helliconia

I want your garage! Although truth be told I wouldn't know what to do with half the stuff in it

Ok MrsSwordie... never having caught anything to get that excited about I've never tried from my mobile hehe PS I have have a Windows 7 mobile... won't catch me using any of those Apple products haha

Your all missing the obvious.... A function to submit a report of the fish you caught automatically to Fishraider!! A bunch of tick boxes to select what info to send, i.e. GPS coordinates, attach picture, bait used etc. and a free text box for the report.

Took the baby beast out yesterday as the chop wasn't too bad and ended up just inside north head 100m or so off the rocks. The first drift was ok, not moving too fast but by the 2nd the SW'er had sprung up and we were practically skating towards the rocks. My maps show this area as a "No Anchoring" zone, but does that cover the whole width or are you allowed to anchor close to the headland itself? I know this is shipping channel and the reasons for the rule. The missus landed the biggest pike I'd seen there, around 45cm's, and it stank appropriately for its size

So I had a day off today, and in my enthusiasm I decided that despite the crappy weather report I'd hit the harbour. Launched from Tunks at 6am (I know a bit late) and drifted around the north side of the spit for 30 mins throwing squid jigs and berleying for yakka's - nothing. Moved to Clontarf Pool, same result. Tried the island at Balmoral, no luck there and even tried drifting a little off the Balmoral Jetty for nothing also. Hence, I am going to stick to servo prawns and squid for bait and give up on my Kingy dream

A grapple anchor would lose all the benefits of reef anchor retrieval but not replace a sand anchor. What you would want is a double hinge knuckle of some sort between the shaft and tines. One knuckle is softly sprung so you can fold the tines against the shaft for storage, and the other strongly sprung so it takes some effort to open the other way when retrieving. I can visualise it but no idea how you'd make it! (I'm a thinker not a do-er haha)

Taree and Harrington would be about the same time in the car and the Manning River would be great fun on Kayaks. Forster and Wallis Lake are a bit closer (ask Roberta about the kayaking there!). I do like Durras Lake (near Depot Beach) but can't speak to the fishing recently. Tuross Head is good too but further down the coast.

Thanks Camel & Tentonner, I'll make that my next stop after Clontarf

Do you get any squid there Mike?

Leo, only one anchor is required by law, but I'd read that to mean if you lost it that would be the end of your day.

Yeah knowing my luck I'd be the one they handed the fine to When I went through there I was checking out the spots in between the private wharves on the north west side. They looked like good yakka and squid spots. There was a bit too much breeze to drift there without hitting someones boat at the time.

I can't comment on the loyalty program, although it sounds like a great idea to promote a brand. As for getting some satisfaction in your case I'd try a couple of things. Firstly, find out what you would have to pay under the program for the changeover. Next, find the original receipt. Under the Trade Practises Act 1974 warranties and guarantees start from the day the consumer buys the goods, not the date of manufacture. If they have offered the exchange publicly then I would also contact the ACCC or NSW Dept of Fair Trading. The ACCC now administers the federal Trade Practises Act and the new Competition and Consumer Act that replaces it. For my two bobs worth, if this is their approach I wouldn't be buying anymore of their products but I have no brand loyalty

Thanks for the replies guys Tentonner I looked at that spot but there were guys fishing all over it when I got there. I'll try it earlier. Port did you stop on the northside, south side, or middle if the bridge?

Thanks for the reply Mick. but anchor where? Like I said, all through the channel on either side of the bridge were signs saying No Anchoring. Also the north side was thick with fisherman, is the south side where you go? Are we talking about that little bay with the moored boats east of the bridge?

Since the missus has been getting sick of staring at the same scenery in the Hawkesbury and coming home fishless, she convinced me to give Middle Harbour a go on Sunday. Unfortunately she also loves her weekend sleep-ins so we didn't get to Tunks until about noon. I've been reading lots of reports and storing info in my head so I knew to head to The Spit bridge for live bait but everywhere I looked there were "No anchoring in the channel" signs. Since there was a fairly stiff breeze drifting and berleying wasn't working so well for us on the slack tide. Also the north shore was pretty thick with shore fishermen and I didn't want to be rude and sit in front of them dodging sinkers I also tried Middle Head for squid but got a donut. Can someone point me at the right spots around there for yakka's and squid, and whether you anchor or drift for them? PS Drifted around the cliff walls at Balgowlah for a few undersized snapper and dropped a good sized Tailor on a blade off the point north of Sugarloaf Bay. That's me fishing... lots of close calls and nothing for dinner. My partner did suggest we'd lose lots of weight if we ate only what we caught

I think you'll also find it isn't a weed but a form of algae. It does seem to come and go at certain times of the year but from memory I have more issues with it in sheltered areas out of the current. I think this gives it a chances to settle and propogate on weeds and rocks where as the current stops it grouping together. I could be wrong though since I haven't given it much thought.

Well i've only owned my boat for a year so maybe I'm not so jaded as the others Personally I don't mind spending a few bucks here and there on it updating stuff, fixing things I stupidly messed up (dropping radio antennaes over the side for example), or maintaining it. I bought brand new, a Brooker 4.75 metre aluminium boat package with a Yammie 60hp 4 stroke. I couldn't be happier with it. Motor hasn't missed a beat, has only cost me $300 odd for a service, and $7 for a broken hull fitting my missus snapped off bouncing it off the jetty (should add fuel to that - about 12-15 litres for a full day running around) and lots and lots of bait haha Actually, its the fishing gear that is a giant hole in my pocket more than the boat hahaha If all you want to do is run around the harbour, or not far from shore ona good day I'd recommend something along the lines of mine. The only real downside is with a lot of gear that the missus likes to bring it gets a little crowded in the back, and being a light alloy hull it slaps a bit in the chop. A good fibreglass boat would probably provide a better ride, but would weigh more for towing too. I can launch and retrieve it solo (another conidtion my missus put on getting it). Spend a bit of time researching the boats out there, take up Raiders offers of trips on there boats so you can see how they work on the water, and don't buy the first shiny one you see Good luck with your search

Thanks Brad, I get your point. Ultimately I'll have both (or just replace the 27) but for the moment the 27 meg will have to do me. I don't take my boat offshore so it's more general communications. I know a VHF will be better but the finances won't support it just yet I'm playing it safe and sticking inshore as I learn to use the boat in different conditions. I haven't even taken it past Barrenjoey yet. Once I'm confident I'll do the VHF, EPIRB and other offshore safety gear in one hit. Cheers Brian

Thanks Gummy, I'll check those things out today. Is there any point testing it in the burbs? I dont expect to hear much chatter in Ashfield but I can run all the electronics and the motor on the flushing ears for interference.

Thanks Gummy I do intend to add a VHF when finances permit. How do I ground the antennae? The fittings are insulated from the hull (rubber washer and silkaflex between it and hull) and the coax terminates at the radio. Are you suggesting to split the shielding and ground the coax to the hull between radio and aerial?

Being a clumsy clod I dropped the stumpy screw in aerial for my GX300 radio into the drink a few weeks ago. I replaced it with a longer 1.8M swivel based GME model. Before and after the aerial replacement I found the radio pretty useless. Which ever channel I listen to it has overwhelming static, and when people do talk they're completely drowned out by it and I can't understand a word. I've tried fiddling with the squelch control but there's no improvement. Anyone got any ideas? I did notice when I installed the new aerial that they've run the coaxial right through the electricals behind the dash, very close to the bus bar. Would rerouting the coax away from this as much as possible make a noticeable difference? Keep in mind its a small boat and there aren't a lot of routing options. Any tips or opinions greatly appreciated

Can't help you with Rose Bay but if you're hiring boats or using a friends with little gear, Humminbird (and perhaps others) make a portable fishfinder - Humminbird PiranhaMax. It's designed to carry around and temporarily attach to a tinnie etc. Probably worth a few hundred $$$ if you can't get a boat soon

I've got a Humminbird 587ci combo in my Brooker 475. The size of it fits neatly in the corner of the dash and the split screen is adequate. If I'd had a chance to trial one before hand I might have gone up to a bigger screen, since its a bit small when looking at it from the stern end. While I'm driving though it's fine, and even in split screen mode it does OK. If you have around $1k to spend move up to the next series. Also take a look at the side scan models that are around. Seems they're the bees knees these days and worth the investment if locating structure accurately is your thing. I'll probably upgrade the boat before I do the sounder

I had the same problem, bits of prawn squid, and pilchard trod into the carpet. I used dishwashing liquid, wet it down then gave it a scrub with a hard bristle broom and then hosed it off with a high pressure water gun. It got the gunk out. Now I just use the water gun each time and it maintains it nicely.

I gave up buying bait prawns ages ago. I get the cheap raw banana prawns from woolies or coles, they're half the price, and fished peeled and cut in half they get as many fish as a the hawkesbury bait prawns. My partner got her first jewfish on saturday using this bait, but it wasn't quite legal unfortunately. She was quite upset when I threw it back. Squid I would get the packaged bait ones, although I did do well buying medium sized whole squid from a fish market too. Again it worked out cheaper buying them loose.