Killer

We had a 25ft Trojan for patrolling Port Hacking back in the '80s. Started off with a diesel inboard and then twin 115hp outboards. It did sink in the berth, three times :). Eventually found that when they replaced the Johnsons with Yamahas they left bolts in the old mounting holes and put the timber transom cover over them. They eventually corroded and let water in. Took a few days (and the boat didn't go out every day back then) to fill enough and then down she went. The boss at the W.P tried to put the blame on me, but it was found to be the dealers who fitted the outboards. Whew!!!

Great photos Jon. Here's one of his SW Rocks cousins.

Here's a pic of a good ramp I found to practice on. I saw this on the G.O.R. when I went there a couple of years back.

One of the best I have seen, also at the hole in the wall at Sylvania, was 4 eastern European guys roll up in a nice, big, new boat and equally nice car. Backed onto the ramp and proceeded to unload the gear from the car into the boat, holding me and a couple of others up. All done, they backed further into the water and one guy hopped in while the other one manually unwound the hand winch. The third bloke started yelling to stop and pull the boat back in. Water was almost sloshing over the transom. The bloke couldn't wind the boat back onto the trailer as it was now 1/4 full of water. They then decided to drive the boat out of the water with the car. Boat was half on, half off the trailer. Third bloke was trying to push the boat on as it was slowly dragged back up the ramp and his mobile fell out of his shirt pocket, into the drink. There was a loud crack as either the keel or hull fractured and then the cable on the winch snapped. Boat slid off and sunk on the ramp. Expensive day out for those boys too.

Maybe we are both getting older Frank? Yet another age related condition Sea sickness

I was misinformed I think. You are correct Yowie. The only boat limit at present is for gemfish.

Yes they are but also a limit of a total 20 in possession. ie. 20 for the boat

Went out for a fishing session this morning in a mates Haines 580F, with the intention of getting some flathead and then venturing further south out of Port Hacking, to a spot where I used to catch plenty of snapper. It was a nice morning and the conditions were expected to improve. A bit of a SW was blowing, but the surprise was the swell and sloppy, choppy water conditions. Got to our spot after some 30 minutes and got immediate hits for all three of us. In no time at all, we had our 20 flathead limit and there were a couple of big girls amongst them. The part 2 plan didn't eventuate, as one of our members had a bit of a chuck over the side and felt pretty seedy, being tossed around by the short, multi-directional chop. The wind had also changed to the south, so we called it an early day after 3 hours. I have been out to sea in small boats hundreds of times, in all conditions, including 8 years working the Police Launch out of Port Hacking and have had crew being sea sick, but the show had to go on if we had a tow or a rescue to get to. I have never been sea sick and told my blokes to get over it. Today was payback. I was the one who suffered. Couldn't believe it. Anyway, a successful morning and some delicious flathead tails in breadcrumbs for dinner tonight. No photos sorry. Have to get out again soon and see if I get sick again.

Just sold my boat, which lived in the driveway of my house, but can understand the frustration of not being able to park one where you live. My mate has a caravan parked in the street outside his house. It belongs to a guy who lives one street away, who says he doesn't want to take up parking space in his street and annoy his neighbours!!!! What the. I guess if you own a house and someone parks their boat outside for weeks/months/years on end, it may become an annoyance. Just another perspective.

Lovely fish and great spot. Only blackfish I have been able to get close to these past weeks, are when I put my coffee cup down.

Fantastic!! What a glorious looking day and the water is clear. Love your work.

I saw a marlin swimming along with a lure hanging off it, in Nth West Arm years ago. Often see a turtle surfacing in Sth West Arm and when I worked on the Hacking, saw many big sharks. Remember two Yellowfin swimming along the edge of the sandbank in S.W, Arm as well.

Good work Rob. How hard is it to get the ink out of the textured deck of the yak?

Sad day for me last Monday. Stormy ll has gone to live at Moruya with its new owner. I was looking at a 17ft Viking but the boss said, "don't you dare".

Here's mine. Quintrex Cruiseabout, undoubtedly one of the best models ever made. Out of the Kirrawee factory. Great, solid boat. Currently selling,, but am in two minds.....

Volleys and stainless steel plates - always. I have a pair of commercial, rubber boots with lots of small 'spikes' in the soles. Next to useless in my opinion. That was $80 badly spent

Good work Jon. We will head down for a week when they open the caravan parks and hopefully it doesn't get too much colder. We have Handkerchief Beach at the back of the park where we stay, but have never done much good off the sand.

Have a look at the FG knot. I use that, as well as the double uni. FG knot goes through the guides a lot easier. Yes you can use 8lb leader and 15lb braid. I generally use 1.5 to 2m of leader. p.s. I rarely use a swivel

Good work Rob.

That's a strange thing to say. Boats that are run on freshwater dams, lakes etc, don't require bilge pumps? I have never seen a bilge pump which states "only to be used in saltwater". Bilges collect saltwater, freshwater, fuel, oil etc and the bilge pump will pump it out if switched on. I could be proven wrong, but........

Arrived at Tuncurry for our annual 2 week stay in late October and the weather was hot and glorious. A couple of days later, it turned windy and hotter and then the fires kicked in, a little bit to the south. I have been fishing Forster/Tuncurry for many years and some time back, opted to get a sleek fishing kayak. It performed very well but the paddles hindered me significantly in the oyster racks, where we get most of our good fish. Bit the bullet a few years back and bought a Hobie Outback, which is ideally suited for fishing, being beamy, stable and with the rudder and peddle propulsion, leaves hands free to cast and fish. My friend Mark and I headed off for a few hours morning sessions on most days and caught heaps of flathead and bream on hard body and soft plastic lures. The water was very clear this year, as the rains hadn’t been seen in a long time. Didn’t seem to affect the fishing though and I landed and released well over 100 fish in the 2 weeks we were there. Got two personal best flathead from the kayak, this year and they proved to be great sport and a real challenge to fit into the net and onto the kayak. The first big girl was hooked as I trolled a soft plastic along one of the channels, on my way to a good spot further up the river. The water was gin clear and the bottom was sandy. I thought the lure had snagged on something as the drag just clicked over as the kayak slowed in the tidal run. I turned around to wind the line in and free the lure if I could, but the line started to peel off faster and faster, towing me out into the centre of the channel and then back towards the oyster racks. After about 5 minutes, a big sandy coloured lizard came alongside. With her head all the way into the net, more than half her length was still out. A few moments of anxiety as she flipped out of the net three times, before I managed to get her in and over the side. Paddled ashore, snapped a photo and measured her before releasing her back where she came from. Length 85cm and 4.5kg. The fires were really close and surrounding the caravan park now, with one blaze started by flying embers, 300m across the bay and another right behind the cabins. With the strong winds, big clumps of glowing embers raced across the bay, setting off grass fires and racing north. The road was cut and one house burnt down only 2klms up the road. Also raced across the road just south of Forster, closing off the roads in both directions. The small caravan park a klm or so away was evacuated, but we were lucky. What was left to do, but go out the next day and fish again. This time we went up to the shallows of the Wallamba River and it wasn’t long before I hooked “the bottom” again. This fish towed me around in big circles for quarter of an hour, in less than 2m of water until she came alongside. Only took two attempts to get her into the net and by that time the rest of the gang had paddled over to see what I had caught. Big, dark flathead, coming in from over the mudflats and weighing in at just over 6kg, with a length of 93cm. She was really fat and presumably full of roe, so after a quick photo, she went back in and cruised away strongly into the murky water. Ended up the holiday, keeping about a dozen fish. Snapped my anchor pole in the fast current on the last day and lost a bunch of S.P’s to good fish and oyster snags. Booked for 2020 and already looking forward to it.

Well, after many months, my mate John and I finally locked in a session off the rocks on the coast, just to the north of Coalcliffe. Arrived there at 6am and the swell was just about perfect, but as in all conditions when fishing from the rocks, there is a need to be extra vigilant. Cleats on our shoes and lifejackets are a must as you never know what can happen. Only a few months ago, John snagged his heel on a small rock and fell on his backside as the swell washed over the ledge and knocked him onto his back. The swell wasn’t at all dangerous but the sheer weight of water is very powerful. He was lucky that I was beside him and grabbed his arm and rod before the backwash dragged him over the edge. Simple things can bring you undone on the stones. John was already rigged so he made his way down to the ledge and cast in before I had even put my rod together. Bang! He was on. Into his keeper net went the blackfish and he was onto his second by the time I got to the water's edge. We were like kids in a lolly shop. The luderick and drummer were voracious, hitting the bait as it was being wound in to place it in a "hot" spot. Truth be told, they were everywhere and it was just imagination that told me one spot was better than the other. There were two other guys there, having arrived just minutes before us and every cast was a fish. We all had our bag limit just shy of 2 hours, having also dropped a few and getting busted and dusted by good sized pigs. Steve, one of the other two, managed to land 3 very good sized pigs while John and I certainly hooked into a few and had the opportunity to re-rig on many occasions. I was using my Pacific Composites blackfish rod, Avon centrepin reel, 12lb floating line and 8lb fluorocarbon leader. We both love the direct contact which the reels give us, using a hand as the drag mechanism and also the small degree of skill which must be learnt to effectively cast with a free running reel. Best mornings fishing we have had in a couple of years. The water was glorious. The swell was perfect. The weather was too hot on the hike back to the car. Have to do it again soon.

yes you can. Look online.

That hit the nail on the head for my three girls as well Jon

I recall doing a patrol around Googoley Point one day and cutting across the shallows near the church camp, came across a dozen witches hat crab nets laying on the bottom. They were loaded with blue swimmers, which were all released and the nets confiscated, as it is prohibited to use nets in the Hacking. Don't know where the owners were or if they were watching, but they obviously knew the rules, as none of the nets had floats or any kind of I.D. on them. Good catch, Yowie.