Hweebe

Update from the HB trip. Treated to mint - glassed out conditions for 2 days straight. Very hot and humid though, as the rain threatened but did not arrive throughout the trip. The conditions meant we could spot bust ups from quite a distance away. Central bay was where all the bird action was, whilst closer to western side of fraser was very quite. Only problem was that the bust ups spooked very easily and with no wind at all, the direction of the bust up proved very unpredictable to get in-front of the feeding fish. Most of the bust ups were of the mac tuna (per photo) variety with some school mackerel lurking underneath. We kept a couple of school mackerel for the trip back to brisbane. For both days it was mainly chasing bust ups and throwing metal slugs whenever we could get to the spot before the fish went down deep. What we learned quickly is you usually had one good cast into the bust up for a hook-up before they moved on. Tried keeping revs constant from the outboard which seemed to help, but our best chances were drifting in the vicinity and you would be granted a bust up magically popping up beside the boat. Tips for hervey bay bird/fish chasing: 1) Motoring up at speed will give you almost no chance to get a cast in 2) Keeping the revs constant seemed to help bust ups stay longer 3) Sometimes a wait and see approach will work (once you have figured the area the fish are working) 4) Smaller metal profiles silver and red eye seemed to work (although) this was to the detriment to casting distance 5) After the first day you will intuitively know to pick out the "lead" bird. That's the bird you want to chase/follow

You know @Allnighter is in a different fishing league when he is so blase with only a 65cm specimen. @Allnighter must be the cheatcode of fishing in the bay Congrats on making the right decision on work/life/fishing balance. This can only bring you more happiness

Nice Spottie on the trolling board - So far i've resisted using boards / trolling but may need to bite the bullet to tick off a Moreton bay spottie for 2023. When i've trolled the qantas lures behind the boat my other half reckons its not really fishin which i try to explain to her its just another technique to fishing. I shouldn't really argue she outfishes me 9 times out of 10 and likes to stay "connected" to the rod/line to feel bites / hits. Meanwhile I'll have 5 rods out and no fish.

Would have been nerve racking drilling into the left over old skeg in case of another crack. But good as gold now. Aside from resale value there will be very little in performance difference in steering

Any day on the water is a good day - But those damn sea toads and having to re-rig!

Would have been some sketchy moments getting the fish up onto the jetty....given you were targeting whiting

Many a trip saved on the run in home and busts ups happen right in front of you! Nice one on the spotties

I would have thought the petrol station attendant would be right out there with a spill kit instead of old mate hosing it away? Although I'm not sure any station would have a spill kit for several hundred litres. One things for sure i'd be no where near those fuel vapours in case of static/spark igniting the fuel

Wouldn't know the feeling of waiting for a new boat.. Have always bought second hand but the first tow home and launch has always been exciting. Add to that, disappearing for days/nights in the shed tinkering away at mods just after taking the boat home.

Looks like i'm in. I just logged in again using the NRL tipping app. Seemed to work 1st time. Let's go the donkey's

@Huxstang first boat?

@Neil Stratford I'm envious. How good is it that you can go out with a target a fish in mind and make it happen! Seems you have the Spanish mackerel code cracked.

Ditto - Buy the trolling motor first - that way the mount can be customised to suit your boat and trolling motor. Steve did my mount as well and very happy with the job. He is literally only 5 mins from my house so that was convenient.

Yep been there done that on my first tinnie running aground. Ended up drilling and attaching a skeg guard as I didn't have the broken remnants. It was on a little 25hp, no real discernible difference between the actual skeg vs skeg guard, but then again that tinnie didn't really have much speed on plane.

Getting pumped for Australia Day and extended long weekend. Trailering the boat from Brisbane to Hervey Bay for the extended weekend Wind conditions predominantly light easterlys before increasing in the afternoon. Hopefull the island will give me some protection in afternoons. Plan will be simple - explore more central bay searching for the birds in the morning before circling back tighter in when conditions start blowing.

Fabricate a casting deck that can be fitted for fishing days and removed for family days in the bow rider. 80lb trolling motor works very nicely for me in a 5.75m plate boat. 112lb would have been nice but i preferred not having to to go to 36v I went 24v lipo battery that i can also use for keeping my portable fridge going on camping trips when there is not enough sun to charge the dual battery in the car.

Could be an old wives tail but i thought that having the aluminium oxidisation layer was a good thing. Forms a layer preventing full corrosion / pitting of the aluminium?

With Bream cook them whole, if you try and fillet them you leave / lose some of the best parts. 1) Gut, Scale and score the fish 2) Splash the fish with a mix of soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt. Pour into the scores / cavity 3) Scatter some thinly sliced ginger all over (optionally add freshly sliced chilli to your liking here (more the better for me) 4) Foil over and place in a steam oven (100c) or simple water filled suacepan/lid with fish on plate out of the water to steam in the pot 5) 20-30mins for the fish to cook 6) Serve with Spring onion garnish. This recipe only really works with fresh fish, its simple but brings the freshness to the front.

Looking at your requirements above - That looks close to the ideal boat. I think you have just about nailed it for your requirements. Caters for up to 5 pax More shade compared to standard T-top 1/4 cab doesn't eat into fishing room Gets you in the bay or in the creeks no problem

HDS Carbon is old tech and will be laggier then newer units and also not compatible with the "all in one" transducer The touchscreen also won't be as responsive.

If it's a Saturday or Sunday I should be able to make it.

This is the Marlin Self Service manual for future reference. The other thing to watch out for is the Bobbin needs to be replaced after 5 years on these jackets by an authorised service centre, at which point a full replacement is probably cheaper and a better investment then trying to service a crusty / sea salted inflatable. 020718 Annual self insp.pdf

Agree with @Junky outboard engine trimmed down - like he says night and day to tracking. I don't think it is a heading sensor issue. On the minn kota (i know not the same as yours) "The Heading Sensor enables the Jog feature and is not required for any other function of i-Pilot or i-Pilot Link" I'm with @rayke1938 check your weight distribution this is the most likely cause. Does the issue get worse if you have more weight / people moving around at the bow?

What @ellicat said. Get as large a castnet as you can carry weights for. Lots of people rave about the chain leds and custom / hand made cast nets. If you are new to cast netting be prepared to rip a few too on snags.

New category of fish to give the northerners a chance at winning something?