lastworm

Nice one! Very jealous, as my bass water is all outside of my 5km zone and I’m dying to get out. Thanks for posting the report, at least I can live vicariously through you both!

Whatever bass water I can get to. I’ll be socially distancing by choice, quiet creek, hopefully not see a soul, don’t even mind if I catch a fish. My focus will be getting away from high density living and out into some space with a view where I can breathe some fresh air and start to feel normal again

Was a pleasure to be part of it @Flop! I suggest everyone get involved, if you can’t get out and fish during lockdown, it’s nice to at least have someone to chat to about fishing 😂.

My first Father’s Day this year, you’ve set the bar very high for my wife, thanks!

I got a Hobie and can’t recommend it enough. I bought the Sport brand new, it’s essentially a shorter version of the outback, and is perfect for small creek bass fishing which is what I use it for. Plenty of speed, steers well, vantage seat is a godsend, I cannot speak highly enough of their products.

I’m with you Jordy. If it was spring or summer it would be great though because all of the picnicking families and kayakers wouldn’t be at my usual local Bass spot.

I use these, they come in various sizes and are cheap enough https://www.dinga.com.au/products/owner-treble-covers-suits-trebles-14-10-xxxsm-bag-1241642

Haven’t started on it yet, new job and a bit time poor at the moment. I did clean it out last weekend, it was being used as a storage facility in the garage unfortunately. It did give me a chance to fall in love with it all over again though. Definitely going to get onto this thing and sort out over the next 12 months.

The water quality is terrible, but you won’t be eating the fish so not something you will have to worry about. You can get to the weir via new ridge rd, there’s a turn off to the left just before you go over the bridge, it will take you down and under to the right where the weir is. Easy 20 meter walk to the weir. Well it used to be, haven’t been down there for about 15 years. I’d suggest going down there with someone, there can be some shady characters around.

You can fish from the weir. Might be worth a shot to see if they are schooling there before you commit time and effort in a boat/kayak

I’ve always wanted to fish the George’s for Bass above the weir at Liverpool. But the area just looks so dodgy all the way up to Casula and past. It’s a shame.

Thanks for all of the responses guys, definitely gives me a good idea of what I’m in for. Now to find the time...

Not as much sentimental value as the boat itself, however given it’s only got 10 hours on it, it would be a shame to let it go and I’d like to see them stay together if possible. It was extremely reliable when we were using it for the short time that we did. I know 4 stroke is the go these days, but I’d be happy with something that just gets me out on the water to begin with. Might upgrade in the future if I need to.

Thanks for the reply noelm, doesn’t sound like too much trouble. I’ll probably have a look at it myself (have some mechanical knowledge although with car engines) and if it’s too much for me at least I know what a workshop should be charging for. It is a great boat, very stable and gets up on the plane very quickly. The 90hp has more than enough go for this sized boat. My plans were to remove the rails from the front, the old Bimini mounts, possibly take the windows off altogether, clean up a bit of the fiberglass, replace the seats with two single pedestal type seats and fit an electric up front.

Ok so my old man had a 16ft Glastron tri-hull that we bought a brand new 90hp two stroke Yamaha for back in the day when they were the latest and greatest thing. We would use it every weekend until life got in the way and our regular trips became less and less regular until they stopped completely. So I decided a few years back that I’d re carpet the boat and make a removable casting deck for the front in the hope of turning it into a bit of a bream/bass weapon - especially given the stability of the tri-hull. Again, life got in the way and although I finished the interior I never got it on the water. However I’ve now inherited the boat and have been thinking more and more about getting back into restoring it and doing more of a major transformation on it. Here’s the problem, by my maths we haven’t turned the motor over for about 20 years. It’s only got about 10 hours on it, and has been stored in a locked up garage it’s whole life. I know it’s going to need a good going over, seals, spark plug, fuel filter, oil and fuel flushed and more before we can even THINK of starting it. But realistically does anyone have any idea how bad/costly it would be to get this thing back up and running? It ran perfectly beforehand and had no issues whatsoever. Some people have said “yeah major service and she’ll be right” whilst others have told me to just bin the motor.

I ended up going down, was fishing above the weir, managed a couple of bronze ones 😉 Water was still flowing brown although it cleared up way up top.

Anyone know how the Lane Cove has recovered after the rains? Still running sludge? Or has she cleared up? Tomorrows weather is looking good and I’m considering going for a fish in the kayak, would love to know if I’m wasting my time.

Spent my childhood at the Greenwell Point wharf and eating at the fish and chips shop. Amazing oysters and fresh prawns there too. Worth a trip even if you don’t go there for a fish.

So when is everyone hitting the Nepean for a fish?

This topic doesn’t need to just be about the Bass and the Trout, but the fishing is one thing that will definitely be affected and will affect us in the coming years. I know my regular spot in the upper Nepean won’t be the same for a while. After the last floods (last year) the whole area had changed, not to mention the bamboo which is now taking over in plague proportions. I can’t help but think of the strange looks you would have received if you suggested we need a bigger dam 18months ago when people were saying it will never rain again!

What’s everyone’s thoughts on these floods and Warragamba spilling over? Thoughts go out to the properties and lives at risk, and fingers crossed the affects are minimal, although it’s not looking good at this stage. As a typical fisho my thoughts also went to the bass, I assume their migration into the salt has been significantly pushed forward and this will mark the end to the season. But I’ve also heard of some big fish including trout and cod living up in the dam. I wonder if we’ll start to see these appear in the lower Nepean in the coming months and years?

All good mate! Happy to help the cause, especially since one of the locations I provided has seen a depletion in both water and fish quality over the years. It’s just strange being asked for your fishing spots, kinda like if someone asked you for your ATM pin - although I’m not sure which is harder to hand over 😂 Hope you get some good info from the survey.

It took me many years of research, trial and error, donut days and experimenting to find the spots I fish. This goes for most fresh water fishos. It would be a handy database for someone to get their hands on if they didn’t want to go to the effort the rest of us have. I have faith it’s for a good cause and is going to the right place though 😊

Done. The bit that asks for your fishing locations had me a bit worried... 🤨

Ok so I decided to finally test out the U40 on an old Shimano Backbone baitcaster I bought years ago before going at my brand new custom rod. Although there are heaps of people in the USA that use this stuff and swear by it, all their reviews just say how great it is and it works well to keep out dirt and oil from your hands. Nobody has really provided side by side comparisons of the stuff applied to a cork handle, including the dried finish and a proper review, so here goes. Below are the progress images of the cork handle; Original Cleaned with methylated spirits Lightly sanded with magic marker Fresh cork seal applied Touch dry (after 2 hours) Below are each of the stages side by side I had three main concerns with the product: 1) How well will it seal the cork - time will tell, but anything better than bare cork I’ll be happy 2) Will it affect the colour of the cork - only very very slightly after drying for 2 hours. Not enough to notice even in the side by side comparisons 3) Most of all will it change the texture of the cork - not at all, it feels exactly the same as the bare cork did. Not hard, shiny or slippery. I’m sold, and will be applying it to the new rod ASAP. Hopefully this helps other members considering using this stuff.