recurve

Squidgy flick bait seems to be very successful for me. Cast out let it sink and pump and wind up, then let drop to bottom and do it again. Cast and repeat. 
 

works well for Salmon as well

Hey guys,

I made a video of me using the Minn Kota Ulterra. When I was researching before buying I found no videos of it mounted to a conventional Aussie style boat. Thought it might be interesting to anyone thinking about getting one. 
 

Great bit of tech and really enjoyed how much it has opened up fishing options. Just being able to hold off a break wall has been amazing, especially in a hard top which used to act like a sail. 
 

https://youtu.be/Kuhj9L3psn0

Nice catch! Yeah as a local it is really gutting and like many others have been avoiding Bellambi and launching South. Went out today and we went super early to avoid the usual muppets and came back in before 10am to avoid the hoards returning and creating chaos. 
 

It’s just a muppet show down there now. 

When I was fishing in Wellington and Kapiti Coast in NZ we saw these a lot. In all sorts of fish. I'm guessing the must like colder water as fishing in Wollongong I have not come across one yet. 

They were so common over there we really thought nothing of it. 

We're coming into Snapper season now and the Squid season is on right now. You can get Squid off the break wall or jetty at Bellambi or you go on the North side of Wollongong Harbour. Port Kembla break walls are closed and so is Bass Point but you can get Bonito and Salmon off Hill 60 rocks. 

I believe Windang Beach is good for Whiting. Flathead are still around in shallow sands and i believe they are still catching them in the lake as well. 

If you can get yourself a Kayak you can go alright jigging plastics for all kinds of pelagics off the break walls at Port Kembla

30k was what was told to me by a tackle shop owner and i believe it was the police who told him.

Fished out of Port Kembla on Monday (Yesterday) Pulled over once by water police and by fisheries. Asked us for safety gear status and where we lived. Asked them what they were doing and he said that the last two boats they pulled over were from Sydney and were told to exit the water and go home. Other cop said that on Friday they turned a lot of boats travelling to Wollongong over and sent them home. The said at this stage they are just warning people. 

Long way to go to be sent home after just getting on the water. One of the boats we saw them turn away looked like it had only just launched. 

It's a curly one. If you come down from Picton or Appin you are deemed to be Sydney so should you travel 60k to Sydney or 30k to Wollongong. 

On the bright side we landed 16 good Flatties between two of us. Could have bagged out but figured we had plenty, good size to them as well and only in 12m of water so was very easy fishing. 

Bellambi Ramp was busy busy busy yesterday. 5.30am the queue to launch was back along the entrance road. Never seen it like that, that early. 
 

We locals thought it would be a good day at the ramp and all the non locals would be gone. We all thought the calamities would be at a minimum. We were wrong. 
 

It was very clear that our local was over run by Sydney Boaters. The usual suspects in big boats with Sydney fishing club stickers and the dead give away of people who don’t know how to launch. Even had three deep parking so not sure how the middle trailer was suppose to get out  no doubt some altercations over that! Locals don’t do that, that’s Sydney boaters and a particular segment generally.

Heads up, if your 30k away from the Ramp your going to get fined. Police were scanning all the plates of cars and trailers in the morning  if your rego is not local  and you were at Bellambi yesterdayI think you have a fine heading your way  and you fully deserve it. 
 

Being allowed to fish is a privilege right now and it’s going to be potentially ruined for all because people won’t listen  hopefully these fines get out quickly and word spreads  

Weather was not good yesterday and fishing was poor so those that got fined won’t be feeling it was worth it.

So if your not a local be aware that they are scanning plates while your out on the water. And if you get fined you deserve it  

That’s tough to deal with. 
 

At least you get to enjoy re-building your collection again. 

Port Kembla Break wall. 

www.google.com.au

I go to Rockhampton to fish for Barra and have been down this path. I originally purchased a cheap holder from a shop. When I picked up my rods at Rocky the end was completely smashed in and the zipper was stuffed, luckily is was the end where the base of the rods were so did not break my gear. They must have speared it. unsavoury characters! Phoned Qantas and they were absolutely awful about it. Said I needed to produce a receipt but I did not keep the receipt so i lost out. I fly a lot for work so been using Virgin as an up yours ever since. Reckon Qantas now missed out on around 20 flights from me now. I got really pissed off at how they dealt with it. 

a shop only sell cheap ones. I went to a Tackle World and dropped some cash on a extendable holder. It's pretty bulky and large but there is no way those baggage guys can break it. Very happy I spent the money. However, on the train to the airport with Bag, Carry on Bag and bulky rod holder I do cause a bit of a stir and it is mighty awkward. However my rods arrive in perfect condition and my case does not get thrown like a spear anymore. Also I can fit loads of rods in it. 

Oh dear. More drama. This went on for quite a while. Ford Ranger came to help them out but it was obvious that was not going to work. 

So they in coupled the trailer from their ute and pulled out the ute with the Ranger. Then they tried the rope to the trailer (un coupled) and pulled it out of the sand. 

I was waiting for the rope to snap and the boat and trailer to slide back into the water. 

So thanks Wollongong council for being all over maintaining the ramp. 

There was a digger there last week and they took 6 trucks of sand. But they took the sand from the end of the jetty not from the ramp section so still a sand trap. 

My father always said to me. Only fools and women comment on half finished jobs. Maybe they coming back to get the sand from the front?

But late for these guys today though. 

You don't need a boat. 

I think it's speed more than engine size. Can't remember how fast a non licensed person can drive. 10 knots I think. 

I saw a large digger the last week but the storm happened so they left it there for a few days and took it away. Assume it was for the ramp. 

Nothing happened due to the swell 😕

19 hours ago, Oz98 said:

Thanks for the support guys! 

I will keep you guys updated on any responses I get and overall what happens. 

Feel free to use those images. 

15 hours ago, Oz98 said:

Update fellas, being a journalism student myself, I will be doing a story on this issue in the near future. Hopefully I can speak to the council and help expose the issue. 

That would be great Oz98. Look forward to seeing your work. 

15 hours ago, Oz98 said:

 

 

Caught a live example! 

This guys boat was light, he pulled out but gave him a lot of resistance.

Bigger boat or smaller car would have to start all over again. They also beat their boat up against the jetty and struggled to winch onto trailer as back of trailer was high. 

3 hours ago, frankS said:

I used to use the ramp often and not only seen many trailers get stuck but when there is a bit of a surge the loading pylons account for lots of damage, I have seen boats get stuck under the structure bow rails bent and the amount of nav lights that get crushed and plastic rod holders etc not to mention fingers etc. On a calmish day it's a good ramp if not busy but when there is a bit of a sea happening it's a place to avoid unless you are experienced.

Frank

Have also seen bows get caught under the jetty. It is a %%%%% of a ramp for sure. I have a drive on boat which is the bext type of boat for this ramp. It's struggle street there most weekend especially if the surge is up. 

The sand is a bigger problem with surge as well as it instantly sinks you into the sand. 

4 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

Thanks for sharing mate.

From the images, the jetty side looks like it could be a trap even at high tide for larger boats (6m +).

It's hard to get Councils to spend money on these things. They have a very limited bucket of money and these days, the part of the community with the biggest voice gets the biggest slice of the cake.

Agree, I have a 5.5m boat and always launch on the 2 far side ramps. High tide or low tide

Hey all Bellambi launchers. 

When launching at Bellambi be aware of the sand build up against jetty. Unless it it high tide and on the 3/4 high you should be launching from the far sides. 

Too many people getting in a lot of expensive bother by not realising that the sand is almost as high as the water line. 

Many get told by locals and onlookers and don't listen so thought a picture might make it easier to understand why. 

Few weeks ago a guy backed his trailer down, tried to put his boat on but couldn't work out why it was all going wrong. I saw his trailer tyres were sunk in the sand. I told him he would need to take boat off and retrieve on other side. He waved me off and backed down further!! He then had his trailer tyres and car tyres embedded in the sand. Told him again but I got waved off. 

Then another Charlie offered to help pull him out. So Charlie number 2 reversed his truck with the boat still attached. Tied the front of the car to the rear bar of the boat trailer. This time the guy next to me told them this was going to end in failure. This time the wife of Charlie number 2 waved us off and said hubby new what he was doing. 

Uhh huh??? Ok so we just shut our mouths and looked on. 

So trailer tyres are in embedded in the sand, car tyres are embedded in the sand. There are now two trucks and two boats all joined together. 

Charlie 2 revvs up and begins the tow. The sound of welds snapping was instantaneous. Wife starts screaming and eventually he stopped. Rear bar of trailer is now only just hanging on. 

Now they listen. Dissembled the boat and truck centipede and removed the boat from the trailer and went to far side. 

Not sure where our money towards ramp maintenance goes but this sand has been there a while and claimed many. 

Anyway, stay expense free and stay away from the sand. I have seen 4 fails in the past 3 months with cars or boats stuck in the sand. I'm not even down there that much so must be effecting a lot of people. 

Zoom in on this photo and you can see how this is literally a trap at low or mid tide. Don't be the next one!!

Alloy gets a patina when it's raw. Same as a cast iron pan. Stops it from corroding. Biggest problem with aluminium is electrolysis. So always turn your battery off when not using the boat. 

If it looks bad up close give it a going with a wire brush or water blaster and see what's under. 

Looks like the boat has not gotten wash downs much. Or cleaned. 

I have a raw alloy boat and I take everything out and water blast it 2 - 3 times a year. Does wonders. 

You'd better crazy not too. Too many things you can't tell from a visual. 

Even better, get some one who has had a boat for years to come out with you. Seemingly small issues can cause big drama And be expensive to fix. 

Bellambi ramp starts at 4.15am. At this time it is all locals getting in before the chaos from Sydney arrives. It's a pretty smooth affair normally, even on dead low. A lot of locals won't fish the weekend due to all the drama and queues. 

 Around 5.45am the first of the Sydney  crowd turns up and there are always novices and bellambi newbies amoung them. This is when the hold ups, balls ups and lack of etiquette happens. 

There are plenty of good snapper grounds around Wollongong. You don't need to go all the way to the humps to get snapper. I've always found the humps really hit and miss so don't bother anymore. 

Some of the best snapper fishing is only 4k - 5k from the ramp. 

Awesome so glad someone tried it. Yours looks very good too. Coriander is a master stroke.