M1100S

Are the following a good battery for a electric motor. In the new year planning on getting a motorguide 24v elect motor for the surtees and my mate accidently boat 8 of these for his 48ft cruiser.... but was supposed to get the starting type battery so now he is flogging these off for 200 a pop I am more concerned about the quality and reliability /longevity of the batteries..... anyone used these, are they good or better off spending the extra to get a known brand like century? thought and opinions for fellow raiders always appreciated or if anyone thinks they may need a spare battery i can tell friend... he is throwing up on ebay, only used once

So i was wondering to myself while anchored up in the boat at molly point waiting for my first legal kingfish and fishing the live baits.... why not throw a lure out to pass the time instead of just sitting there. so it begs the question.... what lure do you use? since i have read Kings seems to stay in the middle of the water column would it best to get a metal lute and let it sink and then wind back in? or do you get one of those popper style lures to use on the surface?? I have a Rapala magnum style hardbody lure but i think this is more for trolling.... can you flick these lures and retrieve them?? Hardware used is : - gomoku 7'6" spin series 6-12kg 14-40g lure - daiwa freams 4000 with 20 l bread with 30 lb leader i assume for rat kings it will be fine but anything bigger will i just get smashed ?

so where exactly on the attached map is watts reef... i have heard about it but never really managed to find it when out there. Also the elusive hot water outlet i have heard people talk about sorry for the thread hijack

So going up to yamba for a week of camping at one of the big 4 and though mught go for a fishing trip Anyone recommend a good day trip operator... is there good snapper up that way...be nice to get catch one amd habe a feed

So a few questions on bustups. Do you let the lure sink or just on surface? wind slowly, or like crazy? Also is a single hook better than trebbles??

Went out yesterday to bate bay for a fish with the aim of getting a snapper for myself or a few flathead. Was a perfect morning the water was like glass in bay and no swell outside so a nice run from botany. Was fishing by 630 at my chosen spot. Cannot say my snapper hunting went well.... got a small one about 20cm and then i dont know what it was but looked like a baby baraccura... so im just enjoying the morning and then i see some birds going nuts in distance and read always look out for the birds....so 100 mile an hour i motor over and it was like the water was boiling such a massive bust up. I never seen anything like that as my first bustup on the water I quickly find a lure and throw the gillies 40g lure and cast out like mad....so many dodgy casts as i was sooo excited.... i looked like an ametuer lol... not secureing the bail arm, bloody sun shade getting in way, me being a right hand caster on wrong side of the boat ughhh. Didnt help my cheap reel didnt hold up to well either Best 1 hr fishing on the boat so far just chasing the school around. Those salmon can sure fight hard. Landed 3 in the boat. Let 2 go back and had the lure spat out 4 times. Rest of the day landed on Tiger flattie and a rock cod for mum. No legal snapper but hell it was a fun morning out on the water. Hope its the same next monday.

Nice work pickles... always enjoy your posts and envy your fishing skills. I see where u were it appears you were spot locked with a minn kota. ... can you anchor in that area, is it safe? Or is it better to just drift and move around abit? Thinking of going in harbour this Monday bit no minn kota (yet) and just have a sand anchor amd a sea anchor .

Was also out yesterday with a mate... we manage 3 take home trevally, got 2 undersize flatties, and a few baby pinkies which all went back. Saw a few dolophins near oil wharf which was a first. Also went out last friday and yakkas were damn hard...only got one. Bait kept getting pinched by those small sweep / dart or whatever they called.. pesky little shites. Hurry up kingies i need to get my first legal one to take home

that is one big Mofo of a crab :) are you land based or off a boat Papafish ?

Got myself a second sounder to use more for navigation/charts and looking at geting the cmap reveal charts. ( got an elite ti2 7) Looking at the map info its hard to tell if alot of the sydney area has been mapped for that bathymetric details that it gives. So was wondering if anyone who has the charts can advise if it covers alot of the sydney area...mainly around botany bay inshore areas where i do my fishing. Also how far out km whise do thay provide the info. Hope fellow raiders can shed some light

Hi ZMK. i finally figured out how the thing works, if i loosen the handle (anti clockwise) it allows it to free spool and then i tighten it up it allows me to wind back in. Also got a mount for it and now it is just time to get a downrigger weight and use it in the summer time I wonder if you can get a replacement but on the end of the handle... i dont know what technical name for that kind of nut is so couldnt really google it. But it is a handy unit and i think will do the job in the mean time....cost me a trade of a motorcycle ramp instead of a case of beer haha. Have to admit this thing is built like a tank, a solid peice of kit. i dont know what cannon or scotty downriggers are like but boy the aluminium work on it is pretty darm good.

So was out on Sunday drifting to find the elusive snapper i am trying to catch and my baits would get demolished by pickers.... i was using mullet and slimey strips, and also strips of cuttlefish. Would drop my baits and then when i bring it back up all i am left with is the skin of the strip or a small piece of cuttlefish only. I see bites on the rod as there are small hits but thats all there is, yet to get the massive hit of a big fish lol. Even had the wiggly tail of a soft plastic bitten off and had one of the hooks bitten off the dropper. So is there anything you can do about this.... Does it mean i am fishing in the wrong spots? a bigger bait/strip make a difference?? or is it something you juts have to deal as part of finding the big ones.

I was out last monday and had border force shoo me away from end of the oil wharf in the bay... pulling in rods i latched on to a shovel now shark too...they hung around till i want and started hauling in the anchor then they moved on.

So fish like that do exist around the bay area...was thinking all those youtube videos are fake haha I tried out a few spots at cape banks, kurnell....only thing i did was spool myself. I threw the soft plastic out and had bail open and the forgot about it and drove to next spot, crab the rod to cast ....pretty hard when no line on it lol That was the extent of my day. Also i got a few of those wrasse type fish at some of the spots i tried...so does that mean i may have been over rocks etc amd u dont find those fish on sand flats

found an old cheap go pro ripoff at home and threw over the boat yesterday to see if it would work. was worried about it flooding and dying but it worked all ok. This was a yakka at the artificial reef in yarra bay. and your Rig looks awesome, time to find me some old mesh and make one up.

So do most people who fish there do they anchor up or drift about?

so would you say that the circled area is the colours reef ??

Once caught one of those gunard things...fins looked pretty and didnt know what is was and looked on my fish chart and said was poisonous so threw him back in....silly me. Then i read they are pretty good eating while googling after.... how to they go on the plate...any good?

Thought i would share this seabed map i found hanging on the wall in Global tackle .... my local fishing store Might be useful if anyone wants to know reef etc around the area for a fish. wish he had the bate bay section of the map

Im in the same boat as you Blade. only had the boat for 6 months and only ventured out of the heads a few months back first time with my cousin in his boat coming along with me. This was in a stacer 499 seamaster and conditions were ok. i have since upgraded the boat to a Surtees 540 workmate and been out a few times out of the heads. last weekend it was according to willyweather about a 1.3m swell and it was not a problem going out off cape banks or coming back in. boat felt really stable and was comfortable drift fishing (was in 46m depth) Another time i tried to venture out the swell that day was about 2m and i chickened out as i was heading past botany heads. i know the boat was more than capable of going out but for me and my experience i wasn't up to the task yet that day. I saw other boats just screaming out and im thinking man it must be a bumpy ride. i was slightly embarrassed as a guy on a standup paddle-board went passed me as i was coming back in.... now he has some kahunas !! while at the fish cleaning station i spoke to a guy and he said to me you just need to go faster when heading out as makes it easier. im sure you will get excellent advise from the folks here... i will be keeping an eye on this thread too for advise

Finally managed to get the Downrigger off mates old boat. now time to give a bit of a clean. Its a solid bit of Kit i must say. well worth the case of beer. I Will run some saltaway over it and also grease the gears a little. I was told to use litium grease instead or marine grease Also that little black disk, i think it is the friction plate. can you buy news ones of that, and from where ??

That what happens when you put the toll roads in the hands of private Operators... i guess they can do what ever u like. Shame the taxpayer has to pay back up boat owners, good for me as i will benefit as i have to take my boat to dealer who is up blacktown way.... but the main issue is how can these toll operators charge boats and caravans the same as 40 tonne Semi trailers.

Only 86 haha that is insane.... what is the target for the year. last year it was 100 right ? and i would be happy to come by and hitch up the boat and go out with you one day no dramas. I have Mondays off for the rest of the year so who knows maybe a monday fish is on the cards

Seems still alot of kings in the harbour, would u still find any in botany bay? If not why they still found in harbour and not bay?

What is the tally for the year so far pickles U need to rent your services out... do a harbours kingfish masterclass for all us novices. You make it look too easy