Red

Raiders, the Australian Chinese community should be proud of these men. What they did was totally unexpected by todays standards and quite frankly, i can't get over it. I learnt a big lesson whilst honeymooning. The and i went to Vanuatu and we had booked in for a night reef fishing trip for dogtooth tuna(my dream fish) with what turned out to be the dodgiest charter operator on the island. Thankfully we both got struck down by an awful bug which meant the good wife was crook in bed back at the resort. No bug was stopping me from going fishing for doggies . We were married for only four days now. To cut a long story short, the dodgy motor lost its gearbox in 400 fathoms of water in the middle of no where. This happened just after sunset. No radio, no flares, no one in sight and too deep to anchor The 15 knot wind was blowing us away from home. Anyhow, i fell asleep as there was nothing that could possibly be done to improve the situation. At 1:30am i was woken by the screaming skipper and deckie. In the distance they could see a light. It took ages for this light to get close enough. We flashed a torch, whilstled and yelled at the top of our lungs but the huge tri-hulled yacht sailed past us This was the lowest feeling imaginable. Never felt so gutted! We kept flashing at the now disappearing yacht and carrying on like right lunatics until somehow someone on the back deck must have seen our torch. The yacht started to turn and i yahooed like never before. WHAT A RELIEF! I've owed that person a huge debt of gratitude ever since. We arrived back in Vila at 6am and i was tucked in bed with my K.O'd wife at 6:30. She would have freaked out if she was on board and i thank god for making her sick on this day This experience was the wake up call i needed as a boat owner and have always helped a fellow boatie since. Its the right thing to do. There are no other options. Regards Red

Aero, i think you may have your dates wrong From memory, you sent the electric away on the day of our mate's boating accident. It's been more than 3 weeks mate. I'm glad this unfortunate experience hasn't co-incided with your tournament schedule. Hope it all ends well soon. Cheers Red

G'day Raiders, Last saturday i rescued a couple of frantic middle aged men who were trapped in a burning boat. The smoke could be seen from quite a distance. There were no less than 15 boats (including the Water Police) within 500m from these gentlemen yet no one went to help . Anyhow, I had to bolt from Bare Island to the first runway to assist. Extinguished the fire and towed the greatful gentlemen back to the ramp. These fine men were of Chinese origin and their english was quite broken. They kept saying, thank you......thank you and thats all i expected. One of the chaps asks for my phone number incase he needed a witness and i was only too happy to supply the info. Today, i get a call from one of the gentlemen asking for my work address. He drives into the city to meet me and produces a bag of goodies. I said, you don't have to do this mate, just please rescue me when i'm in trouble. Your thank yous and smiles were more than enough for me. He insisted i accept the gift which consisted of a "one litre" bottle of Jonnie Walker Black Label, a $50 bottle of wine and beautiful silk tie. I was gobsmacked to say the least. My faith in humanity was restored by this one event and there's been an extra spring in my step all day. In a world with so much crime and shame its nice to know that there are out and out champions still in existance. I know this has little to do with fishing but i just had to tell this story to someone Regards Red

Congrats That's a superb trophy jewfish in anyones language. It looks in superb condition too. Regards Red

Ice, congrats on the purchase. Tony's custom bream rods kick butt. Super light yet ballsy. Best bream rods i have seen to this day. Cheers Red

Congratulations Netic. Aren't women just amazing? Make front rowers look pissweak....lol All the best Red

How true. We all hear of accidents but when valued friends are involved it really shakes you up My concern is that we are all in such a mad rush these days. Bream fishos dream of owning missiles that do 70 miles per hour, tuna fishos want to get out to Browns Mountain in 30 minutes etc.....the risks increase tenfold. This sort of speed is downright dangerous and potentially deadly, especially in rivers with bends, sandbars, floating logs etc Night fishos especially should go no more than half throttle. There are tinnies out there without lights and heaps of unlit markers, buoys etc, especially in the bay. The 3rd runway is an absolute shocker at night. I struggle to see it at times as its too low to the water and unlit. I remember being out one night when a boat ploughed into the side of the runway killing one of the guys onboard. Go easy raiders, give people and obstacles the wide berth they deserve and you will enjoy our great hobby forever. Best regards Red

Thanks guys, i was initially not going to post about this incident. But now and again we all need a reminder of just how dangerous our sport can be. I for one will be taking extra special care on the water from this day on and i hope you do too. Remember, if you are the skipper, you are the person responsible for the safe return of your mates. Accidents do happen but with a little patience and commonsense, many can be avoided. Regards Red

Swordies/Grant, Thanks for your genuine concern. They are in capable hands at the moment but are still waiting to be operated on. One guy needs extensive plastic surgery on his face and the other won't be walking un-aided for a long time. This incident has shook me to the core as i've already lost three friends to the sea in three seperate incidents. Lets hope these guys make a full recovery and the rest of us have incident free long weekend. Best regards Red

Raiders, I just had the displeasure of visiting one of our fellow raiders and dear friend (who i'm not prepared to name) at a Sydney hospital. He and his passenger had a terrifying experience on the bay this morning. He took his eyes of the water for only a couple of seconds and ploughed into a timber channel marker at considerable speed. The injuries suffered to both people are shocking.........they stared death in the face and are damn lucky to be alive. Please be careful on the water, not only this weekend but every weekend. Please give boaties and other obstacles a wide berth at all times. I don't want to be visiting another raider at a hospital again and i'm not keen on funerals either. This incident has really upset my harmony in a big way and i can only begin to imagine how my other dear raider mates felt when they realised who's boat it was that had come to such grief. A horrifying experience for all involved. I'm praying for a speedy recovery but its not looking likely Play it safe Red

G'day Reely, they are my initial thoughts after only a couple of sessions. I'm convinced that a well worked, quality jig does not need any stench. I've always been a fan of large jigs, usually 4.0 size Yozuris and usually do well on Southern Calamari with these. Even quite small Southerns are prepared to take on a 4.0 at times. Never specifically targetted arrows but my initial thoughts are that since arrows often live in low-vis water, smell may be beneficial but with such an oversized eye, smell probably takes a back seat to sight. You would think that is the likely scenario Looks like the raiders are 50/50 on this one, so i'm prepared to give it a few more goes before making a full verdict. So far the results aren't great on the Southerns. Play it safe this easter Red

Hi raiders, Just thought i'd ask for your opinions/experiences with this product. I'm convinced that calamari are primarily sight hunters..........why else would god give tham such large eyes? lol Anyhow, i've been out a couple of times with mates who use the smelly stuff and i've outfished them. To be fair, i've been squidding regularly for a good decade or so and my mates have only targetted them for a few months. When the squid switched from suicidal to cautious mode, i thought this would be the ideal time to put Antimax to the test Well, it failed. The scent did not make them any more interested. Infact, we did not catch another calamari. Not the greatest first impression! What are your experiences? Do you outfish your mates when using Egimax? If so, are your mates good at catching calamari in the first place? Is Egimax better for Arrows that usually reside in not so clear water??? Apologies for all the questions Regards Red

Thats the one. The butt setup is not the most comfortable but the blank is very nice. Cheers Red

The new Starlo Litespin is a great value stick. I'm so impressed i bought 3 of them Some people compare the blank to a Miller Bream rod. Thats a pretty good wrap. Cheers Red

Jewhunter is spot on. These fish are an all year round proposition. Winter generally produces less fish however they are often larger and thats what its all about. The spots that fire in summer are often jewie deserts in winter as the fish tend to move upstream and also off the beaches and offshore. There is so much more to learn about this awesome fish. Winter also happens to be a great time to chase them using hardbody lures. This form of jewie fishing is arguably the most challenging and therefore is the most exciting for me. Been hanging out for winter in a big way and hopefully a serious jew will inhale my Rapala on a cold still night. BTW, there's a new DVD out called "Local Knowlege" that has some great info on jewfishing. Well worth a look. Regards Red

I need to get the most out of my Lowrance Count me in Swordies. Regards Red

Firstly, I'm so happy the demonstration has given raiders the confidence to have a go As for the kit price, i'm not 100% sure but its cheaper than you would think. Give Shimano a call on 02-95262144 and ask for Tim or Chris. Regards Red

Tony from Fishfinder Bait and Tackle can get the kit for you. He has upgraded quite a few Spheros reels. Cheers Red

A huge congratulations I could only imagine the heartbreak felt when Donna's first fish wore through......which only helps to make her first tagged fish all the more special. Stewy, you must be over the moon Regards Red

OUTSTANDING How exciting! Bring on the video, pics, stories etc Regards Red

Awesome night Excellent venue and the beer was at that perfect temperature Great to put faces to the names and to meet a few of the fearless mods. They are human by the way I was impressed by the amount of people that were actually interested in reel maintenance. Quite shocked realy. It made the demo easy Nothing worse than speaking to a dis-interested crowd. If my little demo helps just one person, then i will consider the night a success. I'm sure Bunnings sold a few extra sheets of wet and dry today Don't forget that Shimano drag grease which should be available at Fishfinder Bait and Tackle. It's excellent stuff! Thanks again Red p.s. Penguin, fancy finding you here mate . We have some catching up to do.

Yeah, i did see the beast and was impressed. Biggest boat i've seen in tha river by far. Did you also see that old war plane (looked like a Hercules?) flying very low through the river? Now that was a bizzare sight We were all blown away. Regards Red

Kabz, they were actually feeding. Seen them at Kurnell on saturday in quite large schools. Cheers Red

My goodness You are the king Congrats Red

Go the Spheros mate. Pretty good reel for the money. Cheers Red