Captain Spanner

I think we should stop giving the squid jig companies ideas or before you know it we'll be buying 4 different shades of each colour, size, and brand jig just to make sure we've got our options covered. I need a bigger squid jig tray just thinking about it.

Greg if you're plastic fishing you could easily have gulp juice on your line from rigging plastics on the jigheads. In the jigging sitiuation and any other (includiong plastics or even slow trolling) for that matter i think it is extremely possible that tiny pieces of weed, kelp, anything at all that may be in the water gets temporarily wrapped around or stuck to your line for even a second and they eat it.

I use 10lb braid and a rod length 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I find this the best compromise for number of hits to getting most of my jigs back. When you get caught on the kelp or ribbon weed, the smoother you can pull on the snag the more chance you have of the jig tearing through the kelp or the weed breaking before the line snaps. I can appreciate that lighter lines and leaders will probably catch more squid and that heavier lines get back more jigs.

Imagine what that will look like at 8pm tonight with an extra half a metre on the high tide.

This weekend i'll be taking the opportunity to wash my fishing wet weather gear Saturday and Sunday. First step is to make sure the silicon spray waterproofing is up to scratch on my fishing ugg boots (haven't had to step it up to scotchguard or snoseal yet). Then I'll get out the thermals, raincoat, rain pants, canopy and clears. Find someone that can be convinced that "It's not really that bad" or "It'll be ok where we're going" or "It's meant to clear up and yes we will come home if it gets TOO BAD" (the fine print reads "TOO BAD" to be determined on-site by the driver, ME). Pack the boat, travel to fishing destination of choice (within reason of safety), commence rinsing of wet weather gear.

Thanks for your help Chris. I bought a new cable for just under $60, installed it and now the sounder works fine.

If you like the rod then i think $113 is a good price for it. I own a 7' 6-10kg and an 8' 3-5kg and like both of them. I'm pretty sure that they cost me more than $113 each.

It would be interesting to see the host of a 52cm Remora. Especially around the Hacking.

Hey guys, I've had a look through the search options and was hoping to get a bit better info on fishing in Bali, I'm possibly heading over in August and would like suggestions for Possible Charters, fishing areas and gear to take etc. PMs may be the best way of letting me know about any charter names/contacts/expected prices. Thanks

I'm just guessing but i think the idea of no bait is to prevent accidental by-catch of Grey Nurse Sharks. I'd call fisheries and or marine parks and try to talk to the field officer for the area to get their interpretation as they will be the ones enforcing it.

I dont really fish Kelso but i think you should be able to hit ok water from the shore there without getting too wet. On the safety side of things apart from getting your gum boots stuck in the sand/mud i wouldnt want to be trying to swim in gumboots full of water, i'd imagine you would get dragged under pretty quickly if you could no longer reach the bottom or get them off. I'm pretty sure guys do drown occasionally when they fall over and have their waders fill up in both the surf and streams and i would imagine it could happen on the flats too (keeping in mind you may be on the edge of a channel that has substantial tidal flow at Kelso). People may see Bull sharks as a wading hazard at Kelso also. I would recommend wetsuits booties or dunlop volleys to protect your feet from sharps until you are more experienced at wading these areas even though it can get cold. There are flats around Dolls Point and Brightom in Botany Bay and also in Gunamatta Bay in the Port Hacking that may be a safer/better starting point. Probably from a fishing point of view as well. Good Luck

Could it have gotten in there when you cleaned/stored the fish?

Hey guys, I'm hoping someone on here can point me in the right direction with my Furuno LS4100 that is few years old. Last weekend i had a little boating trouble. Motor tilted up to max, raised travelling brace, motor wouldn't go down. So i immediately assumed lack of power or poor connection. The only thing that worked in the boat was the Furuno. After mucking around with the connections, battery out of the car etc. I pulled the boat out and took it home. After jiggling the trim switches (difficult when you can only just fit your hand under the cowling) i got some action. i then replaced (to be on the safe side) the trim switches in the outboard and cleaned up my battery terminals and connections. The only thing that didn't work was the Furuno. No fuses blown, more than 12V at the battery, 12.6V on the wires before the magic round plug that goes into the sounder. By cutting, cleaning, sharpening a bobby pin and taping these new needles to my multi meter i got about 9.5V in the power terminals in the magic round plug that goes in the sounder (i am happy to accept that my reading may be lower due to dodgy contact methods in measurement). There was minor corrosion in the round plug but i cleaned it easily with innox and a piece of 80lb mono and it looks ok (as far as i can see). The unit still doesn't even look like turning on. The required Voltage range is between 10 and 16V, otherwise there should be a low voltage sign on the screen. I think i should have enough power for at least this to work as i have enough to start and run my motor. I took the unit down to my place of purchase and plugged it into their demo power supply and it turned on 1st go. All i can think of is that maybe the corrosion in the plug is not allowing good contact when it is fitted to the unit. My next guess would be order in a new plug and rewire it and hope it works. Can anyone on here tell me if im close, how much $$$ and time this guessing process may cost or have a better answer for me. Thanks guys

I haven't launched at Bellambi for many years but do often surf down there. Be very careful of where the reefs and bommies are near the boatramp and especially to the east and the south. They can break without warning even when it looks flat. There is also a bommie 100 or 200m north of where they surf near Bellambi Ocean Pool that often breaks. I haven't done much plastic fishing for snapper. There should be heaps on here if you do a search. It looks like the guys use from 1/4oz up to 1oz jig heads if there is alot of current on 5" and 7" jerk shads and similar plastics. I think they use 20-30lb braid and similar fluorocarbon leaders but im sure someone who knows more will fill you in.

If you caught a few fish then you were doing something right. Just keep note of where the hookups happen and on which lures and loop around over the spot again and you'll often hookup again. I normally pull christmas tree jigs and small skirts (4 to 6 inches long) at 6 or 7 knots, or diving lures like xraps at 4 to 6 knots depending on conditions. I normally focus on the points that jut out of the cliffs at the end of the bays and wash zones. Be careful not to go too close to the rocks and watch the sounder. You would have seen several of these little points and bays as you headed south from botany towards the hacking. You will often get schools of fish in the middle of the heads of botany as well. Look for birds and funny swirly patterns or splashes in the water and watch out for the container ships and oil takners so you dont get run over.

Not meaning to hijack but i think this is definitely within topic. We got smashed by 2 big kings downrigging along a 10-15m ledge on the weekend (1st hit whole fresh squid, 2nd hit fresh strip). 1st one on 50lb braid on a 6500B Baitrunner, couldn't get the rod out of the holder and it busted off (drag too tight, line probably cut itself on the spool). Second one i fished with my rod in hand at the ready while connected to the downrigger. When the fish was hooked up i upped the 14000 saragossa a few turns to max drag which is apparently 20kgs (not deliberately max i just turned it that far in the heat of the moment) and we started to drive for deeper water, (80lb braid, mid knot to 4m of 80lb leader to 6ft of 150lb trace). the fish bolted stripping maybe 50m of line at pace like it was nothing and rubbed me off on the bottom, it nearly pulled me over the bait board as i only weigh 65kg and i wasn't letting go of the rod or backing down. Line cut just a foot or 2 above the 150lb trace. Do you guys think in this situation i should have set the hook and then opened the bail arm until the boat was well clear of the ledge (but still only max 20m deep but cleaner bottom) and hope the fish goes for the deeper water too or only had the drag at a few kgs until i was in clearer water and then up it to about 14kgs? Or do you just do the same again and hope that next time the fish swims the other way or that you can turn it in time? We normally troll with a bit more line out than the water is deep, so he can reach bottom without having to pull any drag at all if he goes straight down. Any guesses for the minimum size of the king to pull that much drag like that? It was definitely the biggest king anyone on the boat had seen hooked. I'm hoping that your advice will help me get those hooks back this weekend .

Ulladulla, Lake Conjola, Tabourie are nice and there are heaps of accomodation/camping options, fishing, snorkelling and surf options if your son surfs or swims. You're looking at about 2 and a half hours from your place.

Could be an idea to let fisheries or at least waterway know where it was so it can be removed as it could be a potential hazard for fish, boats, swimmers, divers etc.

Hopefully someone will verify this but i thought it was 2 nautical miles from the coastline not 2km. 2 Nautical miles would be about 3.6km. I got the one with GPS that is slightly more $$ because i figured if i have to spend $400 to $500 i may as well spend $700 and have a chance that the thing will actually be effective if i ever have to use it. 2km square search zone is alot of water to be found in, especially if its rough. Also keep in mind, i dont think a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) which are also EPIRBs satisfy the maritime requirements for the vessel although you can have both. So make sure the model you are looking at satisfies the requirements.

I only really do this with big baits because i normally just fish a J hook sideways through the nostrils for kings. But i'll give you a quick run down on what i do. First you'll need a bait needle from a good tackle shop. It looks like a big needle but the eye opens or is an almost closed loop. You'll also need no. 16 rubber bands or dacron. I use dacron tied in a loop from 3 to 4 inches long depending on how big the bait is or how much gap you want between the hook and his nose. I have only about an inch for yakkas unless they are massive. Other guys may have up to a couple of inches for large slimies for marlin. 1. Thread the rubber band or dacron onto the eye of the bait needle 2. carefully remove the livie from the well with a little net or your hand and place him on a wet towel.(i recommend towel on the floor if you are learning and dont have many livies to lose over the side when they kick out of your hand). 3. Insert the needle pointy end first through the eye socket above the eye WITHOUT PIERCING THE EYE. (some guys go through the nostrils but i think they go better through the eye socket). Pull the needle all the way through but leave the band or dacron with an end hanging out each side of the fish. 4. Remove the needle from the band or dacron and leave the band or dacron with each end hanging out the sides of the bait. 5. Now you can either do a couple of hitches over the pointy end of the hook (past the barb) with each end of the loop, thinking about which way you go so as not to cause twisting problems and slide the band or dacron down to the gape of the hook and check it looks straight. Now the livie will be hanging by the bridle from the hook ready to go swimming. OR 5a. Push one end of the loop through the other end of the loop to form a kind of loop knot and straighten it on his head. Now make another loop not prepared at the other end to slide over the point of the hook. put that over the hook and snug it down onto the gape.this method holds the bridle firmer to both the bait and to the hook with less twisting wraps as mentioned in point 5 above. Im sure one of the game fishing guys will have better ideas and more experience but thats what i do.

The distances to the Fads i think are 9 to 10 km and 16km as mentioned above. I think that rod should be fine for most of the dollies you may encounter and remember apart from the fad itself there is no structure out there for the fish to go around. I reckon the best sea sick tablets ive taken by far are ET's sea sick pills from BOVA chemist at Caringbah. I've tried kwells (they make me sleepy and dont work for me), I've tried travacalm and they are better than kwells but with funny side effects. ET's pills, for me are the most effective and have the most manageable side effects.

You're right. Mahi Mahi is another name for Dolphin Fish. Maybe they had also caught a Dolphin fish on that trip because they are often caught when fishing for Marlin and other Billfish such as Sailfish.

All of the above advice is good and ill just add a little bit to the first post. If all else fails i: -chop up one or two handfuls of pillies, -put a whole pillie on 2 hooks unweighted, -setup a drift past the fad and when you get close you throw half the chopped pillies out (you will often see the fish if they are there), -then flick the whole pillie out near where you threw the chunks. I often use a baitrunner or free spool to at least let them go a little way (until he has steady momentum) before setting the hook to stop the pillies just getting torn off by enquiries. -If it doesn't get hit straight away throw the second handful of chunks at your bait. -If you have tried this for up to 5 drifts and cant get a fish, unhook the mutton bird that has now clued onto what you are doing and just ate your pilchard and move to the next fad. I usually try to keep a livie in the water most of the time too just in case they change their mind.

I've had the same problem with a couple of mine. Shimano can fix it because they've done it for me as part of a service before but it does get stiff again. I've tried pulling it apart several times but looks like the bit you wish you could get out is a rivet like thing that i wasn't brave enough to mess with. I think i rang shimano but i cant remember what they said now but i would have remembered then. Before i start with what i did to fix it you should know that am no authority on reel maintainance and there are possibly things in here that are a massive no no but it worked and the reels now still work. You can get the little black cap out of the end of the knob with a hook, (6/0 or 8/0 Octopus works). I've tried running it under very hot water, flossing it and all sorts of things trying to get the grime unstuck. I think what was the most effective (but not perfect) in the end was using the Shimano oil they give you (and i think i also used a teflon lube called tri flo at times but it will dry out over time) I just kept applying the lubricants to the inside of the knob and tried to get it in the back of the rivet looking thing too and just keep moving and twisting the knob until it starts to feel like it loosens up a bit and begins to feel a little more normal. You only have to do it about 8 million times and it should start to get a little better. I just used to do it while i was watching tv on the couch. Now that i've thought about it Salt-away or some type of solvent might have worked too. Just make sure you relubricate it. The first thing i would do is ring shimano. Sorry i can't remember more. Good luck

They are actually pretty good on the tooth if looked after. We spike, bleed and ice the fish immediately. At home we then fillet, skin and cut the rib cage out (you dont really lose that much). Then we cut the blood line out of each fillet and either slice and then chill for sashimi (you can wrap them in moist sushi style seaweed for a few hours to give a different, smokier taste). If we cook them we usually lighlty flour and lightly fry the nice white portions of flesh and serve simply with lemon,salt, pepper to taste. All the frames, skins, offcuts etc from the preparation get frozen for burley. They go well as strip or cube cut baits and can be fished many ways, bigger strips on a 2 hook rig or gang hooks, strips or cubes on single hooks. Baits can be used fresh, salted or frozen. And dont forget live if you have a small enough bonnie or big enough gear. Sorry i dont have time to go into too much detail of rigs and techniques at the moment but im pretty sure this stuff will be on this site somewhere if someone can point him in the right direction please. Good Luck