Croydon

All good hope everything is now working for you. Cheers Dave

Hi Pickles, I saw yesterday, a guy on the Fishwrecked WA site is selling a second hand seastar helm for $100. It may be worth having a look. Hope it helps. Cheers.....Dave

Hands down, Montebello Islands off Exmouth WA. The best fishing I have ever experienced, in Oz, NZ or Tonga...... Have fun Dave.

Looks like you had a great weekend, some nice snapper there. Since the fires, there hasn't been much time to fish, very jealous. Well done. Cheers...…... Dave

Thanks for the into much appreciated. Dave

Thanks Brendan, good luck with the fishing. Cheers...…... Dave

Hi mate, haven't been out for a while but try around long beach on the north side of the bay for squid. Cheers Dave

Well done one the late fish, nice way to finish off the day. What's your thoughts on the Northbank? After a shit year, I'm thinking of updating the boat and have been looking at the 650HT version of the Northbank, but never seen one in the flesh. Thanks for the great report, cheers...…. Dave

I owned a Seafarer Viva for a few years. It was a very safe, well mannered boat with a good riding hull, across the chop/swell or in a following sea. I was happy to take it to the shelf on good days and never felt unsafe. If you find a good one you will enjoy it. Good luck with the search. Cheers Dave

Hi Jon. A mate of mine has a 6.5m barcrusher with a 150 yam which is probably 6 years old. Had over a thousand hours on when he bought it. Has done a few hundred since. Runs well a days game fishing out of batemans bay trolling uses around 60 to 80l or so. Good motors if you get a well looked after one. Cheers Dave

Now doesn't that bring a smile to your face. Well done Frank, he is a craftsman and a good all round bloke. Merry Christmas all. Cheers........... Dave

I think the dealer has taken the lazy way out. Get rid of the wing nuts, and run the earth to an insulated negative bus bar at the helm using appropriately sized tinned copper wire. This can all be done as part of your twin battery upgrade. I'd also strap the battery down so it doesn't jump around when in use, and coat the terminals with a suitable terminal grease or spray to reduce corrosion. Also try some tefgel on the SS screws to reduce the reaction between the aluminium and stainless steel. Good luck with the new boat. Cheers............. Dave

Hi Tony, Yep the sharks were the same when I was there. Fortunately there were enough fish to keep the sharks and anglers well fed! I did a similar trip to Swaines Reef off Gladstone a few years earlier and the sharks were even worse. I have to agree, the sharks have learned that once a boat stops an easy feed is not far off. The Monte's is a special place and hopefully I will get there again. Cheers. Dave

I did the Monte's a few years ago on a live aboard charter. By far the best fishing I have experienced anywhere!! Too good to only go there once. Thanks for bringing back the memories. Well done and great pics. Cheers......... Dave

A few reports of 50-60kg yellowfin caught north east of Batemans Bay yesterday, 800 to 1300 fathoms. Good luck to those chasing them, always stuck working when the bite is on................. Cheers Dave

Hi mate. What model Furuno are you using? When you say you 'can't mark fish' what do you mean? Do you get any readings at all? It's not unusual for fish not to show up as the classic arch and there are many reasons for this, Do you have any photos of the soundings you are getting? I've been using a Furuno FCV585 and TM260 transom mount transducer for years. I rarely if ever get fish arches but it marks fish/bottom at 25knts and down to 550m (at a very slow pace). Don't be too hung up on the whole 'arch' thing. When I'm catching kings they come up as solid red marks and or elongated red lines depending on how they travel through the transducer cone. Hope this helps. Dave

I'm no expert but when I rewired my boat recently I took a different path to your diagram. I have a 2014 merc 150hp 4 stroke for reference. The pos & neg wires from the motor run directly to the pos & neg terminals of my battery. From there the pos goes to a 1, 2, both main battery disconnect switch. From the switch the pos goes through a circuit breaker or fuse big enough to carry the loads of all the accessories you will be installing. Also making sure the pos wire is big enough to carry the loads. The pos wire goes from the switch to the pos break out terminal at the helm. The neg wire goes from the motor, through the battery to the neg bus bar at the helm. Each individual load ie. radio, sounder etc is fused depending on the size of the load, and wired to the pos break out terminal via a switch and neg goes to the bus bar. Hope all that makes sense! I found a U.S. site called new wire marine, they have some very easy to follow tutorials and diagrams which I found very useful. Good luck and hope you work it out. Cheers............. Dave

Have a look at an Australian company called Wolf Eyes. Top quality products for a reasonable price. They have a rechargeable headlamp, with flood or spot light for around $140. I've been using them for years and love them. Worth a look. Cheers.......... Dave

Cheers mate, sad to hear you missed out. I've been working a few bottombash charters the last couple of weeks and the fishing has been very hit and miss. Currents all over the place with toad fish starting to move in and take over from the leather jackets! Better luck next time mate. Cheers........... Dave

Looks good. How does it perform offshore, marlin fishing etc? Tried any deep dropping 400-500m or so? Cheers..... Dave

Nice video guys. What electronics package are you running? Cheers............... Dave

Hard to see in the photo but perhaps a bracket for the motor?? Dave

Send FrankS a message, I'm sure he would help you out. Cheers............. Dave

Hi Shakey, The V sea is a very nice boat and will get you plenty of places. The ramp at South Durras (SD) can be a bit tricky with a lot of sand covering the ramp and wind and wave action making things hard to get back on the trailer. I think you may struggle there with a 5m glass boat, but if conditions are kind you should be OK. Otherwise you may have to head into town and use the Hanging Rock facility which is good in all weather. Try trolling around Wasp Island out the front of SD, and the nearby headlands always a chance of salmon, bonito, kings, tailor etc. Often some good squid around the Island as well. Beagle Bay is full of small flathead, but you can sort through them to get a feed. Try the marks out a bit further and you should do OK. There is plenty of good ground off North Durras in 40 to 70m, just sound around and you will find them. Great area for snapper on plastics if your into that. Send me a post when you are down, I fish up that way most of the time, so we may be able to meet up on the water. Hope you have a great holiday. Cheers.............. Dave

Some marks for those fishing the South Durras area. Wave Buoy - 35 42 174 150 20 414 FAD - 35 50 000 150 22 630 Kingfish off Richmond Beach: - 35 42 073 150 19 404 a bit hit and miss not been firing the last year or two Flathead: - 35 57 452 150 22 224 off Pebbly Beach - 35 39 080 150 21 071 off Beagle Bay Durras Snapper, mowie , mixed reef species: - 35 40 679 150 21 505 - 35 37 013 150 21 825 off Point Upright - 35 37 427 15021 825 off Point Upright - 35 40 123 150 21 145 off Wasp Island All the marks are general areas, sound around until you find some fish. Hope these help anyone travelling to the area. Cheers............... Dave