martoiscool

Hey squizzy, My friend holidays at hat head every year for Chrisy and this year he hooked his first marlin. He also caught shitloads of dollies and was rubbing it in to me with pics while I was working!!! He was on a monster boat this year. You might have seen it, pretty hard to miss!! It's one of those big centre console American looking boats with twin yammy 350's hanging off the back. It's an awesome boat I got to admire it at his wedding at wooli. Well done I the fish, might have to get Chrissy of next year!!!

Thanks whaler, I'll give the clamps ago and see what difference that makes. Do you reckon that when I do put it at the correct height that I could remove the hydrofoil??? Could the motor being to low contribute to the bow lift and stern squat??

good point Geoff!! I certainly don't have a spare 100 000 laying around. Will stick to the 40hp. If I want to go quicker than I should just upgrade the boat....

the engine is already all the way up on the existing holes so I will have to drill new ones. Is it drilled for a reason or could I just rely on the clamps?? In regards to the 50hp I gues a 40hp would be fine. I mean it is a third more than the 30hp so it should be okay I guess.... Appreciate all the comments and feedback

Thanks for all the replies... I thought it was to low..say I was to go to the effort to raise it and drill new holes, would I expect noticeable performance improvements?? As I will be powering up in the motor in the not to distant future I don't want to have two sets of holes plus maybe another set if the new motor doesn't fit the existing holes... I know with the 50hp that it will affect insurance etc but I'm not to worried about that, more curious what speeds, fuel economy etc I can expect with an upgrade. Really appreciate all the replys.

Hey raiders, I have been reading Alfa-rosa's post about cavitation and ventilation with much interest and I have a few questions about my own boat. It's a 410 Brooker se-al fisherman with a 30hp mercury bolted to the boat. I have also fitted a SE sports hydrofoil. While I don't have any probs with the above two issues my concern is more with its mounted height and the trim position plus speed. When I bought the hydrofoil the bloke at the shop said it would affect top speed a little. I have noticed this but it does stop the rear from squatting and the nose lifting to the sky and I can plane at slower speeds then before I fitted it. In the following photos hopefully you can see what I mean... I personally think the motor is mounted to low. The first pics are shown with how it came from the shop. With the motor all the way down it locks into place on the pin in the second last hole. I don't think I can raise or lower the motor height without drilling another set of holes (which I'm not keen on doing) to fix this problem. In the next pics I have moved the pin to the third hole and put the motor down. What affect will this have on the way the boat performs/behaves?? How would it affect it if I put it on the very bottom hole?? My last question is I'm thinking of repowering in the next few years as the top speed I get out of the 30 is about what I would like to cruise at but I don't want to be wringing the neck off it all the time. The max hp rating for the boat is 40hp and 110kg. I have done some research and found that there are 50hp motors that come in under 110kg. Would 50 be way to much?? To me the extra 10hp in a 40 might not make much of a difference but I guess it is a third more in power??? Has anyone upgraded from a 30 to a 40 or 50 and. An they let me know how their boat performed?? I thankyou all for your patience and look forward to reading your replys. Sam.

That would be a wicked idea!! I got a few tats but a custom fish one would be sensational and very different from the koi carp tats.. I could visit Bathurst when I go and visit my brother In dubbo....hmmm road trip??

Hey mate here are those pics I promised this is the side of the boat I drive from as seen by the sounder. The rods are out of the way and don't obstruct casting fishing etc as I do most of my fishing from the front..

Hey nick, Mate I live not far from ballina and fish it regularly. It is a great system with plenty of fishing options. When exactly are you coming up?? I ask cos it is a very popular holiday spot and the greater influx of people has made the fishing a bit tough at the moment. Also will you be bringing a boat?? As the best spots on the river are boat only. Plenty of fish can be caught land base but the good spots are fairly crowded right now. Pm me ur number and we can talk business... Cheers, Sam.

Hey mate I have the exact same boat as you. I mounted two holders in the gunnels which hold the rods out at a nice angle for trolling etc. I also mounted on the side of the gunnel those rubber rod holders that the rods clip into when verticle. They come in strips and I got two very cheap from a big fishing store. I have one mounted on the right hand side just in front of the rear seat.. I'll send through some pics tomorro arvo do ya get what I mean

Haha yeah was talkin bout my sunnies!! Well if they were reflecting they weren't working!! No decent fish were caught once they went in the drink. If anyone on here is holidaying in ballina an they happen to catch a pair of black cristo spotters near the porpoise wall they are mine!! Hahaha

Hey raiders, This report is kind of a rant... I needed to vent..... Even though the weather has been and still is shocking up my way in ballina, I decided to take me mates for a fish. The plan was to flick around the morning high tide for a couple of flatties each, then catch mullet or tailor for Jews on the evening low tide. Well started off driving to the boat ramp and looking at the river.. I don't think I've seen so many white caps in my life.... It has been blowing a constant roaring southerly all week and it obviously hadn't let up. Stuff it we said, we will hide up in north creek and fish that till it blows over. That little trip went well with us all baggin a couple of nice flatties for a feed. We could tell it was still windy so we made a run for it up to emigrant creek. I thought my Brooker se-al tinny was rather dry till we did this run. Prety hard to stay dry though when the river runs east west!! Anyway hid up emigrant creek and it was quite pleasant. Landed a few more nice flatties but released these. Anchored near a deep hole and sunk a few pillies with no luck. All day we had my mates makita work radio on board. It runs off his drill batteries and was good as we could switch between the cricket or jjj. Quick question does anyone reckon that the vibration from the radio sound scares off the fish?? I only ask as I could feel it through the floor on my feet. Finished up in emigrant creek and thought we should head to our Jew spot, only cos we were having so much fun fishing and listing to music we forgot to collect livies and our usual spot was blown out from the wind.... Bumer pillies it is then. It was nearly dark so we anchored up and started to rig up the big rods. I had already done mine so I set up the berly bucket. As I was leaning over the transom tying it off. I heard a slight plop and look down to see my brand new pair of spotters sunnies sinking fast..... I was more shocked than anything and by the time I reached for the net they were gone.... I had left then hanging out of the top of my shirt when the sun went down, not good. Grabbed the phone an ordered a new pair online straight away... Love these sunnies.... That's the second pair I've lost in the drink... We finished the night soon after that as we couldn't get any Jews or a decent bream for that matter. Ahhh I feel much better now!!!

Hey musty, I go there quite a bit and was there about a month ago for a few days. As I was getting some hooks from the tackle shop a bloke turned up with a massive bull Dollie that he wanted weighed. Said he got it off grassy head. I also heard that there were a few spotted mackerel around with the odd Spanish being caught. There were some big Spaniards being caught up near coffs an they reckon the fish were on the way down. I did hear that they were having issues with current. The river was fishing really good though. Good luck!!!

Shimano raider 1-3kg bream special. Bout 100 bucks. I think it's quality is fine and it flicks lures like a dream. If its only a bait rod and the occasional lure flick then this rod would b perfect for ya.

Haha streeto!! Told ya this was a good site!! Endless amounts of wisdom can be found in these forums... Gonna head back down to lake conjola?? The mouth might be open this time and ya might actually see some fish!!

I agree. Your combo is defiantly on the heavy side. It wouldn't be any fun fighting the fish as they would be just winched in!!

Just looked at mine and it's rivits

Mate good advice that everyone should read but I do disagree with one thing. I tow a lot of trailers for my work of all shapes sizes and weights. Towing in top gear is fine in either an auto or manual as long as its not under heavy load. (like accelerating up hills or overtaking.) if it is flat ground and you can maintain a steady pace with little effort then it won't hurt ur gearbox. If I was to drive the 5hours down to south west rocks in 4th gear my grand vitara diesel would be revving around 4 thousand revs!! Not good for either the engine or fuel consumption. Trying to overtake or power up hills without changing gears will wear it out alot quicker and this is where gear changes should be made. All other advice was top notch!!

Just watched the vid.... Not much of a report really.. Just plenty of pretty pictures of reef and reef species!! I did see a few pelagics though. They didn't give the fishos much of a chance to state their issues. But this will mainly affect the commercial fishos won't it?? They didn't specify and by going off the marine parks already in place some of it is still open to recreational fishing

Mate I used to use vanish for the same reasons as you, cheap more line etc. But I found that if I left it on the rod after a fishing trip it had a memory in it and usually turned a slight yellow colour. I use nothing but sunline FC rock now for all my fishing with leader sizes under 20lb. When you think about how much line you actually use each time it ain't that expensive. Plus now I don't have to change the leader between fishing trips, (unless it's stuffed etc). I can get a good few trips out of one length of leader with maybe only a knot retie at both ends just to be safe. Plus it seems thinner for it's stated size. Cheers

+1 for the above, with pics etc. Also tide and moon phase, plus a barometer.

Mate i got three ci4 (2 x 2500, 1 x 4000) and I love them!!. I have never used the Abu so can't comment.. But if they are half the price but just as good then why not..

Hey mate, South west rocks is only a little over an hour north of port Mac. I holiday there a fair bit and it has great fishing. I was there just last weekend and the river fished okay. If ya have the cash for a charter though there are a few good charter companies that work out of there. I saw a big bull dolphin fish get weighed in and heard wispers that the spanish Mack are workin there way down the coast. It's a great spot to take the misses with plenty of stuff to keep her busy.. There is the old gaol which I found quite interesting, plenty of cafes, really good pub and eateries. There is back creek which is a small inlet which has great snorkeling. Overall it's a top spot for both you and ur misses!!

Hey stu, If I'm havin a good day and gettin a heap of just over legal I return anything over 55cm. If I'm struggling to get a feed I might keep one over 55 but nothing bigger than 65... Ever. I never take more than 4 fish home anyway as my misses doesn't like fish that much.. Plus I think once they get to big they don't taste as good. The smaller just legal ones seem to be the sweetest!!

Thanks slinky, Thats how I do mine now... Just a smear to lightly coat it and they work perfectly. I'm glad I started to service my reels. I have compared them to my mates reels that are still in factory condition and mine are just that much better. I have already serviced one mates reels and he paid me with a jackal lure for each reel I did... Pretty happy with that for payment!!