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View Full Version : BEER Batter....not too many scales!



WalFish
09-02-2010, 09:26 AM
Well, my computer is now up and running again at full speed, so here is an update on BEER Batter and her maiden voyages.

After picking her up we hit the Hinchinbrook Channel to hide from the cyclones, with my daughter getting the first 'keeper' with a nice salmon.

Then once home in Townsville, the kids had a 'sickie' from school and we went to Keeper Reef last wednesday. Finding the fish was very hard work, and we must have moved about 20 times. My deckie (wife) was very happy with the new anchor retrieval float which saved her a lot of hard work. Only managed 2 keepers for the day. The boat performed very well and I am more than happy with the performance figures from the Honda on the back. The canopy was also great for keeping the sun off and not being a pain in the arse when fishing. I am considering a set of trim tabs just to keep the arse up a bit and also stop a bit of the wind leans. Happy to take advice on those.

Last saturday we dropped some pots across the mouth of Alligator Ck and came home with 9 really full bucks. Fished the Cape while waiting for crabs but no luck. The water temp is just so warm at the moment I think the reds are keeping to the deeper water at the moment.

Anyway, the boat is in for the 10 hour service on wednesday at the Honda dealer in Townsville (anyone had any experiences, good or bad with them??) and then we shall plan the next onslaught.......8-)

Sabre
09-02-2010, 09:38 AM
Congrats, you must be pleased. Good to hear the family involved as well.....

Goldfinch
09-02-2010, 11:17 AM
Nice lookin boat Wal. Plenty of good times ahead no doubt. Good to see the next generation behind the wheel taking control!!!

Cheers
Dave

Scott nthQld
09-02-2010, 11:19 AM
Nice crab Wal, I was out on Friday and picked up 5 muddies, though full is definitely NOT the word to describe them.

Be careful of leaving your pots in alligator though. I know for a fact there is a pro that resides at Cleveland palms, that runs 52 pots in that creek, and will destroy anyone else's he sees left unattended, taking any crabs along with it. It has gotten so bad that I know a few blokes who have lost many $1000's of dollars worth of crabbin gear to him, but becasue they haven't caught him in the act, they can do nothing about it.

Besides, IMO Cocoa crabs better anyway, and when there's lots of fresh, you want them about 1km from the mouths.

You will want to be looking in some very deep water for red atm I reckon, somewhere around the 60-70m mark because the water is too warm, trout would be out in some deeper water too, try around 40m for them I reckon, maybe 50.

Also by Honda dealer you mean Angus Smith Marine?? If so, as with every dealer, there are some horror stories, but fortunately to good outcomes far outweigh those with bad outcomes. Not sure about Rising Sun Honda though, i know they have the sales dealership now, but i think Angus Smith still retained the service part of it. Also, be aware that you do not have to take your outboard to one of Honda's service agents for servicing, you can take it to whomever you like, as long as the Honda's servicing manual is follwed to the letter, if you do take it elsewhere however, make sure the invoice says that the service was performed to Honda's specified standards.

As for trim tabs, Try and stay away from Lenco's. Another member from the Burdekin has them on his Patriot (Ozbee), the actuator broke, and it took months to track down the Australian distributor to get the parts because they keep changing so often and those that lost lenco's would not tell him where to go to get the parts. Personally I reckon a set of QL's would be the go, that way there is no temptation for your kids to stand on them to climb in/out of the boat.

pilchardjones
09-02-2010, 12:30 PM
Gday Wal,
We saw you sitting there at cape cleveland on saturday morning. we came past you at around 10am in a white 7m US walkaround. we were just having a shake down cruise and trolled a few lures around salamander for an hour but nothing was happening.
Your new boat looks great.
steve

levinge
09-02-2010, 01:02 PM
Wal, Rising Sun Honda will service your motor, just give them a call and get a quote on the work. Its pretty good having 2 service agents in Townsville, means we can get a bit of pricing competition going between the two....

WalFish
10-02-2010, 06:37 PM
Thanks all for your replies.

Scott, I put my pots about 500m out from the mouth of Alligator and strung them out towards the east from there in some pretty shallow stuff. Didn't lose any pots thankfully. Still undecided on the tabs.....:-/

Brett, took the boat in today and had it serviced. $220 for the job at Risisng Sun Honda. The other Honda service agent quoted $260 PLUS PARTS and OILS......:-X

Not sure if we are going to get up to Lucinda on the weekend. May just have a poke around Maggie for the day. See how the weather goes..... its been so hot.

levinge
10-02-2010, 10:16 PM
Wal, give her a little while before you jump on the Tabs. Get used to the style of driving her and she may surprise...

That service price is pretty good for the first one... The next one may sting a little, but its better to be on the ball and not calling VMR for assistance...

I might look at chasing the Fingers on the weekend, just looking at the tides and weather reports. Might have to get onto Ron and Scott to see if they are interested in wetting a line..

WalFish
11-02-2010, 05:22 PM
Yeah, pretty happy with the service price. Proof will be in the pudding on saturday when we give her a run. I don't believe in mucking around with servicing when I ALWAYS have the kids in the boat. Its not worth the risk....... and the ear-bashing I will get from the three women about all the trouble "your bloody boat caused us!!" I'm sure everyone has heard this line somewhere along the line::)

Any hints on where the fingas might be hiding around the bay??

Scott nthQld
11-02-2010, 05:49 PM
they'll be everywhere Wal, any structure around 10m of water, there's a few good marks in that list I gave you, one in particular is the one about 3km towards rattlesnake from liver point, nice mark that one, also picked up some very nice grunter there as well, plus cod, nannygai (often smal but the odd legal one comes up) big cod, and several big GT's.

Benno1
12-02-2010, 12:24 AM
That middle pic needs to be in a frame i think Wal...good stuff!!!...i bet those crabs went down a treat.
Looking forward to more posts from Beer Batter...cheers for the report and pics.

Mrs Benno1
Sunny