New boat comments

[Synful]

Well here's the photos of her all decked out ready for tomorrow afternoon's big first trip.
I figure that by going to the ramp at around 1:00pm I'll be minimising any inconvenience to anyone and still get in about 3 or 4 hours of fishing

Think I've covered pretty much all possible scenarios:

• Crab pot
• rod for trolling
• rod for flicking lures and or SP's
• rod for livies
• rode for dead baits

Also bought a Garmin GPS72 unit today as well; looks pretty neat when I was having a look at the features this afternoon. Another thread here seemed to indicate that this was the most popular hand held model.

Hopefully I'll get to file a healthy report tomorrow night after I get back

[loophole]

Nice rig but its missing a minnkota leccy

[Synful]

Nice rig but its missing a minnkota leccy

Hi loophole,

That's next thing on the list mate; "Minister for Finance" still rubs it in how much I spent on this Might have to wait a bit for that one...

[disorderly]

Sounds like you're in for some fun tomorrow, Andrew.
Just need a few more pots there because once you start bringing a few crabs home the missus will be happy that the boat is earning her keep..
I have just started crabbing myself in our little "crab boat' as the kids call it and mate they really love it,the anticipation as you motor up to pull a pot,and the excitement when they see a keeper in the pot is just priceless.
They like the creeks more than the reef and its a lot more relaxing.(apart from the midgy's,of course)
Have fun!!

Scott

[Synful]

Sounds like you're in for some fun tomorrow, Andrew.
Just need a few more pots there because once you start bringing a few crabs home the missus will be happy that the boat is earning her keep..

Scott

Ahhh; the old man is coming up from Brisbane next weekend and I have a feeling that few more pots may be on the agenda somehow

[FNQCairns]

Looks Synful good! so did you get out today, back yet? or still out? He He...
Have fun? What did you think of your new boat and how it handled? Any tribulations?? Any sandbars? Any fish??? LOL

cheers fnq

[Synful]

Looks Synful good! so did you get out today, back yet? or still out? He He...
Have fun? What did you think of your new boat and how it handled? Any tribulations?? Any sandbars? Any fish??? LOL

cheers fnq

Hi FNQ,

Yep, I got out for a few hours.
The wife and kids came back a bit late from Townsville but launched from Bluewater with some assistance from a gentleman as I just couldn't get the damn trailer to go down the map straight

So that set the tone for what could have been a bad day all round....

Once I got the boat in the water, I had no trouble with getting the motor running and then venturing off out to the front. I was going to head for Thomatis creek straight up; that wasn't the brightest idea as there was about a 1m swell and let's just say that it tested out the welds good and proper on the tinny

I then decided to head back to Half Moon Creek and anchored up outside the headlands as there seemed to be some fish there on the sounder and got some good bites on my dead mud herrings but they weren't anything big. At that time the missus called and asked if I was going to come back and pick her up. So I headed back to the ramp up half moon creek and by the time I got there her and my little boy Matt were waiting for me.

Matt had done nothing about complain and cry that he wanted to go for a ride in Daddy's new boat so they went into town to get a lifejacket for him and he was all keen as to get in. Now it's important to understand that this woman has a phobia like I have never seen about crocodiles so the fact that she got into the water knee deep to get into the boat was an achievement in itself.

She wanted to go out to the mouth and have a look around so we went the short distance back to the mouth and once out of the marina area, put the boat on the plane which was just awesome.

I took them back out to the mouth and said that we would go to the channel markers then turn back around again as it was going to be a bit rough for them and have a drift on the way back. Some guy in a slightly bigger boat came flying past us causing the welds to get another work out with his wake (thanks buddy) At this point the missus was starting to turn green as her sea legs aren't the best and Matt was looking a bit concerned I made a diplomatic retreat for the shelter of the creek.

On the way back in I found a log half out of the water and the sounder indicated there was a reasonable size fish there but no good.

So I then decided to have a rod with a mud herring on it out the back and flick a Gold Bomber around into the mangroves. Had several follows from fish and about 3 that missed when striking the lure.

I kept flicking the bomber around for a while but after about 20 minutes the herring went off and I reeled in a 30cm cod which was promptly returned to the water to get a big bigger for next time but not before he managed to nick my finger with a spike and the missus who again with blood, is not the best witnessed the first fish to come aboard the boat and little Matt was also pretty rapped with it as well.

Had a few more hits on the herrings but the fishing gods just weren't being kind to me today with regards to the gold bomber Between birds nests on the baitcaster and the trebles getting caught on the leader (probably needs to be a bit shorter) I put it away for the next trip.

To summarise the trip:

• Firstly and foremostly - I need to learn to reverse a trailer. The missus used to reverse horse trailers when she was younger and she had problems but she got it right in the end. Again - a big thank you to the gent who helped us out launching!
• Fish - Well nothing to write home about but I think that to go home "fishless" on the first trip would have been really disappointing. I got a photo of the little cod on my camera phone but Bluetooth is playing up pretty badly at the moment on my PC so I'll put that one up as soon as I can.
• Problems - The boat was returned home with no damage and I managed to run the motor flush with no problems.
• Tools - There's some arrogant pricks out there in boats who have no regard for other people. When I was going near other anglers or boats I slowed down so as to minimise my wash; the guy who roared past us at the mouth of Half Moon creek did so within 10m of the boat; fair go mate, I had a toddler in the boat and I was going slow watching my depth on the sounder. This in my opinion was the only negative aspect of the day but not something that I'm holding onto. It's the same on the roads, you'll run into idiots everywhere. A bit of consideration goes a long way!!

Nope, didn't run into any sand bars as we were on the run up tide I made sure that the sounder was on so I had a good idea of the amount of water underneath me at all times.

Did we enjoy ourselves? Hell yeah!!!

I then spent a few hours up the hospital as little Matt slipped over while playing with a car in the lounge and took a chunk out of his forehead. Just like to say thank you to the staff @ CBH casualty - we spent probably about 2 hours there all up which for a weekend is pretty bloody impressive in terms of timeframe. They told Matt he's going to be Harry Potter with the resulting scar

Looking forward to when the old man gets up here next weekend and we head to the Mulgrave river for a couple of days. Reversing the trailer won't be a problem as I'll get him to teach me - he used to reverse b Double's for Aust Post as a driver for over 25 years.

Thanks for the interest Scott; how'd you go - you were looking for someone to go out to GI weren't you?

[FNQCairns]

Good wrap up Andrew, sounds like full steam ahead on future fishing trips. can see some weekday sickness coming your way over the summer Glad the little one is ok, a little ones blood is never nice to see.

I heard a good backing tip on here not long ago, hold the streeing wheel by the bottom only, if you need the trailer to go to the right you turn the wheel toward the right.
Small boat trailers that have as a result a short distance from hitch to axle are very reactive to driver input so they can actually be a lot harder to back than a 6.5m rigs trailer, so once you get the hang of your setup, your well set to back any longer length boat trailer.

My trip didn't happen couldn't get another body onboard, the crff closure + the unsafe side of snorkeling on my own made a solo trip not real inviting. Spent a lazy afternoon next to the Mulgrave river out Gordonvale way with the family.

cheers fnq

[Synful]

Good wrap up Andrew, sounds like full steam ahead on future fishing trips. can see some weekday sickness coming your way over the summer Glad the little one is ok, a little ones blood is never nice to see.

I heard a good backing tip on here not long ago, hold the streeing wheel by the bottom only, if you need the trailer to go to the right you turn the wheel toward the right.
Small boat trailers that have as a result a short distance from hitch to axle are very reactive to driver input so they can actually be a lot harder to back than a 6.5m rigs trailer, so once you get the hang of your setup, your well set to back any longer length boat trailer.

Hi Scott, thanks for that - good advice that I'll try next weekend.

You wouldn't have known that Matt hit his head last night; he's been running around all souped up most of the day apparently

My trip didn't happen couldn't get another body onboard, the crff closure + the unsafe side of snorkeling on my own made a solo trip not real inviting. Spent a lazy afternoon next to the Mulgrave river out Gordonvale way with the family.cheers fnq

Hey good stuff!
Did you get a fish in or were you just quietly "sinking a few bottles of brown lemonade"?

Attached a copy of the cod that I got yesterday - hopefully the start of bigger things

[Dan5]

Did you polish that bloody tinny mate?thats the shinyest tinnie i think i've ever seen mate ,i hope you get plenty of blood and saltwater on her.Hey what made you get a dory over the hornet Ha ha Good luck Dan..........

[FNQCairns]

Nice little cod, looks like the weather gods are smiling on your new boat, nothing but great weather ahead according to seabreeze.

Yeah had a picnic, threw rocks into the water for the dog (fools her every time) and worked on my 3 year olds confidence in the water with the aim of having her swimming at least a bit by the end of summer.

Was a nice afternoon it's a great spot not yet spoiled by progress or lockouts, not many nice places around these days to do the whole family thing on the spur of the moment.

cheers fnq

[Synful]

Did you polish that bloody tinny mate?thats the shinyest tinnie i think i've ever seen mate ,i hope you get plenty of blood and saltwater on her.Hey what made you get a dory over the hornet Ha ha Good luck Dan..........

Nah, no polish on it - not that pretentious Dan.
That's the way she came from the dealer.

Hope to get plenty of scales on it over the next two weeks starting next Monday while I have some leave.

Gonna go do a trip to the Mulgrave river and when things get a bit slack, I'll go for a croc spotting trip up the Russell

[Synful]

Nice little cod, looks like the weather gods are smiling on your new boat, nothing but great weather ahead according to seabreeze.

Ahhh, but I'm yet to start them - a lot can happen in a week
If things stay the way they are might get out to one of the wrecks on Sunday; only half as much swell on Sunday coming according to seabreeze which should make the ride a bit more pleasant. Might change the motor trim a bit so the nose doesn't stick up so much before getting on the plane...

Yeah had a picnic, threw rocks into the water for the dog (fools her every time) and worked on my 3 year olds confidence in the water with the aim of having her swimming at least a bit by the end of summer.

Was a nice afternoon it's a great spot not yet spoiled by progress or lockouts, not many nice places around these days to do the whole family thing on the spur of the moment.

cheers fnq

Sounds like a good afternoon had by all - well done!

[disorderly]

only half as much swell on Sunday coming according to seabreeze

uh oh....looks like a monster has been created.
Andrew,once you begin scrutinizing weather forecasts a week in advance you know you have become a real fisho.

The real challenge from here on is to balance your work and family life and not totally give in to you fishing/boating addiction.
I am constantly reminded of these things by my missus but sometimes I still relapse and focus on nothing but my next upcoming reef trip.

It's fantastic fun being out in your own boat though isn't it,Andrew.
When I motor out from the ramp for a days fishing it feels like a weight is just lifted off my shoulders.Nothing else really matters and any worries and stress just seem to fade away.
For me being out there is such a natural high.

Sounds like you will enjoy your boating as much as me.

Scott

[Synful]

uh oh....looks like a monster has been created.
Andrew,once you begin scrutinizing weather forecasts a week in advance you know you have become a real fisho.

Hi Scott,

Sounds like I've joined the "elite levels" of AusFish now !!!

The real challenge from here on is to balance your work and family life and not totally give in to you fishing/boating addiction.
I am constantly reminded of these things by my missus but sometimes I still relapse and focus on nothing but my next upcoming reef trip.

That's ok, I plan on only spending one day a weekend fishing unless I'm on holidays (like at the end of this week for two weeks), then that figure will go up quite a lot. In that instance then I'm planning about two weeks in advance Currently I have plans for fishing the following:

• Russell and Mulgrave rivers
• Port Douglas
• Weather permitting a few inshore wrecks and reefs

It's fantastic fun being out in your own boat though isn't it,Andrew.
When I motor out from the ramp for a days fishing it feels like a weight is just lifted off my shoulders.Nothing else really matters and any worries and stress just seem to fade away.
For me being out there is such a natural high.

Sounds like you will enjoy your boating as much as me.

Scott

I'd agree with that - catching something for me is a bonus, I find that the water on the rocks / shore / boat is relaxing and similar to you releases all the stress. I come back exhausted from being in the sun etc. but it's cheap therapy in comparison and if it brings home a feed then it's even cheaper