JustJames

For clarity, the reservation area is no-go for invertebrates and spear fishing, but line fishing for fin fish there is a-ok.

Sika 291 is the obvious option, but caims to be for interior sealing. Through my work I am able to get Wurth products, so I have ordered Wurth 08932913, which is a "1-component polyurethane adhesive and sealant specially developed for use in boat building and shipbuilding. For variable, waterproof, weather-resistant sealing tasks and simple bonding for indoor and outdoor use, including below the water line after curing." TBH, I suspect that HOW sealant is applied is going to be more crucial than choice of sealant. I'll take some pics over the weekend when I have the boat out of its covers.

Thanks Derek - that's another DerekD Coaching Sesh (tm) in the works!

Hi All Is anybody available to provide kingfish instruction? I have (most of) the gear, but no idea. Instruction wanted on identifying locations to find kingies and best way to persuade them to experience life above the briny. If somebody is able to provide instruction, I can provide... A boat (and more than happy to cover fuel, snacks, drinks, water). The boat is a Stejcraft 640 with safety gear for going out the heads. I have a single downrigger, but no live bait tank. I usually launch from Roseville. My spinning rods are set up relatively light, but I also have overhead rods set up with 40lb mono. Again, happy to listen to advice from experienced heads in this regard. Bait, if needed, but I understand that catching fresh/live bait is preferrable...which is another area that my skills are patchy at best. The boat has space for instructor plus an additional student. I have booked off work on the week leading up to 'Straya day, so that week is available.

Over the Xmas break, SWMBO and I booked our boat into Soldiers Point Marina in Port Stephens, which turned out to be a great way to spend a week, heading out to snorkel and fish most days. Less delightfully, it turns out that our boat leaks. It leaks where the all around white light base is attached to the front of the hull, it leaks where the windscreen meets the scuttle and it leaks around the small side windows on the cabin. For most of these I figure a bead of sealant is called for, with the light fitting being removed and resealed. Any suggestions on how to tackle the job/s are most welcome, and especially recommendations on what sealants will work well. Every sealamt that I have looked at seems to have some or other drawback, so I am particularly keen to hear advice from anybody who has tackled this sort of job.

Buy a bigger boat than you think you need. It will be more versatile in every way. If the major consideration is getting the boat to its parking spot without being able to use the two vehicle to get it there, there are battery powered "pushers" and ratchet/lever jockey wheels to help with moving it.

My suggestion would be to start with small steps. Venture out the heads to troll along the cliffs, run out to the FAD's, visit some of the closer reefs and you'll soon have a feel for what you you and your boat are capable of.

The British motor (car) industry is something of a special case, car nerds pull up a chair now... I have a sort of personal interest here, having owned MG's from the 40's, 60's, 70's and early 2000's, so what follows will be MG-heavy, but I strongly suspect you would find similar stories under other marques.. Here goes. The biggest problem for the British motor industry was that they won the war. That left them strapped for cash, which meant they had to make what they could and "export or die". After WWII MG exported TC sports cars (many of them to the US but also to Australia and other colonies). They were pretty, tough and nimble, and good enough for Carol Shelby - he of AC Cobra fame - to have a great deal of racing success wih one. Pic below... But this was really a pre-War design, with some small mods to bring it kinda up to date. And export success was limited because it was only ever manufactured in right hand drive. Subsequent and similar MG sports cars coninued until the mid 50's, by which time they were hopelessly out of date. By contrast, Germany had been bombed flat, so had to start from virtually nothing. That was a hindrance at first, but it did mean that they were able to start with a clean slate, and even had assistance from the Allies in getting manufacturing re-established. Pretty much every generation of British car since the war seemed to be one step behind what the rest of the word was doing, hindered by semi-nationalisation and aggressive unionisation into the 70's. I don't think it's fair to call British cars heavy and under powered. But there was a pervasive design philiosophy that steered British engine design. Cars were taxed on cylinder bore size, with bigger bore size attracting higher taxes. Thet led British automotive designers to design long stroke engines, which are great for low speed torque, but lousy for hig hengine speed horse power, becaase typically high horse power engines are high RPM engines, and to make a high RPM engine, you need an engine with similar bore and stroke sizes, if not an "over square" engine, which has a bore that is wider than the length of the stroke.

Interesting reading, and here is the link: https://www.marinebusinessnews.com.au/2023/12/the-life-and-death-of-a-legend-top-dog-to-underdog/

Against the ocean, nobody is the best swimmer; by which I mean if you are fighting against the ocean, you will always lose. Your first priority is to keep your head above water. If you are afloat, you can be rescued. Inflatable PFD's are less than $100 and easy to wear. A rope harness sounds like a great way to get tangled up and create a whole new set of problems.

Known fact: The fish are always where you aren't. This is why, when fishing from the shore, I try to cast to just past the horizon, but when I am fishing from my boat I leave paint marks on the cliffs.

They're ba-a-a-a-a-ck! I collected four on Saturday morning, trolling South Head after not finding any along the North Head cliffs. So now it really is summer!

I won't link to it because of site rules, but if you google "duff's wall map" you sould be well on the way...

Thanks Billmack Just to expand/clarify... Although the second battery is reserve, my batteries take turns to be the reserve battery. By using them alternately, I keep them both charged, and I know what state they are in. And NEVER touch the battery selector switch while the motor is running, or you risk fying the alternator (regulator). I believe that better switches are "make before break" contact, but I wouldn't be gambling on that being what I have, nor on it working as advertised.

Persistence paid off....well done! Hold the fish so that it's as close to the camera as possible, and 90 degrees on to the camera, so there is no foreshortening (persoective) on the fish. The brag mat is the real proof though, and that is deffo a good sized whiting.

I was wondering if this would turn into the house vs. starting battery discussion. And it has. I too have been around this, and have opted for simplicity. Or, doing nothing. My boat doesn't have anything very current hungry, and I always have the voltage showing on the fish finder screen, and a very conservative low voltage alarm. I have 2 batteries, and take it in turns to use them. I have a reminder on the boat on which battery I used last time out. When I park the boat up, I switch the batteries to off. When I get ready to go out, I select that battery that I didn't use last time, and click my reminder over so that next time I will know which battery I used.

Sounds more like catching than fishing. Misleading post title. Blocked and reported!

That should be plenty. But I would approach the equation slightly differently....for beach fishing, I would want at least a 4000 size reel, and I would fill it with the line of choice.

Expect to hear lots of advice based on (at best) personal experience or (at worst) prejudice. FWIW, towards the end of winter I bought a boat that happens to have Mercury 150 4 stroke. I was delighted to learn how straightfoward the maintenance is on this engine (I expect the 115 will be similar). Brand of outboard was not a determining factor when I bought the boat, and I would not have walked away from any major brand. My understanding is that at this stage, reliability is not a major differentiator, even if Bob's uncle's mate's colleagues had an early version of the <insert brand here> and something bad once happened.. If you intend doing your own maintenance, choose based on ease of maintenance. If you will take it to The Man, choose based on local technical support. Beyond that, four strokes are fantastic. Starting is super easy, no 2 stroke smoke, quiet running and no 2 stroke oil to add (or pre-mix). My 150 4 stroke pushing a 21 foot boat uses a very similar amount of fuel to the previous 60 hp 2 stroke pushing a 16 foot boat. Enjoy your decision - I don't think you can really go wrong either way.

If you are patient, second hand downriggers come up on FB market place and thE Bay for not silly money. I tried all manner of gerry rigged attempts (none of which made it past testing in my pool) before deciding that there isn't really a substitute for a downrigger. I agree that a day out on the water isn't getting any cheaper, but I take the in for a penny in for a pound approach. Life is too short (weekends even more so!) to be shouting at non-functional gear when I want to be catching fish. Now I just need to find a way to get my boat out of the swimming pool...

That looks sensational. I swim against the current and I do rate Aussie salmon as an eating fish, but I haven't ever thought of anything other than BBQ'ing it. Every day is a school day!

Air pressure and fishing is a furphy. The first 10 metres downwards of the water column weighs the same as the entire atmosphere above it. A small wave passing overhead will make WAY more difference to the water pressure on a fish than even the fiercest change in atmospheric pressure. Changes in air pressure may be proxies for other things that affect fish, but will not affect fish directly.

Thanks - that's pretty cool. I should be able to identify the drone online from the pic. One of the great weirdnesses amongst fishos - and make no mistake, I am 100% guilty of both of these - is that people in boats want to get as close as possible to the shore, 'cause that's where the fish are, while people on shore want to cast as far out as possible, 'cause that's where the fish are. I suspect that the actual truth, as usually is the case, is a bit more complicated than that!

Loved that! Great post. I'd be really interested to know what drone you are using (I have contemplated a cheap drone - because bloke - but never acshly pulled the trigger). Also, please post some pics of the drop mechanism. Is the red square in front of the heliport to help the drone find its way home?

Thank you Donna