Little_Flatty

Thanks Steve. I’m still trying to work out where the loose loops are coming from. Tried @Green Hornet’s trick of tightening the braid before the retrieve but it’s still happening. It’s worse with lighter braid than heavier (went up to 8lb just to experiment). Could be technique. Hasn’t happened with all my other forms of lure fishing with braid. I suspect with top water there is more line in the air compared to a plastic or blade. Thanks, more food for thought. Interestingly the last fish lost was on a stiffer rod (3-5kg flathead raider). I have a 1-3kg veritas that has the properties you mention. Will give that a shot too.

Wind knots is one of the reasons I wanted to try going back to mono. It's been particularly noticeable since I've started fishing more poppers and stickbaits and everything I've tried (including some good tips here) has failed. Not sure why. The lack of a need to tie a leader (assuming I've chosen my line class appropriately) is also attractive. Nothing wrong with using mono. There's a few here who do. I've forgotten what it's like to fish with mono, it's been so long! That's a coincidence! Mullet for bait, food or fun? As for casting distance, I'm figuring if I keep it light, it shouldn't be a problem. I did end up trying the double rod length leader and the lighter drag. Alas, no fish big enough to test the theory in the afternoon (although I did have a school of salmon busting up just out of casting distance!). I'll have a think about Platypus Platinum if I go down the mono route. I'm thinking about it for my car rod (the one I keep in the car for impromptu trips) as the lack of a need to carry leader material is very attractive. I am really quite enjoying their Platypus' pulse braid, which I only bought after confusing it with bionic braid.

That’s a cracker Kobi. Still fishing 2kg line?

Thanks @zmk1962 @Green Hornet @dirvin21 @slothparade. I will try a longer mono leader as well as my straight through fluro setup. See how I go!

It certainly can! A bit like the massive changes in bicycle technology since the advent of the car. I just thought I’d ask as the last time I bought mono to spool a reel was more than 20 years ago.

Hi all, What’s old is new again! I’ve had a bad spell where I’ve had a number of fish bounce off the hooks during a fight. Basically haven’t landed a fish for about five sessions now, in spite of quite a few hookups. So I was thinking about a change. Fishing topwater hardbodies with trebles and assists. I have heard that straight through mono or flurocarbon may assist with hook retention, but not sure what to consider. I do have a reel with 3lb fluorocarbon which I will try, but I’m worried it may be a bit light for some of the by catch I have encountered of late. Some questions: I have been told fluorocarbon sinks and can affect topwater lure action. Is this true or does it not make a practical difference? Also if I want to use a higher line class, how high can I go? I was thinking potentially up to 6-8lb for bream in gnarly structure. Finally, on mono: what do people use these days for light line classes? I was thinking either maxima ultragreen or IGFA but I don’t know what is popular these days and why. Any advice will be much appreciated. Mike

Nice one there @lhan. I’ve never shore jigged in my life. Shame about the kings. I’m 0-2 so far with kings on lures. Very hard one to win!

Nice recognition for your efforts @DerekD and a lovely @Robbo from Sydney and @linewetter. I didn’t realise you had a thing for those twitch tail minnows Derek. I always only bought them because I couldn’t get power minnows at my local. But come to think of it, they have got me more than a few quality fish.

Well done Bob, looks like uni and Rosie have been busy. I’m sure the kingfish are enjoying the reprieve!🤣

I will add that if I want to take a feed, I’ll be intentional about it and bring ice packs, a cooler and a knife. I always have ice packs (or ice like @XD351’s idea) and a cheap backpack cooler on the ready with a knife and clean garbage bag to hold fish) don’t like the idea of turning my backpack cooler fishy). That way it’s not actually a lot of effort. If I don’t have ice, knife and a cooler with me, all fish go back, doesn’t matter if it’s a trophy or a delicacy.

Cheers Neil, will do! The old nilsmasters! I’m sure they were out of most kids’ pocket money budget those days, so many imitations were carved. So far all of my ‘lure tuning’ sessions turn into just fishing, but nevertheless they are still worthwhile. Been experimenting with using tungsten putty to make weighting adjustments on the water to refine my designs for next time.

It’s likely the handling more than the cooking. Bleed and then straight onto ice. Clean as soon as possible. I’ve done this and it’s resulted in divine meals and friends and family asking for more.

Thanks mate, yeah it was a bummer to lose the fish, but good to get the eat! Cheers for the recommendation Zoran, I will try it. The ‘workshop’ is building slowly but surely

That’s fishing, as you know! But yes it is good to see the lure getting eaten and holding up to a savage strike and a good stretching out. Thanks Robbo. My skills are basic compared to the skills of many here, but I’m having fun😎

Hi Raiders, Not much to report from a fishing standpoint of late. Been busy with work as always, and on top of that I've been dealing with sick children and getting sick myself! The lure making has continued, with my foam lure crafting giving way to carving with balsa. It has been trickier than I expected, as I lack a lot of the skills many of you have, like being able to measure/cut accurately and also being able to make adjustments without measuring the daylights out of things. The other issue is that when you mix epoxy to harden wood etc, it has a limited life, so you tend to batch stuff up rather than having a constant pipeline of field-ready lures. So currently I have about eight lures awaiting various stages of gluing/hardening/sealing. Happy to take any tips from any of you handier bunch to streamline the process. Not many photos of the process, I will document them as I'm further down my lure making journey. As you will see, I'm not painting the lures yet. Just trying to get profile and action right first. One thing I have thought of is getting some glow-in-the-dark paint that I could charge with a UV torch. Not so much to attract fish, but more so that I can see it in the water in the pre-morning darkness. Time will tell if it makes any difference to the fish. On Wednesday I managed to nail my first fish on a DIY balsa stickbait. A little tailor from Five Dock Bay: Undersized tailor don't really count for me, but it was still good to get an eat. Had one hit from a bream, but that was it. Friday morning I went out to Tarban Ck for a very quick session. I had two hits, one of which moved a bucketload of water three times, before hooking up and going for a smoking run, then turned and went straight for the oysters. This was NO bream, or at least the bream of a lifetime. Anyhow, in my infinite inexperience dealing with bigger/faster running fish, the hooks fell out after a couple of minutes. It might have been a rat king, a salmon or a big tailor. First time I've hooked one in this spot, but I have been seeing pelagics busting up there all summer. Anyhow, I was pleased that the lure's homemade twist eyes and gluing (Araldite super strength) held up nicely in the balsa. Surprised at how strong these connections can be. I would've thought a through wire was necessary for balsa lures. It turns out for the line classes I fish, it's not really necessary. Have been too sick the past few days to get up early, but on the mend now and was able to get out briefly this morning for a donut in the rain . There will be more to come, including my first diving minnows and sinking bibless lures.

Shame about the donut boys. Hopefully next time the big tailor will come out to play.

I just paid good money the other night for a big slab of mulloway for two at a fancy restaurant. No regrets - it was divine - but would be nice to catch one for the table instead of buying it! Need to start fishing with bait again! Nice couple of fish for the family. Well done.

Quite a few nice poke bowls in that fish Niall, well done.

Yep I listened to that with much interest. That’s a whole new dimension to rigging plastics! I want to try it but am a bit distracted by other methods at the moment.

A good starting point is a 3inch Berkley Power Minnow or its Gulp equivalent, rigged on a size 1 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Size of sinker to suit depth/current, but light as you can get away with. When you head back stateside for a visit, I think you need to get out to a tackle shop there and chat to a few fishos/go fishing. I think you'll come back with plenty to share!

Good to see you have something to keep you busy Neil. It's one thing struggling with technology, it's another thing working in the technology sector and encountering stuff that's badly designed or doesn't work. That makes my blood boil! It's not just an age thing...you should see one of my former bosses (now 70) come up against an app that doesn't work. He doesn't struggle with technology. 'Happy Gilmore' is probably a decent approximation!🤣

Sorry to hear you're sick Neil. Look after yourself. Those parking apps don't work for me either. I had one at my uni a few years ago, paid my fees and still had a ticket on my car. I challenged it and they had the nerve to get all testy at me not knowing that I was at carpark 1358ABC or something like that. Not a fan.

@DerekD using the Carolina rig? You mean he's not fishing topwater? C'mon Derek, explain yourself 🤣 As for your Texas rig question, don't overthink it. It's fine. I've used it a lot over the recent years and it's saved me a pile of gear. The sinker is most likely to hit the bottom first on the drop, leaving the lure floating above the bottom, then it will follow it to the bottom then the whole lot will leave the bottom on the next hop. Then this will repeat again and again until the lure is at your rod tip. For the Carolina rig, you could potentially rig a stopper on the leader to stop the sinker, but again, don't overthink it. You can't use such a heavy sinker anyway on 6lb gear that it could cause much trouble. But if you wanted to, one of those rubber float stoppers could do the trick, along with a bead on top of the sinker if you wanted to make doubly sure. For your 2.5 inch plastics, you might need to go a size 4 EWG. Not all plastics lend themselves to EWG rigging (the smaller squidgy prawns and some 2 inch grubs for instance). They can just squirm around too much on the EWG to keep their shape. Others are too 'fat' and may require you to cut a belly slit in them for hook clearance. You might notice certain soft plastics (particularly the bigger ones) have a cutaway in the belly - that's what they're for. I can't really help you with the dropshot. I've caught one fish on it, but haven't used it extensively enough to comment.

The surgeon’s knot has been a revelation for me. I only came across it when I started out fly fishing, to put together my tapered leaders. It’s astonishing how strong it is and how easy it is to tie. It would be great for attaching a 150mm bite leader to the end of your light fluorocarbon. Worth taking ten seconds to learn it.

Great to meet you too @linewetter. Glad you found a new rod and christened it.