brad_tate

Hi Raiders, My wife and I headed out for our first trip of the warmer weather in the bay this morning and after a slightly mixed up start had a good day. We usually put in at Oatley bay but I hadn't been keeping an eye on the refurbishment progress and it was still closed when we got there, so we headed over to the ramp on the south side of Tom Uglys. Not a launch I usually use, but was impressed with the ramp and parking, but the jetty??? Too high, no cleats, so if Oatley is due a refurb, this one is well past needing one! We picked up a couple of nice Duskys on the drift at Towra, a couple of Calamari and a Flounder off the runways and a nice Trevally at Molineaux Pt. Always fun watching the resident seals sun themselves there. All in all a lovely day on the bay and great conditions. Nothing wanted the smaller of my squid sent down as a livie, so both came home to be human food instead. Tight lines everyone. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The last time we were in Tuross Head we saw a seal swimming upstream in the Tuross river. We passed him near the entrance to Borang Lake, and headed up to the island near the Princes Hwy. When we headed back we found he had stopped there too! Very cool! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For your rising/falling tide question, I think it depends a lot on where you are. In general rising tides give the fish an opportunity to forage over flats they don't have access to at low tide, so you can try fan casts over mudflats, into gutters etc. The falling tide can draw bait into gutters and channels, so the predators will hunt around drop-offs and snags. This is where you can cast upstream and hop the plastic down to the (hopefully waiting) opportunists. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have two contributions from personal experience. 1. My prior boat had a 1985 Evinrude outboard. When ethanol fuels first came along I read the advice about water absorption and filled up with premium (then 95 octane I think). The next trip the boat started and then promptly went on strike. My (amateur of course) diagnosis was that the detergent qualities of the premium fuel happily stripped off 15 years of carbon deposits out of the fuel line and deposited them on the final stage fuel filter. In that motor that was a metal screen in the entry port to the carby. When I removed it, it was absolutely full of fine black grit. After cleaning it in petrol I had no more problems. I then used 91 and 95 with no more issues. So this may be part of your issue if it is the first time in a long while your system had premium petrol introduced. Nowadays I use 91 octane (or 95 premium if I can't get that) in my ETec 60. I haven't tested any difference in range of either, but don't notice a difference in performance. 2. My prior car was a 2008 Toyota Aurion. In that car when towing my boat I got much better performance and range with premium petrol (95 or 98) compared to E10. Considering the extra cost of the petrol it didn't save me money, but it didn't cost more either as the added range/better fuel economy balanced the increased cost. Main benefit was less fill-ups. Without the boat however the improvement was less marked. I now have a 2012 model Aurion and after testing, this is no longer true. I get pretty much the same range on E10, 95 and 98, and don't notice much difference in performance either. So I feel the differences can be very much make and model specific. Regards, Brad. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I had this problem with my sounder a few years ago and it ended up being the canary in the coal mine. As above it was due to a voltage drop, but the deeper problem was that the battery was on the way out and finally died on me. The sounder cutting out was a warning sign that the battery wasn't holding sufficient charge. My advice is check your battery - water levels and charge holding capacity. In my case the real root cause was me not servicing my battery regularly and letting it dry out, and I then needed to replace it. Battery water top up is now a standard part of my maintenance regime to extend the service life and reduce the risk of being without power on the water. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The need for an inspection is based on trailer weight. I don't know the cutoff offhand, but my current trailer is just over by a small amount so needs to be inspected each year. Given I tow a 5.1 metre boat I don't mind that and take the opportunity to have the bearings and brakes checked at the same time. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If you go for a CTek charger and will be charging the battery whilst still in place in the boat you can buy a quick connector (aka comfort adapter) on eBay which makes hooking it up very easy. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well done on the fish and wins in the comp Jewhunter. Sorry about the lost gear. I run light shock cord across my rocket launchers, secured at both ends and in the middle and stretch that over the reels when I expect rough conditions to stop anything bouncing out. This system hasn't been tested yet but hopefully will work! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

4myson you were on the mark I think. I consulted Dr Google and this seems to be a common problem. The recommended solution of going to the network settings and resetting the temp sensor config did the trick. I am guessing that one of the software updates I have applied recently changed the settings and made the unit try to take temperature input from a (non-existent) dedicated unit instead of from the local transducer. After resetting it to local all is good. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My main tackle box for the boat is a Plano 1364. This has a top section to hold your random stuff, and holds 4 3600 tackle boxes. You can sort your tackle between the boxes and I find it makes it very easy to find what you want. My usual four are 1) General hooks, sinkers, swivels and assorted hardware to suit bait and estuary conditions; 2) Soft plastics; 3) Hard bodies; 4) Deep water rigs and hardware. I keep my snapper leads separately in their own box on the boat due to the weight. You can buy as many boxes as you want to keep at home to organise your tackle and you then just take those 4 you want on each trip. They also have 1354 and 1374 options - smaller and larger respectively. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks 4myson, will try that if cleaning doesn't work. Thanks also for the offer SquidMarks, I will let you know if I want to take you up on it, much appreciated. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks, will do that. Pretty easy job to clean them with Ethanol so should have thought of that myself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all, I have a Lowrance HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch fitted to my boat and recently it has stopped reading the water temperature. It just shows 0 degrees. I have the standard Lowrance transducer fitted (200/50 KHz I think). The transducer is externally mounted on the stern and originally worked perfectly. In my most recent trip to Tuross Lake it also had quite a few problems reading at speed despite pretty good water clarity, and took a long time to come good when we slowed down. Any ideas as to what is wrong? Is it as simple as a failing transducer that needs to be replaced? If so, does anyone have transducer recommendations? Our boating is mainly Estuary, with some inshore work. I am having no other issues, and have the latest software installed. Thanks in advance! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Agree with 1-4. 5. I do wash mine, anything that comes off, either on or off the jig head, gets a rinse before being dried and put away. Good point regarding salt water between the jig head and plastics for those left on, but the heads I use appear to have a coating and I have not had issues here. As said they don't last that long in any case. 6. This is why I use my silicone beads. I don't know if they work, but I don't have any significant rust issues so I will keep using them. Regards, Brad Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree with washing and drying anything before it goes back in the tackle box. When on the water and switching rigs, all the old rigs, lures etc go into an old ice cream tub and are washed, dried and packed away once we get home. I also keep packets of silicon beads in all my tackle boxes (the ones you get with all sorts of new purchases especially electrical ones) and put them in a low oven occasionally to dry them out. I'm not sure if they still work the same way, but it used to be when they were dry they were clear and when they turned blue they had absorbed moisture and need to be dried out again. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My vote goes for Shimano Starlo Classix 7' Squidgy Spin Medium action and Shimano Symetre 2500 reel in that price range. The Shimano Raider series of rods are nice also and only a little more expensive. I use 12 lb mono backing to 6 lb braid for my mainline as a good all rounder. If you are specifically targeting Bream you may want to drop to 4 lb braid. Tight lines! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

GordoRetired, Firstly thank you for contributing to the site. This along with everyone's feedback helps keep this site so dynamic and well loved (IMHO). The Like Button question has been raised quite a bit and there has been quite a bit of spirited discussion and feedback. I believe Swordfisherman's reply is referring to a point in that conversation that others also support. That point is that a simple Like button would lead to a lot of casual comment without context or engagement. That is not to say that all who 'like' a post are lacking interest or valuable thoughts, but by just like-ing a post none of the other members hear that context. The contra view is that the site would prefer to encourage members to make a more substantial contribution than just a like. Just a short sentence does convey a lot more information, as did your original reply. Thanks, Brad Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have caught one on line in Cowan Creek, fascinating critters. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use a Sterling DC-DC charger to keep my electric outboard topped up from the Crank battery whenever I am underway, works a treat. The electric has it's own deep cycle when it is running, and a parallel connection for charging off the Crank. Fantastic for when we go away for a week with the boat on the water. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the post and I've made a note of the site in case I need anything down the track. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

What a croc! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I also agree that the 42-55 cm range is good eating territory. Below that you really don't get a lot of meat, above that they start getting a bit too tough and dry and you get into breeder range. As long as it is legal of course it's a personal decision and perfectly fine to keep. School sand flathead seem quite prolific and I don't believe grow as big as Duskies and other varieties, so that needs to be taken into account too. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Welcome aboard Stuart. I have a 470 CoastRunner we have had for several years now and my wife and I love the boat. Tight lines! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the post, I am having similar issues with my shock leaders, but hadn't thought too much about it until this post. I run Mono backed Braid to a 2-3m Mono shock leader on most of my rigs, then Flouro to the terminal tackle. Whenever I choose or have to re-tie my Mono knots I get the same twist problems. I generally just cut off 30 cm or so to get rid of the problem area. Based on the feedback I will change Mono. My Dad swore by Platypus line, but that was 30 years ago and who knows what the quality is now compared to then. In my light rigs I use 12 lb Mono, so will try a few varieties on those rods and see which I find best. I won't need big spools so it shouldn't be a big outlay. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great design, love the humour. Tears flowing trying to imagine a Squid hurdling the lip[emoji23] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk