Carpe

Hi, I recently purchased a Quintrex Freedom Cruiser 560 with the sterndrive Alpha 1. On the test run the demo was a bit rough and blowing smoke. I was told that this was due to new motor that had to be run in before retuning. This sounded reasonable at the time. My new boat finally arrived and it too was difficult to start, run extremely rough and cut out when idling. This stern drive is a pig to start. I've been spoiled by by my previous boat which has an ETEC - 3 years of quiet smooth running, started 1st time every time with just a turn of the key. I ran it for the required 20 hours to first service and mentioned the rough idle to the service dept. When I ran it after the first service there was no change in idle performance. It is rough, I mean it is like the boat is going to shake apart. I have to increase the revs with the throttle over ride button to get it to idle. I called the service dept back and was then told that I need to run it on premium fuel ! The manual says 90 RON is the minimum required, & 98 RON is "also acceptable." As I had 3/4 of a tank at the time I have not yet emptied it to see the difference. Are they telling porkies or is this a true fact ? Anyone have experience with this engine ? Thanks, Regards, Carpe

Hi, Voted, Thanks for bring this to everyone's attantion. Regards Carpe.

During the last holidays the kids took my wife and I to Orlando, Florida USA. At least that's what it felt like. I'm getting a bit old for those "0 to 100km in 3.2 seconds" rides ! I was determined to get the kids to experience a bit more than the ever dominating theme and water parks so booked up a couple of side trips to NASA Kennedy Space Centre, Air boat ride on the everglades and as my youngest shares my enthusiasm for fishing, a Large mouth Bass charter. The Orlando area is extremely flat and from the air appears to be one big puddle, ( lake ), after another with only a tiny bit of land between each of them. We drove for over 90 minutes on one interstate highway without encountering a single hill ! It is actually a fishing paradise. The climate and environment combine to create almost perfect conditions for aquatic life. The lakes are literally alive ! Full of crustaceans, bait fish, insects, frogs, lizards, and of course BASS !!! And a few Alligators thrown in just for fun. The fishing trip started at 6:45 am at the ramp on West Lake Toho, where we met our guide Steve, and boarded his 20' Triton Bass Boat. It was just light enough to see our way out of the Marina in the pre-dawn light. Once clear of the marina Steve suggested that we take our hats off ... or loose them ... and he planted his foot on the throttle and we were oooooffffffff !! Hey, just the ride out to our first spot beat the hell out of 95 % of the rides at Disney World, and the day was just beginning. I don't know exactly how fast we were travelling, but being so low on the water made it feel much faster. As we slowed approaching a fishy looking weed patch Rowan, my 8 yo son had a grin on his face bigger than mine, and it stayed there all day. We fished with "live wild shiners", suspended about 3-4' under a small bobby float. As luck would have it, I was out-fished yet again. Rowan's first fish was a Florida Gar fish about 50 cm. Man did that thing have teeth ! Unfortunately Steve thought nothing of it and cut the line before I could get a photo. He then followed this with 5 decent Largemouth Bass with the biggest going 44 cm and about 2 kg. I picked up 3 Bass and a mother of a cat fish. The lake was so full of bait fish that on one occasion, whilst reversing the boat we managed to "catch" 5 fish in the transom well ! We had backed into a shoal and a few got stranded. Sadly the bait ran out as the meter ticked down and it was time to return to the ramp. What a wonderful day out on the water. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, eagles, egrets and other birds calling and singing to each other, and a few fish caught and released. Or as Rowan described it ... IT WAS AWSOME. P.S. I have just taken delivery of a customized Quintrex 560 Freedom Cruiser so I should be getting out a bit more to taken on a few local species. BFN Carpe.

Hi Mariner 31, Thanks for your advice. I too was amazed at the range of services available and at reasonable prices. I have chosen a guide for a 6 hour morning trip, by reading just about everything on quite a few sites. I'm sure that I couldn't go wrong with most of them, so am now really getting excited !! Will post trip report and pics on my return. Regards, James

Hi, I'm going to Florida next week and know that I will want a break from the Disney World Attractions so have decided to take one of the boys Bass Fishing. Anyone have any experience over there or recommend a guide service. ( There are so many. ) Thanks, Regards, Carpe.

G'day Zenman, Yep that was us. Went out in a friends boat this time. My usuall ride is a Quintrex 480 Freedom Sport - "Carpe Diem" Hope to see you on the ramp soon, Regards, Carpe

What else can you do when the kids soccer is rained out due to sodden grounds, but the forecast is for clearing skies and calm seas ?? Go Fishing - of course ... Left Roseville ramp at 11:00 and headed over to near Balmoral for bait. Coming up the river and through the Spit the place seemed deserted, the harbour was like a quiet ghost town. I've seen more boats out mid week in the middle of winter. Burleyed up some yakkas which were on the VERY small side, and some XOS Hardyheads. Also got a couple of nice fat but short bream - put them back in for next year. After about an hour of fun and frustration we had a tank full, ( 4 onboard so needed a few ), and headed over to the Yellow Bouy inside North Head. Picked up a good size Trevor, and the crew next to us hooked into a monster cuttlefish ( about 60cm ) Didn't see much else going on and moved on after about an hour. We got over to the Grotto Point drift and were not disappointed ... Good solid bites straight away !! I was drifting a livie behind a snapper lead and pick up a big lizard, whilst the others got into many more that were undersize. - Only managed 2 keepers... But wait there's more ... over the first hour we got some small reddies, a couple of very nice yellow fin bream, then we got hit by a short rain shower and all hell broke loose, the next hour was simply amazing .... Fish were coming over the gunwhales every couple of minutes ... Reddies all about 25 cm, maybe another 15 lizards, then in come the Tailor and Horse Yakkas !!! I scored a perfect 6 fish from 6 baits in less then 30 minutes before being bitten off. With light fading we left them biting and headed for the ramp to get in before dark. Top afternoon out with mates, caught some fish and had a laugh. It doesn't get much better than that. I got some spare time over the next couple of weeks so will be hitting the water hard before it freezes over. The temp yesterday was hovering about 18 C in most areas. Just hope I can keep them coming .... Carpe

Thanks Guys, I knew that there would be some places I'd not looked at. Unfortunately the Pedestal is too short, but if I move a couple of things to the side the long centre underfloor storage compartment will do nicely. Thanks. James

Hi, With most of the inside of the boat covered in moulded plastic, I'm finding it a bit hard to find a good mounting point for the extinguisher where : 1. It is accessible 2. It is strong enough to carry the weight ( Alloy behind plastic not just plastic ) 3. Not in the way of normall activities. In the bow section is no good, the kids would trip over it, or it would be covered by my custom casting plateform. I'm think about the flat section on top of the gunwale on the port side ( Passenger ), inside the windscreen. Only problem with this is that the flat surface there does come in pretty handy at lunch time. I'd be very interested where others with similar boats have found room. Thanks, James

Hi, I want to polish my tinnie to make it easy to wash off after each outing. I can remember seeing something about using pig fat ?, but can't find the article. I saw a tinnie near Roseville bridge a few weeks ago that looked pretty good. Anyone got any suggestions ? or know where I can find more details. Thanks, Carpe

G'day Brownie, Depends on where you are putting in and how far you want to travel, The capabilities of your boat and yourself etc. For a first time out play it safe and stick to the more sheltered waterways and take time to get used to your boat and how it handles and where you put things for easy access and safety. Last thing you want is to be swamped by a ferry because you have your head burried in a hatch looking for something. If you really want a feed from the Harbour, ( Dioxin ? What Dioxin ? ), there are plenty of "fishy" places about. I launch from Roseville Bridge and usually travel through the Spit out to North Head. Along this route I would suggest trying : Just off the pontoon for live bait - Yakkas and mullet - ( mid week not too busy ) Entry to Bantry Bay - Bream, Flathead Sailors Bay - Moorings and marina - bream North eastern shore near the Spit - tailor, flathead Balmoral beach - weed beds for Yakkas, squid - sand for flathead Drift from grotto point accross to HMAS Penquin - Flathead, flounder. HTH, Carpe

Hi, Just thought that I would post this info after reading the Worst Fishing trip posts ... Here is a great way to remove a hook superficially embedded ... First, make sure that any bystanders are out of the way of the fishhook’s path. Next, loop a piece of fishing line several times around the belly of the hook near the skin surface. Press the shank of the hook against the skin with your index finger (1). Wrap the other end of the string several times around the index finger of your other hand (use your thumb to hold the loose end of the string tightly) (2). Move your index finger close to the hook to generate slack in the line. Pull on the string suddenly, with a jerk, in line with the hook. Flush the area with water, clean it with soap and water, and bandage it. http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/firstaid/fishhook.shtml Regards, Carpe.

G'day Kit, I've had a TLD15 for more years than I can remember. Recon I must have got it when they first came out. I've used it off the rocks on LBG sticks and in the boat on a 6' 10kg stick. It has never let me down and I've never been spooled. It is now loaded with 20lb braid. I'm with Jewel, if your chasing kingies, mainly inshore, and want to put it on a 7-15kg stick then the TLD15 is likely to give you a better balanced outfit. Take your rod to the LFS and try the 15 and 20 on your rod to see which feels better. Good Hunting, Carpe.

Hi JJ, If I can add my 2 cents ... I had a Yammy 4 stroke on my last boat and thought is was the bees knees. I then got a Freedom Sport last May with an ETEC hung on the rear end, and I simply love it ! No Maintenance for 3 years, ( 300 hours ) means NO additional expenses, ( which should save you ~ $2,000 ??? ) Although I use it mostly for fishing, enjoying it's smooth response, economical, quiet and smoke free operation, I have towed a couple of mates around on the end of a bit of string. They certainly didn't complain about the hole shot as they were up in a second or two. The kids love high the speed antics in the double donuts, even the 90 and 110 kg "kids" got a thrill !!! The ETEC HPDI 2 stroke is definitely worth a second look, but I don't know the exact pricing, but you should be able to haggle a deal. ( The RRP for the 135 HP is about $16500 and the 150 around $17,500 ) When I got mine the agent was able to get about $1500 off, end of season etc, etc. Good hunting, Regards, James ** Carpe Diem to Carpe Carpe **