arpie

Well done on some good fishing!! A buddy in a yak landed a marlin in his yak up there earlier this week! He is famous for marlin from yak at SWR!! He also got mahi mahi & a 10lb snapper! Looks like the mackerel are around now too, from what I hear! Roberta

Thanks for that Dave - I'd never bothered to check it out before!! VERY interesting!! I reckon I'll be looking at getting quotes from GIO (who I was always with YEARS AGO before moving to NRMA ....) I've printed the info off & will use it when regos come due next year!! Mind you - according to the data I put in - it says that NRMA should cost $488 for 12 months, and my 'revised' price was $409 ..... but GIO at $320 is an outright winner for my private use campervan - and the ute came in at the same price as well, even tho the camper is 8 years older and actual cost was $435 with NRMA!! So GIO still on top!

I've never caught a yellowtail yet - but I am also not targeting them! When the Slimies are running you can usually get them in the marina, along with herring (also off the breakwall with Sabiki jigs.) Squid .... very hit & miss. I've had a couple have a go at a diving lure when fishing over weed beds, but never on a consistent basis. Usually get them off the rocks at the end of the beaches, eg southern One Mile. Mullet & pike are the 2 preferred baits by most if targetting jewies on the wall. cheers Roberta

....It makes the boat rego look cheap!.... Get a yak!! Much cheaper & heaps more fun!

I've got a small Suzuki 'Carry' ute that is all wheel drive & no bigger than a Ford Laser & it was $435. It is a private vehicle & not used for loads (other than my kayak! ) $107 was MC IS Levy - ambulance, hospital, lifetime care/other services for people injured in motor vehicle accidents (GST exempt) Only $96 MCIS was on the Campervan Greenslip. GST registered companies can claim ITC (whatever that is!) Maybe we should do some comparisons of everyone's greenslip this year - cars & utes? See if there is any consistency? You must query it BEFORE you pay it tho if you think it is too much!! Cheers Roberta

yes, your driving record is a part of it too now as well!! It goes up if you've had an accident in recent months. Is your insurance, road cover & green slip all with the one company tho, Harry? If they are, it shouldn't have gone up HEAPS ..... unless it is something to do with Work Cover as well? Ours is a private vehicle? Lots of people may have a specialist car insured elsewhere (like Shannons) but have the greenslip & roadside cover with NRMA & still get stung? I reckon everyone should just query their Greenslip Cost anyhow before you pay it - it could save you some $$. I used to get 2 or 3 to 'choose' from a couple of insurers but now only the NRMA sends them out! cheers Roberta

Hi guys I just went to pay the greenslip at the NRMA on our VW Transporter Campervan & it was $580 ..... and I suggested that it was a lot more expensive this year than last year ..... and she said that it didn't have roadside cover & nor was it insured! These 2 items (or lack of) are now factored in to the Greenslip Cost (apparently) and if you get your greenslip from one mob (eg NRMA) but have your campervan insured with another (eg CMCA) and they don't have it on record .... you'll be charged BIG BICKIES!! Plus you now need roadside assistance as well or pay more. WRONG on both counts!! It DID have NRMA roadside cover, but it was in MY name as I am the member (Campervan Rego is in Keith's Name as he is retired & gets a freebie rego!) So they have now put our roadside cover in both names so it should show up on next year's green slip ..... and I hope that the notation that the camper is fully insured will also 'travel across' to next year's green slip - but I will be checking, to be sure! SO .... from $580. the price dropped dramatically to $409!!! That is a HUGE savings - just because I queried what I thought was an excessive charge!! Watch out when your next greenslip comes - and query it before you pay it! cheerio Roberta

OMG! YOU could Ice Skate on that, Jani!! Merry Xmas to you, Saija and the bub!! cheerio Roberta

Hi guys check out this LOCKRACK system for various items that need locking onto the racks. http://www.lockrack.com/ It works on a rachet system whereby the fattest bit of the yak is held between the 2 sets of 'locking arms', thereby preventing it from being removed, due to the yak's shape!! I'll be interested to read the review of how they go! I'd still be tempted to secure the front & rear by rope, to be sure to be sure?? Specially after seeing a surf ski STILL ATTACHED to the RACKS at the side of the Pacific Highway after it came off 'at speed' a week ago! cheers Roberta

I think you have to have the 'purchased' version of Google Earth to see 'exact' pics of spots in real time, Nursie ..... shame it can't be seen tho. Local photographer Craig Mason is taking overhead shots all over Forster/Tuncurry using a professionally setup GoPro on a helicopter thingie ..... check out his facebook page - East Coast Photography! Brilliant shots all over the place! Now if I could only convince him to follow a couple of the ABT boats & yaks .........

Hi guys Wishing you all a Very Safe & Happen Xmas and New Year - if you have to travel, take care & get there safe! Be patient in long traffic queues - cos you may find one here & there if you are travelling! This chap (Dennis) has a really neat way of spreading good cheer ...... he mows 'Merry Xmas' into the grass outside his place (and does Easter as well!) He is also a VERY good fisho, who loves his blackfishing!~! I often launch my yak next to his house & fish the racks & flats around there! We might just be having a Xmas Picnic there on Xmas Day - and put the yaks in & have a fish as well!! cheerio Roberta & Keith If you are dropping a line in now & then - I wish you Tight Lines!

Well done, Geoff & Evi! What a trip! That 3rd pic with Evi & the big male is a cracker!! Roberta

....how they can charge $30 for a Jackall TN50 when Kokoda G-Vibe knock offs are $5 !!!..... Yeah - sadly, because they can! Also, they sponsor a lot of pro fishermen & fishing events, so need to recoup some of that money, I guess ....they rely on the success of their sponsored fishos to generate sales for their products. I'll still play both sides .... mainly cos I am on a fixed income & just can't really afford all the top shelf lures, much as I'd like to I sneak the odd one in tho, when Keith isn't looking!

Don't give up, Poohbear - I caught my best ever blackie in December a few years back - they are actually around all year, so long as you know where to fish!! (Mind you, usually the same places you fish in winter! ) You may need to burley up tho cheers Roberta

Well done to the Marine Rescue Volunteers - Terrific effort and result! It is great to know that we have those guys looking over our shoulders, should we need assistance! My Uke group has played at a couple of fundraisers at the Coastal Patrol here - and we are doing another one in February - our first 'gig' for 2014!! As we don't charge to play, all money raised goes totally to them! cheers & Merry Xmas to all Marine Rescue Volunteers!! Roberta

Good on you Leo - shame about the biggies not reading the script!! At least you got one!! Roberta

He, he, Smiling Jacks - one of Swordies fav from years back ..... I've caught some nice fish on that front R/H side 'flesh coloured' ones (I still have quite a few) matter of fact, I've been busted off by good bream on them in the racks! ..... even after the paint has come off & it is clear!! The purple one is a gun bass lure in the NSW dams, too Plus I've got some crawdads, but never had much success with them - yet! Oh dear ...... This may be embarrassing - I think I have all the originals & copies of same!! Any other 'lookalikes' to see if I've got them too??

Good on you Mark - you'll know where to go next time you are over there! Roberta

Yep, I have the Strada Virals too (sugapen knockoff) & they go great guns on bream & flatties & whiting up here tho I can still cast the Sammy further even into wind! I will willingly put one in the racks and keep my sugapen for the flats! I put trailing hooks on one strada recently & brought it back quickly over the shallows & had a good hit from a flattie, so cast again & got him next go!! I reckon most lures are a essentially a copy of something else - unless someone is REALLY innovative & comes up with something COMPLETELY different - tho I am having difficulty thinking of one recently - tho I guess the Gulp 'biodegradable' may have been a huge stepup in the SPs. Most are often just a change of colours or stripes or brighter eyes - I am still 'out with the jury' re the UV thing tho I DO reckon the fluro (glow underwater) Berkley Shads etc are terrific on big offshore fish. In know of ONE big snapper with some bling on his chin in NZ! Blades have been around for 30 years - all have most of the diving lures - minnows and shads as well as all the topwaters/poppers - just in different sizes ..... some refining of shape - but the basic use of them is the same ..... Whoever made their lures 'hover by design' - now that was an innovative change that many have now copied - tho it is easy enough to add a bit of weight to slowly rising ones to 'make them hover' .....

....One of the observations I have found though is when the fish are on the chew they will take the copy's but when it is tough the originals will work much better ...... A VERY good point!! Thank you! I must remember that! Hmmm, Interesting theory on the price factor, too ...... any other 'copies' have you have found to as good (almost) as the originals?

...but i buy fake TT blades for half price..... Is that because you lose them to snags too much, or big fish (I hope) ...... I got a bunch of the real ones when they first came out & just haven't mastered them yet (other than losing them to big flatties!) Only ever caught on small bream on them (on knock offs as well!!) Yeah, got some lookalikes too - also Bushy's & other 'top brand' ones. I tend to use some of the knock offs in the racks, cos I prefer not to lose all my best (make that 'most expensive') ones that I know work well on the flats as well ..... why throw in a suicide cast, when you can offer a sacrificial lamb?? Then, if not getting a bite in the racks, I will bite the bullet & chuck a sammy or a jackall & get whacked & cracked! Yep, definitely agree on the hardware of the knock offs generally being disappointing .... you would kick yourself if you didn't change it & lose that trophy fish! That knockoff of the PX45 - I'd be prepared to give it a go - I have had great success with them in leases here, when the water is JUST covering the lease - bring it over the top & into the alley & usually a bluenose bream will follow it out & smash it & take it home with him!! (after thumbing his nose at me!) I've had Chubbys smashed and lookalikes smashed in the racks ..... I keep going back to Gulp Shrimp & grubs because 'they work' pretty well anywhere ...... I've got a bunch of knock off hard body cicadas that I'll hand out to my brothers tho to use over Xmas - rather than have them lose my Tiemco or Sigletts .... otherwise THIS would happen!! cheerio Roberta

NICE!! Out of interest - did you have to burley up to get the kingies and snapper into a cube trail and then drop the fly in it, or were you just fishing known kingie & snapper haunts, hoping they'd take the fly?! A lot of fun, no matter how they get there, eh? Great pics - great fish! Roberta

Hi guys As we all know, there are expensive lures and there are cheap lures. Cheap lures catch just as many fish as the expensive lures ...... and don't hurt the pocket as much when you lose one to a big fish or a snag! James Heddon is widely regarded as the inventor of artificial lures, when he was whittling a bit of wood beside a stream & chucked it in the water. Moments later, a large bass BOOFED the surface, eventually (after many attempts) engulfing the 'bit of wood' and the lure industry was about to begin! I still use Heddon Zara Puppies and other ' classic lures' as invented by him ...... some of his more famous lures are the Runts, Torpedos, Minnows Then, basically, others then started to 'copy' his lures & eventually he sold his company & it has changed hands many time since ...... but they are still making lures today, tho mainly in plastic now. So ...... many hard body lures on the market today can still trace it's roots back to the late 1800s and James Heddon. Do you buy the 'original' lure as put out by the designers ..... or do you go with the 'copies', which may be appreciably cheaper and still catch as many fish as the original tho not necessarily be the same quality? Personally, I use a mix of both - often depending on price and availability ...... just take a look at all the HBs and SPs out there - it is not THAT often that an innovative 'totally new' design hits the market, - many have been based on someone else's idea and just changed marginally to give a slightly different design ...... to avoid copyright issues. Take this one, for example - I can see that there is a 'bump' on the 'copy' that isn't on the original, there are 'eyes' on the copy (fat end) that isn't on the original, it is using different stripe patterns than the original - I wouldn't call this an exact copy of the original Ecogear PX45 - just a 'similar lookalike'! But some DO call it identical and get upset about it, calling it cheating? Admittedly they have added the 'whiskers' that really make it look more like the original - What do you reckon?? Similar but different, or the same? No product bashing, please - just wanting to see who uses what. Everyone knows that I love Sammys ..... I've tried some 'lookalikes' but they just haven't come up as good as the originals - so that is one that I 'stay with the original'!! I guess I'll have to try the PX45 'lookalike' just to see how it goes, eh?? cheers Roberta

Hi Jani There will be plenty of bream & flathead still up here for you, I reckon Jani!! I'll make sure I leave some for you! WOW!! McLeods Daughters - that was a while ago now - but I used to love watching it too. Yep, they are teasing you! cheerio Roberta

....I use 4lb braid on all my spin gear no worries for bass....... WOW!! That's really light, for wild bass? More structure along the banks - I know Scotty was busted off with a whopper on Sun - not even sure what braid he had on!! Do you always go that light?? How about in small systems where it isn't so much the length of the cast but getting 'the money shot' up under the trees?? Most of my casts were shorter than 4m and a lot of fallen timber on the edges for them to hide in!! Plus .... you are WAY more experienced at it than me! Yep, gotta love the soft shells! cheers Roberta Was chucking a Fish Arrow Cover Cicada (softie with a single hook that makes it virtually snag proof!) around this afternoon shore based and got some good bream hits - couldn't find the hook tho. Needs a trailing one, methinks!