abitfishy

Polycraft trailers - great idea, but surely they aren't as tuff as a good quality box trailer with checkerplate floors etc???

I've got an old hull with no windscreen, and its not worth spending the dough on getting someone to do it - has anyone built one themselves? Obviously the issue is the curve that it sits on, but I would have thought it not too hard to heat up the aluminium framing to bend to the shape, then tracing the angle of the frame on the bottom of the perspex to get it to sit straight. Won't be hard to screw the perspex into the frame....even if it was a bit fiddly to do, do you think doing it this way is possible given time and patience?

Mate, read 3 posts up......

Hey buster1, what time did you leave to come home? We were planning on going out at 12 to fish the run in, but decided against it cause of the wind - it was even unpleasant at the ramp at Holt Pt Rd Sylvania. Sounds like I made a good decision......

Yes mate, it was, but not long after that it got bit windy - we got there just after 12. The wind wasn't great at home in Sutherland, but you never know til you get to to ramp - since the bait and rods were ready, boat fuel was full, ready to go, I thought it worth checking anyway. Miserable. Looks like it might be a while before conditions are warm and calm again....

Well, after tossing up whether to go out to Botany Bay or not, I took her down to the ramp at Sylvania and it was as windy as hell and the water looked it. Since I considered Botany Bay was going to be 5-10 times worse we decided not to do it in a 15ft open boat with no windscreen, so decided to head down the more protected wonnie river for a bit of a cruise. Even with the protection there the wind made it uncomfortable, so we headed upstream as I haven't been up that way before, only to suddenly run out of water very quickly just past the footbridge - the boat knew what was happening as it stated to argue against the sand and weed, I shat myself and got her in reverse real quick before we were well and truly grounded and got out of there backwards quicksmart. What pisses me off is that it looses water real quick with no indication from any markers or signs. Bit of a worry was the motor seemed to keep loosing revs once we had got into deeper water - at one stage I thought we we were going to loose it and have a very long way to paddle back to the ramp against the tide. Luckily she recovered, and went ok after a few minutes, so wondering what happened.......any ideas why she would run so bad? All I'm thinking is maybe a bit of sand, weed etc in/around the prop might have been causing the problem. Nothing looks bent or anything else, so I'm a bit confused????

Who's driving me home to Sutherland? I'll be out of it after all the perving.

Where you offering your place Saqa?

Can anyone tell me if the ramps at Holt Point Rd, Sylvania and the one in Hawkesbury Esplanade Sylvania Waters are suitable for a small boat at low tide? I know closer to Tom Uglys at low tide there is a lot of sand before the water, just wondering if its the same at those ramps?

Yes mate, she's not a bad little fishing boat for the river and bays, but wash side on is a bit uncomfortable at times. Especially with some of the inconsiderate arseholes around. By the way, what water depth can I expect in Botany Bay - either where was mentioned or at Molineux Point? Dunno if I'll have enough anchor rope.

Ahh, that makes sense mate. I thought you were actually in a boat - I understand. I too went looking on land at that spot some time ago, saw all the rocks and thought its a lot of stuffing around climbing down those rocks to possibly catch a fish. There were plenty of guys there at the time too - and I wondered why you would bother. I'm all for easy access spots. I intended going by boat on Monday. Ta Martin

Hey, I usually look at the BOM for the weather, and find it hard to figure out - mate, that web site is fantastic - temp, wind speed, direction, rain, swell, for each 3 hours - fan-bloody-tastic. But don't tell the world about Monday, I want some room to move.....hopefully most people will be working, while I'm catching all the fish. My main concern is how my 15fter without a very deep V will handle any swell or wash from bigger boats....

I don't understand why you moved from Molineux Point because of the rockwall......its a popular spot and I hope to go out there for the first time Monday.....is there something I should know?

Ta, Just checked the map and think I see where you mean. Looks like a good spot. Martin

Thanks mate, Do you mean near Brotherson Dock Bulk Liquids Berth? How is it for container ship type activity around there? I've heard the weather may not be fantastic Monday, so will see what happens.

I vote toadfish. They are a pain in the arse but I think they are a bit cute actually with those big eyes.....poor buggers get a bad go and are just trying to survive

Good to see them spending some money. They want to remove the old woronora weir near 'The Needles' for the same reason, which I understand, however I'm in two minds - the area and weir has historic significance being part of the road built in the 1800's to get from the city towards woolongong over the river, but it also threatens the future of the Bass. Building a fishway under the weir would solve the problem, but because the road is only used for bushwalkers now, they don't really care about the history - just rip it up they say. I think there would be less conflict between historical societies & greenies/conservationists if everyone took a step back and thought about other possiblities. It doesn't take much to please everyone, really. My 2 cents worth anyway!

Hey all, I'm sick of catching medium Bream in the wonnie river so want to try something new. A few questions re Botany Bay if you don't mind, I'm thinking of fishing the run in on Monday arvo. 1. Can anyone give me some idea of water depth in Botany Bay, I wanna make sure we have enough anchor rope since we've only used it in the river. We are thinking Molineaux Point since its often mentioned here. Is that the spot along the rock wall thats so popular with land based fishies that you access along that long road? 2. I assume on a nice day the conditions out there are ok for a couple of relatively inexperienced (read: chicken shit) boaties with a 15ft runabout & 40hp (um, about 4hrs total boating for me)? Anything we should know before we go?? 3. I don't have much in the way of heavier rods - the heaviest duty I have is a 6-8kg snapper outfit - I assume that will do unless jaws is around? (knowing my luck we're more likely to catch Nemo actually) 4. Anyone use mullet strips/chunks out there? Its my favoured bait and works well with the bream, but wondering if what we might get out there will be as keen on it??? Any of the usual berley do ie bread/chook pellets/dog food/tuna oil/combination of..... Thanks in advance. Martin

No worries blood knot, I'd say not too many people have photos of them with their first fish, I'd say I'm lucky. I'd say not a lot of people probably had cameras in those days at the right time where there first fish was caught, maybe more these days with phone cameras etc - mum only had it in the car as we were on holidays. I don't mind talking about the Nelson Bay area - since I don't get there often enough, hearing about it will have to do....

It may have changed heaps, but I'd still rather live there than Sydney. I'd kill for a job working for fisheries at the marina in Nelson Bay in IT support but I doubt they are big enough to have their own onsite IT staff.

Disappointing result. As for hopoate, well, I wouldn't wanna turn around in the ring with him, or you might get a finger in the ring.

Mate, its changed so much over the years. But its still fantastic. I mentioned to mum that for such a big boating/fishing area, there aren't a tonne of boat ramps in the Nelson Bay area and she mentioned there was one in Nelson Bay itself at one stage??

Sounds fantastic. We were thinking of doing the same thing at Berowra Waters, but the misses is a bit of a scaredy cat - she's always scared of quiet bushy areas cause she thinks there are backpacker murderers everywhere. Plus, she's not a big boating fan, she feels 'woozy' at anchor with minimal boat movement!! GEEEZ!! I'm sure you and hubby will have a great time. I assume the littlies are going to their Grandma or something???

Oh yeah, the current NSW multiple choice test is pretty pathetic considering the danger of inexperienced boaters on our waterways. Me included. I did the practice test online, went in to get the book to study, asked about the test and was told if you fail you can redo it no extra charge, so decided to sit the test there and then. Needless to say the question book had most of the answers circled, so if I wasn't sure of an answer, you can probably guess how I came to choose the answer I did. Of course I passed. Luckily I'm sensible enough that I have further studied the book, asked questions online, have all the appropriate safety gear, and I'm not a inconsiderate boater. I may not know the complete book inside out, but I feel I know enough to safely do a bit of fishing on the wonnie river without getting myself or anyone else into any trouble. And before I intend on going anywhere new on the water, I study the maps, make sure I'm aware of the channels, and check the legend to make sure I know in advance anything I might need to know.

Anyway, unfortunately (or is it fortunately) I'd need 2 of femalefisho on the port side of my boat to make up for the 100kg I weigh on my side. Now thats an interesting thought......