brad_tate

I'm with Hooked-Up. When my boat is on the water and it has rained overnight I turn the bilge pump manually on first thing in the morning and deliberately push the bow up without going on a plane for a couple of mins to empty as much water as I can. That leaves a pretty minimal amount in the bilge.

Shimano Raider or Starlo Classix 7' with a Symetre 2500 reel is a good combo for that budget.

What a great site, thanks Dave.

Fishop, what type of flooring is this going to be fixed in? Dynabolts are designed for concrete which has very low flex so I doubt they would be suitable for fibreglass or ply floorings with or without Sikaflex. Even plate would be too thin and flexible to hold. Some form of a stainless spring loaded or toggle anchor sounds the way to go. The spring anchor doesn't need a SS spring, just an SS body as the only job the spring has is to allow you to set it. Good luck, Brad.

We just got back from Stuart's Point which is on an arm of the Macleay further downstream. Fish were scarce but we got plenty of muddies, so I would stick to mud crab traps not witches hats if it were me. We also got blue swimmers in the traps but let them go as we got more than enough muddies for us.

Squid are fairly easy to handle, as are Cuttlefish. Grab them both by the mantle. The main problem with Squid is the ink making a real mess so best to try and encourage them to get rid of most of it before bringing them into a boat. Octopus also have ink but are much more agile than a Squid. The bigger ones can latch onto you with their tentacles giving a good bruise. Both Squid and Octopus have their mouth in the middle of their tentacles, but you'd be unlucky or careless to get a nip. I don't believe the Leatherjacket spike is poisionous but will stand to be corrected. Generally very easy to handle, just don't get the spike through your palm! Ditto with Puffer Fish - the flesh is poisionous to eat but I don't think the spikes are. Their min area of concern is the teeth, on a larger specimen they can bite through a small hook so don't get your finger in there! Best to handle the big ones with a glove if you need to. Pink Nippers can definitely give you a nip, but can't do any real damage. Those with two little nippers are female, one large and one small are male. The small nipper won't bother you. The big nipper on the male is capable of a strong pinch and possibly drawing a little blood but that's about it. I prefer to leave it on but if you are worried, grab the nipper by the head in one hand, grab the big nipper with the other and twist it off, very easy. Hppy fishing!

Fab1, my bearing change went well. I did buy a bearing driver set online first to make seating the new races a bit easier, but removed the old races with a drift which wasn't as tricky as I thought it would be. The only issue I had was with the rear seal. Although obvious in hindsight I had to Google to check which side was the back and which was the front! I then found I couldn't reseat the rotor with the seal attached. Instead I slipped the seal onto the stub axle first and then fit the rotor, making sure the seal went in to cover the rear bearing cleanly. Your instructions were very clear and helpful. Thanks!

I don't use any of the above products on my reels, just rinse off the rod and reel gently after use and sun dry. Every 6 months I wash the entire rod and wipe the spool in a light sugar soap solution (and then wipe the reel off with clean water to remove any sugar soap) and service the reels - how much I do depends on the use they have taken in the 6 months. Minimum is a quick disassemble, clean and drop of oil on the roller bearing and handles. Those that copped more use are opened up and have food grade grease applied to the gears. Currently I use Daiwa oil and Inox grease. I use silicone spray on the zips of my Bimini, Armorall on the Bimini surface and seats and Vaseline on all press studs. Sugar soap to wash all surfaces beforehand. I also spray Lanox liberally inside the outboard to displace any stray salt water, deliberately use Lanox to avoid any issues with fuel hoses. So far so good but would love to hear any Raider feedback.

Love your work Fab1. I recently replaced wheel bearings for the first time and made sure I re-read your fantastic posts beforehand so I didn't mess it up. One suggestion for your tray. Solid or semi solid small freezer blocks in flexible plastic are a dime a dozen and take quite a while to unfreeze, so keeping a couple in the tray may allow your bait to thaw gently but still stay cool. You could put a couple on one side and when the bait is thawed use them to cover the bait and keep it cool and in good nick. You can even keep a couple of spares in the esky if they don't last long enough for you.

I agree with the comment about the process being important. My local library (Hurstville) has a copy of Starlo and Bushy's On Soft Plastics & How To Use Them which is well worth a read. I went through it a couple of times when I first started using SPs and it helped my confidence enormously. It obviously uses examples from their range of plastics but the techniques are generic.

Regarding the previous advice, when spreading the split pins on the trailer plug a little, remember a little really means a LITTLE. 1/2-1 mm is enough, any more and you risk breaking off one side which means a new plug.

Instead of an extra battery another option is a DC-DC charger. If you go for the 80lb unit you are already up for 2 batteries I think as they are 24 volt. A DC-DC charger can be connected between your crank and the deep cycles, and every time you are under power it will charge the deep cycles as soon as the crank is topped up. I don't believe you can do this with a VSR as the deep cycles need a trickle charge. I run one on my 55lb (12v) Minn Kota and love it for trips away where the boat is on the water for a week.

Botany Bay has no issues with toxins or heavy metals that I am aware of, and I've fished it and the bay for 20 years now and have no issues keeping our catch. Port Hacking is also a very clean system, probably even better than the Georges due to the Royal National Park on the western shore.

That is a monster Flounder, well done.

There are many books out there but one I recommend is the Australian Fishing Networks (AFN) fish ID book. There is a convenient waterproof version available. I keep one in my boat glovebox myself, it is by no means a Grant's Guide to Fishes but is a good resource to have on board.