brad_tate

I am also in favour of a small tinny. Our first boat was a 3.8m Stacer and it did me proud with a young family for many years. We've now upgraded to a larger boat, but small is definitely the way to go to start. Good luck with your boating license and I certainly recommend getting that. The knowledge you will pick up is invaluable. I also strongly recommend swimming lessons in general - yes wearing a jacket always is good but nothing beats being able to swim. Good luck with it all! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Drifting the lower stretches of Berry's canal into Greenwell Pt and out towards Orient heads (and the reverse on the incoming tide) should get you onto the usual Estuary species, Bream, Flathead, Whiting etc. We've caught several Gunard over the years also, very pretty fish, too pretty to kill. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a 55lb Minn-Kota on my 5m Quintrex and it handles it well in the conditions I use it - river systems, estuaries and Botany Bay. The 80lb is obviously more powerful but heavier (batteries mostly) and more expensive. As already said it depends on your usage. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The rods I have snapped have all been in the top section so I think you a fairly safe with your scrape towards the reel - lots of fibres there. The varnish won't do much structurally apart from preventing any feathering of any cut fibres, so it's more cosmetic than anything. I have started putting small plastic beads above my terminal swivel on my light gear as the swivels I am currently using are small enough to fit through the top glide. Standard red or green beads work fine and stop any glide damage. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hanmouse and everyone else who picks up rubbish when they find it, thank you all for your consideration and efforts. I too would rather less folk left the rubbish in the first place but much as it is tempting I won't vent about those who do nothing, I will instead thank those who deserve it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Fair call, I guess I was really referring to the air hoses and other plastic parts that may react badly to WD40. To be honest I don't know whether it could cause problems or not, but everything I've read indicates the Lanolin formulas definitely won't so better safe than sorry.I did use WD40 for years on my 1985 Evinrude super 25 without any issues, but modern engines have lots more plastic and rubber than that ever did! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use Inox (the Lanolin formula) on my outboard as previously described in the CRC post. I won't use WD40 or CRC due to the damage the petroleum will cause on the rubber fuel hoses etc. I previously used WD 40 for this, and it did serve the purpose well. The oil coating stopped any tarnishing, but after a bit of research I realised the petroleum was problematic, and Inox is a better option and safer long term. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

At home I always lower the motor fully when parked. When on the water overnight with my previous Yamaha 60 2-stroke I always put the motor up on the travel brackets and fully retracted the stainless push rods to reduce the risk of them tarnishing in the salt air. They always retracted fine, never seemed to stress the travel brackets too much. With my new ETEC 60 however there are no longer any exposed pushrods, so I just leave the motor up on the tilt overnight on the water. Should I support it on the travel brackets instead? Is there a need to retract the pushrods in the ETEC even though they are no longer exposed? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Raiders, I've just re-tied my leaders this afternoon with the FG knot - very happy with myself, only took a few false starts to get the hang of it. After a bit of trawling You Tube I found this video to be the easiest for me. This video is using heavier braid and leader than my light gear however, and the author recommends 20-22 turns. I am after some feedback from fellow Raiders. How many turns do you use for different weights of braid and leader? I went with 30 turns for 6 lb braid to 12 lb mono, seems ok but I guess the next decent fish will tell! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

By Snelling the top hook you can slide it to the best spot to secure the Squid. With gang hooks you are restricted to the spacing. A two or three gang hook rig is also quite rigid meaning the squid won't float as naturally. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The large rock wall is Molineaux Point. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I recently swapped from a Yammy 2 stroke 60 HP to an Etec and would not go back. Love it. I considered a 4 stroke alternative but the Etec gives me the simplicity of a 2 stroke with the fuel economy of the 4. And the hole shot power of the 2. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Dropper loop http://www.animatedknots.com/dropperloop/ http://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/dropper-loop/ Twisted dropper loop Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I pre-make twisted dropper loops out of mono (I found that flouro breaks way under rated strain in these knots) and tie the top end off on a solid ring. I then clip these onto a snap swivel. This makes it easy to change rigs if Leatherjackets snip me off or I want to change the breaking strain of the rig. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I remember eating Long Tom as a kid. The flavour was ok but they are full of bones, which aren't as soft as Garfish bones. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Pretty sure Smasher was putting his eels live in the bathtub for a day. These are seriously tough critters and can crawl across land when needed, regularly moving from river to dam or dam to dam. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Interesting thread. The most recent experience relevant I have had is fishing down a burley trail at the Drums in Botany Bay. Small peeled prawn pieces on a small Octo hook took two 54cm Kingies in quick succession. Along with several legal Trevally and a legal Tailor. Nothing small, I guess because the berley trail fired them up and the tiddlers didn't get a look in. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Firstly I am not a marine electrician so if others disagree with anything I say, please chip in. The two connection points on the battery are just for convenience. It doesn't really matter what is connected to what. This is done due to different connection styles in accessories. The simplest setup for a (crank) battery in a bigger boat with an alternator needs two connections. The first is to the bilge pump to provide 24x7 power. This may not physically come off the battery, it may be daisy chained off the input to the isolator switch, see below. The second is to an isolator switch. This powers two more circuits. The first and heaviest cable is to the engine. This supplies the power for the spark (highest amp draw so thickest cable for least resistance), and the alternator charge circuit back to the battery. This is all you need for your motor - it has it's own internal isolator for the trim and tilt. The next is the house circuit to which you connect your sounder, radio, lights, bait well etc. You typically turn the isolator switch off when the boat is off the water or moored and unattended to stop unwanted battery drain. All circuits connect directly to the battery for the common draw (earth). Finally if you have an electric trolling motor this needs to be on a separate circuit and deep cycle battery. You can use a DC-DC charger off the crank battery to top up the deep cycle if you want (I do this). Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

As mentioned above, don't clean it, as in don't gut it. Just fillet both sides. Skin both fillets. Then cut the fillets in half length wise, along the blood line and cut out any red meat along the blood line. Give a quick rinse in water. Slice the fillets into pieces that are about 5cm length, 1cm width and thickness you want about 50mm. I assume you mean 5mm thickness? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a terminal cleaner I bought from an auto parts store donkeys years ago. It's about 2 inches long, has a short wire brush on one end with a metal cap that slides over it for storage. The other end has what I can only describe as an inside-out brush. It is a series of fine wires (same as wires on the brush), but all packed together into a circle with a hole in the middle - the wires all point into the centre of the hole if that makes sense. You slip this over the terminal and twist it back and forth to clean the outside of the terminal. Once done coat lightly with Vaseline. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Enjoy Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If you get the Symetre then I would put good money on you snapping braid or the Raider (or my suggested) rod before you break the reel, so if you are really worried about big fish, you need a bigger combo. My Dad always told me to fish as light as you dare - you will lose less fish on a light combo than you will catch on a heavy one. The Raider is a lovely rod. I bought one for my son and he loves it (yes, matched with a 2500 Symetre). We also use 6 lb braid on 12 mono backing, with a 12 lb mono shock leader. Then swivel to flouro leader to hook or lure. Very simple very effective. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I would not recommend any form of adhesive in a marine environment, let alone the stern of a boat subject to physical stress when underway. Drill and screw with good quality stainless fittings and make sure whatever you drill into has sufficient strength to hold well. Perhaps use a plastic backing plate with (reasonably fine) bolts, washers and nylon nuts - all stainless. I use a local dealer for all my boat work - expensive but good quality work. I did have my old boat worked on several years ago and the work there was excellent - aluminium re-welding not electrics, but I'm sure he can cover other bases. PM me if you want either contacts. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

PFD level 50+ for enclosed waters, level 100+ for open waters. I would stick with level 100+ for safety in any case, plus avoids any debates with the authorities as to what constitutes 'open waters'. For children jackets are rated on body weight. Your PFD should have a label indicating the minimum and maximum body weight it is rated for. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Shimano Starlo Classix 7’ two piece (for convenience) and Shimano Symetre 2500. Online you can get the set for about $250 if you look around. You'll land bigger fish as well as long as you can let them run as needed but high stick a big fish and you're likely to snap the graphite rod. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk