zmk1962

@Blade ask Merc as KC says you may be lucky and get someone that’s interested in helping regarding an older motor worth a shot. More often they will just refer you to a local dealer. The other thing you can try is to locate a service manual PDF for your motor and read through the fuel system section. I was able to find one Free for my previous 1999 200efi On this site. Sorry I only have the link for the 200 but play around with the url and see If you can locate one for your 90. http://www.hedges-uk.com/boat/Merc/outboards/2-stroke/2-stroke/135-150-175-200-225/MODELS%20135-150-175-200-225%201992%20and%20Newer%20%96%20135-150-150-%20XR6-150%20Magnum%20III-150%20EFI-175-175%20EFI-200-200%20EFI-150-200-225%20Pro%20Max-150-200-225%20Super%20Magnum%20.pdf Alternatively go look at a site that shows parts for your specific Year make model Motor and check the fuel system - see if there are any parts relating to oil sensor : http://www.boats.net/parts/search/MercuryMarine/0g884040/3743/parts.html Again this link is specific to my old Merc. Play with the url or the site once you open it. cheers Zoran

In all seriousness guys, I did do one trip using a game trolling rod (about 700m 80lb braid)... I managed 6 drops and retrieves before I gave up... a 4lb sinker puts a nice bend in a 15kg 5'6" rod .... so with every pump and wind I figured I retrieved about 40-50cm of line ... thats a lot of reps to just get the sinker up.... 😞 Then for many years I used an Alvey Reef King (theres some videos here of that) ... worked a treat, twin handles, 1.3m retrieve per turn ... great upper body workout to boot ... But then, I had a skiing fall and now have bursitis in my left shoulder .... so now its Tanacom 1000's all the way ! Cheers Zoran

Hi @dlvbw great catch and even better job taking the kids out - good on you. If you check my past posts I do pretty well on the offshore flatties. I switched to 6/O Suicide (pretty wide gape) ages ago. I fish these on a two dropper paternoster rig. I have found the wider gape tends to hook the bigger flatties around the corners of the mouth making it easier to remove the hooks (rather then the deep throat hookup that I got with smaller hooks). I also found that I get fewer juveniles and pickers - don't get me wrong - you will still get some (it never ceases to surprise me how a flattie whose head is just bigger than the hook can get itself caught on that hook!). I fish with an SP jerk shad (10cm) on the top hook and bait on the lower hook. I also use a sinker jig attached right at the snapper lead which has accounted for quite a few big flatties, octopus, mowies, pannies etc. I have also posted about my flattie "drift and drop" technique and the logic behind it in other posts. Cheers Zoran

In that case then double bah humbug !!! ... 2 hook rig. Cheers Z

Yup agree with that @Yowie - they are very selective. I had something on which bent the 37kg rod and made it dance all the way to the top- pulled line from the tanacom 27kg drag no probs. We thought we had a winner - wasn't a shark as the swimming was slow and powerful. Swam around boat with 8m to go and tangled with the other line ...we free spooled that ...but then the sharks took it !!!!!! Bah humbug. Not even a head left to show. Cheers Z

You have two good options to pursue. The downside to epoxy permanent fix approach is it’s much more complicated to upgrade or change. I now have a great 1kw 50/200kHz transducer but its plug fitting is not compatible with new head Units. It’s a real pita to chisel it out from the tight space where it’s fitted - but I’ve done it once before when I replaced the old hummingbird so I know it’s possible. Anyway while the system works it’s staying put. cheers Zoran

I have an Eagle (which is LEI) High-performance, low-profile 50/200 kHz Skimmer® dual-frequency transducer with built-in temp sensor. I have this transducer permanently fitted with epoxy as a shoot through hull mount which reads bottom at depths past 500m and speeds above 60kmh. It is fitted in my fg boat with no drilling of the hull. It's not so much the transducer but the manufacture of the hull that determines if you can shoot through. If the hull and the transducer mounting compound is solid fglass (epoxy), it has the same transmission as water, so no problems. If there is any wood, or air bubbles in the hull or if you try to use silicon in between the transducer and hull, it will absorb the transducer ping signal and it wont work. The best way to test, is to place your transducer inside the hull where you think it should best be, fill some water around it to remove any air bubbles (you may need to build a small wall out of something like plasticine to keep the water around the transducer), then place a wet sand bag ontop of the transducer to keep it in place as you go for a test ride. You may need to try several places to test and find your best transducer/hull location. Once you have settled on the ideal location and you are ready for the transducer fitting you can use extra eopxy on one side of the transducer to correct the 5deg hull slant. Just make sure there are NO bubbles trapped in the epoxy inbetween the transducer and hull. The above worked for my transducer - you can contact Lowrance tech support and have a chat on this topic Cheers Zoran

Hey @61 crusher, nice write up - thanks. It was a strange day at Brown's. Had all the promise, but the mako's made short work of that outlook. As I said on the boat, deep dropping is like big time gambling -- you've committed the time and energy to get there, the payback could be big, but then again you can go back empty handed. But we got one feed anyway - The mate of mine that you mentioned was @Gilbur, out on his bertie again ... he sent me this picture after getting home and stopping at the flattie grounds - he certainly outfished us - maybe too much yakking on our bout (hahaha) - you can see the gem head donated back by the makos ! Looking forward to the next session ! Some stats for the deep water guys, current was N-S about 1.7-2km/h (we had the motor engaged in reverse to hold position), water temp 16.7C. Cheers Zoran

Top report Rich. Persistence is a key factor for fishing success. Great feeds in that mixed bag and a thumper red 👍 FYI I was out Sunday whale watching and Monday again- lots of big cuttle bones floating around. cheers Zoran

I agree its in the best interest. Thanks for working this .... as disappointing as it is there will be another time. Cheers Zoran

Nope. But great bait. cheers Zoran

Awesome write up Derek. Thanks for putting this together...it's my go to reference now for egi... Cheers Zoran

@jeffb5.8, back to your question of is the motor quieter .... I took the opportunity to cut out of the videos from the last fishing trip, some clips of the motor at different revs. This was filmed with a GoPro 5 mounted under the alloy hardtop ... it has a more natural sound reproduction than the iPhones I used previously. The net is at idle and trolling it's hard to hear the motor running over the noise of the ocean, at 3500-4500 (50kmh) noticeably quieter than the 200HP and easy to hold a conversation, when you get to the 5000rpm (60kmh) its loud and at WOT 70kmh it howls.... Cheers Zoran

Thanks Jerry, yup I pretty much discovered that googling. I came across this document which states: "The Ermington Wharf road boat Ramp is located on the Council boundary between the cities of Ryde and Parramatta. Funds for the upgrade came from a joint Council submission to NSW Maritime under their Better Boating Program." https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/media-releases/archive/2010/120210_new-wharf-street-boat-ramp-boost-for-riverlife-and-boaties.pdf?BestBetMatch=ermington boat ramp|3c8f701e-192c-41d1-b9df-c92ac23bbc06|53be59ec-f85b-495f-8ca6-37b1fb6d9dec| So I plan to write to NSW Maritime first and ask whom do I need to approach - after all they funded it. Re driving with coupling locks ... I delved into this just over a year ago with Service NSW/RMS/Police as a result of a Fish Raider discussion... and like you I used to tow with it attached for the past 20+yrs ... turns out its not legal and you may get fined. The police require the trailer to be able to be removed without any tools. Hence why I now only fit them at ramp and at home when parked. The full discussion is here - please read to the end. Cheers Z

Hey @letsgocrabbing, 1) crazy - I know it's a cardio workout, but I'm not sure which would get the heart pumping more: the cold water or knowing the bull sharks are circling. Either way, I'll do my cardio elsewhere - and keep an eye out for Mr Atlas Asia when launching early. 2) hmmm.... with the council amalgamations its now clear - Paramatta owns the problem. I'll start a dialog with them, but pretty sure I'll be back on here to collect signatures from other affected Raiders. 3) Unbelievable. You'd have to wonder what goes through their tiny minds. @wrxhoon1 said there are cameras in the car park area - I think you have a legitimate reason to request council to review the footage of the dates corresponding to your incidents - it's clearly a safety issue that some idiot is creating - intentionally putting people and property at risk. Once the boat is off and the trailer is parked, I always put on a tongue coupling lock, a padlock through the tow hitch and a lock on the tow chain. It's a pain and seems to take forever when all I want to do is push off but.....so far I've been ok. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers Zoran

Just catching up on this ... I have found that if my sounder (older Eagle now LEI) is on AutoDepth setting and loses bottom at Browns then it has a lot of difficulty finding bottom again. Switching it to Manual depth and setting a depth greater than the last reading helps it find bottom pretty quick. May be worth a shot until you replace the unit. Cheers Zoran

Nice fish. Great job. cheers Zoran

Hey Jerry, Yeah 6.1hrs on motor, so next trip is definitely out wide which would see me fully run in by the time we are back....and as for Mr Asia good luck - I wont be joining him any time soon. +1 for all your comments about the pontoon. I usually have a 2nd boat pilot so we can do exactly as you describe, however Maria has not developed her boating skills to the point where she can bring the boat to the trailer (we are making progress tho) and she is not strong enough to manage the winch... hence why Roseville and Brooklyn have been our favourite ramps. But we make it work whereever. +1 for comments regarding the tree and kerb.... clearly no boatie in that council department. I will take a drive to check out the other ramps as fall back thanks - it's been many years since I last visited them. From memory most of then needed a 2nd pilot to work hence why we never used them. And -1 for the proposed developments ...I know we need more housing in sydney but without additional public transport the extra traffic will be horrendous....the parking non-existant. Cheers Z

Hey Paddy, yup I was a long time NP pass holder -- back when we were regulars at Apple Tree bay ... but I found I wasn't getting the value out of it so I let it lapse .... maybe it's time to reconsider. Cheers Z

Yes he was fully clothed.... in his budgies! Still a brave man to paddle around in that water. We each have our own preference for fish preparation, with flatties I have standardised on a technique where you fillet and skin without scaling and gutting first (I posted a video in the kitchen previously with lots of commentary from FRs on their fav techniques), but with that technique I find you do need to quick rinse the fillets to remove the slime and body juices - fresh brine from out wide 👌 .... But regardless if you prefer to scale/gut rinse in fresh ... it's impossible to do with one hand pushing down on the tap valve. It's clear in this case the council wants to deter this activity while stating they have provided what is necessary (fresh water and a table). Cheers Z

Oh sorry to hear Paddy... I'm now glad I didn't push out to 12mile. Fortunately there was just enough run to keep us going around the reefs. Roseville was my go to ramp to head offshore as it was closer to the heads and hence less fuel used with the old 2 stroke even though its a bugger of a drive from my place and has the $8 parking fee. But with the 4stroke being so efficient, and Ermo being only 20-25min drive with free parking, its probably going to become my launch point going forward. Ermo ramp is ok to launch (watch the river cat !) - bit weird how they designed it so that you can't walk the boat to the trailer like you can at Roseville. IMO both Roseville and Ermo have crap fish cleaning facility compared to Parsley Bay Brooklyn. Cheers Z

Thanks Sam. We fished one rod each with the hybrid and another rod each with a 2hook paternoster, SP jerk shad on top hook, pillie or squid bait second hook and a sinker jig on the bottom. Maria's big marbled flattie and a few of the others were caught on the sinker jig. The hybrid accounted for the big bluespot and the mowie. The rest were on the paternoster and mainly on the SP jerk shads ... very few keepers were on the bait but most of the juvenile throw backs were on the bait. Regarding the swimmer... agree they had to be steel ... brass ones would have definitely frozen off ...hahaha Cheers Z

Couldn't be happier mate .... its a beast ! Cheers Z

Yowie you are 100% correct.... they are marbled not dusky.... been a while since I caught one but given the reef/sand structure and offshore they'd be marbled for sure. Cheers Zoran

Just magical! Memories for a lifetime there. cheers Zoran