jgrant666

Apologies for the late reply, but as was suggested I fully retracted the rams one it was on the travel bracket then cycled it through a couple of times and it seems to be holding position ok now which is good. Seems I've opened up a can of worms though as to whether it's better to store your motor down or on the bracket! Maybe it's much ado about nothing? Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

Good Call, I might leave it sitting with the bracket out but just above that level and see if it sinks down onto the bracket, then I'll know if it's putting force on or not thanks mate - good tip, I'll try that as well, some googling awaits!

thanks mate, I'll make sure I lift it up and put it back on the bracket then as soon as I get home! Possibly a totally stupid question but how would I retract the rams once It's sitting on the travel bracket? Do I need to disengage something first? Electrical connection is ok it's just that once lifted a bit it is lowering itself down again not holding in the position I leave it in

wow - at least mine doesn't sound that bad! No oil I can see leaking so maybe it is just the seal. I imagine the travel bracket will do the same job as your dad's trusty piece of dowell.....

Morning raiders, I've noticed yesterday that my power trim isn't staying in place. normally when parked in my driveway I leave the motor down so it doesn't get in the way for us to walk through to our front door, but I noticed yesterday that the motor was actually sitting on the ground. I raised it up with the trim so that it was a couple of inches off the ground but 20 mins later it had lowered itself back down and was resting on the ground again! I'm assuming this isn't good, so might have to raise the motor right back up and use the travel bracket to keep it in place, as I'm thinking that having it sitting on the ground might be flexing the transom a little bit? I also noticed last time I flushed the motor that when raising or lowering it once you get to fully raised or lowered it will keep trying to go further and one of the pistons in the trim will keep moving despite the motor going no further, so I'm assuming at least one of the pistons in the power trim is stuffed and may need to be replaced. anyone know how big a job and how much replacing the trim is likely to run to? Motor is a 93 Johnson 70hp. I'll probably have to take it somewhere as I have no way of removing the motor myself and it's too big a job for my limited mr fixit skills, and this is definitely something I'd want done right! this also means that when I take the boat out trimming the engine is probably out the window, but I'm not so concerned by that as the boat seems to run best when the motor is straight down anyway

Sounds like a great session with the family, it's so rewarding when the kids manage to land a keeper isn't it! I'm kicking myself that I didn't go out sunday, forecast was dubious but it turned out to be an awesome day. After going to a gig saturday night though I probably would have exploded a breathalyser if asked to blow in one so definitely for the best that I stayed in bed watching netflix.....

Thanks mate, much appreciated. Vote 2 for the bridle! Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

Thanks mate! Was caught in Cowan creek so there are fish in there then! I must just be hitting the wrong places lol

What a nice catch! Was that round the harbour or in another system? Not asking for your secret spot just a general area ;-)

ah ok that makes sense, sounds like I need a bridle then!

G'day raiders I'm thinking about buying a ski biscuit so we can have some fun towing the kids this summer. Our new boat has 2 ski rope attachment points, one on each rear corner, and it came with a tow rope but that tow rope is just a straight rope without a bridle. Are there any possible problems just using that rope or would I be better off getting a bridle type one that can connect to both attachment points? I'm thinking that using the straight rope to just one of the connectors might be more likely to foul the prop if (when!) they come off the tube and I need to slow down to pick them up, but I could minimise the risk of that by always turning towards the side the rope is attached to if I need to slow down to pick someone up? (ie if I connect it on the port side then make sure I turn to port when slowing to pick up). Have read a couple of other posts on here with some great tips for towing people behind the boat, but couldn't see anything about tow ropes themselves.... boat is a 4.6m fibeglass half cab with a Johnson 2-stroke 70hp on the back, so should be plenty to have a bit of fun with the kids

Great report mate, I've not tried the SPs or lures much myself yet but might have to start giving them a go if my results on baits don't improve too much. If you get any tips on bait spots round the area I'd appreciate if you could pass them on to me via msg as well as I also live in that areaand it'd be great if I could do my bait collecting locally before heading off to the ramp further afield

Ah ok makes perfect sense actually :-) Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

Hi guys, just curious as I'm not really familiar with Snelling hooks, what would be the advantage of snelling vs normal gang hooks? I've been using gangs for whole pillies & strip baits with some success and was thinking of doing the same with a larger squid, but maybe snelling is a better option?

Nice work - you guys seem to really have the skills! I assume you're not keeping anything caught in the parra river?

If it was me and the wife plus two boredish looking kids then that was us Pop over and say hello next time! Any luck with the trolling? Did you come in from further out - I think I remember seeing you now that you mention it

Ah that makes sense then. I wonder if they catch many round there, Might just have to invest in a couple of pots as the Mrs has now decided we need to provide a seafood feast for christmas! I don't suppose you know if there's any special restrictions on pots round there for recreational fishos other than the standard DPI ones?

My pleasure. Fingers crossed it meets your expectations then :-) The hawkesbury has been pretty quiet for us so far, only just managed to boat our first legal catch after 4 trips, and haven't seen many other boats pulling much in either. Could just be the spots I've been trying though or (more likely) our technique! Hopefully it starts to pick up as the weather warms....

I wouldn't worry too much if it's an alloy boat, they tend to be pretty tough. as long as the motor runs well and the electrics are all ok, you see some shoddy DIY stuff on boats & trailers, particularly older ones like that. Seems pretty tidy but I'd be slightly concerned by the lack of pics they've put up, especially since it's a dealer. Maybe ask them to take some pics of the motor with the cowling off, the battery & electrical connections, trailer close ups and the interior? Might save you a trip up especially if the motor is filthy and doesn't look well maintained.... 1yr warranty is certainly a plus though!

Decided to git up Lion island again this weekend after dropping a couple of tailor on our last outing. due to family commitments Sunday had to be the day despite the weather looking marginally better on the Saturday. managed to get the family up at 5am (despite the usual protestations from our eldest......), and out the door by 5:25 - a new record. Had the boat prepacked ise & bait pre-bought, and lunches sorted so we made it to Apple tree bay by 6am and were in the water shortly after. it was an absolutely beautiful morning, the usual cowan creek fog didn't materialise and the wind was barely blowing so the water was as calm as I've seen it, making for a gorgeous & quick run down cowan creek as the sun poked its head over the hills around us. Conditions remained brilliant out in broken bay so we started drifing the southern side of Lion island in about 12m of water right on high tide, gave it an hour but not much doing (except for losing a couple of rigs to peoples bloody crab traps, the island was littered with them for some reason ! ), so we decided to try the north side instead. by now it was about 8am and the tide had turned & started to run out, and one our second drift I was on! Managed to land a 40cm snapper and my first legal table fish for the family! Very glad to have finally christened the boat. not long after the rod I had hanging off the back with an unweighted pilly on ganged 4/0 hooks goes off - had a wire trace on it this time round after last trip's bust-offs so that fish was mine. turned out to be a nice 40cm Tailor who put up an impressive fight before going into the esky with the snapper. a Couple more drifts saw another just legal snapper go into the esky, and another tailor (presumably) smash our floating pilly, but unfortunately my eldest was in charge this time - poor bloke got frustrated and loosened the drag instead of striking so it became his 'one that got away' - I'm sure he's learned his lesson though. Unfortunately though we'd gotten pretty distracted by the fish and then losing more rigs to the bloody crab pots all round the island and lost track of the time - and the wind! By 11am the predicted noreaster was really starting to blow and the swell was picking up so it was time to get going and seek somewhere protected. Kinda kicking myself as I'd set a 10am limit for myself to head back in based on the predictions on seabreeze, meteye and willy weather but who's watching the clock when the fish are biting Eh! Had an interesting run back up broken bay with the swells semi quartering us and me still getting used to the throttles (which on my boat don't seem that responsive, something to get checked out over winter when I get the motor serviced) , but we made it back to calmer waters fine excepts for my white knuckles and the wife with cramps on her arms from holding on for her life Pulled into Jerusalem bay to get out of the wind, tried a couple of different and likely looking spots but only managed a couple of very small snapper & bream which all went safely back to keep growing for next time. Lunch, a swim & snorkel to get the kids to burn off some energy, then back to Good ol' apple tree bay to retrieve the boat. The kids were NOT impressed when we made them scale & gut our catches - it's amazing how kids can work themselves up into almost being sick when they want to isn't it?!?!?! But they have to learn and hopefully next time they'll be better with it, especially if it's their own catch they're cleaning (I was the only one to hook anything this time round - normally the mrs is the 'chosen one', but that's fishing isn't it!) Either way a great day was had by all and I'm sure the ice creams on the way home helped smooth over the kids' having to touch the icky gross fish guts back at the ramp. I'd heard that tailor is a bit iffy as an eating fish so decided to make up a nice thai yellow curry with out catch which was delicious, and all the sweeter knowing we'd caught the fish ourselves (although by the time you factor in the bait, fuel, and rigs lost to the bloody crab pots it would've been cheaper to go to the fish shop!!!)/ Was actually pleasantly surprised by the tailor though (and of course snapper is always lovely) so may just fillet and do it simply next time I get one Snapper were caught on paternoster rigs done on 20lb leader with 3/0 circle hooks and pilly fillets, the tailor were caught on unweighted pillies on 2 4/0 ganged hooks to a 30cm wire trace then 15lb mono. Interestingly barely even a bit on the prawns and bait & go nitro squid we took as well - generally those have been the gun baits but this day all the action was on pillies! Makes you wonder if fish are in the mood for certain foods like we are sometimes??? Anyways thanks for reading and for all the helpful tips I've had from fellow raiders - I'm sure I've got my first legal catch sooner than I would have otherwise if it wasn't for your help!!! will post some pics up later, the mrs was on photo duties as I was too busy driving the boat and catching fish

Nice report and good work on the tailors! Picked one up myself drifting off Lion island on sunday, would've been a 2nd if my won had bothered to set the hook - ah well he'll learn! What's your technique for bleeding them? We basically just cut the head off and let it drain into a bucket, wasn't pretty but seemed to do the job and it ate alright for last night :-) probably a better, cleaner way though.....

I'd have to agree with Ed, Sunday is looking better seas wise, but the wind will be worse in the afternoon. Kicker for me was the higher temperature and less cloud on Sunday, so if (when) the kids get bored fishing we can pop in to the basin or something so they can have a swim. Not such a factor if you're heading outside though.....

Amkr / Teflon - interesting hearing your different takes on it, I might try and spend a couple of hours after work this week trying both ways once I get the knots down then try em out on the weekend and see how they perform. I could see buying pre-made rigs getting very expensive in the long run! Sounds like Teflon must be tying proper dropper loops (the kind where you use a little pencil to twist the line), and I imagine surgeons loops for the droppers themselves that you hang your hooks off.....

Thanks for that

Cheers! Yup definitely paternoster rigs, been buying them so far but was very interested by a comment you made a while ago with knots vs 3way swivels, did that ever get resolved (well as much as anything can be with fishing.......), a lot of new knots to learn to tie your own vs using 3 way swivels, but tying you own seems more customisable WRT hooks & sinkers Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk