GordoRetired Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 I am fortunate enough to live within the Norther Beaches LGA so after my post a few days ago regarding what we can do and a call to NSW Police to confirm that the Roseville ramp and out to the front of the Northern Beaches was 100% within the rules a plan was made to head out Saturday morning. All went well, met up with my mate, loaded bait, tackle and rods onto the boat and down to Roseville. Boat started without any issues, all good, and off we headed. Cruised up to and under the Spit bridge, got just out of the 4kt zone, opened her up and it all turned to s#%#. Started to get what we though was cavitation, back off the throttle, opened it up again and the same. BUGGER... Could not go over 2,000 RPM without the prop slipping. That was the plan to head out off shore straight out the window. After a phone consultation with out favorite marine mechanic it was decided that even trying to limp out to our target spot would be silly as if the thing gave up whilst around North Head things could go very bad very quickly. So a new plan was made and we cruised across to the front of Balmoral flat out at our now top speed of 6kt's, which for my mates 150hp 4 stroke Merc is a touch lower than normal, to gather some livies. Part 1 of plan 2 was a total fail. Not a Yakka in sight. I use one of those multi hook bait rig and for the weight on the bottom I have a soft plastics jig head. Baited up that set up and put a piece of pillie on the jig head. A few minutes later I feel weight and pull up a reasonable Flathead went about 36cm. This was followed by heaps of Trevally and a few baby Snapper. A lot of the trev's were small but 4 went over legal so into the kill tank they went. However we were not able to get a single Yakka. We then decided to try drifting different areas between Balmoral Beach and Quarantine Station. Over the next few hours we caught a load of Flathead, only problem was that the schools we found were all Kindy class, not Seniors, so we threw back almost every one we caught which must have been 20 or more. We did get another 35+ and one around 55 so managed 3 keeper Flathead. On top of that we caught a couple of undersized Snapper, a couple of, I think, Banjo sharks and 1 nice Flounder.... Oh yes, and 2 of the biggest Puffer fish I have ever seen. At least we did managed to come home with a reasonable feed, the Flounder and some Flathead fillets made for a lovely dinner on Saturday night. 🙂 Overall not the day we have planned but it was real good being out on the water with a rod in hand and we understand that the repair to the boat is going to be pretty cheap as it 's only a bush to replace. Hope everyone else is managing to get their fishing fix in. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddlejumper Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Must've been frustrating, but still good to get out and catch a few fish for a feed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonardgid Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 need a sounder to find schools of bait fish during winter , that and a lot of burley usually does it for us , but not always . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey05 Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 not a bad part of the world to be in. I did similar on Sunday- although had no bait..... tried to get yakkas in Pittwater but spent more time waiting the young bloke fluff around on the boat . still, a good day on the water before the new rules came into place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdCain Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Hi Gordo, Any update on the cause of the outboard issue? Sounds to me like your propeller bushes may be gone? I have had this happen before, and when you apply to much throttle, the bushes give, and the prop starts slipping. I am not sure this is fixable. May require a new prop. cheers, Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Great report and well done. Moast would have given up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 At least you managed something for the table. Sound like the prop is R.S., just buy another one. Have had it happen before. Was trolling close to Jibbon Point once, the bushes slipped then just headed away as quick as possible (snail's pace 😂) I replace the prop around every 10 years, as I figure time is nearly up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 22 hours ago, leonardgid said: need a sounder to find schools of bait fish during winter , that and a lot of burley usually does it for us , but not always . We were in what is usually a very reliable spot and were burleying like mad... Probably should have sounded around too. Will do that next time 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 (edited) 8 hours ago, EdCain said: Hi Gordo, Any update on the cause of the outboard issue? Sounds to me like your propeller bushes may be gone? I have had this happen before, and when you apply to much throttle, the bushes give, and the prop starts slipping. I am not sure this is fixable. May require a new prop. cheers, Ed We are good mates with a marine mechanic who we called when it happened. He has said that it's a 10 minute fix with a new bush. He was going to come and meet us to fix it while we were out but a call from his work re a worker testing positive for Covid buggered that idea. Hope he is right on the quick fix 🙂 Edited August 23, 2021 by GordoRetired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 8 hours ago, Rebel said: Great report and well done. Moast would have given up. Never ever give up, so long as you can get a bait in the water somewhere you're in with a chance. Apart from that I hung out with a good mate and was able to talk shit all day. Can't beat that 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishingwazza2019 Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Great report .. We've all had challenges like you. After initial issues, at least you continued and it would have been a fun day getting a few fish. Well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 (edited) Great report Gordo, great to share the “mishaps” - adds to our bag load of experiences and if it hasn’t happened before, gives us all helpful insights. Great to hear you getting out for a fish now. Edited August 26, 2021 by Pickles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Good report Gordo. Thankfully the problem manifested where it did and not out to sea. Turned into a good day anyhow, hope the boat gets fixed soon. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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