fishoman

How do you rig them? Do you put the whole worm on and let it hang free?

I was using a Rapala xrap with a small 3m diving bib. The lure was about 10cm long.

I have only been fishing in Botany for a few months so am trying a few things through trial and error. I launched on foreshore Rd ramp and went out towards the heads for a bit of bottom bouncing. I could see fish on the sounder but couldnt hook anything. So after a while and losing a few traces decided that i would try a bit of trolling. I put out a Rapala 3m diving lure and started to troll. Looking back i could see the lure skipping along the surface and it would only dive under for a few seconds at a time. I tried different speeds (3knts, 6 knots, 8 knots) and still couldnt get it to stay under. As my frustration started to build (only after 2 minutes) the lure was hit on the surface. I was very surprised and excited to get a small Bonito (my first ever), which went straight in the esky after bleeding it. I immediately put on another lure, which again popped along the surface and aging was hit by a fish within 2 minutes. This one was a bit bigger and took a while to get in and land on my own. For a quick trip out i was elated to get my first Bonito. Any tips on how to get the Rapala lures to stay down? I tried different speeds and let out plenty of line. They were connected to the mainline with a swivel and clip. cheers

This was to be our 5th trip to Forster and with all the rain the water was the colour of chocolate at the start of the week. We did manage to get out amongst the oyster leases on the last days twice but was not to be a successful trip. We went out as the tide turned to go out so the water was a lot clearer. We caught a few undersize Bream on chicken and pilchards around the leases. Then tried along the banks where the highlight was watching a barely legal flathead engulf my chicken bait in about 8ft of water. We then moved under the bridge and threw poppers and lures hoping to catch all the whiting we could see in the clearer water. With no luck on the whiting we just sat and watched a local catch a fish with every cast around the bridge. It looked like he was using metal lures to catch Whiting? In 5 trips to Forster we are still yet to catch a legal Bream or Whiting.... we will keep trying and crack it eventually

I am heading to Forster tomorrow for a week and I've heard that the lakes are all brown. Any tips on how to fish the brown water or is it better to stay off the lake? With no rain forecast will it clear up while i am up there? Any help here appreciated.

The problem is really the angle so a pivoting trailer hitch could work. Any suggestions as to brands or Sydney based distributors?

Arghhh. I don't want to have 3 phase power. Was hoping the winch would have a way of controlling the reverse.

Thanks for all the ideas! I am thinking the winch dyna bolted to the garage floor is going to be the best option. I will need to ensure it works in both directions so it doesn't get away from me when going downhill. Will start shopping for winches tonight online, then will figure out how dyna bolts work . i do own the house, so if i end up damaging anything I'm the only one that will be .

unfortunately theres not enough room even for that. Im eyeing up a winch on online shop for about $150 which i think will do the trick. Now i need to make sure that it stays in the concrete and the boat doesn't end up rolling down the drive on to the road. Any other ideas?

I have just moved into a new house and am having trouble connecting the boat to the car. We got it into the garage and eventually got it off the tow ball with a lot of force. The driveway is on an angle, while the garage is nearly flat so the boat tow bar will not go onto the ball due to the angle. To solve the problem I am thinking of installing a winch on the garage floor and winching the trailer backwards up the 5m driveway into the garage. When wanting to take it I out will connect the winch and lower it down the driveway on to the flat. The boat is only about 400Kgs (plus trailer) so doesnt need to be too heavy duty. Can someone recommend a company or person to install a winch to the garage floor? It will need to be bolted into the concrete.

Great report and photos!

Great video! what size line have you got on your Daiwa's for Kings? Do you ever try for them on SP's or always use squid?

I was out in Wallis lake the same time as you were Roberta. We anchored near some of the oyster leases and got a steady stream of small Bream but nothing over size. Lots of leather Jackets as well stripping the soft plastics. Out of several days fishing the lake i only got 1 small flathead on a plastic lure. We did see a 1m+ flathead 2 days in a row, near the same spot but just could not hook it. Any tips for hooking Flathead in the lake? We also caught a few very small Snapper. Has anyone caught a legal size snapper in the lake? Next time i go to Forster will also have a go at the Mullet on bread as they were everywhere.