Paddy454

Thanks for the replies fella's. Still buzzing today and my left arm is sore lol. Will never forget the experience and keen to get back out. I,m really happy with my new boat Whittley Clearwater 2100 walkaround and seems to attract the fish- 3 from 4 outings catching. I was at Cronulla today for lunch and the ocean looked almost blue off the beach so hopefully the fishing is going to get even better. regards, Paddy

Well done mate, I caught my first also yesterday (post below yours) and like yourself solo so I know exactly what your feeling,unreal. I was not as organised as you though leaving my go pro at home- doh!. I got photos and video on my phone but only one photo was clear and the video was of water lol. Do you mount your go pro on the boat dash or on your head?. Once again well done mate and tight lines. Paddy,

Hi Raiders, Headed out this morning solo ,planning on hitting the Botany wide FAD for dollies. Heard chatter on the radio of some action in close so trolled only 2 lures being on my own. 1 x XRap and 1 medium Scent Blazer skirt. I had only got about 3-4 Klms out in 65.5 fathoms (120mtrs) when the Scent Blazer went off. Next I see a Marlin tail dancing across the top of the water and it had good size ,I,m thinking I am in trouble here on my own but kept my cool and settled in. I kept the boat moving and slowly cranked up the drag after the initial run took 200+ meters. After getting line back then loosing more then back I had it at the boat and then realised how big it was, I,m guessing 9ft and 120kgs and boy was it lit up,looked amazing. Then it decided to take off again and this happened about 6-8 times over an hour. My left arm was starting to hurt before I managed to grab the harness from inside the cabin and then I was able to relax a bit even moving back to sit in the skippers chair have a drink and a smoke before loading up the drag again and getting it back to the boat. I managed to hold my phone in my right hand get some photos and videos but most were not good as the sun was shining on the screen . After an hour I thought how am I going to release this beauty?. I managed to get it alongside ,grab the leader,put the rod against the transom and with my long nose pliers remove the hook and it swam away nicely. I have seen videos,watched TV shows and read on here etc but nothing depicts Marlin like catching Your First and experiencing all the things you read,watched etc. The talk on the radio was of a lot of hook ups on Marlin around 70 kgs and a lot being dropped or spitting the hooks and also a some Dollies of good size. I have just scratched one more thing from my bucket list and it was high on that list. Cheers,

Well done mate, Sounds like you had a great time. I thought you would have hooked a bigger kingie on the charter. Still a great effort. Happy new year and tight lines

Fair play to ye for determination moving around on public transport for a fish. Don't forget yer "long johns" when yer packing for Bonnie Scotland. Enjoy the hols

Hi Paikea, I campaigned for long time to council and the ministers before and during the boat ramp upgrades at Bonna Pt to have it extended further out and/or deepened. Historically it has always been shallow and especially on low tide. I spoke or emailed the Mayor,Mark Speakman MP, Robert Brown fishers & shooters and Duncan Gay the roads & maritime minister in regards to the issues. All responded but all I achieved was to have the adjacent groin extended to stop sand getting washed on to the ramp which helped slightly but not enough. The problem why they will do nothing as I was told is there is some rare seagrass there and it`s protected by fisheries laws. They had an option to build it in a different spot at Kurnell but opted against as the existing ramp was there. It`s a great shame as other than the depth and access at anything below 0.7 mtrs it is a fantastic facility. Maybe if more people complain something may happen especially with a NSW election on the horizon. I would write to Duncan Gay and The fishers & shooters plus local MP`s

Thanks Trung for the tips. I used salmon heads and they never got touched and since my missus loves blue swimmers I bought two at $24kg but did not have the b%*ls to tell her next week being school hols my missus & daughter will be out with me so I,ll try your tips

Well done mate, I was out last Friday and yeah the ammount of crab trap floats was incredible. What do You guys reckon is the best bait in a crab trap. cheers, Paddy

Thanks GeoffNo I missed it, a good read and photo. Got my wire traces in the tackle box now for next trip out. Just gotta get over this bloody flu!

Thanks for the tips guys. I,ll keep a couple of rigs in the tackle box and switch over if I start loosing gear next time out. Regards, Paddy

From reading all the reports the jackets seem to be on a commission from the tackle shops!. I do not mind eating jackets although I do not target them so what would be the best rig to catch them if that is all you are going to get? Regards, Paddy

Congrats mate, still sounded like a great time and to score the Hobie was a real bonus. cheers, Paddy

Nice one Norm. How far out/depth ?. Cheers Paddy

Well done guys that's awesome. The Hacking is a beautiful waterway and usually can find shelter somewhere. Tight lines

awesome session guys,good read and with the bacon & eggs sounds like a completely satisfying time. regards, Paddy

Hi Formosan and thanks for the reply. I did a post re the wharf extension and dredging and it will have an impact for sure. Unsure of their time frame as yet as it is only in the proposal and environmental impact study stage. Rest assured it will get the green light and it will take more of our fishing area away. Regards, Paddy

I found out that it has moved 500 SW so you were close. I was out at the Botany wide fad two wks ago and the current was pushing hard against it so much it was leaning over and hard to see. Regards, Paddy

My mate deploys the FADS for fisheries so I will ask him if he has heard anything. They do carry beacons so if it has broken away I think they can track,find them. Paddy

Bloody awesome guys, I am looking to get out a couple of times this week as I am off till Friday,conditions looking good. And to think you got these in my back yard!. I am going to have to engage you for kingie lessons. How deep do you run your down rigger?. Regards, Paddy.

Hi Raiders, Just received in the mail box to local residents of Kurnell from Caltex refineries Kurnell. Brochure ouitlining their proposed extension of the oil wharf,new mooring spot[drums] and associated dredging. With the extension and the 100mtr exclusion zone will take more bay from us. The project site also includes a fairly large lock out zone during construction & dredging which will get dumped 10klms out to sea. I fought to have our new boat ramp extended outwards to enable access at low tide and the council,fisheries and Duncan Gay minister all knocked it back due to "rare seagrasses" in the area yet when it comes to big business and large areas of the bay the "seagrasses" fade into insignificance. Caltex has details on their website including enviromental impact tatements etc. Lets hope the bay recovers from another bashing. Regards, Paddy.

This is a long liner that was in close catching bait. Rumours say they may have ran in to shark island then lost steering and got washed on to Cronulla point. The vessel is registered in Qld but had a non English speaking Indonesian crew? Thankfully it did not rupture the hull and after draining their 10000 ltr bait tanks syd ports and salvage crew were able to tow it off the rocks and away. Regards, Paddy

Nice haul of fish there mate. Too bad missing out on the tinnie though. The radio stations reply made me remember 12 years ago when I called up the tax office and asked what I got for my $6500 stamp duty On my house purchase? The taxman laughed and said" a receipt", I had to laugh. Cheers Paddy

Headed out to the botany fad yesterday with a mate,the conditions were worse than forecast and it was a slow trip out. Water temp at the heads was 21.8 and 24.8 at the fad. No bird action to be seen. Trolled some x-raps the last 2 Kim's and first run past the fad resulted in a just legal dollie at 63cm. Another ten trolls past without a hit so switched to flicking lures without a hit,the current was running very fast so we decided to head back in to fish from Kurnell to Cronulla only getting small pickers. Headed inside the bay and drifted the markers for a couple of decent sized flatties and a big flounder. It was hard work but resulted in a good feed each. Regards, Paddy.

Possibly to do with the construction of the new wharf/terminal on foreshore dve. There was a huge amount of dredging and reclaimed land going on. Prior to that was the trenching across from Kurnell to Kyemah(spelling) for the desalination pipeline and from Kurnell to little bay/laperouse for the power line. Next major disturbance on the horizon is the expansion and dredging for the oil wharf. This is what really peeves me off,all this goes on with government approval yet when I was trying to get the new boat ramp extended deeper at Bonna Pt Kurnell the gov rejected it over seagrass in the area. One can only imagine the seagrass destruction during the dredgings. Then again it could be the change from El Niño/el nina. That's my thoughts but maybe other Raiders may have a better explanation. Regards, Paddy

I,m in. Love my Shimano gear. Welcome on board to the Shimano team. Paddy