Jiggy

Depends on what your budget is. Also look at Simrad, Furuno and Raymarine. I've fish the same depths, or will be again, and have used Furuno in my previous boat and Simrad in my current one. Both are great. Cheers Rob

If the science is saying that there is a problem with duskies, then what changes are being proposed for the commercial take? It is a shared fishery and, if the science is saying that there is a problem, then both commercial and rec anglers need to work together to fix it.

I've read about it on a couple of Facebook groups. Not sure what is behind this as, from what I've read, the DPI haven't publish their reasoning behind this. Personally I think we should have a slot limit, say 35 to 70 with anything over having to be released. But I'd like to see why they want to drop the bag limit before making a judgement either way. Cheers Rob

Being in Sydney I don't have much experience with bar crossings, they do worry me, so take this into account. My pick is none of the above. Winnie Water beach launch into the lagoon is what I would do. I used to chat to a bloke that launched a similar sized boat without too many issues there. He noted that the sand is soft so be quick launching and retrieving your boats if launching from there; apart from that it's pretty safe. Cheers Rob

Thanks guys; I think I'll drain it out and get the family to use it. I can't as I have diesel truck. Counting the days until I can get out out, get seasick and catch a stack of sargent bakers. Or nothing. It'll be great!

Thanks guys; its in an 200 litre underfloor metal tank and there would be around 100 litres or so of premium unleaded. Think I'll reach out to the mechanic I use and see if he can deal with it. Cheers Rob

Hey Guys, I've had a few health issues of late and my much loved boat has been sitting on the trailer for a bit over 18 months without being used. I've run the motor every couple of weeks but that's about it. Fingers crossed I'm going to get the OK to start using it again in the next couple of weeks. I've had it serviced and it's ready to go but I've just had a thought about the fuel. When ever I run the motor it starts first time, runs clean and not smoky and seems fine. When the mechanic was servicing it he thought there were no issues with it when run, but of course I didn't mention how old the fuel is. Yes I'm stoopid! I've also only ever put premium unleaded in it. Would you think it's safe to use or drain it and put in a fresh tank of fuel? Cheers Rob

Right so a couple of things here. When you catch a fish for the table brain spike it and bleed it out by cutting the gills. You don't need to cut the throat but cut the area behind the gills. Then ice it down in either a slurry or a pile of ice. I'm actually a bit pedantic and I gut and gill my fish after bleeding them out then put them in ice. Less to do to them afterwards and an overly bloody esky creeps me out. Given that the fish wasn't cleaned or bled I would not recommend eating is as sashimi/sushi. But freezing does kill off the parasites and makes any fish safe to eat raw. I would cook this one to be safe. But the next one treat it as advised, freeze the part you want to eat raw for a day and you should be fine. It's all a learning process and you've got the main part right, catching them. Well done. Cheers Rob

I was browsing Youtube the other day and found a new show that the boys of BAF are doing; the Lateral Line. It's fun with Milan chasing huge kings with ridiculously large baits off the rocks. So far it's all landbased fishing but there is a very nice custom boat build shown. The shows are short, about 15 minutes or so, so if you want to see what's happening in NZ check it out.

If you can't find anything there is a dry boat storage at White Bay. Not the cheapest option but its more secure than street parking IMHO. Cheers Rob

Hey Guys, The DPI have issued an update on this: Fisheries Researchers Solve Sea Bass Mystery! DPI experts have confirmed a mystery fish caught near Newcastle in February by keen fly fisherman Ben Hall was indeed a Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus). Examination of the fish, including analysing its otoliths by DPI and other experts at the Australian Museum and Fish Ageing Laboratory at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, have revealed the sea bass was six years of age and was a female. Measuring 113cm and weighing 12.53kg (27.63lb) the fish is more than twice the weight and length of sea bass of a similar age studied by fisheries scientists in their home waters of the Western Pacific. In fact, Ben’s sea bass has been described by DPI experts as being “exceptional in both size and growth rates”. As it turns out, it’s only just off the IGFA All Tackle record, a fish which weighed in at 28lb 15oz! Japanese sea bass – known as “suzuki” in Japan – are protandrous hermaphrodites, reaching sexual maturity as males at about two years of age and then changing into females as they become older. Ben caught his sea bass early in the morning on 13 February while targeting mulloway on fly in the Hunter River at Newcastle. He initially tagged and tried to release it. Discovering it was unsuitable for release, he kept it and put up a post on his Facebook page. Not surprisingly, the fish created something of a social media storm. It also attracted considerable interest in the scientific community, with the upshot being that Ben very kindly agreed to donate the frame to the Australian Museum and DPI for analysis and study. Prior to that, Ben arranged for the fish to be taxidermied and it now holds pride of place on the wall at his home! DPI understands that small numbers of Japanese sea bass have previously been recorded in Sydney Harbour, with speculation that they may have been transported as fry or larvae in ship ballast water. At this stage, it is uncertain how the fish Ben caught ended up in the Hunter River. Regardless, it is an amazing catch which Ben will likely remember for the rest of his life! That said, there are always biosecurity concerns associated with reports such as this. If you encounter any suspicious fish or other aquatic species, please contact the Animal Disease Emergency Hotline on 1800 675 888. Given that this was a big female I hope she didn't get a chance to breed. At least one comment on the facebook page mentioned that they think they have caught one in the Hunter. I dunno but I hope not, they are good on the chew and pull hard, but we don't need another case of rabbits. Marine rabbits anyway.

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Yes indeed Lake Lyell; I've not fished it but I want to give it a shot one time. Thanks for that. Cheers Rob

Some other places you could try are Pejar Dam near Crookwell, Lake Wallace (Wallerawang) and Thompsons Creek Dam at Lithgow. I've caught good trout in all of them. I believe that Wallace now has redfin in it so if the trout aren't biting you can target them instead. I only use lures so celtas, tassie devils, tiger minnows, soft plastics. All of them work on a given day and trout will totally ignore them on a given day too. Good Luck Rob

A couple of excellent answers here. Don't forget to use berley too, especially if chasing bream, drummer, trevally etc.. A handful of soaked bread into the wash every few minutes works a treat. Mix into it some pilchard pieces or prawn heads plus some bits of weed helps too. You want to soak the bread so it sinks and breaks up into small pieces; if it floats you'll feed the seagulls instead. This will attract fish from a wider area and concentrate them where you're fishing. Fish light and fish your feet. Oh and to source bread try your local bakers. Some will sell you a bag of stale bread for much less than buying fresh bread. Cheers Rob

Ooh bugger that.

I just did a quick search on a boat sales site for WA and new Ocean Master 640 Challengers came up as in your budget range. I don't know anything about them but this is the makers site: http://www.oceanmasterboats.com.au/challenger-series.html Can't hurt to have a look at one. Dealer is in Fremantle. Good luck new boat hunting is fun kinda sorta.

I couple of times when I've been at Nambucca I've seen the bait in that area getting harassed by something; this was at night and there were some big explosions happening. In your opinion kings or something else? Oh and yes kings had been seen during the day when this was happening. Oh and yeah the gear was at home, no leave pass allowed Cheers Rob

Yes usually impossible. But sometimes you get lucky; landed a 7.5 pound drummer on 8 pound mono one time at Stanwell Park. Talk about a fluke!

Back in the day we used abalone gut for good results; sadly banned now and no longer available. Like Noelm said peeled prawns or bread. Cabbage weed works great for drummer but it has to be rigged properly. Light blackfish rod, centrepin with 8 pound mono and a properly weighted float. You'll hook plenty of drummer with that setup...won't land them but you will hook them.

I've heard that redfin are in Walarawang now too. Not sure what it'll do to the trout fishery there.

As PaddyT said no river fishing as the season is closed. Give Lake Lyell a go instead. It's stocked with bass and trout and has redfin in it. Cheers Rob

No I don't have a slow cooker, no doubt that brisket would turn out very well in one.

Brisket is one of those cuts of meat that needs to be cooked slow otherwise it's tough. It's often one of the prime cuts for long slow smoking and, lets be honest, a slice of brisket that's been slow smoked is pretty awesome. If like me you aren't geared up to do long slow smoking try this next time you a mood for some brisket: Season (dry rub, salt, pepper whatever you prefer) then put in the fridge overnight. If possible rest on a rack so that it stays dry. Pre heat your oven to 165 C. Slice up an union than fry that in butter until it softens then add some garlic, rosemary and a cup of apple juice. Cook until the juice is reduced by half. Put half on this in a roasting tray, put the brisket on top then pour the rest over the brisket. You want the brisket to be fat side up. Cover the tin in foil then bake in the oven for 1.5 hours. After this reduce to 120 C and cook for another 2.5 hours. What you get is very tender, juicy and tasty. I've done this with just salt and pepper and it's great. Largest brisket I've cooked like this is 2.5 kilos but larger should be fine; maybe cook for a little longer.

In my younger days we'd think nothing of getting up at midnight and driving 7 hours to hunt all day. Then drive back the same day as we had work/life obligations. I'm not that crazy anymore...well maybe a little. I'll have to do this again soonish, I really liked those tuskies.