DanRob

Thanks for the feedback guys, I have ordered a new one from daiwa. $25 + gst + postage

Hi Raiders, This weekend I took apart my Daiwa Tierra 4000 as it had become unusable due to a little bit of salt water this summer. It is a good reel and has suited me well but not worth what I can imagine it would cost to send back to Daiwa ( new the reel was $250) So I decided that I would completely strip it down and clean it all up with the help of Slinkys great post on the Daiwa sol. When I finally managed to get into the area with the clutch/roller bearing it was really gunky so I sat it in white spirits for a bit to see if that would help. I have read in many posts that you should never mess with the roller bearing. I thought I would ask the forum what to do as I am currently a bit stuck. even after the soak in white spirits, the bearing was still really rough. should I attempt to pull apart the bearing and does anyone have tips for this or does anyone have another solution? I dont really want to send it off for a service now as it is too old and will cost too much. I am going to buy a new reel soon but out of sheer stubbornness I want to try get this one going again. I have thrown in this pic so you know what bearing I am talking about. Cheers, Dan

Posted a report on this trip in the fishing reports section.

About this time last week I posted in fishing chat asking for advice regarding might fishing at middle harbour and I thought I'll follow up with a report. After dinner on say night went to launch the tinny over at tunks park. We cruised straight out to the spit for some squid but spent a few hours to no avail. A bit more time and research is going to be needed for squid! By about midnight we pulled the pin on the squid and headed over to northbridge get some yakkas- finally we can do that relatively reliably. After an hour or so there we tried the spit drifting with a livey but not much going on there. So headed to sugarloaf bay to anchor up and throw out some baits. We got a few taps but not a hook up. By this stage it was getting pretty cold and the early morning boats were heading out. So for a complete night fishing I managed to get a total of zero fish. Now for some sad reason I am still keen to go out, maybe not another all nighter anytime soon End of the day we had a bit of fun mucking around in the newly bought boat and started to get a feel for fishing in the harbour from a boat. Hopefully with a few more hours of lines in the water and hours scrolling through this great forum I'll have something proper to post about. But until then there is always another fish in the sea! Ps. Thanks Tom from this forum for the head up with middle harbour. Dan

Thanks for the great reply. I think I'll give it a go! Dan

Hi Raiders, I have recently bought a new (but very old) tinny and have been frothing to get out anytime I can get. Unfortunately there lies my problem. I dont have much time having a young baby at home. I have been thinking that one option would be to get out after dinner, say 730 or 8pm and fish through the night. I was thinking of testing this out with my brother this saturday and I want to throw a few questions to the forum to see if it is worth the effort. We would put the boat out at Tunks park and go from there. If I can get some feedback on a few questions that would be awesome. Here is some info about my fishing to help answer some questions. I have some light bream gear and also an 8 and 15kg setup. I havnt really fished from a boat much but I was thinking that anchoring up may be a better option at night. I have no preference to fishing lures or bait but I dont seem to have so much luck with lures and I dont know if it worth it at night (I guess I need to put in a bit more time). - At this time of year is there much about and what species would be best to target? - does anyone have any game plans for an all nighter? do you sit tight or try many spots, do you throw out a big bit of bait and fall asleep? do you spend hours catching bait first?. - as I will be in middle harbour can anyone point me in a rough direction? I was thinking around the drop offs at the spit but that is all i really know. If I do this, I am trying to plan it so that I maximise the chance of catching something. Thanks in advance, Dan

So a bit late for the reply but I thought I'd update everyone on how I went in Darwin last weekend. Arrived Friday for work and after I finished popped into the local tackle store to get some bait and just a chat. Everyone fishes from a boat in Darwin and the tides are pretty extreme so land based can be hit and miss. Next morning I went out on a charter, had a fantastic day at corroboree billabong with one guy gettin a 90cm barra, my mate a 71 and 55cm model and I lived up to my luck on charters and no matter how close I held them to the 40cm would have been generous! But it was fun and that was what mattered. The next day I though I would have a go off the break wall at Cullen bay. I bought some squid and local garfish and had the plan of throwing out one of these on my 10ft rock rod and throwing a few plastics with a 7ft rod with 20lb gear. I was up early to fish the high tide at 730. It seemed fishy but despite my efforts couldn't seem to get anything. I had something bite through 60lb leader (possible a shark) but it was hard to keep the bait in place as the water was moving quite quickly. I caught a mangrove jack about 28cm on a plastic which was a bit of a concession but overall not to eventful. After I got back I did a bit of the touristy thing with my mate and went to a wharf in night cliff. There were a few guys fishing off that wharf with live bait under a float who seemed to have reasonable success. That might be worth a try for next time. I think to answer my own question before I left, it is only worth bringing your fishing gear to Darwin if you know someone with a boat or are willing to put in some time and persist. Otherwise book a charter. They know where to go and have all the kit. Hopefully I'll be able to post a fishy tale soon!! Dan

Guys, Thanks so much for your replies. Fishraider is such a great resource. I am just going to take a small spinning setup and have a chat to the guys at the local tackle shop for land based info. I am pretty excited about the charter so I will keep you all posted. Fingers crossed!

Hi guys, I am going up to Darwin for work this Friday and have the weekend to try catch some fish. I have often read that it is best to just book a charter so I am doing that on Saturday. As for Sunday I am a bit stumped with what to do. Is it worth bringing my own gear for some land based fishing (ill have a rental car)? Does anyone have any good land based suggestions for around Darwin? What gear should I bring and what fish are worth targeting? I will be happy to just wet a line but any suggestions would be great. Cheers, Dan

We went out for an arvo fish, not the best decision we have made. left around midday and came back around 430ish. left from balmain where we were picked up by the charter and potted out to the 3mile mark out from the heads. It took a while to get out and back for a fast boat, seemed like the skipper was watching the fuel dial! As soon as we hit the heads one of the lads went green and stayed that way for the whole time but did not complain once although we could all see his pain. The water was good with the swell no more than 2m and the wind bearable. Fishing the bottom the whole time but all we managed to pick up was 2 average flatties about 40-50 cm 2 gurnards a leather jacket and a small nannigai. For a charter this was pretty disappointing. We kept on getting bitten off by leather jackets which was a real pain. Good thing we went with a bunch of people who just enjoyed getting out there, just being on the water made it for us. we know for next time what to look out for and hopefully we can get out and catch some fish! would love to post a good report someday soon. cheers, Dan

That weather is pretty rough looking isn't it! reckon it could still be good in the harbour? and would the bad whether scare off the kingies?

Hey All, I'm one of those regular lookers but never really caught much worth posting. I tried to remedy this by organising a charter reef fishing out of sydney harbour with uni mates leaving tomorrow morning. A few of us fish but most dont so a bad day could turn out a shocker! Unfortunately the weather for tomorrow looks rough and windy possibly getting better in the arvo. The skipper said he is still deciding and I know he will do the safe thing but if he gives us a choice what do we do? We dont know whether we should cancel if we can't go outside and get some good fish or still go but only fish around the harbour at the chance of having a windy rough and fishless day ( for the cost of a charter) Be great to hear your opinions, and if we have a chance of getting any fish! Cheers, Dan

No worries, thanks for putting out the offer. I'm pretty flexible during the weeks so if your ever looking for a crew i'm usually around. Good luck on Wednesday! Dan

Mate unbelievable , It's the type of thing I have thought of for ages finding an el cheapo and ending up with something like you've got. It seems so easy when you think about it but actually getting down to it and not getting scared off by cost and the never ending work have always got the better of me. great work! If you dont mind me asking, did it cost much to get all tools and materials to get it done or is the type of thing you can pull together from whats the garden shed? Cheers, Dan

Hey Mate, I'd be keen if you still have space. ditto about fuel etc. Just wondering what time you were planning on getting back? Cheers mate, Dan