Benzeenees

Make sure your battery switch is turned to "off". This reduces corrosion caused by any slight leakage of current from the battery.

Kingfish have been caught in 15 - 20m south east of Broulee Is, just outside the sanctuary zone. If you have a sounder you will see a drop off as you head south, about 500m out from the island. I haven't been successful there, but I have had reports of kingfish around there. You can troll around the headland to the south of Broulee Is but watch out for shallow water. We have caught squid in that area, as well as yakkas and slimeys. You can also troll for salmon and tailor just off Mossy Point. Stay close in to the rocks (about 40m should be safe). On the northern side of the river entrance watch out for rocks coming to within 2m of the surface. If you launch into the Moruya River, either at Brierly's ramp near the airport or at Preddy's wharf on the southern bank, there are some interesting reefs just off the heads and there are salmon and tailor close in around Toragy Point. From Brierly's ramp head straight across to the main channel on the southern side, but you may have to get out and wade if its near to low tide.

Explanation please - how can you lose a wedding ring while fishing???

To some extent it depends on who is insuring your car, your house etc. You usually get big discounts for multiple policies so start off by getting a quote from your current insurer.

Thanks for that. I'll have a look between the wall and the beach next time I'm there - if the weather ever improves!

I forgot to mention our biggest catch. Off Tuross I became snagged, we tried to release it by driving the boat back in the opposite direction to the drift. Managed to retrieve a lot of line, but we seemed to go an awful long way. Then it seemed as if the line had something very heavy on it but was slowly coming up. After about 10 minutes I was exhausted and had broken the tip of the rod, but it was clear that something was coming up. Here's a picture of the "catch".

Fished the Tuross area after launching at Moruya River on 10 June. Hoped to find some kings but it was not to be. We did pick up 2 snapper, 4 morwong and 6 flathead. Not big, but all keepers. Caught a nice bonito when we arrived back at Moruya Heads, but no sign of tailor or salmon. On the 11th and 12th we fished out of Mossy Point. 2 snapper and 2 morwong on the 11th. A little better on the 12th - 2 snapper and 5 morwong. Two of the mowies were nice big fish around 1.5 kg. Got snipped a few times so there are still green toads and/or leatherjackets around. Saw heaps of whales heading north on the 11th and 12th. They were in close - perhaps they know there is some rough weather coming.

Looks like Cymothoa exigua. They are crustaceans - like prawns, crabs and lobsters. Throw the leatherjacket away and eat the parasite! From Wikipedia "It is currently believed that C. exigua are not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.[8] In Puerto Rico, C. exigua was the leading subject of a lawsuit against a large supermarket chain. Because C. exigua is found in snappers from the Eastern Pacific and is shipped worldwide for commercial consumption, contamination by the parasite is inevitable. The customer in the lawsuit claimed to have been poisoned by eating an isopod cooked inside a snapper. This case, however, was dropped on the grounds that isopods are not poisonous to humans and some are even consumed as part of a regular diet."

We fish a bit further south - from Durras to Tuross. Mainly around Moruya Heads. It was quiet last time we were down - about 2 weeks ago - but there have been reports of snapper off Moruya Heads and kingfish off Tuross. Have a look at the report by the Tuross Fishing Club. http://www.turossheadfishingclub.org/fishing-report.html

I wasn't suggesting that you don't get a licence - you just don't need one to get started if you stay under 10 knots (about 19 kph). To get a licence you need to do a course (can be done online thru NSW Maritime for a nominal fee), pass a multiple choice test (when I did the course it included trial test questions) and provide evidence of practical experience. You can fill in a log book, but you will need to do at least 3 trips with an experienced skipper. That's why you might want to consider waiting to get your licence until after you've got some experience - either in your own boat or someone else's. Or you can pay to do a commercial course.

Most used boats are going to come with a motor - around 30 hp or more. There are 2 current threads worth looking at in this forum.

Must get some! Thanks.

I'd suggest you look for a used boat with less than 100 hrs up. Go for a 4 stroke motor if possible. A relatively new 4 stroke is unlikely to have any problems. And perhaps look for a boat with an unpainted hull - less problems with bubbling under the paint caused by corrosion. Any of the top brands will be fine. Perhaps a side console to maximize space. It's a buyers market, so don't be afraid to bargain hard.

There are heaps of boats advertised for around $7500. Some have been on the market for months. I bet they'd take any reasonable offer!

I reckon you should be able to get something around 4 - 4.5m for around $5k to $6k. There are heaps of used boats on the market and I think it's a buyer's market. A 4.5m boat would even allow you to go offshore in sheltered bays. I bought my boat new ( I'd never owned a boat before) but if I was buying today I go for something used. You don't need a licence to get started, as long as you stay under 10 knots.

The thing that surprises me is that there appears to be no justification for the review. There is no suggestion that fish stocks are reducing. The only justification seems to be that as the population of NSW increases, the pressure on fish stocks will increase. It looks like we have some public servants who, in order to justify their existence, need to do a review every 5 or 6 years. And if you review bag limits, you aren't going to increase them are you? That said. I do think that 20 sand or tiger flathead is excessive. Ditto tailor and bream. But reducing kingfish to 2 when the minimum size is 65cm does seem over the top. Let's leave it at 5 unless there is evidence that numbers are reducing. Science is about evidence and the review is very thin on evidence - the main justification seems to be that people don't need to catch more than enough fish for a day or two. That's a value judgement, not evidence.

Kings have been quiet recently, at least around Broulee Is and Moruya Heads. Saw one that had been caught off Bawley Point about 3 weeks ago. And the next day I berleyed up a big school of kings in 20m south of Durras, but they were only 40cm long. There were what looked like kings on the sounder just north of Montague Is 2 weeks ago, but no-one was catching anything. The giant cuttlefish have made an appearance so there should be snapper around.

Sadly the automatic (I'm old and lazy) is only rated at 1300kg. And that's too close to the weight of my boat + trailer esp. with a full tank of fuel. The new diesel Mitsubishi Outlander is rated at 1800kg and is 4wd, but there are no 2nd hand ones yet and I'm also stingy. You lose too much on a new car. Maybe I'll just live with the falcon for another year.

The toads are considered a delicacy in Japan. Have to be prepared by specially qualified chefs. Up to 6 deaths a year in Japan and more in other countries. The 1st photo in this article looks exactly like the toads we caught recently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugu Perhaps we could start up an export business? I don't want mine so I'd be happy to send them to Japan. What is the bag limit on toads?

that's what I think. But there is a warning on the packet. Perhaps one person had a problem so they decided to add the warning. The scoop is in place and I'll report on its performance. If you don't hear from me again, assume the boat filled up and sank.

Finally got the right conditions to try the infamous Narooma Bar last Wednesday. Left from Apex Park - a very nice ramp with heaps of parking and great fish cleaning tables. The swell was flat as we left the entrance between the breakwalls and started to relax. Hang on - there's a big swell rearing up about 50m out. That's the bar! Over it without any difficulty, but if you're going out for the first time, the actual bar is about 50m outside the entrance, so keep moving. Coming back, the entrance is a lot narrower than it seems going out! Montague Is was amazing especially the rip at the north eastern end and the Fowlhouse on the south eastern end. The current was running at up to 7kph. No kings, though there were a lot on the sounder. 1 snapper south of the Fowlhouse before the wind came up. We got lots of yakkas and slimeys in a little bay about 1 km south of the entrance.

I had the same problem as I use hotmail. Fortunately I had another (obscure) email account that was acceptable. What is the problem with hotmail?

It's definitely both! They are in plague proportions around Batemans Bay. Guy at the ramp reported leatherjackets following bait to the surface when he was fishing for flathead. And he got bitten off. We caught 2 of the toads - biggish green fish about 40cm long. Once I was snipped even before my sinker hit the bottom.

Thought I'd better check the other lug. I removed the shrink on insulation and found it was crimped perfectly but the wire was full of corrosion. Not a manufacturer problem - just confirmed the need for maintenance in a boat exposed to lots of salt water. I cut off the corroded wire and replaced the lug with a car-type connector. Lots of insulating tape and a liberal layer of petroleum jelly to try to keep the water out. The battery is in a battery box, but it still gets exposed to salt water.

I've always had problems with my sounder restarting when I start the motor on my topender. This happened occasionally when I had a Lowrance LMS 480, but became much worse when I upgraded to an HDS5. The HDS5 takes so long to start up so it was a real nuisance. I decided to replace the battery in case it was getting weak after 5 years. The new battery is much bigger, but I still had to put the HDS on standby before starting the motor. And then it began playing up even on standby. So I resoldered all the connections between the HDS and the boat electrics and gave the HDS power plug a thorough clean. Improved briefly. Mentioned it at the place where I bought the new battery last October as the battery had been flat when I bought it. So I was a little worried about the battery. The guy at the shop had a look at the battery and pointed out a little corrosion on the terminal. Not much but I thought I'd give the terminals a clean. The negative cable almost fell out of the lug! It hadn't been crimped down thoroughly! I'm surprised the boat was even starting. Down to an auto parts place and bought a car type connector that clamps to the cable. All appears to be fixed. The HDS doesn't even blink when I start the motor. I continue to be surprised at the (relatively) minor things that aren't right on this boat that I bought new.