sifisho

No - the artificial reef, about 1km or so east of the Colours

If there are a few boats fishing there you may find they get annoyed if you anchor right on top of it. Most people tend to drift over the top and fish it with jigs or livies.

Hate to say it but its about time they closed all wharfs for fishing for a while. Its the only way to make some people understand.

They were under the cliffs at south head yesterday but far too small and quickly became a pain in the butt

I don't know about the mount but unless you are in very deep water you won't need an 8lb bomb. You can get away with 3lb in most situations up to about 20m. That might help you a bit

Problem with a tank on a yak is that it adds to instability, takes up a bit of precious space and (if its behind you) it can be a little difficult to access. You might want to consider a bait tube instead (its also a hell of a lot cheaper!) - if you google "live bait tube" you might find some ideas on the more specialist kayak fishing websites.

No disrespect intended but if its your first time launching with a new boat, I would be thinking about avoiding the harbour, and trying to find somewhere quieter and a less busy time of day (i.e. not the weekend if you can at all avoid it). Tunks Park will be busy on Sunday if the weather forecast is to be believed - I would stick to somewhere like Pittwater/Hawkesbury/Berowra which might be a bit quieter. On a weekend the main harbour will most likely be choppy from all the wash if you go further than the spit - what sort of size boat have you got? Might be best to leave it until you are a bit more experienced? Dont worry too much about the fishing for your first time out, maybe just throw in a rod and a few lures, you will probably be too busy figuring out the boat to focus on the fishing, but I wouldnt be surprised if you found a few salmon on the surface in Pittwater or one of the branches of the Hawkesbury, or maybe a few flatties.

If you are planning on being in calm sheltered water, you shouldnt need an outrigger, in fact its probably going to be more of a hinderance. At first you will feel as if you are going to tip out with every little bump, but that should pass once you get the feel of it.

Seems reasonable given the price hasnt gone up for 8 years

Really? What number would you go for? Five whiting isn't much, but its a lot of YFT...

Very happy with the proposed changes but can't believe there is no increase in the jewy minimum size

I reckon you have made a good choice there. My advice would be to take it out a few times before you decide where you are going to put rod holders and sounder etc. Also, and most importantly, go out without any fishing gear and learn how to get back in when you fall out. If you fish offshore you will fall out at some point and you dont want to be learning when you out at Longy in a bit of chop.

I would second Roberta's comments above. The PA isn't designed for offshore use, people can and do use them offshore so it can be done however you need to consider:- 1) Its going to be harder to launch and land through any kind of shore break because it is heavier and wider 2) It wont be as fast through the waves 3) If the mirage drive fails (which does happen) its going to be very hard to paddle in any kind of weather. Both the revo and the adventure (and to a lesser extent the outback) still paddle ok. 4) If you capsize (this is something you need to test before you even think about going fishing) its going to be harder to flip back over (having said that if you do fall out the PA is probably going to be easier to climb back in) There is a lot of advice out there on the specialist Kayak Fising websites that I wont name.

Where are you looking to use it? Sheltered water, on the harbour or offshore (i.e. past the heads or longy)?

If you are using it in open water (i.e. offshore), your best bet is probably a revo or adventure rather than a PA as you will need to be able to punch through waves and the weight of the PA will slow you down considerably. The revo is still a very stable yak.