Dreamtime

Gut contents of a 20 kg Cobia caught off Pacific Palms, New South Wales, March 2006. The fish had eaten three octopus, a number of small fish (possibly Garfish - fillets at bottom right) and a juvenile Port Jackson Shark. This shark hatches at about 23 cm in length. The fish in the image still has vestiges of external gills, so it had very recently hatched. Copyright © Australian Museum, 2006

Washers do have holes in them, don't they? A little difficult to maintain suction. Try using a magnet on the metal washers, OR replace them with Smooth Drag Washers Should be available at one of the site sponsors. (If not PM me for email address) Smoothies should be installed dry as they are treated with a dry lubricant. Xtreme Smoothies and Carbontex can both be installed dry OR with a VERY LIGHT coating of Cal's Universal Reel and Drag grease. This is the only grease we recommend. It can be used on the drags and everywhere else in the reel grease is desired. All old grease should be cleaned out of the reel before re-greasing with Cal's grease. A VERY LIGHT coating of Cal's grease on the Xtreme Smoothies is recommended if you are likely to get your reels very wet, it will help waterproof the drag system. Very light means you should be able to leave a finger print in the grease on the surface of the drag. When it comes to drags more grease is NOT better! When incomponents in the drag system are thoroughly cleaned with a specialist cleaning solvent such as white sprits, dry cleaning solvent, disc brake parts cleaner (auto supply) or any totally evaporating agent that leaves a dead dry and metallic oil free surface. ( Do not use Kero, metho, diesel or acetone, etc.) Insure that all metal surfaces in gears & metal drag washers that come in contact with friction drag washers are smooth, polished & burr free. If any components are damaged or in doubt it is better to replace at this stage. Make sure metal drag washers are flat and not cupped. If reusing metal drag washers polish them up with #600 fine sandpaper, or crocus cloth. Once installed & after extended use, if the Xtreme Smoothies show any sign of irregular performance or drag "shudder", etc. you can bet that oil, grease or water or a combination of both have worked their way into the drag system. It is imperative with all reel servicing that only a small amount of the correct reel grease and reel oils are applied to the reel components. Over lubricating is possibly the biggest cause of poor drag performance. The major offender in most bait casting reels is the anti reverse needle roller bearing (one way clutch bearing), which is always over lubed and ultimately excessive lube migrates down into the drag system. Also only lightly coat the teeth of the reel gears with the correct gear grease, and remove any excess. However it should be noted that the bore in the hub of the main gear is sparingly lubricated to ensure that proper lubrication is offered between the main gear hub and the main gear shaft on which it rotates, again sparingly is the key word. Xtreme Smoothies can be returned to their original performance value, if lube or water contamination occurs by removing them and cleaning thoroughly in the cleaning solvents as previously mentioned, ensuring that all other drag components are cleaned likewise. Also ensure that you install all of the drag washers supplied in the replacement kit. Some anglers neglect to replace the drag washer located beneath the main gear between the main gear and shaft carrier base plate. This washer is an extremely important part necessary to ensure proper drag performance.

We cook tough cuts of meat, or layer hens with pawpaw. Don't know if it would work on occy or squid though. Green papaya fruit and the tree's latex are both rich in an enzyme called papain, a protease which is useful in tenderizing meat and other proteins. Its ability to break down tough meat fibers was utilized for thousands of years by indigenous Americans. It is included as a component in powdered meat tenderizers, and is also marketed in tablet form to remedy digestive problems. Some other uses:- Green papaya is used in Thai cuisine, both raw and cooked. Papain is also popular (in countries where it grows) as a topical application in the treatment of cuts, rashes, stings and burns. Papain ointment is commonly made from fermented papaya flesh, and is applied as a gel-like paste. Harrison Ford was treated for a ruptured disc incurred during filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by having papain injected into his back. Women in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other parts of the world have long used papaya as a folk remedy for contraception and abortion. Medical research in animals has confirmed the contraceptive and abortifacient capability of papaya, and also found that papaya seeds have contraceptive effects in adult male langur monkeys, possibly in adult male humans as well. Unripe papaya is especially effective in large amounts or high doses. Papaya is not teratogenic and will not cause miscarriage in small, ripe amounts. Phytochemicals in papaya may suppress the effects of progesterone. The black seeds are edible and have a sharp, spicy taste. They are sometimes ground up and used as a substitute for black pepper. In some parts of Asia the young leaves of papaya are steamed and eaten like spinach.

Just check the different applications, PFD1, PFD2 & PFD3. For my children I purchased the type that when in the water the child floats on their back with the head out of the water. This is important if an injury is sustained when going overboard.

Man and woman computer A maze for blondes For the dedicated worker Latest technology - hands free mobile Say no more Must be calling State Emergency Service Bad place to land a parachute Bad place to put a bulls horn? Bad place to put a soccer boot? Another placid soccer fan Your mothers worst nightmare!

The caddy can retrieve that ball!

Very sad indeed. Really hits home to those of us with small children. PFDs should be worn, not stowed.

Like the last post, I own majority Shimano and Penns. I have a couple of Okumas and the one Diawa. Frankly I can't fault any of them as they are all used for a different purpose. I had never owned a Diawa previously, pretty much for the reason that Slinky says (Holdens and Fords). Saying that, I would be more than happy to own more Diawa reels if Slinky will buy them for me on his next tackle binge.

Wont tow the jumbo but looks to have "towed" something on the bonnet!

A dish of stingray is the first recorded European meal eaten in this country. Botany Bay was originally named Sting-ray Bay by James Cook. The use of rays is limited in Australia, although skate enjoys an exalted status in the United Kingdom where skate and chips is a favourite. The fins of some rays are used in shark-fin soup. Sometimes the fins are removed and the remainder of the carcass wastefully discarded. Many skates and rays have a mild, delicate flavour similar to that of scallops. However, there are dozens of species in Australian waters with various flavours and textures. The wings, the most commonly sold edible parts, consist of strands of flesh and cartilage. The flesh can be removed from the cartilage after it is cooked, although the cartilage softens during cooking and can be eaten. It is best to briefly poach skate before cooking by other methods. One of the more common preparation methods is to lightly flour and pan-fry. The white flesh then peels easily off the bone. Lightly pan-fried skate wings can be wrapped in foil with vegetables and then baked. Other methods are grilling, poaching (in fish stock or cider), shallow frying (fillets), baking or steaming. The firm flesh can also be cubed and used as kebabs or in soups, casseroles or curries. With its slightly gelatinous structure, stingray is very good for Thai fish cakes. Skate with black butter (clarified butter heated until brown and foaming) is a classic French recipe. Nutrition Facts per 100g of raw product Kilojoules na Cholesterol 47mg Sodium na Total fat (oil) 0.7g Saturated fat 32% of total fat Monounsaturated fat 20% of total fat Polyunsaturated fat 48% of total fat Omega-3, EPA 30mg Omega-3, DHA 19mg Omega-6, AA 103mg Cooking Ideas Bake Boil Deep Fry Grill/barbecue Poach Raw Roe Roe & Milk Salted Shallow Fry Smoke Steam/microwave Flavour Mild to medium Oiliness Low Moisture Medium Texture Medium to firm Flesh Colour Yellowish white or pale pink Thickness Thin, medium or thick fillets (or steaks), depending on the species Bones Generally boneless, although depending on the species and the cut, some cartilage can be present. Small pieces of cartilage become soft with cooking, and can be consumed. Price Rays are low- to medium-priced finfish. Suggested Wines The selection of wine will be determined by the cooking method. With the stingray poached in cider, an aged riesling or a well made colombard would be suitable. Or you may wish to serve a full-flavoured sparkling wine, or even a cider.

The problem is that we have too many choices. What happened to the days when only leaded petrol was available?

You would have to be happy with that mixed bag. Well done! I bet they taste even sweeter knowing that they were caught with paddle power. Add to that the smooth conditions, it must have been a great arvo on the water.

I hope there were no skiddies!

Say your prayers!

Two Virginia rednecks go on a fishing trip. They rent all the equipment - the reels, the rods, the wading suits, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods. I mean they spend a fortune! The first day they go fishing, but they don't catch anything. The same thing happens on the second day, and on the third day. It goes on like this until finally, on the last day of their vacation, one of the men catches a fish. As they're driving home they're really depressed. One guy turns to the other and says, "Do you realise that this one lousy fish we caught cost us fifteen hundred bucks?" The other guy says, "Wow! Then it's a good thing we didn't catch any more!"

Do you think that will also work with the wife??

Hi gary, I'm just going through a similar process on my Mariner 31. I got prices on new Caterpillars c/w boxes but they were AUD$37,000.00 each - ouch! Also the lead time was 5 months from the States but we are talking serious horses of around 300Hp each. I have decided to stay with the Turbocharged, aftercooled Volvos and replace all the external parts; water pump, alternator, etc. I have an excellent marine engineer who's acomplishments have been publicised in modern boating. PM me if you would like more info or you can PM him directly. I think his Fishraider handle is BM Nic

I see when this started it was quite popular with up to 85 participants. Why do we average around 20 to 25 only now? Maybe we need some 70's & 80's questions. I look forward to my daily trivia fix. Pretty god damned dumb though. Thanks Mrsswordfisherman for the enjoyment, or at least activating some of my dead brain cells.

That is one serious fish indeed. Are they related to Luderick? What bait were You using - cunje, crabs? How do they taste? - compare them to what other fish. Again, one hell of a thumper fish - great effort, congratulations. Do you typically target them as a species?

Apt title. Some people just have too much money and a very small brain. Surely someone in the boat would have noticed. He probably just adjusted the trim tabs to compensate. Was the name of the boat - My captain is a dickhead?

Have another then it is usually easier.

Looks a bit like "Big Momma" that used to be in a tackle store in Cairns. Feeding time you would see the persons arm disappear to the elbow. Massive fish. Would be nice to see a report of the capture.

2004/071 National strategy for the survival of released line caught fish: maximising post- release survival in line caught flathead taken in sheltered coastal waters OBJECTIVES: Estimate post-release survival (PRS) rates for key flathead species associated with current hook and line fishing practices. Evaluate the suitability of circle and non-traditional hooks in terms of enhancing PRS and minimising hooking damage. Based on objectives 1 and 2 develop protocols that can be readily applied to maximize PRS in flathead. NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Flathead represent the largest catch of any fish group taken by recreational fishers in Australia and, after bream, account for the greatest numbers of fish released by recreational fishers (National Recreational Fishing Survey). Flathead are taken around Australia, with catches concentrated in the eastern states, including Tasmania. Sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) is the dominant species taken in estuarine and sheltered inshore waters of Tasmania and Victoria whereas dusky flathead (P. fuscus) is the main species taken from NSW and southern Queensland. Legal minimum size and bag limits apply for flathead, though there is little consistency between jurisdictions. A review of post-release survival (PRS) in line caught fish (McLeay et al. 2002) identified flathead as a priority group, with research to focus on the effects of handling and hook damage on survival. The present study represents a component of the National Strategy for the Survival of Released Line Caught Fish. The principal objectives of this study were to estimate the short-term post-release survival rates for sand and dusky flathead, and to determine whether there was any survival benefit in the use of circle hooks rather than conventional hook patterns. Recognising the increasing uptake of lures (especially soft plastics) for flathead, the potential impact of their use on post- release survival was also assessed. Using the results of this research we have been able to develop protocols that can be readily applied by recreational fishers to maximise the survival of flathead. The study involved experiments in which flathead (sand flathead in Tasmania and dusky flathead in southern Queensland) were captured by angling and then held in aquaria for several days to assess short-term survival. In addition, catch rates and hooking locations for a Non-technical summary range of hook types were compared. Volunteer anglers also provided hooking information for flathead captured using bait and lure fishing methods. Anatomical hooking location was determined to be the major factor contributing to mortality in flathead. Fish hooked in the throat or gut (deep-hooked) suffered greater mortality than those hooked in the lip or mouth (shallow-hooked). The short-term survival rate for shallow- hooked fish was almost 100% for sand flathead and 96% for dusky flathead, whereas survival rates for deep-hooked fish were significantly lower, around 64% for sand flathead and 73% for dusky flathead. Mortality in deep-hooked fish was generally associated with injuries to vital organs (gills, heart, liver) and survival was lower if bleeding was associated with the hooking injury. For sand flathead the odds of survival for deep-hooked fish were eight times greater for non- bleeders. Data for dusky flathead were limited but also exhibited a trend towards lower survival rates in bleeders. Cutting line rather than removing the hook can increase survivorship in deep-hooked fish. Although survival rates for deep-hooked sand flathead were higher for hook left in (81%) than for hook removed (60%), differences were not significant, reflecting the small sample sizes involved. Very limited data were available for dusky flathead so the impact of cutting the line on survival could not be assessed reliably. We did observe evidence that some survivors (both species) expelled hooks within a short time after capture. Despite the absence of definitive evidence of the benefits of cutting the line in gut-hooked flathead we conclude that the practice should be promoted. Besides hooking location, the only other factor significantly implicated in the survival of dusky flathead was ‘surface interval’ – the time period between capture and placement of the fish in the experimental tanks. During this period the fish were kept on board the catching boats in small holding tanks that varied in capacity, structure and water flow characteristics. As holding times were much greater than would be expected under a typical catch-and-release scenario this factor was seen as an experimental artefact. Circle hooks have been promoted widely as ‘fish friendly’ on the expectation that post-release survival rates are higher than for other conventional hook types, due largely to the high frequency of jaw hooking and low incidence of deep hooking. We found significantly lower deep hooking rates for circle hooks (1-4%, depending on species) compared with other conventional hook types (up to 16%). In order to gain acceptance from anglers, however, it is important that circle hooks are at least as effective as conventional hook types. Over two fishing trials we established that circle hooks were at least as effective as conventional hook types for sand flathead. By contrast for dusky flathead, high variability in a small data set obscured any real effect of hook type on catch rate, although results did suggest that the performance of lures probably exceeded that of circle hooks and conventional J-hooks. Further trials with circle hooks would be required to more fully evaluate their relative efficiency for dusky flathead. In practice, the shift from bait to lure fishing for dusky flathead (and to a lesser degree sand flathead) would suggest that the uptake of circle hooks may be low amongst anglers, especially in Queensland and NSW. Volunteer angler hooking information was available for flathead taken in Tasmania (sand flathead, bait and lure fishing), Victoria (sand flathead – bait fishing, dusky flathead – bait and lure fishing), NSW (dusky flathead – bait and lure fishing) and Queensland (dusky flathead – bait and lure fishing). Fishing with lures resulted in significantly lower deep hooking rates than for bait. Size was also identified as an important factor in deep hooking rates, being lowest in the smallest (effectively sub-legal) size groups. For both flathead species, regression models revealed significant state effects, either as a main or interaction effect, implying that factors other than method and fish size influenced deep hooking. High deep hooking rates for sand flathead in Victoria (25%) appear to have been related to fishing practice, specifically the use of small hooks to target species other than flathead. Reasons for high deep hooking rates (35%) for bait caught dusky flathead in Queensland were less obvious. By integrating experimentally determined survival rates with hooking information derived from anglers, the potential impact of catch and release on survival was estimated. Survival rates ranged between 94-99% for most method/state combinations for the two flathead species. Notable exceptions were bait-capture of sand flathead in Victoria and dusky flathead in Queensland. The lower survival rate (91%) associated with the Victorian sample highlights the impact of non-targeted fishing, especially when small hooks are employed. The low survival rate (88%) estimated for bait-caught dusky flathead in Queensland was not considered representative. Consistency between Victorian and NSW survival rate estimates for bait-caught dusky flathead, and those based on the Queensland survival experiment (all about 94%) support this conclusion. Overall our results indicate that sand and dusky flathead are robust species and that for released fish survival rates are high, supporting the efficacy of current management strategies based on size and bag limits and the practice of catch-and-release fishing. The switch from bait to lures or adoption of circle hooks for flathead are likely to provide benefits for stocks, enhancing the survival of released fish. Recommendations to maximise survival of released flathead In developing protocols that can be readily applied to maximize survival in flathead (Objective 3) we developed the “Flathead Survival” information sheet that builds on the results of this project and the “Recfish Code of Practice on Releasing Fish”. The key messages for flathead are: Survival Flathead hooked in the jaw have a very good chance of survival if released. Survival is lower if fish are hooked in the gills or gut and particularly if deep hooking is associated with bleeding. For gut-hooked fish, cutting the line and not removing the hook improves the likelihood of survival. Tackle For bait fishing use hook patterns such as circle hooks to maximise the likelihood that fish are hooked in the jaw. For conventional hook types, keep line tight to make it less likely that fish will swallow the hook. The information sheet has been widely distributed and has attracted very positive feedback from anglers. OUTCOMES ACHIEVED Key factors influencing post-release survival in sand and dusky flathead have been identified, with hooking location and specifically the incidence of deep hooking (throat or gut) emerging as the most important factor. Overall, survival rates for sand and dusky flathead have been determined to be high, supporting the efficacy of current management strategies based on size and bag limits and the practice of catch-and-release fishing. An information pamphlet highlighting protocols that can improve survival potential for flathead has been developed and is being distributed widely to anglers through a range of networks, including Fishcare Volunteer Programs and the National Strategy for Released Fish Survival extension program. KEYWORDS: Sand flathead, dusky flathead, post-release survival, hooking damage, circle hooks, recreational fishing practices. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr J.M. Lyle ADDRESS: University of Tasmania Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute Private Bag 49 Hobart TAS 7001

It's Solomon Islands 30th anniversary of independance on Monday. A bit Irish, but they have made both Monday and Tuesday a public holiday. I will be taking the staff to an island offshore from here to celebrate independance with them. I think I might wet a line also. Hope you all have a good one too.

Legendary Stuff Blood, Sweat, Courage, Determination by Qld. Tears all round for NSW :wank: Take your medicine NSW