Zacnoel

Glad you had a good time

Hi guys Went for an arvo session yesterday. We Launched fron Currarong boat ramp and headed for the squid beds inside little beecroft head. Well,squiding ,squiding ,squiding Hmmm no squid. So ok we burleyed up for yakkas or slimmies - Hmm nothing. Back to the squid jigs and finnaly one squid. So with only one live squid and a heap of fresh squid heads we set a course south to the cliffs just north of drum and drumsticks - JB. On arrival in near perfect seas we put out the live squid on one line and towed a weighted squid head on the other, the sounder was showwing huge schools of kingies patroling the 23 m mark. Both baits were shreded in minutes of hitting the water so out went more squid heads. These were constantly hit by what I can only assume were rat kings Around this time another boat fishing near by had just dropped a horse and waved us over to fish the school they had marked. As we pulled near we asked how they were going only to be told they had snagged and lost there downrigger weight and had nothing else with them to get their baits into the zone. A smile instantly came to our faces " how many live squid you got" . Within minutes the transfer had taken place , four live squid for a few large snapper leades and we were back in busines. A quick rerig and the first of the squids were put out. Within minutes my reel started screaming as a large king engulfed the live sqid. I was running a tcurve bluewater 15 kg stick with a shimano biomaster 8000 spolled with 40 lb braid. A fine rig you might say - not. With the drag fully cranked the fish just kept pulling line at will and eventually took me onto the reef, and then that moment of disbelief . Oh well thats fishing . Before I could rebait, my mates rod buckled over and the reel screamed, this time it was 80 lb braid and a 37 kg stick and it was still an epic fight. Screaming runs and then oh s#%t its gone ,no it hasn't its comming at us and then another screaming run and then " weve got colour" . A clean shot with the gaff and into the boat came a 125 cm kingfish. We trolled till dark and the headed back to the ramp quietly satisfied The interesting thing about this trip was that the kings were hitting towed dead squid heads as readily as live squid. A thing to remember next time we run out of or can't catch any live bait. And youve gotta love the barter system???

Hi Greg I fished Callala bay yesterday we got 16 decent squid but it was hard work , took nearly five hours. We fished among the boats and the weed patch to the east of the boats and also ajacent to the reef at Callala in about three to four metres of water. I was using a green jig at first then changed to an orange yellow which did most of the damage with a pink jig working at dusk. We didnt do very well in the deeper water. Other spots to try which usually fish well is along the length of Long Beach which is north of Honymoon bay and has large areas of weed bed that stretches for nearly half a kilometre.You can get a nice drift in the nor easter. If your heading south of the bay then as said in previous posts then just west of Murrys Beach boat ramp usually produces and a liitle further west again to hole in the Wall beach. This is the first beach you will see as you head west, there are a few yellow mooring bouys set off the beach. If you strart around these and move off shore a liitle you should find them. Also just for your info friends of mine fished Currarong Big bommie mid week and boated two kings at 1200mm and a nice bag of reds to go along with them in about three hours of fishing, they did launch from Currarong ramp though. If you choose to go there squid can be found at a place known as Lobster which is a small bay just inside little beecroft head. You cant miss it there is a large tapering rock mid water ajacent to the western side of little beecroft. Fish the western side of the bay for squid. Be careful heading east behind the rock as the water gets fairly shallow. good luck

Nice fish neil - feeling a little home sick looking at the photos

Been using a t- curve 24kg spin /jig for years now and can't fault them. Couple with a decent reel and you should be right

Looking at the photo I don't think the cross member bolts on. The bolts you can see are from the rocker roller bracket I think. Might be a wire brush/ cold gal job

Good enough for third place on the record board for sure - great fish , Im definately jealous

Hi Anthony Below is a link to a form available from the RMS. For an engine detail change the form can be mailed or faxed to the attached numbers. As such I don't believe there is a charge Cheers Leon http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/about/forms/45071760-adjustment-to-records-maritime.pdf

Sounds great , I spent 10 years in Leeton fishing the Murrumbidgee, that western river country is hard to beat

Where are you off to?

I too had trouble with teleflex steering and the culprit was usually the motor end seizing and over stressing the steering end. The permanent solution was to disconnect the steering arm from the motor then remove the nut that holds the stainless shaft in the sheath. Now you need to find an "o" ring that fits snugly over the steering shaft. Lube the "o" ring with marine grade grease and slide it on over the steering arm and push it hard up against the cable sheath. Replace the locking nut ,reassemble and no more dramas at the engine end. Eliminate the obvious first and effectively identify the source of your angst Cheers Leon

Try putting them in a smoker - you won't regret it And if you make fish cakes - this is the fish for you

hi Camo1808 I've been out twice in the last two weeks targeting squid. We stayed at it for about three hours each time and landed 21 the first outing and 12 the the second outing . The second outing was after all of that rain but they were still there to catch just not as aggressive. In relation to your question, on both outings I would say that 80 % of the squid were caught in the last hour before dark and in my experience this is true in the morning as well , the hour or so after sunrise seems most productive. In saying that they are there throughout the day but seem to be on the chew at dusk and dawn .Personally haven't fished too far after dark for squid but there is a lot of talk about lumo egi type jigs being quite effective. I fish Jervis Bay for squid and they are there all year round but being more prolific in the winter months I hope this helps

Oh , they know - too hard basket

"Dave get the gaff" who me ? No not you him, oh I thought you were getting it, no not me you!! Somebody get the gaff

Not sure but Yamashita do make specialist squid sticks

Yes please share as I would be interested also

Nice solution I think that will work for me also- thanks

It may be in the long whippy rods they use

A friend of mine was inspected by waterways last week and received a caution for not having a bilge pump - definitely mandatory for boats with covered floors

Oh and yes it worked for me . Also now that you have opened the case of your sounder be sure that it is sealed well when reassembling. As many units are internally pressurised with nitrogen gas or the like by the manufacturers to keep moisture out of the electronics

I had an old Hondex sounder years ago and it did the same . I rang the supplier at the time and was advised to do a hard / factory reset as the head and the transducer can stop talking to each other. Make sure you back up all of your marks you may lose them

Unfortunately now days there are bearing buddies and there are bearing buddies. It's hard to tell the difference between the original and the Chinese copies

Hi I was in the same situation , checking bearings all of the time ,changing yearly, occasionally finding a grinder - change out. Then I fitted a set of dura hubs. I think these are wonderful. They are filled with oil rather than grease. They have a clear window in the front face that allows visual inspection to see if the seals have failed and allowed water to enter the hub. If water enters the ill turns white I fitted quality Japanese bearings which usually only cost around five dollars more than the cheapies. I now check my bearings every trip visually and every six months physically , I do dunk my bearings every launch and have had the same set of bearings running on my trailer for six years and they are as quiet as the day I fitted them. The only thing to keep I'm mind is when fitting these preparation is the key. Make sure the the seal face on the hub is free of pits and rust, a pice of emery and a bit of elbow grease is all this needs. And also apply a sealing compound i.e. Locktite on the edge of the seal and on the insert face of the dura hub.

I agree with Hookmeup if noise is the big issue a prop muffler will work a treat and maybe appease your neighbor especially is you let him know what you have done.