suttonscurse

I like the way you say "this time only around 75cm" - I am pleased that you enjoy your fishing I am down at Batemans Bay in the 2nd week of February - I will try and catch your "big one" and send you a photo Cheers, Bill

Nice Fish I must admit that flathead , dusted in flour with pepper and salt and grilled on the BBQ is one of my favourites. Enjoy your lunch..

Thamks Guys I ended up putting on 6KG high quality mono with a 16lb fluoro leader . It lays very nicely on the reel. I am going out for a test run this afternoon and will advise if I am lucky. regards Bill

Hi Guys I am setting up a 4-6kg 5'6" rod with a low profile Omoto Cervez 103A baitcaster reel which I intend to use for heavier soft plastics / larger lures for Flathead and School Jewfish. From prior experience I would prefer to use a high quality mono line. Am I better with 4kg or 6kg line (or something else?) and what breaking strain leader would be best? I already use both a 1-2kg and 2-4kg spinning rods for lighter sp/lure fishing . Thanks for your help regards Bill

Great report and some excellent fish However you and Stewy (and the rest of the desperates) are costing me a fortune . I have just been to the lolly shop (a.k.a. the local tackle shop) and bought a pile of poppers and soft plastics - I suppose someone has to keep the retail economy going strong I can't wait for the weekend to roll up. thanks again for some great reports and also for motivating me to go out and have some fun as well Cheers: Bill

Very nice fish. The big bream do go hard. It must have been fun on the light gear.

Hi Guys I have a 50 HP Yamaha and are the dual water flow muffs any better than the single water flow muffs (or is it better to use a large collapsible bucket to have the leg submersed in water?) regards Bill

Hi guys I have just received a pack of Dimension brand line (PDF file attached) I know what Carp and Catfish are but what is an ASS fisherman? regards Bill

Hi Guys I totally agree that VHF radio should require a licence - I replaced the 27meg radio in my boat because of the inane dribble and behaviour on that network. The VHF network is much more professional and I want to keep it that way. Most close to shore boaters also have access to mobile phone coverage and if you are going so far out wide that you drop out of the 27 meg / mobile phone cell network you should have all the proper communication gear such as VHF radio (with the proper licence qualifications ) EPIRB etc. I will probably never need to use my VHF in an emergency but if it ever happens I will know the correct procedures and responses. I studied the MROCP course over the internet on a online training course - It did take a bit of effort and learning but I was pleased that I took the time to earn the qualification. (p.s) - I have also made the same comments on the ACMA survey. regards Bill

Hi Sido I will assume that your trailer has been set up properly for your boat (rollers right height and cradling hull correctly etc)and that you have quality tie downs, a decent safety chain / shackle on the winch support etc and that wheel bearings / lights , tow hitch etc are properly maintained and that tyres are correct load , in good condition and inflated to correct pressures. As one of the earlier replies stated , don't leave your canopy up as at freeway speeds you could have damage / tears caused to it. You should have no problems with towing on sealed roads but remember that your trailer only has springs , no shock absorbers, so always go gently over speed humps, gutters etc. - Going too fast over these causes a sudden , unabsorbed jolt to your trailer which will put a lot of additional load on the outboard motor, brackets and mounts. Always take care and enjoy the new boat. regards Bill

Hi Guys . Took my new boat for its 1st shake down cruise on the Georges river yesterday.(extremely pleased with its performance , everything worked and I managed to launch / retreive easily by myself) Launched it from the Boat ramp at Georges River National Park - near Alfords Point Bridge. Boat ramp / Parking is very well designed with excellent wharves however the western ramp is badly sanded up and there are some humungous (really deep and large) pot holes in the loop driveway from the parking area to the ramps. I don't mind paying the $7.00 entry fee but I would expect a better level of maintenance (especially with the pot holes which are big enough to cause suspension damage) There were some NPWS rangers who came around to chase up cars which were parked in the trailer only parking bays but I wasn't quick enough to ask them about the needed repairs to the roads. regards Bill

Hi Guys I agree with Trapper Tom - there is no way I would go swimming in the Georges river . Back in the 1930's there was a young boy severely mauled by a shark at East Hills and in the early sixties (prior to the dredging for the Chipping Norton Lakes when the water quality was dreadful)I know that there was a couple of dogs taken up behind Warwick Farm. With the improved water quality and deeper water in the lakes these days there would have to be sharks (apart from some bloody big eels as well) regards Bill

Hi Guys Went down to our house at Batemans Bay for the long weekend - As we were running late on the Saturday didn't bother taking the boat down (and not wanting want to battle with the traffic) but went fishing off the rock walls near the marina. Managed to catch 4 nice flathead (sorry about the picture quality - off my mobile phone)on Sunday afteroon , at the bottom of low tide and 1st 2 hours of run up - using squid for bait. Also picked up a rather large stingray that made for some excitement for a couple of minutes Noticed a couple of boats that were drifting the channel from just inside the bar back towards the bridge and they were also picking up some nice flatties on a regular basis. Water was pretty cold, not much other activity. Regards Bill

Hi Steze If the fishfinder is a Navman you can download the manuals + guidelines at www.navmanmarine.net. Nice boat - you should have lots of fun with it . regards Bill

Hi Insomniac92 - P.M. sent to you with details regards Bill

Hi Steze - P.M. sent to you with details . regards Bill

Hi Scienceman - P.M. sent . I didn't know if I was allowed to display a non fishraider sponsor's website. regards Bill

Now if it would only stop raining I could take it out for it's 1st trip. regards Bill

Hi Guys Here is my new toy . Due to downsizing the house (finally some of my adult children have left home ) I had to sell my bigger boat as the new garage is only 5.8 metres long. I also wanted someting I could quite easily handle 1 up. After looking around I finally decided on a 2005 Brooker Getabout Runabout 4.35 metre with a 50 Hp Yamaha which I found at a very reasonable price.( I had the size restriction of fitting it in the garage and I had a preference for a boat with extruded side decks and also a rear pod) After a bit of work (and money) it has tidied up very nicely. It came with a Navman fish finder and separate Navman Chart plotter so I replaced the old 27meg radio with a VHF version, new battery, aux socket and Nav lights , upgraded the canopy (and also had a fitted storm cover made up for travelling between Illawong and Batemans Bay) and of course had the motor fully serviced (only 58 hours on it). The trailer took a bit more work with LED lights, 155R13 Light truck tyres fitted (including a spare and carrier) and new winch , dolly wheel and wheel bearings. I also moved the winch post forward 100mm to give better towability with a bit more weight on the trailer hitch (it ended up with a LOA of 5.7m so it fits in the garage nicely.) It ended up costing me about 1/2 the price of a brand new boat fitted out to the same specs so I though that was pretty reasonable (especially with the fact that with a busy job I don't use the boat as much as i would like) The boat name was a stick on vinyl label which I had made up at a cost of $29.50 for both sides(including postage) - very impressed I will be using it on Georges River / Botany Bay and also down at the Clyde River / Batemans Bay so if you see me around , give a wave. regards Bill "Suttons Curse"

Thanks guys - I visited the local Yamaha dealer near my office and he has ordered me a new key from Yamaha at a cost of $15. Tried other locksmiths but the blanks must be pretty rare. regards Bill

Hi Guys I need to get a spare cut for a Yamaha control box. I have tried a couple of locksmiths but they don't have the proper blank . any suggestions? ( preferrably located in Sydney South and / or West)

Hi Dezmo - as the guys said it is normally caused by salt / rust buildup on the rim which causes a poor seal - A good clean with a wire brush will quickly fix the problem. A word of advice - Try and keep the tyre tubeless (don't fit a tube) -if you get a puncture with a tube the tyre goes flat immediately whereas a tubeless steel belted radial tyre will tend to be self sealing around a nail etc and maintain pressure and vehicle control. I have been in the industry a long time and always fit quality light truck radial tyres to my boat trailers. ( I am perturbed at some of the low quality, rubbish tyres that are fitted to trailers holding very expensive boats.) Apart from the additional strength / rigidty of a the LT tyres you will find that the trailer tracks better with greatly reduced sway etc. regards Bill

If the radio is a 27 Meg there is no licence needed . Because VHF is longer range and also has channels used by commercial ships / port operations you are required to to be licenced. regards Bill

Hi - as per the website link the online study course was $49, The exam fee was $56 plus whatever you negotiate with the invigilator for his time in supervising the exam. As I said , it worked for me , but you do need to put the time in to study. (Now have no worries about any hassles / on the spot fines for having a VHF radio without the certificate) regards Bill

Hi Guys I needed to get a VHF radio licence having updated the 27meg radio in the boat. Due to work commitments / lack of free time I studied for the course using an online facility. Fairly straight forward, you pay for 1 months access to the course (and a series of review tests) that you can access from anywhere you a have an internet connection. After i became confident that I was conversant with the study course i arranged to take the test via an Invigilator ( a person authorised to supervise the written test - local contact details found off the net) . I am pleased to say that I acheived a score of 92% and will shortly have my Certificate of Proficiency . The overall cost of the exercise was a bit over a $100, the exam was reasonable - took about 15 minutes plus time to complete all the paperwork so for those of you who can't make the time for a structured course I would recommend the on line / self study option. regards Bill