Grantm

Taking the missus out on Lake Mac to see if I can get her onto to her first fish on SP. Plenty of Flatties about so should bo good. Might see ya out there madsmc.

Cant believe you managed to pass up thoses good sorts to go fishing. Looks like the big one was 'presenting' You must not have had your velcro gloves with you to pass that up thats all I can say.

GDay Jackell, You can buy a genuine casting deck direct from Seajay, im sure that these decks are a factory option so you should be able to fit one in without too much trouble. Dont know if you going to need to do too much welding, id check with a Dealer first, in case there is an easier option. Check the Seajay site for options too. Not an expert on electric motors but a 55pounder should do the trick on a 3.9. MinnKota Riptide will set you back about 1400 bucks from memory. There is other options around though. Motor Guide and Minn Kota are the most popular with some guys liking cable control and others like electric solinoid control. Maybe some other members can better comment on this though. Cheers

Nice story Mottyman, like finding your dog that had run away. Im sure you and the young bloke will have years of enjoyment out of her. I regularly frequent Lake Mac and if I see ya ill say gday. Have fun.

Thanks Mick, If thats the case maybe a few signs around the place would help.

Went there on Sunday and the whole place was closed Where are you Paul ? Thought it was open EVERY Sunday. Even the main office was closed. Pitty too, saw at least 5 cars come up while I was there looking around and did what I did - went home. Whats the story ?

PM'd you mate.

Just got it. Capricorn 2000a $199.00 Good deal

Nice save

Thanks for the info guys and also for the offers of available reels. Going for the 2000 Capricorn from my local who has looked after me with price. Cheers

Trust you to remember that Ive come along way since the kmart specials and have a far better appreciation of good gear these days. I thought the Samurai was good when I got it but the more I fish the more I want. And yes, I need good gear for my new boat. Thanks for the advice Byron.

Thanks Nick, $280 wow, I wont say where but I just priced one for $199.00 sounds like a good price.

Hello tackle junkies, Once again I need a new reel for my Bream rod. My current Daiwa Samuri has has lasted nearly a year but is just not cutting the mustard anymore. Typically for a Samuri the spool has corroded, but the main problem is the drag is nowhere. After two or three washer resurfaces it just wont get any better, rough as guts. Cant expect much for an 80 buck reel I suppose. So, I want to upgrade to something of a better quality. Looking at the Stradic 2500 or the Capricorn 2000. Question is, although the Capricorn is a better quality reel than the Samuri does it have a better quality drag as well ? Obviously I couldnt go wrong with a Stradic but the Capricorn is a bit cheaper. Any ideas on the Capricorn drag ?

Iain, It would be a rare instance where we dissagree on most forum topics, but this would be one of those instances. Your claiming that Johnson supporters will say VRO gets a bad rap and that playing down theses faults is from missinfromation and scare tactics. I think that you saying ALL Johnson owners should disconnect there oil injection is the scare tactic here. That is a crazy thing to say and really only based on your experience and others who have had failures. This does not mean ALL oil injection systems are going to fail and there are thousands of oil injected motors out there that have served people well there entire service life without a hiccup. I will go on the record to and say that VRO IS often blamed for engine failure where it has been the leaning of of a carb that has caused the fault. I have personally seen many OMC motors have the VRO disconnected and that fault still be there because of the carby fault or a blockage in the carb from shit fuel. VRO on the older motors aint that great Ill give you that and it has caused many failures, but I dont think everyone should rush out and disconnect it. No I am not affiliated with OMC either.

Mate I think thats the million dollar question. You just dont know. Although having done 60 hours at least it should be ok. Im probably overly cautious with my advice on motors but its only because id hate to see a fellow FR stuck with a dud. I have seen it all before too many times. I suppose if it has been fully serviced, is running well with no signs of trouble, you've got as good a chance with that as with any other second hand motor I suppose. Good luck with it, hope its a good one.

Hey Rob, Just bear in mind that just because a motor has no visible signs of repair ie witness marks on bolt heads etc, doesnt mean it hasnt suffered. I can tell you from personal experience there is no way a mechanic can tell if there is any underlying problems from an inspection. I just believe that if something like oil injection is disconnected it smells of trouble and with so many motor options out there you can do better. Just be carefull where obvoius changes have been made from the standard set up. Cheers

Im bad to the bone baby

Hey Whitto, Weve got no dramas with that happening. Etec can run out of oil and then go for up to five hours in failsafe mode - no damage. How good is it.

Steer well clear of any engine that has had its oil injection disconnected as this has usually been done because it failed or has been blamed for an associated engine failure. Either way something has gone wrong and you should not consider this motor. Fair enough if you want to disconnect it yourself though, just dont buy someone elses trouble.

Good advice their... I always have my trailer hitch lock on as well to make seperation virtually impossible. They are cheap as. Its also good if you can climb into your boat from the rear without it being hitched to the car, and it not tip backwards. This means there is ample weight on the tow ball as Iain suggested.

I agree about the cold weather fishing woes, although I do prefer being on the water in winter on a nice sunny day rather than the summer heat. My expectations for a big fishing day in the cold weather arent that high so im never dissapointed if I dont catch anything. I try to stick to the warm water areas of Lake Mac in winter which can be up to 21 deg. These usually produce some nice fish on most occasions, where the rest of the Lake can be dead. Cheers

I have had an ETEC for about 4 or 5 months. Have run it a number of times and am very impressed. Really good on fuel and quiet. Like yours does vibe a bit at idle but only at certain postions of the steering wheel. No noise trolling though. Im sure you will love it.

Just a quick report from todays outing. Not a great deal to report but I thought id put one up anyway. Once again finding fish in here was hard. Seems to be that looking for warm water makes a difference though. Found some spots at 20 deg which put me onto some nice flatties to make the day worthwile. Also trolled up a heap of choppers one of which 36cm, and got airborne which was fun. Working one on the many weedbeds with BM's, I did get suddenly smashed by local resident Bream. I had no chance as it stripped line off at a crazy pace and busted my 4 pound leader with ease. This was a nice fish and delt with my efforts to catch it with total contempt. This was however my only altercation with a Bream today ( not counting the little guy which took an sx40 and was about 10cm long ) Anyway got a nice feed and had had great day on the water.

Onya Mitch, I hear those quiet back waters produce some big EP's too. Looking forward to some good reports

Pogo - Your a lunatic.