phill81

Thanks for the advice. My best spotted mackerel last year ignored our livies and took the red head lure in close. Mind you we did probably lose a few that hit the livies hard.

Hi all, Been trolling for Spanish and Spotted Mackerel lately in Barries Bay with mixed success. I often slow troll a few livies off each corner and a deep diving lure in the middle and closer to the boat. Do people find trolling lures or livies more successful? Would i be better just trolling 3 lures? Should i be using a wire trace or would a heavy fluoro leader get more strikes? Interested to know what other raiders have found most successful.

Thanks for the info.

Hi all, A few years back fisheries put a few artificial reefs off Port Macquarie. Anyone fished these lately? Would love to know whether they are producing fish as intended.

I put a wheel clamp on the trailer. car and boat trailer was there when we got back. thanks again for the feedback

thanks heaps, good to hear you haven't had any issues.

Hi Raiders, Was thinking about putting the boat in this weekend and staying out on the river. Has anyone ever had any problems leaving their car and trailer overnight at either of the Brooklyn/mooney mooney ramps. There is a post from 13 years ago saying some had some issues. anyone had any issue lately? Would love to know people thoughts. cheers.

thanks heaps for that advice, will try that. not sure whether there are many cod in that section of the river but will give it a try. Even if i just spend time on the bank in a camp chair and a beer and catch nothing i will be happy. A cod would be icing on the cake though.

Hi Raiders, Passing through Robinvale over the weekend. Planning on camping at the caravan park by the river. Has anyone ever fished here? i'm not much of a freshwater fisherman so i guess i will toss a few lures and see how we go. I have also heard cheese is an OK bait. Any advice on how to catch and release my first cod would be great. cheers

Hi raiders, Travelling through Robinvale on the Murray over the weekend. Camping at the carvan park beside the river. Anyone ever fished there? Not much of a freshwater fisherman, I will probably just throw a few lures and try my luck. I have also heard CHEESE can work well. Any advice on how i might catch and release my first Murray Cod would be appreciated. cheers

Thanks again for your advice, I ended up with the 55Lb and 54" shaft as they had this in stock ready to go. I don't take the boat out in anything too rough so hopefully the shaft length will be fine. It seems to be Bluetooth Berleyguts. Looking forward to testing it out. Do you guys unplug the motor from the battery before charging it on the C-teK or equivalent?

thanks baz, I wouldn't be out in a huge swell (my guts don't handle it too well), maybe just outside when the ocean is pretty calm fishing for snapper and I want to fish on top of a reef. what sort of battery do you run with it? would a 100amp hour battery be sufficient for a days fishing?

Hi Raiders, I am about to get a minn kota put on the front of my 450 topender. The guys at the boat yard said a 55lb motor with a 54" shaft would be fine for that size boat. Anyone out there with a similar setup? if so does it work well or would you have preferred to spend the extra on an 80lb? My main issue with upgrading to the 80lb is the setup would need to run on a 24V system instead of 12 volts. Also, is the 54" shaft long enough if there is a bit of a swell, i'm worried the 60" shaft will take up room in the small boat. Any advice would be appreciated before I spend $$$ cheers

Thanks heaps for all the advice. Will have a go at getting some poddis while out next time.

thanks heaps for the advice Baz. I wish my wife would have let me bring a fishing rod on my honeymoon

Hi Raiders, Just got a boat and am new to Port Macquarie. I am looking to catch live bait rather than using frozen stuff. Nippers are the only thing I can get easily at this point. The other day I saw bait balls in the river that looked like whitebait. Is there any way of catching these for livies? I know that you cant use cast nets in nsw and they seem to small even for my bait jig. Anyone had any success at catching these for bait or know of where I can find yakkas etc. regards

While I do like the sea rod mob0103 one thing I do like about the new quintrex trailers is the catch and release system. Would make it a lot easier when out by myself.

thanks again for the advice. I do like the look of the tabs territory pro.

Thanks heaps for the advice. I am hoping to get something with a high transform/motorwell to stop any swell coming in from the back of the boat. I will have a look at the stacer and see what price I can get with the high motorwell upgrade. Don't necessarily need anything bigger as I will probably take it out myself a bit.

Hi all, In the market for a new fishing boat with about 30-35K to spend. I'd mostly be sticking to the rivers and maybe head out once in a while if the conditions were awesome. I like the look of the side consoles and am currently thinking between a Qunitrex 450 Top Ender or a Formosa Sea Rod 480 classic. Anyone had any experiences with these boats or have any other suggestions? cheers

where's the best place to catch livies like yellowtail or herring? saw a guy at the breakwall today with 2 huge flatheads. He was using livies and the only person catching anything decent.

For sure, always looking to learn new fishing spots and learn from people in the know.

is it the new moon or full moon that you get the run of prawns. Would love to take the kids down one evening.

had a crack at Blackmans this morning, great spot to get nippers and throw in a line. Only got some small bream and a sting ray that gave me a bit of a fight. By the time I left there were too many people showing up, probably mostly families on holiday. Hopefully it will quieten down after the Christmas holiday period. Thanks again for the suggestion.

thanks will try Blackmans tomorrow morning on the run out. looks like there might be some flatties around there.