squizzytaylor

I put a couple of there Narva LED units in the tinnie Bucket They cost about $25.00 each from repco and each has 6 LEDS and an inbuilt switch in the lens, work awesome and draw next to no power. Cheers Geoff

I had a really good at them recently and they are very marginally less beamy than the allycraft/stacer/quinnies and as previously mentioned arent quite trimmed to the same level interiorwise. But they are about the best value for money I have seen after about 6 months of full-on research as I intend to upgrade the tinnie next year. GT

Thats a top effort Lewis, could you post some better pictures or email some to me please? That looks ideal for my tinnie squizzytaylor@optusnet.com.au Cheers GT

This works well with Mahi Mahi, Mackeral, kingies, jewies and pretty well any thing you can steak (cutlet). Cut in to 3/4" cutlets (about18mm) Sear each side of the fish on a hot pan until golden. Throw in about 4 cherrie tomatoes per cutlet (cut in half) and half a lime per cutlet cut in to 1/8ths some coarse milled black pepper and a spanish onion cut razor thin and leave with a lid on until onions and cherrie tomatoes are super soft and fish is cooked. Serve woth a greek salad. Awesome!!! GT

Hi Joe, I live on and fish the lake pretty well every weekend some spots to try. Eastern side of Pulbah Island 20-30 foot depth off the cliffs, Plenty of squire ranging from 25-35cm Wangi shoreline around to wangi point for bream Swansea channell for sand flathead between pelican marina and the dirt ramp. Belmont bay in and around the moorings for bream and lizards on plastics There are also 6 artificial reefs between wangi and swansea south (co-ords are in the dpi site) Heaps of lizards in the lake at the moment most with bellies full of row. Cheers GT caught this girl on the weekend on a 120mm squidgie wriggler under the fennel bay bridge. she went 3.5kg and 78cm length

Bob, can I suggest you get some how to votes on to various websites closer to the time? Also can you post some TFP contact details for volunteers who wish to help on election day? Cheers Geoff Taylor

Make no bones about it, a vote for labour is a vote for a marine park and the fact still remains that there is no scientific evidence behind them. As a life long labour voter this really cuts me to the bone but it is the truth. There is also an alternative plan on the MPA site at the moment for Port Stephens which I would encourage you all to look at and ask questions to relevant parties as I personally believe this may be workable. As far as the commercial guys go, they are a different kettle of fish all together and should probably be addressed seperately to the MPA issue and again as much as I hate many of thier practices, anyone who has ever purchased packaged bait has directly supported them. At the end of the day most of them are just hard working aussies who enjoy thier footy and a cold beer at the end of the day. Blame the laws that they operate under not them. The fishing party has the right idea in wanting to get into the senate and run interferance (like the Likes of Barnaby Joyce) as more and more recently many of these decisions are made with a 1 vote majority. I emailed Bob Smith about 3 months ago questioning his values, alliances etc and his answer were very plain and simple......They will support any party totally oppose to the mpa's and currently have NO alliances. Thier policies are even more simple NO MPA's and no more encroachment on the Aussie lifestyle. I have no association with them but once again have a look at thier website and make your own decisions. Im relatively new to this site but it is a credit to the members that these issues can be raised in an intelligent and civil manner without the agro at other sites. good on ya guys and girls! cheers Geoff Taylor

You could also consider a half-change to somewhere like Newcastle/Port Stephens. We have excellent pay rates due to the industrial nature of the Hunter Valley but still have relaxed lifestyle with awesome beaches a wine region 1 hour up the road and some of the best fishing spots on the coast. Now before anyone starts on the "Steel town" comments, how long since youve been here? The town has changed and will continue to change. The other upside, my house is 10years old 4 bedroom with Lake views, double garage huge native gardened block in an excellent area and all for mid $300's......try that one in sydney guys GT

The Tiagra 50 are an awesome reel but very expensive but a TLD50 is an awesome Fin reel that is also capable against most billfish. I owned a couple of these as well as 25's and 15's whilst working in PNG and have marked up many noteable catches including YFT to 85kgs and Billies to the mid 100's. They also only weigh a fraction of what the Tiagras do. Just keep them serviced and they will last for many years. While I had these I also had a full set (8,10,12,15,and 24kg) Fin Nor Ahabs and fished the TLD's more often than not, a very underrated and capable family of reels. Cheers Geoff

Motorbike batteries are excellent and if you want you could also go to the smaller gel-cell or calcium batteries which cant spill or leak if knocked. Best bang for buck= m/cycle battery. GT

Hi lasty, really theres 3 types for the average boaty mate; 1) 27 meg, great for close inshore and lake/harbour work where you may want to talk to other boats. it has limited range however(approx $160.00 with an Aerial) 2) VHF either handheld or boat mounted. Great for offshore work as they can operate on a repeater system giving huge range, downside is I believe you may require an operators license (someone correct me if Im wrong please) around $300.00 with an aerial. 3) UHF Handheld, for family communications and mates etc these are awesome. up on Lake Macquarie here I know of about 8 guys that have them and a 1 watt unit will give well over 6 ks range (mine has gotten 10) Around $60-100 a pair with a charger. Number 1 would be the most popular for the average boatie I would reckon. Also check your Marine authority regulations as you may be required ta have a VHF if going more than a specific distance offshore. Cheers GT

Ditto Ditto, there is lots of Taiwanese rubbish on the market claiming to have as many as 14 bearings but it doent make it worth owning. Id take a 4bb Shimano or Daiwa or a 3bb Abu over them any day. Having said that I'd be very suprised if Shimano didnt have a plausible explanation. GT

Excellent quality and very price competitive. Owned by the same people who own terrace boating(BOSS). They would have the best pricing on spares I have seen to date as well. GT

Assuming it absorbs the moisture therefore removing it , what then happens to it? Is it passed through the engine? GT

Unleaded is believed to go stale at between 2-3 months (stale meaning dropping its octane level) even a quarter of a tank top up with PULP will get it back to normal. Whilst it may not be greatly noticeable the stale fuel can cause detonation and the engine may use extra fuel and in extreme cases cause engine damage. GT

My opinion Barry, buy a new motor, many people I have known have bought second hand and had issues and for someone that is not mechanical it can equate to a long row home. As for the motor size I would have thought that a 15 may be overkill but without knowing the boats weight its a little hard to say. The pricing would come down to production numbers as most manufacturers would sell ten 15hp's to about one 10hp. Quality these days is much of a muchness really allthough there are some "unknown quantities " on ebay. GT

Hi Stan, have a look at the Eagle Cuda 250. It is an entry level gps/sounder combo with inbuilt mapping (lacking a little definition on the mapping side) and retails for around $530.00. Ive had mine for about 6 months now and cant fault it. I previously had a $400.00 navman sounder and there is no comparison between the two the eagle wins hands down. Have been out on lake macquarie and the unit will follow a single chook pellet to the 30 foot bottom. Which is ironically more about pixel size not resolution. For the dollars they are excellent. the only drawback I can find is that they do not interface with a pc however I bought a spare power cable so I can program away from the boat. Many people I have out in the boat have been blown away by the unit. Im not saying its the best available but its well worth a look Ill get a couple of screen shots over the weekend and post them. Cheers Geoff Taylor