JonD

Been good numbers of small blue eye down here, mostly in the 3-4kg size. Whats been strange though is they are over flat ground just about anywhere in 300m. In regards to little boats, Ive been doing runs to the Vic border from Eden lately, which gets a few funny looks. I experimented with many props and found a small 15 pitch mercury spitfire x7 is amazing in rough conditions. Im able to hold lower speeds and far better control when conditions get really messy. Obviously though some conditions really shouldn't be tackled in small boats, a strong westerly all the way from sea mounts would be horrible in such small boats.

Im quite surprised by many of the comments on this, yes it was someone who obviously didn't understand the local fishing rules and regs. However if it had been a rod and reel angler catching any of the gropers I so often see and hand feed while on scuba or spearfishing it would be considered quite ok for them to catch and kill it. For years I dived with both scuba and free dive a location which had a fair sized groper of just under 15kg which I would never consider targeting with rod and line. It was a rod and line angler who killed it for a inter club competition where he was congratulated by just about every person from all clubs on his catch. It was also the species he targets more than any other species of fish. Personally even though I have my favourite species to interact with under water, I see no difference in catching and keeping a kingfish, tuna, marlin etc over a groper. Those who get under the surface will also know that kingfish can be just as curious and interact with you much like groper. Wrasse are even more interactive than groper, yet people will often discard them as a rubbish catch for the cat. Unfortunately for some fish if they don't look the part they aren't treated with the same respect all fish should have. Over this Xmas holiday fisheries have been catching many anglers in my area for having undersized kingfish. There have been a fair amount of undersized flathead and snapper also among local catches. There have been numerous boats in the various sanctuaries here also fishing, to the point I can guarantee seeing boats in these areas on every trip. Yes fisheries hand out warnings to people from outside the area but then come down harder on second offences. What Im saying here is this is a daily thing happening here not a mistake someone has made for the first time on a 40yr old fish, if they had it wouldn't of been 40 years old. I would be extremely surprised if this person was aware he had done wrong until he got mobbed on the rocks as many other states allow for them to be speared. Yes someone made a mistake and he now needs executing by the angry mob with any other fishing person who may of ever drifted into a marine sanctuary, exceeded a no wash speed limit or forgotten to check the dates of their life jackets. https://www.theinertia.com/environment/why-spearfishing-isnt-all-just-blood-and-guts/

Its much the same down here in the south with lots of small fish, however there have been a few bigger ones that have smoked most anglers. The sharks haven't really made much of an appearance though yet.

You measure from the furtherest parts of the boat.

Ive owned Lowrance and simrad products for around 30yrs but moved over to Garmin 5yrs ago which was the best thing I did. Before you spend money though, maybe when you turned off your H bird you accidentally turned the brightness down so dark you can't see the screen. This is something Ive seen people do on various sounders over the years and having the screen turned down you obviously can't see the brighten button depending on the model. If this is the case google how to brighten the screen in that situation.

This was on my boat when I first purchased it.

Have you measured the boat, its only 10cm bigger than my boat which seems way bigger. Those older clark boats certainly had better aluminium than boats these days.

Just be aware that the tap on those clear bowl filters is very flimsy and if its kept close to the floor where a thrashing fish tail or a big foot can knock it you will need to do repairs tog get running again. The thread only needs a gentle tighten on the tap. I carry a spare bottom bowl incase of any mishaps.

Good to see you getting out there again and getting a decent feed of quality eating fish. Might be worth buying an epipen to keep onboard with those hook cutting pliers!!!! My daughter has also had reactions to certain things which end up with paramedics and hospital.

Tailor

A couple more recent ones from my old phone. Any guesses on the jaws ?

A few more abstract images I snapped on my phone while picking up some timber at a hardware yard. An old steel shipping container pained brown had some signage written on it. The paint had worn and shrunk over the years leaving these patterns. I told my wife they were artworks in a shop down where I had been working and they were $1100 each, she said she liked them and believed they were worth it🤭

I haven't eaten that species of wrasse but others such as maori wrasse are at the top of my list for eating, above flathead, whiting and even blue eye. For years a family I fish with took the pee out of me for rating them so high but around 12 months ago were at my house just after I had crumbed a heap of wrasse fillets, everyone of them agreed it was the best fish they had eaten. These are people who regularly eat the various deep drop species. Wrasse fetch good money commercially and are unfortunately targeted heavily now in my area, so far less common. In comparison to kingfish or snapper, no thanks. Just about to head up north where I will be targeting coral trout, red emperor and large mouth nani etc, all of which taste much like wrasse, only far bigger and better sport.

She's the most jammiest person you are likely to come across and has already had so many fish and experiences it really wouldn't surprise me if she tops this before she heads home.

Yes most defiantly not something I would recommend anyone handling in regards to the owl. We've worked with various wildlife rescue groups so know just how dangerous they can be. My younger daughter is more into reptiles and mammals and often works removing king browns and other risky critters, including perentie's within mining sites etc.

It's that time of the year again where some of us get itchy feet to head up north in search of the more tropical species. Last year my daughter headed up a few weeks before me with her work buddies chasing the barra and reef fish but mostly barra. On one morning session both her and the fella she was fishing with caught and released over 100 Barra, which may sound a little hard to believe but given the fact the other person used to work up there as a Barra guide it makes more sense. So after a trip like last year you would think they would be keen to do it again but no, this trip was aimed at big barra, no more of the sub 80cm. After a couple of days of being on the water a few hours before sunrise up until a few hours after sunset a fish was finally landed at 1m long. Six days on and moving from dam to dam they headed to the Fitzroy where my daughter struck gold on this 125cm amazing fish. She was so excited she struggled to breath both during and after the capture, she also couldn't lift it and had to get it laid into her arms!!!!!! Another highlight was a night not sleeping on the floor of the boat one night but in a reel bed but not to stop there, they ordered pizza and a barking owl decided to fly into the room and check it out!!! Literally thousands of casts where most of us would be giving up to target something else has payed off, not that she's ready to come home yet😀.

Try 4 times in a day here. Maritime at the ramp doing life jacket inspections before putting the boat in the water. Further down the river maritime sitting inside the bar doing full safety inspections. Head out to Montague where Fisheries are going from boat to boat, including commercial charters checking for licences and fish sizes etc. Later in the day the maritime officer who had been stopping boats before crossing the bar now had police on the boat doing random breath testing out at Montague. Next day, same inspections at the ramp, same being stopped before the bar crossing and again fisheries doing inspection out on the water, however they didn't inspect my boat the second day. Maritime issuing fines for inflatable jackets not being in date, issuing fine for people kayaking in shallow water in front of the local caravan park etc etc. When tourists arrive there are often combined blitzes among these groups which several locals got so fed up with they stopped boating. However there were so many complaints in regards to the harissment that we now rarely get inspections and when they do they are friendly.

I think we are over policed here in Narooma and Batemans. Maritime will often be at the ramp checking people day after day, even knowing they checked all the safety gear of regulars the day before. We had a guy who was very unpopular but he recently got moved on due to the amount of complaints. The new local maritime officer is very good but the other one has gone north from us.

The most nerve wracking for many of us can be the ramp and other boat traffic you encounter, especially on bigger harbours where many bigger vessels have priority. I also believe there are way to many people who simply don't even have basic knowledge of which side of cardinal markers or other boats they should pass on. Be prepared that you could be on a narrow water section passing boats as you've learnt doing your boat licence courses, however you will encounter plenty of boats on the wrong side or cutting across in front of you. Its not a case of this might happen but I guarantee it will and your best reaction is to simply avoid any collisions and don't let fools upset you and spoil your day on the water, just smile and have a good time. Jervis is a great place to start off as the bay can get quite choppy on windy days but the wind direction will allow you to use the land as shelter but also be able to creep into rougher water to feel how the boat handles. Also you will be able to see how the waves differ closer to shallow reef closer to the heads around JB. Put your bungs in before you leave home, check you put the bungs in while you remove the trailer straps and check the bungs are in before you back the boat in!!!!!!!....if you remember to check at least once it will save you a heap of embarrassment at some point in your boat ownership. Last time I headed out an experienced boater came flying back to the ramp in the 4kt zone in a mad rush to get his boat back on the trailer after forgetting his bung. If we hadn't been able to assist quickly his boat would of been on the bottom at the ramp!!!! You will encounter maritime who will often want to check all your safety gear, so make sure you have everything in order. Some maritime officers can be quite rude in their manner but again don't let them spoil your day, its simply how some people can be when they put on a uniform.

I must admit Ive never taken any interest in sport on tv, however the Matildas soccer is the first time in my life Ive had the tv on 15 mins before each game and enjoy every minute of it. The sportswomenship among the players is truly inspiring. Like already mentioned this is putting women's sport where it already should be, full respect to the young ladies.

First time I went up north I bought a bait cast outfit which gave me no end of issues, casting to far, to short, into trees, overruns etc etc !!!!!...just not used to flicking such light lures basically. My daughter is heading north again in a couple of weeks and Im heading up not long after but will stick with the spin outfits. My daughter mostly used vibes where in one tide change session her and the fella she fished with caught over 100 Barra (he did used to be a Barra guide up there). My other daughter fishes around Xmas island and the NT with her partner who claims brassy trevaly are mistaken for GT's, which he says are very rare in the NT and more a QLD species.

The fella I often work for on the commercial boat is a Yamaha trained mechanic, when the Yamaha family business was sold he decided to do a mix of commercial urchin and abalone fishing and mobile mechanical outboard work. His brother went north to Albion Pk where he owns the Suzuki dealership. Ive owned both Yam and Suzuki engines, including a Suzuki 140 on my last boat. With Suzuki engines you need to have the plugs changed regularly and special attention needs to be taken with the powerhead anodes. When I bought my Suzuki 140 it had had a service which included powerhead anodes replaced just 38 engine hours earlier. Problem was this 38 engine hours had taken 2yrs to reach and on ispection there was nothing of them left and the powerhead was completely blocked with salt. Obviously regular use and yearly servicing would of hopefully found these issues earlier. Mine also had a fault where sometimes the engine would not rev above 3000rpm, fixing it was simply turning off then restarting and it would be ok again but not something you want to happen crossing a bar when you need all the horses!!!!!... I believe Suzuki fixed that issue on the newer engines. Another thing I was warned about were gearbox issues with the Suzuki engines and sure enough my 140 needed a gearbox rebuild at 350hrs. Local maritime vessels here have also had gearbox issues as they also do lots of forward reversing changes. To be fair I do engage forward and reverse far more than most people when I have spear fishers in the water and need to stay close to them, also when I drift fish. My 140 Suzuki's were'nt as easy to service as the Yam's as the oil filter is placed low on Suzuki, which meant removing the plastic fairing. My 90 Suzuki never gave me any issues at all, very economical and very powerful. I do like them in white and Im sure newer engines have had improvements, mine were 2014 and 2015 models. With my older Yamaha engines Ive had anodes and plugs changed at 600hrs, which still looked very good. Yamaha also do white engines and obviously can have issues too, Ive just never had any from them having owned 5 Yam four strokes so far. Ive seen good reviews on the F130. Personally I would be happy with any of the big three Yam Suz Merc but if I was thinking more of maximising engine hours and resale value, I think my money would still have to go towards Yamaha.

The one we are using commercially is very good in terms of power and economy and the throttle controls are first class for now. My daughter has a 60 merc on her boat which again has heaps of grunt and fantastic economy but the paint is blistering and peeling off with with powdery corrosion on the lower leg. Im just hoping it isn't doing the same on the internal parts of her engine as her model has no powered anodes, they simply have the one on the leg which looks better than the leg itself (engine hours around 150).

I passed comments on the amount of mercury engines at the boat show to various dealers, who's reactions were much the same, even dealers who sold merc and other brands. They claim its early days with mercury and unlike the big Japanese brands mercury put the engines out there and fix issues as they arise, where the Japanese brands do far more testing before putting a product on the market. They remarked on how Etec did much the same a few years back, I also remember the boat show floors with Etec motors dominating the floor. Time however didn't work well for Etec as we all know. I posted on here a while ago on the commercial 250 merc we have on the boat I often skipper, which I believe is up around 6 trips back in the repair shop on warranty issues in 6 months of use. I also believe the 150 merc is also having some of these same issues. For me not being overly mechanical and doing trips away in remote locations I prefer using manufacturers with a proven record.

This is who I used, very straight forward and easy https://kpsmaritime.com.au/abp-form/