Benzeenees

My bilge pump comes on automatically if there's a lot of water in the bilge.

Thanks Geoff. I've fitted a scoop made from 2 90 degree irrigation bends. The pump was noisy even when it was pumping well. But I imagine it was running dry when I was travelling. The new one is quieter. I'll report on performance after my next trip out in about a week.

My boat came equipped with a 500gph livewell pump. It is mounted inside the transom with an inlet that sticks out thru the transom, near the bottom. The first pump lasted about 4 years, but I didn't use it much for the first 3 years. When I relaced it I found that the impeller hadground away part of the base. The second one has been used a lot - pretty well 8hrs on each trip - maybe 70 -100 days. While it still pumps, it loses suction when travelling at more than about 10 kph and is quite noisy. I've just installed a new one and thought I might connect a U shaped fitting to the inlet so that it faces forward - a scoop. The manufacturer recommends against this saying it could cause the pump to fail and flood the hull. Seems unlikely that the hull would flood. Has anyone tried connecting such a scoop?

I suspect you're right, but I'd still be interested in firsthand experience. At the moment I'm inclining towards the diesel outlander. 4wd, 2.2l diesel. A little bit less torque and power than the ix35. Fuel economy is better. Unfortunately there no used ones so have to buy new. Lots of good ix35s second hand, with towbar for about $6000 less than a new Outlander.

Thanks for the response. Are you talking from experience? I'm sure it will tow it. I'm more concerned about sandy or slimy boat ramps. The ix35 is an AWD so it should be fine, but I would hate to get rid of my old Falcon, which isn't worth much but is in great condition, and then find I still have problems on slippery or sandy ramps.

Does anyone use a diesel ix35 to tow their boat? My boat + trailer is about 1100kg. The trailer is braked. On paper the ix35 should handle it - rated at 1600kg with heaps of torque and AWD. My friend's 1400cc turbo Holden Cruze handles the boat OK as long as the ramp is not steep or sandy or slippery. Ditto my BA Falcon. Looking to change cars in case I want to use some of the not so good ramps. Also considering the diesel Mitsubishi Outlander. I'd love to hear from someone with firsthand experience.

Over the past few weeks there have been several reports on Fishraider of fishers having their lines snipped off. I have also heard comments over the vhf radio and at boat ramps so it seems that its a bit of a problem at the moment. I think we can assume its not skin divers with scissors, so the most common views are its either yellow leatherjackets or green toadfish. Has anyone actually caught one of these nuisances? Especially the toads - I've never seen one out at sea. A couple of years ago I did catch a yellow leatherjacket about 20cm long. I have certainly seen schools of something on the sounder passing under the boat just as two lines were snipped almost simultaneously. My mate reckons that the leatherjackets snip you off down deep while the toads will get you at any depth - he lost over 30m of premium braid. And the reports have been coming in from all over the place - at least from Wollongong to Bermagui. Are they up around Sydney?

I did a search on the internet. Here is an interesting report http://e360.yale.edu/feature/massive_outbreak_of_jellyfish_could_spell_trouble_for_fisheries/2359/

No sand on the ramp at Kioloa. But the friend I was with had a 4wd and a 4.3m boat. I would be very happy to put in there with my 11 year old falcon and the 5m topender.

I haven't fished north of Bateman's Bay for some time. At the Hanging Rock yesterday nearly everyone had a few snapper or mowies or flathead from up north. So off to Durras. Stopped in the Bay for some yakkas and got the smallest I have ever seen - barely 7cm long. But heading out I noticed something on the sounder - stopped - dropped in the sabiki rig and got some 15cm slimeys. Perfect live bait. A little before Durras I stopped in about 17m of water and started burleying, hoping to round up some snapper. After 40min there were heaps of fish around the boat snaffling the chopped up (old) slimey mackerel I was using as burley. About 30cm - 40cm long. They looked like little kings. Dropped a piece of slimey in on a hook and, yes, they were kings. Rats. Hundreds of them. The rest of the day was a non-event. 1 snapper, barely 31cm off Point Upright. Fish showing on the sounder looked like bigger kings but couldn't interest them.

Where is the boundary? Am I right in thinking that Shoalhaven is near south coast and Batemans Bay is far south coast so the boundary is somewhere around Durras?

Yes, we were lucky we put in at low tide so I didn't have to drive the boat up the slippery stuff. Not a problem at High tide as you're above the slime. If you go out to Montague again, take big squid (as fresh as possible) as the kings sometimes prefer dead squid strips (big) to live yakkas. Strange but true! Not the little californian ones. Local squid about 20cm - 30cm long. We were out there with lovely big yellowtail - no action. Then some guys in another boat gave us the word. We only had one squid = 2 baits. Turned it into a nice 75cm king before they went off the bite.

The ramp is accessed by driving to Bawley Point, off the Princes Highway, and then 7km south to Kioloa. The local Marine Rescue is based at the ramp. The ramp is protected from the weather on the south side by a rock wall. Brush Is is a few km to the north and probably provides a bit of protection from bad weather. There is a gently sloping beach north of the ramp and smaller boats can be pulled up on this beach. The ramp is concrete with a good surface - one lane to begin but just before the water it widens to 2 lanes. I'd be inclined only to use it if I had a mate with me to drive the boat while I parked the car after launching or backed the trailer in coming home. But I'm sure experienced locals use it solo. Plenty of parking, but the fish cleaning table is just a frame and needs work by the local council. It's not up to the standard of other fish cleaning tables on the south coast. There are toilets at the Marine Rescue building.

Went out from Kioloa (NSW South Coast) today with Phillip in his 4.3m boat. The forecast was good but I came up windy about 9am and the leatherjacket/toads/ maybe both found us. We had started north of Brush Is in about 40m and picked up 4 nice flathead. Tried south of Brush Is but more snippers were around. Decided on an early lunch at a nice little place in Bawley Point. By now the wind had dropped and conditions were perfect. Phillip had a very long face! The ramp is quite good - lots of boats there - but it is the Anzac Day long weekend. I'll put a ramp report in if there isn't one there already.

Nice report and I like the pix. Sadly I was stuck at home for the last few days when the weather seemed to be quite good. Did you go out to Montague? And if so, did you see any kings being caught? I noticed you have a normal type sedan, not 4wd, did you have any problems with the slippery surface on the ocean ramp at Dalmeny?

Not sure if the problem is leatherjackets. They tend to nip your terminal tackle off. I heard that the problem is green toadfish. They are worse - they are cutting braid near the surface! They are certainly as far north as Moruya Heads. Two off us got done simultaneously today. They show up on the sounder as a ball of fish between 20m and the surface. If you see that - pull in as quickly as possible - but they'll even get you on the move! The weather forecast for the weekend is terrible - 40kt winds and 7m swells coming in Thursday pm.

Any idea what depth off Brou?

If the forecast is even part right, this weekend will be a write off. Sorry.

There is now a version of the software called 4.1.36.68 with simulator files. Is it worth uploading this to my sounder? How does it differ from the plain version 4.1.36.68? Anyone know?

there are large sanctuary zones offshore from Brush Is and from Murramarang. http://www.mpa.nsw.gov.au/bmp.html You can download a map at this site but you would be better off getting a free map - available at most tackle shops in the area.

It's usually considered that when you cook tailor that has been frozen it turns into inedible mush. If you have a smoker that doesn't have to be the case. Split the fish down the middle (like kippers) before you freeze them. Instead of thawing them out, put them frozen into a brine consisting of 1.5 cups of salt and 1 cup of brown sugar in 6 litres of water. Leave them overnight. Then open them up and let them dry until the surface goes sticky. Rub a bit of brown sugar on them and smoke them for 1 - 2 hrs depending on the size. Does anyone else have some ways of using frozen tailor?

Drove down to Dalmeny this morning and headed out to Montague Is. The ramp is very steep and a bit slimey at its lower end. Could be a bit dicey retrieving a big boat at low tide. Caught some big yakkas just off the ramp - filled the tank very quickly. The forecast was good but the actual weather didn't look great. A few drops of rain on the way across and big black clouds out to the east. A bit of wind too. Arrived at the northern end of the island and we were surprised that there were only 2 other boats there. Those who have never been to Montague should try to get there some time. Today there was a brisk current running at about 3 km/hr south (same as at Tuross and off Moruya Heads). As it hits the island it speeds up . There is something like a rip on the north eastern side and ditto on the south west side. Biggish standing waves that threaten to break. Quite disconcerting. There is a restricted fishing zone (no bait) just north of the island. As we wanted to try our yakkas, we started a very fast drift (4 km/hr) a few hundred metres north of the island and drifted back to the restricted zone. Lots of fish showing on the sounder. And by now the weather had cleared and more boats had arrived - eventually there were at least a dozen. The odd fish was being caught, some on jigs. No interest in our yakkas and my jigging technique was obviously not up to scratch. Had a talk to a fellow in a boat I (mistakenly) thought I recognised. He had just netted a nice king and his sons told us they were using dead squid!!! So on with a piece of old frozen squid we had in the bait esky - and soon I was on! A nice 75cm king that put up a great fight. My mate switched his yakka for a lump of squid and I tried a chunk of cuttlefish we caught last winter. There was a little bit of interest in the cuttlefish, but then the fish disappeared as the tide changed. Just then the wind started to come up and we headed for the western side. Everyone else headed for home. As did we about 30 min too late. It was a bumpy ride back to Dalmeny.

I suspect that your best option would be one of the charter boats going out of Narooma. Ring them first as I know a lot of boats go bottom bashing and avoid kings if they have a lot of people on board.

Have you tried using sabiki jigs for the yakkas? Even better with a sabiki rod - $30 on ebay or make your own from electical conduit - there's a clip on utube. How were you trolling the yakkas? With a downrigger or on the surface? What depth were you in? We're struggling to catch kings down south at the moment.

Put the boat in at Moruya Heads yesterday and headed down to Tuross. Found a few reefs but no kingfish. There were some pros and others there but they seemed to be having no luck. Lots of reports of kingfish, but no actual fish! Got some big flathead off Coila in 50m. Heading to Montague Is via Dalmeny tomorrow if the weather report stays good. Got a few nice salmon just of the south head at the Moruya River entrance.