Ocean Addiction

Thanks. I havent had the chance to use the snake for a few months since I painted it. However, I have knocked it over on the gararge floor a few times. The new paint job is holding up surprisingly well vs the concrete! I wish they had a convenient way to store them (like hang them off the wall with the quick release mount).

Nice little barra. It's so nice going on a charter on the Daintree and getting away from all of the main tourist locations. Such a beautiful place to go fishing!

Great work guys. That carp is a monster!

Nice work. There are some great fish there. Great night GT as well. Was that hooked under the boat?

I know that feeling now. Looking at doing the motorbike exhaust now...

I had some time over the last week to get the paint job underway on the trolling motor. Firstly a big thanks to Fab1 for the advice on the approach. The initial plan was to do some touch-up work to the corroded areas. Once I got the parts off I decided to give each of the parts a complete paint. I thought I would post up some info about my experience in case anyone else is interested in doing a similar job themselves. Step 1: Gather Supplies I wasn't sure what the existing paint was so I decided to go for an acrylic gloss. The standard white colour looked like it would match the existing paint quite well. I already had a few of the items required and got the remaining supplies at the local auto shop. Supplies Wax and Grease Remover $12 Rust Converter $12 Masking Tape $10 Sand Paper $1.39 Etch Primer $16 Acrylic Gloss White Paint $15 I already had a wire brush, lots of rags and some methylated spirits Step 2: Prep work I disassembled the unit to gain access to the main shaft and top side of the steering box. All the parts got laid out. Anything small went straight into a zip-lock bag so that nothing got lost. I usually pull the unit apart once a season for servicing and lubrication. This made disassembly a simple process. I recall the first time it pulled it apart was a bit tricky getting some bolts out. Next step was to remove the flaking paint around the corroded areas. For this I used a wire brush on a drill. A quick blast with the brush made short work of the compromised paintwork. This brought the affected areas back to bare metal. I found the wire brush to be a little too coarse for the metalwork though. I would recommend trying something a little less harsh even if it takes a bit longer. Then I gave all the parts a thorough sanding using some 180 grit paper over a sponge block. I removed just enough material to take the gloss off the existing paint. It also provided some texture for the new paint to adhere to. The last part of the prep work was applying rust converter. Using a small paintbrush I painted over the corroded areas. After half an hour wait it requires a wipe down with a damp rag. Then immediately another wipe down with a rag dampened with methylated spirits. Then wipe down again with a clean rag. It was about this stage that it got dark and I had to put the job away overnight. The next day in new light I noticed some corrosion still around the base of the main shaft. I reapplied the rust converter which cleaned all the remaining rust off. Step 3: Masking and Painting Time to mask up the job and get painting. I am usually impatient by the time we get to this stage so I had to temper my enthusiasm. The plan was to mask around the joints on the motor unit and paint in two sessions. First the main body, then the nose cone and tail section. After taping it up I decided that it wasn’t looking too flash. I pulled the tape off and disassembled the motor case. This would allow better access to some of the corroded areas around the joins. The nose cone came off and the tail section slid back just enough to expose the join. I was careful not to damage the extremely fine seal rings that sit in each of these joints. I used masking tape (with junk mail) to build a shield protecting the inner motor. I also used a nail and some heavy fishing line to hang the unit in a well ventilated location. Another tip at this stage is to tape and secure the wires at the top of the shaft. Losing one down the shaft would be a nightmare to retrieve. The other parts were strung up on metal coat hangers fashioned into hooks. Next up was a coat of etch primer. Upon seeing how dark it dried I thought I might be visible through the top coats. Too late to change now though. Following the primer were 5 coats of the white gloss acrylic. Each coat applied 5 minutes apart. Using light coats I could still see the primer for the first 2 coats. From coat 3 it started to look better and by coat 5 it looked fantastic. I left it to dry for 24 hours before continuing. The following day I reversed the masking so that I could paint the tail section. I was starting to run low on junk mail so used a plastic bag for the majority of the masking. I followed the same process; wax and grease remover; 1 coat etch primer; 5 coats of gloss. After leaving it to dry I removed the masking tape. Then after 24 hours I reassembled the motor unit. When reassembling the tail section ensure that you push the motor brushes back. This needs to get done before trying to join the tail back up to the main unit. Step 4: Polish and Reassemble Finally I gave it a quick polish as there was a slight orange peel effect in the paint. This brought out a good shine on the paint. Next was to reassemble and relubricate the parts ready for its next outing. Key Tips: Regular servicing makes a job like this much easier! The metal is quite soft so be gentle with abrasives Ensuring you get rid of all the corrosion before painting (double check in good light) When reassembling the motor housing ensure you first push the motor brushes back before trying to close the tail section David

Hi Seasponge, Here are 6 of my preferred options when I don't want to take the boat out. I like having a few options at Sussex as the wind can make some spots uncomfortable. I agree with 4myson, burley works really well down there - use the cheapest loaf of bread and then float bread or prawn baits out. Be discrete though as the ducks are very aware that this is the best way to get a free feed. Usually get mullet, bream and ludrick using this technique. A lot of the land based spots have heaps of ribbon weed which I find makes using lures a bit painful. I really like having the boat if I'm using lures. 1. Cater Crescent Island 2. at the end of Harbord Street 3. River Road boatramp 4. Nielson Rd Boatramp and surrounds 5. Behind Riviera Van park 6. Behind the Bowling Club Good luck! David

Thanks Fab1, Do i need marine paint for the top coat or just car spray paint? David

I'm after some advice on my 54lb Watersnake. I've had it for about 3 years and looked after it well (washed down after every use and annually pulled down and lubricated). I'm quite happy with it and I've only had to invest $1.40 in repairs so far (touch wood). Recently though I've noticed some surface rust creeping in around the bottom of the shaft. There also appears to be some bubbling of the paint around the top of the steering box. How would you guys treat something like this (I'm reasonably handy)?? Would I be best served taking the parts to a local smash repairer for a respray or is this something I could do myself? Would really appreciate some advice on the best approach.

Maybe a mullet?? I've seen some very, very big mullet around the Drummoyne side of the Bay with their dorsal fins out of the water. But... I have seen 2 barra in Iron Cove in the past so nothing would surprise me.

Hey Gianni, Awesome amberjack there. Would have been an awesome fight on the light gear!! David

Lure is a Gladiator Kozami. Fresh out of the pack with VMC hooks. It was the first time I have used this lure and I was really impressed with the action. The last few summers I have used the R2S Rover 50 almost exclusively but it was time for a change... The whiting were hitting the Kozami fairly aggressively (ie mostly three treble points in the mouth). The bream seemed aggressive but very clumsy. Most scored a single treble in the cheek after several missed swipes. Ideally I would like to hook more of them in the lips as I hate when they get a treble near the eye. It's strange but it really freaks me out. I might pop up to the tackle shop during the week for some fine gauge upgrades.

Thanks Bluebottle. Yep, Iron Cove is my local so I fish there quite a lot from the shore but I haven't taken the boat out for quite a while. It was nice to fish it facing the other direction for once! You are definitely right that it is an interesting place to fish. So much different terrain within a fairly small area!

Hi Iceman, Thanks for the tip. I was using the owner trebles (the ones in the blue pack) but found the bream were crushing them far too quickly. I think the gauge was far too light. Do you find the St11s hold up OK?

Had a fantastic few hours fishing in Iron Cove yesterday. Launched the boat at 2pm so I could fish the last of the incoming tide. The plan was to fish surface lures in some of my favourite spots in Iron Cove. I must have been out of practice because my hook-up rate started off terrible. The first hour I only landed 4 fish from stacks of hits. Moving along I found a good patch of fish in one of the bays and kept working it for about 2 dozen landed. Most were small whiting and bream. Best whiting was 38cm and I lost a very nice bream while I was working out how to lift it into the boat. How difficult is it to get good fish photos when fishing solo??? David

StgBundy, it was quite difficult getting back into the flow. It's a pretty laid back lifestyle over there and takes a while to adjust (both ways)!

Kadavu Island is about 90km south of Suva, the capital of Fiji. Along with a few other smaller islands it forms part of the Great Astrolabe Reef. With only 10,000 residents it’s covered in rainforest and palm tree lined beaches. It's also completely surrounded by pristine coral reefs. All three of us on this trip were returning visitors to Kadavu Island. This was to be my third trip, fourth for Scott and second for Dan. After an overnight stop in Nadi we were looking forward to five days of fishing. Day 1 – The Seamount (the no photo day)Making the most of the fine weather we decided to run south to the seamount. At 32nm it is quite a long trip but travelling at 20 to 25 knots ate up the distance in no time. It receives little pressure from the locals and can produce awesome fishing. On previous trips out there we caught dogtooth up to 64kg and heaps of yellowfin. When we arrived we found a few scattered birds but no surface activity. We decided to jig over the 150 metre deep top of the seamount first. Scott was the first to hook up midwater landing a nice yellowfin around 20kg. Before we could take a photo the boys were bleeding it and had it on ice for dinner. Soon after the tuna started busting up on the surface. There was little convincing needed to ditch the jig rods for 30 to 50 lb casting outfits. Throughout the morning we landed about 30 yellowfin up to 20kg. We used poppers and stickbaits and had some great surface strikes. When the tuna schools were down we dropped jigs on the seamount. Dan got an almaco jack (highfin amberjack) on a jig. Scott gave his jig rod to the deckie while he cast to some tuna. The jig got nailed by something huge which we hoped would be our first dogtooth for the trip. We had morning tea while the deckie hauled it up only to find an oceanic white tip had taken the jig. On the way home we popped for GTs. We had several enquiries before I hooked the first GT of the trip. A nice little 10kg model that we returned to the water. Day 2 – Ono Passage and beyond – The bodyboard GTThe wind had picked up overnight so we decided to stay inside the reef for the day. We headed north around Kadavu Island and through the Ono Passage. We popped the deep channels that drain the inner lagoon back to the open ocean. Dan put in a “one last cast” to one of the channel markers that we had completely flogged. In full view his popper got attacked by a huge GT that looked like a bodyboard with fins. He kept the hooks in it just long enough for me to get a photo of the bend in his rod before it shook the hooks. This was to be the story of the day for Dan with 6 fished dropped throughout the day. The afternoon was still windy and seas quite choppy. We braved the conditions to pop the outside of the reef to try and find some fish activity. Dan was the first to set the hooks into something big. My popper was a few meters behind his and also got hit for a double hookup. Mine was a tiny GT but Dan landed the biggest, stinky barracuda in Fiji. All up it was a slow day. Dan lost 6 fish but landed several reefies including the barracuda. I missed a couple of hits and landed a little GT. Scott got a few miscellaneous reefies on the jig. Day 3 – The South Reefs – Red Bass save the dayThe wind was continuing to pick up making conditions outside pretty uncomfortable. The plan was to head south, find spots sheltered from the swell and throw poppers for GTs. We tried several spots along the reef hoping for a GT (or anything). After several hours of casting poppers we were buggered and needed a change. Inside the reef we drifted over shallow reef flats casting small poppers and stickbaits. Scott and I picked up a few yellow lip emperor that fought hard in the shallow water. They were also quite tasty as baked fillets for dinner that night. Over some of the deeper bombies we had pack attacks by red bass. They had some decent size to them and tried the absolute best to reef us on the light tackle. You know it is a tough day when red bass are the savior! Day 4 – The Far South, Cape Washington – did a dolphin just eat my popper???With a big swell still running outside the reef many spots were too difficult to fish for GTs. We headed down to the far south of Kadavu Island to a place called Cape Washington. Along the way a pod of spinner dolphins kept us entertained with their antics. We popped a few sheltered locations but the swell was still quite large. I was starting to get back into the trance of not catching anything. Then something bizarre happened, a dolphin lurched right onto my popper. It took a moment to register what was going on. The captain and deckie were screaming "doggie, doggie, doggie, set the hook!!!!!". So I did, five times before this thing woke up and hit the afterburners. It took one insane screaming run before spitting my now splintered popper. Bugger! Working the outside the reef we caught several GTs between us. The biggest would have been about 25kg. Scott landed a massive coral trout that measured exactly 1 metre on the brag mat. After lunch schools of yellowfin were busting up outside the reef. We had to chase them with the boat as they were moving fast. We had some awesome takes off the surface and several triple hook ups to round out the day. Day 5 – The Atoll, North Astrolabe ReefLast day of the trip. The plan was to head far north to the coral atoll between Ono Island and Suva on the mainland. First stop was Ono Passage where Scott landed a massive rosie jobfish on the jig. Continuing on our way we passed some spectacular scenery. The tropical beaches lined with palm trees and coral reefs were just spectacular. Popping for GTs at the atoll was like most other locations - quiet. Dan spotted some birds hanging over a school of feeding yellowfin. We motored over and cast into the mayhem for an instant triple hookup. Dan and I landed fish around the 20kg mark but Scott had a brute hooked up on his heavy popping gear. It hit the decks and the captain called it for 40kg. It went straight onto the ice with his mates. Sashimi for dinner again. Final afternoon was time to thin out our tackle collection drifting the flats again. It was difficult fishing due to the strong winds. We landed heaps of bluefin trevally, coral trout, red bass and other miscellaneous reefies. We got a look at 2 solid black GTs but both missed the hooks. Over the next 3 hours we lost an absolute stack of tackle. There was plenty of practice tying FG and PR knots as well. No excess baggage charges on the flight home for us! All said it was a fantastic trip. The great yellowfin and red bass action turned many slow days around. We got a look at several monster fish but luck was not on our side. It's easier to handle losing big fish if the gear performs, knots hold and the angler doesn't make rookie mistakes. That’s just fishing. Now I just have to wash my gear up!

Nice work on the croc. I've hooked a few before but I've never had a guide that would let us bring one in the boat for a photo! Did you just lift it in or did you have to net it?

Nice work Gianni. I've seen a few genuine monster bream about when I've been walking the dogs. It's very tempting to go home and swap the dogs for a fishing rod!!! David

I've been out the bar a few times many years ago but it looks a lot shallower now. I would really like to get out there again as I remember the fishing was quite good. I would probably go with someone who could show me the ropes before I attempted it myself. Sure am dreaming of a meter fish. So close but so far!

Usually a 4 inch. I like catching bream and the 5 inch seems to cut my numbers down way too much!

My mate swears by the larger plastics in Lake Macquarie so I have upped my lures to very large prawn plastics with a flicky tail (brand doesn't seem to matter, just size). I'm getting a lot less fish overall but finding the few fish I do get are much, much bigger. Thanks, it's a bugger of a net. Would make a great sea anchor.

Interestingly, on one of the days in a similar spot we saw a disturbance on the surface which we thought might have been a seal. We motored over with the electric to check it out. In 30ft of water there was a huge flattie trying to digest a pretty large whiting on the surface. It thrashed around on the surface for a while and then sunk back down to the bottom with the whiting in its gob. To set eyes on three monster flatties in one trip was just unbelievable.

Spent a week and a half down at Sussex Inlet and managed to get a few good sessions in the Basin. The plan for day 1 was to drift over the artificial reefs and toss some plastics. When we arrived we found the reefs all had boats anchored on them. We decided to have a drift over near Sanctuary Point throwing some plastics around. Second cast of the trip I set the hook into a very heavy flattie that played up quite a bit. It was a nervous 6 shots with the net before my wife managed to get just over half of it into the net and swing it into the boat. It measured a respectable 90cm on 6lb leader - a new PB. A few photos and back she went. Check out the girth of it next to my foot! We also landed several bream up to mid 30s on the same morning on bait and plastics. I managed to get out again a few days later with my wife, mate Scott and his son Sam. We fished over near Sanctuary Point again. First drift I hooked up to another monster. My reliable net man (Scott) looked unusually nervous as the fish hit the surface. After some antics we finally had it in the boat and it measured 94cm on 6lb leader again. We took a few photos before we sent her back as well. I was surprised how many fish we ended up catching as I find the extra boat activity usually puts them off a bit. We did try and stay in the quieter spots with less boat traffic though. We found there were stacks of whiting to throw poppers at in the inlet and canals. We also caught salmon and trevs in the river on stickbaits and poppers.

Hi Broometime, I use Ice Dubbing which is available in a range of different greens for weed flies. 2 inches below the hook bend might be a stretch though as it is pretty curly stuff... Purchased from a shop in Rydalmere. David