Kruzenvax

Thanks Ross, May I please ask you for some clarification? I have found the spot bridge and watsons bay on my map no problem. The Island of Balmoral - I have Balmoral on my map facing the Hunters bay, than what looks like an island very close to the shore labeled "Rocky point" with baths on the northern side. Is that what you meant by "Island at Balmoral". Also there is a Quarantine head on the map (near the North head) with the marker nearby. Is that the one? Sorry for asking so many questions... Thanks Alex

Hi all, I was trying to study all Sydney Harbour posts but still feel slightly lost - and I'm planning to hit it for the 1st time soon. Can anybody please suggest me the best spot for livebait (yakkas, squid) if launching from the Rose Bay ramp? Not asking for exact pinpoint location of your best spots - just an area (the bay, etc). Apologies if this has been answered before - guess I didn't get it. Thanks

Robbielites, I was thinking about trolling lures with DR but than a call came... so I managed to spend only 4 hours on the water. Keflapod, depth was (I was trolling different distances from the rocks) between 20-40m. I think the temperature was around 17 degrees. Fish was midwater (what looked like baitfish) and bottom (bigger arches, also midwater but not less than 15 m). Don't have colour sounder, but some fish looked like these arches so I thought it is a fish. I was trolling 2 halco's; was about to put one on the DR or perhaps throw some SP's on heavy jighead, or hang some defrosted garfish on the patternoster; haven't decided and had to go back as I mentioned above. I used to get plenty of baitfish last season at 2 spots in Botany near weedbeds on sabiki in about 4 m of water, using bread & pilchards as berley. Not this season (2nd time in a row!). I've located one school of baitfish on the sounder in deeper water (by driving around) and dropped sabilki there - no luck. Not a good start for a season... or dolphins bring bad luck? Thanks guys

Sorry, are you asking me or Johnno? It was me who did not catch the fish , not him (I guess Johnno does nto have this problem to often )

The bright side: - Perfect weather - 1st time poked my nose out of the Bay with no problems (though some waves looked big, but the boat handled them. Don't know was yesterday swell considered big or not) - Heaps of fish on the sounder outside - 1st time saw the whale and dolphins! - new inflatable PFD's are so much better The dark side - didn't have enough time - didn't catch any fish - was not able to catch any livebait: even in the spot that was producing it consistently last season (this is the 2nd time out of 2 this season, so I wonder is it to early or what?) - because of that didn't test the downrigger.

Are these rowboats (not powered, not sailboats)?

I'm not sure I've got everything from your post (e.g. were you anchored and where, was the other boat reversing, etc), but the general rule (and I mean rule, not just "practice" is) - quote: A good lookout must be kept by sight and hearing. The master must be fully aware of the boating environment, especially in bad weather, restricted visibility or darkness. Don’t forget to look all around – even behind you. Don’t confuse the lookout duties of the master with those of the observer when the boat is towing a person on skis, tubes, etc. The master is responsible at all times for keeping a lookout for dangers. - end quote So that lady should have told the person in charge of her boat (instead of you) to have ... eyes in the back of his/her head - its the must when you driving the boat no matter what others are doing on the water! P.S. I assume you were kind of drifting - e.g. not chasing that other boat from behind

Hi all, With the season opening I'm going to start trolling (kingfish, etc). My question is: say, I rigged the yakka, deployed it on the downrigger and started trolling. Assuning I don't have visble bites, how frequently should I raise the bomb and check is the livebait allright? Don't want to waste time and trouble the livebait too often, yet don't want to troll with dead livebait (or no livebait at all). Anything changes if I use a live squid? Thanks

Thank Huey, Will try that and the rope next time to compare. Obviously your way seems easier and safer (for the boat not hitting bottom hard) How far is the trailer should go in the water is entirely different subject: I agree 100% with you, so far having bearings above the water was a safer bet for me; as much as I like to save on trailer maintenance I think hitting the ramp would cost a bit more to repair :-) Thanks again Alex.

I use saltaway - no problems so far, no impact on line as well. Spary using the mist setting on the hose head.

Hi Huey, Thanks for that. So I guess what you mean is - when I slowly wincing the boat - the boat does not dive that deep, so I can have my trailer further away from the water? Did I understand you properly? It looks like a nice idea, may I ask however will this work with a bigger boat (5m+) I'm eyeing? What I mean is I will have to release the winch stopper... and if I loose a grip on the handle without the stopper, the handle my fly away... Thanks Alex

Thanks guys, So the key is to use the rope to hold the boat on the trailer till I can reklese the winch strap. Thanks Alex O.

Hi all, For two seasons I used a certain way of putting my boat into the water, but got into a slight trouble today. Before I needed to give my boat a push in order to let it slide on the rollers to the water. So I used to undo the winch strap, undo the safety chain, boat still sits tight on the rollers, than a push and down she goes. This year, when doing annual service I asked boys in the workshop to grease and re-align rollers. So they did and on the ramp I realised I do not need a push anymore. Once the winch lock is released the boat slides freely down the trailer. So I had some troubles keeping the slack on the winch strap so i could undo it. Ended up winching it down till the transom was in the water than walking down the trailer to undo the strap. What should I do now to do it safer and better now? Especially on steep ramps? Thanks Alex

After a long fishing-less period - I have opened the 2009 season in Botany today. Caught nothing serious - some trevs, a flathead and an octopus. But the boat worked perfectly and those inflatable PFD's I bought for the whole family are so better than the old bulky ones. Will hit big waters next weekend if the weather is OK.

I didn't check the seabreeze - but on weather.com.au saturday is 39 km/h wind + 10 mm of rain. I'm cancelling my trip, unfortunatelly In an open boat even Georges or Port Hacking may not be a pleasant place to fish IMHO...

Gulity on all counts (except perhaps the last 2) The only positive thing is that it helped me to organise storage in my boat neatly!

Light - Nitlon PE Heavy - Fins Don't have any problems.

What's that Slinky? Thanks Alex

I have stopped using that double overhand part in slim beauty - instead I use a uni with the leader around the braid double; the rest is the same. Same strength, same compactness, much easire to tie. HTH

AFN

I have also purchased a ""How to use depth sounders and GPS" by Fred Studden. Excellent book.

Where do you get these charts from? I assume those "fishing" charts avaliable from tackle & boat shops are not good enough... Thanks

Andy, That was the reason behind my question. I didn't understand the logic behind it. I’ve also seen a lot of discussions around about buying “new” EPIRB’s and thought “so all these people have boats bigger than 8m”? The wording for some rules looks odd to me – e.g. on the “enclosed waters” safety equipment list – looks like I need a 2 litre bucket or bailer AND a 9 litre bucket?

Geoff, Thanks a lot! Alex

Hi all, As soon as I'm starting to take my boat further away from the shore - can somebody please help me with following? 1) I'm getting a VHF radio - is there a place in Syd/Sutherland shire area where I can get the certificate to use it? 2) My reading of the rules is that - as soon as my boat is less than 8m - EPIRB is not compulsory (though recommended) - even if I'm more than 2nm offshore? Thanks