Grantm

I would say the Kix is the best value for money. Never used a Certate and for that price I never will.

Id love a dollar for everytime ive heard that ! Adam, that a load of bollocks mate. They have been running in the States for quite a few years now and have well and truly proven themselves. Its people 'not in the know' that make that statement and also people who know nothing about outboard technology. Its a choice between the Suzuki and the ETEC for me ( both have 3 year warranty for starters ). Cant go wrong with either but the etec will be more responsive and cheaper to service. The suzi is just a good overall package, quiet to run and fuel efficient. Also timing chain driven not belt driven for added piece of mind. Enjoy !

It looks like drift wood

I mainly use Vanish but use Siglon as well. I cant say ive had a problem with the Vanish to date with line class up to 12 pd, seems ok so far.

Minn Kota have now produced a new mount design for this purpose. Gone is the old steel plate on plate sliding design which was a bit ugly at best, and in is the two piece white plastic design which looks a lot better. One inner part is bolted to the boat, and the surrounding part attaches to the Minn Kota. When you want to attach it, it simply slips over the inner piece and is then pinned together with a removable 'u' pin. Its looks pretty good and costs about $140.00. Alternatively some people get a fabricator to weld a plate on but thats a messy way to do it. Heres a pic, they do come it white. Hope this helps.

Trolling for flatties is probably not the most productive method ive used but it still worth a shot. Drifting and casting with sp's with pull you more fish, but if you are on the flats with a reasonably consistant depth trolling pretty most types of bibbed minnows from 7cm to 12cm will be ok. The bib can dig in a bit and stir up some mud which should get the attention of any nearby flatties, but it at least needs to run very low. Run a mono or flourocarbon leader of about 1.5meters and about 12pd in breaking strain. Flatties will take most colours but pink, green and white seem to be a fav of the top anglers with hard bodies. Alternatively ( and a better option ) is too drift around your prefered flattie ground and try some soft plastics. Dont be affraid use a reasonably heavy jig and try some 75mm Squidgy fish or my fav 3 in pumpkinseed gulps. Good luck.

Clueless, Forget boat inspections mate, just buy mine ! Its in the for sale section There is no easy answer with this one. Buying used can be russian roulette. My advice to a new boatie is to buy something with some kind of warranty at least, there is nothing worse than being stuck with a dud. What do you think you might like, maybe we can offer some advice on whats hot and whats not. Cheers

Gday mate, Both motors mentioned are good so its down to personal choice. I would definately include ETEC into your research too. Dont forget Yammie only has a TWO year warranty I think compared to ETEC'S THREE year. Im pretty sure Suzuki have a three year to but you need to check that out. That extra year is a big deal. Like what has been mentioned for skiing the two stroke would be better. My personal opinion is that the new EFI two strokes will soon dominate over the more complicated four strokes and are also far cheaper to service. You dont touch an ETEC for three years, it also comes standard with a stainless prop. Sorry i cant really answer your question about a comparision but i thought id throw this in.

Sounds to me with all the mixed views that it is as inconsistant/consistant as any other bait. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt. Tell me thats any different to any other bait. Because you can store it, its probably not a bad addition to the 'bag of tricks' when things are tough. You can never have too many options. Of course you can always shape it into a shad design and pretend its a Gulp !

Great work Swordy id love to see them down there. Im going to try my best to get to the social and say hi !

To me its not about busting people or fining people. Its about educating people. No one wants to see a little kid cry, but you have to blame the parents for not teaching him/her that the right thing to do is to let it swim free. No child will cry because they are not allowed to kill a fish as opposed to letting it go. They will cry however if they are forced to do something that mummy and daddy said they didnt have to like in the case you mentioned. Most young childern will get more enjoyment out of letting a fish swim free instead of letting it die in a bucket if they are taught this from the start. Wake up Mum and Dad and educate your kids.

This kind of thing is so rampant it is hard to stop. I was down at The Entrance yesterday arvo and the shore was lined with people fishing, maybe 20 or so in the area I was in. To my right was 3 or 4 blokes catching one small Bream after another, and throwing them straight in to the awaiting Pelican's mouth - every single fish. Must have been 20 or 30 fish , the pelican was so full it waddled off and was replaced by another. To my left was to was a husband and wife team of Asian appearance with a keeper net full of tiny Bream in it. Whats worse is that the people lined up beside them started to give them everything they caught too. The bloody world has gone mad ! Doesnt anyone know what a size limit is ? When I first got there I was pleased to see the amount of people having a fish and enjoying themselves only to be heartbroken by these same hoards of people killing and keeping everything that was hooked. I didnt see one U/S fish get put back. Ring Fisheries ? Whats the point ! They should be F$%CKING DOWN THERE ALREADY ! Ive never seen an area so heavily populated with rec fisho's, surely they know this. A sunny Sunday arvo would be a great time to educate some people who need educating. School holidays would have been prime time for Fisheries or Fishcare volunteers to set up camp in these heavily fished areas. Reef Rebel, nice report mate glade you still managed a few legals. Keeping U/S Kings down there is common practice im affraid, and your likely to be tossed in if you confront them.

Just as a point of interest, the weight of an ETEC is not one of their strong points. They are only about 15 kg lighter than a Yamaha 4 stroke in the 115 hp range. My 50 ETEC weighs 109kg compared to the average two stroke of about 80 to 90 kg. They are the best though. There are 195 moving parts in a Yamaha cylinder head, compared to just TWO in an ETEC.

Mate ive been making some enquiries in regards to a 460 Topender and been asking the same questions. I am told by a few dealers that a 55pd will work ok, but for trolling they advise a 24volt 74pd unit. A 55 will drain a lot qiucker. With the higher sides of this style of boat wind becomes your enemy not just the weight, making the leccie work overtime.They sit over 1 meter high. Now bear in mind this is info for a 460 not a 450. The 460 has a pod style transon and some 40 kg heavier, so youd think a 55 would be ok but not brilliant for trolling. Agree with Swordy too, dont rely on it outside.

Nice one Swordy, Now we just need to get them to tell the rest of the world

Teflon, Yep its strictly catch and release. Its also barbless hooks or just squash the barbs down at least. Its also now 15 bucks to fish it which is a bit rich. Never heard of another dam up in Somesby.

You said it Diane, You've had to ring Fisheries for clarification, ive rung Fisheries, everyone shouldnt have to do that. Thats one of the reasons i posted on this thread, at least we all now know what the deal is. Do you think more should be done, or is it clear enough ? No one seems to have an opinion on the education part or Fisheries role in this. (except Ken )

I agree Ken, and thats the point im tring to make. A bit of clarification is needed for most people.

Ok here we go. The Swannsae fisheries office just returned my call and query from the other day. I had left a message querying the traps around the lake and also whether or not 'witches hats' were considered a 'trap' and whether they could be used. He said that this question is very common, as the Fishereis website is a bit confusing stating the wording 'traps of every description' is a bit misleading. The good news is witches hats are NOT considered a trap (although in theory they do in fact 'trap' the crab)and the normal regulations apply of 5 per person with all the details on the float. They cannot however be left unnattended overnight. Of course getting them to put up some signs is all too hard. Still, 3 of the boats I saw a few days ago were dropping actual traps resembling a steel cage in an area where there were another 30 or so identical floats, which they will look into. I still feel that its all too confusing for the average rec fisho and holiday maker, and clearer regulations are needed.

GDay Bob, Mate im not suprised you were not aware, no one really is. Thats the problem, they just dont do enough to educate. To be honest I really dont see why crab pots are banned, other than some claims that they may endanger other protected species. Anyway heres the link to the fisheries law. Lake Mac

The operation has done nothing to deter anyone from using traps. I went out on the lake yesterday for about two hours and saw in excess of 60 traps. This was only in the Southern part of the lake around Mannering Park, Summerland Point, and the Balcolyn area. I can only imagine how many in total there would be in the whole lake - hundreds at least. I reckon I saw at least 4 boats putting out traps too. I would say the majority of these people would have no idea that this is illegal either, and they may not even be from this area. Fisheries need to do much more than pulling the odd trap if they are serious. There is no signage anywhere that ive seen ( at the ramps i use ) advising locals or tourists of any rules or regulations. Its unfair to expect people to not use traps if they dont tell anyone other than the odd newspaper artical which tourists dont see, and by listing it on the Fisheries site. Ive got nothing against putting a trap down, but the law is the law and it says it can't be done in Lake Mac. I blame Fisheries for not doing enough to educate people on their policies. I have contacted them and told them of the many traps in the Lake but also reminded them that there was so many that surely they must have been aware and perhaps they need to do more. If they were not aware well shame on them. If we want to support a sustainable fishery we must follow the catch and bag limits. Not doing this just adds fuel to the ever building exteme Greenies fire againts rec fisho's, who they already think have no respect. Sorry if anyone thinks im being a knob by ringing them, but its this lack of education which spawns the same dramas as keeping undersize fish. People need to be educated. How hard is it to put a few signs up !

Ha ha yeah good on ya Kik'

Good work Phil, I too am writing a number of letters and will continue to speak out. I urge you all to make some noise as well. Come on boys and girls get involved.

Good to see you on the boads Tarki Imagine being locked of of 30 % of theses areas. Oh well, at least we will have 70% of 'mud deserts' left to fish. This is getting out of control.

To answer the actual question of which is best between the two motors you mentioned, the Yamaha is miles in front. In fact i wouldn't even say the two brands in the same sentance. If you have to choose go the Yamaha.