macman

Bigger worms will usually be on the better sandbanks and closer to the water, which is why the low lows are the best time to target them. A mate of mine wormed a city beach couple of weeks ago and reported that he got plenty of worms but they weren't big and he is a very experienced wormer. But he also said that there weren't too many good accessible sand banks. Matt

I think the little bungy near the handle is a paddle keeper.

Also a mate got fined yesterday for no lifejacket. It's a pain but they changed the rules 6 months ago for yaks.

It has paddle keepers on it I think from the pics?

I fish in a sit in, I do use a paddle strap but I don't bother with j hooks for the paddle. I would almost bet you will install them and never use them. They could be useful for portage in a sit on top. With a sit in you just chuck it in the cockpit or carry it in your free hand. Rod holders are probably more important in the sit on top. vertical rod holders need to have some way of keeping your rods secure and are hopeless for small creek fishing because the rods catch on everything. Most of the bass guys either use a single rod or have horizontal rod holders. CHoose wisely before you get carried away with any installs as ther is a bit to consider before you do any mods.

My advice would be to think long and hard about any modifications you make. Get it out and go fishing, all you need for bass is a small backpack and a rod. Maybe two rods at most.You need a landing net, Berkley make the most awesome yak net with a bungee cord and lanyard clip. Apart from that you need bugger all. In fact the less you take and the more you spend your time fishing the better you'll enjoy it. Things may change if you start using it as a more general fishing platform but even then try to keep it simple. Matt

I've actually found that the trebles are pretty good on these, mind you I haven't caught any really big fish on them, biggest probably around 350. Hook up rates aren't great but I think that's mainly because there are a lot of tiny fish that take a liking to them.

I've caught around 30 fish on the one I'm currently using and it hasn't lost any paint yet. One of the other blokes I know uses one with all of the skin peeled off and still catches the same amount of fish and another bloke has just repainted his when the skin wears off Matt

There is also a thing called a chatterbait which is similar but different, again its a cast and retrieve lure . Matt

Perfect

Google will help you, most of my links would be from tackle stores which this site don't like

38mm cranks are a must have. The other must haves are some sort of cicada. Soft Shells are about 25 bucks each. The Kokoda bat is about 8 bucks and there are plenty in between. The Soft Shells are brilliant and catch more fish, but the bats still catch plenty. My other go to lure is the jig spin/betts spin with a soft plastic tail on a light jighead with a number 1 hook. Tail colours are important, purple being the best IMHO. Spinner baits are similar but more expensive and bigger. If you wanted another option, buzz baits are worth having and a bit of fun. So in order of preference for me and the types of water. 1. Jig Spins, with a purple soft plastic (particularly good when the fish get hammered) 2. Tiemco soft shell cicada or other cicada style. 3. 38mm deep or shallow diver, chubby is the best, atomic hardz good compromise. 4. buzz baits or other surface wobblers, tiny torpedoes etc. (best around low light or at night) Whatever lure you use, the most important thing in the nepean is to get really good at casting, your lures need to be tight into whatever structure you are fishing and you don't want to put your first cast into the timber on a snag or overhanging branches that you just spent 5 minutes getting in the right position on Matt

Pretty sure its an BLAH BLAH BLAH Seak tandem kayak currently $540 new. I do a lot of kayaking, you could get a lot of fun out of this on the Nepean provided you get it at as low a price as possible. Matt

Nice fish, it was a huge tide! mUst have been difficult fishing there, nearly a 2 metre variation between top and bottom on Sunday.

Patonga Creek has weekend closures on all nets, check the recreational guides for details. It doesn't cover the hawkesbury in front of Patonga though AFAIK

I have done the same thing with champagne corks but rather than drilling and putting the skewer or dowel through the cork screw a 2-3 inch panel screw through the middle of the champagne cork and then you can just put the length of screw that sticks out in the chuck of a drill. Works really well especially in a pedestal drill. Matt

Sound advice, but when you need to really clean bearings lighter fluid is the go. Zippo fluid in a can is a must if you are doing your own servicing. Matt

The fishing in the creek can be surprisingly good for flathead. I've caught flathead on the drift in front of the creek as well. I'm sure at times you could catch whiting around there but haven't really targetted them. matt

Well done on a few fish. Don't worry too much about photos , we all know what a blackfish looks like. Some scenic shots would be nice though I haven't been to Burril for years Matt

The record for this site is 48cm by the bloke from Tuross. I personally witnessed a 46 cm last year, So I wouldn't be surprised to see a 50cm at some stage. There's been a few 60cm + bass caught over the last couple of years and a few genuine 1m plus flathead, still some pretty incredible fish swimming around our waters!

I never measured fish until fairly recently when I started fishing for bass. My best blackfish is 1.8 kg no idea what the length was. I'm still trying to catch that 2 kg blackfish which is the magic number for me rather than length. 2kg bream would be nice as well Matt

Yes, if you continually use the sidecast to cast you WILL get line twist especially when float fishing. Not a big deal if you use mono and you spool up with plenty of line and you are happy to sacrifice 10 metres or so after each couple of trips, but a pain if you are using expensive floating mono. I used an Alvey sidecast for years, it was handy when you needed to cast a float a bit further. Now I only use a centrepin and have just improved my casting over the years. Most times you don't need to cast far. I fished on Sunday last and was dropping the float at my feet and it was moving into a 30 metre drift. This is actually pretty common. But there are circumstances where you may need to cast 20 metres or so, its possible with a centrepin but takes some practise. Matt

Good on you mate, plenty of good advice given and recieved in this post. You will catch plenty of fish on that gear. Try to avoid using the sidecast function on your reel though, practice learning to cast in centrepin mode only, takes some time but completely worth it. Matt

They may have stopped making them but you still see them in tackle stores and until about 2 years ago you were able to buy them online. You probably make a reasonable point though Matt

If you can find Kaydees they are still a great option. AND there is absolutely nothing wrong with stainless self tappers screwed into half a dozen of the knobs on the bottom of the kaydees. The steel wears, but that is a positive, they give you just enough grip without being dangerous. PLates are only any good if they are low profile ones, preferably home made, most of the commercially available ones are too tall and bloody dangerous and a trip hazard. I've been wearing the neoprene boots for the last 12 months, not sure of the brand but they weren't cheap. I haven't had any problem with them so far, they are safe, comfortable and the zips are still in good nick.