brad_tate

The weather wasn't as bad as forecast today, we were out and about this morning but managed a short session after lunch. Picked up a 55 cm Longtom and a 44 cm Flathead. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pretty slow this morning. We had a relaxed start and an early finish as the rain started to set in. The next two days are not looking too good either. Best fish today was a 27 cm Whiting followed by a 35 cm Flathead. Plus this very ambitious flathead which went a whopping 15 cm and was only just longer than the prawn he hit. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the words of support. Here is the campsite set up, boat is in the water ready to head out tomorrow. The chat is that the fishing is a bit slow but there are quite a few Whiting about. We'll see how we go. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all, we are off in the morning for our yearly week at Stuart's Point to camp and fish. This is just north of South West Rocks on an arm of the Macleay River. I still can't convince my wife to try lures so this year will likely again be plastics vs prawns targeting the local Estuary Duskys. I'll post a picture of the campsite once we are set up and daily updates for anyone who is interested. Happy new year to all and I hope you all enjoy some active fishing over Summer. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Glad to hear you sorted the battery problem, thanks for posting and thanks all for answering. Good advice all around. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I went there a bit over 20 years ago when I lived in Melbourne and my then girlfriend, now wife, lived in Geelong. From memory at that time most people used one piece squid rods - no reel, no guides, around 10’ long with line tied directly onto the end, then to jig. It's always been known as a squidding spot at night. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well done, two legal Kingies from a Yak! My best (from a boat) is 57cm so far, still trying to catch my Missus' 67cm. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Check your water level, sounds like the cells ran dry - if so it won't hold a charge and generally is not recoverable. I learnt to check the water level every 6 months after losing a battery due to inattention. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am also a relative lure newbie so also interested in what others suggest. On my bigger boat rods I run braid to a mono shock leader (FG knot) to a snap swivel. I tie my trolling lures with a loop knot in flouro to a solid ring which I attach to the snap swivel. I also tie my paternosters to a solid ring, so I can switch between bottom bashing and trolling easily. For my light gear I run braid to a mono shock leader to swivel, then flouro trace to plastic or lure. Uni knots for all terminal tackle. Shock leader ~3m, flouro leader around 3'. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Raiders, headed out this morning with my wife, son and daughter-in-law for what was to be a pleasant morning on Botany Bay. In the water at Oatley Bay 0630, headed out with a little bit of light rain, but fairly calm. Rounded Towra, stayed to the south whilst the last of the drizzle swept over then headed to pick up some Yakkas inside Mollie Pt. As soon as we had anchored and started berleying however, a fairly strong southerly blew up as a squall came over. It got pretty ugly pretty quick. Decided to scratch plan A and head back inside the bay. The waters off Mollie Pt were like a washing machine by now, and the ride back across the bay was bumpy and wet. Back inside Towra it settled down so we drifted the main channel back towards Captain Cook bridge. The pinkies were on the bite so at least everyone had some fun. My son pouched a 29cm Bream and I latched on to a 56 cm rat Kingie - good fun on bream gear! The Bream was kept for the table but the Kingie swam away after a happy snap. Not long after another squall came over and it got ugly again. This one was looking like settling in for an hour or so, so we called it a day. Anyone else out this morning? Any luck? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Will_i may need Mr Google to understand that reference... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just checked the site I use and they would do $422 for the two rods and reels I mentioned. You should get free shipping for that amount. If you don't, create an account, give them an email address and save your cart. They will come back before long with offers. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree you need two combos as a single outfit won't cover what you want. I'm a Shimano fan so for a good quality budget combo try two of the ones I use. I mostly buy these online so PM me if you want the site. 1. Shimano Starlo Classix Medium 7’, Shimano Symetre 2500, 6lb braid mainline. 2. Shimano Starlo Classix Heavy 7’, Shimano Baitrunner OC 4000, 12-20lb braid mainline (I use 14). Both rods come in one or two piece. You can probably get both combos for $500 at most for the pair (plus braid). The only drawback with this is that if you are connected to a big fish on the heavy combo the short butt will make it a bit harder to bring in. The workaround is to move your top hand further up the rod to get leverage. My bigger rods are Ugly Stick Golds, which are easier to pull bigger fish (stiffer action in the bottom half and longer butt section), but more cumbersome than the heavy combo above so not good for medium work. I have Okuma Raw-14 reels on these. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I was in Fiji for a family wedding a couple of years ago on Denarau island and had fun one morning flicking plastics off the end of a small rock wall on the point of the beach - took a couple of nice Trevally, 30 and 35 cm. Squidgy wriggles and fish on 1/8 oz jig heads. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Spool the line off in the opposite direction to that it will be wound on to reduce line twist. Right handed reels spool on clockwise, so spool off anticlockwise. When spooling lines myself, I run the line under a towel or two on a table and weight it down with a few heavy books, say 2-3 kilos. Run the line out a few feet onto the rod and it should pack down well. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ginko, really glad to hear you have survived such a terrible experience so well. I hope you recover fully and are also not too badly out of pocket either. Thanks for sharing the candid details with the Raider community. I hope the community comes up with some intelligence to help bring your offenders to justice. Happy to help further, PM if you want. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ian, thank you very much for helping one of our upcoming Raiders. Great suggestions for a young job seeker from someone who who has been there himself and also been in a hiring role. will_I, if you want someone else to take a look at your resume, I am happy to do so, so PM me if you want. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Interesting thread, going into a number of areas, thanks for the comments from all. My thoughts are: 1. I run a two batteries, one crank/house and a deep cycle (DC) for the Minn-Kota. I use a DC-DC charger to keep the DC to topped up. I keep leads onboard so I can start the outboard from the DC if needed. 2. Your wheelie bin live well is really high, and the slosh of the contents poses two problems. A) bad balance, so you need it tied in securely, high and low. B ) slop. I suggest you fit some form of baffles about 3/4 the way up to stop the slop washing over the top and onto the deck. That should also help with the balance. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have to agree. Life jackets are a wonderful invention and invaluable if you are doing something (e.g. Boating, water skiing, jetskiing, rock fishing etc) where you don't expect to end up in the drink. If you intentionally dive in however and you cannot swim, or feel uncomfortable without a jacket, then you almost certainly should not be in the water in the first place. Exceptions obviously for young children or possibly older adults learning to swim, but even then it is safer in a pool. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Shimano Starlo Classix 7' one or two piece medium weight Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

zmk, thanks for the quick chemistry lesson wrt oxidisation et al. I originally studied this but moved on to other topics - your succinct post helped refresh my memory really well. Cheers! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Maybe a Gobi of some description? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You can launch at Greenwell Point to get easy access to Comerong Island. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can recommend a Shipwright in the Richmond area - PM me if you a interested. Very capable in fibreglass work of any description, top quality work. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a drive on trailer for my 5m Quintrex CoastRunner, here are my tips. 1. As others have mentioned, angle of ramp is important. With a very flat ramp and shallow approach you may need to winch as you need decent clearance for the motor as the boat stands up before gravity takes over and the boat sits down on the glides. 2. Pay attention to the crosswind. If it is blowing right to left, then start your approach a little right of the centre roller with the rear also a little out to the right. By the time you make contact and are in position to drive up, you will have been blown around to the left. If you are blown too far, back off and start again. If it is too blowy, beach the boat to the right of the trailer, have a second man (or lady) on the winch and winch it on. Reverse if the crosswind is blowing the other way. 3. Learn the correct depth for your trailer. In my case I need my last roller just under water for the guide system to work properly. Too deep and the catch guides don't contact the bow and straighten up the boat. To shallow and it is too high to get the boat up on the glides easily. 4. Trim out your motor before driving on. My dealer told me to trim out nearly all the way before it stops trimming and starts to lift. In calm conditions I start the drive on, catch the bow and once stable, trim out and drive up. In blowy conditions I trim out before I start. Good luck. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk