Dreamtime

Hey Dude and , Always prepared to offer a fellow Raider my conveniences at no cost - don't know about the other 11 though lol. Those sort of dollars should be able to place you amongst some of the top fishing spots on the globe, one would think. PM me if you are serious about the Solomon Islands - my Mariner 31 footer should be up and operating by end of next month with all the good gear plus some more. Sorry though, you will be hard pressed up here to find any commercial operation that could accommodate 12 persons. I already have an obligation to 1 Raider who should be arriving on Boxing Day for a week and you are most welcome to join him. Only expense to you would be the airfare. No need to bring any gear as I have plenty. Food for thought. Await your response. Cheers Mariner

You are correct! The Blue Prawn is actually a separate species of prawn. Below is a photo and it's scientific name. Litopenaeus stylirostris, Blue Prawn|Prawn, Pacific Blue Prawn Other members of the Penaeidae Family are: BANANA PRAWN BAY PRAWN Black Tiger Prawn Blue Prawn ENDEAVOUR PRAWN KING PRAWN Redspot King Prawn SCHOOL PRAWN TIGER PRAWN Vannamei Prawn There is also a frshwater species of the same name. A freshwater prawn that's now being aquacultured in Hawaii. It's name comes from the brilliant blue color of its tail. The moderately fat flesh of the Hawaiian blue prawn is sweet and succulent. This crustacean can be prepared in any manner suitable for shrimp. To re-iterate the meaning of a "green" prawn:- Imported green (uncooked prawns) tested Newsletter ________________________________________ By Ross Lobegeiger DPI&F conducted independent testing on imported (green) uncooked prawns in the October to December period in 2006. The results of these test supports the response the DPI&F is roviding to Biosecurity Australia in relation to the proposed Prawn and Prawn Products Import Risk Assessment (IRA) process. DPI&F has reviewed the draft IRA and is mostly satisfied with the proposed interim measures to test uncooked imported prawns for WSSV, YHV and IHHNV. The draft IRA does not include testing for TSV and DPI&F's submission will include a call to include this disease in the screening. The screening of imports will lower the risk of exotic prawn diseases entering the country and placing the prawn industry in jeopardy. More details on the IRA proposal see the story in this newsletter Prawn risk assessment. The risks Imported green (uncooked) prawns can carry exotic viruses such as White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) or Yellowhead Virus (YHV). There is concern over the potential risk for aquatic animal diseases to be introduced through the importation of these green prawns. Low prawn prices have resulted in increased prawn imports (up 120% since 2000-01) which also saw increases in the volume of green prawn imports. Due to these low prices green (uncooked) prawns can now be purchased at supermarkets for a cheaper price than bait. People should not use these prawns as bait due to the high risk of spreading the exotic diseases to wild prawns and farmed prawns. The samples Recently 16 batches of uncooked imported prawns were purchased from supermarkets in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane and tested for the two diseases using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Green prawn products sampled included loose peeled tails, bagged cutlets and tails, skewered tails and cutlets in plastic boats. Samples originated from most South-East Asian countries. They included China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The results Five prawns from each batch were tested and 14 batches tested positive for WSSV and 10 batches tested positive for TSV. No batches were free of viral contamination. You guys may reconsider a nice meal of beer and prawns after reading this article.

Roberta, I'm sorry that I must advise that Ray R has had alterior motives all along. Have a look at the picture in his recent post - I think he must be a medical intern. He has located the surgeon to do the op, but has been reluctant to talk straight. Sorry I have to be the bearer of the news. Here follows is Mr Surgeon fish. I hope he bulk bills.

Surprise, surprise!!!! Here's an email I just received after copying this article to FFA??????? Overt, covert - got me buggered why their own officers didn't know about it!! Hey Carl Where the hell did you get this from? Seems you have a better network than I. Cheers Lamiller Pawut FFA Surveillance Operations Officer Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency HONIARA Solomon Islands Phone: (677) 21124 Fax (677) 23995 /26895 WWW.ffa.int

Great day out and definately value for money. Good to be able to give some fresh fish to the relo's and neighbours. Nothing like a fresh Kingy steak - well done and a herculean effort by all looks. One question - why is it that the action is so hot less than 100 miles from the Peak, yet the Peak is not firing? Is it the temperature? (sorry that's 2 questions)

Sorry for my ignorance Ray, but what are all the boats gathered there for? Are they waiting for the waves to drop to retrieve their vessel, or are they just sheltering from the inclement conditions? Thanks Ray for another nice photo of your neck of the woods.

Some great descriptive and illustrated posts there guys. I use the bridle method, however it is imperative to note that always have a wet towell at the ready when you get the baitfish on board. Place the towell over the eyes of your livey, weather it be a Yakka or a 10Kg YFT. This will subdue, and or create much less stress on the baifish, which is ever important for the longevity and condition of your bait. Extremely important to watch your trolling speed. A bridled livey has less control over it's ability to remain upright and can quite easily "drown". Even if you have to use 1 engine only, sometimes I have even had to continually engage and disengage forward gear to keep the bait alive. This will become more important if you are trolling against the current. Practice makes perfect, but speed and efficiency of the operation will ensure a healthy bait presented to your targeted species. I hope that this may be of some use to other Raiders, it works for me. Cheers.

Is it a Bowrider or Cruiser. By the looks of the Cruiser, the only place to fit a winch would be where the bollard is in the anchor locker. It would be reinforced sufficiently for the bollard, therefore one could only presume that it would be suitable for a windlass. I think you would need to look at a vertically positioned winch to be practical. After looking at photos of the Monaco there appears to be little space (deck) available to mount a winch without compromising the integrity of the deck and cabin. I would suggest that you contact the manufacturer and ask of similar installations before I considered mounting anything aftermarket on such a great looking rig. Good Luck.

Can't complain about that, a couple of nice solid lizards in the first half hour. Two nice combo's you got there Diver. What Kg line have you spooled on them? How do you get the fish to hold their heads up for the photo?

Gotta agree Hodgey, we all need to take a step or two backwards to really appreciate the courage and dedication shown by these elite athletes. Sometimes, somewhat insignificant obstacles are a major hurdle to those of us who are not physically challenged. I for one would find it hard to get over the self pity that one might find themselves getting bogged down with, rather than persuing the ultimate goals that these individuals have long since achieved. I take my hat off to them.

Geez Hodgey, You must have been ready to go home with that many (6) casts before you were on Another typical (magnificent) report, with some of that now famous backyard scenery. Well done mate, and a great catch to boot! Great collection of blades as well - would love to have a crack with them. What can I say - sensational. Cheers Carl

Thanks Scon, Sorry mate, it would take a few fuel tanks in the average fishing boat. Cheers Mariner

I have a Muir winch on both my pleasure and commercial craft. Try this link for the info you require. Hope it helps. http://www.muir.com.au/

Good one jewgaffer, must agree. I haven't seen my own Priest for over 25 years - let alone Judas!!!

Hi Rick and Gotta agree about the Nipper. Had one myself in the 80's with twin 50 Mercs, set up with all the Marlin gear also. Excellent for Botany Bay and outside. Look forward to reading more of your posts. Cheers Carl

Very interesting indeed Hodgey. I was totally unaware of the operation until I read this article. I think it would have been very difficult to co-ordinate without the assistance given by other countries. Definately a thumbs up for their co-operation. Cheers Carl

Thanks guys, the sashimi was great!

Well Raiders, It's been a bit of an up and down week. The outboard motor has really got me baffled. Anyway, after a rendezvous at the golf club, watched Broncos kill the the Roosters, and too much beer later, it was decided that we would go and try for some YFT in the morning. 6.30 am morning and I wanted to sleep, a couple of mates rang and said that all the gear was loaded into the boat and all they were waiting for was me. In hindsight, if the key was in the boat I probably wouldn't even of gotten a call. Anyway, boat launched and idling out to the first marker. Hit the first marker and pushed the throttle all the way forward. Well, I'll be F#%*d, something wasn't right. It was spluttering, farting and just not performing - couldn't get out of the hole. Okay, it was decided that we would switch off the engine and have some beer. We didn't want the patrons of the Yacht Club who'd watched us launch the boat, to think we had engine problems. We floated for a couple of hours, the esky was starting to look a little lean on, so decided to head back to the ramp. Threw out the 24Kg with a Pakula Cockroach rigged up for the run back to the ramp. Well, even Hodgey would be proud of the action of the lure, with the engine misfiring it was like a retrieve, stop, shake, retrieve and so on. One strike and the boss was on - buggered if I was gonna let anyone else grab the rod. Perfect sea conditions helped assist in boating this fine specimen of a YFT in around 12 minuts. Note the sickles. Weighed in at 36.5 Kgs and looked to be in super condition. Got the boys cutting it up now for a serious session of sashimi. I wonder what would have been if the outboard hadn't let us down. Anyway, 1 YFT is better than none. Sorry, didn't take the camera so these photos were taken when we returned. Hope you guys got amongst them Cheers Mariner

A damn fine looking specimen TDH. Who were you fishing with and in what vicinity. Was it cought on weed, and were there any others? How were the conditions (tides, swell, water temp,etc...)

Sad, but true tale of events. If you or I had to emulate these courageous life saving individuals I am certain that we would leave a residue in our underwear just having to be inside the rescue craft. These people are world class trained in the area of rescue. I guess any-one can scoop dead bodies of the surface of the ocean, but years of training, dedication and courage is not something that most of us mere mortals are prepared to put in, to rescue individuals that we don't even know. Please always wear PFD's.

School, king, banana and tiger are species of prawns. I would imagine that there would be plenty more species to add to this list. Green definately depicts uncooked.

Well it's been over a month now and one question remains unanswered. Do they have tongues still in tact? Obviously in their natural habitat these "doctors" could possibly provide some alterior motive for them to remain in the fishes mouth. Just wondering with the habitat removed, if they can still sustain life without a tongue, in captivity. Are you feeding them flakes or "solid" food? Why is it so??

It may be worth having a look at the Yamaha Southwind also - very similar manufacture and is available in several configurations including centre consol. I could put you in touch with a dozen or so owners of similar boats if you would like their opinions. PM me if required Cheers

lokks a bit like Dennis Lillee on the left and Craig McDermott on the right.

Wow!!! Excellent photos there Ray, and some great looking fish haunts. Please, some more.