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Mate try next to the Bundeena ferry wharf. Heaps of yakkas there all the time just take some stale bread as berley and you'll fill the bait tank in no time. I used to get them off the back of Shark Island but they are hit and miss there. I have never been left empty handed from the Bundeena Ferry wharf. As for squid..... I cant ctach those buggers for the life of me!!!

Mate I could not tell you exactly what year model it was, but he owned the boat from 2005 till about 2007. It looked relatively new when I saw it back then. Hopefully Webster have employed a new welder by now! He used his boat exclusively for fishing only. Nathan

A mate off mine owned a Webster cat about 5mts in length. He hated it and could not wait to off load it. The first problem was the welds in the fuel tank cracked and it leaked fuel until it was detected. The front welds on the port side cracked and it started to leak water in. Again took a bit to detect the exact site of the problem. When he contacted Webster regarding warrantly/after sales service he was extremely disappointed in their approached to him. Although it is possible that his boat was a one off lemon, his experiences alone with these boats was enough to turn me off them for life. It has been raised above that these Webster Cats "love the chop"....I would strongly dispute those claims. I was out at Browns Mt in my 5.5m Seafarer and my mate was in his Webster both boats were of similar size. A moderate NE blew up and when we headed for home he tucked in behind my boat for some protection and I had to keep backing off to allow him to stay with me in my wake. When we arrived at the ramp he was absolutely soaked. They are not a dry boat by any means. Think long and hard about your purchase.

I fished off the Great Barrier Reef years ago chasing spanish mackeral and sharks and we were using them as live bait. Up north they are considered a rubbish fish and certianly NOT table quality. I did some spearfishing up on the outer GB Reef and the fusiliers were seen to swim in huge schools like what we see our yakka's doing down here off Sydney. Catching them off SWR must be a sign that the warm water is pushing down the coast. Nathan

I heard from a reliable source today that they have been getting dollies at the wide FAD off Broken Bay to 5kgs. I have been looking at the water temp and see that it's only just nudging 20'C so I am a bit scepticle. I have never caught any decent dollies in water temp under 22'C. I'm not going to burn any fuel heading out for them until the water warms up a bit more. Hopefully sooner then later. Nathan

Trailer with an E

Is that next to the "Tooth Fairy" or the "Xmas Fairy"? Don't you mean "ferry" as in a passenger boat!!!!! What are they teaching in schools today.

Charmo, Dolphin fish or mahi mahi is a top rate table fish. In fact I rate them up there with flathead. However I like to eat them fresh. I find that after you freeze dolphin fish the flesh goes all soft and mushy. The tip with any pelagic fish is to cut their throat straight away to bleed them and then store them in ice. That way the flesh is nice and white so it presents well on the plate. Nathan

Launched the boat at Port Botany at 6am on Wednesday (28/4/10) then quickly set about filling the bait tank with some livies. After about 20mins had about a dozen bite size yakkas onboard so headed straight out to the wide FAD off Botany Bay. As a passed through the heads the water temp was 18'C and the seas looked great. Dead flat with a slight puff of westerly wind. This enabled us to sit on about 40kph and arrived at the FAD at about 7am. As we steamed Northeast towards the FAD I watched the sounder with anticapation as the water temp rose from 18'C to 23.5'c when we arrived. Started off with a salted pilly and straight away came up tight on the biggest dollie of the day going 96cm. For the next hour we used pillies and scored another 6 keeper dollies between 65cm - 80cm. Caught plenty under 65cm that were put back in for another day. About 9am things went quiet so switched baits to live yakkas and scored another keeper. Then things went dead and couldn't even get a touch on any baits offered. With that in mind we headed back into the the close FAD off Botany Bay and put a livie straight in the water. Straight away it was hit and scored a good 70cm dollie. Put the last livie we had in the water again and it was smashed straight away by a 75cm fish. With all our live bait gone I went back to pillies and nothing would look at them even though I could see the buggers down there following the baits back to the boat. There appeared to be some real good ones down deep but we could hook one. Headed back into a flatty mark off Botany Bay in 50mts of water and found nothing but stinking jackets. Returned to the ramp at about 11:30am with a esky fully of fish. All in all a great day on the water. Nathan

Went up to the Forster on Sunday (14/2) afternoon and fished the FAD on Monday. Water temp was down at 21.7'C but there were dollies in solid numbers right on the FAD. Got a rat kingie on a livie first up then started to hook dollie after dollie in quick succession. Ended up with 6 dollies 70-80cm mainly caught on whole pillies and live yakkas. Caught plenty of undersised dollies too. After about an hour the fish went off the bite like somebody flicked a switch. You could see the buggers in the water but they wouldn't touch a bait. Trolled some lures around the FAD and a bit wider out but had no luck there. Called it a day and headed back in at about 10am as the Forster bar can be a bit nasty when the N/E wind picks up. Sorry no pics as we left the camera at home. Nathan

Started the morning launching from Sylvania at 5:30am. Went across the Bay to the break wall and got a tank full of yakkas for live bait. Once we had enough we set course for the Sydney East FAD, despite the Fisheries website stating that the FAD was "reported missing" the night before. The seas were flat as a tack with the slightest breeze blowing. Was able to cruise out at 45kph so we were there in no time at all. When we were about 800m from the co-ordinates there we could see the FAD bobbing away. So the fisheries website is not always accurate. I know a couple of times I have been there when the current is ripping along the actual FAD is being held just under the water and hard to spot. Anyway, rigged up a couple of yakkas and in they went. With baited breath we waited and waited......for not a touch. After about 30mins we started to flick some lures for nothing either. Then tried some salted pillies for no result. There was no activity at this FAD at all and water temp was 24.2'C the water was the most beautiful electric blue. By this time it was about 8am, and we decided to troll around the close FAD with some skirts and then set course for the Botany Bay wide FAD. Didn't get a touch on the lures either. Same deal at the wide FAD, water temp was the same. Tried livies, baits, lures for nothing. Saw no fish in the water and none were jumping. Persistered at the wide FAD for about 45mins then gave up. Obviously the dollies haven't arrived in the numbers that you would expect by this time of the year. Headed back to the Plonk Hole and dropped down some baits. Got one good Tiger flathead. But in 135m of water it is alot of effort on your arms. So still with only one fish in the boat we head back to our trusty spot right outside the mouth of Botany Bay in 40mts of water and picked up five 50cm flatties in about twenty mins. By now the time was 11.30am and the southerly started to kick up so we called it a day. Beatiful day out, the water was magic and was still able to get a feed. Nathan.

Top is a Pike and the shark is a Wobbegong. Pike are no good to eat but the wobbegong sharks make great tucker. However they are now protected. Nathan

Mate of mine has a Diesel Ford Ranger 07 model AKA the "FAZDA". He tows a 5.4m fibreglass boat and you would not know it was on the back. He is very happy with it. Nathan

Mate, as long as it is registered and weighs under 4.5T GVM it is perfectly legal. If it weighs over 4.5T then it must be parked/secured off the road, which includes the council nature strip. Another thing to remember is you must not park it less then 3m to a centre dividing line, that also incurs a penalty. If it does weigh over the 4.5t mark then it can only be parked on a residential street for a max period of one hour. It must then be moved. Nathan.

Thanks for the feedback. Nathan.

Raiders, I'm currently doing my homework for a new windscreen for my Seafarer. The perspex is crazed due to over-exposue to the UV rays after 15yrs. The frame is OK but I thought what the hell, I'll give the old girl a face lift and replace the whole windscreen/frame. I have contacted a couple of blokes in Sydney who do windscreens but have never dealt with any of them before or seen their workmanship. Without mentioning company names, the first guy is located at Seven Hills, the other is at Milperra and the third is a mobile bloke from Five Dock Can anyone recommend a boat windscreen company? At this stage I'm tending to give my business to the bloke at Milperra. Has anyone seen his work or dealt with him. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Nathan.

Went out to Botany Bay FAD (close one) yesterday 21/2/08, in search of some dollies. Decided to launch in the Port Hacking as I've found it hit and miss with the live bait in Botany Bay at the moment. Went to the my usual live bait ground at the mouth of the Port Hacking and quickly gathered a tank full of 6inch Yakkas. The perfect size for live bait. Then ran the 20kms out to the FAD. When we got there the water temp was 22.4C, probably a bit on the cool side. Quickly rigged up the livies and feed them out. Within 30 seconds got a hit and a good fish launched out of the water only to throw the hook . Sent another couple of livies out that got hit by smaller fish. Tried floating out a few pillies whilst the livies were still out. At the end of the day the pillies never got a touch. After about an hour we tried trolling a few new Pakula lures that I got off Ebay. First run past the FAD hooked a fish that was just undersized, not much sport on the 24KG outfit and he was quickly returned to go and do some growing up. Trolled around for another hour for nothing. By this time the sea was starting to get very lumpy and mesy so we decided to head for home. So after all that dinner last night was steak & chips. Good day out as it beats workin!

If your after a quality bimini, not those cheap tacky pre-fab ones from Bias give the guys at ONSITE COVERS a call. They are more expensive then the crappy ones at Bias but thoroughly worth every cent. They custom make the bimini at your house while you watch, out of their mobile workshop. The Bimini is custom made to suit your boat and your individual needs. They can also incorporate a alloy rocket launcher if you want. I used them and their quality & professionalism is second to none. You wont be dissapointed. Check out their webiste (www.onsitecovers.com.au) and you can view some of their work/designs. Nathan.

Bait..... I'd be cutting it into thin strips, drop it into a hot pan with a little butter and garlic.... Yum. They make fantastic tucker, too good for bait. Nathan.

Well done awesome fish. Give ya a tip though.....you need a bigger chopping board if your gonna keep that up!

Very funny....but very true! 20kgs is nothing to worry about in the whole scheme of things. When you fill your bait tank up at the back of the boat do you think twice about that? I didn't think so. A live bait tank will add more then 20kgs to the transom and nobody notices the difference whether its full or empty. My bait tank is 70L =70Kgs and I don't notice a bit of difference in performance in my boat which is a 5.5 Seafarer (130hp Yammie) very similar to the Cruisecraft 550 Explorer. Have a look at the Direct Injected Evinrude 135HP 2-stroke. My mate has one and its a awesome motor. Uses a 1/3 less fuel then my engine, its quiet, heaps of grunt, and low emissions. We both run out to Browns and where I use 120 litres plus, he uses about 80 litres. Good luck with your hunt.

That photo in the article is very disturbing. A $2.4m dollar boat sinking like that........ hope its insured!

Just a quick report, Went out on Tuesday 15.1.08 to the Kiama FAD. Water temp was a little on the cool side for dollies at 21.9C. The good news is that the dollies are there in their usual plague proportions. I could see the buggers swimming around and following the baits/lures right up to the boat, but they wouldn't take a bait for the life of me. I was kicking myself for not taking the time to grab a few livies on the way out. Amoungst the dollies were some rat kingies. We caught a few of them and that was fun for my young fella, nearly pulled him over the side! Good morning on the water all the same. Nathan.

You reckon thats bad! In Dec 2006 I was involved in recovering 20 stolen cars from the Davy Robinson boat ramp at Moorebank (Georges River). In July 2007, 40 stolen cars were recovered at the Rabaul Rd Boat ramp near Bankstown Airport. The police divers said that there are more cars submerged in the mud still on the bottom of the river, however it is impossible to drag them out. In this day and age stolen cars at boat ramps are sadly a part of life. Us boaters just have to be very cautious when using them and around them. Gee and I used to use the Oatley ramp quite regularly thinking it was pretty good. I've obviuosly I've been lucky. Can't we just the car theives???? Nathan.

WISE ONE, I run my GPS antenna under my canvas bimini and it works a treat. No problems encountered at all. Nathan.