Berleyguts

I set my lever drag game reels to 1/3 of the breaking strain of the mainline. I tie the line to a set of certified spring scales and get someone to hang onto the scales about 30-40 feet away, then I put a good solid working bend in the rod and get them to read out the the number on the scales. I then adjust the drag until it just slips at about 1/3.

If you don’t want to duck outside to Mrs Murphy’s (“The Crack”) for yellowtail, you can sometimes catch small ones near Bannisters (formerly Salamander Shores) wharf. Also sometimes near Soldiers Point boat ramp. Try working soft plastics for flathead. 😉

Are you planning to fish inside the Bay or offshore? If in the Bay, you can pump nippers at Corlette. Access from Roy Wood Reserve (Foreshore Drive and Sandy Point Road). Try for squid in Shoal Bay, or garfish if they’re about. Bream, flathead, whiting. Get the Navionics app on your phone and seek out the deep holes for mulloway. Read Scratchie’s post, linked earlier, especially for tips on snapper. Talk to any of the local tackle shop owners. They’ll steer you right. Enjoy our little part of paradise and make sure you’re familiar with the marine park and the sanctuary zones.

You still doing that, Ron? 😮 I still remember that silver Trevally that buried a treble in your thigh at Gunsight, Port Stephens all those years ago! 😂

Well, the dog just went nuts at the door and I opened it for the delivery driver and was surprised to see two reasonably sized boxes. It took me a while to realise they were from Shimano. My hopes went up… what could be in such large boxes? A full suite of Stellas? Or Tiagras? Reality kicked in, however, when I lifted the boxes and realised they were quite light. Upon opening, I discovered they were packed with lots of air bags… unnecessary in my opinion but they will come in handy as I pack fragile items for our move in a couple of weeks. As I expected, I won some Shimano promotional gear: sticker, bottle opener, cap, neck shade combo thingie, and a gear bag. Still, I’m happy with that and I’m glad they came.

Why do you think I bought a console boat?😉😂

Looks great, Frank. I’ve been thinking of getting a boat catch for a while. The only thing that’s held me back has been my doubts about how the hell I’d climb down over the bow to get to the car! 😂😂

Ha ha, Jeff! Not quite. I didn’t buy the Outlaw until Jan 2014 and didn’t move to the Bay until March 2017. Metadata says 20 March 2019. But, yes, it’s been a long time between trips. I think I’ve put the boat in 3 times since Covid hit. 🤷‍♂️Moving house in 2 weeks and hope things settle down then and I’ll be up for a Wednesday or Thursday fish.

This one.

I once won a subscription prize from Fishing World - a week on Lord Howe Island with 4 days gamefishing. I went on that trip 2 weeks before my wedding. My fiancé/wife didn’t want to go. That was the last serious fishing trip I had - 31 years ago! 🤷‍♂️😂😂

They liked the selfie with the dolly I caught at the FAD. That was tricky taking that - the boat was really bouncing around that day! 😂

So, Shimano Australia had a Facebook competition where they asked us to post a fishing selfie and they’d award a prize pack to the best 10. I got a message to get my details and said they’ll send me a package. 😎 I don’t suppose it will include a Stella…? 🤷‍♂️😂

Good luck with it. The surgery techniques are a lot less intrusive these days. I didn’t feel any pain from my hernia but after the op there was some bruising. It hurt the most when my mates came to visit me and made me laugh! 😂

Good stuff, Rick. Yeah, I think it’s about time I soaked a bait, too. I feel less guilty about a short session down the road than I do going out in the boat for several hours. Will have to check the tide chart. 🤔 I just got a negative Covid result back a few minutes ago, so I can step out of iso after a possible exposure at work.

Inguinal or umbilical? When I was about 20 I had an inguinal one. I lived with it for months - kept pushing it in and out! 😂 Didn’t really feel any pain but I was too scared to see a doctor about it because I thought they’d have to remove a nut! 😂 I misread my mum’s medical encyclopaedia- this was before Dr Google. I didn’t need a truss or anything. Eventually had it fixed on December 8, 1980, the day John Lennon was killed, that’s why I remember it. I had an umbilical hernia for a few years but just assumed I’d put on so much weight that my innie had become an outtie! 😂 I got that repaired in 2019. I was only in overnight for that one. It’s worth getting it done, especially if you have private health cover.