fishmaniac

Thanks for the reply Damo, I'm tossing up whether to try north or south in the coming week. Had a black around 70-80kg on last weekend for about 10 mins but threw the hook on one of many jumps.

Thanks for the update Damo. Has there been any action on the inshore grounds yet?

I think if you are serious about targeting large kings you need to fish heavy. If you are running around 8kg of drag which I would say is suitable for a 50lb outfit, anything less than 70cm won't pull a wrap off the reel as adventureman said. I hear a lot of people talking about 15kg+ of drag. This is serious pressure and will stop a 1m cold in its tracks. I would argue that (despite the ratings stated on a reel box) this sort of pressure applied on a regular basis will destroy anything other than the best quality reels. Kings will generally fire up when more pressure is applied, but they will still run through reef when you are on light gear. The only difference being the fight will be shorter on heavy tackle so that is less time the fish has to run over some nasty country!

The cylinder head anodes are located on the main engine block (under the hood). They should be located in the vicinity of the spark plugs. There will be a nut over a small cover. Once removed the cylinder head anode will come out and you can replace it. I'm not sure about your engine but mine has 4, one for each cylinder. I hope this helps.

Crazy!!! That's the great thing about fishing - always a surprise

Nice red mate, It was good to bump into you on the construction site the other day by chance. Small world.......

Good luck tomorrow Damo, sounds like it is still a bit slow.

Not one marlin landed at the banks as of Thursday. Plenty of sharks though..... Maybe port stephens is the better option

I have a scotty 1050 which I use when fishing for kings solo A LOT. I purchased them when I was on more of a budget and my mate who uses an electric has been in my ear to get one ever since he got one. If you are not worried about spending a bit extra I think an electric would be easier if you are by yourself. It's one less thing to do between steering the boat, holding onto a rampaging king while simultaneously making one hand periodically available to crank the bomb up. One touch of a button and it will be up with an electric. I wouldn't waste money on 'full metal' options. My scotty has been used extensively and still looks (and works) like new. For the price of a full metal downrigger you can buy an electric scotty. Make sure you bring the bomb back into the boat before driving between spots and I would recommend changing the wire cable to 200lb braid. I was given the same advice and didn't listen at first and learnt the hard way after about 18 months when the cable began to rust and I lost the bomb.

Congrats on your first 1m+! That is one you will never forget

Hey mate, any idea of how much you want to spend? how many people you are fishing with? what are you towing with? Aluminium is lighter so easier to handle and tow with a smaller car. Fibreglass heavier with a softer ride. Engine size will depend on your boat size. I fished the harbour and around the heads in a 3.9m tinnie with a 15hp. Now I have a 4.5m side console with 60hp and fish all over the place out to near the shelf on a good day.

Hey mate, Are you looking at an overhead or a spinning outfit? Also are you going to chase king on a regular basis? It would be wiser to spend the money on a better quality reel over a better quality rod. Sure an expensive rod will feel nicer and have a better action but you need a good drag and a durable reel. As mentioned above, an ugly stick would be a good budget rod to get started on if you are watching the $$$$. You should look at running 50lb braid. Anything less and you will have a hard time on bigger fish. 60lb fluorocarbon leader will be fine if you are running 50lb braid. Mono backing as mentioned with 100m of braid should be fine unless you are jigging deeper reefs in which case put 300m of braid. Drag should be set between 8 to 10kg. Anything less than around 75cm won't even pull line at this drag setting. A cheap reel will do the job in the short term. From my experience, the main advantage with a more expensive reel is it will last longer. With a cheap reel if you are using high pressure drags the gearing will feel lumpy fairly quickly - particularly if you are jigging on a regular basis. An excellent set-up for around the $500 mark would be a shimano saragosa matched with a daiwa monster mesh rod. This is a nice balanced outfit that will give you years of good performance. I have also ben told that the okuma salina reels are good for the price. Again, if you wanted to cut cost, get a cheaper rod but get a good reel. Don't get too caught up in the 'drag rating' specified on a reel box. What a reel is 'rated' to and how long it will actually last at that 'rating' are two very different things.

I was out with jim77 a couple of years ago and we caught a small dolphin fish just off north head. However, this was an extreme exception with a 25 degree current licking the cliffs. You really need to be looking around floating objects in deeper water. The fads and fish traps around 8km+ out will generally hold them if conditions are right. I fish these areas and out to the shelf in a 4.5m boat but you need to be experienced boating offshore and know the weather. For example, with the current forecast I would not be going out there in my boat this weekend. Small metals, trolling small skirts, livebaits and floating pillies will all do the trick

Sent you a PM

I fished outside a lot in a 3.95m tiller steer tinnie. I was mindful of the conditions and never had a problem. I now own a side console boat so I can head further out with more confidence. I chose a boat with a full height transom to give more freeboard. That extra freeboard and the ability drive the boat (downrigging) without having to constantly hold then engine were the reasons I went for the console. I have a mate who downriggs a lot also with a tiller steer boat that is 4.3m. He fishes offshore all the time and doesn't have an issue and doesn't have any intention to go to a console.

Nice couple of Albies mate. If you are keen to team up in the 4.5m boats to nail a Bluefin next season give me a yell. In the mean time I hope there are plenty of marlin on offer for you this summer! With respect to the size of the boat. I can say a 4.5m boat is very safe with a competent skipper and the common-sense not to take any unnecessary risks weather wise. You are safer in a 4.5 on a good day than someone in a 6m half cabin that risks some dicey weather.

Hey mate, Some things to look for include: - Welding of the hull (check to see if there is any cracking and/or apparent repairs to the hull) - Hull shape (makes a huge difference to the ride) - Condition of wiring (if any) and electrical systems for corrosion For the engine: - Check the condition of the anodes and lift the hood of the engine to see if there is any corrosion to the block and excessive salt residue around the engine block (you will be able to tell if it has always been looking this good or if they cleaned it up for the sale) - Don't be too fussed about hours unless they are excessive. A well looked after engine with 500 hrs is better than a mistreated engine with 150 hrs. - Check the prop and engine leg for any signs of damage (in case it has had a hard hit in the past) - I do my own servicing and would check the drain screw at the base of the gear case (it is magnetic and catches any shards of metal) to make sure the gear case does not have significant internal damage). For the trailer: - Check the wheel bearing grease (if it is brown then the seal has been broken and corrosion of the bearing has started) - Check the trailer for corrosion and look for any signs of gal paint (indicative of a rusty section that has been sanded back and recoated for sale) Many of the above can be fixed at a cost, but if you are keen on the boat you can use it to try and knock the price down. Things like past hull cracks and a seriously neglected engine are signs to stay away in my opinion.

Murrays Beach is closed at present. So any other ramp is OK but don't go there for the time being, supposed to be complete around november

The tuna seem to have moved on. There a was a good bite midweek and that was it. Yesterday many boats fished the same area and had no luck on the Bluefin (us inclusive). I heard of one boat getting some fish yesterday but that was 20miles past Heatons! We bagged out on gemfish and I landed an albacore whilst jigging. We got sharked and a couple of times and some gemfish had bitten through our 200lb leader. We use 100lb braid for main line and have not had any issues. What weight leader material were you using? Perhaps try going to 200lb or greater to reduce bite-offs?

Well done mate! Did you guys get a few on board?

A couple of blokes I spoke to this evening also had no luck unfortunately

Will be out on Friday and Saturday, call-sign will be fishmaniac. Happy to share co-ordinates if we find anything

That model produced by BOM generally gives an indication of approximate sea temperatures and current patterns. It does not convey they detail the SST charts others are referring to. The SST charts are live or very recent satellite images with fairly high resolution, you can zoom in and obtain accurate GPS co-ordinates. You want to look for changes in temperature when targeting tuna. If this temperature change coincides over structure that generally improves your chances again.

I have been lucky enough to catch a couple of marlin from my 4.5m boat. I was using circle hooks and kept the boat just in gear to get the fish swimming alongside the boat at the end of the fight. Held it by the bill and removed the hook which was located in the corner of the jaw. I have seen many fish broken off immediately after being tagged. I believe this is done because often when the fish is tagged it is still very green and it would be very dangerous to try and hold an angry marlin by the bill

The Sydney FADs have been removed for winter maintenance: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/fads/map Water is a bit cold now as well