Croydon

Nice report and some great shots there Jon, nice to see the snapper starting to show with some regularity! Well done.......... Dave

Plus one for solas, been using them for years. Great service and advice every time. Worth a call. Should be seeing 5000 - 6000rpm at wot when propped right. Good luck with it. Cheers........ Dave

Hi Stu, It's a fairly common problem and I've had it in my boat on occasion. I needed to replace my earth wire from battery to the helm as it had corroded over the years. It sounds like the voltage is dropping on start up to a point where the sounder is turning off to protect itself from damage. I'd be making sure all your terminals are clean and tight. That the wire you've used for the installation is large enough to support your sounder's power needs. The longer the distance from the battery to the head unit, the greater the chance of voltage drop. What's the condition and age of your battery? Are the terminals clean and tight? I'm no expert but a few things to consider. Good luck.......... Dave

I like to use smaller lures for the Tuna. The 90kg bluefin we got early in the season took a small black magic jetsetter in purple/black. It's hooked tuna of all sizes and the stripped marlin have had a go at it too. Other skirts like the JB dingo and little dingo which are around 170mm to 250mm long have also been good this season. I've also been experimenting with a swimming garfish rigged with a 'headstart; and the bluefin had a crack at this too. The rigging needs some work but I think it will be pretty effective on tuna, marlin and kingfish. I like to run the tuna lures a fair way back too. Much further than you would for marlin. Hope this helps. Cheers.......... Dave

Reports of a large school of bluefin and some yellowfin off Batemans Bay yesterday, a couple of 40 kilo fish caught. May not be over just yet.............. Dave

Hi David, I've never been in any of the above boats nor have I had anything to do with the new generation of Etec motors so can't help there. Are you only considering new boats? A budget of $90,000 buys a lot of boat on the second hand market and in that range would come with a hell of a lot of extras already suited to game fishing. You pay a fair premium for a new boat and then have to outfit it with all the things you need. I think there is much better value in a good second hand boat, a couple of years old and already set up, but that's just me. Good luck with your new project. Cheers......... Dave

Nice first report Jon. Snapper fishing in close has been a bit of a challenge lately, between the cold water and coota! Haven't seen too many cuttlefish about this winter either. The better fish have certainly been in the deeper water. Interesting to get a divers perspective, best way to tell what's happening is go have a look I guess. And yes that beardy is a cracker. Good luck to you and the daughter. Cheers.......... Dave

Thanks for that, never heard of them before. cheers........... Dave

Hi Jon, No bait sighted at all, the area was just dead. A big turn around from a couple of days earlier......... I guess you have got to have the bad days to appreciated the good. yeah right!! What are paper nautilus?

The water was green and cold out to the shelf. As we got to the 500 fathom mark it started to warm and clean up. Out around the 1000 fathom mark it got to a little over 20deg and a nice blue, but lifeless. Current was raging to the south about 3knts. Around the 500 fathom mark is where most fish have been getting caught............... Dave

Out again today and didn't turn a reel. ...............

That's a cracking photo John, great to see your daughter doing so well. Hope these tuna hang around for a while and all the toys we have bought can get a test out. Cheers........... Dave

Yeah I know what you mean, but they are a pretty rare catch here in summer, for the last few years anyway! So far it's the best tuna season we've had in ages. Can only hope it continues........... Dave

Generally better to come in on, but it is safe in either direction in the main depending on swell direction and size. Most of the locals stay on the plane in and out to avoid the sand. Cheers.... Dave

Hi Brett, the fin should hang around for the rest of winter and into the start of summer. They have been absent in numbers for a few years, so fingers crossed they stay around. I think yellowfin will tolerate warmer water than the bluefin but they do mix in together. Hi MV Sunray, if I'm fishing to the north of the Bay I use the regional boat ramp at hanging rock. If to the south, and the tides are right there is a good ramp at Mossy point, but the river is very shallow at the mouth and can be a pain to get the boat back on the trailer when the current is running hard. G'day Jon, once again the fishing has been a little better off Bermi and yes they are a long way off shore. We were out to the 150.42E yesterday and it's a long run home. If your coming up keep in touch and I can give you the heads up or even meet up out there is the planets aline. Cheers............ Dave

Well with family commitments getting in the way, I was unable to get out on the weekend and fish our local monthly comp but at the weigh in on Sunday there were some good results. Local snapper fishing was slow with a few fish around the 1.5kg mark caught early in the morning with a few larger morwong thrown in. The flathead are back on the chew with plenty of sand flathead to 950gms weighed. Offshore a number of small yellowfin and albacore schools were sighted busting up around Moruya Canyons, with fish to 10kg weighed in. With this in mind I headed out yesterday morning. In close the water was 14deg and dead flat, about 3k's offshore the north westerly took over turning the half meter swell to a short sharp chop. As we reached the 70 fathom mark the water started to warm to a decent 19.6 around the shelf and out to the 500 fathom mark. As the wind died the sea settled to a beautiful day. We trolled the canyons for a small yellowfin of around 5kg and two small striped tuna. All taken on a black and purple jet head lure. Over the radio we heard reports of fin and albacore to 10kg out around the 1000 fathoms so we headed out. Of interest, the fish out a little wider were only taking deep divers in green, not touching the skirts at all. As we did the water got colder and colder reaching 18deg. We joined the other boats for several hours with nothing to report. About 3pm we decided to troll towards home, and as murphy would have it one of the boats several k's to our east hooks up and lands a 50kg yellowfin!! We trolled home on a pretty flat sea for for a 5pm finish. A great day in all, the school tuna are around in numbers with some bigger models to be had. Unfortunately, I think the bluefin have gone for another year. It was fun while it lasted. Cheers............ Dave

I've found in the past that the usual culprit is the bung. On land there is little pressure and they seem to hold water tightly. But once on the water, the resultant water pressure from outisde 'forces' water through a faulty bung seal or bung hole fitting. I would change the bungs and have another look on water. Hope you find it as it always plays in the back of the mind when you're out there. Good luck......... Dave

Fished off Batemans Bay Friday, for one smallish blue eye and nothing on the troll. A couple of boats were out off Tuross sea mounts and Bermagui, with nothing caught on the radio. Fish are still too far out for trailer boats down here. Cheers........... Dave

Drop into the tackle shop over the bridge at Bermagui, they will point you in the right direction regarding what's happening locally. Good luck.......... Dave

Yes you will. I set my range manually to around 80m upto 150m, when trolling. Whatever bait and or larger fish come through the transducer will show up. Just need to interpret what you see. Anything deeper than that you are probably not going to raise anyway. Cheers........ Dave

I see your range is set on auto. In those sought of depths it can be difficult for the sounder to pick up the bottom even at low speeds. Try setting your depth manually to suit the area you are in. But even when trolling/cubing, I will normally only be looking at the top 80 - 150m, as 300 fathoms is a long way to try and raise fish. I'm more looking for bait schools and then try and mark fish. Hope this helps. Cheers.......... Dave

Pretty quiet off Batemans Bay over the weekend, a few albacore and stripies about. A couple of bluefin have been coming in off Bermagui, and the longliners are working wide of the 151 mark. Hopefully the next run of fish won't be too far away. Cheers......... Dave

His shotgun pole helped us get a 90kg bluefin last week, gotta agree they are fantastic................

Had some mates out off Batemans Bay yesterday, caught a few 30kg bluefin 70 fathoms to the shelf. Good reports of fish caught between Bermagui and Batemans Bay, mainly school fish 30 - 70kg. Cheers.......... Dave

I've got some mates heading out of Batemans bay tomorrow, and I hope to get out Sunday so i'll give you guys a heads up if I hear anything. Good luck................ Cheers Dave