SuperHans

Was scrolling through a fishing subreddit and found this: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/mackay/fisherman-catches-monster-marlin-using-handline/news-story/0e640528653e338103b1137a1694a4f6

Hey everyone
Fairly new to boating - and novice at fishing, really impressed with the forum having lurked around for a bit, wanted to sign up hoping to reach out via the forums here in the hopes of finding some help / inspiration / guidance / company etc with regards to our family boat trips.
I used to hire tinnies a fair bit from Bribie marina for a number of years including the60hp plastic boat, until a few years ago where after 30+? years of procrastination, I went out and bought a “bargain” Sportsman Craft boat which was fun. After the rather steep learning curve that offered,  sold it to buy a Fraser Formula 626 as it was bit bigger, only to discover that learning curve kept goin'.
Usually hang around in Bribie Passage or near that bridge, not too far from the chip shop at the VMR . With the Fraser its easy going most conditions over to Morton even with a bit of chop. Prefer mid-week outings when there is no one around just maybe a mates boat. 
Have been thinking  of heading north to places like west side of Fraser and around  Hinchinbrook Island, and that inland bass fishing lake up there somewhere. Recently have had to put it up on tyres to get the trailer out as it looks a bit cactus, has some issues need sorting prior to doing any long road trips. and other adventures that am hoping we will have in it. Am sure will be great,  just need to sort a few things like the trailer and finding places to go that are away from the population areas. Thought it might be more fun hooking up with a few others doing the same.
Over the year’s friends have moved on or stopped going or lost touch - and shift work don't help either,  with recent global events just adding to it all.
Anyway that’s pretty much it, am hoping I can ask some not so clever questions and get this thing sorted. Looking forward to picking up a few ideas, learning a few things that may possibly impress the wife, and maybe make some new friends, possibly heading away on an adventure or two with the family without any major dramas (which probably would impress the wife)
Cheers

Hi all, Just got back from a few days at Fraser. Stayed in a house at Eurong, and managed to get onto a few tailor, although they were far from thick. However, we did manage to land a nice Spanish Mackerel from the beach almost in front of Eurong. Also, a few reefies and bream from a trip to the calm side. All in all, an enjoyable trip.
 

I get them on ebay from DFS . https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/153390043328?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item23b6c250c0:g:0GUAAOSwe8FTxLfJ&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACkPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsStEKTPzZMfQmny3knR97t0Ops9NmX7v6PxIBhI29aHTjCqAxhW2cZ092gEww4eAWVwHx%2FXqBDNxIISwFrMjwpfDUfbQq61s1wctphMOev5jGCBy2s49mc%2FG4aEUI1bPKSvYZbL171rXbs%2FJ5%2FnQ2XBbyDxBr3thpG5RlJb5zW5%2FbcXfO4MtvkN3ycrlNfl9RALAuxYi1Ra9Ns1HyQ%2FB8cBQqCawVFbR9oW%2Buh1JdnTj1GLEsBzSdDqjRH4L5%2BYd24JeYY9mHs%2FGWVWcrS%2FNNfRlR7sNSJLzxK8SveX3nEStWW0lLRfx77kiSs8eePx%2BKZGN0mNYcZQaq0RMQmkbar01n2pXQIqdHxdj1Z3kjlOwytx1t25BnLI0LYVyn%2ByFWJtWTnuLo4p88izr0xETWBVs1rbKxI0vb9pL7jRLNzUPLv7bj%2B1k4k93pn6XyMVTjG6wh8RA%2FQX40M4VwJku1LN3NroCQz8rNclRSeBIYEV64DkudG59Bl9cG2bJFfRwFTBPcyyO6Ynt7GHtgy7VUPMjAZ7UQIruEJ6Kg4%2FZAIs8Mz4E7fOnwCE09oGmlGwalQPaU5XPmIU1%2FkxD2hIQImcvu1aHewIN68gFV6VQlAlzxy5tHH6UmoDe79MJV7jHqb%2BcwAO%2FsGbLdB9N8bkvR9%2FVVk%2BIIY%2FrDtOMhjfDhLmfcpTC6dE4nw92EmRWzZakwUjaHBMR6JVf64afQwhyPqGGk2LxW6lOjjRpHnl5cC2GeE94T%2FYQP6UHJ3XWx8Xdx99CF2alLWu304EFlJ2UHVdyn9LFl6Hf%2BLkTtTTK275bMO5k6AxwI9glnMLWLzQhQR|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

Hi 
 Don't give up, keep plugging along. I've got a 2 , 4 , 7 yr old and this afternoon we went to deep water bend. We caught maybe a dozen bream, whiting, toadies and mullet, All undersized. When I'm kiddy fishing I always start out with tiny hooks and tiny baits, catching tiny fish but keeps the kids interested.  They love helping me with cast net as well. Id be lucky to bring home a feed 1 outta 10 times with them but we always have fun and enjoy being out there. 

Don’t do it Hamish.
 
the problem with an old boat/motor is just that - it is old. Even with regular maintenance and servicing, there will still be issues. Add into that two regos (boat+trailer), upkeep, maintenance, consumables (fuel, oil etc)... without a regular income you would find yourself off the water real quick.
 
ill throw a curveball out there... consider perhaps the type of kayak you have and maybe look to invest into a hobie or similar. I can easily cover 15km+ in a day on my hobie despite the fact, as you have pointed out previously, I am fat and old. I can fish a lot of places that you can on a boat and certainly anywhere you can in a 3m tinny with a 6hp - and the best bit a lot of places you just can’t get to on a boat of any size. You can pick up reasonable second hand ones for $1500-ish.
pros: no rego costs, no insurance costs, minimal maintenance, no trailer.
cons: person powered, still requires a car to move it (maybe a push bike attachment option)

Hi All 
Well I have been promising fishing reports for a while now - being a new boat owner and learning the ropes not to mention spending lots of $ and fishing has left me with little time and alot less cash.
Anyway Friday avo me and a couple of guys went for an afternoon/evening session around Macleay and Karragarra Is.  Launched from Cabbage Tree Point boat ramp about 2pm.  Headed to the first spot, sounded around and saw some arches on the new sounder for the first time!  Anchored up, burleyed and put out baits.  Much to my disappointment neither of the guys were interested in wasting time gathering live bait first 😥.
We were chasing snapper.
One of the guys shortly landed a just legal tailor.  It was going to go back but I have a good fisho mate who loves eating tailor.  Therefore, as the saying goes it was bled and released into the Esky.
It wasn't long before I had a few tiny nibbles on my half pilchard on a 5/0 octopus hook with 30 lb braid and 40lb flexible leader rig.   I was reeling in to check the bait, got hit a few metres from the boat and hooked up to something quite light but fairly feisty.  I thought it was a tailor at first but turned out to be a baby school mackerel.
Another couple of baby schoolies were landed and released unharmed.
It went quiet for a while and then we landed a couple of pretty good sized grinners.  I was tempted to keep them for bait but we were pretty well stocked up with pillies, banana prawns and squid from the Gold Coast Bait Shop (this shop is fantastic for bait and has recently renovated and expanded its range of tackle etc significantly - prices are generally cheaper than BCF or Anaconda for the same tackle, hooks sinkers etc).
We stayed til after dark hoping to get the dusk snapper bite but only landed one small Squire.  It went quiet after dark and the decision was made to move to the next spot.
This spot can produce really well but can be very quiet for a number of hours.  That evening it was quiet and we were supposed to be heading back to the ramp at 9.30pm.  Around 9pm two legal snapper and a flattie were landed and released to the Esky.  We departed about 9.45pm.
All in all a great outing with some good conversation and laughs in the quiet times.
Life is great out on the water fishing regardless of how full the Esky is at the end of the day 😸
Next trip to Southern Moreton bay islands takes place this afternoon launching from Horizon Shores Marina and staying overnight in the boat and doing a real early session in the morning.  Fishing Macleay, Karragarra, Peel etc.  Targeting snapper again.  I have insisted on live bait this time.  Wish me luck.

Hi Ellicat,
I wrongly thought a 'leader' and 'trace' were the same thing-this clears that up

Hi Ellicat,
I wrongly thought a 'leader' and 'trace' were the same thing-this clears that up

Cant you just have a long leader joined to the mainline by a swivel?  They reduce line twist and seem to be the logical connection between mainline and trace. Are you saying that you join braid to trace and dont have a swivel in the rig, or you join mainline to trace with an FFG knot AND have a swivel in the rig somewhere [which would be an extra weak point in the rig] 
Soz, still a bit confused

Hi Ellicat,
I wrongly thought a 'leader' and 'trace' were the same thing-this clears that up

The reason you use a FG knot (or any other knot) is so you can wind the leader through the runners and still cast - something you can't do with a swivel on.
Typically you would have your braid tied to a FC/Mono leader (of about a 1.5 rod lengths), then a swivel then your trace. This way you have abrasion resistance, that braid fails miserably at, for a couple of metres.

Thanks BwB.
I use live baits rather than lures, so maybe that's part of the confusion. It sounds like it is something more relevant to lure fishing.
So you dont use a swivel in your rigs? 
 

Hi guys,
I have been away from fishing for a long time and am trying to catch up on some of the changes that have occurred.
I now love braid and I gather that fluorocarbon leaders are needed as an invisible attachment to the bait.
Which raises some [silly?] questions.
1. Why a fluorocarbon leader/trace rather than a cheaper mono one?
and
2. Why bother with a fiddly FG knot instead of just joining a braid main line to the trace via a swivel? I mean there IS a swivel somewhere in most rigs isn't there? 
 

Hi guys,
I have been away from fishing for a long time and am trying to catch up on some of the changes that have occurred.
I now love braid and I gather that fluorocarbon leaders are needed as an invisible attachment to the bait.
Which raises some [silly?] questions.
1. Why a fluorocarbon leader/trace rather than a cheaper mono one?
and
2. Why bother with a fiddly FG knot instead of just joining a braid main line to the trace via a swivel? I mean there IS a swivel somewhere in most rigs isn't there? 
 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Here’s one for Brian
 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Hi Hamish,
The advice above is really good. But if you really cant wait I would be working on your dad to buy a boat [and maybe offer half of your savings towards it]. He will then be responsible for registration, safety equipment, driving it on the trailer etc while you develop your boating skills. Skippers have a lot of responsibility, especially for the safety of their passengers. If he is agreeable then maybe he can look at something a little bigger too? 

Not mine specifically but I was there. We were fishing for Jew in the Clarence River earlier this year. One of the guy’s girlfriends was into fishing but not that experienced in the salt. She was happy to catch the livies on a bream rod with light nylon and a bait jig. We got busted off a couple of times on 40lb gear. I was on my boat with her boyfriend and she was on my mate’s boat about 19 metres away when her rod buckled over. We assumed that she had hooked a decent bream because there were heaps around.
After about 10 minutes we figured it must be something a bit better. About 15 minutes later my mate slipped the net under something and over the side came a very healthy jew. The little jig hook was right in the corner of the mouth. She handled it like a pro and didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the trip. I blacked out her face because I haven’t asked her if it is ok to share online.