Evets

Hi FT, I dont think that it matters if you use a higher poundage line. Why? Well because the drag on the reel will slip at the same amount of pressure whether you use 50Lb or 80Lb line. If its a 50 Lb rod you probably wouldnt want to use more than about 12Lb of drag on the reel anyway so whether you use 50 or 80 lb line doesnt matter. Provided that you dont set the drag too high the rod will handle the stonger line no problem. Should you decide to use the heavier braid it will give you a bit more abrasion resistance when you are jigging as well. Steve

Hahahahaha Love the little 'uns expression. Steve

Hi Spence, Boat looks fantastic. I can see that you have written a few words about how the bait tank is attached to the boat - but Im a little hazy as to exactly how it attaches to the boat. I can see that there is a bracket that somehow attaches to the bait tank. How does this work? For the life of me I work out whats stopping it from falling over . Would you mind taking a piccie or to of the actual bait tank install ? I need to do something similar but cant work out how it works. Cheers Steve

Well there you go eh. Who would have guessed 2 dodgy radios. Steve

You will find that a lower geared reel is the go for jigging. Something around 4:1 would be ideal. The higher geared reels will tire you out much faster - especially if your jigging at any decent depth. Jig size - a good rule of thumb is 100grams for every 100 feet of water you intend to jig in. Go bigger if there is a possibility of strong currents. Use a minimum of 50Lb braid with a 2 or so meter leader of 80- 100lb mono. Join the braid to the leader with a PR knot (google it an youll find heaps of videos on how to do this) so that you can wind the leader onto the reel. At the end of the leader crimp or tie a really heavy split ring (200Lb plus). You can use the split ring to change your jigs so you dont have to cut the leader. Rods - well if your just trying jigging out theres no real need to get a jigging specific set up. At a pinch any heavy boat rod would do. IF you want a cheapish jigging rod have a look at diawas monster mesh or shimanos range of tcurves (I picked up tcurve rated to 500grams jig weight for $100 on special at the local tackle store) There are a few jigging videos out. Grab one and have a look - they give you heaps of tips for jigging styles, gear and knots. I reckon jigging is like a prigngle. Once you pop you cant stop Steve

yeeeeeee haaaaaaa Urrr Ummmmm I mean.... jolly good

I can see that you have checked the power. Sounds to me like it could be an earthing problem or maybe a broken wire - maybe on the earth side of the circut (notwithstanding that the wires are new its still possible). Have you earthed all the way back to the battery or just back to a buss bar? You wouldnt happen to have earthed to the hull of an aluminum boat would you? The faint crackling noise means that power is reaching the speaker either through from the radio itself or from a stray current. The fact that it didnt increase when you turned the volume up suggests that the power isnt coming from the radio - maybe from a dodgy earth. Come to think - have you mounted and connected the speakers for the cd player? If you have just disconnect the speaker wire where you joined it to radio harness. Let us know what happens. Seems odd that everything else works fine. Are both radios on the same circut? How about connecting them to another circut that you know is working - such as the lights. Steve

Forget a fibreglass repair kit. For a 1 - 2 mm hole I would use a gelcoat repair kit (it has gelcoat and a separate much smaller tube of hardener in it). Roughen up the hole a bit to give the gelcoat a key to bond to. Mix up a small amount of gelcoat with the hardener and fill the hole. Heres a good tip. While the gelcoat is still wet get a bit of sticky tape. Place it over the wet gel coat and push it flat with the rest of the hull. This causes the gelcoat to go really smooth and level with hull. Looks really shmick and most importantly means that your sanding will be minimal. If this is done properly there will be no sanding at all Evets

Hey guys, Might be sooner than you think. Click on the BOM Oceanography tab at the very top of the page and you can see exactly where the warm water is Evets

Achilles, I found a led spotlight on special at a big local hardware store for $10. The last time I saw it at the hardware shop it was back up to about $40. Found it in the electrical section. Would be absolutely perfect for squidding. Couldnt find a picture of the one I have but this is similar. The bulb itself dosnt look like a normal led light. This bulb is a tiny little oblong about 3mm x 5 mm and is really really really bright. The light output is amazing - almost like a car headlight. It is rechargable and lasts for about 20 hours before it needs to be recharged. Very light as well. Less than a kilo I reckon. Perfect for squidding Steve PS Did I mention that its really really bright ?

Bondcrete = good sealer But did everyone know that Bondcrete is more or less ....... PVA glue ?? Steve

Use construction ply . Its exactly the same as marine ply except that it has some small voids in the inner sheets. Costs a lot less than marine ply and has the same performance - especially for a bench seat. Just make sure that you seal the end grain well once it has been cut. Steve

A slimey tube is used to keep a slimy pre rigged and ready to use at a moments notice. It works by rigging up a slimy and putting it head first into the tube. Water us pumped up through the bottom of the tube (an allowed to spill over the top) keeping the slimy alive but unable to move. This way you dont have a pre rigged slimy swimming around in your bait tank. When you need a slimy quick smart you have one ready to use. Used alot in switchbaiting when trolling for marlin and cubing for yellowfin. Steve

Yes but only if it is interfaced with a GPS. The beauty of the DSC is that since you have registered your MMSI in an emergency, you can press the DSC button once knowing that your details will be broadcast without you having to do anything else. Other boaters who have a DSC VHF will receive your distress message and may be able to respond to your distress call much more quickly than the coast guard or police. Imagine this.... you are plaining in your boat out to the shelf. Suddenly and quite unexpectidely, you hit a submerged shipping container. You see the water pouring in through a 2 foot gash below your waterline and your boat starts going down - fast. You are stunned and dazed for few moments while you come to your senses and realise what has just happened. By now the cabin is full of water and the water us up to your knees. You are busy getting yourself and crew into thier life jackets. You dont have time to call a mayday. You hit the DSC knowing that while you are putting on your PFDs a mayday message has been sent with your details for the coast guard, police and other boaters to hear. At the last second you grab the EPIRB from out of the cabin and activate that too. I know that in the event of an emergency that Id want my call for help to be heard by as many people as possible. So yes, my GPS is interfaced with my DSC VHF. Steve Oh BTW my ICOM radio has an optional plug in unit that I could use to program in the MMSI of my fishing buds. Provided they have the same plug in unit, I could use it to hail them if I found a hot bite to let them know where it was without letting anyone else know.

Tinnyman, I have a sensational jigging video that was filmed in New Zealand where they caught massive king after king after king. Some looked like they must have tipped the scales at 35kg+ They caught the biggest sea bass I have ever seen with estimates going at over 40 kg The gear they were using was top shelf stuff with overhead reels like Torsas, Ocea jiggers and Blue havens. There were a few Stellas as well. The rods they used were Jigging Master 250 grams plus models. Line: PE 5-8 600m minimum better with much more though. Jigs long Japenese style - zest, jigging master, smith I personally have a Trinidad 40N which is exactly the same as the ocea jigger but it has a ratchet instead of the spool lock. Awesome reel. Should add this to your list of potential reels I have matched it up with a custom made spiral wrapped GUSA Hastings blank. Light as a feather and super super strong. This combo is right up there with the best without the price tag and cost less than $900 with 600 m YGK braid. Get a copy of the DVD - Heavy metal at the Ranfurly . It will answer every question that you have and then some in regards to the gear and techniques you will need for the trip. Evets

Catching lots of blackies at the bridge and flatties down towards the breakwall. A few salmon are about on the beaches and the odd groper at the island - you can walk there from the breakwall. Evets

No. Its not in SA. Its going to be put to the public in a number of roadshows through out Victoria in the coming months. Many many many mexicans are up in arms about it too - especially since heaps of sub 8m boats are catching big bluefin out on the shelf at the moment. Evets

Hi Bully, I have the same sized Seafarer. I take it out to the FADs at Kiama and Wollongong (about 16 km) with no drama at all, though, I do have a new 75 hp on the back. I guess it depends on your experience and confidence as to how far out you go. Pick your day and keep a close eye on the weather. Definately make sure your safety gear is up to the task of travelling out there. Head out with another boat if it would make you more comfortable. The only thing that would worry me is if the weather turned nasty how would the 40hp cope? Could be a loooong way back to port with a motor that small. As for catching tuna you might find that the blue and yellow fin are out near the shelf which is about 20k off shore. Evets

Hi guys, With all the interest in electric anchor winches I have been wondering how you use them to retrieve the anchor. I guess its not as simple as winching it up because if the anchor was snagged you could winch the boat to the ocean floor So how do you use them? Is it the same as using anchor retrieval floats where you have to drive the boat forward and at an angle to pull the anchor out ? Do you then winch the anchor up while driving forward? Evets

Do yourself a favour. Give the activities desk a call and ask them about the fishing options. When I was there a few years ago one of the co ordinators was a mad keen fisherman and showed me a few of the better spots. A 7 foot rod would be OK. I don't think that I'd go any bigger. And book the charter boat that is based on the island itself. I think it was $300 for the day and if you are lucky you can get the boat to yourself. Evets

Hi Bergo, Best bait? In still water - corn kernels as bait and berley - its the bees knees. Or if there is current then worms dug up from near the creek - I ususally just find a stick, sharpen it up with a knife and dig up a around the base of a tree or under some rotting grass. I find that worms from my backyard are nowhere near as good as local worms. I reckon the scent of the earth at my place must be different to the scent at the creek. Best rig? I think that a swivel tied about 30cm or so from your hook is all you need. The weight of the corn is more than heavy enough to cast out into the creek. If there is a current then my rig consists of a swivel to which I tie 2 lines. One long line (40 cm or so) with a hook. The other is a shorter ( 25 cm) lighter line with a sinker tied on with a granny knot (knot comes undone or sinker line breaks if snagged). Throw out a handful of corn into the creek and then rig up. Cast you line out into the middle of the berley spread. With worms I use a light sinker, cast up current and let the rig flow down stream with the current. Not really a sport fish but if you use light line (say 4- 6 lb) it can be fun to catch them. The larger models can give you a bit of stick though. I remember catching heaps of them when I was younger. I would take my gear down to the lake, sit under a shady tree, pass the line between my toes and read my uni texts. Every so often I would catch a carp. Beeaudiful. Evets

Funny on so many levels

Fishlexic, I have a Trinidad 40N matched up to a custom GUSA 24kg spiral wrapped rod with ALPS reel seat and guides. Built the rod myself and cost a little over $500 for the blank and all of the components. Not 2 piece but only 20 mm longer than my tcurve 200 40N cost $450. Loaded it with 50lb Jigman multi coloured braid. Awesome set up. Has pleeeenty of grunt and IMHO ideal for jigging and live baiting. The 40N is almost an identical copy of the famous ocea jigger and has been designed for jigging. 33lb of drag straight out of the box. With a bit of tweaking I have been told that it can go 40lb+. And it is really really really smooth. Pick one up and you'll see what I mean Steve

To add to Sorros helpful post I would have a look at the light board. You will quickly see which coloured wire belongs to what light. Should be easy then to match it up to the wiring diagram. Alteratively look at the old plug and assuming it was wired correctly just copy it wire for wire on the new plug. Steve

Thanks Billfisher, Ingenious setup. Steve