ALI-G

Hi there, I have just returned from the Solomon Islands which is an amazing and unchartered fishing mecca for the most part!! I managed to catch plenty of fish on skirts and plastics but encountered a few issues with bibbed lures while out there. I had purchased 5 Sebile Salt & Sun 136 Koolie minnows to take with me but had major issues getting them to swim. It now seems after speaking to Sebile that we may have been trolling too fast for the lures to cope and so they just kept popping up. Anyway, after giving up on them (I threw them in the bin, stupid I know!!) and a ruined days charter I managed to buy some Halco scorpion lures which swim great but it turns out the hooks are made of butter!!! I had 15 wahoo strikes and only managed to land 1 fish as the halco hooks kept bending straight and the halco wire traces (100lb) kept breaking at the swivels and the snaps. I would really like some recommendations on tough, deep diving bibbed trolling lures that come with the appropriate hardware for tropical species, swim straight out of the box and can be trolled faster than 4 knots!! I will be making my own traces with bearing swivels and snaps in future! Thanks people!!! Ali G

Afternoon Raiders! Had a quick session out of the heads on Saturday morning, got plenty of livies but with no real results until we decided to head back in trolling lures along the cliffs. initially I thought my sounder was on the fritz as there seemed to be a huge school of fish all the way along the cliff edge but then when we saw a guy fly fishing and hook up to a rat king we thought we would have a flick. We pulled up the deep diving bibbed lures and changed over to our lighter spin gear with instant results! they were even smashing prawns when my mate Max dropped em down!! There were literally hundreds of them, we hooked up to about 15 of them before we had to leave but it was awesome fun. All rats from 50 - 63cm so all released. It was awesome just watching them chase our plastics and waxwings competing with each other!! There must have been some big ones down there but time wasn't on our side as we had to get back for a family get together. :0( Can't wait for them all to grow a bit bigger, bring on the summer!!

Thanks Geoff/Sunray, I have downsized to a 500 GPH pump. I got a guy over this morning and he's going to fit it for me on the other side to the batteries!. Really appreciate the advice gents. Know anyone who wants a Rule 800 GPH pump going cheap?! Tight lines and screamin reels!!

Hi Geoff, I am Sydney based in the Eastern Subs. I was looking more at a flush mounting my tank into the transom on the right hand side. Above where your batteries are. Unfortunately not enough room for the set up you have!

Hi Raiders, I have researched installing a live bait well and it seems that you either need to be a marine engineer or related to Einstein to do it correctly!! Can anyone recommend a professional who can install it flush on an aluminium hull for me? I would like a transom pickup configuration. It's a 25L Johnson tank with pipes etc & a Rule tournament 800gph pump. W40cm X H32cm X D27cm. Its to be installed on an Aglapro Bandit 424 Pro. Thanks a million Alex 0432332200

Hi Raiders, My mate has just brought a beautiful fiberglass Haines V16R and a GARMIN GPSMAP 551s Combo fishfinder/chartplotter. Does anyone know a reasonably priced electrician/mechanic that would fit it on the North Shore/Manly area? Thanks for your help! ALI-G

I saw loads of whiting schooled up at the little river outlet across to the left of the boat ramp, would be a great place to get em on poppers on light gear. You can climb down the wall on the run out or rising tide easily. Tight lines!

Thanks mate, I went with the Daiwa Harrier and matched it with a Caldia 3520 PE SH reel, I have yet to trial them but will be having a flick on Saturday morning. Can't wait to see how they both perform once hooked up!!

Clifton Gardens at night, over a metre long! released to eat some bull sharks! :0)

I'd go a Shimano Terez, very light and powerful with an excellent range of different lengths and line ratings. I have a 10-30lb model and it copes with decent kings easily Tight lines

Hi Raiders, I have been looking to buy a new top end plastics rod and have whittled it down to either a nitro baby viper or a daiwa harrier. Does anyone have experience with either of these rods? Swaying towards the baby viper atm as they come with the guarantee. Any other suggestions?? Cheers Ali G

Hi Raiders, I have a conundrum! I purchased a Minn Kota Riptide 45 transom mount for my boat, however my boats a 3.55M Ally Craft and has closed sides at the corners of the transom so it's not possible to mount the motor on the back of the boat. Does anyone know anyone near the Eastern Suburbs that has experience of converting them? My curent Minn Kota is a freshwater black version and was simple to just bolt to a aluminium plate but the new one has a different design. I think it would need some kind of aluminium box to raise the clamp up so it can be deployed using the release catch. Any advice or referrals would be greatly appreciated. All the best and tight lines! ALI-G

Thanks Guys, please vote for me on Catch of the month page!

Please vote for me in COTM!!!!

They're about 5 in long brown and have beige horizontal stripes, if you drop anything edible in the water they literally swarm around it and demolish it in seconds

Was out on the water for 5.30 pretty busy at Rose Bay Boat ramp though! Saw a couple of guys that had been out over night with a decent 8kg Mulloway, Nice! Headed over the Shark Island for squid with no luck :0( Then over to Balmoral, a few squid chasing jigs but no commitment. Then all of a sudden the bay came alive! there were bust ups everywhere!! decided to try a small Armour metal but only managed to hook two big Salmon one in the cheek and one in the side! good fun though, then who turns up but Al McGlashen with Marco Pierre White on board!!! Managed to eventually hook a decent bonito only to drop him at the side of the boat Grrrrr. Went back and managed to snag a couple of squid to drop at the markers only for them to be annihilated by fkn leatherjackets! They are like piranhas, they were even chopping my soft plastics up in to unrecognisable chunks of powerbait! what can we do about these terrors? They are everywhere, we even found em in open water thinking they were slimies. I hate em!!!!

Anyone know how I enter COTM? Got the fish the photo and the footwear, Just dont know what to do next?!!

Thanks guys, I was just dropping down with a sliding bean sinker

I've had quite a bit of bad luck recently what with broken rods and even lost an entire set up overboard! I was determined today was going to make up for it!!! Earlyish start today, was on the water at Rose Bay for 6am, managed to snag a few jelly bean sized squid. seemed to be quite a few about. did the usual rounds of the markers and the structures about Port Jackson with the livies but they kept getting annihilated by what I think must have been schools of leatherjackets, Very very annoying, also couldn't find the kings at all! anyway I decided to get some more squid after several hours of buggerin about I managed to spike a few more but again I couldn't seem to find and KIngs!!!??? Not even a rat. I had now been on the water for 11 hours!!!! Decided to head over to try the white mooring to the right of Clifton Gardens with my last three squid. Just before I get there the battery decides to die leaving me without my sounder or Minn Kota!! GRRRRR Anyway first drop with my only live squid left and wallop! the rod buckles over double in the holder, YESSSSSSS! but NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! the king had swallowed the squid even to the point that I was fighting him for about a minute but then it let go, I was using a circle hook that must not have done it's job!!! GUTTED!! it was a big fish too, :0( righto I thought got two more squid best get one down ASAP! Sent down the smaller one (expired) only for the rod to buckle again for half a second and then bonk! Squid gone!!!! Down to the last squid which was a big one. three drops and not even a touch. Devo, I decided to move for one last drop on the way home at the Yellow marker off Vaucluse. first drop and ZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!! After an epic ten minute solo battle I landed the one I was after, He barely fitted in the environet! 107cm!!! Tired but ecstatic I headed back in the slashing rain smiling my face off!!!! And I did it all on my own!!!!! A long day but well worth it!! I am STOKED!!!!! Gear of choice, I was a little under gunned but I didn't expect THAT fish!!! Shimano Terez 15-30lb rod Shimano Twin Power 8000 Japan Model 50lb Power Pro braid 50lb Yo Zuri dissapearing pink Fluorocarbon leader Wilson bearing swivel 7/0 Owner Mutu light wire

Went out Friday and Sunday Arvo's, Normally target Kings but have had trouble locating squid and yakkas partly because I haven't had a fishfinder for over two months as Garmin Australia have managed to send me two faulty replacement units in a row, however I am promised a new one is on the way! :0( but also because I think there has been a real lack of bait around. Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining! I have been fishing a bit with vibes and have been amazed at the results, I normally use soft plastics but the vibes seem to be far more effective. In the last three trips I must have caught 40 odd fish. Most of them small but also some thumpers, I lost a 3ft+ flattie and a big Jewie due to light leader wearing through (both at Rose Bay). Other species I have caught are bream, trevally, rat kings, flatties, snapper, tailor and what I think is a pilchard! The Pilly was caught in the deep water just before the no-wash zone towards the Spit about 3 ft under the surface on a big eye blade. The pics dont do it justice it was beautiful electric blues and greens, was going to use it as livebait but it expired in about 2 minutes even in the live well with the pump going? took it home to eat but it was full of bones. The trevally make great sashimi and fry up just like kingfish! noice. I have been using Berkley big eye blades but have just invested in some Ever Green and TT ones. Trevs and bream were caught at Rose Bay and Lady Jane and the squid at Balmoral. Got one really big bream which I released. Also had a chuck at the markers with the wilson jet popper at dusk but not takers. Was using Daiwa Crossbeat Egi 8ft rod, Shimnao Symetre 2500 loaded with 4lb power pro & 15ft of 8lb berkley fluorocarbon leader for all the small stuff and rapala x rap 10- 20kilo rod and shimano saragosa 8000 with 50lb power pro and 50lb Fluorocarbon leader for the popping. Berkley big eye blades were white, light brown and dark brown. Cant wait for the water to warm up! Tight Lines!!

Thanks guys, Looks like it will have to be Botany Bay, I live in Paddington. Now all I need is to know where I can gather Yakkas and Squid in the Bay, I have seen a few posts with people pulling up nice kings from near a bridge? Any help would be greatly appreciated! If not, if anyone fancies tagging along one early morning or arvo this week to share some knowledge of the bay, I'd be more than happy to meet at the ramp. I only have a small 3.5m tinny but it has a live well, sounder and a thirty on the back so is pretty well set up. Cheers Ali-G

I lost three Daiwa squid jigs to tailor the other arvo tried trolling for them and got zip :0(

I lost three Daiwa squid jigs to tailor the other arvo tried trolling for them and got zip :0(

Hi there, Went to go out early Thursday morning only to find that they are renovating Rose Bay boat ramp, does anyone know where else I can launch from in the eastern subs? Also, does anyone know when it will be back in action? Cheers!

it was on the run out about 5 pm