Luringbream

Thanks to all who replied, i really appreciate it. To begin with i didn't like the Optimax for the simple fact that it is a 3 cylinder but i spose its other advantages do outweigh those of the 2strk yam regardless of price difference. To throw a spanner in the works, i'm probably going to spend a lil extra and settle for an E-tec. Thanks again. Dan

Hey all, I am just wondering what advantages a 115hp Mercury Optimax has over a 115hp Yamaha 2 stroke. Any help is appreciated.. Regards, Dan

Ross, Thanks for the info. I really need to move out of the 18-24m reef systems that i bottom bash and move into deeper waters. Regards, Daniel

Ross, How was the current out there? Regards, DAN

Im looking at matching it up with a Stella 10000 awith 50-80lb braid. I'm fairly new to the jigging scene so any help in this area is greatly appreciated. Regards, Daniel

Thanks for your reply "kingies til i die". As for the rest of you guys Regards, Daniel

Hey all, im looking at getting at buying a jigging rod from the T-Curve series and cant decide out of the 200 or the 400. I'll be jigging areas like 12 mile, the peak and terrigal in roughly 110m of water however i would also like to use it as a cubing rod for fin. I know the 400 is a bit stiff for jigging in sydney waters however is the 200 too small for an average fin? Can anyone offer any advice on which way i should go? Regards, Daniel

Thanks for all the kind words guys, i appreciate it. Too true, soft plastics produce great results no matter where you flick them. I use my bream outfit offshore on small tuna and they absolutely trash the plastics. Next i'm going to target trout with poppers, i don't see how a trout wouldn't mistake a popper for a small insect. I really didnt know what to expect of them but we had them last night and they were superb. The brown was much more tastier than the rainbows. Regards, Daniel

Roffo, Great catch, sounds like you had a hot bite! It was nothing like that for us on the saturday, we only raised one tiny rainbow on the nuggets. Do you ever find that your nuggest fall off without having felt any bites? Also what size hook and leader length do you use? Regards, Daniel

After spending the day up there yesterday and seeing the ripples from fish rising to the surface, i was wondering if trout on poppers in an option and has anyone tried it there? Regards, Daniel

All the recent trout reports circulating the forums of late has had me intrigued and the random decision to drive up to lake lyell was pondered on at a very late hour on friday night which had the missus and i preparing gear(and food) for the next morning. Having never caught a trout before, i ran a quick search on the forums hoping to educate myself as much as possible and find any useful information. We arrived at the lake at 8am and having no clue as to where the fish might be, we decided to ask a couple of guys that were camping out and they were more than welcoming and full of great knowledge of the area. They directed us to a steep point which they said they found good showings on the sounder the previous day. Anyhow we made our way over to this steep point equipped with 4 2kg bream outfits and powerbait nuggets. I was told by the caretaker to use a light bead sinker with roughly .5-1m of leader and a size 10-14 hook so that the nugget would rise above the bottom and resemble fish eggs (This apparently was the key ingredient to catching lake lyell rainbows and browns from the bank). I have no idea what i was doing wrong(maybe someone can tell me), i kept getting snagged and losing bait without the slightest of touches. During this free-freeding process(for the trout anyways) we managed to hook, snag and de-snag a 27cm rainbow trout and although it was small it was my first and i was stoked. After a solid 3 hours for one fish we made the trip back to town to have a bit of lunch and relax before we returned for the afternoon session at around 4pm. We spoke to a few chaps down at the boat ramp and even those guys were doing it tough with one rainbow being landed between the 3 boats that retrieved. Anyhow, we shifted spots and we were well and truly into our second jar of powerbait but still no more fish or touches to account for. So i decided to tie on a 3" berkley bass minnow and teach the missus how to use softplastics. Within the first 5 minutes and only a few metres of the retrieve left, the minnow was smashed and i was on again!! This was a better fish and as i handed the rod to the missus, the rainbow trout began leaping out of the water clearing 1m+. It put up a great fight and measured 42cm . A couple of casts later the minnow got smashed once again however this time by a brown trout and a short tussle had the brown of 45.5cm on ice. It was now around 5:30pm and we had caught 2 fish in quick succession and left after another 10 or so casts as the sun and temperature faded. I regret not flicking plastics earlier in the day, it may have resulted in a many more trout or perhaps it was just a coincidence. The catch.. Anyhow, my first trout fishing experience was great and i can recommend it to anyone who is contemplating heading that way. Regards, Daniel

Chris, I'm looking at something in the 5-6m range. I like the TABS range and i've always been a fan of quintrex boats however i'm looking forward the any upcoming boat shows to get a few quotes and organise a few test drives with a range of other brands. Regards, Daniel

Hey guys, I'm looking at upgrading my boat but before hand i would like to get a feel of what browns is all about. If anyone is heading out for a bottom bash at browns over the next couple of weeks i would be very keen to come along. I have very flexible work hours so i'm pretty much free any time of the week, i'm happy to contribute to fuel costs etc and i'm very able to help with launching and retrieving of boats. Regards, Daniel

Hey all, Just after some information as to what i need to know in preparation for my first season of bottom bashing browns for blue eye cod. a) what pound leader, what size hooks and what weight of sinker is suitable on an average days fishing? what species am i likely to encounter other than blue eye, gemfish, nannygai & frostfish? c) are the fish down there in abundance? Does anyone specifically target these fish, or are they just a "plan B" when the tuna fishign is slow? d) alvey reef queen vs reef king? and what brand, pound and length of braid should be used? e) are there any other locations other than browns that you can catch these critters? f) please throw in any additional information that you feel i may need to know to bag my first blue eye. Any help is greatly appreciated.. Regards, Daniel

Great going on the kingies mate! DAN

Hey all, I'm after the GPS location of the Waverider Buoy off Sydney (dont be confused with the FAD). Does this remain in the same position year after year or is it pulled and slightly shifted? Regards, Dan

Great fishing mate! Were you landbased or boatbased? Dan

Good effort, there are certainly many about at the moment. But i wouldnt be eating them out of the Parra River. DAN

Thanks for the tips guys, i appreciate it. At the moment i'm just trying to gather as much info as i can to put myself in the right direction and hopefully snare a few one way or another. I'd be spewing if someone stole my pots! I burn everytime i go to collect my crab pots and i find them to be in a distorted line with massive holes cut out of them. A few months back i counted 11 holes in 5 traps!! I was watching a documentary on scuba diving for lobsters a couple of weeks back(part of the reason why i got caught up in researching lobsters) and at times the guys would remove their scuba gear in order to enter the narrow crevice barely fitting their bodys in there. The documentary then went on to show the other creatures 'to watch out for' that habitat these crevices such as octopus and eels and it was freaky stuff! Space has now been freed up Regards, Daniel

Thanks for the reply, for a while i believed lobster fishing in NSW to be virtually nonexistant. It would be great if they can be caught in the those areas. Can anyone else confirm commercial lobster fishing in BB? Regards, DAN

Hey all, Does anyone regularly target lobsters in NSW waters? If so, i'm after a bit of information such as what substrates they habitat, whats seasons are most productive and what depths i should be targeting? Or, just any information at all Thanks, DAN

Hey mate, I may be fishing it also, and then st clair the week after. 3 weeks of back to back tournament fishing, gotta love it! DAN

Great catch mate! What waterway were you fishing? DAN

Great catch!! Were the fish feeding on the surface? DAN

Greg, Check your PM Regards, Daniel