BaitDropper

Also look for the artificial plastics that some sell for the head starters, instead of using dead bait. I haven't tried them yet, but considering getting a couple to try out.

Head starters........ These, for those when I mentioned them on another thread are what I use as a live bait alternative. I'll get fresh Garfish, cut there beaks off, pre rig and vacuum freeze, as I have with a couple more ready for my mid week fish. You can of course use other fish for the purpose, I just like the success I've had with Garfish. I've used head starters for about 10 years now and in all honesty, have skipped over the live bait search on many occasions and gone straight to the head starters. I've caught everything from Kings, salmon and even Mahi. the head starters allow you to troll the same speed as lures and when I use them on the down rigger, speed is not an issue, basically as fast as the down weight stays relatively straight down from the boat. The blue version is un weighted, that's the puppy I like on the down rigger, trolling out the back, makes it bounce around crazy skipping on the surface. The other is a weighted version, which will nicely sit below the surface while trolling. They produce a really nice action and stay usable for long periods and in my opinion are a good option amongst Xraps and the likes. MY success rate in all honesty, has been as good as live bait, both down rigging and on top. There's a chain connected to the hook, which makes them a strong enough set up to have many hours of them in the water, the head piece, pushes thru the eyes, which again, doesn't seem to weaken them at all. I separately Vacuum seal them, just pull them out of the freezer and there basically all set to go once thawed. Anyways, just thought I'd show them in case some hadn't seen or heard of them before.

That's a bugga Mark, The good O'l weather always changes things... At least you got out.. PS. Na I was asking Paddy the question about rubber bands/ Du Bro clips..... Our methods are very similar.. Myself, I recon rigging the live bait is worth the effort with a rubber band, the live bait lasts a heap longer. I even wind in and put the livie in the tank, rubber band still attached and re use same one an hour later... worth the extra effort and I think that extra bit of shock the rubber band gives, with zero in the braid line, helps too.

So you use Du Bro clips to attach the main line to the trace off the weight then ???

Look forward to your next report Mark... Yeah, my other weight is a 6lb, I may set that one up as well and take with me, your right, the 4lb one can drag a bit. After taking the photo yesterday, I realized, when I removed the De Bro clip, I just put on a snap swivel, but it on backwards, so I've just re crimped a new leader off the weight .. Yeah, there's a heap of ways to set up, as I said, what ever works is the best way... I was looking at the prices of the down riggers yesterday, they've near doubled since I bought mine, 12-13 years ago. I like them, because nothing much can go wrong with them and there tuff..... I'm going to head out next week, so I'll get some action shots on the down rigger !!! ( hopefully 😁) goodluck

Pictures ( now that it's working for me ) are better than trying to explain.. Mark, the weight in the picture is a 4 pounder, I'll use this on most occasions, my other is a 6lb er, which I'll swap to if currents are running. I removed the Du Bro clip, main braid line with clip attaches to top of weight, I then crimped up about a meter of 80lb mono, which attaches to the underside of the weight, then I attach rubber band to main rod line then direct to clip at the end of the Mono from the weight. I like to have a good 3 to 5 meters of line past the trace from the weight, sometimes way more, up to 10 meters.. It's good to play with the length some times, but when dropping a lure, I definitely run much more line out from the weight.... But as I said, it's what ever set up works best, for what your fishing for, is always best..

Hey Mark, Yes, do what works for you I always say. My low drag comes from my early dealings with big kings back in NZ, so I've used that theory from there. I have 2 down rigger weights, from memory, there only 5lb.. I put a new rod holder closer to the back so the boom arm was well past the motor. When down rigging for marlin with a lure on, I'll use my heavier gear and won't put it in the down rigger rod holder, works OK and I feel safer with that set up. But in regards to the weights, yeah I'm sure mine are 4 or 5 lb, and because, especially with live bait, your cruising along at snail pace so 5 odd pound is ample for me. As far as the Gar's go, to be honest, I go down and buy them from the local fish mart, I am never able to catch them, in fact I've had little success collecting live bait, I pre set up 4 or 5 of them and freeze them with the Vac sealer, with the head starters already attached, you can troll them along side X raps on the surface, the set up makes them sturdy enough, so without live bait, I immediately have options. Maybe I should get out of bed earlier to get into some more serious livebaiting 😁, or I'm in the completely wrong locations.. Down in Melbourne, I used my Down rigger a heap, it's mainly sandy bottom, so I would set up the weight so I was basically bottom bashing with it, and I had a ball with that method following the channels after big winter snapper. Be nice to have an Elecky version, But I'd rather put my coin into other things. There a great addition to the " fishing Arsenal " but do take a bit of getting used to, or getting a method of using them especially when solo for sure, I have a small bait well with a lid on both corners of my boat, the one on the side I use the down rigger, I foam lined, so the down rigger weight just drops inside for storage, if you follow.. keeps everything tucked away when moving about and easier to dispatch everything when I want to use it..

I always set up with rachet on and minimal drag, I used to use those de bro release clips, but found that no 14 rubber bands better, especially for live bait. I found, that when the initial take happens, a lot of the time the fish hasn't taken the hook, it's there second attempt after the first take that seems to be when they get hooked, so I like them to take the bait first with out to much resistance. I don't no how mark sets up, so that is only my opinion or way, but it works for me. As per Marks method, live bait, definitely rubber band thru the eye socket, bait seems to last a lot longer if your careful. But with the Head starter set up, and thawed garfish, I think with that method, it's just the action of the head starters that make it work. But less drag for me is way better.

Hey Fab, Ironically, her indoors was quite impressed and has put in an order for one !! Go figure 😁, what for, I have no idea... Yes, after seeing one of my internationals nearly go for a dive, from a height challenged deckie while he attempted to put it in the rocket launcher !! I saw it in slow motion and just managed to reach over behind him and grab the rod itself... I wasn't annoyed at him as such, but alot of my other reels are modded up Penns that I've spent hours modifying them, so I would have been just as guttered if it was one of those. That was enough to prompt me to make rod storage " idiot proof" 🤪... And in all honesty, doing a lot of solo fishing, I figured it to be an advantage as well, it gets hectic on your own with a decent fish on..

Great write up Mark and congrats on your catch. It looks as thou you have one of those downrigger shop downriggers ??? I have the same.. I luv the down rigger fishing, in all honesty, it is one of the most productive methods( for me).. What I have done, as I'm still unfamiliar with all the live bait haunts locally ( still learning the area), is I have set up with Garfish, with the head starters, frozen and ready to go and they are working out to be near as good as live bait itself. I'll always try for live bait, of course, but the o'l garfish with beaks cut off set up in a head starter rig, is working wonders. Sounded like a successful day was had by you..

Ok,, It's working again !!! Can't for the life of me see why it didn't re set, I previously re changed the settings in my phone to " most compatible ", but it still wouldn't work. It seems to re set back when my Iphone gets up dated, so I've made notes this time, as it's bound to happen again.. Many thanks for assistance. SO, anyways, above was my first attempt at " platting ", to see how this paracord performed, I will use stainless D clips after I become more accomplished in the art. The paracord is rated to 270kg, very easy to Plat, only about $9 for 30 meters from the local green store, you just have to master achieving the end desired length... I had a near miss recently, when a deckie couldn't quite reach the rocket launcher with one of my game set ups and near lost the whole lot over board 😗.... I've never used them in the past, but as there cheap as chips if you make em yourself, I thought I'd have a go. I'm making a lanyard for rods in the rocket launcher and also a few sets to clip on to the rods I troll with, including my down rigger set up. Quite quick to make up in all honesty..

I went back over history, and last year the same thing happened to me on here, it was Heic instead of jpeg format, it appears I changed the setting and it worked again. I cannot find that setting to change it this time. I'll keep searching, very very strange.

Hi All, Sorry, I had visitors, so I couldn't return to this post... I'll try switching the phone off and on and try again. The above photo, was taken a few years back, all my old photo's will upload ok, any new photo taken, wont. I seem to re call this happened to me a while back, and I managed to change something in the phone settings and everything worked again. I'll try the phone off and on first..

I may, or indeed may not have had a near miss with a rod and reel, or more to the point, a newbie, may have had a close call.... So, tinkering with some Paracord and brushing up on my "platting", quite impressed on what you can do with the stuff.. And Yep, That's not the photo I was wanting to post..... Since the last update on my Iphone, any photo I take or try and post, simply wont.... Tried uploading the same photo I wanted to post here on the Face Ache page, went up no issues.... Jeez... I'm sure this issue has reared it's head before, the phone updates, then all photo's I take wont upload here......

I thought I'd seen one advertised recently. It doesn't look in to bad a nick to me, however the comment on the underside of the hull repair, also needs to be thoroughly investigated... A few questions to the seller, how long he's had it etc and of course a full engine and hull due diligence... They sure do hold there values, not my cup of tea, but non the less, they do seem to hold there values, even up to 20 years old..

I have friends that are still running very old Optimax engines, and of course, they swear by them. I think any engine of that era, especially with multiple owners, is always a risk. Noel may confirm, but the very early Optimax', prior to 2002 ?? I recall were quite problematic. But in saying that, one can never ever be sure, even with major other brands. 2 strokes are simple beasts, then a little more complicated, comes the Optimax. Someone else mentioned the key factor here, which would make my ultimate decision, Parts access.. We have all at times. bought a boat with a less than Ideal engine on the back, I guess it's a case of whether you want to take the chance, and also whether you can allow for a future engine upgrade, in regard to the purchase price. Of course the actual boat will have to be worth it as well. It took me a few years, before being in a financial position and to justify pulling the trigger on a new four stroke, which was for two reasons, reliability and economy. If you can factor in an engine upgrade in the purchase and your only fishing bays, it may be a risk to take, if you were planning fishing out wide, then I would definitely get the motor fully checked out first, it may well come thru that with a clean bill of health. So due diligence needs to be done here before making your call, very important...

Exactly what I do/have done, , it'll still catch fish..... I've gone out a heap of time without getting livebait... It's all about presentation in my opinion, I'd prefer live baits or fresh, BUT they will eat pieces of plastic/rubber and even metal things painted, We call lures, so why wouldn't they go after a salted piece of frozen fish ?? Present it well, and they will take it just like a fresh fillet...

6 or 7 wt will be an ideal weight for trout and the likes in smaller streams/lakes. I have a 10 weight in my boat I use to cast big wet flies when chasing Aus. Salmon bust ups, my other fly rod is a 7 weight. Reels, I have 2 or 3 extra spools to swap over from floating line to sinking, depending on the type of fishing. Choosing flies, the big question,,, As they say, match the hatch, I used to tie my own but had a stock range of Barnes nymphs and a few others, but in all honesty, just get a selection of a few dry flies, a few nymphs to start with, until you can see what there eating, specifically for the area your fishing. If I were you, I'd get 4-5 different coloured dry flies, which I only ever used, first thing in the morning or last thing at night and also get a few weighted nymphs which is what I used mainly thru the day, just experiment with a few different colours, You'll soon see what sort of insects are hatching locally, but in all honesty, if there not fussy, they'll eat anything. Larger wet flies will do the trick on bream and Flatties, not done much of it myself but that would be fun I was with a guy in my early days, that taught me to fly fish ( think I was early teens) that caught 2 decent sized trout, middle of the day, using black hair of one of the dogs wound on to a hook. !! true story.. Flies are like lures, you will eventually have a stack load, but just ask at the store, and get a few to get you going and you will grow from there.. Enjoy, Fly fishing is a great pass time..

Wow, that was a down fall last night / this morning.. Kinda of happy I dug near 70 meters of agg pipe in our back yard after the huge wet we had 2 years back when we moved in. Still that wasn't enough to shift the deluge we got, both sheds got wet floors due to the sheer volume of water that came down, but the drains have done there job with near all of it drained off now since the rain stopped. It seems closer to Sydney side are still having issues, with the dams now spilling over, hope everyone's dry and this water drains off before anyone has issues.... THE DROUGHTS OVER 😁..........

Ha Ha. Donna, you should be very proud of his effort there, brilliant.. I'm not quite there yet to display photo's, but I'll get there...

Yeah, the local bee guy a few doors down ( we actually fish the local river together) actually teaches bee keeping at the local tech, so he gave me the run down on it all, a lot of hives were gotten rid of. We get a fair few red belly blacks here and there fairly easy to deal with if your careful and sensible, But the brown's, different kettle of fish, they get real aggressive, as did the one I tried to relocate from our back door, nasty breed of snake. The worst part was I casually walked out the back slider and was only a meter away from it in a dream world, bare foot and coffee in hand, so it could have been a different outcome !!.. managed to push it out away from the sliding door, with a mop the wife had sat outside to dry, but it got severely agro at me. It's a cobbled stone area, so that was too my advantage, but it took me 30 minutes to get it away from the house. You get into trouble with them, when a you think a quick spade thru the head will fix it, but that's a stupid action to take, there quick and smart and a spade handle is way too short and why most people get bit. Sounds like a super friendly Kooka you've got hanging a round, brilliant, ours I'm sure get fed locally by Neighbours, we haven't done that so there a bit timid, but there's always a stack of them around, beautiful birds. I luv the wildlife we have around here, But the browns, not so much 😁

Hi Zoran, I feel your pain brother !! I too had a lemon tree nailed by them, BUT I am onto it in a big way now. I pulled 100 odd by hand off the lemon tree at one stage during summer but kept oil on my other young fruit trees and I seem to have won the battle with them.. Seasonal weather, is suppose to dictate whether these predators come out in numbers, which seems to ring true with the weather we have had over the last 6 months or so.. On a footnote, regarding curl grubs, after applying the Acelepryn and giving the lawn a watering yesterday arvo, for the first time there was none of the Bugga's coming up for a feed early evening as I have had recently, I normally walk around and pick up 20-30 of them tucking into a good feed on top. I expected this considering I had watered the lawn, however, quite unexpectedly, when walking around this morning, I picked up near 50, decidedly sick looking curl grubs, laying belly up, still alive, but not happy campers at all. I didn't think the Acelepryn Granules would have such a quick effect like this, but it has certainly given them a wee hurry up 😁. It's suppose to work as a preventative type insecticide, so this was a good out come for me and gives me hope that by next summer I should have them well under control.. My wife has declared, that I am now officially obsessed !! And I need to get the boat out and spend some time fishing !! for my mental state of mind 😃.. I will indeed do this in the next few days, But I will do so with the peace of mind, that I am on top of this " Grub war " and I am still sane and not obsessed 👀

Hi Steve, yeah it was bifinthrin that my mate recommended to do an intial 1 or two sprays then go to the acelepryn granules.. Please be careful with that stuff, it's a class 1, which you really need to be careful with.. we live with the bush next door too, but the big reason I didn't use it, is 2 doors down we have a bee keeper we get all our honey off, and that stuff is lethal to bees. We have a run off area 50 meters from our place with a decent sized, small, pond type thing and a huge number of wombats, so I decided best to go with the Acelepryn... Its a twice a year application and isn't toxic to bees, birds pets etc. Bifinthrin, on all accounts, is used for extreme infetations, so if your careful, it will nail them, the Acelepryn, is more a preventative... Cute kooka, we have our resident kooka's here too, not as daringly close as that one in your photo, but quite a few regulars make appearances, awesome birds... Just wished they were around last week, when I had to chase of a medium sized brown snake from my back door, apparently they have a go at them ?? Not one in site when I had an issue 😁