Old Scaley

One for the judges. Is it bigger than @ellicat‘. Either way, the winning bream is still a Southside fish. Come on you northerners.

Good to see you out on the water @ellicat. My plan today was to hit the front wall, fishing hard against the wall with unweighted mullet flesh under a float to try to get back on the leaderboard for bream. And to fish out the other side for a possible fluke big snapper. Half the plan worked (sorry Brian, I think I just pipped you). Lots of bream between 25 and 30 but only 2 over 30. The snapper lines were getting constantly hit by either tailor or small macs, and I got sick of having to tie new terminal tackle so moved into the river to fish the rising tide. Unfortunately my new minn kota decided to shred a shear pin so was out of action for the rest of the morning. Had a chat with Brian then went in search of a river snap, but all I got was more snip offs. Tried trolling a small slice because they were hitting the moving bait, but no luck. By now I had the sh#ts about the electric and the constant snip offs so called it a day.

Disappointing @ED. I guess on the upside your motor didn’t let you down. Enjoy the cheesecake!

Would you put some sort of mat on top of the checkerplate? Just thinking about how much heat it would be sending back up in the middle of summer. A mate did his floor using marine ply, but opted not to put carpet back on. Instead he sealed the ply with some sort of 2 pac coating on both sides and then hit it with a couple of coats of acrylic paint. That was about 10 years ago and it seems to have lasted well, but the floor does get a bit hot in summer in bare feet.

Not too early. Probably launch around 8 and come back in when the breeze starts lifting or the rain looks close.

Welcome to the mighty Southside team, @Kat. That is a nice whiting. Funny how they look so small in a photo but you can get two nice fillets off a whiting that size. Were they soldier crabs that you used for bait? There could be some much bigger ones around your area so you might end up on the leaderboard at some stage. Either way, you are part of the team.

How were conditions and did you learn anything? Are you feeling better now?

^^ can the moderator please remove @Drop Bear‘s access to the gif button?

They are delicious. Similar to monkfish if you have ever tried that.

So the site works a little like the Chinese Communist Party. You can build social credits that can be redeemed in these sort of situations. A very good lesson on the value of trust.i dare anyone to call @AUS-BNE-FISHO a fibber. Oh, and Hamish, your next challenge after teaching the oldies some internet acronyms, is to give us a detailed glossary of emojis so that we don’t embarrass ourselves by using the wrong one at the right time. < like that!

That actually does look like your garage, @Drop Bear

Finally got around to reading this @GregOug. Excruciating! But well told and a fun read. Some mates of mine went there a few years ago and had the exact opposite trip - great weather, good camping and fantastic fishing. I guess you pay your money and you take your chances, hey.

I agree about the second hand option. I have bought a few outfits from people on this site over the years. That always works out well because you can tell from their posts over time who looks after their stuff. Might have to be patient, but things do come up.

Happy birthday Brian. I won’t ask if you got any presents because 2020 has been raining goodies for you! Have a good one, mate.

I have been thinking a bit lately about safety on the water. There have been too many deaths and close calls reported lately, and I want to do my best to make sure that I am not one of those tragic statistics in the future and likewise that anyone on my tinny is as safe as possible. Here are a few things that I have done and decisions I have made to try to be as safe as possible. Lifejackets: I have one auto jacket that I self service every year. As an additional measure I inflated it the other day to see how long it would stay inflated - 2 days so far so I think it is reliable enough. I also have a few of the block types. Last week when I was offshore with Mark, I elected to wear one of his block type jackets and I struggled to get it on, so I have got mine out and untangled all the straps and the strings that attach the whistle. Then I practiced putting it on quickly so that I can do it quickly in an emergency. I will wear my auto jacket when I am on my own and make sure the jackets are on deck and easily accessed when I have passengers onboard. It is good to be compliant by having the right gear, but more important to have it available quickly and knowing how to use it. Killswitch lanyard: I am trying to get into the habit of wearing the killswitch lanyard. Especially with a tiller steer, if you hit a submerged object or unexpected wake at speed, you could easily lose contact with the tiller, or worse still be bumped overboard, and you don’t want the boat doing donuts around you or disappearing into the distance. Ladder: I did fall out of the boat once when I was out on my own, and struggled to get back in. So I got a step welded onto the transom. But it was still not easy to get out of the water and back into the boat. It won’t get any easier as I get older and some of my regular deckies aren’t getting any younger and aren’t great athletes and would definitely struggle to get back in and I would struggle to drag them up over the gunnel. So today I picked up a 3 step telescopic ladder which I have now attached to the step. Big thanks to Lance (@aussie123) from reeltackle.com.au who hooked me up with the right ladder at the right price. Pretty confident now that anyone could get back onboard safely. Some other things I have done include checking the safety gear (intend to keep the grab bag on deck in easy reach now); replaced the ancient first aid kit; checked the trailer bearings and tyre pressures, and tested the navigation and anchor lights. Next step is to join the local VMR or Marine Rescue. Anyway, just thought I would throw this up here to jog people’s memory to take care of the little things in the hope we can all stay safe and really enjoy our time on the water. Feel free to toss up other safety ideas. Stay safe everyone.

Does look a bit windy on Wednesday @ellicat. I’m going to check again tomorrow but may go Thursday instead.

Go Dorothy (and you too @benno573). That’s a lot of baby steps. Pensioner size donation made, mate.

Exactly. Imagine being out there sounding around and all of a sudden there are schools of tailor, Tuna or mackerel busting up all around the boat. Or you you sound up a big bait ball with lots of arches under it. And no rod in the boat.........

Well, I am tipping a pain free day for you.

Weather does look great for Wednesday. I will get out somewhere, but will be fully fishing and leaving the exploration to you, Brian. Will give you a call sometime through the day to compare notes.

Well done, Hamish. Good to see that there are good fish to be found a long way up the river.

Good reward for effort @AUS-BNE-FISHO. Great to see you on the leaderboard. And now for that threadie Hamish.....

Haha. Not as Scaley as me, but then few are. Yes, she is always impressed when I come home with fresh seafood and rolls her eyes at me if I come home empty handed. Let’s just say she has perfected the eye roll over the past 40 years.

@Drop Bear - international man of mystery