Bowler Bob

I managed to misjudge the trim driving onto the trailer and the propeller hit ground on the concrete boat ramp. I will replace the propeller at some stage, but will I still be able to get around without any huge issues in the meantime with the damage?? Not worried about losing any speed, but will it be actually dangerous because of possible vibration or the like? Cheers

Finally got around to affixing the stickers. Lined up the 1st sticker in position and it fit very nicely inside the Crossfire sticker and the Stacer sticker, almost like they were made to go together. Backing paper off and on she goes. Perfect Go to other side of the boat and of course, the Crossfire and Stacer stickers aren't as far apart on that side and I'm forced to put it on an angle ... lol Reckon they still look pretty good and you cannot see both sides at the same time, so all good. Say hi if you see me somewhere in Port Stephens.

Spot Lock is the single most used button on my Minn Kota. I'm a relative newbie, but couldn't imagine anybody not wanting it...

Interested indeed.... Cheers BB

Any opinions on the necessity for an outboard motor support? Stacer Crossfire 449 with a 70hp Yamaha on the back. My local ramp at Soldiers Point is about 12km/15mins away from home. Sealed road the whole way, but a few rough patches and speed humps thru built up areas to negotiate. First time boat owner and upon dealer delivery 3 months ago I made the enquiry and was told 'not necessary'. Have read a little bit lately and second thinking that advice. Cheers BB

Great catch, well done. What beach was this from??

Thx jeff. Makes sense and fortunately I have a Minn Kota fitted for some clandestine assaults on the oyster rack bream...lol

I now play at Soldiers Point. We have both an undercover synthetic and 2 grass greens. I prefer grass as long as it's running at a reasonable speed (13 secs or quicker), but no biggie to me as long as the synthetic is reasonably true. I live at Sunrise Lifestyle Village at Bobs Farm and we have a very high quality synthetic 3 rink green in the complex. My front door is about 50m walk to the green, so more than handy for quality practice and some great social bowls, often finished with a 6-pack in our sports bar...

Lawn bowls. Strangely enough, in my younger days I played a reasonable level of cricket as purely a batsman, I couldn't bowl to save myself 😂

Thx for the replies guys. I appreciate that fishing from the beach may be preferable for some (most?), but I'm committed to spending time in the boat, so I'll just use trial and error on how best to attack it. Cheers. As for beaching the boat and fishing from the beach, that plan would be going fine until it was time to climb back into the boat, it would be a struggle to say the least 😂

The great thing about this forum is there are no silly questions and even basic queries are answered with respect and a genuine wish to help a fellow Fishraider. I just have a few questions of my own. I'm fishing Port Stephens from a recent new purchase of a small Stacer 449 Crossfire, setup for fishing with live bait tank, bait board etc with a 55lb MinnKota Terrova. Getting into soft plastic fishing and have had good success recently after a few weeks of nothing. I often hear or see that 'whiting and flatties are on the bite at XXX beach in the bay'. As an example, Bagnalls Beach is often mentioned. My question is what is the best way to fish that beach from the boat?? Do I get in as close to the shore as possible? Sit out 50m, spot lock and cast back to the beach? Just drift around 100m off the beach in 2m of water? Fish the ends of the beach where it becomes a rocky headland or stick to the middle of the beach looking for drains etc? I often see that fishing the oyster leases is good for bream. How do you fish the oyster leases from the boat? Get as close as possible and cast into the channels between the racks? Just spot lock to the edge of the area (where the big white poles are) and fish that area a few metres outside the line of poles? Thx in advance BB

Nice report @Max Powerand nice feed, it gives me some confidence to head back up Tilligerry as I hadn't had much luck in the few times I've ventured up there since the new boat arrived a few months back. Don't worry, it say's more about me than the area, I'm pretty much a novice. I've managed to get a good feed of flatties just fishing plastics on the flats around to the right from the Soldiers Pt ramp over the past fortnight, but need to further my horizons. My biggest problem is identifying spots which may hold fish, but it's something I'm sure I will learn in due course. Cheers - BB

I recently purchased a brand new Stacer and the dealer told me straight up to disregard the fuel gauge bars and read the ‘Fuel Used’ (or similar) readout which can be reset when you fill up. He claimed that was the most accurate way of knowing what’s left in the tank. Of course you may not have the gauge that displays fuel used, so it may not be an option.

Hi @Fab1 It's over 12 months on from the hydrofoil fitout, wondering what your thoughts are? As a virgin boatie retired to Port Stephens, I recently purchased a new Stacer 449 Crossfire with a Yamaha 70hp. I'm not a lightweight at around the 130kg mark and even out alone it takes forever to jump out of the hole. There is not really a lot I can do regarding weight distribution as there is not a lot on the boat. The Minn Kota battery is well forward and I will put the esky and tackle box forward as well, but in truth not much weight in them anyway. I need to take it for it's first 20hr service in a month or two and have discussed with the dealer about putting a hydrofoil on it at the same time, so interested in your thoughts... Cheers BB

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ve got a few ideas from it, so when I get back to Oz I’ll check out my options. Cheers