PaddyT

Nothing with a level wind will cope , big eggbeaters are fine if you go a bit upmarket but drags will eventually cook off unless you spend big dollars. TLD's are an excellent budget choice but mainly for 15kg and under. There is a reason why serious game fishers use big gold reels.

graphite is carbon

Taken straight from the DPI website; Note: At common law, the public has a right to fish in the sea, the arms of the sea and in the tidal reaches of all rivers and estuaries. The public has no common law right to fish in non-tidal waters-the right to fish in those waters belongs to the owner of the soil under those waters. However, the public may fish in non-tidal waters if the soil under those waters is Crown land. In the case of non-tidal waters in rivers and creeks, section 38 declares that the public has a right to fish despite the private ownership of the bed of the river or creek. However, the right to fish in tidal or non-tidal waters is subject to any restriction imposed by this Act. In other words unless specified by the Fisheries Act-go fishing

you are free to fish just about anywhere that you can gain access too- we actually have rights to access waterways in Australia (one of the very few defined rights we actually have)-which is why we can go to the beach and no-one can own it. There are however certain areas in NSW that are no fishing areas, such as certain marine parks, military areas and some other exceptional areas-essentailly assume you can fish whereever you damn well like unless there is a specific direction against it. There are a few such areas in Sydney and they can all be found on the DPI webiste for details

yep-when fish are following and not committing an excellent option is go smaller and go faster-gut the first fish you catch and have a look at what they are eating

Match the hatch-probably the real key to success with pelagics. An arsenal of a few metal slices of varying sizes, a few long, slim soft plastics and a couple of hardbody poppers/stickbaits will put you on the road to success with bonnies and kings. Speed is important, both these species live for it when it comes to lures, white is an excellent colour choice.

That bar is why i go to Coffs instead

Well done Bob-but i will say you are anything but feeble mate!!

ahhh superstition-a wonderful thing!

oh-most important info to stay safe using a downrigger-have a set routine . This is mine 1. boat in gear moving forward-down sea is safest 2. rod in holder bail arm open 3. downrigger bomb tight up against arm 4. put hook through bait (i mainly livebait) and feed it out-i usually drop it back about 10 meters 5. clip line into clip 6. wind the downrigger to depth (i never let it fly out, too many whacked knuckles, and braid or wire getting under the downrigger spool )-about half water depth is usually a great starting point-also if your depth guage on the rigger dies the Scotty 1085 lets out about 2 feet per wind of the handle . 7. when you get to the depth you want stop the rigger-put the reel in gear and wind the line tight. 8. when you get a bite keep driving forward until the hookup is certain and then keep driving forward until the bomb is out of the water. 9. if you get a bite that misses but has knocked the line out of the clip-flip the bail arm open as fast as you can -kings will come back if the bait is still there-mackeral on the other hand wont. 10. if you are winding your gear in keep the boat moving forward-flick your rod tip up to trip the clip , and wind your gear and the bomb in You will notice a constant theme here-be like a shark when you have a downrigger deployed-KEEP MOVING FORWARD-never go neutral. 0

Ive got a Scotty 1085 thats 9 years old and cops a flogging-i usually run a bit of line out (first thing you should do is pull the wire off and chuck it and put 200lb braid on) and drop the bomb in the side pocket of my boat-its fine there. When im not using the rigger i wrap the bomb in rags and stuff it into an old bag so it doesnt roll around. The clips arent that great-i just use a 400lb gamefishing snap swivel-until it loosens up use your pliers-if you have any other questions ask away.

Very worthy post Neil-the health of our rivers and rural communities are consistantly ignored by the media, the pollies and us city folk. Well done

yep-also pretty good for trolling lures for flathead , would be good for trout too (just havent been out for them since i got mine)- spotlock is just the bees knees

Sea anchor-worth their weight in gold

Heaps of good kingfish in many places around Sydney, ive listed the places off the ocean rocks on many occasions and there is a thriving landbased scene inside the harbour. I dont think large snapper are a reliable target in the general area full stop-boat based or otherwise but pannies-no probs-a Northern Beachs guide called Alex Bellisamo targets them all the time off the rocks, tuna have NEVER been a reliable target around Sydney even in the LBG heydays of the 70's and 80's-places like Whale , The Ovens and North Head had fish but not consistantly , thats why the Jervis BAy and north coast fisheries developed, the occasional longtail is about as good as you would get-but 150K north-no problem-

Much less tidal current in Cowan-its very deep in most places , can be tricky to fish

Cmon Bob-if you want noise then a Tiagra is the way to go-nothing sounds like one going a full speed.

west Reef top of the tide with a big bait with snelled 10/0's-see what happens! nice reds

That sounds like the fun police would arrest you these days for that-i remember buying 10/0 trebles and wire tying a big ball sinker into the base of it- mind you jagging was legal (and lots of fun)

best place for a bimini is in the bin, buy a hat

Frigates lucky for you , cause the legal size for a spotty is 60cm

Bob-ive got Burke gear-jacket and bib and brace, its very good, also excellent in winter when i can keep the wind out while racing up the harbour before dawn!! The lightweight hiking stuff i stay away from as it doesnt cope with hooks etc (which just bounce off the Burke gear)The bib and brace is worth its weight in gold - and as a bonus makes you more attractive to the wife!!! Go oversize so you dont have exposed underclothes when you move around etc

not many breakwalls either, but seriously the salt water will still push in

Yep-find a back eddy and fish the last of the run in tide

both will clear quicker than the mainstream but you will still need to be careful for a while