Chopper

Nice going Ringo . Sounds like a top trip mate. The only bad thing about doing a trip like that is trying to get back into the fishing when you get home. Took me about a month to even look at a rod and reel when I got home from the Cape last time - nothing compares to fishing the top end.

G'day all - long time no speak . Thanks for the kind words guys and gals and to repeat what others have said, an awesome report Matty. Boy, Bushy's Stiffy Minnows work a treat - my list of species caught on these things just keeps growing and growing. One thing I have found over the years when trout fishing is that browns like spots. So what I do is modify my trout lures with black or red spots, as can be seen with the lure sticking out of the trouts mouth. The gudgeon we pulled out of the fish was the exact size, shape and colour as the Stiffy Minnow and it was easy to put 2 and 2 together as to why it slammed my lure Iceman - my sister in law stuffed it with bread crumbs, chilli, garlic, lemon and dill, wrapped in foil and baked it and it tasted absolutely magnificent

Was a tough weekend fishing wise but we still managed to find a few fish to keep us interested. Even Mrs Chopper managed to catch her first Bass so she was pretty wrapped with that .. She actually had a fish at the boat before Stevo did but he soon made amends and put the biggest bass of the trip in the boat . Rick - I got all of my bass and silver perch on a Daiwa 55mm TD Pro's Vibration while the yella in the pic above was caught on a 70mm TD Pro's Vibration. The missus got hers on a 4g Squider (Squidgie spinnerbait with Slider tail). At $25 a pop, there was NO WAY I was tying a Daiwa on her line . Still nice to get away from Sydney for a couple of days R&R. Cheers, Billy K

I thought that the original PE was actually the Power Grub, and that the Tournament grub was the one in the photo on the above post,

I've had mine for over a year now (DC-31 100A/H) and haven't had any dramas with it Ozy. They are a maintenance free, deep cycle lead calcium battery and they are excellent value for money. I was talking to my mechanic about them and he was saying that Delkor are used in alot or rally cars these days cause they don't mind getting knocked about.

Not all quality rods are under bound these days, but being under bound or not would make very little difference to the overall weight of a rod. If you choose not to underbind, you need to make sure that when you grind your guide feet down, there are no sharp edges or burrs left on them. Graphite and these edges don't mix. I'll normally run guide feet over an old stocking a few times to make sure nothing catches before binding them onto a blank. Which blank are you looking to build on Rick ?? You may be able to shop around for a lighter blank as opposed to lighter guides if you haven't already got a blank in mind.

It would be great to see Fishcare Volunteers out there trying to educate these folk who knowingly/unknowingly break rules like too many lines in the water or keeping undersized fish. It's my belief that the only way to teach them is to hit them where it hurts, and unfortunately, these volunteers have no authority to issue fines, only pamphlets which will probably end up adding to the mess already in Chippo. But hey, if it does get through to one person, then Fishcare have done a fantastic job in my view.

Bingo Adam . This is the other shot I took on the day. Look at the right hand side of this pic and it's you and Steve getting ready for the event,

Both right on the event and competitors. Both wrong on the location.

Righto - Rich, this should be dead easy for you mate. I need :- 1. the park 2. the event and 3. at least 3 competitors in this pic .

Well done Jorg and congrats on the sponsorship mate . They look like a great unit and can't wait to have a look up close. Sure you'll get the hang of it all soon enough - just let me know if you take it out onto the Harbour for the first ever time so I can make plans to fish The Hawkesbury :ohyeh: . Only joking buddy. I thought the smile on your face at the Taree ABT was huge after weighing in some nice fish but it will be nothing compared to when you take out your new pride and joy . Feel free to ask any questions mate.

I just recieved shipment of my Nitro Bream Bullets with the heavy wire Gamakatsu hook. Put them to good use on some sambo's, then ducked into Middle Harbour with Stevo for a bit of breamin. The new hooks and the lower profile collar makes these the perfect combination to use with bass minnows or any other stickbait. They almost look like they were made for each other . Pretty slow day on the breamin front, but none the less, still managed to boat a 37cm and a 38cm bream. After a bit of twisting and pulling to remove the hooks from those big blue lips, the jigs remained in original shape and still nice and sticky sharp. The stand up head also proved a bonus as I didn't get snagged as often as I would with a conventional round head jig,

Are you going to carpet the floor Fishn or leave it as is ? Either way, I'd be throwing a couple of coats of Solargaurd or an equivalent to help keep water out

Not for flicking lightly weighted plastics Grantm . If you''re using say a Bass Minnow rigged on a 1/32 or 1/16th oz jighead, and there is any sort of breeze that you want to cast into, then the majority of your day will be spent picking out birds nests from an overhead . Stick to the threadline for this type of fishing. If you''re targetting flatties or jewies and casting a decent sort of a weight, then I would consider using an overhead. It''s a close call these days as a heap of threadline drag systems can match it with a quality overhead drag. It all boils down to personal preference. At the end of the day, the more you enjoy using gear you feel comfortable with, the more you will enjoy your fishing experience .

Tunks Park is a great cement ramp to use Bill with ample parking, no meters, no gates and is generally safe. It is also well protected from most winds,

You know you can always garage it at my place Billy :thumbsup:

2 boats - probably the best option Pedro :ohyeh:

Sorry to change the topic guys, but if your boat is a runabout, you can still mount an electric to the front. But instead of using the foot pedal, you can buy a Co-Pilot for a Minn Kota which hangs around your neck or can even be mounted on your rod and the electric can be controlled from that, Cheers, Billy K

You could even try the Trading Post Byron or just leave your name and contact details at a couple of dealers and they should ring you if something comes up, Cheers, Billy k

They do Swoff''. Michael Metcalfe''s boat has nylon strips (similar to the material they use to make those white cutting boards) running down both sides of his boat. I ran my hand along them and they were as rough as, so it has seen some serious rack time. I check the rest of the hull out and there was not a scratch to be seen, so they have been cleverly positioned to avoid doind damage to the fibreglass hull. Another interesting point he made was that because the boat sits so low in the water, he has never had so many hits from bream so close to the boat when fishing in the racks, Cheers, Billy K.

Yeah you''re right Rick - I am looking to upgrade my current 4 stroke 30 donk to a 2 stroke 40, all in the name of speed. As for a upgrading to a new boat - not just yet. I like my bed to much and cuddling up to my 70 kilo Rotti in his kennel is not worth it just yet :-whip, Cheers, Billy K.

G''day all, This topic is probably directed more to fellow competitors in the ABT circus, but if anyone else has an opinion ,feel free . At the recent ABT Taree event, Mick C and I had the opportunity to chat with Michael Metcalfe about his Quantum boat on Friday. He was telling us that he gets about 68mph out of his boat, but since hitting a rock which consequently stuffed his prop and gearbox, he went on to tell us that he''d just ordered a new Formula 1 leg for his motor, and therefore should be able to get about 80mph out of it when fitted . The trip to the sea wall at the Manning River took most boats between 30 - 40 minutes, while Michael did the trip in 11 minutes. Now, it''s obvious that more fishing time = more fish, but how mucher quicker can one go before it starts to become a safety issue. A crash at these speeds would certainly lead to serious injury. How much faster can these boats go ? The ABT has a minimum requirement for the size of engine a competitor must have on his/her boat, should there be a maximum ? There are some flash looking boats on the circuit at the moment, and is wasn''t all that long ago that a 445 Hornet Trophy was THE boat to have. Where to from here ? What could we possibly see on the circuit next year ? Does owning a quicker boat give someone more of an advantage ? Cheers, Billy K