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I have only just started to get into bassin', but so far I have caught the majority of my bass on Jackall Brothers TN60's - not cheap, but very effective, and very popular with bass fishos. Kokoda have just released a cheap copy called the G-Vibe which I'm sure would work too, plus there are plenty of other lipless crankbaits around - Cultiva Mirashads, River 2 Sea glassy vibes, Team Daiwa Pros (a good alternative to Jackalls and a bit cheaper), Shimano Ocea vibes etc. Spinnerbaits have worked for me too, again Kokoda have a wide range. The types of lures you throw depends on what sort of gear you are using - are you going to use spin or baitcasting gear? Heres a 38cm job taken on a Jackall TN60 in Ayu colour recently:

I'll "me too" Splits as well, they do good work. Damian no longer runs the business, new guys running it now, haven't heard any complaints so far...

Plenty of fishraiders regularly take jews on bream gear, the soapies are relatively easy to handle (I have busted off a big one on 4lb Fireline though). I'm only a beginner to jews on SP, but have had plenty of success with 3/8 - 1/2 ounce (10g-14g) jigheads in size 2/0 through to 5/0 - TTs and Nitros. I use those weights in water 30-50 feet deep, but I've seen my mate take a jew on a 1/16 jighead and a 3" bass minnow in about 6 feet of water, though this was massive fluke in my opinion! 4" Berkley bass minnows, or any 4" or bigger shad or stickbait should work, including the Squidgy slick rig. What shads have you looked at that weigh 25g ? HTH, Ben.

Hi Folks, Yabbie Marine has a pre-Christmas special on Fullriver 120AH deep cycle AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries. These are great batteries for powering Minn Kotas, or as a house battery on bigger boats. They are completely sealed, and are designed to handle the rigours of deep cycling. Normally retailing for $340, we are offering these batteries for only $245 up until C.O.B on the 23rd of December. P.M., call me or drop into the shop for further details. Limited stocks, so be quick! Cheers, Ben

Truth be told, most any old plastic will catch flathead, they are very indiscriminate. The Atomic paddletails are a great plastic and will take both flatties and bream. The price you got is RRP, site sponsor ABA will be able to do better I reckon (I have also seen the 2.5" paddletail in bargain bins at another tackle shop), and the site you mentioned is no longer in operation as far as I know (many people had probs with late/no delivery from that mob). HTH, Ben

My current fave is a TD Battler Kingbolt rod matched with my Daiwa Certate 1500, have had great fun pulling soapie jews on it, but got smoked last night by what was the biggest jew (or fish for that matter) I have ever hooked - popped the 4lb Fireline at the spool . Will be returning to that spot with some heavier gear now! The lesson - using bream gear on jews is not smart or clever!

Jewel - yep, hole in the wall, but my boat is smallish, and I launch and retrieve boats all the time for work, so I'm pretty accurate! The talk of the renovation to three lanes has been around for ages, hope the council get off their bums shortly, but I reckon it will be autumn/winter before they start (or they could stupidly do the reno in the middle of summer at its busiest). There is a development proposal posted down there at the moment with submissions open till Decmeber 13, so I guess once thats done they can go ahead. Johblow - Kyeemagh ramp on the Cooks is very good, can get a little blowy there at times, but more importantly it gets incredibly busy over summer, have heard of guys waiting an hour and a half to get their boat out on weekend afternoons. Absolutely swarming with jetskiers...

It can easily be a two lane ramp, I've launched next to mates plenty of times, however most people who use it treat it like a one laner, and put their trailers straight down the middle . The council are converting it to a three laner sometime soon.

I would go for a Shimano Stradic 4000 which you should be able to pickup for around $200. Much nicer reel than the Symetre, and when you are taking on jews and kings, the smoother drag will help. Give site sponsor ABA a call and see what they can do for you. Cheers, Ben

With regard to discharge, its true regular lead acid batteries designed for cranking should not be discharged too low - around 75-80% is the number I have seen quoted. Deep cycle batteries on the other hand are designed to be, err, deep cycled - in other words run close to flat, and then recharged. Numbers I have seen quoted on AGM deep cycle batteries have been cycles in the thousands, I'll double check the numbers I have tomorrow and let you know...

The cheaper AGM batteries usuually state they have a life of around 5 years, more expensive ones have a 10 year life. The batteries life is really based on cycles though (discharge, recharge cycles), and different brand/AH batteries have varying amounts of cycles before they give up the ghost. If yours is going after 18 months, it could be that it is an inferior quality battery (no offence, but $280 is a cheapish 100AH AGM battery), but more likely it is to do with how you charge it. You should be using a good 3-stage "smart" charger, which it sounds like you are, but you must try to get the battery back onto charge as soon as possible after it has run down. Leaving an AGM battery dead for a few days reduces its life. I always put my battery (which is a calcium maintenance free, not an AGM, but same principle applies) onto charge after every outing, regardless of whether it is run down much or not. If you have been only recharging the night before going out again (ie a week after running it down), this would be your problem. HTH, Ben

Fish and Dive at Taren Point have them, but give the site sponsor ABA a call, if they have them, they will be cheaper than most, especially if you mention you're a Fishraider.

Buy a fully sealed AGM type deep cycle battery that cannot leak and can be mounted in any position???

Hi Adam, Feel free to give me a call to discuss Suzuki four strokes (number is in my sig) - we like looking after Fishraiders! The DF140 is a sensational engine, as is the brand new DF150 big block. Depends on what you're putting it on as to what would suit you best. While four strokes are more expensive than traditional two strokes (the "new" DI two strokes are comparably priced to four strokes), fuel savings and resale value make them more economical in the long term (aside from the benefits of lack of smoke, noise, vibration etc.). Cheers, Ben.

Goofball, most people seem to go for a two hook rig of 4/0 or bigger. Top hook goes through the top of the squids candle/tube (from front to back), second hook which is on a short dropper from the first hook is pinned lightly through the flesh near the base of the candle/tube - in and back out on the same side (like a stitch), not pushed right through the body. If you want to use lures, I would suggest a TT or Nitro jighead in 1/4 to 3/8 or more depending on current (you must be getting in touch with the bottom). Hook size I use is anywhere from 2/0 to 5/0. A graphite rod and braid will help heaps with setting the hook and detecting bites, don't know how you would go with a f'glass rod and mono...My jews have all been caught on 4" Berkley Bass (or Power) Minnows in watermelon or pumpkinseed. Otherwise go for big shads or jerkbaits 4" plus. I like to just drop my line straight off the side of the boat to reduce belly in the line, drop till it reaches bottom, take up the slack then double jig every 20-30 seconds. Easy as that! HTH, Ben.

The fish in Botany Bay are fine to eat, but take note that Penrhyn Bay is closed to fishing completely, due to a toxic bloom - I wouldn;t eat the fish here! : http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/general/ho...ry_(botany_bay) I would also avoid eating any fish out of the Cooks personally.

You could try Marine Windows at Milperra - 9792 4919. Cheers, Ben.

Hi Veck, With regard to what Mark was saying you may want to look here: http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/recreation...sh_with_a_ruler You said your landed fish was under a meter, lets say 90cm. That fish is probably around 7kg or so. The bigger one you lost was 50-70cm longer - lets say 150cm, that fish would weigh around 34kg!!! Any jew over a meter should be at very least 10kg. Not doubting you at all, but think you may have underestimated weights (unusual for a fisho! ). Cheers, Ben

Bring on the rain - keeps the boat ramps empty! But this WIND is killing me! Have canned two land based fishes this week already...

Ummm, 700 grams.

That boat is actually a TENDER for the big boat - yes, I'm serious. A boat was rigged with seven Yammy (I think) 200s a few years ago in Australia. Not 100% on the HP, but it was a seven motor rig. By the way, you run all three at once, none of them are an auxillary.

Inox is a vegetable based lubricant that is non-toxic. Its "sibling" product is Lanox, which is a lanoline based lubricant. Inox is great for reels and tackle, Lanox is good for trailers and boats (Lanox is a bit heavier and greasier than Inox). WD-40 is petroleum based and therefore will perish most rubber it comes in contact with (some reels may have rubber parts that are susceptable, some may not) - I believe it would also put fish off if it gets on your line, I have sprayed Inox on my spools with line on and never had a problem. I would never put WD any where near any of my gear. Having said that, I know of plenty of people who use cheapish gear who always use WD on their reels internals...

With the weekend off, I had myself booked up with friends and relos for some fishing on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday saw me launching from Kyeemagh with two mates and heading out to the oil wharf to look for trevally. Wind was a massive pain, but tolerable and teh sun was out. Was pretty quiet at the oil wharf, and I was dissapointed that the trevors weren't playing when my mate got a follow from a squid. I chucked a squid jig on and had two smallish squid in the boat soon after. Sent one back as a livie, and continued to throw plastics around for nothing. I finally felt weight on my rod and after a sluggish non-fight, pulled in a solid leatherjacket. A first for me, a leathery on a bass minnow! My mate then got a small trevor, and after a quick drift around the HWO, we headed to the patches off Towra. We did a couple of drifts and ended up with 3 trevally and one nice 55cm flatty. We had a quick look around the mouth of the Cooks after that but didn't find anything, so were off the water by about 12.30, and home for a fish lunch, and footy. Todays plan was originally to chase bream in the Georges, but after a few half hearted casts at hulls, and with my cousin Georgia a beginner to plastics fishing, I decided to head out into the Bay again for the easier option. Unfortunately we couldn't find anything but a single tailor at the Patches. Saw two trevors caught on another boat, but it was decidely quiet so we decided to go back to the river and jig some pylons and hit some more boats. Around 9.30 I felt a bump, struck and came up tight on something decent. After a few big headshakes, I realised I may be onto a good jew, and started to get very excited. "Get the net, its a big fish....it may not fit in the net!" I yelled to my cousin. Aftar 4 or 5 minutes consisting of one big run, a few smaller runs and a bunch of mooching near the bottom, the fish came up and was netted perfectly. My first jew on soft plastics went 90cm, and I can't get the smile of my face! Ben.

As Pedro and Stewie pointed out, its a hard time of the year to be catching fish, so don't worry if you're struggling at the moment, as spring kicks in the fish will come. As for attractants, I like to use Mr Goops Garlic scent, it's a thick paste that lasts for quite a while. I put some on the jighead itself, and a little on the exposed part of the hook. I find the spray-on Stimulate to not last too long on the lure, and use the Goops regularly now. The other one that a lot of guys like is MegaStrike. Both MegaStrike and Mr Goops are pretty expensive though! Whether they actually catch more fish or not is debatable, but from what I have seen it can make a difference, and can't hurt. HTH, Ben

Never chased murray cod before, but I have seen very lifelike wood grub SPs being sold - Aussie brand, sorry can't remember details - I'll have a look at the tackle store I saw them at next time I'm there...