Hooky.

And the latest report as of 4.59pm TWO men injured in a speed boat accident on Sydney's Georges River told rescuers they were travelling at 60km/h when they hit a tree, smashing their craft to pieces. A 50-year-old man taken to Liverpool Hospital with head and chest injuries remained in a serious condition tonight. His friend, a 32-year-old man, was in a stable condition with minor injuries. The accident happened about 9.30am (AEST) on an isolated stretch of the river at East Hills. "They swerved to miss a log in the water and the steering broke, spearing them into a riverbank covered with tree stumps and mangroves," an NRMA CareFlight rescuer said. "They hit hard, they basically smashed the boat to pieces." The men told the rescuer they had been travelling at 60km/h in the 5.5m speed boat just before the crash. The men raised the alarm using a mobile phone and clung to a part of the boat's bow, which had become wedged in the mangroves. Rescuers decided against transporting the men through the mangroves, and a helicopter was used to winch them to care after they were stranded for 90 minutes.

No offence to Mick but the darn show should be for free. Let's just call it "The Tackle Industry giving something back". And by that I mean all the big corparate types like shimano, daiwa etc etc. ..........but still, I will be there.

I can't believe our fishing licences are paying for the stocking of jewies in the Richmond River??? Maybe I'm just reading it wrong.

G'day Tim, my previous "2nd" vehicle was an old Datsun 720 King Cab ute. The rear end was very light but still there were no problems pulling the boat out at the ramp except for the usual "fanning" of the clutch. Only a few times at low tide did it ever slip 'cos of ramp conditions. I now have a Pathfinder and as for using 4WD at the ramp to pull out the boat, I use it whenever I can. Why not I say. It's there to be used and it makes it so much easier with less revs required to pull and less strain on the gear box. JMHO. cheers Hooky

Yeah, 'ya gotta love those yanks, especially on BASSmaster. Put them in front of a camera and they sure do get excited. Nothing better than watching them set the hook on a good sized bass using 30lb braid and hearing the sweet sound of a snapping rod. I've got a tape where Gerald Swindle does this and I always play it over and over again.

OK, now I'm lost. None the less, there certainly is some spectacular scenery in NZ. I'll have to get over there one day.

I won't even try to explain what I can see "laying" half in the water and half out of the water in the circled area.

And here I was looking for something in the dark bit.

If you look very hard at the pic you will see an outline of a head. To me it looks like "The Count" off Sesame Street. Top looking pic there clutch. cheers Hooky

Another good haul from the Bay. Top stuff. cheers Hooky

Great mixed bag from the Bay there fella's. Well done. cheers Hooky

Well done Dan, some good solid trout there. Great to see your first trout outing was a good one. cheers Hooky

Nice looking redfin there granpop, nice and fat. What are they like for chewin' on? I've only caught a handful of them when I used to head to Mansfield and fish Lake Eildon but have never bothered to cook one up. Congrats again and a Fishraider record for your effort. cheers Hooky

Some nice looking specimens there fella's. That trevally is certainly a decent size. Well done to you both. cheers Hooky

No fishing for me, maybe a bit of work on the tinnie but besides that, nothing, nix, nil, not a thing. No pub either. Not doing anything too strenuous except for walking up the stairs to have a "pensioner nap" over the course of the weekend. Hang on there, that sounds too strenuous. I think I'll just sit in my recliner chair and watch fishing videos in between naps. P.S. This is actually all crap. Wifey has gone away for the weekend and she has left me a list of things to do which includes cleaning the house from top to bottom. Have a good weekend Raiders. cheers Hooky

Yep, that's me. Probably no fishing till next weekends ABT on the Manning either.

G'day Dan, looks like you've got it all covered. If it were me I wouldn't bother working the shore line from the shore. Jump straight in the boat and troll the edges or work the edges from the boat. The usual places will work i.e. weed bed edges, flats, deep holes, rocky outcrops etc. I've never bothered using down riggers mainly because I can't be bothered and have never had a need to. That's not to say it isn't worth downrigging, give it a go and you should get some good results. Mind you, down rigging is very useful up there in the summer when the trout tend to go deeper to escape the heat. As for camping up there, take some slow burning timber with you and some kindling or some spare petrol to start the fire on the first night, saves looking for some on the first night. Take plenty of blankets and a beanie for the noggin'. It does get cold but it's not that bad.......actually I enjoy the cold better. Ive camped there when it's snowed and it is quite common to have a frost settle on the car etc from around 7-8pm. Keeps the esky ice from melting and keeps the beers and coke cold. Depending on where you camp and how long you stay for, there are showers and clean toilets. Take plenty of 20 cent pieces for the showers if you feel the need to have a scrub. Good luck and if you don't catch anything with that list of lures/baits etc, I'd be very surprised. cheers Hooky

Good stuff there jewytim. It certainly fills up the spare time but you must agree that the rewards and self satisfaction in the end are worth it. Well done. cheers Hooky

Well done there Chris. I have a few days up on the Hawkesbury at Webbs Creek coming up soon and I hope to do the same. Here's hoping anyway. cheers Hooky

Personally I don't keep large flatties, as said previously, they taste like crap. The following is from the NSW DPI web site. If they feel the need to do a study on flatties doesn't this mean that no one really has a clue as suggested in the highlighted sentence? Project Title: Size and age at maturity and timing and location of spawning of dusky flathead in NSW (FSC2000/056) Principal Investigator: Dr Charles Gray Funding Source: Recreational Fishing Trust Objectives: * Determine the reproductive cycle, size and age at maturity and the timing and location of spawning of dusky flathead in NSW. * Provide advice on the species life history and possible management options to maintain sustainable harvesting including suitable size limits. * Disseminate information on the biology of dusky flathead to recreational anglers. Summary: Dusky flathead is an important finfish species harvested by recreational and commercial fishers in NSW. Because of concerns over the long-term sustainability of the resource (see Gray et al. 2002), the minimum legal length of dusky flathead was increased from 33 to 36cm in July 2001, with a further increase to 40 cm proposed. This proposed increase in size limit is based on relatively rudimentary information concerning the size that flathead spawn. No detailed study of the reproductive biology of dusky flathead has been done. This is needed so that future decisions on the most appropriate size limit for the species can be based on rigorous scientific knowledge. Sampling of the size and age compositions and reproductive condition of estuarine populations of dusky flathead was done throughout 2001 and 2002. Preliminary analyses indicate that flathead grow quickly and that spawning occurs between October and March. Further data will be collected during the 2004/05 spawning season to ascertain the minimum age and size that dusky flathead reach maturity and the exact timing and location of spawning. The outcomes of the study will be used to develop management plans for the sustainable harvesting and conservation of the species.

Thanks for that Tony.

Tell me about it Ken. I've been hassling my local tackle bloke for two months to get Ecogear products in and I even gave him Tony's contact number along with info that Lance is the "road rep" etc, etc and it all falls on deaf ears until last night I walk in to the shop and he tell's me, "Guess what Paul, I finally got the contact info for Ecogear off "Joe Bloggs" (well known bream pro angler) and I can now look in to getting them in stock." As I said, I've been on him for two months to get them in, with contacts to help him and all of a sudden "Joe Bloggs" comes in and things start to happen. He says to me, "Do you need some?" I tell him, "No, I rang up Mick at Australian Bass Angler today and I will be getting them home delivered." Oh well, at least we could be getting them in my local shop now. BTW Tony, something that crops up on a lot of fishing forums is people asking for an up to date colour chart. Any chances of getting one posted up or something similar which shows all the colours in the range. It's a helpful tool when a person rings through a phone order for home delivery. Thanks cheers Hooky

Even though I've been using SP's alot lately I still have a preference for HB's. They're just so much easier to use......at least for me they are.

Joe, it certainly pays to get a few quotes and do the homework. It's surprising just how much a simple aluminium tank like this actually costs even though to look at, it's not much work. BTW, EVAN, that's a neat little setup you have there on your tinnie. It's amazing what one can achieve to make life a bit more comfy in just a basic tinnie. cheers Hooky