jewgaffer

Hi Timmy Plastic rod holders should be banned and there should be warnings on the label that they are not suitable for fishing purposes whatsoever and as far as I'm concerned they're not even suitable for display purposes either lol....Having said that in good faith, it might pay you to go and see Gary and get an idea of the price to make up 8 clamp on style rod holders out of the one length of tube similiar to the clamp on rod holder below..If you were to buy a set of 8 in total, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the price...you can buy plastic rod protector inserts that have a press fit lip on the top for peanuts at most boating shops..if you can't find the right size insert for the particular tubing, you can always cut an open seam in the inserts with a stanley knife and then dab on some silicone here and there to hold the inserts in place....then you'll be able to mount 2 rod holders at each side of the stern and have 2 rod holders at each side of the bow area as well ..doing this will not only provide you with extra rod storage but you'll find that getting your rod spread right always makes you more determined to get out there and catch more fish by persevering with casting distances and using a bigger variety of baits means more chances.. Tim, I've also included a photo of low priced easy to make rod lanyiards which would be your next good move, I would say Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Dangas if they haven't got anything about boats in plural and boat sizes in general in the paper work I'd be more inclined to hit the majority with fish and hit the minority with a kayak and a car topper as well Cheers jewgaffer

Cut loose that big spender should have bought an Alvey, that's for sure...I reckon the first sound that bloke would have heard after his expensive reel broke off at the reel seat was the familiar spring loaded zing that was made when the salesgirl opened the till at the check out counter.. Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Reginald welcome to Fishraider It would be a good idea to post up a new topic in the forum inquiring about these Moreton Branzino rods and reels...From what I've heard about them it seems they're pretty exotic gear and have a lot going for them I believe and I'd expect members like Red, Cephalopod and GregL would come into the topic and should be able to provide you with quite a lot of information about them based on their own experiences with them.. Cheers jewgaffer By the way Reginald my middle name is Reginald like Byron Reginald bla bla bla, how does that sound ay for over here from your point over there in Ireland or do you think the Reginald bit could be a mismatch as I've always felt more comfortable just signing off as Byron R

If there's no other choice with the striped tuna David I'm thinking dinner would be the next best i.e. cook up a thick piece of rump steak, add mashed potatoes and tomatoes but grill the tomatoes in holbrooks. Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Jase76 I agree with cameldownunder's choice of rods lock stock and barrel as the saying goes... you simply can't go wrong buying an ugly stik and the light weight models will do anything the other rods do and do it just as well including rods that have dedicated to fishing with soft plastics i.e. you will find a no frills model ugly stik ugly off the shelf that will fill the needs of whatever type of fishing you want to do...you can even find an ugly stik that suits a really light jig head ...Ugly stiks have a world wide reputation and the manufacturers back up their words by giving you a written 10 year guarantee against breakage under normal fishing circumstances... Too many people tend to by pass ugly stiks thinking they're old fashioned I guess, but if you want to buy an affordable rod that's almost unbreakable and has a wide range of models available where each rod is designed to serve a specific purpose which not many people go out of their way to look at amonge the big range of ugly stiks available... I dont think you'd need to look much further for design, strength, performance and value..take a look at the quality and the feel of their 7 foot PLT 4-6.5 kilo model as a really good general purpose rod to use whether you're boat based or landbased.. The PLT 4-6.5 kilo ugly stik would have to be the best 15lb rod that I've seen on the racks for years and only retails at approximately $120, even less depending on where you buy it and what reel you buy to go with it as a combo... a 15lb rod is always a good in between size to have and you can use this particular 15lb rod on a variety of fish and get plenty of sportiness and fish playing fun out of it too ..especially on fish that happen to be much larger than expected including sharks if you have an appropriate reel on it... yet you would still have enough sensitivity to cast a 1/4 - 1/2 once lure no problem at all...I've looked at this particular rod myself and would not hesitate to run 50lb braid on it matching it with say a Shimano 4500 or one of the new ABU reels that Slinky had a good look at recently and bought one accordingly... I wrote down the name of the ABU model somewhere as I need a good reel around that size myself and from what I gather the 3000 size ABU would fit the bill nicely ..I think the model is called a Soron but I'm not a hundred percent sure at the moment but Slinky checked out the quality the parts and was very impressed...so it seems that ABU is yet another example of the quite achievers that live up to their old reputation that too many people tend to overlook... Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Brettmann, the Hacking might be a bit far for you to travel from Quakers Hill- so, whilst I'll include the Hacking, I'll also give you a couple of other alternatives to consider as well... keeping in mind of course that it's a Friday night and the known squid wharfs would be virtually over crowded with squid fishermen either stocking up on squid to go outside over the weekend etc as well as landbased squid fishermen many of whom fish for squid more often than they fish for other species ...there's a whole society of squid enthusiasts out there so I would imagine that squid fishermen would be fishing almost shoulder to shoulder especially in places like Wallys wharf.... Seeing that you'll have a couple of little blokes with you aged 4 and 6 respectively I'll give you a few less known squid spots to travel to.. Any of the spots below would be ideal places for you to fish for squid and also places where the boys could float fish- peeled prawns would be the way to go- and importantly expect to get results on squid and fish in general by the little blokes throwing out a couple of handfulls of berley occasionally- In simple words you would need to fish in a spot away from the current and also away from snags... and, because of the young age of the boys, it would definately need to be a spot where you can fish right at your car...It would be a good idea to take plenty of warm cloths and a good enough supply of food and drinks with you and also pillows and blankets in case the boys get tired....at the same time it would need to be a spot where you yourself would have more than a good chance of catching squid which after all is your main reason for going out and doing a night session tonight.... Here are a few squid spots that I believe will suit you:- 1. The little beach right alongside the boat ramp at Swallow Rock in the Hacking has a park bench directly behind it, and mangroves to your left which lead to a little rocky point which is a very good bream spot during the run in tide... fish straight out off the little beach during the run in tide there's no need to walk the short distance to the rocky point along the edge of the mangroves as it can be a little on the muddy side especially after a couple of days of big tides. As to fishing close to your car, it would not present much of a problem to park right alongside the park bench which is quite close to the water ...that part of the turning circle wouldn't interfere with the boat ramp traffic whatsoever- not that there's going be too many boats coming in and going out of swallow rock boat ramp in the night time...This particular little beach is a very underestimated spot for arrow squid and at the moment you'd only have to lob a few prawns out to catch both yellowfin bream and light coloured black bream... Over the past few weeks these been a lot of yellowfin (beach bream) coming into the estuaries and there has also been a big influx of arrow squid coming into the Hacking and everywhere where else around Sydney for that matter... So you can expect the narrower parts of the Hacking to fish very well on the run in tide especially in the shallower middling grounds around Gray's point flats and up towards Audley. 2. Alongside the boat ramp at Brooklyn and also anywhere along the section that leads to the small commercial wharf just up thru the open gate to the left of the main boat ramp..The commercial wharf might be overcrowded with fishermen fishing away in general..many of whom use bobby floats and fish away in general using small pieces of bait and often do quite well there... this part of Parsley Bay is another underrated landbased spot for arrow squid. 3. Fish each side of Patonga jetty and use burley to liven up the baitfish which in turn attracts squid.. you can fish right at your car at Patonga and you're likely to catch both arrow and green eye squid there and particularly alongside the boat ramp a short drive around to your left just before you come to the row of old style weekenders. 4. There's been a lot of arrow squid caught recently around the Woolloware Bay side off the pathway that goes under Captain Cook Bridge... You can just fit a car into the little grassy section just to your right of the old boat ramp where you'll see a garbage bin chained to a pole.. there should be plenty of room further around the pathway as each side of the bridge gets quite crowded even on week days...they're only casting into 8 or 10 foot or so of water and that particular side of the bridge has been known to produce some pretty big fish occasionally... Brett I hope this information is of some help to you. Cheers jewgaffer

Hi nosliw, it sounds as though your boat is a painted alloy boat. If that's the case it might pay you to do some research on cleaning an alloy boat with a pressure cleaner...I've been led to believe that the aluminium used in boat manufacture has been treated with a protective coating which may also inhibit oxydization to some extent too...I was told that cleaning an alloy boat with a high pressure cleaner actually pushes salt residue further into nooks and crevices and can ultimately lead to corrosion, so it's would be better to "flood" salt out with an open garden hose rather than risk forcing it into to crevices etc by using a pressure cleaner. I was also told that unpainted sections especially the unpainted area on the bottom of an alloy boat etc should only be cleaned with a sponge and soapy water and just lightly hosed down, and that a painted boat should always be kept clean...protected the painwork with wax is ok, but any unpainted surfaces should not be cut back or heavily polished as such under any circumstances. In an important matter such as this, it would better to get advice from someone like Craig or Roger at Huett Marine as they've had years of experience with boats and boat maintenance. Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Stippy Seeing you're from down that way, it might be worthwhile fishing for blackfish off the main rock platform on the northern side of Austimeer i.e. the rocks on the left hand side of the lifesaver's sheds at the far end of the car park.. On week days you could drive in thru the narrow opening next to the change rooms and park on the little grassy section and make your way around the rocks from there, you'll find there are some pretty good platforms to fish off too... As far as fishing the beach goes, Austimeer beach is too shallow for too far out whereas the rocks about three quarters of the way up towards the corner can fish quite well in general especially if you start from late in the afternoon and fish on into the night..I've seen heaps of blackfish caught down there during the winter months particularly by this group of blackfish fishermen from Bowral who stayed for the weekend and parked up near the sheds... Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Hayden it's a good idea to use a variety of fish baits in the Georges and especially include the live bait that are running at the time..if you are fishing in the proximity of bridge pylons for example make sure to use a lot of burley on both stillwater periods to bring whatever fish or bait fish that might be around out in the open and fish under the jew rods for the baitfish that are running on the day... Don't be afraid to use a couple of slow release bottom burley containers in deepwater if the current is fast.. there's hardly any current pull down deep, and fish will travel to the source of the burley anyway...if the current is fast, the line drags your sinker along and the rod tip bends and stays bent when the sinker settles, so you need to watch the movement at your rod tips to monitor the bait situation but be sure to fish heavy enough.... Cheers jewgaffer

If any of my fish kept wriggling off before I sized them up I would be more inclined to blame the particular species whatever they were and just head off elsewhere and fish for something different. Cheers jewgaffer

Excellent fishing Penguin, you seem to be able to get among the better size fish everytime you decide to go out... Cheers jewgaffer

Quite correct Greg, thinking about this all over again, the ultimate two hook blackfish rig would have to be an asparagus and shallot paternosta.. the benefits are beyond limitation as this particular rig would only require an accurate cast or two to be able to land directly into a handful of floating rhubarb... Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Scotty, if you have assets other than only having a deposit for the boat itself, the best way to go would be to apply for a personal loan from either a bank or a building society at the best reducible interest rate you can find, and pay cash for the boat..By taking out a secured personal loan you avoid the extra costs involved in having a bill of sale placed over the boat..If you don't have assests as such, someone else can still take out a loan on your behalf or act as a guaranteur for the loan. Cheers jewgaffer

We may as well go all radar Steve and, to cover the rules thoroughly, we'll only have to look at the radar screen once to measure a precise 2 nautical miles to the closest exposed rock extension at low tide Cheers mate jewgaffer

EPIRB - 406MHz (requiredif two nautical miles or more offshore) This rule looks typically ambiguous to me...What would happen if you went outside the heads and fished into a dip in the coastline that curved say a further two kilometeres into the nearest shoreline i.e. as an exaggerated example let's use the headlands at each side of the Great Australian Bight Cheers jewgaffer

Chris... It would be a good idea to use baitmate to give our blackfish a larger variety of fruit and vegies to chose from... we could get one up here and use northern mangos and paw paws and include cherries, sticks of asparagus, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, capsicums, garlic, onions, apples, pineapple pieces, dates, prunes, sultanas, raisins, dried apricots, dried tomatos and particules of same for burley... Cheers jewgaffer

John I know you like to fish light to medium but you can use a Penn 750ssm on 10lb line if you wanted too and you would be able to pick one up for $150... the 750 takes plenty of line and would be still be a good size reel to use with a strong sporty light weight rod.. My favourite multi purpose combo consists of an Ugly stik Intercoastal rod that's rated at 6lb-14lb and a Penn 750ss reel..I have a spare 750 spool filled with 80lb braid and I'm just as happy to use that combo for anything that's likely to come along..You always need a good quality reel but the sporty part of fishing will always depend on the rod that you use and if it's going to be a multi purpose combo you should not be restricted by spool size.. Cheers jewgaffer

Well done on the jewfish king game ... the breeding size schools appear to be arriving late this year and it looks like you'll be in for quite a few more good sessions in the Georges.... the bay and the river is still fishing fairly well in general at this stage and if the weather holds and winter doesn't get too cold for too long, we might see some more reports coming in of similiar size fish being caught in the upriver areas... Cheers jewgaffer

Hi Hayden it would be a good idea to read each sentence in Mr Rosebay's advice carefully, if you read into it and use your imagination you'll find it will open up more opportunities for you with other species.. Cheers jewgaffer

Buy one this week and present this coupon to receive your complimentary picnic pack* *Conditions apply Cheers jewgaffer

That's a good bag of fish you've got there Tumra apparently it was as flat as a tack on Saturday night, it was a good move getting out there on Sunday, the Hacking seems to be fishing very well and it looked as though a change like that was all that was needed to liven the bite up alright.. Cheers jewgaffer

Good work on the arrows stefan, going on the number of arrows you caught in a single session it looks as though lots of juvenile arrows will be coming in to the Sydney estuaries and this result is a really good sign that Sydney fishing will pick up even further.....with a show like this in Rose Bay it looks like juvenile arrows will be coming in thousands bringing in whatever else you could imagine including more leather jackets unfortunately..off the point a bit here but jackets taste ok at first but they are so bland that it's hard to eat more than once a month . Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the fishing goes when the present cool front moves off and the weather settles down to a nice 25 degrees as is the forecast for later on in the week...a friend of mine who often fishes in Botany Bay went out yesterday which proved to be too late in the change as he finished up trying quite a few spots that usually produce but could only manage to catch a sampson fish Cheers jewgaffer

Good effort on the jewfish Saad the Sydney side of the road bridge can fish very well in close from the start of the run out tide... you can get down there by making your way down the first cutting just up towards the bridge from the houseboat car park i.e take the first turn left before you get to Brooklyn Rd...this is one of those landbased spots where you're better off using big baits and not exposing the hooks too much.. I'd use a fixed sinker on the bottom of a two bait paternoster... It's a good jew spot in the day time but you can lose a helluva a lot of gear there in between fish, so make sure to fish fairly heavy and cast out as far out as you can to the right of where you're standing, leave that rod in a rod holder and use a hands on rod with a bobber float and cast up current... Cheers jewgaffer

either that or for operating the wire gate into a chicken pen Cheers jewgaffer