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I spoke with the manager at the Warwick Farm store about 3-4weeks ago and he confirmed that BIAS are going down quicker than a lead suitcase. He said he would be surprised if they would still be trading come October. I'd steer clear of them as it only a matter of time til their doors shut for good. Agreed, its a shame as they had plenty of good stuff.

Its definitely a stripie. You can see the prominent blue stripes on the silver body. Albacore dont have the stripes and have distinctively long pectoral fins. Albies are tasty suckers too.

We were out yesterday in beautiful conditions. Trolled from the shelf to browns then set cousre NE of browns. when 10kms from browns picked up two albacore in quick succession. Trolled back to browns and started a cube trail going for the next 4hrs. Hooked up to 3 good sized (100kg+) makos. Water temp at browns was around 19C. We pulled up stumps at 2pm and started trolling in. About 6kms west of browns water temp got up to 20.8C when we got a good strike and lightning run. We called it for a yft but dropped it after about 2 minutes. That was it for the day.

I'll be out tomorrow (monday) leaving from Botany Bay about 6am. Looks like the last day to get out before some dirty weather rolls in shutting things down for at least 4 days Call sign: Sea Legend - Ch21

My wife and son will be interested.

Locodave I just sent you a PM with all the details.

Just got the boat back from the repairer. Very happy with the job. So good that you can't even see where the damage was.

Good to hear Ian. I have it booked in with GKM.

This is why shark fisherman use plate alloy boats.

Yes there are two companies in Taren Pt. I have my boat booked in with one tomorrow. Can you PM me the name of the one you used.

Can anyone recommend a person or company that does gelcoat repairs to fibreglass boats. Preferably someone in southwest sydney.

I did it in a beer batter last night for dinner and I reckon it was bloody good. I have eaten plenty of sharks they have normally been smaller then this one. I love the fact shark/flake has no bones.

We were out yesterday leaving Botany Bay at 6am. Headed straight to some marks 18km SE of Browns Mountain where they where getting some fish earlier in the week. Put the lures in the water (18.1C) when 5km off the mark and trolled for a couple of hours up to Browns and around there. There were at least a dozen boats bottom bouncing at Browns and by the chatter on the radio guys were being sharked every time. Not one single report on the radio of anyone out there hooking a Bluefin tuna. . About 10:30am we started our cube trail north of Browns and in no time at all we hooked a shark. More than likely a Mako but he didn't jump and just went deep and then bit me off after about 15mins. . We continued cubing for hours with a few more sharks harassing us. At 3:30pm the wind was starting to blow a bit harder and we said "last bait and we'll head in", and 14kgs of pilchards lighter. But no sooner had we said this the rod goes of and we were into a good sized Mako who took to the air a couple of times for us. It was a tag team battle for the next hour and a half gaffing the shark at 5:10pm. We were both bloody sore as this fella really stretched our arms. . With him gaffed and tail roped we started to head home with a 40KM trip back to Botany Bay and only 20 minutes of daylight left. It was a slow old trip and some pretty lumpy conditions, however about 20kms from home it settled down a little. Arrived back at the ramp at 7:20pm absolutely buggered. . He was 8ft long and every bit of 120Kgs. . Hopefully the tuna come back to play soon.

Magoo, One question, did you get the fiberglass or carbon fibre pole from Gary? I am looking at fitting a set of riggers to my new boat. I'll get the poles from Gary but looking at the Reelax Reef 450 wishbone style bases. Nathan

I think Dangas is taking the piss out of us boys! He has obviously googled those photos. There is no way a mug fisho has knocked up those dishes. Dangas gets my vote for Master Chef 2015.

I ve got a 22ft fibreglass boat in mint condition and intend on keeping it that way. As a result I always winch my boat on. The boat sits on a quality Mckay drive-on trailer but I dont want to risk damaging the gel coat. What I do to make it a little easier is have who ever I m with (mate/wife) catch the bow as I nose it in and line it up with the centre of the trailer to compensate for wind/tide. Once the winch strap is attached my mate winds it on about a third of the way just pull the hull straight then I slowly use the engine to power up the trailer making it easier for mate/wife to winch on. The trick is to let the winch pull the boat onto the trailer and not over run it with the motor. The motor should just lighten the effort used to winch. This method works a treat everytime and never caused any damage to the hull. I does take probably 30-60 secs longer but in my opinion worth it. Everyone probably had their own method/opinion. Hope this helps.

Thinking of doing a similar trip. What type of boat are you sleeping on and fishing from?

Yep I suppose it sounds expensive but you cannot compare a quality custom fitted cover to a generic one out of a box from Bias. The material used in these covers are worlds apart. When you have a $60k investment you certainly want to look after it and $2k on a quality cover is a no brainer. If your boat is only worth a few thousand I'd probably just get a cheapy from Bias. Custom covers dont come cheap.

Bias covers, you will pay for what you get......crap. I just got a custom made poly canvas all over cover made for my 23ft boat. It cost me $2200 but the material is uv protected and guaranteed for 10yrs. The quality and fit of the cover is second to none. I would expect a similar cover for a 16ft vsea would be around $1200. The marine trimmer I used is located at Peakhurst.

Thanks for the replies guys. The bloke at the tackle shop did say that the Trynos were stronger reels than the Tlds. But I often have difficulties in believing sales people.

I am looking at getting ready for the tuna season and going to upgrade from my Tld25's. I have been looking at either the Tld50 2 speed or the Trynos50 2 speed. They are roughly the same dollars but just after some feedback as to what is the better reel? And no I can't afford the Tiagras! Any feedback or opinions would be great.

I agree totally with Huey......don't risk it! From a law enforcement point of view, forget about the Insurance companies wiping you like a dirty rag if you have a accident towing a trailer exceeding the vehicles capacity. Think about it from a criminal negligence point of view. Hypothetically what about if you have a accident and kill or seriously injure somebody. A subsequent investigation finds you were aware of the issues and risk of using your vehicle to tow a boat at or over the manufacturers recommendations then the degree of negligence is now in the dangerous driving category. Such offences carry up to 10yrs gaol. My advice is don't be stupid and risk it. Either buy a boat that is better suited to your tow vehicle or upgrade your car to something bigger. I'll leave you with this......do you have kids? Would you be comfortable putting them in the back set of your car while you set off on Xmas holidays with all the gear in the back knowing that you are towing a ticking time bomb?

I have a F200hp Yamaha 4 stroke outboard that will be up for its 100hr service soon. I recently called into the Yamaha dealer who I purchased the boat from to get a price. Well I very nearly fell over. I was quoted $550 in labour and $365 in parts. Can any raiders out there put my mind at ease as this sounds a bit rich.

Launched at Dolans Bay ramp at 6am and shot over to my secret spot to grab some live bait. With plenty of berley in the water we had the boat surrounded with yakkas. In 15 mins we had the live bait tank full so we started to head east towards the Port Hacking FAD in a less then 1mtr sea with a slight westerly at our backs. Arrived at the FAD in 35mins to be greeted by two other boats already there. Quickly put the first live bait in the water and bang we were on. Landed 10 dollies in quick succession all going 70-80cm. Right in the middle of the action a boat load of spear fisherman jumped in the water which made it interesting navigating with three boats and three fisherman in the water all working the FAD. After about an hour things went quiet and the bite slowed to the point where our live baits weren't attracting any interest. We changed tactics and started throwing half pillies at the FAD and picked up another 2 quality fish but it was slow going. Decided to troll back in and set a spread of lures and the Pakula witchdoctor teaser. Picked up another 80cm dolly on a small pink Pakula Uzi skirt and two stripe tuna. Water temp at the FAD was 23.5' , there was a slight southerly current running. So all in all it was a very productive day. Great feed and great conditions. Sorry no pics.

Mate I spent a couple of months shopping around and was quoted anywhere from $2500 - 3500. When I picked it up I paid with the folding stuff and he charged me $2200. He also made me a cover for my spare wheel out of the off cuts for nothing. I looked at the ones at Bias and on Ebay but as they say you pay for what you get. The material and fit of this one is obviously far superior then any other rubbish out there.