NickF

Look for something in the Pflueger Trion or Shimano Sahara series. I have the heaviest model in both these (around 6-8kg rating) and use them for everything from trolling for bonnies, light jigging for kings and also for bottom bashing with bait around the shallow reefs (under 30m). Haven't been able to fault them yet. They have some serious pulling power. You are looking around $120-$140 depending on which you choose. Both have very decent build quality and components. If you think they may be too light or not balanced look at something in the 8-15kg range like a Silstar Crystal Powertip they are only about $75!

You can manually increase the gain to pick up the bottom again, AND also adjust the pulse rate to a slower rate for deeper water. Auto settings don't always work the best on my unit either. Read your manual and have a play around with it.

That sir, sounds like a challenge! haha

You have to be extremely brutal to fibreglass to get it to crack. Do you remember any really hard knocks or hitting any large swells at speed or the hull slapping the water? You won't have missed it as it would have been a hell of a jolt.

Picnic Point/East Hills near the railway bridge, Georges Hall opposite Riverwood Golf Course, Fitzpatrick Park or Cattleduffers Flats, Lamberth Park. I don;t know if you can fish from the spot anymore but under the bridge in Salt Pan Creek was always a good producer for me back in the day. I hear rumour fishing was banned from the boardwalk down there.

Whay obey said, you wont miss it, the hole is quite small but clearly visible. I like to use Inox to blow all the grit out as it will dissolve any other unwanted grime in there.

You don't have to drive for an hour, maybe 10 minutes! There are great fishing spots at Picnic Point, Milperra, Georges Hall that will produce fish. You wont need much, an 8-10ft fast taper rod, some 4 kilo line and some fresh prawns or worms and you can have yourself a great day or night. If you do feel like a drive however, then you can head over to Kurnell, or Sans Souci, or take a drive down to Stanwell Park or Coalcliff beaches. Won't take you more than an hour to Stanwell Park Beach.

Have a look at the Strudwick Bluewater series, 24-37kg. I use it for trolling and also jigging and it does both effortlessly with excellent performance. And it won't break your bank.

From what I understand there is a pressure sensor/tube in the leg of the outboard. These can get clogged etc and stop working. I use my GPS unit for speed readings as the one on the dash isn't 100% accurate. Get a can of Inox/Lanox or the like and stick the little nozzle inside the hole on the outboard and give it a blast to dislodge and grit and it should work again.

That's awesome fuel economy! Gotta love those numbers. Mine burns about 1.6L a minute at WOT! (and then some!)

Only reason I asked about the 200gm was that I was using a 120gm knife jig but the current would move the jig quite a distance before it hit bottom. Was thinking a 200gm might be best in 100ft of water.

How far down in the harbour were those schools? I normally go out to north head looking for them. Would love to know where you can find them in the harbour.

For $17k I'd be looking as fibreglass if going used boats. You will be amazed what $17k will get you. There are quite a few 5.3m - 5.5m fibreglass boats out there, something like a Freedom Escape or similar. There is a Cruisecraft Hustler on one site completely decked out for fishing with a 135HP Mariner EFI, downriggers, rocket launcher the works for like $16,500 on a tandem trailer. I was very close to buying a Hustler before I came accross the Haines Signature. A friend owns a Hustler and it's a very nice outfit, especially with a 225 Merc on the back! I am very glad I went fibreglass for my first boat. I'm happy to take you out in mine if you wanna get a feel for what these types of boats are like or if you want to compare it with the ride of some of the aluminium boats you test. Either way, owning a boat is the shiznit!

Yeah mine is 1.87. Supposedly the Enteria is the beez neez, from what I can gather is has greater rake than the Vengeance overall better performance due to thinner blades etc. According to Mercury I'll see improved holeshot and top end but hey you can only give things a try right?

Chris one thing it doesn't have is a temp guage, probably something I should get Huey to attend to. Like Huey said, it's doing well considering its age and it goes like a Demon so I really can't complain

I love the performance of the motor I have, just want to get it running as best as I can, as you would expect. Huey I did try and get approval from the Minister for War and Finance but she wasn't too impressed about spending money on a new motor so for now I will keep with that I have, as much as I'd love an E-TEC. Would love a price on the XD-100 though I'll come up this week and pick some up.

I am using the Mercury Premium Plus oil, which is a crapload dearer than the Valvoline and others. Is the XD-100 even better than the Mercury oil Huey? I'll use my next outing to get an idea of how much oil it is using. I assume the best way is to fill my tank and then run it basically dry and then see how much oil has gone?

I have a feeling my motor is adding too much oil to the mixture. I have seen carburetted 2-strokes running way cleaner than mine which is EFI. Especially at idle the amount of smoke can be quite alot, whereas others I see run very clean. Any suggestions on how to prove my theory or additives I should be putting in the oil to clean up the oil injection system? I suppose one thing I can do is monitor how much oil is being used per tank of fuel and get an idea if the ration is correct. From what I know it should be mixing at 50:1. But as I said, mine seems to run quite smokey compared to others, and especially at idle.

I was fishing a reef off Manly on the weekend and there must have been 8-10 boats fishing the one small patch of reef all navigating kindly around each other and leapfrogging in turns for a shot, two of the boats were obviously "locals" or "regulars" and I tried to spark up some friendly chat with one of them only be to told "This place was f****** fine until you c**** turned up, did you just see us here on your way out the heads and decide to come and f*** up our day?" Needless to say, I gave him a mouthful and asked to see his record of ownership to this particular reef to which I copped another mouthful before some of the other boaters turned on this guy and eventually chased him off. They couldn't believe the nerve he had. If you can't share, don't bother getting on the water, that's all I have to say. As always "Who Shares Wins".

I was curious to know if any of you have used the 200gm Spanyid Raider lures and modified them for deepwater jigging? One of the guys I saw on the weekend was very successful using one which he had modified and was outfishing us 3:1. I think he'd just removed the bottom split ring and treble and then added a steel ring and jig hook to the top. Look forward to your feedback.

I also lock the albright as well, very handy and great for wind on leaders.

Nothing beats tossing a Halco Roosta into a busting school of fish and watching the mayhem and madness that ensues!

I've heard rumours of people using heatshrink over the top of their albrights etc to stop them from coming loose. All I can say is, if it is tied right you should never have it slip. The albright is one of the best leader knots around, if not the best for heavy leaders to braid.

In the last 6 months, $35k and counting. That includes $20k for the boat, about $10k on gear and $10k on other fun stuff. What most people forget is the FUEL bill to go fishing, every time you head out, just imagine the dollar coins draining from your fuel tank It's best to hide your bank statement from the wife if you like to live.

Poorly photoshopped knife might I add, good work for keeping those sorts of losers from stealing the show from the guys who actually put in the effort. Keep it up.