kingfishbig

Well they are estimated by surveys backed by statitical techniques, presumably that's how they got the 38% figure. A lot of rec anglers/ charter boat operators simply refuse to believe the figures.

I don't think that's a good idea. The big advantage of slow jigs is that you don't need to work hard - even just leaving the rod in the holder while drifting will give enough action to the ichicu slow jigs. Also when I am catching snapper and other reef fish they usually don't show up on the sounder.

Braid cuts easily if it contacts rocks and there is still the problem of the bait not getting down if the wash is vigorous (which is when bream bite the best). Anyway he seems to be managing with an overhead so I don't think it is up to us to change his reel choice.

It's unusual to use no sinker, even a fixed spool reel will not cast an unweighted bream bait very far and it would not sink in the wash. Depending on the spot you might use 1/4 of an oz which a small baitcaster will handle. Anyway he has obviously been doing it for a while and that's his preference.

I recall there is a Crucis Synergy overhead rod with a length of about 11 feet. They are graphite and make a good cheaper alternative to the Diawa Sensor Surf. Might be a bit on the heavy side for bream and it may not take the knocks too well when rock fishing.

There are other things to consider. A 12ft rod will help keep your line above the shore break better - a 10 ft rod is a bit on the short side in this respect.

Live bait is not always available, especially squid. So having lures in the kit is worthwhile. In plastic sluggos work well. A variety of poppers and stick baits are appealing to kingies as well as a fast retrieved metal lure. Knife jigs around 200g work well in deep water.

I think the spring loaded ones are called 'Easy glide'. My one works brilliantly, much better than the standard trailer. It doesn't matter how crooked the boat is to start with or how strong the tide is it always ends up perfectly straight on winding in. If the boat is slipping off then it sounds like you have the trailer backed in too deep.

I think it might have been Ken Apel's.

Bluefin Sports was in Forest Rd Hurstville. They had a cast of a big sailfish caught between Botany Heads. It was run by Dick Hanks and later Billy Heaton.

I used to jig with a 2 1/2/ 0 Everol.

The Coffin was flat and coffin shaped (I still have a couple). The Taipan was a Maverick lure not an Iron.

It's not the Coffin - Henchman sounds right.

Mclay boats are getting a bit of a following and more dealers. While fiberglass is best for ride quality I like the look of the 581 Crossover as it doesn't need a 4wd to tow, will suit a single axle trailer and would be easier to launch and retrieve.

Well I would take either with a grain of salt as they don't give the whole picture. Eg the changes are about reducing the no of commercial fishermen and involve restricting the days they can fish. It will be good for sustainability. Other things that Fishing World doesn't mention is that NSW imports 92% of the seafood it consumes and the rec catch is at least as big as the commercial catch for several popular species.

I haven't heard anything about the netting going ahead in those areas listed in the Fishing World article. I don't think the magazine would keep quiet about it after all that.. In fact the article was a terrible beat up. In fact the changes were about reducing the no of commercial fishermen (by 200), limiting the no of days they can fish and moving to a quota system.

I think you will find it was a counter proposal by the pros in the face of the licencing changes which were claimed to be quite devastating to their viability. Look up the Narooma News March 12 2014 (I can't cut and past for some reason).

That article was from 2014 and was about unofficial proposals to open up some areas of estuary to netting - and it was never implemented.

7 hours is a long time without refrigeration. I'd be cooking it. Fish lasts 3 days refrigerated (this might be less for sashimi), but the 7 hour delay would not have helped. Otherwise no need to freeze it if you are going to eat it within 3 days.

I had a similar experience this morning. A whole procession of dogs came past. Most of them rummaging through my gear. Some of them were quite aggressive large dogs barking and jumping up on me. They weren't under control at all. One of the owners wasn't much better. I was told to 'tidy up' my gear, Then she had another go on the way back 'I couldn't have picked a worse place to leave my gear' , being near the access path (I'm not sure what difference that made with dogs all up and down the beach and given that they all made a bee line for me). I don't think dogs should be unleashed at a popular public place like a beach.

It can make plugs corrode on things like sounder wiring (having the power on), also stray current could cause electrolysis in aluminium boats.

You can get battery terminal clamps which include an off/ off. It's not a good idea to have the power on continuously and it's a bit fiddly disconnecting and reconnecting a cable each time.

The Sydney lockout proposal was a marine park - ie what I was talking about (and it didn't happen actually). Conflict with other uses is sometimes used to justify marine park zoning but likewise it has nothing to do with the rock fishing safety issue.

Of course not. I'm just saying that the rock fishing safety issue being used as a fishing ban mechanism by stealth is a bit far fetched.

I said they were a small subset of fishermen - not of drowning incident. Banning small boats would be in the same category as banning cars because of traffic accidents.