Dfishin

Locodave I launch a 6.2 m fiberglass half cab often on my own. As said in other replys it really depends on your trailer set up. Like musty said if your trailer allows it you should be able to drive your boat straight up to the front roller on your trailer, leave your motor in forward gear with enough revs to hold it there while you go and latch it up at the winch, Go back to your controls turn motor off, tilt motor up, then pull pull the boat out. Most new fiberglass boats are set up to be put on this way. Now if you drive your boat on your trailer you can drive your boat off the trailer aswell, on your own too. So, back the boat down the ramp and into the water as normal. Jump into the boat over the bow, start motor and put in forward gear with enough revs to hold it there. jump back out to the winch and un-hook the hook,jump back in the boat and put into neutral, the boat should start to roll/float off trailer, as you knock it into neutral and start moving backwards i always start to lift the motor with the trim button. Tie to warf or pull up to bank and go park your car. Trailers As said most trailers for new fiberglass boats are set up to launch and retrieve in this way. Most new boat/trailer set ups these days are also set up in the way that if your boat and trailer is on the ramp and you undo the hook at the front your boat WILL roll off the trailer. This is why it is necessary to have the motor in forward gear while un hooking and hooking the winch cable up. For this reason i never undo the safety chain at the winch until the boat is in the water and never pull the boat out without having the safety chain attached. You might find that when you un hook your boat at the winch it may sit there and not roll off. This is ok, you can use a bit of reverse to drive the boat off the trailer. Alot of people use this method of launch and retrieve but have one person in the boat and one person driving the car and working the winch. but no reason you cant do it alone. i do it alot. Go to some good fishing ground boat ramps such as. Shellharbour, Kiama,Port Kembla, or for syd silverwater cooks river. and you will see alot of peaple using this method and see how its done. And go with a mate for the first few trips to try it with some help. Too long ? Sorry Dave

Garry I have just been doin a bit more looking and found this option. I like this idea and will definitely be goin this way. As for the holes, i can manage that as i am a carpenter and have done alot of work on my boats in the past. But i am very interested in your rod holder mount option. Is it a rod holder type to suit 30 degree holder with just a flat plate to take the downrigger base. how should i contact you to find out more. Thanx Dave

Thanx Lure n Fly My boat is a 6.2 m half cab. I mainly use it for offshore fishing. I am setting up the downrigger to use in the fresh for trout but have bought a big enough one to also use outside on the reefs for kingies aswell. I was thinking drivers side myself as this is the best side to fight fish when and run lines when fishing alone. Thanx for the reply Dave

I am going to be fitting a downrigger to my boat. As i am only fitting one downrigger and sometimes fish alone I am wondering if anyone with experience with down riggers prefers the downrigger on the drivers side of the boat or the opposite side ? Strange and basic Question i know but want to get it right the first time as it involves drilling holes into a near brand new boat.

I am glad to see admin has stepped in on this one. I think that most people that put posts on this site and consistently catch quality fish have at one time or another kept and killed a fish that they regret. I will be one to admit that i have kept certain fish that i have later regretted. Like swordfisherman said. He has kept a legal flathead. If he had more than one of this size ( or over 70cm ) than maybe some cause for concern, and really if there was a group of three fisherman and they had one each they would be still be following the rules. I will admit the first dusky of this size i caught was kept for a feed too. She had taken a live bait, swallowed deep and bleeding. Once on the cleaning table i did feel a bit guilty and said i would release flatties of this size from now on. Not that its the law or should be frowned upon. after all we are not the scientists doing the research to keep our waterways sustainable. And just to make you feel a bit better. I actually think there is alot more flatties around of this size than most of us know of, at least in the south coast estuaries. I have been targeting jewfish in the south coast estuaries for a few years now. We catch flatties of this size on a regular basis on live baits aimed at jewfish and i do believe there are plenty there. I think the big ones come out to play with the jewies at night. Im not trying to offend anyone here. Just sayin its is his choice to take this fish. Dave

hi prawn star I have been jigging up kings on a reef on the far south coast lately. i have found that that cloudy type school showing on your sounder is school of jackets or maybe nannigai. the kingies seem to be more spread out lines on top of each other. this is just what i have worked out on my sounder which is a hummingbird 898. i have found that when i see that cloudy type school i will foul hook small nannigai and leatherjackets, tomy roughs stuff like that ( small rubbish ) the kingies definetly not in these schools but not far away. another interesting thing. last trip we caught a 90 cm kingie and the trip before we got one that went 100cm+. Both these fish when cleaned we looked at what they had been eating.both the bigger fish had some small red fish inside there stomach. i think they where small gernard or tommy roughs and there was 4-5 in each fish. definetly changed my way of thinking of kingies. Anyway what do you think. Dave

Hi mate I am from around that area.I also have family at Tuross head and regularly fish the south coast. I will let you know next time i will be heading down that way if you like. Dave

I am heading down to bermagui on monday and wil have the next week fishing down there. i was planning on fishing batemans bay on the sunday. the next week after this weekend is looking good. not fishing the comp though.

Spend $3.50 on a 6 hook live bait jig. find some bite size Yellow tail ( yakka ) fill the live bait tank drop the livies to the bootom on a patonaster rig and you will get the kingies. best $3.50 ever spent and turn it into as many lures as you can catch.

Fished there over Christmas-New Year. Fished out a little offshore not to far in 40-45 metres of water just north of ulludulla. Picked up a couple of very nice snapper also some mowies.I didnt see any kingies but back at the cleanig tables were some blokes who had a mixed bag of flatties, Trevallies, some rubbish fish but they did come across some rat kings which i was a bit suspicious wheater or not they were legal hope that helps a bit Dave