big Neil

Fab 1, so sorry to hear of your loss mate. I hope that the hurt goes away and leaves you with fond memories. These devices are a nuisance in modern society. It's easy enough to have "hands free" in your vehicle. Neil.

He's just a salesman with a job that many of us would envy. It would be naïve of we anglers to simply buy everything we get told "is the best", without doing some investigation of our own. There is a slight tendency for anglers to be a little gullible anyway, don't you think? big neil.

I totally agree with Troutboys' comments. Another major factor is having the right bait or lure to suit the target species. Big Neil.

????? Big Neil (feeling old) lol

A session to remember. Well done! Big Neil.

OK TC... nice catches there mate.

Ok so

You can service manually operated pfd's yourself. You need to open up the pfd on both sides and check that the stitching and seams are intact. Most have a light and whistle which need to be operable. The cartridge contains CO2 gas and should be weighed on (accurate) kitchen scales. There is a weight stamped on the CO2 cylinder...mine is 33grams. Provided the weight of the cartridge is correct it is ok to reinstall it and carefully put the yellow inflatable bits back inside. Close up the Velcro all around, ensuring that the pull cord hangs freely out of the bottom. You can keep a 'service log" in a suitable place in your boat /yak or I have written the service date in black texta inside my pfd's, prior to closing them up again. There is also a valve /nozzle which you can use to manually inflate the pfd, to check for leaks in the bladder. The original question as to how much they should cost...$70 seems to be the lowest price around. It's certainly not value for money to send them away to be checked when you can often get a new one for a similar cost. There is an Australian Standard which relates to the maintenance of pfd's which I am going to check, to see if I missed anything. Will advise, Big Neil.

Redfin react aggressively to dark soft plastics with red somewhere on them ,fished on a light jig head. If ur fishing for Carp specifically then bread is a killer bait. Take 2 slices, wet 1 then blend the other into it, squeezing the excess water out until you have a fairly firm ball of bread. I use the same bottom fishing rig but with a bigger hook (size 2/0) and cover the entire hook inside the bait. Cheers, Big Neil.

Good on him Camoh. Couple of nice fish there, mate. Big Neil.

Hi Archdog. Where are you fishing...river, lake or dam? One bait that works really well on both Carp and Redfin is worms (good old earthworms). Best fished as a bottom fishing rig ie hook at the end of the line and a sinker with either a split shot or swivel set about 30 cms above the hook. If there are freshwater shrimps in the water that you are fishing ,they are also good baits. Maggots also work well. If you want something different you can suspend any of these baits under a light float so that they sit close to the bottom. This method can be good if there is a slow run in a river and you can cover more water. Fish as light as possible and use size 10 to size 14 hooks. Good luck, Big Neil.

I was fishing on the seaward side of the Batemans Bay bridge and the wind got up and the king tide started to run out. I was in my 3.45mtr tinny (15 hp motor) and took over an hour to get back to the boat ramp. I had to rev up to get over each wave (head on) and ease off to a crawl before the next wave came. Relieved to get back to the ramp, my troubles were not over as I had to get the boat on the trailer on my own...with big waves and a rushing tide. I backed the trailer in and had to walk the boat towards it but slipped on the slippery ramp and ended up fully submerged for a few seconds...luckily I kept hold of the rope and after a lot of heaving and dragging, got the boat on the trailer. I had my works mobile phone in my pocket and it got soaked so much that it had to be replaced. The boss was NOT happy. I realised that day how easily and quickly things change and had I panicked, the outcome may have been quite different. Big Neil.

Capt Lukey, good luck at the Murray . I use matured cheddar as it isn't "flakey" and stays on the hook ok, if you just put the hook through, without trying to get the bait round the curved part. It's available from Woolies as Home brand Tasty or Coles. Let us know how you go, mate. If you put on a sinker which will hold bottom but also move in the current, you'll get results. Cast into the current and let your line come to rest at the edge of the faster water. This is where the fish are hanging out. Neil.

Luderick angler... I have a daughter at Wellington and have occasionally fished the Macquarie River but only got Yellas and Carp. What part of it are the Trout Cod showing up in? Do you ever fish Burrendong or Windamere? Neil.

Great catch guys. Well done. Neil.

I arrived at the boat ramp to find the guys from NSW Research Station with their 2 punts ready to head off tagging fish. They stick these electrical probes in the water and all the fish float to the surface. They scoop them out and measure and tag them taking note of any previously tagged fish. After ensuring that their equipment wouldn't fry me alive I headed about 1 km downstream so I could try my luck before they came along and zapped them all. Caught 4 small Murray Cod before they passed me and then thought I had a beauty only to find a dirty great Carp come to the surface. RATS! Moved around a bit and caught smallish Murray Cod at each tie up. After a nice coffee and Sandwich lunch I caught a few Silver Perch and Some Trout Cod, plus a few more Murray Cod. All fish were returned to the water except for the Carp. Not a bad day considering the very low water level. Ended up with 12 Murray Cod, 2 Silver Perch, 2 Trout Cod and 1 Carp. Baits used were cheese, worms, shrimps on 2 hook paternoster rigs with light sinkers. By the way the guys from the Research station said that they only got Yellowbelly. Strange that I caught no yellas and they got nothing else...funny stuff. Cheers, Big Neil

Some great bream there. Love the picture of the sunrise /sunset also. Neil.

Great report Meg 126...Neil.

Welcome Adamski. You can learn everything you need to know on this site, mate. Make sure you have a license and observe size /bag limits wherever you wet a line. Great Aussie pastime is fishing and there's some of the best on this site. Keep us all posted on your efforts. Cheers, Neil.

Well done Luc, nice feed of pannies there mate. Neil.

Well done Capt. Neil.

Well done Fab 1. I fitted plastic tube rod holders in my tinny...and that's a big help. Big Neil.

Do you mean monofilament or fluorocarbon used as a leader, for example? Big Neil.

Great report...feel as if I was there with you. Actually, wish I was! Big Neil.

Hi Pomey git, great fun redfin but I don't think they're quite as good as bream lb for lb. Still a worthwhile fish to target and not too bad to eat either. Cheers, Neil.