Steamers Beach -jb 16/2

[KINGvirgin]

Sorry about the last post attempt my computer went nuts .......

As posted me and my best mate went down to Steamers Beach, a picturesque beach in the Booderee Nat Park in Jervis Bay. We arrived on site about 730am to be greeted by a beautiful fine day, no wind and some flat water, the best conditions i have had going there

The day could not of started worse for me when upon laying my only rod down on the rocks and organising the bait i accidentally stepped on the tip....SNAP.... the expletitives out of my mouth would of made a prisoner blush... not to be deterred i fished with a broken rod....first cast....zzzzzzz im on to what feels like a good fish....and would you believe it my line is bitten off!

As im re-rigging my mate yells out that he is on and pulls in a small salmon... we eventually hooked into his school and some fun, i decided to try a bit deeper and next thing BANG! my reel is losing line at a fast rate until..PING..... the knot tying my fireline to itself (after a spooling mishap) pops, losing another good fish and about 50m of fireline, by this stage i am ropable with my gear mishaps, so i cool off for a bit before going ultralight, then something unusual happened when a school of whiting came through and we pulled them in on pillies i am happy becoz i love whiting fillets but amazed that for only the 2nd time i have seen whiting caught on pillies... ( is this normal?)

After they passed it went quiet, so me and my mate put some preseason training in on the adjoining beach followed by a dip in the water, we came back cleaned our catch and packed up and left earlier than planned... when we got home we cleaned up and played some good old backyard cricket.... ALL in all a fun (but frustrating) day! TOTAL CATCH - Salmon = 20+ (ranging from 45cm-30cm- the smallest i have seen there...) Whiting = 7 ( all around 35-38cm) and a few annoying rockfish.... ( we only kept the whiting)

To anyone interested in Steamers Beach, it is a great spot where i have landed Tailor,Salmon,Bream,Flatties,Whiting and Drummer (all on pillies- thats all i fish with down there), it is a breezy 2.5 hr drive followed by a beautiful 30min scenic walk from the carpark thru the nat. park, it is a great workout and will guarantee a solid sleep afterwards!!

the pics added are the 1st fish, the biggest whiting and a few scenery shots off the platform.

Cheers All,

Ian.

P.S Is my Ian Miller light stick worth repairing the tip or should i cut my losses and buy a new rod (its out of warranty)

Edited February 19, 2007 by KINGvirgin

[Mondo Rock]

Hey KV

Steamers is indeed a beautiful beach and offers great protection during the summer nor-easters (it faces almost due south). I've seen plenty of fish caught there - but all salmon from memory.

As for your Ian Miller rod - well the bad news is that it cannot be 'repaired'. Once a rod breaks that's it - your only option is to glue the guide from the broken tip onto the end of the shortened rod.

So the key questions are: how much of the tip did you lose? and Is it a two-piece rod (as shimano may replace the top half for cheap $)?

[KINGvirgin]

So the key questions are: how much of the tip did you lose? and Is it a two-piece rod (as shimano may replace the top half for cheap $)?

i lost a good 5cm , there is about 2cm remaining before the next guide....and it is only a 1 piece rod

[Mondo Rock]

Ahh - 5cm isn't too bad!!

I snapped the same amount off the tip of a Daiwa Pro-caster Z (bought for $480) and just glued the tip back on. There was only about one cm between it and the next guide, but it has survived two trips to the NT and countless good barra (and one very unhappy longnose tuna) since the repairs. Still works great - although probably doesn't cast quite as far as it used to.

Other raiders can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the tip is mainly relevant to casting distance and imparting action to a lure. All the power in a rod is in the butt - so you won't have lost any of that.

I reckon you can just glue the tip back on and you'll hardly notice the difference - especially if you're bait fishing.

[kingpig]

The rocks on the southern end offer some great blackfish and big drummer in the winter.

Cheers

Kingpig

[Rode Cary]

Hi Ian,

Nice day out with good catch, well done. Ooops sorry for the rod. I know what it feels like as I broke 2 fishing rod tips in a couple of years and just lost the top part on my new fishing rod in a rock fishing incident.

Where exactly is steamers beach? I like discovering new places with fishing them as a bonus.

Cheers

Bertrand

[Luringbream]

Great stuff mate!!

Send the rod out to Dunphy sports and they will happily replace it..

DAB

[KINGvirgin]

Hi Ian,

Nice day out with good catch, well done. Ooops sorry for the rod. I know what it feels like as I broke 2 fishing rod tips in a couple of years and just lost the top part on my new fishing rod in a rock fishing incident.

Where exactly is steamers beach? I like discovering new places with fishing them as a bonus.

Cheers

Bertrand

Steamers beach as mentioned is in the Booderee Nat Pk, go through nowra and bout 10 mins past is the turn off left at Jervis Bay Rd, follow this for about 15 mins till you get to the pay station gates ($10 for the day) , from there head towards the township general store, but instead of turning left to go to the shop hang a right instead, the signposts will lead you the rest of the way, the dirt roads are well kept as is the walking track.... its a fair hike loaded up with gear and even worse coming back up with lots of fish, but always definately worth it. There are always bushwalkers around too so you wont get too lonely..... both the north and south platforms are worthwhile casting over the sand not the reefs, although the north ledge can be tricky at high tide.

let me know if u end up going, i may well tag along

Ahh - 5cm isn't too bad!!

I snapped the same amount off the tip of a Daiwa Pro-caster Z (bought for $480) and just glued the tip back on. There was only about one cm between it and the next guide, but it has survived two trips to the NT and countless good barra (and one very unhappy longnose tuna) since the repairs. Still works great - although probably doesn't cast quite as far as it used to.

Other raiders can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the tip is mainly relevant to casting distance and imparting action to a lure. All the power in a rod is in the butt - so you won't have lost any of that.

I reckon you can just glue the tip back on and you'll hardly notice the difference - especially if you're bait fishing.

esp when i just realised i have lost the tip!! thanks for your help anyways mondo!

Great stuff mate!!

Send the rod out to Dunphy sports and they will happily replace it..

DAB

if you can PM me the details i just may well do it...... other that or i will try sand back the rod as much as possible and make do with it the best i can!

thanks for your help mate

[gio]

Well done ian nice catch Spewin about your rod though

[Mondo Rock]

Dunno about the advice from Luringbream re sending the rod back.

The rod didn't break due to a fault in the workmanship - it broke because you trod on it. I doubt that Dunphy's will replace it for this reason.

They might, however, sell you a replacement at cost. I'd definitely call them before sending the rod in.

Then again, I'm just speculating and Luringbream may well know something I don't!!!