Andy Loops

Nice work on the squiddlies! Great vid too!

ripper fish mate well done! what a great day for it too!

ahhh this is seriously on the to do list!

WEAPON!!! Some very well thought out mods going into her. Nice work Greg - glad to see you have your baby back. Cheers, Andy PS... I want that screen in the helm station!!! haha

Hey Ray you did really well to capture the same image as the one from the book - I have quite a few old pics of the main streets and dockyards of Sydney and its amazing the difference yet the similarities after all this time. Great work - love that the point hasnt changed all that much. Cheers Andy

hehe I can see the smokers getting a workout this weekend.. Going to try that beef it sounds really good - I have tried it once but came out terribly.. can you get away with chuck steak or need something tastier?

mate my kids love smoked drumsticks - cook a bit longer than seafood.. we make them a little salty in a salt water broth for a bit longer than fish.. there is a thai fermented sauce (doesnt sound very nice) but it is awesome and perfect for smoking will put a pic up of the bottle later. smoke flavour gets into the drumsticks especially the fatty bits. Did some pork ribs two weeks ago came out awesome mmm FYI - I left a side of atlantic salmon in a light brine for 2 days (got lazy/caught up) then smoked it - was unbelievably good. might try this with other fish as usually I only do an hour or two in the brine. PeterS - do you wet your woodchips before smoking? I have never done this but going to next time.

mate I got a couple of shimano backbones (15kg) and tld 25's - I have found them to be reasonable setups and they wont break the bank. Not sure if you want 24kg but even then you could look to the 50. have fun buying new gear Andy

ditto!

great report and nice work - love to see the finished product!!

yeah we called it off too as not too nice in that wind.. very annoying about the lures........

Hope you raiders find something else to do today!! As for me I am sorting gear getting ready for next weekend hopefully... Cheers Andy

that's the life!!!

nice work a great way to spend an evening!

Prospecting pays off! Cheers Andy

good to see you getting to a few - nice under those headlands when the westerly is blowing hey. Havent really bottom bashed around there as we tend to troll through - for not much I might add just a few tailor/bonito. how do you cook the wrasse? do they have blue bones?

Hey there raiders I know this topic has been done to death on here but wanted to put it back on the radar as its so easy and I know that my family and I really enjoy our smoked seafood and others might too. With the purchase of two new stainless steel smokers I have been experimenting with all kinds of stuff in the last couple of months. The big hits have been (in order of success) - large pacific oysters, side of atlantic salmon, beef sausages, bonito fillets and chicken legs. The not so goods have been strips of rump steak and kangaroo - just come out too tough but maybe could make it work with less salty brine and shorter smoking time. I couldnt get out for a fish this weekend so there were no bonito - the kind of fish I have been catching quite a few of and smoking in the last couple of months. Surprise surprise I saw some rainbow trout in the local fresh food ppl (NOT! I hate these places! ask Browney1 haha) that were undeniably fresh. I bought two for $7.50 and took them straight home and into the brine for an hour to prepare for smoking. The method is simple and by no means scientific; handful of peach woodchips (or apple, ironbark, hickory etc...) - I buy my woodchips from the local fishing tackle shop just coz its easy even if a little expensive. soak the fish in a brine (same for everything pretty much) - I put quite a bit of salt (about 4-8 tablespoons) into enough water to cover the fish. leave it for half an hour to overnight.. As a guide they say seawater is good as a brine but I go a bit saltier than this... take it out and pat dry, then I cover it in raw sugar (tastes so good...) a few drops of soy sauce and anything else you want to try. the sugar really is the key I think. sprinkle the woodchips in the bottom tray of the smoker - thinly fill the burner half full with methylated spirits you dont need much. stick the fish in and set a timer for 15 minutes if delicate flesh - this is where the finess comes in but as a rule dont cook it for longer than you have to. 10 minutes on the heat and 10 minutes off is pretty good for most things. see the pics below for finished product (lasted about 10 minutes before the kids had eaten both fish to the bone!) if you have young ones it really is a fun thing to do with them and gets them interested in what you do with the fish in the esky - catching them is fun but spending half an hour with the kids in the garden cleaning smokers and putting woodchips in etc is alot of fun too! Also teaches them not to kill what you arent going to eat something I am a big believer in.

I've been out with Jaimie as well - got a nice barra, a few queenies and wolf herring all on livebait.. top bloke. Small community up there - to have a local's child taken would have rattled the lot of them I reckon. Very sad story..

that is spectacular well done!!

where the hell do you put it in an open center console? I was going to keep it in my bright yellow safety cylinder with flares, vsheet, etc... take it out and sit it in a fishing tub when we are at sea so if anything happens it is free and floating and easy to grab They would have to be pretty ruthless to fine you for not having it mounted... its probably safer to have it on hand in the cockpit anyway. Pel you reckon you would really get fined for that?

Nope wont be going this year but doesnt hurt to watch the vid every night for a week in preparation... !!

Awesome shots - looks like a great trip!! got the promo dvd at home - love it cant wait to go.

enjoyed the show - picked up a couple of largish stainless steel fish smokers that are better than the brands I have seen in bbq places and around the traps in Sydney. happy with them and they work a treat Also picked up a GME GPS EPIRB which I am happy with as have been looking for one of these for a while! Was some serious hardware in the marina!

I agree - if you dont like the concept of mechanical advantage then arent handlines your only pure choice? I am looking for an electric reel for the deep drops but dont know where to start... Dont want to hijack the thread but can anyone recommend any for out of sydney - blue eye and gemmies? Well done on a top day out Poddy!!

Awesome report and pics - congrats on a successful trip! One more thing to add to the ever growing wish list!!!