brad_tate

Three twists, that sounds a bit light, perhaps my prior Unis were overkill!For uni-uni I have used 6 turns on the mono side (6-12 lb) and 12 on the braid (6 lb). For my FG I run 30. For terminal tackle in Unis I use 6 for 10 lb and 8 for 6 lb flouro. That seems to work well for me. I would be worried about only 3 turns unravelling under load. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For our first boat we first bought a secondhand Stacer 3.8m and had it for 12 years with two young kids. The idea was to buy something cheap and basic and see if we would use it enough to warrant spending more. We didn't expect to keep it that long, but that's the way it worked out. When we upgraded we were in a good financial situation. We bought new but that is a bit of a luxury considering the early depreciation. We opted for a 5m tinny (Quintrex CoastRunner 470) as that hit the sweet spot of size, small enough to manage shallow estuaries, be launched and retrieved solo when needed, big enough for inshore work, able to be housed where it needed to be on our property. I like the brand so didn't shop around other makes. So my advice is keep it simple. Can you fit it where you want in your yard conveniently (where it will spend most of it's life)? Is it easy enough for you to manage? Will it suit the conditions you mostly want to (or usually end up with) fish in? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well done, they are good fun to catch. I recently re-tied my leaders with FG knots and latched onto a rat King drifting in the channel before Towra in Botany bay on similar gear. It was certainly a good test of my new knot and happy it passed as did yours! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My vote is for a shark of some description. Rays tend to take one quick run in current and then grab the bottom. Kingies in shallow water tend to make big zigzags. Tailor are generally easy to pick - I describe their behaviour as swooping, long side to side runs. Salmon are similar, but try to find the bottom more. Not sure about big Jewies, have not been lucky enough (or more realistically have not put in the hours) to know. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have ummed and aahed a lot on this one. For me the available space is an issue. I have an open CoastRunner with 4 main areas for a battery. Aft port holds the live well. Aft starboard holds a single crank, fuel filter, DC-DC charger and isolation switch. So fairly full back there. Fore port holds the deep cycle. Fore starboard is my safety gear well. I could possibly fit a second crank up front but a) it will be hard to access, b ) will cop the chop and c) will need long wiring looms, not really good for high amp draw. So in my situation I have tools onboard to replace the crank with the deep cycle in an emergency. I also keep the maintenance up to both batteries and use my CTek to charge and condition them. Good luck with whatever you end up with! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great offer locodave. ~shane526 it sounds like you have some good options close to home but feel free to PM me if I can assist. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use Flouro leaders on all my rods and am happy with them. I don't have any solid evidence about abrasion resistance or visibility, but so far so good. Sink rate is definitely better. Knot strength is an issue for some knots. I haven't noticed any problems with my uni or loop knots to terminal tackle, but have changed back to mono for my twisted droppers as the less flexible Flouro does not suit them. When I tested them, the Flouro broke at about 30% less pull than the Mono, and always at the knot. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a Coastrunner 470 and am happy to help out where I can. I am in Hurstville, so if you are nearby I am happy to catch up on a weekend and chat, show you how to back a boat etc. Let me know if you want to catch up. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

By the way Fab1 when I said 'throw over half a bucket', I meant exactly that. In between washes you could just mix half a bucket and douse the outside of the vehicle. The only thing you would need to do is chamois off the glass, to avoid streaks. 1/2 cap of Kitten wash and wax means a bottle goes a long way. There are other wax only products you can apply the same way even more economically. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sorry Fab1, didn't read your original post well enough. Perhaps throw over a half bucket of wash 'n wax or just a wash on wax weekly? That should be fairly economical and will provide a coating that may stop the fungus or acid urine getting a hold in your duco. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use whiting beads between my sinker and swivel as the small swivels can trap the sinker but have also seen others use red tubing. If you prefer tubing, buy a cheap coil of red auto wiring from an auto parts store and use a wire stripper to take off the tubing sections you want. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Car cover Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Depends how open you want. We have a 5m Quintrex CoastRunner which we love which is in that price range. Small enough to drive in 800mm, creep in 400mm, walk in 200mm, but big enough for inshore trolling in most conditions. Easy to launch and retrieve solo when needed, with a drive-on trailer and a second mate and a decent ramp, a piece of cake to manage. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

When I was a kid my Dad swore by Platypus line. That is 35 years ago now however and a lot changes of course. I haven't used it in 20 years myself and from the feedback above I won't be using it anytime soon. I don't use much Mono, just a little as a shock leader between my Braid and Flouro, so can't recommend anything sorry. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The forecast was pretty much bang on today, light southerly breeze, partly cloudy. Fishing was still fairly quiet, due to the prior rain I expect. We picked up one 44 cm Dusky but nothing else apart from baby Bream. At least I did catch my first fish (Bream) on a hard body. No luck with the mud crabs, but we now know a few places to try next time - this was the first year we tried chasing them, so good experience. All in all a lovely week and glad to have missed the wet weather at home. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a C-Tek and find it great. I use the Recond cycle on each battery once a year to extend their life. I also use a Sterling DC-DC charger onboard to keep the deep cycle topped up particularly for weeks away when the boat is kept on the water. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Marinating in Lime juice effectively cooks the squid - any acid will do this including lemon and vinegar. This is the basis of a ceviche. So when marinating fish in anything with lemon or lime juice, don't marinate for too long and cook it for less time otherwise you will end up with dry meat. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Lovely work Crossfire63 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well today was a donut unfortunately. It was warm and mostly sunny today, but a fresh southerly blew all day making drifting almost impossible. We tried a few spots, mostly anchoring and berleying, but couldn't coax anything except small Bream and a tiny Flounder and Flathead onto the hook. All the water that fell Tuesday afternoon and overnight hasn't helped, I'm sure. Since then it's been fairly brown, looking a bit like a tea tree lake. The weather is looking good for our last day tomorrow, and happily the wind is forecast to drop, so hopefully we'll pick up something. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am also not an expert and was initially thinking of running my house circuit off my deep cycle so I didn't flatten my crank battery. My dealer told me that was a bad idea for two reasons, firstly the deep cycle is not designed to be drained gradually over time, and secondly that I would need a rewire to provide the deep cycle with a bus to connect the rest of the electronics. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I also stick to two piece rods for the convenience and have never had an issue with their action or capability. I easily pulled in a 56cm Rat Kingy on my 2-5 Kg rod a couple of weeks ago - anything I have lost is due to user error, not the rod. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Another good day, partly cloudy and light breeze, picking up in the afternoon, so we spent the morning drifting the river. The Whiting seemed to be off the bite today, but we did pick up a nice Flounder and a Bream. Lots of little picker Bream amongst them though. Sorry everyone in Sydney has had a such terrible weather, hope it improves tomorrow. As you can see we have missed all the nasty stuff. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I haven't tried it but have seen it recommended a lot for Snapper - plastic on top, bait on bottom, so don't see any reason it would not work well for Flathead. The drift should give a paddle tail, grub or wriggler plenty of action. I'll try it myself next time we are bottom bashing! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We're lucky enough to be north of the nasty weather, and although today was overcast and wet, it was just persistent drizzle. We put a crap pot down for the first time yesterday, with our single Whiting frame as bait. When we picked it up this morning it had a baby Mud crab in it, so at least we know they are about. We freshened it up with yesterday's Flathead frame and put it back until tomorrow. Today we spent a couple of hours drifting along the oyster leases south of Fisherman's Reach and picked up three solid Whiting on prawns. A good feed and the frames will go into the crab trap tomorrow. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We've also seen dolphins every day on the high tide, very pleasant Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk