frankS

Any time you feel the need for a chat just PM me and I will give you my address. I am home most days as I don't get out much these days. Frank

As noelm pointed out above anyone with money can hire a charter and let the skipper do the work and put you onto a good fish. With game charters you don't need to be a good fisher person as the skipper and crew do all the work steering the boat and the crew will tell you when to wind the handle on the reel all you have to do is PAY the dollars for the privilege of being on strike. Doing it yourself is the greatest buzz you can have. There is no better feeling than to have a decent fish on the end of your line. I have done it all BUT I still get a thrill catching bait and having a solid Whiting or Bream on the end of light line. It's all a matter of having the right gear for the job at hand. Kingies are one of the best fighting fish you are likely to find inshore and a decent fish on appropiate gear will give you great vibes. get out there and do it. Frank

Hi I fished as a kid doing the usual stuff fishing local rivers and teaching myself as I went along, as I got a little older 14 or so I started hiring a boat from tom uglys and by the time I was 16 I bought my own boat ( I left school and worked full time from my 14th birthday ) a 12 ft tinnie and trailer with 4hp Johnson on the back. My brother in law would tow the boat to the ramp and me and a mate would take the boat out for the day, usually Georges river or Botany bay, sometimes the hacking and he would pick us up at a designated time . By the time I got a drivers licence I bought a 17 ft half cab ( Pongrass ) and started poking my nose outside the heads of the bay followed shortly after going out to the peak and the shelf. I caught my first Marlin ( black ) 244LBS off Jervis bay ( the Banks ) when I was 19 years old as I was travelling all up and down the coast by this time. I have been lucky enough to have caught most game species that inhabit the east coast of Australia and have some very large fish under my belt. None of this came by chance and I worked really hard to learn the basics as I had nobody to teach me anything, I read a few books and articles in magazines and this helped me a lot. I have been fortunate enough to have fished with a few legends of the art including Bob Dyer Jack Erskine and a few others. It's not easy and I have always been a battler money wise so had to do everything on a really tight budget. So it's not easy but anyone with the want can do it Frank

If you are going to use them just now and again to change the hooks on a few lures etc the cheap $12-$15 ones are OK. If you are going to use them on a regular basis I would suggest you look in the price range $35-$80 . There is a HUGE difference in price between different brands and the quality reflects in the product. I am going to the big snake to buy a new pair today. Frank

Tigers were robbed, they should have won the game. If the bunker had of done it's job when the tigers player was pushed in the back while the raiders was in the process of scoring a try, take that six points off the raiders then Who wins the game. Frank

I wonder who operates the lowering into the water ? Must be some poor bloke still on deck of the boat who has control of the winch. OR is it done from inside the capsule? Frank

Watch 9 and listen to the continues call team on 2GB at least you get a laugh with their carry on. Frank

Bloggsy. I could send you 100 decent G P S marks from the island to Golan point south of Bermi but we will start off with a decent Snapper spot as thisa is what you have asked for. Aughinish rock 36.16.40 150.13.46 If you want a comprehensive list of spots send me a email at fastrailers@optusnet.com.au and I will send them to you. Frank

I guess it's the small fan than circulates the air that stops the condensation. Frank

You can buy a small 12 volt heater to put in the cabin which will just take the chill out of the air and stop the condensation. Frank

This is the boat and trailer as it sits at the moment. Looks pretty crappy as is but imagine it with a fresh coat of paint to your color scheme I had intended to deck it out similar to this one ( one of my old boats ) but the layout would be to your design. Frank PS the motor alone is worth approx $ 2.500 to $3000

Mark. First up welcome to the site. I have such a boat as Neil has described above. A 4.3 Quintrex aluminium that I am currently getting it ready for fit out. It is sitting on a fully registered Dunbier trailer and has a very good reliable 40 hp Johnson 2 stroke motor sitting on it's transom. Here is where it gets interesting. I have not fitted it out yet so this means you could have it made to suit your requirements. The motor is electric start with forward controls and power tilt trim. I was going to make it a side console with forward and rear casting decks and heaps of storage space in sealable lockers. You could have it any form you want it. You design the layout OR I could help you with some suggestions. It's currently unpainted so you could choose what colour you want it to be. I will finish decking it out for you ready to fish. I also have a brand new 4 post bimini we could fit for your shade comfort. have seats and they can be made to fit where you want them. Now here is the down side. The boat isn't ready just now and would take some time for me to build it the way you want it but in the meantime you could come fishing with me in one of my other boats while your boat is getting ready. Summery. Boat is Quintrex 4.3 m fully registered, trailer is Dunbier fully registered, motor is 40hp Johnson electric start forward controls with electric trim tilt. The boat will be decked out with fully carpeted floor and everything where you want things to be. The boat will be finished with all that is needed to go fishing, I will even throw in a couple of rods and reels and tackle. The all up cost will be $5000

That is pure genius. A true craftsman at his best. Frank

Jon. At least you were running with it instead of head on to it. It would be very slow running head on to that sort of condition. Really good photo and thanks for sharing. The edencraft are a very capable boat. Back in around 2010/12 or there about a couple of them were flipped and the gossop about them being a dangerous boat was spread around but I do believe it was driver fault and not the fault of the boats. Frank

I have been saying it for years. It's just a matter of time when a shark will take a kayak, they are just too close to the water. Frank

Shame you are so far away. I could repair that damage quiet easily. Frank

The main 3 species I look forward to with winter is John Dory, Luderick, and Hairtail. Tailor and Salmon will still be around , night time Bream always on the cards and Cuttle fish breading and the male dying sets a huge feeding feast for any offshore specie especially Snapper. Gentlemans hours come into vogue and there is not as much boat traffic about. Get out there and enjoy. Frank

One more small point I would make is . The seas around South Australia ( Adelaide ) are generally a lot smoother than the east coast so maybe you could get away with a smaller boat. I have been fishing off shore many times in as little as a 11 foot alloy dingie and been safe a 14-15 foot boat seems a lot bigger there than it does in Sydney. Frank

Any of the boats you have listed would require a break away draw bar on the trailer so it fits into the garage. These are readily available and can be fitted by a handyman . You would also have to have the motor trimmed down for them to fit in. Frank

Hi and welcome to the site. Don't know where you live but IF in Sydney I would recommend you visit the big snake head office at Chullora and have a look at the Golf Runner range of boats. They have pretty well all the models on display under cover and all in the one place. Pretty basic set ups with just enough toys to get you started. They are a well made craft and well priced. You can add the toys you want to make it the boat of your dreams. Edit OK typing while replies were made. Frank

OK I will tell you the charts DO work. or rather the OLD charts are pretty accurate. They won't tell you when you will or won't catch fish in any particular location they will only predict the times when you will be more likely to catch a feed. The charts were adapted by the ancient Polynesians and they relied on catching fish to stay alive . They developed the system after generation after generation of fishermen and land based hunters over hundreds perhaps thousands of years. They work on tides which are controlled by the moon and sun rise and set as well as the most important aspect and that is barometer if the barometric pressure is wrong it will turn fish off eating even in the most favorable prediction times. Back in the times before computers and such the charts were based on the ancients, since computers the get rich quick business people have programmed the computers to make the prediction and like all things over time slight changes have been made to make the programs more sellable. It's like any old story that gets passed down through the generations the base of the story gets exaggerated or depleted a little with each version till eventually what you are reading is far away from the original story. Personally back in the 50's 60's and 70's when I was learning how to catch a feed I used charts and found they helped me a lot. these days I just go fishing whenever I find the time, which is not often these days. Frank

you can buy a replacement drag knob for under $5 + freight. Hardly worth going through warranty claim. All the drag washers will still be in the recovered spool. Frank

You are going to love every moment along the great ocean road, Don't rush it and make sure you explore every nook and cranny. absolutely breath taking views the whole stretch of the journey. Can't suggest any fishing spots but the scenery is worth the trip. Frank

Does the reel have a thread on the end of the main shaft where the drag system screws on OR is it the type that has the drag around the edge of the spool ?. 1 If there is still thread on the shaft there is no way the spool could come off IF there was any sort of drag on the spool. 2 the button on the end must be depressed for the spool to come off. Either way I believe it would be user fault and no warranty will be honored Just my opinion. Frank.

Latrell's head butt , if it was any other player than latrell the bunker would have previewed it and he would have been sent off. Frank