winter, ive heard they migrate further upstream of the georges river?

Maybe we shouldve tried around the moons or picnic point.

[Sydney Bream Tournie.]

congrats on the result and good luck out ther on the water today.

[Jbs2]

Hi mate,

Thats a nice looking rig. Would you be able to take something like that out to the 12mile or peak? and how would it handle out there if you do?

I think it looks like a very good alternative to a half cabin.

[Bream Fishing Abt Style]

Hi Raiders

Ive just bought the last 6 seasons of the AFC comp on DVD and have been squandering countless hours watching bream competition fishing. Needless to say i am very interested in this style of fishing and have gone and decked out my boat with an bow mount electric and live bait well.

But as the topic description suggests, i have "all the gear and no idea" I want to learn how to fish hardbodies, softplastics and blades among structures, flats, and anywhere where there might be a big bream lurking. Also, i would like to learn how to utilise my electric properly in these situations.

I am a fairly capable fisherman when it comes to bait fishing, trolling, live baiting and jigging, but never tried this style of fishing before. Can someone please help me?

Your name: Dang

Your Location: Liverpool

Fishing technique: Bream Fishing on lures and electric

Availability: Wednesdays

Preferred location: Georges River, Sydney Harbour, or Port Hacking

Provide your own gear? Yes

Provide your own boat? Yes

Dangas

[Can I Fit A Bow Mount Electric?]

Hi All

I finally fitted my bow mount on the boat on tue night. Me and Little Hooker ended up just cutting the bow rails and fitted the mounting base on the bow. We are currently modifying the cut section of the bow rail into a quick release part that can be reattached to the rail when the electric is not in use.

I will post up some pics once its all complete. Thanks for everyones input. Im pretty excited to get it in the water but the weather has been pretty bad lately.

Now that ive got a fully decked out boat ready for bream comps i just need someone to teach me a thing or two

If anyone is up for a fish and wanna give me a masterclass on ABT style fishing then pls send me a pm

I will be posting up something on "adopt a novice section"

Dangas

[T Curve/saltist Combo?]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up getting the saltist 4500 and upgraded the drag with carbontex washers. I also got the shimano deep jig 400 as it is a 2 piece and is easier to take on the plane. I loaded it with 250m of 50lb braid, 20m of mono 50lb backing and have put on a 80lb wind on leader that is 10m long. It looks and feels like a great set up and will pull most fish. The only concern for me is the drag pressure which I tested and got 13kg pressure. Not as much as the saltist 6500's 30kg pressure but i liked having the smaller reel as jigging for ages can be tiring. Thanks again for the help.

Cheers Andrew.

Hi Andrew, you could prob fit a whole 300m spool of 50lb on that reel if instead of using 50m of 50lb backing you just use a bit of electrical tape to tape around the spool before you load up the braid.

[Jigging Kings 25/07/10]

Hi Netic

What a hectic session. They all look like nice kings there in the pics. Looks like you boys had a good workout, i bet the arms, shoulders and back are dying today.

Good call to go out of sydney as not much happening around here lately.

Dangas

[Evening Of Hairtail]

Tonights the night i will give the Hairtail a go again tonight with my two youngest boys. I hope the weather is kind to all that may venture out tonight. There has been little talk about this weekend so maybe other raiders know some thing i dont anyway good luck and be safe to all.

Scotty

I was out last weekend in the freezing cold in the middle of the night at jerusalem bay and not much activity. Only a few tailor and squid. I have heard of guys catching them at Waratah Bay lately and reckon thats your best bet for them.

Apparently the week up to full moon is not the best time for them. If you go tonight make sure you bring some red light sticks. They should increase your chances.

please post some pics up if you catch a few tonight.

cheers

Dangas

[Selecting A New Prop Size]

Hi Guys

I am a Honda man too. I got a BF30 on my 4.2 centre console and i love it but holeshot performance with the standard prop is a bit weak. I have problems with speed when the boat was fully loaded with 3-4 people it wont go past 5000rpm. Ive just ordered a Solas prop with a different pitch and currently waiting for it.

Just go online and search for them you should be able to get a phone number from their website. They were very helpful and put me in the right direction. I cant wait to put it on the boat and test it out.

[Braid And Leatherjackets]

Only seemed the red outlasted them all, all up lost 13 jigs for 16 kings. Your thoughts on braid colour and jackets?

According to underwater photographers and scuba divers, red is one of the first colours of the spectrum to disappear underwater.

Perhaps this is the reason why the red braid outlasted all the other colours. The jackets couldnt see it. I might try red the next time i spool up my reel, which most likely will be soon since the bloody jackets have already snipped off almost 1/4 of my spool.

[Can I Fit A Bow Mount Electric?]

Ive just picked up my Watersnake yesterday and cant wait to get it on the boat. Its a 54lb thrust 12v watersnake bow mount with remote controls and foot controls.

I have had a look at the mounting plate and it will require a different setup to your motorguide Geoff. Thanks for the ideas and pics anyway. But after asking around for quotes on istallation i have decided that im just gonna have to cut the bow rail section. This is the easiest and cheapest way and allows for good positioning of motor. Its also quite secure and wont get in the way of anchoring. i can always weld the rail back on when i sell the boat.

Little Hooker got all the tools at his place and we just gonna do it ourselves one night next week. Save the money for a good deep cycle battery.

BTW.... would a 12v Seamaster Deep cycle 105amp/hr do the job?

[T Curve/saltist Combo?]

I have a saltist 6500 spin reel which i use mainly for jigging. Its been a great reel, i have pulled up many kings jigging from offshore reefs sydney and terrigal. Kings have ranged in sizes from 65-95cm. I find the gear ratio gives me a good rhythm for mechanical jigging and can retrieve the jigs up fairly quickly from the deep when i have to pull up.

Its got 15kg of drag which i have never had to use past 8-10kg for the fish ive caught. With regards to the torque or pulling power its been adequate and i can get the fish up quickly without tiring out too much. My style of fighting these kings is to lift then wind... lift then wind... so the rod is doing most of the pulling not the reel. I do appreciate the speed and ease at which it retrieves jigs from 100m or so when you have to pull up.

My only issue with the reel is that its quite big and heavy. My other option would be a catalina 4500 which is smaller but less max drag, i would prob sacrifice max drag pressure for a lighter smaller setup which will really make a difference when your jigging for 5-6hr straight. if you go pe3-4 line you could prob get 300m line on with the catalina.

[Can I Fit A Bow Mount Electric?]

Thanks for the pics Geoff. i also want to know with the motor attached there, how would you go about anchoring?

I will prob contact Gary from serious stainless to see if he can fabricate some sort of similar bracket once i get the motor.

[Kingies At Texas]

Thats a very nice king. I was out at Texas on the 19th and tried jigging for kings, only got one keeper and a lot of bonitos some quite large. Met up with a few guys at the ramp who had better luck on the kings with livies and bait.

The only problem was livies are little harder to find atm.

[Can I Fit A Bow Mount Electric?]

Depending on the space available between the rail at the the bow it may not be necessary to do any cutting.

Below are some photos of Jewgaffers boat with the elect mounted over the bow.

The boat is currently at my place so if you want more pic's let me know the specifcs & I will photo & post.

Info & pic's are also available on the battery set up

Geoff

Thats a very interesting setup there Geoff, youve definitely given some new ideas. The bow rails on my boat have a similiar gap in the middle as the one in your pics. It looks like you have the motor mounted on some kind of bracketwhich raises it over the rail. I would like to see a more detailed pic of your mounts. I might look deeper into doing a similiar thing as i dont really want to have to cut the rails if i dont have to.

How easy is it to remove the mount and take off the motor? and how stable are the brackets?