Croydon

Yeah was a bit slack there with the perch, will post some up next trip out........... Dave

Hi folks, As the weather has been superb this week, I decided to head offshore with a mate to chase some table fish with the electric reels. We left the boat ramp at Mossy Point, to find a calm sea and a light breeze. My mate set his auto pilot and we headed off to Moruya Canyons, just over the shelf. The 30 klm run was quick and easy run, but the lack of birds and bait was a bit of a concern. On arriving we got our gear ready and found a nice drift to the south of less than half a knot, in beautiful clean blue water of 22.5 deg. We dropped down the 400m or so to be met by instant bites. On coming back up we had full strings of good size ocean perch. We kept at it for a few hours until we'd got a good feed of perch (no blue eye for us today) and then decided to troll north so we could come home with the predicted north east breeze. We set a spread of lures, with a couple of deep divers and a couple of skirts as there had been reports of Marlin, Yellowfin and a couple of Wahoo off the south coast over the past week or so. About an hour into the troll we were both lamenting the lack of birds or bait and just declared the place a desert when the long corner goes off! The 37kg line starts to peel off the tiagra and I see a long blue shape taking off with the lure, I'm thinking a small stripped marlin but something didn't look quite right. After a good 10 to 15 minute fight we get it to the boat to find a beautiful short bill spearfish had taken the JB Dingo in evil colour which was securely tucked into the corner of the mouth. Once again I'm amazed at what great fish can be caught out of a 5.5m boat. I now start to get a little excited as I'd never seen a spearfish before, let alone hooked one!! I gave my mate strict instructions to grab a heap of GOOD photo's before we release it. As the fish was still pretty green and very fit we decided not to bring it into the boat and let it swim away to be caught another day. It's hard to estimate a size without getting it in the boat but we were both sure it was well over 2.5m long and a good 30 - 40kg if not more, but we could be wrong..... After my mates photo shoot we removed the hook and let it swim off to fight another day. There were a few high fives and a beer or two on the way home. A pretty top day out, all in all. A new species for me, a great feed of perch for the family and a beautiful day on the water. But I think my mate needs to stick to driving the boat, his photography skills need a bit of work!! Thanks for reading. Cheers.......... Dave

Hi Chris, Spent a few nights on a houseboat with some mates a couple of weeks ago, had a great time and the fishing was pretty good. There are a couple of moorings just upstream of Big Island, on the left hand side as your travelling up river, that are a good over night option. Late afternoon, through the night and early morning we caught jewfish, bream, flathead and whiting while tied up. You can pump nippers from the sand banks just back down stream at the mouth of Buckenbowra Creek. It is adjacent to a sanctuary zone but you will see the sign. The sand flats are legal to pump bait as they are outside the zone. Live bait such as yakkas and slimies can be caught back towards town around the wharf. Batemans Bay bridge is also producing a few jewfish. If heading offshore, the snapper have been on, close inshore early morning and late afternoon. A few kingfish about as well. Squid have been plentiful on the inshore reefs and really give your live baits a hammering, so pack some squid jigs too. Hope the tips help and good luck with the trip, Send me a PM when the time gets closer and I'll give you a heads up on what's happening. Cheers......... Dave

Hi mate, All depends on your budget. Electronics are changing all the time but as said above, for places like Browns you will want a good quality sounder and transducer package. Cheers............ Dave

Hi Fab, I've never used a Garmin, but would say that the shot on the right shows some harder ground to left, soft sand/mud in center and harder ground to right with bait fish, weeds etc in light blue above the softer ground. The mark to the left at 6m looks like a reasonable fish, passing through the transducer cone producing the 'fish arch'. The photo on the left looks like hard ground with bait fish holding and a few 'fish arches' around the 5m mark. With my Furuno, larger fish with a large air bladder such as kingfish, marlin show as similar red marks. As for demo mode in your other question, your on your own with that one!! Good luck with the fishing, hope it helps........... Dave

Don't know mate could be anything. Plenty of sharks around at the moment. Berley hard and they will come........... Good luck.. Dave

Hi Gordo, Try surfside and towards the mouth of Cullendulla Creek, in the evenings. Any time of year but right now is a pretty good time to chase them. Cheers................ Dave

I spray INOX in my tackle box containing hooks, swivels etc, and I don't think it makes any difference to the fish, but stops the rust............. Cheers Dave

Couldn't agree more!! Cheers.......... Dave

Depends on the type of boat, what you intend to do with it and what accessories you wish to run. If your going offshore I think a dual system is a must if only for the safety margin. In the end it's up to you. Cheers..... Dave

Doesn't sound weird to me. ButmI'm a boat nut too! I wouldn't go new there are plenty of good second boats out there if your patient and know what you want. Good luck with the search.

Reese, Why not look around for an older model Barcrusher in good nick with an old technology motor. Put on the new etec and sell the old motor and trailer. You may do all right if their in reasonable nick and their not too hard to sell. Just a thought. Cheers........... Dave

Hi Steve, I haven't fished Hawks Nest/Tea Gardens for many years, what a magical spot. As well as the areas pointed out by Scratchie, head over to Hawks Nest and wonder down to the beach in front of the surf club. Should be able to spot some great gutters for tailor, bream, whiting etc. On the river side, head to the Hawks Nest Boat Ramp. The ramp is on Binda St where you can park. There are some low oyster encrusted walls there and along Moira Pde where you can catch good blackfish and bream. Plenty of flathead a bit deeper also. If you drive to the southern end of Beach Rd Hawks nest there is a short walking track to Jimmy's Beach for good whiting, flathead. Drive to the end of The Boulevarde and you can park and take a short walk to a bit of a backwater of the Myall River with some great sand flats and weed beds which are dynamite for flathead on soft plastics. Just make sure you check out the sanctuary zones first as I've not fished these areas since the Marine Park started. Most if not all of these areas are family friendly and even some great spots for a picnic. Have fun and hope you catch a heap. Cheers............ Dave

Hi mate, That's some great work there. The ute tray conversion looks fantastic. Is it galvanised or painted? What sore of money would you charge for something like that? Thanks for your time..... Dave

Plus one for the seafarer being sold here. Never seen the boat in person but it looks well maintained and they are a fantastic hull. I've owned one and still go out in a couple, Would do everything you want a first boat to do and more. Certainly worth a look................ Cheers Dave

To be honest Jim, I think it's more about poor prep than anything else. If they were serious about their product they would stand behind it. Next tin boat I buy, will be bare, the paint is just a pain in the butt. Good luck with the boat and your eventual purchase of a 'fishing machine'. Hope you get into some good fish this summer regardless!! Cheers Dave

That's really disappointing for a two year old boat which has obviously been well looked after. I have numerous similar patches on my 'tin boat' but it's taken 11 years of hard use to get that way! Doesn't say a lot for their quality........... Just puts a sour taste in your mouth when something you have put so much time and money into ends up like that. Good luck with the boat. Dave

Damn good snapper bait too!!!

No worries, I've caught squid around Snapper Island, most of the bays from Long Beach to yellow rock, just takes a bit of hunting. I'll dig out the gps mark for the area off Richmond, good luck............ Dave

G'day Bozmanx, Where to start. I guess it all depends on your boat and your ability to drive it safely. There are a thousand spots inside and outside the bay within easy reach. My first advise would be to get yourself onto a local charter and go out for a day bottom bashing. It will give you a great head start on places to go which are reliable. Next, would be to join one of the local fishing clubs. They are a wealth of knowledge and great fun. If you want to catch kingfish, learn to catch live bait like squid, yellowtail and slimies. These can all be found inside the bay. If you anchor up just inside the north east corner of Snapper Island and berley they are generally not too hard to find. Heading out of the bay to the north especially this time of year, anchor up in close along pretty much any of the headlands around sunrise. Berley hard and the snapper will come to you. There is a reef in about 45m east of Richmond Beach, which holds kings most of the year. Drifting in 50 - 60m of water east of the tollgates towards Malua Bay will usually find good flathead. Just keep in mind the Marine Park boundaries! Good luck and happy hunting........... Dave

I have a tackle tray in my boat, filled with various sized hooks, swivels, small sinkers and other bits and pieces. I spray them all with INOX which stops everything from rusting, even when I throw a used hook back in with the others. I'm still catching plenty of fish. Can't say if it's more or less than before I did this, but I honestly don't think it has put the fish off. Mates come onboard and bring their own tackle. Some days they do better and on others I out fish them. All I know is I'm not wasting expensive tackle from having them rust.............. Cheers....Dave

Between owning a boat and 3 horses there isn't much disposable income left!! But yes, Saturday arvo down the bowlo with a beer and a trifecta or two, is not a bad way to spend a windy day.................... Dave

Hi Reese, When your coming down, give me a couple of days notice and I'll try and put my boat in as well and we can team up. I'll show you the areas i normally search for them. They do tend to turn up all over the place but if your looking for areas close in Moruya Heads, Broulee Island are good areas to look at. Otherwise try trolling a mix of lures early morning to the north from yellow rock to North Durras then as the day goes on try out a bit wider in the grounds we've discussed before, using live baits and jigs. In the end it's easier to show you than tell you about it. Hope this helps........... Dave

Hi Simon, To stay within the regulations and to be covered by insurance both the HP and weight of motor have to be within the manufacturers set limits as displayed on the compliance plate. It is possible to put a slightly higher HP that is within the weight limit but you would have to contact the manufacturer tell them what your doing and get a new compliance plate to cover the changes. Cheers....... Dave

No worries nick good luck with the search....