Croydon

Hi folks, Well for me it's been a pretty tough season game fishing wise. Been lucky enough to raise a few fish, even get a few good runs but as happens all ended in disaster. Up until recently that is! A couple of weeks ago I got invited to fish with some mates out of Port Stephens just before the interclub started. Had three fantastic days, scoring 3 black marlin on the last day which all went 80 - 100kg. Fantastic!! Then last saturday headed out of Batemans Bay with 2 mates on my tinnie. Headed out to around 70 - 80 fathoms off Burrie Point. The water was electric blue and crystal clear. The sounder said 22.6 but it looked much warmer. Picked up a heap of traffic on the radio that a few fish had been found on bait balls in the area. After a bit of searching (and following the 20 other boats to the same spot) we located a bait ball about the size of a small car being worked over by a seal. As we got closer, I couldn't believe my eyes. Five of the most beautiful striped marlin were all lit up and working over the bait from beneath. In a flurry of activity I threw in a live slimie and wham, it got nailed. The lacky band goes ping, the fish races off taking 30m of line from the drop back spool and we're on. Or so I thought! You guessed it, spat the hook and swam away. You could have heard me say some nasty things if you were anywhere within 300 miles!! Anyway back to the bait ball we go. Chase it all round the ocean waiting for my chance and when it comes I'm pretty quick off the mark. In goes another slimie and to my amazement a huge marlin races over and makes a fish finger out of it. WE ARE ON THIS TIME!! Well the fish races off and we're after it. A few spectacular jumps and then down it goes taking 24kg like it was cotton. Well for the next hour or so it's the toughest fight I've ever had. The backs screaming, the arms burning and my thighs have bruises that the Mrs can only laugh at. But sadly towards the end of the fight, the fish gets tail wrapped and when she comes to the boat she wasn't in good shape. What a magnificent looking fish. We try for the next half hour to revive it but it just wasn't going to happen. As this was the first Marlin I've landed in my own boat I made the call and decided to take her home. Back at the marina we had it weighed and she went 125kg. What a fantastic fish and a great feed for a lot of families. As elated and happy as I was to catch the fish I was still a little sad that it came home. But that's fishing. What a fantactic couple of weeks it's been and with any luck it may just continue. Hope you enjoyed the read and the photo's. Cheers.... Dave

G'day Greg, I've got a 560C Barcrusher which came with a set of 5.5m reelax poles and bases. I've used them heaps over the last couple of years and have not had a drama at all. I store them in my garage when not in use and just place them up the centre of the boat when I travel to the boat ramp. They came fully rigged and to date (touch wood) have not failed me. I know their not cheap, but are really worth having. Never tried the telescopic type so I can't comment on them. Good luck with your purchase. Dave

G'day Garry, I've got the same motor on my Barcrusher. They are pretty bullet proof but as advised they are a little noisy and a bit thirsty. Been round for years and 170hrs is nothing. Good luck with your search. Dave

Good on ya mate, that's fantastic. Had my first last year and still can get the smile off the dial! Enjoy it and hope you get a few more this summer. All the best. Dave

Hi Matt, As they say you won't catch them sitting at home, it's always worth a go mate. I've only been game fishing for a couple of years but I've already found out a few things. Game fishing is hours of boredom followed by minutes of madness. But it is addictive!! Secondly if your gears not upto it you are in big trouble. If your serious about it, invest in some good quality secondhand tackle and research as much as you can. Join a club and ask a heap of questions. A day on a game charter is an excellent idea as you learn so much in a short period of time. Possibly even better off doing this first to see if you like it and want to put in the time and money!! As for how far to travel, most of the fish raised around Batemans Bay lately have been in the 70 to 80 fathom mark, which is a long way from home when the weather gets a bit ordinary. As for lures, they are worth it BUT WHICH ONE'S?? That's a whole different topic. Personally I like fishing which live baits as you described or skipping trolled dead baits. But it all depends on the conditions and what the fish are taking. All I can say is good luck and happy hunting. But seriously jump on a charter with a site sponsor and it will be the best money you ever spend in learning about game fishing. Good luck......... Dave

Hi, Been out wide a couple of times this week, for 1 stripped marlin raised whilst switch baiting. Unfortunately it took the bait for a short run and then dropped it. Quite a few have been raised and a few tagged this week. Also reports of 2 large dolphin fish being caught. Water's around 23 deg and royal blue, pushing hard to the south, with good schools of slimies around the 70 fathom mark. Good luck with the comp. Dave

Hi Grant, I was at JB Lures a few months ago and asked him what he preferred for Yellowfin. As a result, he made me up two little dingo's. One in lumo the other in evil. Had a few swims but no fish as yet. All the best..... Dave

G'day Garry, Had the diamond stone Lansky system for 6 months now and love it. Easy to use and consistent results every time. Dave

Yes lucky Blocka is such a big bugger!! Glad I jumped in the chair....... For those heading down, there have been some consistent reports coming in from Bermagui, out past the northern and southern sea mounts. The day we fished we heard a guy on the radio who was cubing south of the southern sea mount, he hooked 3 fish for the day and at one stage said he had about 300 fish under his boat! Not sure if this is a little fishermans lie or just a bloody great day, who knows. All fish have been caught a long way out so take care and good luck.......... Dave

Yeah we had a good day, I think Blocka was pretty stoked. Not happy about missing out on the chair though. His manhood will be a little sore for a while.......... As for their fight, I thought they went pretty well and seeing as I've never caught a yellowfin I don't have much to compare it to!! Hope this changes soon. Dave

Hi folks, Well after a few very uneventful trips lately we decided to head out yesterday on a mate's 40ft Blackwatch and see if we could locate some of the Bluefin that have been turning up around Bermagui. We left 7.30am from Batemans Bay and headed for Tuross Canyons. The water was around 19 degrees and looking good. As the day went on the weather just got better and better. We trolled a spread of lures south east until we ended up in over 1000 fathoms between Tuross and Narooma. We'd come across a number of long lines in the water and just after lunch, we trolled past one of them, when the short rigger goes off. It had a 7" pink skirted lure on and just got smashed. The 37kg shimano started to scream and then the long corner goes off. There was a small JB dingo in a saurie pattern on that one and it also got smashed. Double hook up, you beauty. With only 3 on board and 6 lines in the water, it was madness but a hell of a lot of fun. I was the smart one, grabbed the rod on the right rigger and jumped in the chair. My poor mate had to man handle the 37kg bent butt rod without a chair or gimball. Lucky he's a big boy. After a fantastic 20 minute fight and a few screaming runs, both fish hit the deck and to say the boys were happy is an understatement. Check these out... My first Bluefin and I was loving it. After clearing the decks, cleaning the mess and setting the lures we headed back to try and find the school. But as luck would have it we just couldn't find them. To tell the truth I wasn't too worried, we'd had a ball and more than enough fish for a massive family/friends feast. On heading home we got the guys to open the weigh station and put them on the lie detector. We'd called them for around 60kg but we were wrong. Just! Mine went 53.9Kg.......... My mates was a paltry 48.6Kg (just kidding) What a fantastic day and a fantastic first. Looks like the fish are heading north from Bermi and I can't wait to get back out there....... Dave

Hi guys, We spent the whole day trolling south of Batemans Bay plateau, Moruya and Tuross Canyons for a few small stripped tuna. Very little bird activity or bait. Some other guys from here fished out of Bermi to the north as the day before a few SBT had been picked up. They got nothing! A local Bermi boat went south towards Tathra and scored 7 SBT to 70 - 80Kg on the troll I believe. Lucky buggers............ Atleast the snapper are firing around here at the moment, may give them a touch up tomorrow. All the best...... Dave

Hi Slinky, PM me your postal details and I'll post a few things to you that you might be able to use. Thanks.. Dave

G'day Chris, On the weekend I spoke to a guy who has a license to trap Bream in the Clyde. He's been getting some good size and numbers up river from the Nelligen Bridge amongst the snags. There's been a few jew caught by the Bay bridge as well. Pouring down rain today though. Had a couple of inches over night so this may change things. Good luck....... Dave

Hi Paul, No haven't purchased a new one as yet. Still doing some research and waiting on a reply from Lowrance about a few questions. I'll let you know if/when I do. Dave

Hi folks, Well after christening the boat last week with it's first Marlin capture, I went out again yesterday for another crack. But this time I was on a mates boat, which is a little flasher and has a whole lot more rooom than the barcrusher! We left Batemans Bay at a gentlemanly 7.30am and headed out to the 80 fathom mark south east of the Tollgates, setting a spread of lures on the way towards Tuross Canyons. The water was just fantastic calm, blue and about 24deg. After a quiet couple of hours we sounded out some slimies and jigged a few for the livewell. We rigged em up as skip baits and coninued on our way. The area looked hot and two separate free jumpers were seen in the distance. Not long after we found some great looking water. Birds were working, seals playing and bait all over the place. The the left rigger goes off and the 37kg chair rod starts screaming. I grabbed the rod, jumped into he chair and we're on. This was my first time in the chair and it took a bit of getting use too, but I was having a ball! After about 20 minutes we had the fish at the side of the boat. It was a beautiful stripped marlin around the 90kg mark. The tag went in and she swam away, I was stoked what a fantastic day. I'd love to post a close up of the fish but in all the excitement the camera got switched over to video and we didn't get any more stills. Hope you enjoy the read anyway.......... Dave

Hi Arman, Got an email back recently from a retailer of airmar transducers. His opinion was that I would get an improvement in performance with the 1Kw transducer but could not exploit it's full potential with a 250kw sounder no matter the brand. Looks like I have to rethink my chioces. Glad you brought it up, much appreciated......... Dave

Thanks Arman, I tend to think your right. It's a bit hard to believe the figures and the hype. That's why I'm asking around for peoples 'real world' experiences. The Raymarine Unit is an excellent sounder and operates well but is not upto what I want and does not have any other transducer options other that what it has now. I'm still undecided and quite open to other brands. The Furuno may be the other way to go. Thanks for your help it's good to see what other peopel have found and are happy with. Thanks again....... Dave

Hi Mr Magoo, Thanks for the reply. You may well be right and it's something I have to check into some more. But from what I've been reading (and it's hard to sort the good oil from the hype) is that it's difficult to compare broadband signal processing with conventional analog sounders as the sensitivity of broadband is so high it uses significantly less output power. I had a look at the specs sheet and maximum output power is 250W which is equivalent to 30,000W analog. Which I hope means the HDS-5 can run the 1kw transducer and provide the results I'm after. Unfortunately for me, I don't know my jigawatts from my killer-watts and trying to get an unbiased straight forward answer from anyone who sells them is difficult (other than Huey as he's been very helpful). Just means more research and asking lots more questions before I spend the money. But thanks again for the reply, it's given me something important to think about. Much appreciated...... Dave

Hi folks, I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding a new sounder/transducer set up for my boat. I have a 560C barcrusher, which I use for game fishing as well as inshore reef fishing for snapper, kings and the like. I currently have a Raymarine DS500X sounder which is great but becomes less reliable once you get out to 100 fathoms and more. I have an independent GPS which I'm happy with so I'm looking at a Lowrance HDS-5X sounder but upgrading to a 1kw transducer. In particular the airmar TM270W or the TM260, but I have a couple of concerns. Both transducers are around 4kg and 26cm long. Is this too big to hang off the back of a 6m tinnie?? Both are 50/200kHz but run different beam angles. The TM270W has a 25deg beam width at both 50 & 200kHz, which would be great for bait/game fish but how will it go with bottom definition inshore and out at the shelf? The TM260 runs 19 and 6 deg angles, which is more of a compromise but not as suitable for the game fish. There is a fair price difference between the two as well. Just wondering what your thoughts were before I shelled out the cash. Thanks........ Dave

That is awesome, Sydney Harbour has really turned it on the last few years. Well done mate great fish.... Dave

Thanks guys for all the well wishes, much appreciated. Yes Tom, you've got it right. It's a great spot to catch small yakkas, slimies and at the moment bonito and some good size salmon. Cheers.........Dave

G'day folks, Well it's taken two summers, a lot of sweat, even more fuel and yes just a few beers but we finally broke the drought. Our first stripped Marlin hit the boat yesterday! And yes it was worth the wait.... We headed out off Batemans Bay into a brilliant sunrise. It looked fantastic under a haze of fog. Took this photo on Tuesday but it was just as spectacular. Trolled small pink xmas tree lures around Snapper Island and picked up half a dozen bonito just right for skipping. We headed out to the 70 fathom mark and started to troll a spread of JB lures north east, out over the shelf and back in. On the way we came across some playful dolphins who just wanted to have some fun. The water temp rose from 21.5 to 25 deg once we got out over the 80 fathom mark and didn't it look a beautiful royal blue. After a few hours for a couple of good size stripe tuna (which is pretty much how it's been going lately) I switched over to a couple of skip baits on the riggers and a pair of lures off the corners. We continued to troll back in towards an area off North Durras which I'd raised a couple of fish in last year. Just as my mate cracks a coldie (well it was lunch time) something very strange happened. We had a hit on the JB Donger in a lumo green colour. The fish took a few metres of line and spat the hook. I looked at my mate and was devastated, but before I could cry into my beer the right rigger goes off, I bolted off my chair and grabbed the rod and wouldn't you know it, the left rigger goes as well. With only two in the boat, four rods and a teaser out it was bedlam. Both fish just bolted and stripped a good amount of line off the 50's. Suddenly my fish comes rocketing out of the water and spat the bonito back in my face. To say I was a little miffed would be an understatement. But thankfully the other fish had better table manners and the hook held. About 15 miutes later a stripped marlin of about 60kg was at the side of the boat and wasn't it beautiful!! Well didn't we celebrate. All the heart break in the past went out the window and the boys were happy! We stayed in the area for another few hours but that was it for the day. Look out this weeked, number two isn't too far behind. All the best and thanks to everyone on this site for their info and advice which really helped make this capture something to remember. Thanks....... Dave

Hi Dale, Thanks for the tip much appreciated. I've started most morning with lures and switched to skip baits of slimies, bonito and small stripped tuna I've caught in the area I'm fishing but still missing out. Even tried slow trolling them as livies but not a hit. Them's the breaks i guess, just gotta keep pluggin away. But your advice is on the money I'm sure. Thanks......Dave