Hey mate, I've been at it with my boat for 2 years now and still can't catch a cold!!... Definitely know how you feel... My only advice would be to head out in good weather and sound around/look for cray pots... Think the guys who do have decent metro spots would give away their first born before giving up co-ords

 At this time of year, and if you have a good sounder on board, set yourself up for trolling for mackerel and tuna and start trolling.  keep a close eye on the sounder and a look out for promising ground.  Mark anything you see and give it a go.  certainly sound around cray pots.  just don't sound around other boats....  they get a bit cranky at that!

Fish dawn and dusk, when conditions allow, using a variety of baits and rigs.  Target the species, linked to the spots, and put the hours in.  The fishing is awesome but it takes work and time.

 Newbie myself, only have a 4.2m tinny. Put in alot of hours inside cockburn sound chasing snapper in the past year without luck, would like to try out past the islands soon. Had some success at 3 mile off Hillarys recently, 3 pinks from 4 trips. Anchored up and berleying before sunup, all on unweighted mullies. Still trying to get one on a placcy, no luck yet

Number one tip i could offer for fishing out from Hillarys is get a god sounder and literally never ake your eyes off it. Soe of this spots that consitantly fish well for demersal ish are no bigger than your boat, and many people would drive straight over them.  Having fished the exact area you speak of for a couple of years myself, i can guarantee the difference between catching fish and catching nothing wasa good suonder.

get a good sounder book helps a lot to read them right (the sounder) :)and look for cray pots in a cluster it means its around structure.

 Use the wrasse for bait. Try sending down a small live one.....put out a floater while you bottom bash. 

any tips on Depths. have been between 20 and 30m most of the time. sadly have caught 2 dhufish and a snapper in less than 5m and very little in the deeper water.have been using wrasse and squid for bait.

 Head south from the marina out to the area SW of the south cardinal (Trigg). Head out there really early (hit the ramp for 3:30am). Ideally you want an offshore breeze and an out going tide. Anchor on the east side of a likely looking lump. Keep a steady burley trail going at the back of the boat (pellets/tuna oil/munched mulies). Cast out your unweighted mulie on a snelled pair of 4/0 hooks. Wait for up to an hour for snapper to sniff there way up your burley trail. About half an hour after sun up things will get quiet (and the wrasse will start hangin round). Pull anchor and head out to 21m for some whiting. On the evenings that have very little wind put a nuclear chicken gulp on a 1oz elevator jig head and drift across the area south of the South cardinal (safe with no exposed reef or breakers). KGs, dhuies and snapper. 

Sounds like good advice. will give it a shot next time the weather looks good.

 When the wrasse are smashing the baits but you can see there are bigger fish down there, I send down a hook set up like thus, I have a normal 8/0 or whatever I'm using and I use some thin copper wire and I wire a small hook to it. I bait the small hook and send it down, it hooks up a wrasse and then you have your livey down there running around a bit panicked, if there is a dhu down there, he will pick him off and the bigger hook will hook up. Easy and it works.