james7

A friend of mine has two fishing reels he won as a prize. I haven’t actually seen them. The only info I have is: Force Ten - Career 80 - 4 ball bearings (he was told it was worth about $75) Hemmingway 800 - 10 ball bearings (worth about $85) I’m not familiar with either of them. Can anyone tell me whether they are any good? What sort of fishing they would be suitable for and approximately what they really worth? Should I make him an offer? Thanks Peter

[Peter , great pic's. Were the waves / surge actually getting up into the small bay area east of the road bridge Geoff] Geoff, the water was actually flowing over the sandbar, but it is hidden by the foam. Here is a photo of the entrance across the little lagoon/bay, taken from the park just north of the bridge. This view is from the sandbar back towards the bridge (which is just out of view on the left). There was water flowing under the foam Cheers Peter

I've been travelling down the south coast for a few years and this was the first time I saw waves coming over the top of the sand hills at Mogareeka (Bega River, just north of Tathra). Actually, with the drought, it was only occasionally open to the sea. The foam was amazing, nearly 60-70cm deep in parts and was wobbling like jelly. An incredible sight. Three days later the sea was like glass. Cheers Peter

Geoff It really is an amazing ramp. On a calm day, sixty seconds and you are outside. It's a magnifant little harbour. The day I took those photos, during the strongest surges, the water was flowing up the ramp and across the car park. Several of us taking photos got our feet wet even though we were 20m from the ramp. Cheers Peter

No, I lost one.

Last summer a mate of mine invited me around to taste some fish he'd smoked. The tailor was great. I'd tried that before, but the biggest surprise was the sweep and maori wrasse! I was so impressed that I actually keep a few sweep now, just for smoking. You need a few because the fillets are fairly small. He had soaked them in a brine and brown sugar mixture for a couple of hours, rinsed them and patted them dry, before putting into the smoker. Beautiful! Peter

Here are a few photos taken of the Kianinny boat ramp (Tathra) in June. It was the day after a big storm and the swell was still running.

Have you ever arrived at the beach after a long drive to find that you’ve left something at home? It happened to me recently down the south coast. It was a perfect day and I had everything … except my rod holders. I stood on the beach cursing while my fishing partner showed his ingenuity and fixed the problem in a few minutes. It’s amazing what you can do with three sticks and a thong. The rod holder proved to be effective because ten minutes after setting it up, a small salmon (50cm) smashed the light rig and it held together until I could grab the rod. It just proves how smart and inventive fishermen are! This makes me ask, have any of you got any instances of creativity and innovation that has ‘saved the day'? Cheers Peter

That's a good haul Steveo. Well done. What size were the mowies and the snapper?

I was going through my old fishing photos and found these two fish that I couldn't identify. Can anyone help?

Once again Ross another great report. I love reading about your snapper exploits down south. Fantastic pictures too. As I have the dreaded flu, I know exactly how Swordy must have felt. I'm exceptionally keen to catch a decent snapper when I'm feeling half human again. I've read all your hints and help on snapper fishing, so I'm very keen to give it a go this Spring. If I fail, which is more than likely, it looks like I'll have to make a booking on Broadbill. Also, what was that "slime" you referred to? Peter

Thanks swordfisherman. Are gummy sharks the same or similar to 'flake' that you get in fish shops? I have always released them, but was wondering if they are okay to eat.

Can anyone identify these two sharks? I've caught quite a few of them over the years off Cronulla. I thought the first one might be a small bronze whaler? Cheers Peter