davester28

After being inspired by various reports and having been given the good oil by my local Drummoyne tackle store owner (who told us of kingies to a metre being caught), my mate AG and I decided to hit the Eastern suburbs in pursuit of the mighty yellowtail kingfish. I was especially keen to test out a schmick new soft plastics reel I had purchased from Japan, having decided to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar. I was also keen to land my first kingfish on a hard-bodied stickbait, having read about their effectiveness in various print media. AG picked me up at The Spit at the ungodly hour of 5:40 am in his 6.5m HysuCat dive boat. We punched out the Heads into the sunrise. Lovely time of day, which I don't get to experience often, being a late riser. Saw a pod of dolphins near North Head, and a whale breach somewhere off the Eastern Suburbs. Ah, the serenity. Found the first working school at about 6:15, just off Coogee Beach. Approached carefully and fired out the white 6 inch Slug-go. Third cast and I was onto a feisty fish which slugged it out in the deep. Luckily, the new little Morethan Branzino was more than a match for it and after about a 5 minute tug-of-war, the kingy was hauled on board. He was approximately 70 cm (AG's dodgy tape measure only went to 65 and there were a couple of inches of tail left over) and in great condition but we speared him back into the water to grow to a metre. Unfortunately, before we could have another go, the school sounded. It popped up intermittently every few minutes for 30 seconds or so but the direction of travel was unpredictable and we couldn't get ahead of it. After a while, it sounded for good. A change of tactics was required, so we decided to troll a little Rapala while looking for decent structure and bait. At this point, we noticed another boat about 100 m away hook up. I fired off a speculative cast, allowing the weighted Slug-go to sink to the bottom before ripping it back up as quickly as I could turn the handle. Halfway to the boat, I let the lure sink again and was hit on the drop. This fish also fought well, seeking structure at the bottom, but after a couple of minutes another just legal king was landed and released. Next cast and I was on again, using the exact same retrieve style - another rat in the 60s was released. A couple of casts later, another hook up and another rat ... this was getting monotonous! At this point, remembered my camera and managed to get a couple of snaps of AG landing yet another rat, also on a white 6 inch Slug-go. Then the bite shut down. Motored around for another few minutes, seeking the fish without success. AG had to be home by 9:00 am, so we pulled the plug at 8:00. A session just shy of two hours with 5 fish landed. Unfortunately, did not land that elusive metre plus hoodlum and did not get the chance to try out my hard-bodied stickbait combo. Still, a short sweet session, and a lot of fun! Tackle Big soft plastics combo: Shimano T-Curve Power Spin (5 - 10 kg); Daiwa Morethan Branzino 3000 spooled with Varivas Casting Braid PE 2 and Nitlon Fluoro leader 30lb; 6 inch Slug-go (Albino and Ice Shad) on 1/4 ounce 4/0 Owner worm style jighead Topwater stickbait combo: Daiwa Saltiga Dorado M-over 80S (10 kg); Twin Power 5000HG (Japanese domestic market model) spooled with YGK Jigman Braid PE 2.5, Nitlon Fluoro leader, 14 cm Daiwa Saltiga Dorado Slider with trebles replaced with Owner singles Techniques Flat out retrieve on the surface with unweighted 6 inch Slug-gos. Cast a weighted Slug-go as far as possible and let it sink to the bottom. Then a flat out retrieve, and let it drop again approx half way back to the boat. Most hits were on the drop. Let the Slug-go drop again near the boat, then jig it back up the same way you would a metal jig. AG landing his fish - we forgot the landing net! AG and his fish - mind the eye, mate!

Fantastic price! I've got a brand new 4000 Tierra I want to sell, but it's so cheap on eBay that it's not worth getting rid of so I'll use it as a backup instead!

Excellent post! Sounds like a top little session. Can I just ask if you were in the main Harbour proper or Middle Harbour?

Mate, the Capricorn is an older reel (released about 5 or 6 years ago, I think) and is no longer made. The replacement for the Capricorn is the Tierra, so that's probably what you should look to get.

Great effort on the yak, mate. Well done!

My mate Sami wrote that article. He's also a member of this site ... You can ask him but I don't like your chances! He's very knowledgeable about jigging and fishing in general and is a regular contributor to the magazine. He's very kindly let me decky for him for a couple of years now and I've learned heaps. He and his mates in that article have been kingy jigging for a few years now - certainly well before it became the current fad. PS: Watch out for Part Two of the article next month!

Just a guess, but I would say stronger gearing. The Saltigas are acknowledged to have superior gearing at the moment, so that's one obvious area to target. (Probably a "hyper" Paladin durability gear enhancement or some such!). Hopefully, something to rival the Saltiga in strength, but retaining the legendary Shimano smoothness. You are spot on about the colours - the Stella is most aesthetically pleasing spinning reel I've seen.

Great haul, mate. Many's the time bouncing rubber for flatties has saved me from a donut session!

Royce, I think the the humble surgeon fish's profile enjoyed a bit of a spike when mcgill featured them in the Local Knowledge dvd. I hadn't even heard of them until that point. I too would be most appreciative of a PM on locations! cheers, dave

Was talking to Mr Ogawa of Plat Japan and he revealed an interesting morsel of information. Apparently, Shimano have ceased (or are in the process of ceasing) production of the SW series of Stellas, including the popular 10000 and 20000 models. I assume this will also be true for the local Stella FA series, which is identical apart from the spare spool and a few accessories. He can't confirm exactly when the new replacement series will be released, but believes it will be launched (with great fanfare) at the 2008 Japan Fishing Show to be held in February. A date to watch for all tackle junkies! So, for those in the market for a big jigging or popping reel, you may wish to hold off for a few months or your "new" Stella may soon be obsolete.

Funniest report I've read for a while. I was trying for Pacific Bluefin from the same spot ... can't understand my lack of success! Maybe I just wasn't cubing enough ...

Great catch on bream gear! Well done - I would be proud of that kingy on my 8 kg outfit!

Long Reef?

I have a small 25m spool of pink 20 lb Yo-zuri fluoro. Not bad, fairly supple, ties a good knot, decent abrasion resistance. Quite a bit thicker than then equivalent 20 lb Nitlon though.

Some great tips and spots there dani!o. Well done, mate. Thanks for sharing! cheers, dave

Very nice, Ceph. Congrats on your first jewie on plastics. Good luck with the boat and subsequent surgeon missions! cheers, dave

If the sponsors don't have them, then give Compleat Angler in the city a go. They generally have plenty of the 9" in stock. Alternatively, try eBay. Very cheap - around $5 a pack.

In the warmer months, when there is a lot of pelagic surface action (esp early morning & dusk), it is best to fish plastics with an unweighted worm hook. The 6" Slug-gos on a size 5/0 or 6/0 Owner worm (offset) hook work great. Just cast and rip back quickly while twitching the rod tip. Have accounted for kings, salmon, bonito and tailor this way. If no hits, try slowing down the retrieve and mixing it up. In general however, I find a quick retrieve more effective. I also find the worm hooks promote a better action by the plastics as they allow the entire body of the plastic to flex, not just the tail. They look incredibly lifelike when being ripped along the surface. I have also caught kings on Gulp Jerk Shads at midwater and below, with the sun high in the sky. In this instance, a regular jig head (7 - 14 g depending on depth, current) retrieved relatively briskly with lots of twitches and pauses seems to work well. This season, I'm intending to use hard-bodied stickbaits (Daiwa Saltiga Sliders, C'ultiva Tango Dancers) after hearing lots of great things about them. (Aero wrote a great report the other day about getting them on Tango Dancers.) As an aside, if you're after demersal species (eg. trevs, bream, jewies) that are feeding on the scraps below bait balled up by pelagics, you can rig the plastic on a regular weighted jighead and let it sink below the surface before commencing your retrieve. (This is assuming you manage to get the plastic below the pelagics! Casting past the school helps).

Chris, Thanks for the info, mate. Great stuff! cheers, Dave

I think this is very true. It's not so much people increasing the diameter of the line to match the reel, rather downsizing the reel to match the line. Take an example - snapper fishing with plastics. You can get away with fishing 2500 to 4000 sized reels and 15 - 20 lb braid, instead of 6000 and 8000 sized reels with 20 lb mono.

Chris, how did you fish the Tango Dancers? Did you walk the dog or use them like a slider with big rips? Also, were the conditions pretty flat? I hear they're especially deadly when it's really calm and clear. cheers, dave

The Firebloods look very similar to the Shimano Sephia which has been released in Japan for over a year now (although only in the 2500 size). They cost about $350 in Japan, but given they are to be priced between the Stella and Aspire, Shimano Australia will probably try and gouge you $600-700 a pop for them. Thanks, Mr Dunphy

I have a 4000 Tierra. Don't own a Stradic, so can't compare first-hand, but the Tierra is a nice refined reel at its price point. The Tierra's predecessor, the Capricorn, was rated a better reel than the Stradic by Tackletour (see review here), and the Tierra "ups both the performance and style level" (detailed Tierra review here), so I guess the Tierra's the go. Another point to consider is that the Stradic technology is a few years older than the Tierra.

I own the 4000, 5000PG and 5000HG (Jap) and 8000HG (Jap) Twin Powers, so may be able to assist. The 4000 is the perfect size for fishing big plastics for snapper or harbour kings. However, I only managed to get about 220m of 20lb braid on the 4000. Could not quite get 300m of 15 lb Tuf Line on the spare spool (and yes, it's packed on rock hard). So you will not get enough 30 or 40lb braid on it. I generally match it with a TCurve Power Spin 5-10kg rod. The 6000 is suitable for light jigging but a bit too heavy for snapper plastic fishing. (Assume you'd be using a Snapper Raider or similar for plastics). To be honest, I would get both reels, as you are going to be making a significant compromise one way or the other. If you're set on getting just one of the two you mentioned, I would suggest the 6000 (same size as the 8000) due to the 4000 being too small for jigging. However, an alternative would be to get the Jap version 5000PG or 5000HG and buy a spare spool. This reel will do a good job for both your intended applications. My favourite all-round reel in my collection is the 5000PG. It is smooth as silk and tough as anything. Similar to the Certate 3500HD Custom at 70% of the price. I generally match this reel with a Daiwa Saltiga M-over 80s for big plastics or surface luring and a Rapala Braid Concept 10-20kg for bottom bashing or light jigging.

30lb braid may be a bit light for the 15-24kg TCurves. They regularly run 80 - 100lb braid on Stella 10000 or 20000 on these sticks up north.