[Night Fishing At Botany]

Went out on the Bay last Saturday (morning), it was rough, ended up staying anchored just out from the Cooks river behind the runway wall, less choppy compared to in the open out towards the end of the runway and middle of the bay, but I did fish their at night a few months back, and on that particular night it was very calm, no wind, no swell or waves at all.

What you might want to do is head out say around 3:30pm/4:00pm while there is still plenty of light, use that time to find you bearings (it doesn't take much time to travel around the bay).

But a word of warning, there is plenty of work happening in the middle of the bay at the moment, alot of area is roped off (and no hazzard lights to mark it either), I think it's due to laying pipes from Kurnell to across the bay for the new desalination plant.

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/MajorProject...baypipeline.cfm

Where to fish in the bay, if it's not rough, head out towards the end of the 3rd Runway, or towards the deep shipping chanels at Port Botany.

Good Luck!

[Early Morning At Cg]

That is a whooper leather jacket.

If you don't mind, what or where is "CG"?

Regards,

Long

[What Does It All Mean?]

as long as you don't need to travel up too many hills/mountains you should be ok, the Yaris should have enough power to tow your boat around, but you will feel the weight behind you.

Just take it easy when towing.

Good luck with the fishing, were abouts will you be fishing over Easter? We're going to trying the Hawksbury very early Sat morning, and probably Botany Bay early Monday morning.

[George's River]

I doubt there is anything close to Merrylands to fish for.

But if you want to try the Georges River, a few positions (land base) you can try is Tom Ugly's Bridge (if you're heading from Oatley over to Sylvainia), before you cross the bridge go off to the left, there is a car park and plenty of fishing room.

Otherwise try just before Captain Cooks Bridge over at Ramsgate, there is a small jetty there.

Good Luck!

[Jew Harbour Goes Off]

Great Jewie and flatties, hoping to catch a jewie that size one day, which river system (or off shore) did you catch those in?

Was out on the Hawkesbury in Jan, go a many 40 cm Jewies, no whooper, tried and over the Anzac day long weekend, but no Jewies at all, only 4 breams and plenty of catfish. Will give it another go over the Easter long weekend.

Regards,

Long

[Northstar Explorer 457 Or Similar]

Hi,

Thinking of buying a Northstar Explorer 457 (fish finder), anyone here has one or experince with them? If not, any recommendation on a similar product in price range of $500 - $800? I can get the Explorer 457 for $799 + postage.

In the Box:

Explorer 457

Flush mount kit

Power/Data cable

Bracket

Transom mount transducer

Sun cover

Manual

Transducer manual

The 457 maximizes helm space and value, by putting all that power in a 5" screen.

DISPLAY

Display Size 5 in \ 127 mm

Display Resolution 640 x 480 (H x W)

Display Type 256 Color TFT LCD

Backlighting Color White

Backlighting Levels 16

Resize Display Window Yes

Sonar Overlay Data Yes

Split Screen Presentation Yes

Multilanguage Display Yes

Languages Supported 13

SONAR / SOUNDER

Sonar Frequency 50 kHz and 200 kHz

Transducer Type Various: See transducer selection table

Sonar Output Power Max 600 W

Sonar Depth Max 2000 ft \ 600 m

Sonar Alarms: Fish, Max and Min Depth Yes

Depth Alarm Yes

Temperature Display Yes

Depth Units Yes

Fish Detection Yes

Sounder On/Off Yes

GPS / NAVIGATION

GPS Interface Yes

AUTOPILOT / AUTOSTEERING

Automatic Tuning Yes

NETWORKING / CONNECTORS

NMEA 0183 Input Yes

NMEA Output DBT, DPT, VHW, MTW, VLW, XDR

TECHNICAL / ENVIRONMENTAL

Mounting Flush mount, Bracket Mount (Bracket Included)

Waterproof Standard IPX7

Width 6.5 in \ 164 mm

Height 5.9 in \ 150 mm

Depth 3.5 in \ 88.5 mm

POWER

Power Supply 10.5 to 32 vDC

Power Consumption 900 mA max - full backlighting

Power Consumption Lights Off 350 mA

Power Consumption Lights On 900 mA

OTHER

Adjustable Gain Yes

Alarm Output Yes

Button Type Laser etched silicone rubber and backlit

Compass Safe Distance 39.4 in \ 1000 mm

Cursor Control Yes

Environmental Rating IPX7

External Alarm Yes

Log Units Yes

Manual Automatic Control Yes

Night Illumination Yes

Non Volatile Memory Yes

Operating Temperature 0° to 50°C

Sea Temperature Yes

Speed Damping Yes

Speed Display Yes

Speed Units Yes

Supplied With Bracket, Power Cable, Sun Cover, Manuals

Trip Log Yes

Type Of Equipment Fishfinder

Thanks.

Regards,

Long

[Buying First Boat]

Did you end up buying the boat or still deciding?

We bought a 17 foot half cab back in Feb, and yes, it's not that easy to launch and retrieve, especially if it's by yourself.

We learnt that the easiest way to launch/retrieve was to drive the boat on and off the trailer, without that, it took alot of muscle power to push the boat off the trailer.

But apart from that, having a half cab is definitely more comfortable to be fishing in compared to a tinny.

Good Luck!

Long.

[Red Fin On Lake Burley Griffin Act]

Nicely done Grebbo.

Did you fish from the shore or from a boat?

I've tried in front of Duntroon for very little success and had a quick session at Black Mountain Perninsula (last weekend) for no success (shore based), any tips or tricks to in getting a Redfin or two from Lake Burley Griffin?

Last year had good session out at Googong dam on worms, but have tried once out there this year, that was not very productive either.

Regards,

Long

Hi Raiders,

Hope everyone had a productive Australia Day Long weekend!

Just a quick update on the red-fin fishing conditions on the lake Burley Griffin in Canberra , (Sunday 28-01-07)

Went out yesterday in the afternoon and had a ripper of a session, between the two of us we caught around 35 and bagged 20 good size reddies, most around the 32cm mark with a decent 35cm from time to time.

Surface water is around 27 deg, so deep jigging seams to work with SP.

Still chasing that 50 cm reddie that apparently lives somewhere there.