Berleyguts

Good on you for having a go! Building your own rods is very satisfying! It’s a bit old school and basic but see if you can find a copy of Understanding Fishing Tackle by Dick Lewers. You might find it in your local library. It has a section on rod building and covers the basics, e.g. finding the backbone of the blank, reel seat and runner placement, under binding/overbinding, sealing, lacquering etc. With a book like this and some pointers from a quality tackle store, you’ll soon be on your way.

As others have said, that’s quite a variance in boat sizes. My suggestion is to decide what size boat you want and work from there. I have a Stacer Outlaw 449 and love it! I mainly fish solo and it’s easy for me to handle on my own. I have fished 3 in it but with only 2 seats someone has to tough it out sitting on the esky, the rod storage locker or the forward or rear casting platforms - not usually an issue in the Bay but they (not the skipper!) may find it a bit uncomfortable offshore. I would like the extra length of the 489 and would probably choose a centre console over my current side console, ideally with an eski style seat that will fit my wife or fishing partner beside me at the helm... my wife finds it a bit wet in the other seat forward and portside of the side console at times! 😂

Keep checking. It may change. I’ve fished in similar seas... the boat finds it more comfortable than I do! But at least I can get in behind some islands if I need to. 😉 At least you’re able to plan a trip out... I haven’t been out for so long there are cobwebs on my boat and gear and I’m going stir crazy. Got some leave booked in February - hope the weather gods are kind and the dollies, beakies and snapper play!

You might get it cheaper if you don’t start your holiday until the Tuesday, I.e. after the public holiday. I never take holidays in peak times/school holidays, so I was shocked when I saw the rates!

It’s also a bit of a slow haul down the river before you get into the Bay. I don’t know what your budget is but there is accommodation available on the south side. The long weekend would push the prices up - I can’t believe how much they are! I could take a 14 night South Pacific cruise for the price of an apartment for a week (well, one ticket anyway)! I guess the other thing that makes it tricky is finding a place that has boat parking. I just checked booking.com and there is a 2 bedroom villa available at Shoal Bay Holiday Park for $1724 for 7 nights. You should be able to park your boat somewhere there. Good luck! PS. I also just found a unit at Soldiers Point that says “perfect for small boat parking” for $1077.

Great stuff, Peter! You put in the effort and it paid off in the results! Those bonnies would have been a handful on the bait jig! Just be careful at Cabbage Tree as I know someone who was fined for catching bonito for bait there. I thought it was yakkas, slimies and gar only but I could be wrong. So glad to hear you had a successful day. I’m still at work. But, then I’ll probably wait til the crowds have gone home anyway!

Great report, Neil! Glad to hear your river is still fishable. Hope you get the rain we’ve been getting soon. Are you making notes of where all those snags are for when the river has more water in it in the future?

Thanks Frank... I was worried it might have been “too soon”!

It’s so good to see the rain, isn’t it?!😃 Even with the flash flooding, it’s so welcome after such a long dry spell and the horrible bushfires. Near my house, the water is nearly waist high, it's pissing down and wind is increasing to gale force. My wife has done nothing all morning except look through the kitchen window, she just stares. If it gets much worse, I may have to let her in. 😂😂😂

I believe it’s called Pandora’s Box. It came up in her feed on Facebook but you can find it on EBay. I just searched for “arcade game console”. It plugs straight into the tv via HDMI cable. It’s a lot of fun.

My wife bought a arcade style gaming console online just before Christmas that runs an emulator and has over 2000 games on. We spent hours playing Tekken, Street Fighter, Ridge Racer, Galaga, Galaxian and heaps more. Had a lot of fun!

No. Live slimey, green water 18°. I’ll have a look when the tourists go home, fingers crossed.

Great stuff, Jeff! I see a black marlin was caught a couple of days ago in 20m south of Broughton. 😉

Sure! No problem, Donna! 😎 Its still only a demo! 😂