Berleyguts

Yes, my wife was very supportive of my boat purchase too, if on a smaller scale. She probably wanted me to shut up about it but it was basically an “it’s now or never” situation. She even told me I might as well get the Minn Kota etc. too. 😎 Of course, later on, as the redundancy money ran out and I can only get part time work, when funds are low she says, “You might have to sell the boat”. I reply, “If I have to sell the boat, I’ll just die. Maybe I’ll just die in the boat”. She says, “Maybe that can be arranged. Maybe you’ll fall overboard!” So... she has yet to learn to drive a boat and maybe I’ll keep it that way! 😂😂😂

I use 4 or 6kg mono off the beach. Never found the need for anything heavier, unless perhaps specifically targeting big jew. Even then, jew on 6kg are manageable if you’re careful. Change the leader up or down as required. I’ve even fished 2 or 3kg if the whiting are about. I use Platypus Pretest - basically the only mono I use.

Or over 30cm, I believe.

It’s amazing what you get away with if you just stick a couple of fish scales on any new rod or reel you purchase. Just saying. 😉 The other thing you have to worry about (although I guess it’s too late to worry then), is that when you die your wife will sell your fishing gear based on what you told her it was worth! 😂

I prefer to use yabbies but crabs are tough and do catch some big bream. But as kingiechaser said, long shank hook and make sure the point is well exposed. I have experimented with small rubber bands, cotton and super glue and they work but it’s all a bit too fiddly. If they’re still wriggling about, they don’t dig into the sand if you don’t use lead, or only a very small ball sinker straight to the hook and let it float along with current just above bottom.

I wear thicker shorts and make sure I have enough towels to dry off.

Hard one. Many memorable days. 4 days gamefishing at Lord Howe Island in 1990. Kings galore. A fantastic day in January 2000(?)with my wife and then 8 year old son on a sportfishing charter on Sydney Harbour. To see the smile on our son’s face every time he pulled in a bonito, salmon, tailor or king was just so satisfying! Watching a huge school of whitebait the size of a football field reduced in 30 minutes (by aforementioned, bonito, salmon, tailor and kings) to a school about 1 sq metre, scooping up bucketfuls of whitebait from the school for bait and whitebait fritters. Laughing as my son used the angler’s priest on the whitebait, egged on by the charter skipper. 😂 An amazing day in the early 80s, fishing in a 14 foot Quintrex Fishabout off Narooma. Hooked a yellowfin trolling at “yellowfin alley” at Montague Island, lost it at the boat 3 1/2 hours later, 15 miles out. Then we hooked a black marlin on 6lb threadline gear trolling a red and white feather for striped tuna. Lost that after a 30 minute fight. Then lost a huge wahoo at the boat. Also had a brilliant day on albacore to 12.5kg. That day’s hard to beat. But any day where everything goes right, I get a few fish and I get to enjoy the ocean. 😎

At Swansea in the creek behind the RSL. Boat access only. Poddies too.

Soldier crabs. Great bream bait.

True that... but it’s often quite still at 3 or 4am when I get up to go. 😉 I like to know what’s its going to do the rest of the morning and early afternoon. 😎 it turned out to be blowing a gale soon after my last post in this thread, so it could have caught me out offshore. Was better I stayed at home. There’s always next week. 😎

Thanks Yowie. I’ve just never noticed a westerly swell in the forecast before. Maybe because I wasn’t looking as I wasn’t thinking about going for a fish! 🤷‍♂️ Anyway, the forecast called for lots of rain and 18+ knot NNE winds, so I decided not to fish today. Of course, we only had a little rain and the winds are not so strong. Go figure!

Fishing gear and guitar stuff first, Zoran! 😂 I just bought a Ryobi 36v hedge trimmer and chainsaw! 😉

I’ve got three days off work and was hoping to go fishing now the local ramps are open to local residents. Had stuff to do this morning but might go for a beach session this arvo, even though it’s a falling tide. Was hoping to fish outside tomorrow - but wet and windy; and/or Friday - but strong westerly winds and a WNW swell predicted. Has anyone seen a westerly swell on the east coast before? Is it possible? Is it fishable? 🤷‍♂️ 😐

Zoran’s recommendations are sound to me. My son swears by Meguiar’s products. He is absolutely anal about his Nissan Silvia... spends hours on it and keeps it in pristine condition with Meguiar’s. My 9 inch grinder/sander/polisher is what I was recommended when I did a spray painting workshop. It’s 240v and I suppose the cord could get in the way. I never found it a problem when I used it on my old Kombi. I also have a corded polisher/buffer about the same size as the cordless Ryobi one which Zoran recommends. Both are yours to borrow if you want, @Scratchie . I’m a big fan of the Ryobi cordless products though. You know where I work and that product is very popular. I may just add one to my tool kit!

Thanks Rick. Yeah, bridling them helped them live longer and best for slow trolling for beaks but I wondered if that’s why they kept getting taken off behind the head. Now it’s getting cooler, I’ll try just pinning them. 😎

@Scratchie You can borrow my big polisher if you want, Jeff. Cheers.

How do you rig the livies, Rick? I know snapper love live slimies... I’ve had a few taken off behind the head on the last couple of trips and one to what I realise now was a big snapper that hung on for quite some time and I saw him roll over on the surface (a lot of pink!). I bridled them... and I wonder if I should just pin them through the nose or the back.

Fantastic fish, Jon! Your daughter did a great job bringing that in! I know how hard they can go! As said before, reminiscent of the 80s! How wide out?

$50 a kilo at the Nelson Bay co-op at the moment.

There seems to be growing support on social media to keep the trend going, Rick. If not at dawn (detracting from the dawn services and marches) but at sunset. Nice thought but I imagine that a fair number would not be able to stand straight after their traditional two up games at the pub! 😂

I used to go to the Jim but sometimes I drink Jack... 😂 My son’s right into weight training. He’s a personal trainer. He’s really missing the gym!

Is that in deeper water, Paddy? I find the bait with my sounder and then hit spot lock with my Minn Kota but I find that I get more slimies if I don’t use any lead. Put lead on and I seem to get more yakkas and less slimies. If there’s a bit of current a small amount of lead is sometimes OK. My usual spot is in 7-10 metres.

I’ve cut back on my coffee intake over recent years. I have a Nespresso capsule machine, which suffices me most of the time but I do enjoy a coffee at a cafe when I’m out and about. We can’t sit in a cafe these days but I do now try to support local cafes by buying a takeaway cup when I can. I suspect others are doing the same. I dropped in at a local cafe in Nelson Bay the other day after going to the Post Office to make a bank deposit. I bought one for me and paid one forward for emergency and health care workers. It’s the least I can do and a great initiative by that cafe. 😎🙏

My wife and I stood out on our driveway this morning and I could see 6 or so other households doing the same. Quite moving, really. I downloaded the ANZAC Day 2020 app but it did not work, which was disappointing. Other households had the radio or TV on but different stations/channels as the Last Post and Reveille were playing at different times. A good effort though, everyone. @frankSSo, did your Dad lie about his age to join the Australian Army? Pretty common in those days! My grandfather was born in June 1898 in Southsea, Hampshire and was in the British Army in WW1. I assume he didn’t join until he turned 18 in 1916. I know he was affected by mustard gas in the war. He was a signaller, emigrated to Australia in 1927 and joined the Australian Army in WW2 as a signaller but, like others of his age, remained in Australia. My Dad signed up on his 18th birthday in June 1945, also a signaller but by the time his training was finished, the Japanese had surrendered. He went to New Guinea in August 1945. So, my Dad never marched but we always watch or attend the dawn service. Lest We Forget.

Thank you, @the skipper for your post. I, too, have been umming and ahhing about whether or not to go for a fish. Considering the boat ramps are currently closed in my area, the decision was easier. They will be opened to local residents only from next week, so I’ll see how that plays out (although my regular ramp will probably be sanded up!). I am still in mixed minds about fishing in the boat due to the impact on the Marine Rescue volunteers. Port Stephens MR is still operating but volunteers are in short supply due to the risk to them because of their age. I was told some other bases have had to close due to social distancing requirements. I planned to fish land based this morning but took my 82 year old mother-in-law for her flu shot instead. I walked down to my intended spot this evening and it looked promising, so maybe I’ll give it a go in a few days. Good on you for having a conscience and thinking it through. Glad you could get out and enjoy what you love! I figure if you have to think too much about it, maybe the right thing to do is just stay at home, or local, and do something else! Stay safe. Stay well. PS. I don’t have an issue with the whole 1.5m spacing thing. It’s pretty straightforward. As for “how big is a bigger boat?”... basically, you need 4 square metres of deck space per person (this is ingrained in my brain because I helped measure different areas at work so we knew how many people we could have in each area!). In my boat, a 4.5m side console, it would just be easier to fish alone (I enjoy that anyway!), or with someone from my family (same household). It’s not rocket science and I really can’t understand people who say it is too confusing!