Nolongeramember

I thought this thread was about land based. But anyway, the 9kg you pointed out is a meter fish and above from there. Don't worry about if the fish can take line off your drag or not, nobody "skull drags" 9kg plus kings on ANY handheld gear. Maybe except for Hulk Hogan in his prime. If someone claim's they can I would like to see it. If you want to target undersized and maybe the odd lucky legal from land based then go your 10lb. Nothing wrong with that if that's your thing and that size are the only fish around at the time. But you can forget having a real chance at anything bigger on such light line.

I would prefer option B. 2 sessions catching nothing and 1 session a 9kg. Trust me, you won't be skull dragging a genuine 9kg king no matter how big the braid or gear you have.

You can try putting the paint cleaner on and leaving it for an hour or so for the chemicals to soak and do their work, then rub it off. Maybe test an area and see what happens. Sounds like stubborn stuff whatever it is.

Fab. Try bug and tar remover or a proper paint cleaner. I know Meguiars do a good paint cleaner. They have proper chemicals that remove that kind of stuff. I've used it before and it works very well.

That fish would be 12kg at most. My guess is 11kg on proper scales. No where even close to 39.9kg

Is it possible? Of course it is. Do I think it happened recently as the report suggested? Again, anything is possible but my money is on it didn't happen or they are massively exaggerating the size. Those newspaper reports are the most unreliable reports I know of. They just publish whatever rubbish anyone tells them.

I have been using that knot for a very long time. There is no need to lock it through the top loop in my experience. I do 4 turns and back through the 2 loops and its always good with mono from 4lb to 120lb. I have to say, if it is coming undone or slipping you are not tying it properly. I don't like loop knots as I haven't come across one that is as strong as this knot. I use a split ring instead and it's better anyway as it holds its round shape for the lure to move better than any loop knot in mono will.

Very true! One quality rigged rod under proper supervision, baited properly and held in your hand will catch more than trying to run 5. I don't really care that these people reduce their chances with multiple rods out, but they take claim a huge amount of fishing room which isn't fair. Something should be done.

One thing I can tell you after years of servicing reels, every reel likes different thicknesses of grease. Trial and error is the only way. Get it wrong and it will either be too stiff or too free spinning. I'm not experienced in the reel you have.

Bad luck mate. Sometimes there is nothing you can do.

A swivel will stop the line from twisting but wont stop the lure from spinning. A spinning lure is not very attractive to a fish. Check what Stevefish said and also where the leader is attached to the lure. It has to be as far to the leading end as possible and in the centre. Before letting out your line to troll, test run the lure beside the boat and watch how it goes. If it's spinning you can fix it so that you aren't trolling around a useless lure all day. If you put up a photo of the rigged lure you could maybe get more help.

Are you serious?

I have found the real cheap stuff is either rubbish from the beginning or it loses it strength in a short time with use or even in storage. I would stick with the quality stuff. Less headaches and more fish.

You must be doing something wrong as I have tested and used that knot for ages and it's the strongest and most reliable I know of. Make sure you are putting the end through BOTH loops around the hook not just one. Easy to miss. Just checking but are you using some kind of mono leader? Are you pulling it up tight with the mainline before using? Funny that it's slipping and coming undone after only a few casts.

I agree with you that Platypus mono is crap line but I think the Tailor and sharks would have probably bitten you off and snapped the line, which would happen with any mono line you happen to be using. I have never heard of Alvey reels exploding but I'm guessing from what you said that the cause was spooling the reel with too much tension. Mono spooled under high tension stretches and builds up pressure with every turn on the spool. Add up a full spool and the pressure can be very high. The solution is to spool it with some tension so that it doesn't go on loose but don't over do it if that makes sense. All mono stretches a lot no matter what the labels say. I like Schneider line myself.

25amp is fairly large. The general rule is to charge at 10% of the battery AH or capacity. So if you have a 100AH battery charge at 10amp is ideal.

I use C-Tek 7amp and am very happy with it. My advice is lean towards the larger size in amps rather than the lower ones that suit your battery size otherwise it takes too long to charge especially when charging deep cycle batteries that have been run down low. For general boating batteries size I wouldn't get smaller than 7 or 10amp myself.

Being a cranking battery is fine and would be what I would want. You are starting the engine with it. I doubt there is little if any difference in batteries labelled as dual purpose to just a cranker anyway. Proper deep cycle batteries are different but are not suited to starting as much as a cranking battery. Your battery should never go below half with normal use. You need to be aware that you cannot stay with all electronics running for extended times like 5 hours straight without running the engine in between. Also, don't always listen to everything dealers say. Most boats don't get used often like cars. You can't go wrong charging and storing your batteries full after every trip with a good step charger.

I have a similar set up to you mate battery wise. Starting battery is 90AH and engine is 60HP. I always charge my batteries at home after every trip to make sure they are full for the next trip. I've never had any problems in a long, long time and I run lights, bait tank and sounder for the whole trip and go hours at anchor running all these things. Judging by voltage and how long it takes to charge after a trip, my starting battery never goes below 3/4 full. If it did take a long time to charge then I would know there is something wrong with my engine charging system or battery etc and check it out. You should check your engine is charging properly. What size cranking battery do you now have?

No you won't be at a disadvantage from using a 2 piece rod.. 2 piece all the way for me. Can't beat the convenience.

So you charged it, then started the boat with it and went 10km's and then it wouldn't start? That sounds like your engine is not charging and sucking the battery. You need to check the charging system.

I have had trouble with the Platypus Lo Stretch snapping well under in the past as well. Also, that line has rubbish abrasion resistance. I don't believe in the "bad batch" excuse. They shouldn't sell bad batches. If a sample I've purchased fails me when it shouldn't it's rubbish line to me and I never trust it again. There are heaps of other good mono lines out there. I really like the Schneider mono.

I always put a screwdriver through the centre of the spool with the line on it so it spins as I take the line off. This is the correct way to do it. You will need a second person or some way of putting some pressure on it as it spins so the braid goes on with tension.

That's a pretty full on story. To hit you like that is bad enough but to then keep going and leave you Crazy. Hope they catch them....

Awesome information Fab thanks. Just to add to one of his questions, yes you fill the space in between the bearings with grease.