Grantm

1. American Pie 2. Blues Bros 3.Im not old enough 4.dunno 5.Jaws

Yeah its just my view on these issues. To be honest im a bit of a cynic. Ive lost some close family members who were apparently healthy and died from/or have had the big 'c'. Me and my wife had had our own battles to overcome too. Once you face these challanges in life things such as dioxin levels etc do not scare, concern or intimidate. In fact they are almost humerous to me. Sorry to be a bit morbid its just how i feel about this stuff. Dioxin levels ? - you'll have to do better than that to get me worried. Life is too short to worry, just live it.

Bait ? Kidding !

Im still a bit unsure about all these dioxin levels etc, i mean its like everything else isnt it. Just add it to the list of things that are bad : coffee, alchohol, dairy, carbs,cholesterol, the air is bad to breath, there is cripto spreridium in the water, the ozone is shrinking, an asteriod is coming, el-nino, oh&s, tight undies, uv light, microwave ovens, bla bla bla. Whilst im sure these levels mean something, where is all this going to stop ? Whats next ? We will all end up living in a bubble. Chances are these dioxin levels have been this high for MANY years and if you eat these fish you have probably consumed 100 lifetimes more than the 'acceptable' level anyway. No point worrying about it now is there. Dont worry - be happy.

Mate im suprised your car didnt have a flat battery too ! You gotta love it when you outfish your mates while using sp's. At least you got out and had a fish which is always good.

Some good tips there and ill also add some others. My fav colours are pumkinseed and green. They are are my go to colours when things are tough. There is one very important lure missing from you collection there too. Gulps. Do not go Flathead fishing without Gulps. I have caught numerous big flatties on them when all else is failing and highly recommend them. A lot of people seem to think flathead will take anything and this is true to some extent, but i have experimented with this a lot and have flogged to death the same piece of water with all manner of lures for nothing and brought out a pseed Gulp for instant success. Catching LARGE flaties is another ball game. These big mammas are not everywhere. It is been written by experts that up 50 small ( up to 60 cm ) will school around one large female,now if this is true that means there arent too many around so catching them aint easy ! My opinion is that large flatties are a little more cunning than their smaller counterparts. Ive caught bigguns in strong current and also absolutley no current, deep and shallow too. My opinion is they are a little more adventurous than thier little mates and venture out chasing baitfish. Most of the bigguns ive caught have come from some kind of structure, boat moorings are a great start if you are in areas of no current. If you are fishing areas of great tidal influence look for the downcurrent side of points and protruding structure if you can find them and bring the lure with the current not agianst it. If one colour id not working keep changing until you find the one. Greens, pinks, and white are popular as is my fav pseed. Good luck

ooh let me guess ! Yeah i prefer the tinnies myself. Only because they are lighter and easier to handle. The Poly's are going to be softer and more stable but are also heavier and i just cant get into them. Not sure why maybe its just the look.

Mate thats a damn shame. Bloody finance companies piss me off ! Have you tried other ways to finance the deal ? There is more than one way to skin a cat. You may get the green light from a different finance mob. In saying that though make sure you dont bite off more than you can handle, its easy to get carried away in the excitement. Dont leave yourself short. Hope it works out.

Congrats on the new boat Sammy

Wow what a waste of fish. Surely someone can come along and scoop them all up with a big net and sell them overseas for a fraction of their worth. Certainly would clean up those pesky Snapper getting in the way of that swimmer. He cant be happy with that. Then hopefully once their all scooped up and gone your waterways will reach the high standards of our mighy Hawkesbury. One day Clutch you too may be able to enjoy what we refer to as our own 'private paradise & wasteland'. I feel sorry for you having to deal with all that anoying marine life.

Well we cant have that now can we ! If that is the case and keeping the Black Pig is the plan then I totally agree with Bashir. I think that a boat that size would struggle with outboards and would cost a fortune to run. Looking at the back of your boat I just cant see it with outboards. If there was ever a time for a permatrim that would be it ! It would need wings similar to an F-111 to get on the plane. Would it have any kind of resale value either ? I would look into repairing the motors and treating them like gold. Dont forget it wasnt really a fault with the motors so much so dont do anything to radical. Out of interest are your Penta's Turbo Deisel or the petrol models ? Dont know much about them but im sure they make both.

Wow what a nightmare Captain ! Doesnt sound like either way is any good. How much work is involved removing the inboards and modifying the hull once the prop shafts are removed, and also modifying thr transom to accomidate twin outboards. Almost seems cost prohibitive to do so youd think. Why not bite the bullet, sell the boat as is, and invest your dollars into a new boat. 50k will get you a damn nice boat and would easily do the job of fishing the areas you mentioned, especially if your prepeared to spend that on just the motors for your current one. Of course thats only my opinion cause i dont need a huge boat but its food for thought and another option. Retrofitting from inboard to outboard really is a huge undertaking be carefull if you go that way mate. Good luck i hope it all works out for you. Cheers

I understand your skepticism Mondo, I think we all feel a bit that way after some of the things that happen. But I suppose it is a step in the right direction as far as removing pros. Where will they go and what will theye do i dont know but at least its a start. From what i understand pros who hold licence in BOTH the Harbour and Hawkesbury will be bought out so there will be a few less in the Hawkesbury too. Like you say i just hope they leave the industry.

I use one as a travel rod and havent had a drama. Cops a flogging stuck in the car under a pile of stuff too. Have broken a few others but not the Squidgy. I agree with Hooky too, its mostly cause they get hit at a bad angle and not so much a defect.

Sorry I just had to laugh. On my computer screen the title of this thread on the menu reads "Essential lures for my arse..." Sorry cant help you with that !

Personally, I would say that is too expensive. $230 plus parts really means $230 in labour, cause there is obviously no oil or filter ! Now $230 for labour at an average labour rate of about $70 equates to over 3 hours. You can rebuild one in three hours. Go see Craig at Huetts in Cowan. Not a Tohatsu dealer but will still do a good job on it. Im sure he can beat $230 (especially once he reads this )

I heard on the news this afternoon the two fishermen died while rock fishing at Avoca today. Apperently a freak wave swept one of them in and his mate went in to save him, witnesses called for help and when the surf patrol arrived on jetski the two men were found dead. An absolute tragedy ! My heart goes out to their family and friends. Although it makes no difference really, I certainly hope they were not Fishraiders, Sydney Anglers or Sydney Fish Finders. Although there has been some friction on the forums and even for rec fisho's who arent on them, we are ALL part of the same rec fishing family and its truly devastating to loose two of our fellow fisho's under such tragic circumstances. If nothing else we must learn from this and take extra care when fishing the rocks, and to remember how dangerous our pastime is when heading out to sea in our boats. Remember what we can potentialy leave behind and respect that. Good fishing to both fisho's lost today in the biggest sea of all. Take care Fishraiders.

Ah thats makes sense. It will certainly be good with a front deck too.

Nice work there Buzz, Its a lot of boat for a 385 ! Never seen a center console in one thats for sure. I like it, very nice. One question for you, what made you opt for that size hull though. Would have a 435 hull added much cost ?

Love the handy work Jethro. What was that ? Would I like one for christmas ? Sure id love one !

Correct me if im wrong ( and i probably am ) but XD 100 is fully synthetic and if the motor is programmed right it should last for ages and be cheap to run as far as oil goes. Can you run XD 50 ? it cheaper to buy although not fully synthetic.

Picking up the new boat Now I have two and one has to go !!!!

I would be in for that, the whole system including the rivers have not produced for me yet, and i am determined to do well their if it kills me !

Thanks Kevvie, Ive only ever land based around the Entrance, havent put the boat in thier yet. I still reckon there's a decent fish to be had from the bank but havent yet cracked a productive spot.

Nice one Kevvie. Good to here there are still some decent fish in their after the flogging its been copping. I seem to still struggle their unable to land anything of a decent size. Mind if I ask where abouts in the channel you fish ? Cheers