The Poacher

Loved the report and story complete with photos. You are lucky you were in 60ft of water with 8lb line. Sometimes the kings are in 8metres of water where I can see the bottom - when they are like this I have trouble stopping them on 15kg braid!!! If I had that screen showing on the sounder in a yak, I would be deep drifting a livebait or dead squid with 4 ounces of snapper lead to get it down - the downrigger could be more trouble than what it is worth in a yak. Just rubber band a snapper lead on to a heavier outfit - you will definantly get fish.

Nice work Lew, I reckon it was a shark that bit you off - especially with a slow take like that. The Poacher

Thanks Bruce, Am feeling more confident now. Have heard of Pearlies this far south but never seen one. They are fantastic eating as I have caught them at SWR. You must have been fairly deep. Will let you know how I go. Poacher

Thanks Rubes and Warnie, Will do both and post report. Poacher

Allright bigfoot, I am game. How about pre-mixing burley with tuna oil in a 2 litre milk bottle and then freezing it until use. Then you just tie it off anywhere you like, and pierce the bottle with your knife. Works a treat, and avoid having to touch tuna oil. The Poacher

Sorry Bob, Am full up as I share the boat with another guy. Maybe next time. I didnt think this post came up as I was having technical difficulties last night. Hope you all get fish.

There are islands at SWR, but you can't camp. They are easy distance from the ramp. You might be thinking of Broughton Island (out of Port Stephens) where you can still camp with the right permissions. The Poacher

Hi Raiders, As a man who has been patiently storing his brownie points i am now in need of advice. All winter I took the kids to soccer, painted the house and installed a rainwater tank. I even socialised with my wifes friends, and even worse, her relatives. In short, I have been the model husband. Any more brownie points gained will be wasted as they will oveflow the vessel. NOW is the time to cash in as Saturdays forecast is great. Please help me make this weekend a winner. Do I - hit the inshore reefs for snapper on plastics - go deep and bottom drop with cut and live baits - use the new squid/pink squid technique from this months Fishing World and try for an early season King around the headlands. Any advice would be appreciated and I will report back with photos. The Poacher PS I will be out of Terrigal or Broken Bay.

Hi Raiders, Just checked sea breeze for this weekend and the forecast looks fantastic. Low swell and light westerlys from Sat morning on. What is the best plan of attack if you have been busy banking brownie points and not fishing (ie - you are out of touch). - Snapper on plastics in close. - Bottom droppers at 60 metres or more. - trying that garfish/pink squid technique from the latest fishing world - early season flathead on plastics Any help would be appreciated. Regards, Poacher

Hi Roosterman, Nice fish, but man it was ssssooooo ugly. They really are ugly, and I dont care if I offend all the Europeans - Carp are the socially disadvantaged members of the fish world, and thats all there is to it. The Poacher, PS. By the way, if at all possible, your photo seemed to make it even uglier - all mis-proportioned

I have just installed a Humminbird with a colour sounder and map - and its fantastic. I love it. I have used Garmins in the past and they were very good too. I chose a Humminbird as the local distributor gives them a 2 year warranty. You can get them cheaper over the net (www.bonzerimports.com) but I didn't want to take the risk. I think having the map makes a HUGE difference. Once you've had one, you wont go back. The Poacher

Fantastic. Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. The Poacher see you at sea

Hi, I have been kindly offered a free week in Port Macquarie in October. I have a 5.3m centre console. Is the offshore scene accessable to a boat like this?? Or would it be better to take a few charters instead- I have heard good things about Ocean Star. I have got a single mark to start with if I went on my own. Would probably buy one of those GPS mark books to get me started. Should be some good bottom fishing at that time of year. We would be in a unit so I have to find somewhere to store the boat too. Usually, I would stay in a tourist park where they have a bit of room. Anyway, if any raiders have done it, and have some advice. I would love to hear from you. The Poacher.

bugger- here goes the photo again. I downloaded the IFran software. why_tings.bmp

Trying the photo again

Hi, Seeming as you are talking about good whiting. I have to show this pic of a big whiting my kids caught from Wamberal beach this summer. Not too far from Wagstaff/Lobster Beach as the crow flies. It's an extra big cutting board that I use for cleaning fish which I just measured at 47cm long. Couple of nice fillets off the side of that sucker. The Poacher see you at sea PS. hope the picture shows up, I havent uploaded one before.

Thanks Swordfisherman, From what I can see, FishRaider seems to have a dedicated base in Sydney. Whereas Fish net seems to have more Victorians. I even saw quite a long thread the other night just from the Central Coast. Being Terrigal based that is fantastic. The Poacher

Just joined FishRaider tonight! Long time viewer - first time chatter. Can't wait for Wednesday when I am finally putting the new centre console in the water. Dont have much of a plan yet, just want to make sure the GPS and sounder work. Will just head out to 40m or 50m, and if the bottom looks fishy, burley and set up some floaters. The Poacher see you at sea