Tackle Junkie

Hi Guys / Girls, We went out off Sydney on Sat 29/1/11 and headed to Browns Mountain. We are all new to heading wide as this is only the 6th trip in the new boat and the second to the shelf etc. We started out of Roseville and headed to Browns - we got there at 10:30 am as we trolled the whole way as it was a bit bumpier than I thought it would be - either way we got there no problems at all. About 20mins after arriving at Browns the long rigger and short corner go off together. Alot of excited for four blokes new to game fishing but we landed 2 cracker wahoo - well cracker for us - i am not sure what is good and what is not but they fought hard but were landed no problem. We trolled around for a bit and hard no more luck so headed back in where the water looked better (browns was 23.8) and we hit 25.3 in 95 fathoms. As we hit the warm water - rigger goes off and we drop something that did not hook up ( I like to think it was a marlin but we never will know). We re set the rigger and head in another few minutes and the other rigger goes off and we hook a marlin this time for sure. We played it for a while (20mins or so) and we release the lure from what I assume was a Striped Marlin. We keep trolling the same area but no more hits. We keep heading home and thought we were done for day when shotgun goes off only 6 klms outside the heads and we land my new PB dollie of over 10Kgs. This only the second time that we have been to shelf (2 weekends in a row) and we are loving it. I will try to get some more Marlin shots once i get back into work on Mon/ Tues. Here are some pics anyway - I have never had fishing this good off sydney - but that maybe because i never had the confidence in the old boat to head to Browns etc. Pretty happy though as we landed our first ever Marlin last weekend. Cheers, Josh

Great fish mate - well done. Enjoy the BBQ. Cheers, Josh

I definately have the 200 / 50 Hz Transducer. I lost bottom on both frequencies. Cheers,

Hi Guys, I went to Browns for the first time last weekend and everything was great with my boat with the exception of my sounder. It stopped solidly reading the bottom in either 200 or 50Hz mode after 350m or so. Is this normal - or is there a setting that i have overlooked. I think i had it in auto mode set up for deep water. The sounder works great until i went over the shelf. Its not the end of the world - but if i can read bottom up to Browns etc i would be good. The funny thing is it would pick it up randomly every 5 mins or so and produce readings then die again. Any help from someone with a HDS would be great. Thanks, Josh

Huey - The website works today. The aqualines look great the 550 Hard Top is particularly appealing. Please PM me or I will come and see you once I get the chance. Cheers, Josh

Thanks for the assistance guys, it is appreciated. I will have a look at the aqua line boats - i honestly do not know anything about them. Huey - is your website working? I tried all weekend for no go (unless its my computer). I will be continuing to look. - - - I might have made it a bit unclear with price. Budget is 60-70K so i am hoping for something decent at that price. Cheers, Josh

Hi Guys / Girls, I am looking a getting a new plate boat in the near future ready for the summer trolling season. I am looking at a Formosa Centre Cab, Bar Crusher 560C or even a websters twinfisher 5.2m cat. The Formosa is winning at moment due to price and the walk around ability and the fuel tank size. All these boats seem to get pretty good reviews - I would be interested from any raider that owns one for feedback. I am also open for any other suggestions that I may have overlooked. Cheers, Josh

Hi Mate, I travel all over Australia with work and it has its pluses and minuses. The plus is I have fished in some fantastic places. I travel with an 7.5" foot jarvis walker rod tube and have never been denied, it holds 3-5 rods up to 7 foot. I have done this at least 25 times this year alone. As for a combo - - I have a shimano saragosa 5000 on a Tournament t-curve snapper 4-8kg 7 foot rod. This has landed fish to 20kg+ - though it did take a while. Rod $299 ish reel $269 ish + Braid. I like 1 piece rods and if the rod tube is worrying you - don't let it. Fish the the rods you like and enjoy. You will not get stuck. Cheers, Josh

Thanks Guys & Girls, All fish were caught on the troll. The skipper does supply everything, however we all brought our own gear and lures. I am sure most of you all know - the fun when trolling is you rigging the lure, choosing colour, style etc and then turining it into a fish. I brought my Saltiga thinking that I may get a chance to Jig. We were hooking up so consistently that i never had a chance. Without doubt the most productive lure was a halco diver in King Brown colour. After this the 5 inch zukers were fantastic and hollowpoint small tuna terror. We pulled heaps of lures to give them a swim but the same lures were always solid producers. We were very lucky that between us we had multiple colours of the same lures. Once we worked out a very productive spread we were into it big time. I am now convinced that we were fortunate because of our lure selection - we hooked up 3 times more than boats next to us. Maybe luck - but i think that we had different lures. Great trip. Cheers Josh

I would highly recommend Arafura Blue - I have been with them twice and cleaned up both times. Just google it. Cheers, Josh

Hi Guys, Just thought that I would share some pictures of my recent trip to Tassie last week. This was one of those trips that you plan for - you are excited for, and you hope on the day that it all comes together. Well!!! It did. We booked in Novemember and we hoped for decent weather - we went on a charter had 4 of us for two days. It would have broken us to go there book accomomdation - spend 1000's on tackle just for fun and then be stuck on the shore. We lucked out big time. We caught over 70 fish in two days all between 15 and 35 kilos in the most perfect conditions anyone could ask for. Speaking with the skipper he advised us that perfect weather usually means poor fishing in tassie, this was not the case for us at all. We actually caught the most fish in one day all season and as it worked out - we almost all caught the same amount of fish each so it was perfect. I will let the pics speak for themselves - the only negative were the seals. We hooked 70 fish and we landed 46 in two days, all were Southern Bluefin Tuna and 1 27kg Albicore. This trip will last a lifetime - top fishing, great food, great mates, perfect weather. Yes we are already booked and paid for next year - we will land a jumbo now that we earned out stripes on the schoolies. I broke in a new saltiga and jigging master rod and it was so much fun - even with a 300kg seal on the end. My back really hurts now!! Cheers, Josh

Thanks for all your help guys - it is very much appreciated. Now i have to work out how to sneak it home without my wife noticing. Cheers, Josh

Hi Guys, I am wondering whether anyone can tell me where to buy a Jigging Master rod from. I have the exact rod in the spinning version and I love it. I recently used it on heaps of bluefin in Tassie. The place i bought the last one from does not have them anymore. Many Thanks, Josh By the way - we caught over 70 of similar fish in 2 days in Eagle Hawk Neck. We landed 46 and lost the rest to seals.

Congratulations - Well Done!!

Enjoy it - you will have ball, make sure that you troll some smallish skirts as well as the divers - you will probably find some triped tuna as well - good fun. Troll a big lure if you are feeling lucky and have everything crossed - you could hit something much more lively. Cheers

I have been on a few trips up north recently and I tried a heap of soft plastics - for me gulp was most successful and i tried several types. When i got home with new confidence and back to my own car and boat i was annoyed at the constant leaking problem. I found the solution - leave the open packet/s in a small tub in the boat in a shady area until next time. I know this seems simple but it makes all the difference. Now i only ever travel with sealed packets from new - and luckily i have not had one blow out yet. This way i can put one on easy and put one back into the packet when travelling between spots etc -i just put the while thing in - jig head and all. next time its ready to rock n roll. Cheers Josh

Clap Clap!! Absolute stonker - Well done Boys. I hope the boat always stays that lucky for you. Cheers, Josh

Thanks Luke - I really hope that you get the marlin. I plan to always keep this rigged whilst out wider for the exact thing. The rod felt great when i looked at it. It was not overly expensive but i want the reliability. Many Thanks, Josh

I was very fortunate this Xmas to pick up a new Saltiga s-extreme 6500 reel. I am now on the hunt for a rod to suit. 60-80lb Braid. I saw a Samaki Rod today and it looked and felt great but I know nothing about them - a google search revealed little. If anyone knows anything about them - it would be appreciated - otherwise any other suggestions for a rod to match the reel? Looking for a jigging rod for bottom fishing, live baiting, trolling & jigging of course. Any help would be appreciated!! Cheers Josh

Congratulations - well done great pics. I hope I can crack mine this season - but we will see. Mine will be off Sydney so who knows - but I am sure I will have fun either way. Cheers Josh

Thats a cracker - enjoy it you will be able to get inshore and offshore in that!! Congratulations

Thanks for all your help - it is appreciated. Any idea usage at trolling speed ie. 1600 rpm ish? I have been trying to do the average tests and yes i do have a trip meter - the only thing i don't trust in full is the fuel gauge. Cheers, Josh

Hi Guys, I have been searching all over net and have not been able to find any reliable data on expected fuel consumption figures for my outboard. I am very aware of many things to consider etc. etc. I am just after some guidelines for a 5m boat weight 800Kg. I am looking to go a little further offshore this season and i can carry extra fuel and do - but i don't want to ever find out the hard way. Pic attached of boat Any help will be appreciated. Cheers Josh

Great session well done

Thanks Guys, I have a freezer ful of very nice fish - at least everything in Sydney will be released for a while (i actually release 95% anyway like the rest of us I'm sure). Cheers Josh