aidanhoh

Another knot to consider is the slim beauty, or a variant of it where you start the knot like a slim beauty with a double (figure 8) knot in the mono leader, and thread the braid through as per slim beauty, but tie a uni knot with the braid. I find this tends to slip less and is still pretty low profile from repeated casting.

I currently use a Daiwa SJ106MH (rated to 30lb) but if I were to buy another med-heavy land based spin rod now, I'd probably get the NS Black Hole Cabin II Monster. It's 9ft 6in and is rated to 40lb. Probably not the rod if you want to just target big kings on big poppers but would be a versatile rod for throwing metals, stickbaits and medium sized poppers off the stones. NS Black Hole Cabin II 962 Monster NS Black Hole Cabin II 962 Monster

I cannot speak for the Shimano T-Curve Revolution Coastal as I've never used one, but I do have the 13ft Sensor Surf (the previous model without the K-guides). I use it for long-range snapper fishing off the rocks and mulloway/shark fishing from the beach. Relatively light, casts great (getting 100m on it with my Saragosa 14000F and 30lb Power Pro and a snapper rig with a 5oz lead) and very strong (have had some big battles with massive rays). Only slight issues I've found is that because of the fast recovery of the graphite blank, you have to be gentle when casting soft baits else they can be easily flung off the hook, and the extra long length of the butt. In fairness, it's made so that you can trim the butt section to suit (but I've been too lazy to do that) and it's only an issue for me as I prefer to hold onto the rod when I'm fishing rather than leave it in a rod holder. Overall, the pros outweigh the cons, and I would certainly get another one if by some act of stupidity (on my part) I managed to break it. Hope this helps. Aidan

I can't recommend a specific brand as it will depend on your budget and styles that you like/prefer, but I would recommend giving some consideration to the tint of the glasses. I would recommend amber/copper tinted sunglasses as I find it enriches colours and increases contrast in most conditions. On the other hand, I would not recommend grey lenses though as I find it dulls colours and the contrast which reduces fish spotting potential in my opinion.

To defrost pillies, I find that soaking them in seawater works pretty well (especially if they're already separated). Just get a bucket of water or fill the plastic bag that they come in with seawater when you first get there, and by the time you've rigged up, at least one of them should have been defrosted enough to bait up.

Can't comment on the Wilson blackfish rod as I've never picked one up before, but have been using a Shimano Catana Coastline Light for the past few years. Find it extremely versatile and I think it's a great rod, especially for that price. Have used it successfully for blackfishing in Sydney Harbour. Can't see why it wouldn't work off the rocks as I fish for drummer in the wash with it as well. Have also used it many times from the rocks and beaches spinning for salmon, tailor and bonito. Will cast lures up to 30g very well. It's also the rod I use for bream and whiting fishing from the beach, and squidding from the rocks. You can certainly get better rods for each of those types of fishing, but if you value that level of versatility, then I would certainly recommend it, especially at that price point.

Doubt you can find an anti reverse bearing that will fit perfectly into an old reel not designed for it, and even if they exist, would it be worth the expense and effort? I still use a few 20yr+ old reels (Daiwa SS Tournament, Daiwa PR Long Cast, and Penn 850ss) and although it would be nice to have infinite anti-reverse & modern day ball bearing line rollers, I have not felt especially disadvantaged without those features when I do use them. That said, I'd love to see an SS Tournament with both of those modern features because that would make it one of the best light tackle reels out there in my opinion.

Don't know about the new fireline that's just been released but I think you'll find the old one is as thick (if not thicker) than 6lb sunline and probably break at a higher test. Therefore I wouldn't go for it if you're after a little more finesse. You might want to look at even lighter test in fireline if you're after something thinner than 6lb sunline.

That's either a Rapala XRap or Clackin Minnow. Most tackle shops will have them.

Hi mate, In most cases, leaders are used with braid so in your case, a leader probably isn't necessary. Only time you might need one is if you're targeting flathead or mulloway which do have teeth and may cut through 2-4kg line, so a heavier leader might be necessary. Re snap swivels, they might be useful if you're using lures as some lures can spin and put a lot of twist in your line, and also for changing lures/rigs easily. However, given the way you are currently fishing, it's probably not a necessity. As for the lures, they work best on Pelagics like salmon, tailor, bonito etc..... You just need them to show up and be feeding on similar sized baitfish. So probably handy to have them with you, especially at Balmoral where they do turn up from time to time. Aidan

In that price range, I'd get a Stradic FJ. Beautifully smooth running and haven't had a problem with mine over the last 2yrs.

I live around the area so have tried Sirius Cove and all around Clifton Gardens and would say that it's generally pretty tough fishing. Your best bet is probably spinning with small metal slugs for some salmon, tailor or bonito from one of the ledges along the front of the headland from Clifton Gardens to Taylors Bay. As for shallow bays, they definitely are worth a go, especially at night. Flatties, bream, tailor all come into the shallows at night to chase baitfish, and I find spinning with hardbodies on the flats at night consistently productive.

Hi Paul, If you're specifically targeting salmon/tailor, I'd also recommend a paternoster with 2 droppers. The top dropper though I would attach a surf popper (perhaps with or without some bait attached) and the bottom dropper either with ganged hooks and a half/whole pilchard. I use star sinkers in the surf, and anything from 1-4ozs depending on conditions. I would not use the sabiki rig as suggested above however. As I understand it, NSW regulations only allow a maximum of 3 baited hooks per line (those 5-6 hook sabiki jigs can only be used without bait). Of course you can always cut those rigs in half and bait them up...

Hi mate, Don't know that area so can't help you with locations but I would suggest specifically targeting flathead as they're probably the easiest fish to catch on plastics. That means using heavier jig heads (1/4oz or more) and preferably paddle tails in the 70mm-100mm length. The heavier jig heads will help with casting distance (which also means more area being covered), and keep the plastic on or near the bottom where flathead are most prevalent. The heavier jig head will also cause more noise on impact with the bottom (drawing the flathead's attention) and work the paddle tail better on the drop. Then it should just be about covering enough ground to come across the fish. Aidan

I haven't tried shore jigging but the rods used I assume are the same as ones like the Daiwa Seajiggers or Shore Jiggers (SJ), both of which I have. As for lures, I think they are very similar to the centre weighted jigs that are currently used offshore rigged with jigging singles. So aside from the length of the rods, tackle is probably the same.