frankS

Wow I still have a 1986 Garmin . Don't use it but keep it anyhow, should connect it up and laugh at the old technology. Frank

That looks like 18mm to me, take the shaft out and measure the hole of the bracket. That shaft has expanded with rust so might have started as 16mm. Is the boat a Haines Signature ?. Frank

Wow. Just checked the price of Stainless rod and it's gone up heaps since I bought my last batch so the material cost would probably be more like about $50 now. Frank

Sorry about that. I thought they were loose lay, spose you could just keep the backing paper on them and see how long that lasts, but IF the deck is prepared absolutely spotless and flat they may stick OK and last a while. I used some self stick carpet and within 2 trips I found I had to peel it back and glue it back down, never again. Perhaps you could lay some glue down first to make double sure of them sticking. But I would rather loose lay so you could take it all up and wash down the deck. I had some of them rubber tiles like used behind bars in pubs in a open deck moored boat that was getting rained on frequently and was almost constantly wet and they lasted years, never a problem. Frank

Sounds like you had a great time. The catch is a bonus the enjoyment is the real reason we go fishing. Great read as always, thanks for sharing. Frank

This is my opinion and my opinion only others would no doubt have different views on the subject. 1 . More pain than it's worth If you drop anything and yes a hooked fish can get caught up in it and make it difficult to unhook etc. 2. I try to avoid any of the self adhesive products may be OK for a short period but all too soon the stuff will start lifting and become a problem. 3. Would be my choice out of the 3 it is easy to apply cut to shape etc you can move pieces around ( providing they haven't been cut to a certain shape ) has good grip, hooks can still get caught but easily removed is a sound dedener . 1 metre square per piece so need to calculate how many pieces you need to cover your floor. And it can be lifted easily for cleaning up underneath . It holds up pretty well to wear and tear. Buy 1-2 extra squares for emergency replacement. Frank

I have these all over the boat with different tools attached so I have things in easy reach and they don't get lost, and easy retrieved if dropped overboard. Sure they are cheap as chips to buy but making things myself gives me satisfaction. Frank

Ever wondered how these are made ? and yes it's easy and you can make them yourself at home. All I do is get a length of wiper snipper cord and a short length of dowel, drill a small hole in one end of the dowel and poke the snipper cord through about 6-8 inches then tightly wind the cord around the dowel till you have the desired length. then I cable tie the end to hold it firmly so you have also some straight length at each end. Then you get a pot big enough to hold the dowel and put some weight on it to hold it down ( stop it floating ) , then you boil the water for approx. 15 minutes, then transfer dowel and cord straight into a pot of ice water and keep it submerged for a further 15 minutes. Now you have a shock cord. You then use whatever you want to attach to each end using crimps. Hope someone finds this useful. Frank

On my one I just use a steel one from Bunnings about $3 and they last a couple to 3 years and take about 2 minutes to change, so I don't bother with stainless . The spring is the only part that is not stainless, and I spose there are stainless steel ones available but I have never bothered to look. They are just a double eye spring about 4 inches long and 3/8 round OR metric equivalent . Frank

I have a idea why fresh water eels may be appealing to sharks. Fresh water eels travel many miles out to sea to breed. Now if you soak a freshy in salt water you will notice the slime on the fish sorta melts away and you end up with a smooth skinned ( although tiny scaled ) fish that is easily handled. It is my feeling that this slime acts as a berley for the sharks and therefor attracted to the eel. The baby ell known as glass eels are almost totally transparent and tiny and make their way back through salt rivers etc to fresh water where they transform into the long finned eel. Good eating BTW and best smoked. So to answer your question. Anywhere there is fresh water, dams rivers impoundments from top of Queensland to Tasmania and now starting to get into South Oz waters and maybe even as far as West oz. Frank

I might add that I started making these catches way back in 1997 long before they became available on the market, and back then not too many people were driving their boats onto trailers, most were winched up. In fact the one in photos has been on about 5-6 of my last trailers and different boats. I make different ( new ) bow hooks for each boat. Some differences made these days but exactly same principle . And apologies to Chilltime for taking over your topic but you did ask to see any other versions, sort of. Frank

Doza time on the water is never wasted no matter how good or bad it gets, plastics have their place but nothing will ever replace what is natural to a fish. Nice bream, thanks for sharing. Frank

I have been asked what happens if the boat misses the catch. Well I might add that this devise is suitable only for boats that can be driven onto the trailer in which case the trailer should centre the boat all the way up to the winch post. The catch is actually wider than the post roller so if you miss the catch you are going to miss the winch roller and possibly end up in the back of your car. Frank

Try again. sorry winch strap still attached in photo, please disregard this as it's on trailer for these photos. Now boat is ready to drive off. When you return and want to put boat back on trailer, attach spring and the square piece of catch will be in upright position as in photo 1. Now drive boat on trailer and as you get close the spring allows the catch to slide down the bow holder ( want of better word ) till you hear a loud click which is the square piece of catch hitting home in full upright position. You can now back off throttle and allow boat to slide back a couple of inches and catch securely and turn off motor tilt up and get out of boat . Put winch strap on and winch up last couple of inches and secure safety chain. I might add that this catch also acts as a back up safety chain IF for some reason your chain comes loose. Hope this explains it to those interested. And I am open to PM's for any questions or enquiries. Frank

Here's some photos that may explain how my catch works. When you get to the ramp and ready to launch the catch is in this position Release safety chain and winch strap and alloy boat to slide back so the caught/secure position You will notice the boat has come off the bow roller about 70mm and held in place with catch, now take off spring and let just dangle. Now get in boat start motor warm up and put in forward gear with a few revs, the boat will move forward and the catch will fall away from it's locked position and lay limp.

Could be a problem depending on what sort of net base you want to repair, some have pop rivets holding them together , some are crimped , and some have no logical way of separating the frame so you can thread the replacement net onto the frame. Might have to sew the net onto the frame but usually there is a way, try and load a photo of the net where it is joined. Might be easier just to buy a complete new net, but as I said usually a way to do it. Shame you are so far away from me as I have a few nets here and my prawning days are finished so you could have one of mine, but not worth posting to you, if you know someone in Sydney that is willing to pick it up from Berala and get it to you , you could have one. But for now post a photo and we will see if we can help you get that net fixed. Frank

Well done, a good few hours well spent. Nice fish that one. Always good to see guys getting a feed. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work. Frank

Will take some photos tomorrow, sorry not allowed to take orders on here. I tried to become a sponsor of the site but wasn't allowed, no A B N number, which is understandable. There are a couple of things that must be applied to, firstly you must have a anchor point, namely a hand winch ( most trailers have this ) , and your tow point on the boat needs to be altered to accommodate the catch. Frank

I make a spring loaded release catch ( stainless ) that holds the boat in position while you warm boat motor and then when ready just engage forward gear nudge forward 2 inches which releases catch and you select reverse and back off the trailer, when retrieving boat set the catch in catch mode and simply drive boat all the way up to where the catch springs up and holds boat firmly in place till you switch motor off tilt up etc then depart from boat, secure safety chain and drive car and trailer from ramp before securing boat with tie downs etc. Cost me about $20 to make. Don't look as pretty as the $ 600-800 jobs you can buy but works every bit as good. Frank

Usually a round ball ( make them ) but sometimes snapper lead or channel sinker, sometimes in really rough reef where snags are likely I will use and old bolt or even a slab of concrete if I knew the night before I was going to rough reef spots. Sometimes an old coffin style jig minus the hooks (Zinc) . Frank

Like Noel I tend to use a single hook and a sinker stopped about 2-3 feet above the hook sometimes 4-5 feet depending on my mood, I also use paternoster and I drop down with reasonable heavy sinker depending on drift etc and this rod usually sits in a rod holder, I keep hold of the running sinker rig, I also use a floating bait but conditions have to be right for this. No set rules with me and vary my rigs according on the conditions and what I feel may work on the day. Also I don't fish the very bottom, I hit bottom then wind a couple of turns on the spool, too close to bottom produces all the unwanted species, fewer bites off the bottom but better quality fish. Of coarse with Flathead I try and bounce the sinker along the sandy bottom, sometimes not easy in 60-100 metres of water. Frank

Well done old mate, Me like others have said I think the Whiting would have come home with me, your choice and I commend you for your decision. But geeze it would be hard!!. Frank

Back in the day when I got my licence there was no water test, Think for memory I got mine at a fishing/camping show in Penrith, just filled in the questionnaire and licence issued on the spot. A few years later a mate had to go into town and sit a test with a board with waterways images and he had to navigate a toy boat around the coarse as well as answer all the questions, think then you could get 3 wrong, which makes me think that IF you get 3 wrong you don't really know what you are doing ?. Anyhow this doesn't help you decide which way to go at this present time and I'm afraid I can't help you in that way. How's the new boat, send some photos via email. Frank

I have reversed the braid on a few of my reels with no apparent side affects, as for 100 yds /mtrs left I would use that for my Barra reels as I very rarely have more than about 25 metres of line/braid off the reel when fishing for Barra. The FG knot is very good for tying backing to the braid and once you wrap 100 yards or so of braid on the spool it's pretty well impossible to tell you have a join. Frank

Very enjoyable read and some top photos, a great way to spend some quality time. Thanks for sharing with us. Frank