Rick T

I usually just travel on the water from the bottom end. Only takes about 10 mins from wharf road and is much nicer than doing battle with the traffic in the city. Make sure u slow down to 8 knots in the pyrmont area as the waterways base is in roseville bay so they are regularily around there

Well done Lee, good idea putting a bit of bait on the jig . I fished the bottom end of the parra last week and it fish poorly aswell with no fish bigger than 30cm. Try around Pyrmont, Blackwattle and Rozelle bays. Have had a few mates fishing there the past few days that have picked up some good size fish in more numbers aswell. Oh and nice work pretending u didn't see the rower aswell

I have had plenty of those days where nothing goes right . As long as I don't break a rod its not so bad though. Luckily I have learn't to give up early if the day is like that. Last time I fished wyong creek I also lost a heap of jigs (around 15-20) in the snags. try using a 2 or 3" minnow with a 1/32 jig head and u will not get snagged any where near as much on the shoreline.

G'day all I have been trying to squeeze in some fishing while on holidays but bubs has really kept me on my toes so have only been able to manage a few short sessions. Fishing has been mainly dull which is suprising for this time of year, the water temps are really up there. Wednesday I fished the local nepean from 5.30-8.30am for a fairly hot little session. Landed five fish in the first hour of light on my fav surface lure and had plenty of swipes aswell. They ranged from 20-30cm fork length so nothing massive but fun anyway. I moved to the deeper weedbeds and submerged timber later in the morning using TN50's and picked up a few more little tackers. I had a solid run on what should have been the fish of the day but pulled the hooks when I thumbed the spool . Overall a nice relaxing and enjoyable morning Friday I fished pittwater targetting kings. Arrived at 5.30am to find the ticket machine out of order so I took a pic as I had a feeling the council may fine me anyway. Started searching around the area we have been hooking rats and there wasn't a fish in sight so grabbed a few squid then tried trolling a few rigs up the west side and out to west head. I had a popper, a 9" sluggo and squid strips with a 200g raider teaser. Trolled accross to the Joey where a major wan@#$ decide to drive over my lines. Got the raider back in time but the other 2 lines got tangled on his boat and was peeling line off. I quickly thumbed the spools to break the lines but lost $30 of lures. I had a few kind words and had a laugh when I could hear the sound of my popper rattling somewhere on the bottom of his boat or skeg. He turned around and headed back to the ramp . Stopped to say g'day to Joe then went back to the moorings that I started from to see if any fish had turned up. Had a chat with a fly fisherman and he hadn't seen much so I did a bit of bream fishing around scottland. Pick up a few solid bream over 30cm and called it a day at 10.30am. Just to make the day worse u can guess the council had fixed the meter and fined me $70 Hit the lower parra at 4pm yesterday avo till dusk for a quick bream session. Mainly fished my fav shorelines as the 20knot winds were a bit to stiff for fishing the moored boats. Picked up about 8 or so legal to average bream, a few flatties and a few choppers. It was a fitting welcome back after not fishing the parra for close to half a year and I quickly remembered why. No where to avoid the wind, ferry wakes and idiots at the ramp Heres a few pics of the fellas that joined me for dinner.

sensational fish, looks like u were fishing some pristine conditions aswell. Can't beat a day like that

I would have to say I am the laziest drag setter ever. It is 2 much of a pain to measure it when u take up to 8 rods with u and loosen them everytime I am finished. I turn it till it is difficult to take off the reel even with 4lb fireline - 4 lb leader. If I am tight country I give it another turn, thats about as technical as it gets for me. Probably not utilizing the gear to its potential though.

G'day David Firstly test your pedal on someone elses mk that u know is working. This may not be an issue with your pedal. My mk used to play up in the same way when the terminals haven't been cleaned in a few weeks. I will lose power to the autopilot and steering but still have thrust until a few hours have past and the connection seems to come good and it all works again. Hit the all the contact points to the battery with a flat metal file to clean the corrosion (not always visible) and it may fix your problems. Otherwise welcome to the "my mk is stuffed" warranty club.

Tyrone give the bass angler a call on 02 4721 0455 and save yourself the hassle and $$. They will post the items to u and u can get everything from the one place. As I mentioned they have Jackal TN hardbody series in every size and a good range of colours. They also have a large stock of sx40 and sx48's in every colour available.

A big call Mick, should be a slow business day if u r wrong Just make sure u r careful when using the spooling machine, a tangle could be messy We will give the 50's a go on the weekend Tyrone and let u know how it goes

Australian Bass Angler just got their new order of 160 Jackals. They include TN50, TN60, TN70 and Mask Vibe 60's (soft plastic lipless crankbait). Get in fast cause they will probably only last a few weeks. 20 are already gone between Mick and myself

Never tried on bream but I have my doubts. They work well on yellas, got plenty on TN60's last time we hit St Clair. I think the windy yella comp was won using Jackals aswell. About $30 in sydney when they are available.

Only Struddie I've seen up close was a Softbodz, the one thats got the nice Blue colour scheme and the flexible guides(not sure if they r any good tho) and I must say it LOOKS nice. SURE Rick ! Actually I've been meaning to ask, I know the Jackalls are good for Bass but do ppl use these for bream or any other species? And how much do ABA sell them for? I know they arent cheap.... I've started a HB collection, I say collection cos I don't see myself using them anytime soon, only when I get lucky and get to fish off a boat Matt 22857[/snapback] Answer these in sequential order mate I actually got to test the REC coil guides last friday on the GLX I was using to chase kings and they performed very well. They sing a little tune when u cast and were smooth on hook up. Able to cast all morning with a 4000 size reel without a sore wrist. Ok, so I am victim 2 letting go of one 2 many tipping dollars in my time Robbo mentioned to Iceman that they were tested on Barra and worked too well. The fella testing lost 3 lures in 3 casts ($90) so he went back to the cheaper methods. Dean hayes has tried them on kings and pelagics with little success. Doubt they would work on bream and I am not putting mine in the salt to try either. None left at ABA again but around $30 each normally.

Nah mate, never been a struddy man . I did clean up the Jackals though cause they were selling like a house on fire, and didn't I know it when I got home. . My wife reckons those lures should provide adult services for their price but I can't help buying them (lures not adult services ). Hopefully the fellas will now be able to concentrate on the online store

Matt I know one fella on this site that picked up almost 10 strudwick BWS rods. Being marked down to $99 from $250-300 odd these would have to have been the most popular bargain on the weekend. Also SPS for $119 and TPS for $179 , I had to keep refilling the racks on these items. I won't mention names incase their better half reads the forums

The weekend went really well Matt Plenty of familiar faces, plenty of bargains therefore plenty of $$ spent. I was flat out serving customers so the days went like a rocket. They mentioned each days sales on the weekend was a usual weeks takings so that gives u an indication of the people that got through the place. Wouldn't mind also hearing a few opinions of the place, the service, the tritons and the apparel that was showing them off

I have the same rod packed the same way and there were no curves in the blank even in the box so take it back. Hopefully they have another to replace it as they r scarce to replace otherwise u may have to live with a bent python . I have owned many a rod in my time and the battlers are easily the best of the best in my opinion.

Its a tough, clean and well finished boat as usual with the elegants Not sure on your choice of colour though, does it come with matching handbag . Just jealous mate cause I own a hornet

Nitlon can only be obtained by tackles stores that are part of the Tackle World group as with owner hooks. Stores have to make an application to the tackle world group and can be rejected if anyone already in the group objects to the tackle store supplying these products. So far ABA have had their application rejected on a few occasions. Nitlon is the best quality for the best price but unfortunately can only be obtained at certain shops so I use the Moimoi brand in 5lb which I have found to have outstanding knot strength and abrasive restistance. Just costs an arm and a leg

Don't reckon u could find a better bang for your buck with that rig I know sometimes it is hard to come up with an extra grand but see if u can to put a 40 (I think that is the max) on the back. Its a lot more expensive to upgrade later on and there is usually something u can compramise on like the sounder that can be put on at a later date. Only regret with my boat was not puting the 50 on. Pay a bit extra and go with a reasonable sounder from lowrance/humminbird range. u will only want to get a better one later on if don't get a reasonable one now. Nice work on supporting Fishraiders sponsors

I passed Juno on the way out to the heads and back and there were 8 or so boats parked so I knew there must have been some results lately. Usually only a handful of boats on Juno other times I have been out.

awsome fish mate I wanted to fish Juno sat avo but the ol' ford breaking down at the ramp changed that for me

On most small, ultra light baitcasters even if u have the drag set on full lock they still let line off fairly easily. U usually have to use your thumb on the spool to slow it down more. Yes the rod will probably break before the line if you thumb lock the spool so knowing your target species and only locking after u have had some experience with the rods capabilities is recommended. Eg. chasing bass in timber u may need to lock up to turn its head quickly but it is very doubtful the bass has enough oomph to break the rod. If the rod is pushed to its limit it is easy to just release your thumb and rely on the drag which will release line out rather than break the rod. If on pelagics (and it is only suitable for small ones) do not thumb the spool and always remember not overload or highstick it. A few reasons I have suggested tuff line braid. 1.U will more than likely never need more than 150y of line. Tommo's 1+m jew was landed on a 100 cardiff I sold him and it was spooled with exactly the same line/quantity. 2.tuff line/squidgy braid/hot fibre spectra braids r much softer than gel spun lines such as fireline/XDS so it lays on the spool very neatly and casts smoother (on baitcasters). 3.The thicker diametre and softer texture makes birds nest much easier to get out. As a new user (and experienced) u will get plenty of birds nests and when fireline gets into a bad one u will probably end up throwing the line away as it is impossible to untangle. Make sure if u purchase locally u ask the shop to demonstrate a birds nest and how to release it easily using the selected braid. There is definately a technique which involves pulling the line backwards instead of forwards that makes untangles much simpler. Any quality store such as ABA will be able to spool it up 4 u, or show u how if u prefer and show u why the braid is a preferable choice.

No probs Ben. It is a sweet rod and u won't be dissapointed I had it matched with a curado 100B and I really like them. If u r looking for a local reel that casts exceptionally, is small and light and costs a little over $200 this is a great option. The pixies and sols are alot more expensive locally probably double the price, no idea what they cost importing but I am sure a few guys here will let u know. Definately put a heavier braid on (not gsp line) for the purposes u have mentioned. I run 15lb Tuffline and fit 150yards on the 100B.

I was told before bubs arrived mate . The collection has diminished from about 20 outfits but I must admit I was becoming a bit excessive

Mate I am fairly proud of my collection, it is much smaller than most at 12 rod/reels overall but I have slowly built them up to a collection that I do not have rod that is a preference. It includes 4 bream spin rods, 2 Bass spin rods, 2 bass baitcasters, 2 heavy spin rods and 2 heavy bottom bashers. I have never had a preference of brand, I just look for the rod that best suits the way I will be using it. My taste and personal requirements for rods and reels has changed often over the last few years. My sp and hb lure collection is fairly small, I can fit about 70% of them in my tackle bag. Nothing really excessive and I use most of my stuff most of the time. Unfortunately it is a small due to my expensive taste. If I had more available cash I think I would own alot more gear.