kkw

vote is in

That's one of the most sensible responses on any of the forums so far. We need someone who has a viable presence and credibility in the community. Where are you Ross??? I realise that Ross has a commercial interest of sorts, however, as a representative of one of the largest sites........ It will sneak up fairly quickly, so procrastination is the last thing we need.

Did you miss any??? I have written my letters to several of the ones you mention. If any of the Mods read this, then I can post a copy of what I wrote so that others can get some idea of what to write, or copy and paste. I have never gotten into politics and detest them, but this will directly affect my area and fishing/boating activities.

I bought some of these recently, but you are looking for the single ones right? These have to be mounted vertically, so the angled holders in the gunwhale are not suitable. Slip into existing vertical holders. I have found them ideal for bait fishing, and it doesn't matter if it is a king that hits. That is why you have a drag setting.

Good to see our advice helped you make a decision benny

Benny. I have been up there twice in the past few months. Get a chart of the marine parks no fish zones from the tackle shop. I fished mainly out of Laguna (now Marina) Quays area in Repulse Bay. There are a couple of good rivers you can venture up for barra and jacks. Also have a look at Faust Dam for barra. You need to get a permit to fish there. Only a few dollars and you get it online if you want. Not sure where to hire a tinny from up there. Good luck. It is a great place. Will be hot so keep plenty of handy.

Thanks for the 'heads up' on the site rules, Grant. Wow!!! There is not much you can say that doesn't contravene those rules in one way or another, is there. Can't say, ' I really love fishing with brand X, as it may be deemed as plugging a product which may not be one of the sponsors, etc etc etc. If any members do have some suggestions, then PM me please (but that is also against site rules if you tell me to try manufacturer X) Oh well.....

Hi boys n girls. I am looking to get a storm cover for my Quintrex Cruiseabout. Press stud fit from the windscreen to the stern. Does anybody have any recommendations on who could make a cover at a reasonable price, in the Sydney area? I have had a rough quote from Mobile Covers but was taken aback I know that a full cover, from Sterns or similar, would be around $110 for my 5m Quinnie, but I don't want a full cover.

Well, back in the late 1950's, we lived at Cronulla, close to the Gunnamatta Bay ferry wharf. My dad bought me a plastic rod, with a plastic hook and string, and some cardboard fish to 'catch'. Well, I trotted off to the neighbours and he gave me some real fishing line to wind on the reel, and also a couple of hooks. I got a slice of bread and off to the wharf I went to catch some fish. I was 6 yrs old. Caught a bucketfull of slimies and yakkas, when a huge game boat tied up to the wharf and an american man came over and offered to buy the bait off me. Of course I refused, as these were the first fish I had ever caught. The gent was Bob Dyer, a well known TV host and fisho. Well from that day on, I never looked back. I was hooked. Many years later, we had a house which backed onto Gwarley Bay, and they were reclaiming the bay to build a new housing development on it (Sylvania Waters). As a teenager, I caught a swag of huge bream off the 'islands' of mud that they were creating. I have since had several boats, worked for 10 yrs in the water police and broadened my experiences to Snapper, pelagics etc. Used to regularly wave to a younger Ross Hunter when we fished out of Port Hacking in my mates 20ft Bluefin runabout. Never caught a marlin (and never fished for them either) but I am still young enough (barely). I love rockhopping and fishing for blackfish, and recently have had a resurged interest in lure fishing for bream, flatties, whiting etc. So, no particular species has got me hooked on fishing, just the entire experience.

Milt - that's the name for fish and mollusc sperm.

Fishing near Cronulla.

I'm old enough and politically incorrect enough to say I went blackie fishing today. (o.k. the spell check has replaced the 'N' word for me) The tide was high, and I would have preferred a couple of hours this side of low, but the wind was forecast to come up, and it surely did. Got onto the rocks at 9.45am and saw that the water was gin clear and very little wash. Undeterred, I rigged up and baited with cabbage off the rocks. Within 5 minutes, I had a few very tentative downs, and wasn't sure if it was just the below surface swirls taking the bait down. Checked to see the bait was gone. Next one, I left the float under for 3 seconds and lifted the rod for a hookup. Landed a fat male blackie, so looked forward to some fun for the next couple of hours. All of the fish I have caught in the past month have been males, with fully loaded milt. Wonder if the female fish are here yet. Anyway, next down was pretty savage and the fish didn't feel at all like a luderick. A big Rock Cale (cocky) was the culprit. The touches were still tentative, so I went up a hook size to #6 and immediately hooked another blackfish. Next one was another cale (grrrr) and then it went quiet for an hour. The wind was really up and spoiling the drift, so I decided to call it quits after being there for two hours. The float went down right at my feet, on the edge of the ledge, and a third blackfish soon joined its mates. Three blackfish from 36cm to 38cm and two cale in two hours. Not bad for pretty ordinary conditions. Wish the water would dirty up a bit. Maybe some rain would help. I was using a Sportex 662, Avon Royal reel with 10lb Raptor braid and an 8lb Vanish trace. Sorry about the poor pics. I released all the fish, as I wanted a half dozen for dinner tonight. Have to cook meatloaf instead

Great sessions. Congrats on the catch. Yes they are starting to spawn down in Sydney as well. Some healthy, big, strong fish at present. I had a run in with some 'local old blackfishermen' up at Nelson Bay Marina breakwall recently. I had taken a 7ft barra rod up to do some SP and hard body spinning for bream. Went for a walk along the breakwall with my wife and daughters and saw a couple of blokes fishing on the outside of the breakwall. Stopped to see how they were going, and only got a mumbled response, "no good, no fish today". Undeterred, I asked where I could get some local weed and have a go. They both just sneered and told me I couldn't catch blackfish with the gear I had, and to get some proper gear if I wanted to catch a fish. Anyway, I went on the marina side of the breakwall, as I could see hundreds of blackies rolling on the surface, spawning. Found a rock with some cabbage on it and put on a small plastic bubble float. Was only in the water for a minute before I was on. I asked my daughter to go across and ask the blokes if I could borrow a net to land my fish. They told her in no uncertain terms - "NO'. Anyway stayed for a half hour and landed four nice fish. As I was leaving, I had them in a plastic bucket with the tails sticking up. Stopped and said goodbye to the blokes and thanks for their advice. I had my dinner and hoped that they would also be able to catch a fish. Not happy campers. Doesn't take much to be friendly and helpful. I had been fishing another spot for a couple of hours one time, and a local came up and told me to 'p' off as I was fishing on 'his' rock. I just laughed and told him to wake up. Some people.......

Yes it works very well. Just mould it into a teardrop shape around the hook. It stays on and casts well too, due to the weight. I fish it with no lead, for bream mainly, and have caught my biggest bream to date on a lump of cheddar cheese. The slices are not as good as the block. They seem to be more 'plastic' in consistency and do not mould as well. Give it a go.

Yes they are. They are still available. I have a half dozen in my tackle box. Don't know how they would stand up to a mack attack though.