Croydon

With the little dip in the forehead, I'd say EP...... Dave

G'day Nige, If you want to come a little farther south, to Batemans Bay give me a call and we can go for a run. The snapper have been pretty good............ Dave

G'day Slaka, I've also got a DSX400, which tends to suffer from a little condensation at times. I've found it's a great little unit but sensitive to dodgey power connections. Probably more my skill as a sparky than anything else. I had a few problems with the unit turning itself off, just had to go back and check all connections and it's worked fine ever since. Dave

G'day Billy, Used to holiday and fish Hawks Nest & Tea Gardens heaps a few years back, spending a lot of time there as a kid. The wharves around Tea Gardens are generally pretty good for a few yakkas but the tide runs hard. Just back along the river past the pub, towards the Police Station, there's a small boatramp and sand flats. Usually a few poddy mullet around if you have a small trap. Hawks Nest beach always had a good supply of pippis and beach worms, but as I said, it's a few years back now. If you follow the road round past Jimmies Beach Caravan Park at Hawks Nest, heading west and continue along the beach opposite Nelson Bay, park at the end of the road. Then walk a few hundred metres and you'll find an area where the river meets the bay. Some great sand/weed beds for flatties, and whiting. If you continue round the road you'll come to the boat ramp which has a small rock wall where black fish and bream and pretty likely. This is a beautiful part of the world, enjoy yourselves and good luck with the fish.......... Dave

Thanks folks for all the info, I've been sending a few emails to the people you've suggested and we'll see what comes back. I can't wait, it should be a hoot........................ Dave

Yeah thanks for that Roberta but I'd need a really good shave before the skirt could even be considered!! I looked up their website and sent them an email. We'll see what they come up with. It would be great to be up there now but we need a few months to save the cash and convince some of the wives!! I'm not too sure which job will be harder........... Dave

G'day Mondo, Unfortunately I didn't measure it, but the esky goes a bit over 80 and it wouldn't fit inside. We're also looking at a few days at Cape Don Lodge. Just trying to get a few ideas and prices to put to the boys. The 'wilderness camp' idea would certainly be fantastic, but it just comes down to the $$$$ I guess. Thanks anyway........... Thanks Roberta, I'll see if they're still about and yes you do have to do a heap of work! Much like those lovely little blackfish. That's an art of it's own..........

G'day folks, Well after a lot of negotiation with the fun sherriff () , I've been given the go ahead to organise a trip to Darwin with the boys next April. I've fished there a couple of times in the past with relo's but sadly they have moved to greener pastures. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent barra day charter they have had a good time with in the past. Any help would be much appreciated. Just to wet the appetite I've included a few photo's from my last trip when I towed the tinnie up north with a mate. This was how we travelled most days....... The best fish of the trip caught on the gear in the first photo, from a little gutter/rock bar on the Victoria River which runs between NT and WA. One huge River.. This is where it went. It was a tad under 20lb and a fantastic meal...... And the reward........ With any luck the next trip will be just as much fun. Thanks folks if you can help............

G'day McFusher, I've been lucky enough to head up to Darwin a couple of times as both my brothers lived there for a few years. They are both keen fishos and usually did pretty well. A few years ago, I packed up the tinny headed north and fished the Mary and Liverpool River systems for a couple of weeks. It was sensational. We have always used good quality small to medium overheads such as Calcutta's and a couple of old ABU's. They did the job great. My best fish to date up north is a barra just over 20lb! I was more than happy using 30lb braid which had a diameter similar to 6lb mono and never had a drama. Just make sure you use a good quality leader of around 50lb and you will pull up most any fish you'll come across. Have a great time up there, it's a magic place.......... Dave

Mate, What a great photo. I spent much of my life as a kid on holidays around Hawks Nest, it's a wonderful place. The photo brings back heaps of great memories. Hope it does the same for you guys in the future........... Dave

Mate, That's a fantastic effort. I've fished jindy a fair bit in the winter and it's bloody freezing but great fun. To do it in a yak is brilliant. They are silent and deadly machines, well done....... Dave

Not sure which I like more, those whiting on the plate or that sunset. Great day out with family and friends, you've done well............

Azza, The cuttlefish can be seen floating all over the place, generally not too far from the rocks. The session my brother and I had last week, all our live yakkas were being bitten behind the head but we couldn't get one on a jig....

Those sambos are great fun, well done mate.......

Thanks guys, seems pretty hard to miss out down this was at the moment. Was at the boat ramp the other day and one of the locals came in with 11 reds of much the same size. It's a good time of year when the cuttlefish are about. Just got to get in nice and close......

Hi folks, Went out this morning on my own to take advantage of the great weather and calm seas. After picking up a few livies, I headed north to Wasp Island at South Durras and anchored on a drop off that went from around 28' to 47'. The sea temp had dropped a little from the other day and was sitting on 16 or so. Got the burley going and sat a 2.0 multi coloured yozuri jig in the rod holder. To my surprise I picked up this lovely little fella. After half an hour or so I got a second run on the jig but I was a bit heavy handed and lost it. Not too long after I picked up a nice snapper that went 53cm on a live yakka. By about 9.30am nothing was happening so I pulled the pick and had a wonder round. Came across quite a few dead cuttlefish in the water but nothing feeding on them. I was pretty happy that tonights dinner was sorted so I headed home. Pretty good morning all in all.......

Hi folks, Monday morning just gone was a little windy from the north west and very cold. My brother and I decided to head out and see what we would find. Stopped at the bait grounds just out of Batemans Bay and with a bit of hard work filled up on yakkas and small slimies. We headed out wide and all we could find were small nannygai. Great eating but a little fidly. Went out a bit wider and picked up two of the fattest flatties I've ever seen. However, the extra depth was just a little too much work in the wind. Decided to head in close to Wasp Island off South Durras. Water was about 17 degress and 6 - 10m deep. Fortunately as the afternoon wore on the wind settled and we had a glassy sea. As the berley started to work we picked up a nice mowie and a few assorted reef critters. Then the first red... Not too long after we picked up it's big brother.... Unfortunately we had to head home to keep peace with the fun sherriff and left 'em on the bite! The intersting thing was though, both snapper were caught on half yakkas. Live yakkas were all killed, bitten just behind the head. The slimies weren't touched. I'd guess they were squid or cuttlefish, but I couldn't get one to take a jig. Better luck next time I guess.... Great day out all in all.

Welcome to the site! Great report and nice to see a few fish hit the bin. The only good thing about long reef ramp is the golf club nearby!!!!!

CaineS, No not bearing buddies. The bearings are lubricated via an oil bath instead of grease. The front of the hub has a 'viewing window' so you can see the level of the oil over the bearings or if they've been contaminated by water. Seem to be working pretty well so far......

G'day folks, I was wondering if anyone has tried using the oil filled wheel bearing hubs. I won't mention the brand as I'm not sure if it's against site rules. I've had them on my boat trailer for the past 6 months and they seem to work quite well. I've only had two problems which have both been related to my lack of mechanical skill. The first problem was the rear rubber grommet not sealing properly due to it being damaged when I put it on and the second was a torn rubber grommet on the front 'viewing window' which tore when a split pin turned and cut the grommet. I contacted the manufacturer on both occasions, who were extremely helpful and within a few days mailed me replacement parts free of charge! Couldn't be happier with their after sales service. I was wondering if anyone else has/is using them and what their longevity was like........

Thanks Dave, they are an awesome fishing machine as posted on their site. I sent the guys at Cougarcraft a message the other day and will give them a call to see what they may be able to do for me. I really need to see a few boats in the flesh before I make a decision. All the best with your boat.....

Took these while camping on the far south coast, south of Eden earlier this year.

Mnnn, little bit of fun had by all by the looks of things!! You lucky bast--ds.... Sensational effort, there is hope for all of us, well done and enjoy every minute of it. Dave

Azza P, no didn't try the plastics, tend to stick to bait fishing outside most days. My neighbour who owns a local tackle store gets into it all the time and does really well on them... Wildfish, if your coming down this way let me know and I'm more than happy to fill you in on what's happening or a few locations to try. Unfortunately no gps marks because I haven't bought one yet. Might have to now the Marine Park is in force.....

Hi folks, Went out with a mate about 7.30am this morning to try for a few snapper off South Durras, which is a few K's north of Batemans Bay. Fantastic morning, a few clouds early on which turned into a beautiful blue sky day with a little south westerly blowing. The water was around 17 degrees and looked a little cloudy but not too bad considering all the rain. Picked up 20 or so slimies without too much trying and then headed north. Tried a few spots at anchor with a good burley trail but could only manage a few rock cod. Drifted over a few rocky patches off Wasp Island and picked up this... It went 35cm to the fork. Picked up a few more that went 29 - 30cm but not too much else. As we packed up to head home my mate pinned a nice gummy shark which went just over a metre. Not bad eating either. As usual you go to all the trouble of catching live bait, and 90% of the fish were caught on squid which had been re-frozen a dozen times!! It's great to be on the water again.........