SuperHans

We did a lap in 3 months. It was ok but short and we had to high tail it a few times. I think 6 months is a good amount of time. That way you can pull up stumps at some nice places for a week or two. 

Hi DB, our local library has subscriptions to lots of magazines including Caravan World so it may be worth checking yours out too. http://subscribe.caravanworld.com.au/
We are still a few years away from doing the big lap but have already started thinking about what we need. Its doubtful that we will be going off the beaten track. We are undecided whether to go for a  caravan+ powerful vehicle to tow it or campervan/motor home. I can see immediate pros and cons with each,( such as taking a motorhome to the shops for groceries and parking it V just unhitching the caravan). There are just so many variables to consider, that it gets a bit overwhelming.
Does anyone have a list of Pros V Cons for caravans and motorhomes?
I think once we decide on which way to go we can refine our search.
I am thinking 6 months-1 year for the round trip (any idea whether this is too long/short)? Ideally we would do Qld/NT/Nth WA in the winter months (a bonus if the fishing is good).
We have an old modest home and a neighbour recently knocked his down and rebuilt it in 6 months. It sold for an insane price. I figured that a road trip while a project manager oversaw a rebuild of our place would be better than living on a worksite for the duration. Anyone got ideas/advice on being absent for a project like that?
 
 
 

Then my back and I will stick to poddy mullet 🙂

Years ago I saw an old guy yabbying with his homemade set up....
roughly a 120 mm diameter metal pipe with welded pipe handles either side at the top a welded disc on the top end with 2 holes drilled through that he could hold the handles and place a thumb over each hole to seal the suction/vacuum in the tube.

He would squat while pushing the pipe right down in the sand over the yabby holes, stick his thumbs over the holes and draw the pipe back out of the sand, and using the straightening of his legs coming out of the squatting position to take the weight/effort/pressure of his back.

From what I saw it worked well, he was getting heaps of yabbies out of the holes he was working
 

Then my back and I will stick to poddy mullet 🙂

When washers failed my easy fix was to place the mouth of the pump on an old thong and push/twist to cut a replacement. Just like cutting scones from dough. Just needed to make a hole in the new rubber for the shaft. Worked just fine. I haven't used a pump for decades now- prolapsed discs didn't like it

When washers failed my easy fix was to place the mouth of the pump on an old thong and push/twist to cut a replacement. Just like cutting scones from dough. Just needed to make a hole in the new rubber for the shaft. Worked just fine. I haven't used a pump for decades now- prolapsed discs didn't like it

A trip here will get the juices flowing. And , NO, its not a good idea to sneak in at night with you fishing gear lol
https://tasmania.com/points-of-interest/salmon-ponds/

When washers failed my easy fix was to place the mouth of the pump on an old thong and push/twist to cut a replacement. Just like cutting scones from dough. Just needed to make a hole in the new rubber for the shaft. Worked just fine. I haven't used a pump for decades now- prolapsed discs didn't like it

When washers failed my easy fix was to place the mouth of the pump on an old thong and push/twist to cut a replacement. Just like cutting scones from dough. Just needed to make a hole in the new rubber for the shaft. Worked just fine. I haven't used a pump for decades now- prolapsed discs didn't like it

Happy to help. Let us know how you go

Su' Mae! Hopefully you can find a spot with this map.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/angler-access
 

Su' Mae! Hopefully you can find a spot with this map.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/angler-access
 

Su' Mae! Hopefully you can find a spot with this map.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/angler-access
 

Su' Mae! Hopefully you can find a spot with this map.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/angler-access
 

Some of you aspiring mackerel fishers will like this video . Hopefully it loads .
if not goggle Cape Carnage NT 

The forecast for mid-week was too good to miss, so @ellicat and I made a plan to hit spot R1a on the eastern Bay to chase macs and squid. We launched from Manly at dawn into a bit of westerly chop which was not too uncomfortable. The sunrise was beautiful as usual. Here is photo for those who never see a sunrise ( @GregOug, I am talking about you).

We got to spot R1a and Brian deployed a pilchard under a float. I decided to fish the bottom with local squid chunks while I waited to see if there was any mackerel action. Brian soon followed suite. Pretty soon we were pickerel severely and the only fish coming over the side were stripies and undersize snaps and grassies. The float line was not getting any love either. I called a fellow AFOer who I knew was close by chasing squid to see if he was having more luck, but alas he was quiet as well. 
The conditions just got better and better as the day went on, but unfortunately the fishing was still quiet. Brian called @GregOug who was out and about surprisingly early. He reported that things were quiet as well. We had a couple of moves and did a bit of drifting before settling in at spot R1b for the run out tide. The nursery was still active but I did manage one grassy in the mid thirties. Soon after, there was our favourite sound of zzzzzzzzz coming from my reel. After a very brief fight the line went tight but no movement.  Was it a ray, or a big cod headed for home? I left the line with tension on for about ten minutes hoping to annoy the fish out of hiding, but no joy. So I gave it heaps of slack, again no joy. I tightened the drag and broke the line. Looked like the braid was cut on something sharp so the fish must have headed for a bit of reef.
A bit later after landing a smaller legal grassie and a legal tuskie, the old zzzzzzz happened again. This time there was no heading for the reef and we settled into a good battle that went for several minutes. When I first saw the fish on its side down deep, I thought it was a big snapper, but when I got it closer We could see it was a big fat morwong. By this stage I was wondering how good that hastily tied FG knot would hold, but in no time Brian had slipped the net under it and 75cm of morwong hit the deck. I weighed it on my boga grips this morning and it was just over 12lbs in the old lingo. My best fish so far this year so I was pretty happy.
   
So while we didn’t manage either of our target species, it was another great day on the water with good company, a few laughs and a few fish. Thanks again Brian.

Up the highway to Baroon Pocket dam for another session before having a hand op next wednesday.Was up there last week for a 73 bass session and managed 71 yesterday.Started off fishing the edges in the back pockets of which there is plenty at baroon,then later moved out into the deep water.

I am land based so my checks are not as critical as offshore fishermen. I first check Willy weather for local tides, moon phase, and  swell direction (so I dont fish an exposed beach), Windy.com for wind predictions and I like the way it shows the direction on the maps at the locations I am thinking of fishing. (In contrast Willy gives a generic direction) , and http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=Australia+-+New+South+Wales+-+Central+Coast+-+Broken+Bay+and+Hawkesbury+River+boating+app#12.93/-33.5079/151.3631
for identifying deeper water near the shore. I like the compass rose as a reference point too as the estuary I fish is very convoluted and its good to look at the map and orient myself with the associated wind/swell  direction
 

Hi all
Well first of all, I have lots of reports to do, so this one is just going to be quick. It's something I'd been wanting to do for a long time, ever since someone told me that they'd been getting great results in there! Now that the 100% lily coverage was gone and I could see them swimming just metres away from the bank, it was time to give them a crack. 
Since it was Mother's Day the next day, my hopes of going somewhere on the yak were off. Oh well. So, first of all, a big thanks to @GregOug for the rods and reels you gave me! I rigged up an Alvey 5 foot rod, on a 'Easy Cast' system, and another 6 foot rod. On that rod I put my little 1000 Sienna, so everything matched up quite nicely. I was fishing nice and light with 6lb, and a little sinker/unweighted hooks. Before we left, I made some putty/dough. I got an ice-cream tub, some plain flour, milk, and water, and mixed it all together. I probably made too much, but eventually had a nice consistency of it. It was a bit too sticky but was easy to mold onto the hook. At about 8:00PM, we departed with two rods and got fishing.
At first, we tried at the start of the pond. We fished here for about five minutes, with the weighted bait. Then, we decided to move along the path for longer. We found another opening, and deployed the baits here. We fished here for about ten minutes for no love, and by now both lines were deployed. I moved up a bit more, still casting with my Alvey (boy, these things are simple) but still had no luck. It was nearing 9:00PM now too, which meant it was almost time to go. Just as I was rebaiting for one of my last casts though, I heard my Sienna screaming.
I got there, and Dad gave the rod to me (thanks Dad). The fish was running pretty hard, so I tightened the drag. Once this happened, the fight got reallly good! I was holding the rod out in front of me, not under my arm or on my hip, and slowly doing the lift and wind technique to land the fish. I would do a little wind, then the fish would go off again. It was really fun! I kept up the fight, and it probably was a back and fourth (running and reeling) fight for about three minutes. The moment of truth soon arose, and we had the fish bankside in about another minute. It stayed there though, caught in some weeds and shrubs. Dad clambered down the side of the bank, and then, we had...
Our first ever Tilapia!!! 🙂 

Tilly, about 38CM

That is me... I think 😉 
Anyways, now with a bit of an adrenaline rush, we stayed a bit longer. The tilly was dehooked (I also had to retie the hook as the hook bent), and I got a quick photo (for once I avoided touching the fish, as I didn't want to reek when I got home, Lol). The sticky dough bait was moulded back onto hooks, and lines were casted back out. I sat back down and Dad and I had a quite chat, waiting for something to bite. In about another 15 minutes, just as we were going to leave, Dad hooked up to something. Once again, I was given the rod after Dad brought it in a bit. This one wasn't fighting as hard, so I loosened the drag for some more fun. Even with this loose drag the fish wasn't the world's best fighter, but it still went on one OK run. Eventually, we got a look at him, and to my dismay, it was a fat eel. Maybe the next one (if I catch another) I catch I will keep for shark bait, but this one got tangled in the reeds again. I think next time I will bring a wooden plank so I can slide the catch up on something. Anyways, it was this eels lucky day: he bit through my six pound leader just as I was figuring out how to land him (I also didn't realise it at the time, it was lucky the rod didn't snap because I was high sticking it so much to try and get him out 🥴. 
Anyways, after that, we left the cart there and went to the bin that was far away from anyone who'd be walking, unfortunately it was full, so we jammed it in there sealed tightly in a plastic bag. Hopefully it will be emptied ASAP so it does not pong. Next time I think we will dig a hole and give a tree some fertiliser. After that, we walked back home with the cart, and I warmed up with a shower, then off to bed after a successful mission!
Here are the stats of the trip for anyone interested - 
Moon Phase: 6.9%, Waning Crescent
Tackle Used: 10LB braid mainline, (Line on Alvey seems around that too), 6LB FC Rock leaders, tiny long shank hook (and crappy brass one too), tiny sinker. 
Bait Used: Sticky Dough made from plain flour, Norco Milk, and Hot Water
Fish Caught: Tilapia x 1, Eel x 1
Bait Caught: (I made dough though)
Air Pressure: 1014 
Humidity: 67%
Weather: Cloudy, not too chilly, few stars out.
Temperature: High, 26oC, Low, 20oC
General Notes: Tillies seemed to bite better after we stopped talking, shining the light, and were silent for a little while. Maybe that shows they are quite a spooky fish? The dough bait seemed OK, but not wildfire. Next time I will catch worms and shrimp and see if they're any better. Unweighted seemed the way to go. Though trickier to cast, maybe it makes bait look more natural?
Overall Success Rate: 100% - I mean, goal achieved! We caught a tilly. 
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. 
Cheers Hamish

My wife likes watching "https://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire". May be of interest to you

If its got a big bite
And it gives you a fright
Its a More ay 🙂
 
Oh, and I hope he can spot the difference between an eel and a sea snake 🙂

If its got a big bite
And it gives you a fright
Its a More ay 🙂
 
Oh, and I hope he can spot the difference between an eel and a sea snake 🙂

If its got a big bite
And it gives you a fright
Its a More ay 🙂
 
Oh, and I hope he can spot the difference between an eel and a sea snake 🙂

I didn't need to burley in my original spot, but elsewhere I do so pls disregard my original advice. My original spot is now swarming with pest fish.
While lying the jar on its side works better than standing it up, there is the risk that some mullet panic and swim out as you approach to empty it. I minimise this by having the entrance point toward the direction from which I will approach. As the mullet them try to swim away from me as I approach they head into the back of the jar rather than towards me at the entrance. 
Other tweaks are:
1. Punching small holes around the flange of the plastic where it is fixed to the glass. This allows the silicone a greater surface area to adhere.
2. Using pliers to squeeze the  flaps open as otherwise they tend to close up over time and blocking access to larger baits.
Alternatively, the old juice bottle with some sinkers attached also works fine.