fryboy

Nice report, thanks. Can you explain this sentence to me though, I dont get it - " I've been thinking about it for 36 hours now and all we could've done was fish 37 and bigger. He'd run so hard against 8+kg of drag that the spool was empty due to all belly yet the fish was only 20m away"

Dont know about which ropes to use, but it sounds like you need a longer bridle for sure.

Hi all, I am thinking of taking the family out on the boat to see the 9pm fireworks on Pittwater (Newport Arms). Can anyone advise the best place to be to see them? Also, what about the launch and retrieve, I've heard of waiting hours and hours to retrieve at Roseville after new years on the harbour. Is it the same at Pittwater/Bayview ramp? thanks for your advice Fryboy

Thanks for the great report. Really appreciate it. Nice fish too!

Yeah, agree. Dont ruin a good friendship over this one - engine will be fine!

Cant believe I havent seen this thread before. Great stuff. I've got a list too... Forgot keys - check (check about a million other things too, lifejackets, bait, the rod I really want that day, sunscreen.... fortunately I'm not too far from the ramp) Left wheel lock on trailer and drove away - check Left trailer brake engaged and driven off - check (only noticed while waiting for the lights at top of Wakehurst Parkway after driving from Narrabeen. The smoke was the giveaway) Forgot to put strap over boat and driven home - check Forgot to lift motor coming into the ramp - check Forgot to reconnect lights after retrieving and driving home - check. Lost winch handle (x2) because forgotten to remove from winch when driving off - check I have NEVER forgotten the bungs. But I subscribe to the view that there are two types of boaties - those that have forgotten them, and those that havent yet.

+1 to tip tip. Making me think again about tubing in Broken Bay/Hawkesbury!

That is a true wake up call and an amazing story. Who would have thought that an anchor could fly that far due to the braking. Amazing. +1 on the lottery ticket - never too late. Glad you are all safe and sound.

I think the seats also contain floatation (foam etc), so you will drastically alter the floatation of the boat..

I go the jigging setup you can buy in the shop for $2.. Six hooks 6/0. Never have problems catching them if you burley up and drop the jig in the burley trail. Only trick is to try and keep them from getting tangled if you want to use them multiple times.

Go the harbour. See all my previous posts about Pittwater - I reckon its dead. Note also all the posts on FR are mostly positive about harbour sessions and nothing about Pittwater...

Hey mate, Anything over 7.5 metres cannot be parked in a 'built up area' for more than one hour http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/viewtop/inforce/subordleg+179+2008+fn+0+N. I dont know that area of Sydney. In my area (north), I would say you are pretty safe leaving anything slightly over the 7.5 limit on the street as long as its a quiet area with not too much through traffic. Definitely not in a busy street and absolutely nowhere near a boat ramp - they will ping you there for sure. Best bet would be to find some kindly person who could let you park it in their yard while you are here. Theres been lots of threads previously about security. Some essentials for keeping on the street would be: Remove all valuables from the boat and anything else that can easily be removed (antenna, bait boards etc). A good tie down cover will deter lazy theives A good quality hub lock (or your chain, but they could just remove the wheel...) Hitch lock Leave motor trimmed all the way down and disconnect or remove the battery (so they cant drive off so easily) Additionally, if you have a fancy propeller, you could think about a prop lock I'm sure others will have some good ideas. Hope you have a good time in Sydney and catch some fish! fryboy

@openhooks The 2nm limit is another limit again. This relates to whether you need to carry an EPIRB and marine radio. If you are more than 2nm offshore - you are in open waters with all the open water safety requirements, plus you need to carry those two items. @locodave On the maritime maps, its shown to be 'limited open waters' inside the Barrenjoey-Box Head line. There is a definition of that which is as described earlier. Interesting that the Maritime guys told you that, I guess they probably dont even police this 'limited open waters' thing - unless theyre in a bad mood! @sharkbait yep, that would be my read on it. Let us know what you hear from maritime...

My reply assumed you were coming up Pittwater towards Broken Bay. If you are coming from Hawkesbury direction, then the limited open waters starts at a line from Flint and Steel across to Juno point. I'm not sure (and its not clear on the maps) where it starts coming from Brisbane Waters. Fryboy

Answer = its complicated! There is a line from Barrenjoey lighthouse directly across to Box head. Inside that line is 'limited open waters'. This means that In smooth conditions (wave height under .5m crest to trough), its enclosed waters and you are ok. If wave heights are larger, then its open waters once you cross another line that runs from Barrenjoey across to West head. Fryboy

Classic!

Start slow, thats my advice. You'll work it out pretty quickly, but dont get pressured into doing anything you or the riders arent comfortable with. One thing for sure, the chance of getting them back on the tube (at first) is directly inverse to the speed! Kids will love it even at 3-4 knots, so theres no need to go crazy straight away. You can shorten the rope if you want to keep the tube close during turns, and that can be fun with the wash too, but again, watch the speed. I think there is a standard 'call sign' for skiiers and tubers, I may be corrected but I think this is it: Ok sign = all ok Thumbs up = faster Thumbs down = slower tap on top of head = stop cut throat = stop In addition there is the non-official standard: laughter = faster grimace = slow down blood curdling scream = stop and of course - LIFE JACKET,LIFE JACKET, LIFE JACKET.

I bought a Solas 4 blade from a US online shop. I did not want to buy from the US, but I couldnt get the guys in Australia to go even close to the price, even with postage. They gave me good advice on the size to get , although Huey has done a good job already. I ordered on a Thursday and the thing was at my door 7am Monday! The only danger from those guys would be the cost to send it back if you decide you've got the wrong one. Theyd be very happy to swap, but you'd have to pay the postage... I've PM'd you the name of the store. My experience with the 4 blade is great. My boat gets up quicker, less cavitation and it fixed the problems I was having wtih not getting near the recommended RPM at WOT. And it looks HOT! cheers Fryboy

Exactly Leo, its an increase, not a move of entitlements from south to north..

What annoys me is the "spin" in this press release. Note: When the stock is in such a strong position, it makes clear economic and environmental sense to allow fishers to catch a portion as it swims past their front door, rather than requiring fish to be caught south of Sydney and transported hundreds of kilometres by road Now that sounds to the average schmo that this is a really good idea, they are just moving the catch from South of Barrenjoey to North to save the transporting of the southern catch to the north. Oh, ok, no worries. Lets all go back to sleep and everything is ok.... It also sounds like 'the stock is in a strong position", which is really based on...on.....on....? I remember my education days and having to provide references for that sort of stuff. Governments work to their own rules though... But those who are awake will realise the truth, this is an increase in catch of 224 tonnes. And by the way - how on earth do they police the measurement of those 224 tonnes? Anyone know? I'm guessing (but happy to be corrected) that these measurements would be some sort of 'self regulation' where the fisho has to report their catch to DPI. How wrong could that go? (So, if I catch two tonnes per day on three days, thats, um, er, dot 1 carry the 2, thats, um 4 four tonnes?) Fryboy

No problem at West Head on Sunday morning in the brown water. In fact, I'd say they were a bit more forthcoming than usual...!

thanks for the report. I also had no success (in Pittwater) yesterday. I've also experienced some really, really disconcerting behaviour at Roseville ramp on weekends too. Its really put me off that ramp - that and the fact that its difficult to launch solo there (especially under pressure of 5 waiting boats..:-) ). And a funny experience once in the four knot zone at the spit.... I was in the process of being overtaken by another boat, when I got pulled up for speeding by Maritime (no fine, just a warning). I was doing 5.5 knots (I had the GPS on) and the boat going around me must have been doing 10! I think you are game having four rods out trolling on your own. Getting them out there is the easy part. Bringing in a decent fish without getting all the other lines in a mess, whilst drifting towards a marker, reef, other boat, would be my concern. Too much going on! For that reason, I've only ever tried two rods when on my own. Fryboy

thanks for the read Ginko. Good on you for the clean up after the others who dont show respect. No doubt thats why you got your flattie at Careel - Karma..

Just got in. Trolled and downrigged live yakkas from Palm beach through/around the moorings - Palmy, Careel bay, Clareville, Newport and around Scotland Island. Nothing, not a touch. Beautiful morning though, just a little breezy.. I'm close to giving up on Pittwater and just working the harbour, it sounds much more productive. Fryboy

Classic!