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I didn't think I would be quite so emotional about it, but yesterday I sold my boat and watched sadly as it was driven away. Even more surprisingly it was an emotional moment for the kids, particularly when my 3.5 year old turns around and says "Daddy, I like our old boat!". Oh well, now that she's gone, I don't have to feel guilty about falling in love with my new one... Cheers, Greg

agree with Greg, had a maxxum on my top ender and have one on my new boat. I did put an anode on them and make sure they are washed down well. No problems whatsoever. cheers, Greg

I'm sure Tony will mail them to you if you can't get out there. cheers, Greg

Nice report, and top catch Cid! and in a Yak too. cheers, Greg

Great bag there Greg. The vibes seem to be a hit this month... Did they have a noticeably better catch rate than the gulps in the dirty water? cheers, Greg

Some nice size fish there top Breamer. Cheers, Greg

Gday Bream mad, congrats on the PB. I think fly fishing will be my next challenge. Cheers, Greg

Thanks for the info Cid. I've been watching a couple of yaks on ebay, and I'm very tempted. Have you heard much about the Viking yaks? They don't seem to have the mirage drive (or similar), but appear to be compatible with a foot steer leccy. I fished a couple of the ausbream socials late last year and saw some of your catches. The yak doesn't seem to hold you back! Like I said, i like the idea of being able to head off for a quick flick without too many strings attached (read cleanup). Cheers, Greg

Billy & Mick, sounds like you had a good little session there. Congrats on the first HB bream! Cheers, Greg

hey Ronald, some very nice fish there. cheers, Greg

Hi Cid Any advice for setting up a yak? I'm contemplating one for estuary and river fishing, chasing bream and maybe some bass. I like the idea of being able to go for a quick flick without having to pull the boat out and more importantly the 40 odd minutes to put the boat away... Cheers, Greg

Hi Billy, I'm pretty certain that I got busted off by a good size bream under the boat, but I didn't even get a look at it so that's an educated guess. Hey Pmak. I'm no expert, just spent a bit of time on the water this year. I fished a few tournament series as well wher I learnt a lot from a few guys that know a lot more than me... regarding the retrieve, on the flats I tend to resort to a relatively brisk roll. A few weeks ago, you'd get nailed on just about every other cast. I've noticed the water temps have dropped a few degrees in the last couple of weeks and the fish don't seem to be quite as aggressive. As a result I've slowed it down to a slow roll to the point where I can only just feel the action of the lure. However, being a creature of habit, I do find myself reverting to the quicker retrieve fairly regularly. Around structure, I tend to give the lure a fair bit more action, with some pauses. My advice is to mix it up and see what works on the day. Hope that helps. Oh and bluegill is 343. Tony at Fishfinder has them in stock... Cheers, Greg

Hi Andrew. Nice work on the poppers. They really are addictive. I've noticed that the water temps have dropped a few degrees over the last few weeks. The bream don't seem as aggressive at the moment. There was a couple of weeks there that almost every cast on the flats with a hardbody would get nailed. I'd packed my poppers away for the year but may need to pull them back out for a few arvo sessions. Cheers, Greg Hi Greg, another Sydney comp... I'm going to be divorced this time next year... Cheers, Greg

Sounds like a good session. Nice size whiting - they have been in reasonable number in IC. Cheers, Greg

Nice work. There's definately some flatties around. Cheers, Greg

Hi Mick. The larger one went 33cm fork length. greg

Hi David, Parra's been fishing well this year. I see you've sold your boat, so yell out if you want to go for a fish sometime. Cheers, Greg

Headed out for a flick on the Cooks this morning with my brother Ian. This is only the second time i've fished this system, so we decided to go exploring. After reading a few posts on the forum, we decided to "stay to the right" as we headed up river fishing banks and bridges. Over 3 hours, we managed about 15 size bream with very little by-catch. All of mine bar 1 was caught on sx40 in bluegill. Ian's were caught on a range of soft plastics, 2" hawg accounting for this larger specimen. All fish released. cheers, Greg

Tuesday, decided to go chase some bream on my home ground, being the Parra and Harbour. Since Christmas, I have spent a lot of time spinning the flats with hardbodies with great success. Launched at Drummoyne at 8.30am and motored 100m across Five Dock Bay to the flats. Landed about 7 flatties in quick succession on hardbodies. Only 2 went size, one a tad over 45cm and the other about 55cm. No Bream. Made a move over to a rock wall that had a large drop off from about half meter into 4m, another flatty about 45 cm in quick time, again on hardbody. About 5th cast with my current favourite lure (SX40 in Bluegill), got smashed on the dropoff by this guy Headed to Iron cove to the flats again. This area has produced really well for me over the last few months, but has been fished really hard with all the comps in the harbour this year. I could only manage a couple of bream around the 25cm mark before deciding to move on. Moved over to Elizabeth bay for my last stop before heading home. Threw a soft plastic for the first time since early January. Tied on a berkley fry in lime tiger and flicked it under the first boat hull. It dropped for about 2 seconds, got smashed by a big fish that took about 20m of line and absolutely smoked me. I landed another couple of flatties, a gazillion pesky chopper tailor and another small bream about 29cm. All fish released. Cheers, Greg

If you have a battery isolator switch, check the earth. Often the installation of these isolators is really dodgy giving symptoms of a flat battery whilst accessories that draw less seem OK. cheers, Greg

Dean, my brother uses an icebox as a livewell. I think the brand is a Tropical, but any icebox will do. He has rigged a pump to fill and empty it easily, as well as an aerater. Keeps his fish alive for 7 hours during a tournament. Cheers, Greg

Greg Ski goggles can be purchased with lenses of different colour and tint. You may need to try a few different ski shops. also, fuglies have a product that might work with a clear antifog polycarbonate lens http://fuglies.com.au/ Cheers, Greg

Luke and I had a good day on the water. we had high hopes early, with our first fish, an 800ger, in the well by 7.20. We fished the flats in Iron Cove and had 3 fish by 10.30, plus heaps of undersize ones and lots of bycatch thrown in, flatties, taylor and some thumper whiting. Then it all went quiet for us. We had a couple of moves, with 1 more fish coming aboard in Lane Cove, but we couldn't fill our bag. I'd definately agree with Chef, these events are great fun. I've really enjoyed my first season of tournament fishing. Cheers, greg

I had a very interesting 2 days. This was my first ABT and won't be my last. Saturday, I got paired with Richard Potter and had my first ride in a skeeter. It absolutely blew my mind - this is a very nice boat and a real pleasure to fish off. Unfortunately, we got to our first spot in middle harbour, in under 15 minutes mind you, only to discover that the electrics had spat the dummy - no electric motor all day. We headed back and drifted the flats in Iron Cove and Hen and Chicken for lots of undersized fish and by-catch. I managed to pull one fish just 25 to the fork with an hour to go. I was almost embarrased to weigh it but it became a valuable fish on day 2. I must say a big thanks to Richard, despite the technical problems, I learnt heaps from him. Day 2 paired with Neil Kelly and a second skeeter. The weather was ordinary to say the least and the wind picked up very early. It was decided that we should hit the flats and try to use the wind to our advantage. We spent most of the day in Hen and Chicken bay for 1 fish in the well each and and countles flatties. We made a move to Five Dock Bay with about 2 hours to go peppering flats and banks. With about an hour to go, I managed my PB bream at 34 to the fork (38.5 tip) on SX-40 colour 302. I was completely surprised when my 3 fish for the weekend put me into 8th place. Funnily enough, the 25er on Saturday was the difference between 8th and about 20th. Thanks to Richard and Neil for having me aboard and sharing their knowledge. Cheers, Greg

Matt, I have a 480 Topender and very happy with it. It is a great compromise especially given that I like to get my kids out on the water as much as I can. It is very capable of towing the kids behind on a biscuit, handles the chop well and is a surprisingly dry boat. 95% of it's use though has been for chasing bream and I have no issues with casting and controlling the electric. I have used this boat to compete in the squidy's series this year as well as the summer series. Criticisms of the boat: The main thing I would change is the rear deck. I plan to build and install a removable rear casting deck with fold down seats and possibly a livewell in the rear. The standard livewell is OK, but it leaks all over the front deck in the chop. 2 weekends ago when we did the run back from Hawkesbury into pittwater we lost half of the water from the well. I have seen some mods that others have done, so this is not a major problem. 1 thing I would recommend is to get the largest electric you can. The dealer tried to sell me a 55lb but I settled for a 24V 74lb motor - remember that the sides are higher and they do catch the wind. If you want to take a look or come out for a fish in it sometime drop me a PM. cheers, greg