recurve

100m that's a long way down and a long way up. When I found cudas as 80m I gave up. Water was beautiful blue as you said. Also was catching huge Slimies off the bottom in deep water. Going after flathead today and they will make good bait.

Good policy. I like to clean the boat and my first mate likes to fillet the fish. We do have a policy of catch split no matter who catches what on my boat. Not nice to send someone away with no fish or bugger all fish. So although I was gutted I was actually quite happy as every fish he pulled up was a fillet for me.

Hey Raymondo, I was fishing in 16m. Went out yesterday as well but did not get on the spot until 7am so again missed the best time. However I did get 6 snapper. Not huge, no knobs and not worth a report. At around 9am when it went dead I went to the 35m mark and fished micro jigs. Barracuda on every drop, moved again and there they were. Lost two jigs, not happy. Went to sand at 45m and they were not there but neither was anything else. Went to 50, 60, 70 and way out past the humps to 80. There were everywhere. Every drop I was getting a Cuda. I had to tie 20cm of 60 pound leader to the end of my Flour Carbon leader so I did not lose everything and I was replacing that constantly. Back at the Ramp there were tales of blokes bringing in some big snapper from the 50m mark. I think these guys were bottom bouncing. Using Micro Jigs I was getting hit on the way down and up. At the 60m mark I caught the biggest Cuda I have ever seen and I thought I was in on a Red. Was so gutted when it came up a Cuda and my leader was shredded. Threw in the towel and headed back after that. Beautiful day on the water. Came across dolphins and had two whales come close to the boat. Great day to be out.

Took the dog for a walk along the beach at 2.30pm and conditions did not look great but they looked pretty good, or good enough. Plan was to anchor at a spot I had a hunch about so decided to get everything ready. Got to the ramp at 4.30pm and waited for my first mate.....Bugger the wind had picked up, it was not too good. Only one other boat was out, never a good sign. We both agreed that if we went out we were confident we would have a session, so the call was made and we launched. Wow, she was rougher then she looked alright. Very short and very deep sloppy top water. Anchored up and let a lot of rope out to try and make it comfy and ensure we would hold. Have to say I nailed it. Got us Starboard facing the structure we were targeting and on the right side of it to the current. Set the burley up and began. Now here is the funny thing, actually very upsetting. We both have similar gear, used the same weight jig heads and the same lures and fished the same style.....I got Down Troud today. Can't believe it!. It's almost as upsetting to me as The Donald winning the presidency. That's never happened to me on my own boat. It's normally me catching and everyone wondering what I am doing different. Not today though. My first mate struck and schooled me. He even caught a big brown Cod, beautiful looking thing. It is back on the reef unharmed. However I did mark the spot, and got us bang on and it was my gut that decided that this would be a good spot to try. Love it when a plan come together, love it more if I am hooking up. Anyway we brought 7 snapper back, of which 4 were a good size. Unfortunately the lightning came and big walls of rain were coming down the coast right for us so we pulled up early at 7pm and missed the best of the evening, I am sure that if we stayed I would have clawed back. Got back to ramp and outta there straight home. Going out again tomorrow as I have another hunch about a place and a technique to try. If you don't see a report by Friday, you know I failed. Thanks Sorry no photos as was very rocky and we left in a big hurry.

Thanks guys, I lowered it and it is definitely better. Was so sloppy and jostly on the water today i did not get a chance to really play. Tomorrow I am out again though. Thanks heaps for the advice. On the right track now.

The lighter rating the rod the better action it will impart on the lighter jigs. I can use a 45g jig on the black but i get much better action from the blue on this size and imagine the red and green would be even better. I find 60g + is better on the Black and 80g - 100g feels nice. Have not gone heavier yet as not needed to.

We used to anchor on the swimming beach at Clontarf beach. Always boats pulled up there and kids got a real buzz, Just make sure your anchor and chain does not take out any kids running around. Would make a nasty stubbed tow injury.

The manual is pretty good and easy to follow. However I followed the manual to the letter with my install and my transducer works really well and I can be at speed with no issues. However my structure scan works really well on DOWN mode but LEFT & RIGHT is a mess. Wondering if I have done it wrong but I followed the manual to the letter and the diagrams. I notice in the pics by the OP his structure Scan is lower down than mine. Could this be the issue? I was under the understanding that you only wanted it on the edge so clean water hit it. Sorry to crash in with my own agenda but this bugs me.

The Webster looks like a good boat but you have to be aware that although stable they can broach in a following sea. Only go out wide if you have all the right gear and the right boat.However I would not be too worried about going way out wide. Great fishing to be had closer to shore. I have a very tough capable boat but we never go way out wide to the shelf. Plenty of great fishing inside the 8k mark. My advice would be to get a boat that suits your requirements. If your touring around then most of what you will be doing in inshore or estuary work, you won't be pulling up a new location and heading miles out. Fish your feet first. We have been doing really well, like smashing it with Kings and Snapper and going no further than 1k from the boat ramps. Fish your feet first. If your really into it and want to chase Tuna, Mahi Mahi and the deep water fish out wide then upgrade later. Seasickness is a rough gig. Not a good affliction to be taking miles offshore unless your confident in medication. The Formosa boats look solid and people I have met are happy with them. For 25k you should get a pretty good used boat. If I were buying a used Alloy Boat with that budget and wanted something tough I would only look at welded Plate Boats. Much less things to go wrong and super easy to inspect. Also bit heavier so handling better than a pressed boat.

Good stuff, well done Mum. I know if I could get my wife onto a fish like that she would be hooked as well. Nothing like a big snapper to get a thrill.

We were out on harbour last weekend when the cruise ship came in. They were doing repairs at the very end. However they did open it up and let a lot of people on the wall to welcome the cruise ship in. Not sure if they have left it open but people were fishing from it after the crowds left.

I have the set up now but not hooked anything on it. Got an overhead Gomoku Black with a Diawa Lexa Left Hand Reel and 30 Pound Daiwa Jigging braid. Have been out hunting twice with it but Kings have not shown up. Happy with the set up. Just need to find the monster.

I have seen guys catch good sized Tailor from the Corrimal Dog Beach. On the lagoon side of the first reef walking North from the Lagoon.

My mate just purchased the Lowrance Hook 5. He is pretty chuffed with it. You get a lot for your money with this set up.

I went through the same decision process a month ago. Wanted a rig for bigger Kings. Have been doing well on them and so far have caught three this season but none larger than 70cm. I have been using a Kaiten (Blue) Gomoku with a 3000 Stradic. But I want t target some bigger fish and in particular I want to try off JB. My selection was for an overhead setup with the Daiwa Lexa 300 Left Hand Reel. Major handicap being a left winder with overhead, the selection is very limited. Lexa has over 10kg of drag which should be plenty. I have paired it with the Gomoku Kadachi (Black PE2-4). This rig should have enough stopping power for good size Kings. Will no doubt come unstuck if I get a really good one but think it will handle 80% maybe more of the Kings I am likely to hook into. Have not tried it out yet but theory is I want to use slow jig lures and I love how these parabolic rods behave in a good fight. So much fun. My Kaiten with 3000 Stradic handles 70cm Kings very effectively, but still gives me a good buzz. Have been there done that with the big reel and broomstick. Much more enjoyment fishing with light weight parabolic rods and smaller reels. If you lose then it kind of adds to the heart thumping fun.

That is a great fish. Would have been a great fight, well done.

What are we looking at?

Yes FG.

Use an FJ Knot.

I have only cast Micro Jigs and it gets a decent distance.

We launched at Port Kembla. Very good bag of fish. I am sure we would have caught more Kings but my mate had a family event he had to get to. Yes I need to remember to take photo's. Never tried for Flatheads using Slow Jigs. Had a lot of bites once I started to really slow down the lure. Used a 20g Pirate Jig but different brand. Was very effective. Keen to try this in the lake this year.

Finally, went jigging today at 5.30am. we caught 4 Trevally and one Salmon. Then we headed for the sands and drifted with Slow Jigs for Flatties and managed to get one. Caught a small 50cm Kingy then called it time to go home. Agreed that we would do one more 10 min session at a favourite spot. Bang Bang, two Kings landed in 15 min. Both went 68cm. Happy days, there here, finally!!

With respect. You don't know what your talking about.

I use one as a squid reel. Does a good job.

This is illegal in Aus, No more than 3 hooks. Don't have a problem with that and I love the fishing scene here. I am an Aussie as was born here but family moved to NZ when I was young. I don't understand why you say it should be illegal in NZ? Why would you say that without knowing anything about it? . NZ has very responsible fishing practices and management compared to most countries. Aquaculture is a major resource and is fiercely protected. Fact is not everyone can afford a boat and why can't people who can't afford a boat have the same opportunity to gather fish like people who can afford boats can. I mean if it is in keeping with a sustainable fishing policy of course which in NZ it is. The other incredibly popular way of long lining from a beach is using kites (This is very popular) and taking out lines on a Kayak. It would be a shame to ban this in NZ I believe. Like I said, every family has the ability to invest about $1000 dollars for a Kite Set up or $3000 for a basic Torpedo Set up and spend 4 hours on the beach with the family with a good chance of getting a haul. As said before, not everyone can afford a boat so it's a great thing that can be shared by all, not just the middle class and the wealthy who do it as a 'Sport'. NZ has different values as people which, granted, would not be fully understood outside of NZ. Kai Moana is a way of life for many over there. In regards to it not being a sport....well I think it is as much of a sport or hobby as casting a line. Sure you have 25 hooks but it's still fishing. You don't always catch fish and you lose gear and you catch rubbish fish. You go out with the Adrenalin and excitement of fishing and as much time and effort is dedicated to rigs, set ups, techniques etc. In my book it ticks all the boxes. Understand if you disagree. But that does not mean it is wrong of NZ to allow this and NZ'rs to love doing it.