Viking

Hmm. I have had this problem, and solved it, but only after spending a few bucks.. 1.Bought a better marine radio with CD. 2.Installed a new antenna . 1 X FM & VHF with Splitter. (Bias). Note: Just changing the coax may also help as it can corrode / get damp and loose it's effectiveness over time. 3.As Joe said, create a ground plane by soldering a length of wire to the shield of the coax, and run it inside the boat. 4.Mount the Radio antenna as high as possible on the boat. 5.If all else fails, listen to a CD! Cheers

Simon, I can recommend Neals at Berowra, I have had boats stored there under cover for a few years, they are friendly and easy to deal with. Cheers.

Dusted off the boat and headed out towards BB Wide early yesterday. Conditions were near perfect, drifting at approx 70M depth ,we hit jackpot. Approx 20 fish were boated in 2~3 hrs, 10 keepers, mixed bag of flatties and large Leatherjacket. Cheers

C-Wabbit Wabbit SEAson SEAsoned Wabbit.. Wabbit Stew SeaHair... Hairtail (No they don't exist) Cheers.

Great work! Cheers

Gents, This is an extract from an specialist seller on the use braid.. " It is also suggested that you use a Mono backing on your reel (otherwise the BRAID, being very slippery because it is impregnated with Telflon,won't "bite"-it will just spin on the spool and crank as hard as you like,you won't retrieve any line!). It is common to use a hundered yards of BRAID on top of a reel of mono (the BRAID will take up approximately the same space as one third the amount of good mono of the same weight - so,for example, 300 yards of 30lb BRAID will replace approximatly 100 yards of good 30lb monofilament)." Cheers..

Hmm. When its running hard at Marlow... Send one of those yellow berly baskets down the anchor line filled with Chicken Pellet, sprayed with a bit of aniseed oil. Then rig up a mini patenoster rig (with sinker on the bottom) . Use light gear, put out as many rods as possible and pray. - Works for me.. Cheers

Boppa, try Precison Boat Trimming at Carlton, (next to Hunts Marine Service Dept.) .and Congratulations on your new toy. Cheers

Fisheries inspectors were on Parramatta River about 2 months back, checking for licenses etc. Guess we will see a lot more of them this season.. Cheers

hmm , I would go with the Noah theory. Try large hooks, with heavy wire trace, and you may catch yourself a hammerhead or at least know what is stealing your bait! Cheers

Kings in Berowra! ..amazing..I have to get out there and check it out! Cheers

Viking, already there and have the Solas brochure, however it looks as though I can get a set of 14ft out riggers fully rigged for $600 from a local tackle store. Thany you every one for your positive comments on the boat Cheers 65122[/snapback] Martin, sounds like you are onto a good deal.. see you out there on the "BlueWater" soon.

Congratulations ! a very nice rig indeed.. try Solas for the outriggers. Cheers.

Try Bias boating. or try the DIY approach .. buy an esky, fit a few studs on the sides and clip on a seat cushion. Cheers.

What an amazing adventure and what great pics ...... think I will cancel my subscription to the Fishing mags, and wait for the next report! Brilliant Stuff

Nice catch! I would have guessed 14kg.

Great Catch!, and glad to see that the Hawkesbury is still producing such monsters!

Agree, I have also caught a small Hammerhead near gunyah. They love live bait!

Not sure about Mako's but try Boltons Reef, there is usually the odd hammer head out there, good fun on light gear with a wire trace.

Great report Simon, hope you used a permanent marker! DOH.

For the "what the.." & "your not putting that thing in the boat" section. Cheers

PhilD, What an amazing story!, (The Readers Digest pay for this sort of stuff!) . You are one lucky guy, or maybe God was out there also that day. BIG Thankyou for sharing your story.. I recently joined BB Coastal Patrol, and after reading your post, I will send them a donation! Cheers..

If you intend to use wharf road ramp, expect to wait until 2-3 am to retrieve your boat . Yep, expect mayhem ...stay calm and enjoy the experience!

Agree! Note: There is a DVD available from:http://www.safeboating.org.au. Send them an email from the web site, and they send the DVD. Its pretty basic, but good to have your 'deckie / mates' watch and its free!! merry xmas.

Yes, I know this one well.. I filled up an almost empty tank on the way up the coast. Went fishing off Broughton Island and had a good day out. On the way back the motor died. It was getting dark and a wind had picked up..then the "Bush Mechanic" in all of us took over. We emptied the Fuel Filter of almost pure water, tried to start, but no go. I guessed the old Jonno carbies were full of water. So we removed the fuel line, and stuck a screwdriver in the stop valve and pumped the bulb for a while until we could detect fuel again. Still no go. Then we switched to the aux battery, called the coast guard (Great Guys!!), dropped the para anchcor, and cranked the motor without fuel until the aux battery went flat ..about 10 mins later.. (Seemed much longer at the time). We then reconnected the fuel, switched to main battery and a few cranks later vroom!!. We got back to the ramp , and the boys on board thought nothing of the experience, but as skipper....well I was very relieved ... had a few beers that night, and donated a few bucks to the Port Stephens Coast Guard. Learnings.. 1.Murphy is always around and turns up when you least expect it. 2.Keep your tank full when parked at home, as condensation build up in the tank is normal, and when the tank is near empty the problem gets much worse. :beer: