noelm

Now back to the topic, I also see little sense in spooling with some braid first, it's not necessarily wrong, but just has no advantage and includes a knot that can break or get caught when casting.

Just a note on spooling reels, all reels should be spooled using the new line spool on an "axle" and pulled off by the spool spinning, never spool a reel with the line coming off the side, regardless of which way it's coming off! I have posted this before, it's really quite simple, an overhead reel it's obvious, the reel spool is rotating, pulling line directly off the new spool, also rotating on an axle. Now most will be thinking about a spinning/threadline/eggbeater reel and think you should be pulling line off from the side of the new spool, but it isn't so, why you ask? On a spin reel, the reel spool is stationary, and the bail arm rotates around it, in doing this, it imparts one "twist" every revolution, right? OK now if you put the line on, off the side, it is on the reel completely (well almost) untwisted, the minute you cast out, that untwisted line then becomes twisted, one twist for every loop cast out, you are now fishing with a twisted line......now, if you spool it up, using an "axle" setup, as you wind the handle, each revolution imparts a twist, BUT, the minute you cast, the line untwists as it leaves the spool, you are now fishing with untwisted line, get it? Reels like bait runners, that let line out by allowing the spool to turn, create havoc with line twist, just as winding the handle with a loose drag does. Alvey reels are a major drama, you wind line on by revolving the spool, but cast out, off the side from a fixed spool, every cast creates more and more twist, a good swivel is needed when using an Alvey.

The big school of Tailor showed up again today, same time as yesterday, no one fishing though, closest they were was probably 15m from the beach, then slowly moved along to the rocks chasing small baitfish.

Not too sure I 100% agree, sure there's traffic and all sorts of "issues", but, in the main, Sydney is a great city, reasonable fishing, clean water, mostly relaxed lifestyle, until you experience some other places, it's very much "better the devil you know"

Yep, that's about it, I just use those cheap fish looking metals at department stores, they're cheap and you will lose a few. I like ones about 5cm long with maybe the odd bigger one just in case you need extra distance.

Tailor will take just about anything, bait or lures, small metal lures cast out and retrieved fast will get them going, just this morning there was a huge school of decent Tailor boiling on the surface right out the front on my place, within easy casting distance, a few guys got a bucket full easy, they were about 2KG approx.

I guess it needs to be said, salting is really only necessary for a few types of bait, soft bait like Pilchards are good salted or brined, flesh baits like Tuna and Bonito don't need salting at all, just freeze whole or fillets (I prefer whole) Slimies are OK filleted, lightly salted then put into containers in "day packs" and frozen, the salt will firm them up when defrosted, Prawns, no salt, just fresh. Squid and so on, just freeze or buy frozen (Squid is a last resort for me)

Not a huge fan of salted bait (it's better than nothing) but some baits, lightly salted then frozen will be fine, it will just "toughen" the bait a bit before freezing. Prawns are the pickers delight, they are OK bait, but old frozen packets of Prawns are best left to the tourists (in my opinion) but a fresh/live well presented Prawn can be deadly during the summer months.

I guess in a way, we are the "lucky country" for all our faults and strange stuff going on, we do live pretty free, don't have a crazy gun culture, not paranoid about Police pulling you over to frame you for something, friendly population (in the main) decent lifestyle, very little true poverty, all in all, it's a pretty good place.

Mack Tuna, keep for bait, very red meat, and strong taste, maybe you might like that? But for me, excellent bait.

Litter is getting to be a bigger and bigger problem, especially since almost every fast food outlet has a drive through, so, you end up with a bag/box of rubbish to dispose of! Everyone is so "busy" these days, it's easier to just toss it out the window than stop for a minute to put it in the bin, I see it weekly out the front of my place, pisses me off big time. I have even resorted to be an "old fart" and calling Council, had two inspections and told there was nothing they could do, they provided a bin! I will just continue to pick up rubbish left behind by "kids" eating fast food at night.

Yeah, not bad eating, we used to get quite a few, but haven't even heard of one being caught in the last 10 years or so.

They didn't supply a bag of ice for the esky? Nice lot of fish, haven't caught a Trag for ages now.

This might seem a bit old fashioned, but I never use braid off the rocks, it gets caught the instant it touches anything! but that's just my experience. I used to do quite a bit of Snapper fishing off the rocks, and only ever used 20lb mono straight to the hook, but were I fished, getting them up on the rocks was reasonably easy using the waves. I don't think you should be breaking any leader that strength, where did it break, at a knot?

You don't see as many Cuttlefish floating around like the "old days" there's still some, but not many, no idea why! It was common to see a dozen or more each trip, my mate and I used to scoop up a few, then anchor in our "secret" spot, tie the Cuttlefish to some cord and let it float way out behind the boat in the current, once the birds started picking them to bits, the Snapper were close behind. Bait up with some Cuttlefish and let you bait just float off in the current and wait for a big Snapper to grab your bait......great fishing.

Any Tohatsu dealer and lots of Mercury dealers, depending on the HP and age, Honda dealers, for bigger HP, newer motors.

Bit of both, some fish become hard to find, some get bigger and more of them, you just have to change to suit.

The biggest issue with Bream fishing is, most people hurl their bait/lure way out, most Bream will be right in on rocks and Oyster leases looking for crabs and worms to eat, if you're not getting snagged or losing the odd lure, you're fishing the wrong places. Now that said, Bream can also be found out on clean sand and on beaches, but, when fishing structure, fish close to it!

Bream should be around Oyster leases all year, the sizes might vary a bit, but they will be there. Cast small lures right close in to the racks.

OH, hang on, the dealer was in the US.......

Did you look into lifting transom? be way better in the long run if it's possible. Why would a dealer even suggest an option that's not even available here? not too sure how warranty would go either!

Everything eats Prawns, if nothing is left, chances are it's Toads taking your bait, if you are getting sharp bites and losing bait, it's nearly always baby Bream and Snapper. The only time I use Prawns is during summer when they are "natural" because it's Prawn season, and even in the boat Snapper fishing, if I'm around Windang Island, it's Prawns for bait, everywhere else, it's Tuna or Pilchards.

A long shaft is 5" longer than a short shaft, can you mount the long shaft motor in the very bottom holes and maybe get the cav plate near level with the bottom of the boat?

That's more an accessory, but, it means the front deck needs to be suitable, so, you need to take that into consideration.

Nah, you never change your team, doesn't matter how they are going, been a Roosters fan since primary school!