Smasher

What do you guys target / catch with those?

Professional looking video. Is this for a uni project or something?

No fishing or anchoring in the sanctuary zones. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/656326/Jervis-Bay-Marine-Park-2015.pdf

What's the second last one? Almost looks like a bass

Wow that's keen AF! Do you know they get down here?

Nice report! From my experience (and it may just be pure luck) I've caught plenty of fish off between about La Perouse and Coogee, but bugger all between Bondi and South Head. Not sure what it is, fished out? Speaking of which, a few weeks ago we spotted this guy fishing on his own, complete with buckets and other gear all the way down there. Still have NFI how he got there. Guessing he must've been dropped off by a boat (which was nowhere to be seen) as there's no way he could've even abseiled down, but why there of all places? Looking at google maps it's the ledge at the bottom of the 50m cliffs at the end of Raleigh st Dover Heights.

5000ft

Google often relies on members of the public to update things like operating hours. Sometime last summer I googled the directions to Grays Point boat ramp and noticed it listed "permanently closed". Of course, it wasnt. Probably just some cheeky local trying to keep the crowds away. Best bet is to call the council.

Grays point has a tap, allowing you to flush your boat and trailer as soon as you pull it out. I like that.

I'm also interested in these motion sensors! Are they wired to your boats battery or have their own battery that requires periodic charging? Having an alert that appears on your phone would be ideal but how would that work without the unit having a sim card? Also any recommendations on GPS trackers?

Yes, I've bought covers from ebay. For both new boat and old boat. Am I happy with it? It does the job. Obviously it's never going to be as snug a fit as a custom made cover but the difference between paying $180 and ~$800 or whatever means that I'm more than happy to put up with a couple of flappy bits here and there for the money saved. As long as it doesnt pool water from the rain is the main thing but under a car port you should be fine. Guessing its mainly to keep dust, insects and birds out. They come with webbing straps + plastic clips, which can be a bit time consuming to do and undo each one if you're on your own. I'm considering swapping all of mine out with short occy straps. You can pickup a 12 pack of them for like $20 bucks.

I recently sold my boat on gumtree. Also had it on boatsales.com..au but all interest came from gumtree. Yes, I too got bombarded with straight up "Whats your lowest price" - I would just respond with $100 less than what I was asking and that was that. I figure these are professional dealers who scour every add looking for desperadoes and then they resell. Maybe a pathetic way of earning a crust, but I suppose who am I to judge? Not everyone is so privileged. Had another guy who wanted to swap it for a motorbike. WTF. Anyway eventually a genuine buyer came along. I suppose if you really wanted to get back at them, "accept" their $500. Then when they turn up all the way from woop woop tell them "nah sorry its sold 10 mins ago for the original price"

I find coppers do a spot check of random saftey gear items, whereas maritime guys check you've got EVERYTHING. Yes water cops are much nicer than highway patrol cops.

I've caught them before, albeit nowhere near that big, they've fought similar to sting rays. Just a very strong steady downward pull but they wear themselves out after not too long.

35 knot winds on Saturday might be your biggest issue mate

I once caught a massive (50cm) flathead on a squid jig. It nearly swallowed it!

That's nuts! Glad you're safe. My Dad had a mate who was killed exactly like that, back in the 70's.

I'm selling my (older) boat. It's done me very well. https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/marrickville/motorboats-powerboats/1992-sportscraft-cuddy-cabin/1153887695

From a boat I've seen guys fishing from the tops of the cliffs at Dover Heights / Vaucluse arouns Diamond Bay reserve, using live baits under floats. I have NFI how they manage to pull up anything they catch up what must be 25-50m of cliffs. Maybe they don't heh.

You can get fuel stabilizers to add as an additive that supposedly work to prevent fuel from gummying up and losing octane, for up to 2 years (so the labels say). E10 is particularly vulnerable to seperating and absorbing water from condensation after periods of time. 2 stroke also tends to seperate though my lawn mower never complains about running on ancient fuel. My boat mechanic said 6 months max on any fuel. My biggest issue is what to do with excess fuel? I don't have a big yard that I can tip it onto. The last time I tipped 20L down the side onto the fence my whole house stunk like petrol and the mrs was not impressed.

If you have a dedicated trolling rod/reel, then mono all the way. The stretch will mean that the lure will be less likely to rip out of a mouth of a fish and give you just enough time to back off the motor. Mono all the way on surf rods is OK also, too much sensitivity gives too many false alarms when your jig bounces around over divets in the sand. Otherwise braid + leader on every other rig.

Thanks rick. Which boat ramp in Port Stephens has the safest car park to leave your vehicle in overnight?

Hi Raiders, I'm planning a trip out to this island on a calm weekend and have a few questions: From what I've seen / read there are moorings in Esmeralda cove. Are these fairly new? Is there any issue with hitching up to one for the night - or is there a chance someone might come along and tell me to bugger off? Does it get busy on weekends in Spring? I plan to sleep on the boat rather than camp on the island itself. Cheers

A guy I know owns a solar power company, based in Newcastle, but give them a ring and get their advice. They're good & honest people. There's a lot of cheap chinese junk out there so you wanna make sure you buy quality as well as the right size for your boat. https://www.solaronline.com.au/ I bought a Roc Solid 120W portable panel for camping trips in my 4WD (dual batteries - 100ah deep cycle and an ordinary for cranking) and I can run my fridge and LED lights off the deep cycle indefinitely (as long as it's not 100% overcast). http://www.roc-solidsolar.com.au/portable-solar-panels.php You'll probably also want to look into getting a spinny thing that stops birds crapping all over it while its moored.

When I bought my boat I asked the seller to take it to a local marine. A mechanic did a compression test and an all round checkover. $180 I think. Mechanic was happy so I paid the seller and drove off with it. If the inboard is a mercruiser, ask when the last time the manifold was replaced. Has to be done every 5 -7 years.