sooty

[staggy]

Well after weeks of not being able to wet a line :'( I finaly managed to get the tinny wet today ;D.
My usual decky Brian has broken his arm playing footy at school so the youngest lad decided to tag along to keep me company.
We hit the water half hour befor day break and made our way up to spoy X. Third cast from the young fella seen him smashed by a nice fish, it was smiles all day after that ;D.
17 sootys all up by 8am and once again I managed another 50cm brute. YEEE HARRR they sure is fun.

Here is the shot of Keith with the first fish of the day..

Staggy

[Fitzy]

Aint it great to see kids with good fish in hand.
http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/thumbup.gifhttp://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/thumbup.gifhttp://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/thumbup.gif

fitz..

[el_carpo]

Looks like you found a good luck charm. I might be inclined to take the young fella along with me more often if I were you. Quite a fisherman already! Wait 'til he gets older---look out world record holders! :) Nice catch!

[Neil_c]

Great lookn fish Staggy :D good to see spot X is still producing the goods ;D

Keep the 500's coming,I know some who just looovvveee to hear about em ;D

Sorry to hear about Brian :( I hope his team won??. You might have to tie a rope around Keith's leg in case one of those Mummas drags him over the side ::)

Looks like that fish pulled back so hard it hit a tree and dinted it's propeller :)

Neil :)

[staggy]

Yep the young fella has already put an order in for a calcutta and rod so he can catch bigger fish. I cant for the life of me get him to hold a fish for the photos so he uses the pliers instead. The fish measured 47cm.

Here is a pic of my best for the trip.

Staggy

[cHiCo]

That looks like a little reidys lure in the first pic.Got a few jungle perch on that same colour.

[Fitzy]

Yep the young fella has already put an order in for a calcutta and rod so he can catch bigger fish. I cant for the life of me get him to hold a fish for the photos so he uses the pliers instead. The fish measured 47cm.

Here is a pic of my best for the trip.

Staggy
Hi Staggy,
What lure is that in the 2nd shot?

Interested way you've mounted the Minn Kota on the rails. Do you get any flexing with it up there? I've never seen one mounted like that. Most folks down this way get the rail altered to suit & many manufacturers now allow for a bow mount in alot of models.

fitzy..

[staggy]

G-day fitzy,
The lure is a Storm Wildeye shad ,3 inch. Not sure why by I have caught more sootys and barra on that colour than any other. We use Little Lucifers from first light untill the fish slow down then I change to the soft plastics so I can get down to the fish. The fish was actually caught Friday arvo as I always try to get up to Eungella the arvo befor so I can check it out and decide where I will go at first light the next morning.

I mounted to Minn Kota like that because when I bought the boat last April The dealer told me he could arrange to have it fitted, but when the time came they could not tell me how they would go about fitting it. So i took the boat home and played around with a few ideas before comming up with the mount as you see it. I was not keen on chopping and welding to a brand new painted hull and the cost factor also came in to it. I had the ally plate profile cut then I took it to work and milled 4 slots to accomodate the cut down u-bolts, had the box tiged in place and bolted it on. If it didnt work all I had to do was un-bolt it and no damage would have been done to the boat. Cost me just under $100. I get no flex that I can see. I have a support at the rear of the plate just to give it extra support.

Staggy

[Fitzy]

Great sutff mate, thanx for the info.

fitz..

[staggy]

In cae ya check again Fitzy here are a couple of pics of the bow mount set up

[staggy]

another

[staggy]

another

[staggy]

last one

[Fitzy]

You've done a neat job mate. Looks solid.
Do you ever need to take it off if you hit the salt & need to anchor up or anything.
Do you have to take the Minn Kota off to fit it in the garage?

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[staggy]

G-day Fitzy, Im just home from night shift and thought Id check out if you had seen the pic's. To be honest I have only ever used the anchore about 3 times since getting the boat. I usually only lure fish so no need for an anchore as once on the water I just move around untill it's time to pack up for the day. I hardly ever leave the boat in the water over night when camping as Iv had gear stolen before and now I dont trust anyone. Actually someone had there boat trailer stolen over the weekend here in Mackay,
The Minn Kota is only fitted just before hitting the water and it is removed before travelling home. So no drama's with storage at home. Im sure the time will come when the anchore is used more often so I will have to see if the mount is in the way then.
Catch ya later.
staggy.

[Neil_c]

It's a pity there are grubs like that we have too contend with >:( Leaving the boat in the water overnight is something I took for granted, I'm not so sure about it now :-/
I did it a couple of times at Teemburra but have to admit to having restless sleeps.

That front mount looks great Mate, Sal has already put an order in for a new boat when we came back home and it may need one of those for it :)

Neil :)

[staggy]

G-day Neil,
Hows the fishin over there? Do ya still have to hit the water early or late like here for the sootys and barra or can ya be a little more relaxed about it?

If I was a drinker this would be about beer-o-clock time.

[Neil_c]

We've caught and released ( not all tho, they taste great smoked ) a few Rainbow Trout over the last few weeks. Most have been between 3-5lb and a couple of Brown Trout have come our way also, the best was 7 lb. First thing in the morning can be very productive coz they haven't seen a hundred flys drift past em but you can find them throughout the day. This bloke was caught about three pm.

It will be 0 degrees here Wednesday morning :o with heavy frost...mmmmmm,do I sleep in or have a go at those early ones :-/

Neil :)