rayke1938

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

Another slow day at the eastern arm this morning. We were able to recover our shrimp pots that were submerged when the dam rose, Most of the the shrimp in them were dead and stunk the boat out but we still got enough to have a fish. We initially went upstream but could not find a fish on the sounder so we went downstream and managed to catch 14 bass and 2 tandans. The fish were scattered and between 14 and 30 feet and the only plus hardly any barred grunter to steal our sparse shrimp. Very large flock of shags just seemed to be resting on the water when we were on way back to ramp,

So I've recently bought an electric motor and starting enquiring about the plate being fabricated to the bow.. I'm keen to add some flat gunnell to the sides of the boat and extend the casting deck to fit a livewell/ more storage...
so I got to thinking...😬🤪
Being my first boat and also being an apprentice, why not have a crack myself?
I have never welded aluminium but weld stainless and carbon pipe regularly, have access to an AC/DC tig and can get enough materials to do all the jobs for a similar price it would cost to do just the bow mount...
I think I'm going to use this topic to document and record the progress, happy to hear any advice from people that fabricate or have any constructive recommendations to the build... 
To start, I'll give a bit of history on the boat.. I sold my Hobie PA14 when this boat came up. Pretty much a clean swap. It's a Horizon 2000ish 4.2m with a 30hp 2001 Honda 30hp on the back. Trailer was only 12 months old but I believe had been mistreated (along with the boat and motor, they lived on stradbroke)
the motor wasn't running so started with new fuel , fuel lines, filters, got it started but wouldn't get on the plane... 
Carbies next...
Bought a carby gasket set, thermostat, impeller service kit, new plugs and got stuck in. Pulled down the carburettors and took them to the local small motor mechanic to be ultrasonic cleaned, reassembled 
still wouldn't get on the plane.. 
Stripped down the carbies again, somehow there was gunk in the bowl so ultrasonic cleaned again then cleaned the jets by hand with oxy tip cleaners...
My first time on the plane, beautiful! Cruises around 20kts in good conditions, to date have not assessed l/km but it really isnt concerning. Have taken it for over 40km round trips up north. Just take some extra fuel ⛽️ 
the tilt mechanism was damaged and the tiller arm didnt move vertically at all, sorted those out with replacement parts. Was very hard to steer for the first couple months until I found a bolt that restricted movement in the steering, loosened that and greased the nipples. 😄 
In a perfect world, I would have a newer motor and a newer tinny but this is what I have to work with. She's not perfect or pretty but she's honest. 
I'll post photos and updates when things happen. if you got this far into the write up I commend you.
Hope I have this in the write sub category.. 
Also, in the meantime, I'm going to keep fishing, I'm keen to catch more fish on lures, if anyone is keen to come for a burn on the water and show me some things, let me know. (Really just want your GPS marks) 🤣 

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Got out with my partner and daughter on Friday, just caught the top of the run in and spent some time exploring some of the drains . As the tide turned we started to fish.
I was focused on drifting around with lures, running motor oil coloured grubs , paddle tails and shrimp. Laser ayu double clutch when I though a flatty might be sitting in the shallows. 

I missed a couple of hits throughout the day (amateur hour) and spite our efforts neither of us landed any fish.
 
The next day we took out a frozen mullet I netted a while ago to target the same drains, this time fishing the top 2 hours of the run in. We both caught at least 8 legal bream , at least another 12 undersized. the largest just on 30cm, all released to fight another day.
all bream caught on a 1/0 circle on strips of mullet. 10lb leader.
 
It was my partners first time on the boat since April last year so there was no complaints until it was time to load the boat….
When approaching the ramp my partner threw the rope around the cleat but not secured and stupidly I jumped off onto the jetty , pushing the boat off and away to the abyss. My partner panicked as it had been some time since she operated the tiller . I was struggling not to laugh which later cost me some snarls and awkward words. 
 
I obviously take full responsibility as I should have secured the boat to the ramp myself or at least checked what she had done … a valuable lesson … 
🤪
Take-offs from the day:
-it’s a juggling act having a toddler on a boat , definitely need to find more ways to entertain her and also keep her cool, keeping her under an umbrella did okay but she was definitely too hot. 
-need to spend some more time training my partner in boat operations in case of an emergency. 
-need to train myself more to try and avoid said emergency.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Woke up 2.30 and poked my nose outside and there was a light sprinkle and a bit of lightening out to sea. The radar at NPD didnt look too bad but by the time I had a cuppa I was having a fair bit of pain from my hernia and it was starting to rain heavily so I made a couple of calls to my deckies and called it off and I had a couple of painkillers and went back to bed.

Did not take any photos and forgot about the comp. Had a bit of a drama when I launched. I deployed my ulterra and looked at my remote and saw that all the i pilot was in spanish ( needed Ted ). Finally worked out the basics and got going but a few dramas trying to navigate and stowing the motor instead of turning right . Good thing Joy has quick reflexes and could duck quickly. When I got home dug out the manual which told me how to restore it to english but as all the buttons on the remote were in spanish I then had to work out the english equivalent of the spanish words. 

Did not take any photos and forgot about the comp. Had a bit of a drama when I launched. I deployed my ulterra and looked at my remote and saw that all the i pilot was in spanish ( needed Ted ). Finally worked out the basics and got going but a few dramas trying to navigate and stowing the motor instead of turning right . Good thing Joy has quick reflexes and could duck quickly. When I got home dug out the manual which told me how to restore it to english but as all the buttons on the remote were in spanish I then had to work out the english equivalent of the spanish words. 

Did not take any photos and forgot about the comp. Had a bit of a drama when I launched. I deployed my ulterra and looked at my remote and saw that all the i pilot was in spanish ( needed Ted ). Finally worked out the basics and got going but a few dramas trying to navigate and stowing the motor instead of turning right . Good thing Joy has quick reflexes and could duck quickly. When I got home dug out the manual which told me how to restore it to english but as all the buttons on the remote were in spanish I then had to work out the english equivalent of the spanish words. 

Quantity but no quality at the eastern arm. After doing our shrimp pots and raising the ropes a few feet in anticipation of the dam rising we went exploring. We found a small school of under 30cm bass around one tree and pulled 10 fish until the barred grunter moved in, We did not find any more fish until well above bass bay where we found more under sized bass with the odd larger one mixed in with them. We ran out of shrimp by 11 am with a total of 49 bass between the 3 of us with the best bass going 41cm.

Did not take any photos and forgot about the comp. Had a bit of a drama when I launched. I deployed my ulterra and looked at my remote and saw that all the i pilot was in spanish ( needed Ted ). Finally worked out the basics and got going but a few dramas trying to navigate and stowing the motor instead of turning right . Good thing Joy has quick reflexes and could duck quickly. When I got home dug out the manual which told me how to restore it to english but as all the buttons on the remote were in spanish I then had to work out the english equivalent of the spanish words. 

A couple more for team South .
Whiting 390mm , 365mm and 360mm.
Mulloway
 

Did not take any photos and forgot about the comp. Had a bit of a drama when I launched. I deployed my ulterra and looked at my remote and saw that all the i pilot was in spanish ( needed Ted ). Finally worked out the basics and got going but a few dramas trying to navigate and stowing the motor instead of turning right . Good thing Joy has quick reflexes and could duck quickly. When I got home dug out the manual which told me how to restore it to english but as all the buttons on the remote were in spanish I then had to work out the english equivalent of the spanish words. 

Quantity but no quality at the eastern arm. After doing our shrimp pots and raising the ropes a few feet in anticipation of the dam rising we went exploring. We found a small school of under 30cm bass around one tree and pulled 10 fish until the barred grunter moved in, We did not find any more fish until well above bass bay where we found more under sized bass with the odd larger one mixed in with them. We ran out of shrimp by 11 am with a total of 49 bass between the 3 of us with the best bass going 41cm.

Quantity but no quality at the eastern arm. After doing our shrimp pots and raising the ropes a few feet in anticipation of the dam rising we went exploring. We found a small school of under 30cm bass around one tree and pulled 10 fish until the barred grunter moved in, We did not find any more fish until well above bass bay where we found more under sized bass with the odd larger one mixed in with them. We ran out of shrimp by 11 am with a total of 49 bass between the 3 of us with the best bass going 41cm.

Bit slow today at eastern arm. Could not find quite a few of our new pots that we deployed a fortnight ago as they are now under water. The ones we located were reasonably full but the ones in deeper water the shrimp were all dead. Ended up with 26 bass from different locations but some locations hard to find with the high water levels and marks submerged. Water is a bit murky with all the fresh with visibility around 2 to 3 feet, Best bass 46cm rest varied from 18cm upwards. One spot we thought we were being hit by barred grunter but turned out a school of 18cm bass that we moved on from. Hai had left his rods at home but fortunately he had a 3ft ice rod stashed in the boot and it was interesting watching him land a 45cm bass on it as it was spooled with 3lb mono.