Holmesie

Sad news - my thoughts to the families of those involved

My fav fishing destination - weather looks like it was perfect Hodgey! Wonder how those guys went that were heading outside. I'm very jealous - I check out the Narooma bar webcam at least twice per week, just to torture myself Cheers

arghhh! a good sized Jewy or two would have made my trip!! happy fishing fellas!!

thanks for your comments Phil - I'm relatively inexperienced in your area, but you have echoed what I suspected, and have experienced so far. billfisher, when I had left, there wasn't much of a fresh in the river - most of the rain was concentrated along the coast, with only smaller amounts falling inland of Kempsey even. This may have changed in the last fews days though, I'm not too sure.. hope you have better luck than Poacher and I !!!

Yeah I normally go out the river too, was just curious as a lot of people use Back Creek... I'd be paranoid about running over a surfer!! I'm not sure if I could launch at the Trial Bay beach ramp as I'm pretty sure the weight of my boat &motor (150hp), even with a bogie trailer would result in me getting bogged Will definitely catch up and swap stories next year, maybe even head out in tandem (I should have a detailed C-Map chart for that area by then ) Cheers Andrew

Ahh no worries, I was chatting to the Backwash owner at the ramp and thought he looked a little like your avatar... I was staying up not far from you up the Gap Beach Road with some in-laws (but in a tent ) and yes I drove past Sailfish every day and salivated quietly over such a lovely vessel - Like you I would have been out in her (easy to say when we're not putting fuel in twin 150's and poor weather I guess ) Will certainly see you next year if you plan on heading up at the same time. Out of interest, do you take your boat out Back Creek or the River bar? Cheers Holmesie

Yeah we came home early too, it certainly WAS ridiculous... BTW Poacher, is your boat called Backwash by any chance?

Yeah I hope there is no flooding, Port was pretty wet when we came home, and the heavy rain on the Pacific Hwy astounded me with it's intensity! The daily rainfall for Smoky Cape when we were staying reads like our MONTHLY totals! (that's when it does rain here ) Cheers

I managed two sessions in the river, with 3 bream caught and kept - didn't go outside at all That's not much to report, because it rained virtually EVERY damn day - I have never seen rain as heavy!! I could nearly have chucked in a line in the driveway at times... I guess there is always next year (but I will check the forecast and make sure it's worth towing the boat 900km there and 900km home)

bump for this great thread!! Here's my two fav's Mungo Brush on the Myall Lakes Narooma Bar

What is your rough budget redherring? If you can stretch it to an ML Triton (06 onwards) with the 3.2 DiD engine, then you'd be getting the best of them... With a boat your size I think the earlier models with the 2.8 engine could be a little underpowered. The 3.2 diesel is more powerful and economical than the older motors and pulls like a train Unladen they are very economical (around 9.5-11l/100km) although like any vehicle when you are towing a load the economy can blow out a bit. Cheers

I have the Navman 5380 and I'm very happy with it, still getting used to its features but it's very easy to use and it does all that I want AND more... A great feature is the fuel computer, with very accurate usage, although this requires an additional sensor that fits into your fuel line (well worth the money IMHO) I am saving for a C-map Max wide card with charts for all of Australia, as the built-in map is pretty basic and I fish from the Bermi in the South to as far North as Yamba. I already have a decent sounder so this plotter was a very useful addition to my boat. Hope that helps!

You guys are probably getting the winds we had last night - blew an absolute gale from about 11pm onwards, and the temp varied markedly, no rain in it for us though Stay safe fellow raiders Cheers

Hi all, There is the possibility I'll be in Port Macquarie during the school hols, with the boat but no fishing buddies - would love to fish outside, so if there's anyone interested in tagging along drop me a PM and I'll see what we can organise closer to the time. I can supply gear if you've got nothing suitable, would just be glad of the company (and someone to help load the boat at the end of the session ) Cheers Andrew

Nice one Mik!! Glad to see you had something added your boat, and not nicked! Cheers

The Mitsubishi 3.2 DiD diesel is a cracker of an engine. I have a Triton and it tows my 5.3 Quinnie half-cab easily, and I'll soon (hopefully) be adding a DiD Pajero to the garage as well IMHO you really need to be finding something with a common-rail diesel engine as their power and economy is far superior to the older style diesels. Bear in mind that currently you can pay MORE for diesel at the bowser than petrol, so the cost savings might not be what you expect Cheers Holmesie

thank you

Yep, on this model Quintrex, the seat poles go into sockets under the floor - they can rotate and are easily removed to leave a flat floor (I guess for sleeping or whatever) Ross, I just found out I actually might be in the Big Smoke next week, did you have a particular warehouse in mind? Cheers (I Googled Underfloorstorageboxes 'R' Us but apparently they are out of business )

I saw a boat like mine with two underfloor storage boxes fitted, like in the pic below. I'd like to try and fit some to my boat, does anyone know where to get something like this? I'm out in the sticks and can't drive to a boating store, so mail/internet order would be best. Any ideas would be appreciated! Cheers Holmesie

good to see you are happy with the Pajero (as I thought you would be) thanks for the chat the other day Stewy, I've still not done anything about a new car yet, but the time is coming soon!! Cheers

Thanks Huey, given my motor has probably had cheaper oil for it's whole life, is there any chance I'll have problems by switching to XD100 or will it all be good (noting what you said about draining the old oil first) Cheers Holmesie

Huey, would this oil make a difference on an Evinrude 150 Intruder as well? I'm currently running the BP Hi-Tide 2-stroke oil and find it very fumey at times Cheers Holmesie

G'day benzeenees, it's a Quintrex 5.3m tinnie, with 150hp Evinrude - my biggest concern of this sort of bar crossing is not having enough HP to get out of trouble (ie. approaching wave from behind, strong run-out tide etc). 150HP might seem like overkill until you have to cross under less than ideal conditions. I am by no means an expert about this bar, and I always take time walk down the wall to watch it prior to deciding whether to head out. Under good conditions you would be OK (I've seen it dead flat), but it could get uncomfortable for you if you mis-timed your crossing either way, or conditions changed - it's very narrow and can get messy between the walls, and like Lancer has said, the runout from Wagonga can be pretty fierce. Have you done many bar crossings in your boat? How do you feel with 60HP in a big swell or windy conditions? Cheers Holmesie

With a Fishfinder, Chartplotter, VHF & 27meg radio + the normal boat wiring, the inside of my Quinn half-cabin looks a bit untidy with wire-spaghetti Has anyone come across and neat and cheap way of tidying up all the wiring? Everything is tied together with cable-ties so it's not running higgledy-piggledy, but none-the-less it's a bit unsightly and I'd like to have it looking nicer... (or am I being too picky ) Cheers Holmesie

I ended up coming in on the flat water between sets, that wave behind is the start of another set - it looks closer than it really was (you can see in the 2nd pic it's a fair way back) Cheers