MGibbo

What a classic Father Stumpy. well done - I didn't know you were religious!

Hi Paul - what lovely people you and Pieta are, it was a pleasure meeting you both. Cheers Marg Thanks Mrsswordfisherman (aka Donna) - I find it hard to cut down on my pics, so by making a collage I get to display more. Look forward to catching up with more Raiders hopefully at the next workshop, as we got our fishfinder working over the weekend but need to learn more about it.

Love the Hawkesbury - sounds like a great fishing session. Nice report! Cheers Marg

TOP WEEKEND, TOP PEOPLE, TOP LOCATION, TOP EXPERIENCE. Got to the social Friday evening in time for dinner, settled in and met a few Raiders within minutes of our arrival - special thanks to ROSS, DONNA and STEWY for making my family feel so welcome. Extra special thanks to Ross (aka Flight Manager) for a wonderful evening sharing life and many beverages with other easy going raiders ie. The Stumpies and The RZep's! Got up a little later than expected with a slightly sore head but all geared to enjoy a bacon and egg roll then hit the water. I've put together a few photos which basically tell the story of this great social weekend. I do have some good pics of other Raider's fishing success stories but I'll leave that for them to post. In total my family caught over the weekend: 6 Bream (1 almost legal 24cm) 5 Flatties (1 legal 37.5cm & others just under sized) 1 Blue Swimmer Crab All the kids were thrilled to receive a generous special show bag donated by Watto's and Stumpy. A big THANK YOU from my three sons. We all enjoyed the Casting Comp - will definitely get them to practice that for next time. Full on action at Budgie Woi Saturday arvo/night with all raiders heading to the beach - must take the beach rods next time and also plan a special trip there soon. Going a little stir-crazy? Finally - thanks for such a great weekend Fishraider - it was great therapy! Had to reduce the pics to extra small to be able to post. CHEERS MARG, STEVE, NICK, BEN & RILEY

Thanks for that Donna - I'll check it out. See you Friday. Cheers Marg P.S. Fingers crossed the rain stops!

Thanks Johnno, it's a Lowrance. I'm not sure if it is reading accurately and there is something happening with the screen that isn't right. I thought it would be worth getting a quote to have it looked at compared to purchasing a new one. If I did purchase a new one, I'm totally confused as to which ones do the job for a responsible price. CONGRATULATIONS on becoming a GOLD MEMBER - well done! Kind regards Marg

Can anyone recommend where to get a fishfinder serviced in Sydney? Preferably Hornsby area? Ta. Marg

Nice Jewie - bet it brought a bit of excitement reeling it in. Cheers Marg

Well done Mako - what a catch! Great pics. My neighbour, Rob, was out with his brother-in-law yesterday at Browns Mountain as well and caught 3 blue eyes - one was as big as my 7 year old. Were there many boats out with you? Cheers Marg

Thanks all for your replies - it's great to have a bit of a direction when you are aiming for a particular fish. Hopefully I will be posting a successful report by the end of next week. Cheers Marg

Would you like to join us in the carpark Murray? You are more than welcome! Fantastic help Mick - much appreciated - I know how hard it is for fisho's to share this type of info. I've certainly learnt a lot from this site. Kind regards Marg

I love it - what a great way to capture what sounds like your two passions in life ... WHAT A CATCH! All the best for your future together. Cheers Marg

Hi Fishraiders - I'm heading out next week with some very serious fishing gals (3) and we definitely would like to come home with a few success stories - as we all do. Could anyone please kindly suggest where the best spots are for getting flathead on the Hawkesbury. Specific spots would be wonderful - feel free to PM me. Mrs Stumpy and I are keen to have a practice run before the social - one more week to go! Also if anyone is able to post a photo of the best lures/soft plastics to use for flathead, that would be wonderful. Cheers Marg (fingers crossed)

I think a little drama always adds to the excitement of the catch, making it extremely satisfying at the end. What a great fish, I'd love to catch one of these one day. Well done & Cheers Marg

Yeh there's something very FISHY about that one Murray.

Thanks Jeff - yeh I'm counting on it! Fingers crossed we get nice weather. Hey Boofhead - what are you implying??? BORED!!!

Took my niece's out on the water yesterday (18 & 22) but unfortunately with them being the Paris Hilton types I was feeling too guilty making them persevere with the fishing, so we only lasted a very short time with our lines in the water - I hate it when you just don't get enough fishing time in. I look forward to heading out for a fish with Mrs Stumpy early next week. Met a friend back at the ramp who managed 3 DECENT BREAM and a 64cm FLATHEAD from Bar Point.

Thanks guys, much appreciated - will check out the link. Cheers Marg

Has anyone got some advice on catching Hair Tail. Timing Tackle Bait Location Recipes? From memory you need a bit of strength to reel them in as they only swim either up or typically down when caught. How do you recommend taming the beast when you land them? Cheers Marg

Hi All - My name is Marg and I'm pushing 40 next year (2008) and plan to either rent a houseboat or a house on the Hawkesbury for the week of my birthday and can't wait (what's age anyway!). I've been fishing/boating since I was very young thanks to my parents having a love for the water. We started off with a bright yellow tinnie, then a runabout and then my Dad got into restoring timber cabin cruisers YIPPEE which meant we spent every weekend on the Hawkesbury from Friday night until Sunday night. My parents were members of Ku-ring-gai Motor Yacht Club for years and our boats where moored there. They had many boating friends who would tie up next to us for the weekend mostly in Yeoman's or Smith Creeks and they drank excessively (before the days of RBT) - I truly don't know how we survived the trip home to Normanhurst every Sunday night. Anyway whilst they drank and fished we caught pretty much all that the Hawkesbury had to offer, which was fantastic back then - I don't think we ever went home without a decent catch. Unfortunately my Mum past away from cancer when I was 17 and Dad just couldn't enjoy the water without her so he sold our last and wonderful boat called Tookooya - send me a PM if you ever see a halverson looking boat with that name as I'd love to see what it's like now. My wonderful hubby (Steve) who I've been with since I was 17 share a love for the great outdoors, camping, 4WD and fishing. We have 3 gorgeous boys - Nick (1995), Ben (1997) and Riley (1999). We accidently discovered via Ebay and purchased a Stejcraft Bowrider on the last day of school last year and haven't looked back. Prior to that we did a lot of beach fishing mainly from Hawks Nest and/or occasionally rented a tinnie. I must comment that hubby isn't as patient as me with regards to fishing and these days seems to untangle the boys lines more than anything, however, they are also getting better at managing their own fishing demands. I've always encouraged them to put their own bait on as practice makes perfect. My latest claim to fame and reason for joining FR was a 55cm jewie, as I had to tell someone about it. Love this site - well done to the administrators/owners. I only joined in January 2007 but have met so many wonderful people and really look forward to attending the Entrance Social at the end of April - only a few more sleeps to go. I wasn't going to make this a long post but as usual got carried away. I have a very addictive personality, meaning that when I love something I'm completely passionate about it and become full on - such as fishing, photography and posting on FR. I constantly feel immortal so try to live life to the max and I'm very into spontaneity - just ask fellow Raiders Mr & Mrs Stumpy about that. Cheers Marg

What a dream catch - CONGRATULATIONS! I can just imagine how much fun you would have had reeling them in, as I get a buzz from just one. Cheers Marg

A shop called "Seaweed & Sand" sell them. Wonder if I should put some on the boat (heheheh)! Cheers Marg

A huge THANK YOU to Quinfish (aka Robert) for supplying me with a spare winch handle when he heard mine was stolen from Berowra Waters Saturday night. Your generosity and kindness is MUCH APPRECIATED. It was a pleasure to meet you and Billy (1975) yesterday afternoon at Apple Tree Bay - look forward to catching up with you on the water. Kind Regards Marg

Hopefully I will catch something better than him, mind you our son has the biggest flat head so far in our family. Jo you shouldn't speak about your son like that ..... BIGGEST FLAT HEAD!

Congrats on your first post - well done Poor chuckie! Cheers Marg