I Got A New Spear

[Steeny]

Went down to JV marine this morning to have a look around the big 4 day sale. came away with a new spear. its a sea hornet 2 piece light fibreglass model. a pretty light blue color. cost me 66 after the 10% off cause of the sale.



now all i gotta do is get me a light, i'm thinking the neptune fishing one from rays, and make a float and i'm all set for a big winter of floundering, then hopefully during summer, i can get a snorkel and some fins and start targeting other fish by spear.



its all looking good

[glen]

sounds like you did well steeny. i have to build myself a proper float too. i don't recommend my "tyre" setup as i keep getting holes in the tubes! i will eventually get some PVC pipe and copy jazman <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ink' />

[Steeny]

yeah, i think i'm pretty much gonna copy jazman's setup. seems to work just a little too well. i've been trying to think how i can make it better, and the only thing i came up with was filling the pvc with expanding foam. that way no matter how bad my plumbing skills are, they can never fill with water.



i might also add a rod holder, so I can take a little rod out with a baited squid jig for when i see those squid, but am a little too slow to spear em. or perhaps switch to a nice shiny lure in the case of seeing salmon or mullet.





one question i had. Jazman, what holds the two plastic buckets in place? are they bolted, or just held by friction?

[flounderpirate]

Arrgh..Congrats on the new spear matey, sounds you been bit by the flounderin' bug.



The two buckets are just cut with a normal hand saw from the side not the top because the plastic is moulded stronger and thicker at the two faces and thinner at the sides. You just drill a hole at each corner of the bottom, silicone around the holes and bolt them together. The handles of both are facing away from each other. The Pipe is 90mm and bolted at the point where it touches the long sides of the floats and not at the ends.



I also though of that rod holder idea, but scrapped it because it will be more trouble than it is worth, with both hands full and a rod you have untangle/unhook (assuming you catch something other than a toadfish). Sorry to rain on your parade ladey, but I don't want you to get tangled and frustrated.

[Jazman]

Steeny

Yes the buckets are held in place by bolts joining the pipe to the drums, on the long sides of the drums (as Mike said) and not the ends. Use plenty of silcone on the holes where the bolts go through. You shouldn't need to fill the pipes with polyfiller, just get some plumbers PVC weld and you'll be fine.

Do you have access to plastic drums? We go through quite a lot at work, I can keep my eye out for a couple if you like?

[Steeny]

if you could find me a couple that would be great. i'm in the process of exhausting all my possible links as to how to get some. and at $15 each from bunnings, its getting a little expensive to just cut into.

[Jazman]

My float is made using 20L drums. I have access to a lot of 10L drums, which might be a little bit small - but on the other hand the 20L might be bigger than is necessary. I guess it depends on what size battery you'll be using. I will be able to get 20L drums, but it might take a while to find 2 the same.



Specs on the drums:

10L are approx: 22cm x 22cm x 28cm

20L are approx: 28cm x 28cm x 34cm



Let me know what you reckon

[Steeny]

I guess i could try it out on 10L drums and see what happens. if its not quite big enough, perhaps i could try using 20L drums at a later stage.



when do you think you could get the 10L ones by?

[Steeny]

well, i managed to convince one of my sources to give me two 20L drums, so it seems that it is all on for making a float towards the end of the week. work is stupid busy this week. then i have the weekend off, and next week I am in brisbane. so hopefully in about 3 weeks the weather will be kind and i can get out on the bay and catch some more flounder.





cheers all

[Jazman]

Good stuff, let us know how the float turns out. Also please ask if you have any queries about design, etc. If the 20L drums don't work out I can get you 10L drums anytime (it's the 20L ones that are a bit more tricky), let me know.



Changing the subject a bit, I didn't get a chance to ask you before, but I think I remember overhearing that you are a scientist working in vaccines? If so, that's a strange coincidence, Mike (flounderpirate) and I are as well <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ink' /> The 10L drums I can get are from bulk ethanol <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />

[Steeny]

yeah. i am a PhD student at monash uni in the department of microbiology.



currently vaguely working on vaccine targets to protect chickens from pasteurella multocida. (the lab is at least working on that, my project is more pathogenesis rather than vaccine)

[Jazman]

Wow, too strange! I've just finished a PhD at Melb Uni in Dick Strugnell's lab at the Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology (on immunity conferred by Salmonella typhimurium live vaccines). I'm still working in the same department on a different project (peptide vaccines).

Hopefully the PhD is not doing your head in too much. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ink' /> I found that fishing and floundering was a great stress relief when it all got too much.

[Steeny]

well, i'm aiming to have fishing as my major distraction. i'm well into my 3rd year and still dont really have anywhere near enough data to think about writing up.



my plan is to get the float done, and perhaps try it out later in the week. then be ready for the new moon around the start of next month, depending on weather and what not.



wheres a good place to find information about the wind. is there a specific part of the bureau that deals with it?

[glen]

here you go:



[url="http://www.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/~awatkins/bay.html"]http://www.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/~awatkins/bay.html[/url]

[Steeny]

well, i got my battery today. same one as Jazman uses. although i was warned off just going to the store, i couldn't get on the website to look for the number, and as it was only 5 mins drive from work, i decided to jsut turn up. turns out that had 3 of the 18Ah ones just sitting on the shelf, begging to be purchased.



so i now have my float, a new spear and net and a new battery. i think i'm all set



weather conditions look fairly good again tonight, so i think it might be time to test out all this new gear again.



think i'm gonna try fishermans beach again, then perhaps move on to frankston beach, just near waves (the restaurant), depending on the fishing



i'll let you all know how i went tomorrow. lets hope the whole thing floats a little better tonight.



cheers

[glen]

best of luck!

[Jazman]

Best of luck steeny, I'd love to go tonight but I'm still at work <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup2:' /> Trying to get through a stack of work before we leave for a 10 day trip to Broome on Friday. I'd love to say it's a fishing trip.....but it's not (there will be some fishing though, but it will be jammed in amongst trips to pearl farms, wilderness tours etc).

[Steeny]

I went to broome a couple of years ago. it was amazing.



went on a fishing charter that specialised in light tackle fishing. didn't get anything, but the missus hooked onto something huge just near the port. took about 100 yards of line and just dissapeared <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup2:' />



I highly recomend an afternoon with a 200 pound handline and some stiff gloves at the deep sea port (most guys dont use rods, they snap too easily apparently). we saw a dozen or so tuna just swim casually by while we were standing there.



and watch out for the normal charter boats. so many of them are simply downriggers bolted to the side of the boat. they go out to the reef, and you spend all afternoon dragging fish up from the depths. not my cup of tea really.



anyway. i'm definately going tonight. probably in an hour or so,



enjoy broome Jaz, its such a nice part of australia



cheers all

[Steeny]

well, i waded around in the freezing cold of fishermans bay, mornington for 2 small garfish.



i was there from about 10-12:30. waled all the way up to the fence from the boat ramp. didn't really see much around. one smallish flathead that i missed, and a few nice size gars that were just too quick. Also saw a massive banjo shark. theres really not as much shallow water there as i'd like, and a lot of it is quite rocky, which can be tricky in waist deep water.



anyway, if the weather stays nice today, i might have to give seaford beach a go tonight.



my battery and float performed admirably, and my spear has finally speared something. not so sure about my net. it seems to get a little bogged down i the water, so trying to scoop up those bigger gars that swim deeper is not as easy as i'd like.



cheers

[Jazman]

Well done for getting out, at least you got a few fish!

I'm really looking forward to Broome, I had been considering a charter but a few others have worded me up about the quality of fishing off the wharf, so I'm picking up a few heavy handlines before we go.