recurve

Nice catch Krispy, Still waiting for my first King of the season. Jigging away to no avail. It will happen this Sunday I am sure of it.

They are good for casting micro jigs but no good for plastics. Never tried with bait. Better rods for bait fishing in my opinion.

Rule #1 Don't buy a boat without your partners consent......whoops!! I did the same thing and I thought I was very clever at the time, but, the long game is one that they are better at. From my experience advice I can give would be. 1) Make a launch procedure list and laminate it so it lives in the boat. Always refer to this list until you have a routine locked in. You can save yourself a lot of trouble having this list. When I purchased my boat new the dealer provided a list. 2) Make sure you have all the saftey equipment. First Aid kits, V Sheets, Torches, Flares, Epirbs etc 3) Practice your trim. Best to learn trimming the boat properly in calm water. Don't want to be learning the effects of trim in a large following sea. Also practice your out of the hole trim settings 4) Always go out with 3x the fuel you will need. 5) Always wear your lifejacket 6) Show your crew the saftety gear and how to start and drive the boat. 7) Practice launching and retrieving yourself on calm days. You never know when you will be in a position where you are on your own. Planned or unplanned. 8) Never tie your Anchor off to any part of the boat other than the bow. Dodgy electrics are a no go. Definitely sort that out. Can be expensive though. I have a plate boat around the same size. I will go out in 2m or under. This depends on the distance between swells and direction. i.e where I am a Southerly Swell is always messier. Wind; I aim for under 10 knots or if one is lower i.e. .8m Swell I will go out in 12 knots. But depends on what sort of fishing you want to do. Anchoring and burleying then can be very windy and no worries but windy and swelly it's not fun. Plastics or botom bouncing and lots of wind are no fun as you drift to fast but bigger swell and low wind not so bad. You just need to choose the days and get confidence. Oh one more for the list 9) New boat you want to go for it but remember your crew may not like the ride. They don't have the wheel so take it easy on them. 10) If your partner is not into boating or is new to it then don't take her out on a learning mission or too far or too rough etc. You may frighten her. Take her to a lake or a harbour where you have been before and concentrate on the lifestyle aspect of boating. Make sure she thinks boats are the best. A wifey who likes your boat is a wifey who also wants to spend money on your boat. I had three long hard years in terms of boating when I decided to apologise rather than ask. And I made the mistake of giving her a fright in big swell and getting her seasick. Dumbass!!

Yes it is. Just meant to show that Snapper also graze the sands off beaches but the only effective way to catch them off beaches that I have seen is long lines.

It's not fishing no. But it is fun!!

I know, it's an insane way to fish. People get really into it and hook up the winches and Torpedos to Quad Bikes. Very exciting pulling it in. Best I have done is 12 Snapper on a 25 hook rig. Kids go mental, the excitement is total overload for them, You can hire them as well, no license or anything like that needed. A lot of hire shops have them.

It is really good, Get the Stainless Steel Wanderer smoker from BCF. Only need the basic one, cost me about $60.00. Open up the salmon from gut to spine so you have a butterflied salmon with hinge as the top fin line. Pour salt over flesh, lots of salt. Sprinkle lots of brown sugar into the flesh, lots of brown sugar Rub salt and sugar into flesh Cover and leave in fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight (I always do 2 hours) Take out and drain off the moisture or dab it off with paper towels. Fill Meth trays to the brim and light. Get smoker going and wait for smoke to start Put fish on tray and close lit. Large fish 17min Med Fish 14min Or just smoke until it is soft and you can press the spine down and all the flesh flexes. You over cook it you ruin it. You want it just just just cooked. It is very good. I have done for people and they have been blown away. We make Kedgeree, Fish Dip, fish cakes or we remove from carcass when cold and break up into small boneless pieces chop up Dill and capers and red onion (Optional) then add BEST Mayo salt and pepper. Put that on some sourdough with Cucumber and Tomato. We love it. But we are Kiwis and smoked Salmon/Kahawai is well liked. You can get it butterflied and smoked like this at supermarkets in NZ. Try it. Done correctly it is not dry or bitter. It is very soft and very moist.

Noticed another three father and son teams out today. Great opportunity to take the day off and get some one on one.

Went jigging for Kings on Sunday but alas, no kings. But we did get by-catch of 5 Salmon/ Largest was 65cm which was a whopper. We were on light gear so had some real fun. (Yes we chase Kings on light gear as we can get them over sand so we have a good chance still) After the Salmon action went away we went squidding and caught 4. Pretty slow day. Today I took the young guy out and as he does not like winding from 50m we kept it shallow. Lost a pile of gear to Leather Jackets and the wind picked up so we decided to chase Squid. Kids love chasing squid. We got three but dad dropped one so we got two...."Nice one Dad!!!" Boy was not amused. Then we went for the "Lets go fast" did that for 15 - 20 min. Decided to try and troll for Kings for a couple of passes but nothing and then anchored up and put a burley block out on the surface. My tip for when taking kids out is always take burley. They don't really care what they catch as long as they catch. As planned the Slimys turned up. Single hook on end of line with strip of squid had the young man in hero mode. . Happy days. Then a Seal came and spoilt the party.....but then he left. Then the young mans Kwells must have worn off as he got the sickness. That was the end of it. Great day on the water with my son. Really enjoyed it and really knackered now.

Thanks, they put up a good fight and I have perfected the art of smoking them so I am very happy to see Salmon on board. That would work. By the time you launched and got the fish there should be a layer of water which would insulate against the ice. Agree.

Well done. Spent 4 hours on Sunday chasing them but only got Salmon. Patiently waiting for my rod to buckle and my heart to go THUMP!

We run a pretty simple system. 3 - 4 bottles of frozen water, pour in water to make a slurry. Fish go in the slurry. Back at ramp, fish come out of slurry for filleting and then fillets go back into slurry. However. Sunday just gone we were jigging for Kings with plastics and ended up catching 5 big salmon. Biggest was 65cm. We put them in the bin and cut their throats to avoid the blood splatter. Back at Ramp 5 hours later the water was so so bloody. Poured out all the water put more water in. Processed all the fish and squid and put them back in the Esky. Water went cold again in no time. The bottles are magic. Also I have never had issues with bottles freezing fish. The outside layer melts so the fish are never in direct contact with ice. If you are running a dry system then yes they will freeze when they touch a bottle. As said before the water gets very very cold.

Bellambi Reef could be reached with a drone. Reckon you would catch a lot of sergeant baker and sweep before you get a snapper. Be better trying for Salmon and Jews behind deep gutters on surf beaches. Dropping on to reefs from shore I would think will get you snagged a lot as well. I used to do some fishing with a torpedo. We would point it into the waves, set 25 hooks and send it out a 1 or 2 kilometers off a surf beach. Wait for 2 hours then haul it in on a winch of sorts. Caught Snapper, Gurnard, Gummy Sharks. Snapper don't just live on reefs. They like a dig around in the sand as well. This video is proof that you can get them off surf beaches. You never seem to catch them off surf beaches in boats but on rigs like this set for a couple of hours you get them and you can do well. This is NZ styles but I reckon the fish here will forage along sand. I would try it off beaches rather then reefs and leave it out for ages. You need the special long line hooks . Picture attached

Exactly, when on the water and in distress there is not time for miss - communication. However, pretty sure If I had seen you and it was obvious that you were in strife I would have helped. "People like you" Really??......

You perceive yourself to have a 'by the book' attitude yet you state that all boats should have " V Sheet, Flares, Radio even a hand held VHF". Since I was in parramatta river and thus enclosed waters i never needed any of those at the time, according to the boat user manual none of those are required for where i was, therefore you're statement holds no true value other than your own "by the book" opinion. Thought processes like that are dangerous in my opinion, just like '4myson' example... common sense and courtesy is not so common it seems. "oh look they're not doing the wave properly... lets move on". Its interesting the story 4myson told as it turns out that is exactly how my godmothers husband passed away many years ago. He was out fishing with his son (6 at the time) and he had a heart attack on the water, no one was around where they were so it was up to my close family friend (6 at the time, i was like 1 or 2 or something) to try take the boat back to port & help. Just out of curiosity, were you one of the boat that drove right past us real slow and even glared at us and just trying to justify your actions on the day to yourself? I am not trying to dodge any blame, merely stating my view on the state of the boaters mindsets in sydney harbour on that day. Have a good day mate, and thats just my opinion to. For those of you who did enjoy the post, thanks for your attention. I have taken all constructive criticism on board and am in the process of getting a 3rd fuel tank as opposed to a jerry can as fuel line piping is there for a 3rd tank, i just don't have a 3rd tank at the moment. Sorry to offend you. Was not meaning to be by the book. Is my opinion that all boats should have a V Sheet, Radio, Flares. Does not matter what the rules say. I think it is common sense. No one ever regretted having the right safely gear. I go fishing in shore a lot on a friends boat and he has all the safety equipment....why wouldn't you? No I was not on Sydney Harbour and as I said it is alarming that no one stopped for you. Personally if i thought someone was in danger even slightly I would pull over. In fact I have done before and spent my fishing trip towing two guys who's motor died. They probably ran out of fuel but did not want to say. I was saying, that you were doing it wrong and therefore going septic at other boaters was not entirely fair. I also said that the drama you got yourself into was your fault, which is cool, we all make mistakes. Your comment "you're statement holds no true value other than your own "by the book" opinion. Well the fact that you got stuck and could not raise help kind of does give it true value. If you had a V sheet you would have been assisted quick smart. V sheet costs what? $25? By all means, carry on boating with the bare minimum of safety gear and poor knowledge Like I said, this is my opinion. Accept that in many peoples eyes I am wrong. I do come from a family with a long boating & yachting history, my opinions are ingrained. You are welcome to get angry. Enjoy your knew boat and I hope you never run out of fuel and get some safety equipment. By the book or not. All the best. Be safe.

Thats sucks, I have my boat on the driveway which has no fence. I take almost everything out. Means I have a big job every weekend at 5am getting everything in but I don't have to worry about losing it all. Even taking your burley muncher and your flares. That's low. Sounds like they are decking out a boat of their own and you got picked as the donater. Will be interesting if they ever use that epirb. Can you notify the epirb stolen so if a clown uses it they get flagged? That would be priceless. Hope you have insurance or get some recourse. Good luck.

Agree, that it is alarming that no one stopped to check on them. But people who want to take a boat out and be a skipper need to make sure that they know their stuff. Can't go septic at the boating community because you did the signal for "Come over here" or "Hey we're drunk" or "Hey we're being eggs" or "Hey look at me I am about to do something stupid (Brown Eye)" You know what I mean. That is why the signal is slow moving hands so it can't be confused with a general frantic waving which can mean anything. Also all boats should have a V Sheet, Flares, Radio even a hand held VHF. I think the fault more lies with the OP than the Sydney Boaters. Just my opinion.

Thanks mate, will check this out. Have not made the purchase yet. Not familiar with this brand but very open to knew fishing brands.

Never any excuse for breaking the rules of catches and sizes. I also fish the Illawarra and have only seen a handful of incidences. Seen an undersized King on the tables and raised it with the young fella. Was a genuine mistake and we just suggested that he get the rule book. He was pretty ashamed. Most of the unsavoury characters who are cheating know they are and hide it so you never see it. They are cunning, sneaky dishonest and despicable. Hardly ever see fisheries or the maritime cops checking boats. Don't understand why they don't. I fish every weekend and only been stopped on the water once. Never been stopped or checked at the ramp. Obviously not a high priority for the government.

Congrats on the new boat mate. 53kmh is pretty quick. Got to be happy with that. As you now know, going WOT uses a lot more fuel than your optimum cruising speed. But cruising speeds are no where near as fun. As far as waving for help. "while both of us were waving our hands in the 'international distress signal' type of waving our arms in the air frantically" What you have described is not the International Distress Signal. Two blokes waving arms frantically could be mistaken for two clowns having a yahoo. The International Signal for Distress is to wave both hands up and down to the side.....slowly...It has to be slow. I agree that with you both looking stressed and waving frantically should have incited a call out or an Ahoy. But technically, frantic waving is not a Distress Signal so it was not a breach of maritime code or etiquette for them to not stop. http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/distress.htm

I think there is a bit of Algae, bit slippery but not too bad. Jetty side of Bellambi has risen with Sand again so a trap for new players at low tide again.

Thanks mate. They are just like dogs. Like the fact that they seem to have a sense of humour.

Yupp we got stalked as well. Caught up with another guy at the ramp and he was stalked off Bandit Reef by a Seal.

Totally agree. In NZ and I mean Auckland, Kahawai are the main pelagic species inshore. We don't get Tailor and we don't get Bonito and all the Tuna etc. We do get tuna but not in numbers. i.e. I Have never caught a Bonito or a Skip Jack in Auckand.Is always Snapper, Kings, Kahawai. Over here Kahawai are a real challenge to catch. They are fussy and they are mystical. In NZ they are a pain in the arse. You can't get your baits below them to get to the snapper. Kahawai eat anything that shimmers where over here I have been cursing them as they won't take anything I try. Kahawai don't seem to jump in NZ, well not for me they didn't. Very very different fising scene. I imagine in Australia the Kings compete with a lot more Pelagics so harder for them to get stuffed full of oily bait fish to grow big and strong like mighty Kings of Aotearoa I love the fishing over here. A lot more species and the fishing is good all year round. the Kings are a lot smaller but that is not a problem for me.

Hey Krispy, Yes NZ has a much smaller population but Kiwis are a boating, fishing crazy bunch. Launch in Auckland and fish the Hauraki Gulf around the islands on a summer weekend. It is packed with boats. I have never seen anything like it in Sydney harbour. I think the 1.4 million Aucklanders would easily match the 4 million Sydney Siders for number of hooks in the water. In fact i think they would have way more lines in the water. Also don't forget Kiwis are allowed to Long Line from the boat and from the beach and we are allowed to use nets, drag nets and casting nets. There are almost no rules. NZ waters are much colder and incredibly rich. Kingfish naturally grow faster and bigger over there. I have been fishing for sprats right up the back of Auckland Harbour at a place called Heron Island. A 1.2m Kingfish had a school of Kahawai (Salmon) hold up in the shallows directly below the wharf in about half a meter. He was digging up sand and mud, looked like he was creating a barrier to corner them against). I have seen huge Kingys like this just ambling around pylons and moorings in Auckland which is fished incredibly hard. I think the Kings are just bigger back in the homeland. Some differences I have noticed is that in Auckland, yakkas are considered to be not the best live bait for kings and salmon (Kahawai) is regarded as being a much better live bait. But over here yakkas are considered to be a better live bait than salmon. When tell people about live Salmon for Kingfish bait over here I get confused looks. Different waters different fish, different scene.