macman

If you are talking about Windamere, then yes why not. It's a noted Yellowbelly dam, also has a few silver perch. I've always found it pure hard work, but I think it's very dependent on conditions. I'd take the rods Matt

A nearly 70cm flattie, i'd be pretty stoked about that. Not often you see people chasing bread and butter species pulling in legal kingies around the harbour.

The ramp at Skeleton rocks ( at the mouth of the Colo) is fine (concrete) for a 4.5, can launch with a normal car no problem. The ramp at Pitt Town is dodgy for parking etc. Matt

Sorry just re-read your original post, see you have some SSCs. Matt

Hi Wellsy, Good to see you are still chasing the bass. Do you have any soft shell cicadas yet? Best lure in the box for me over the last two seasons. Matt

The great thing about fluoro leader is the abrasion resistance. When you are casting bream and bass lures into the snags all day, having that bit of extra resistance to nicks and scratches is worth the extra expense. The extra expense is bugger all by the way, I don't exactly go buying new leader very often. Matt

The motor alone is probably worth the money.

The tooling was bought by a company called Vivtek which operated out of South Africa and sold similar reels which Shakespeare sold under license as Shakespeare Eagle, Shakespeare golden eagle etc. These are no longer sold, however there is a bit of new/old stock still around on ebay. The closest you can get to the Avon Royal is from a bloke in the Port Stephens area that makes a really nice copy, Tempo reels. If you want the reel thing there are plenty of good Avon Royals and similar (Gypsy Dor, Golden eagle etc) around, don't pay more than around 150 bucks. The Alvey centrepin 475CP is made in China and there are similar reels available including from South Pacific Reels. The Alvey version has excellent QA however. Macman

Start with Narabeen lake, There is plenty of weed of different types on the ocean rocks close by. Also read the tips and tricks on this site, not sure of the link, but they are as good as any. You don't need to fish in the fast running channel in Narabeen lake if you fish west of the bridge there are pleny of smaller slow moving channels where there are still blackfish. Regards Matt.

I've fished with them in the surf. They cast better and survive better if you lip hook them. Use a wide gape hook and insert the point under the lower lip and out through the upper lip. Matt

Cease and desist, there are no fish at the place you mention.

You need to get a facebook account mate. There are a few blackfishermen that would truly appreciate a catch like that. Matt

An observer or a non-boater would be an excellent way to get access to actual tournament fishermen. One of my fishing mates went on the Pittwater leg of the recent ABT round and said that it was a very worthwhile experience. Matt

Have you ever been along as an observer on one of the rounds?

I was using a trudex on Saturday, lovely little reel. I bought it second hand and filed off the lineguard lugs and cleaned and painted it. It's perfect for still water blackfish. You could use it for the rocks but I prefer a 4.5 inch reel for that. Matt

For $150 bucks delivered you can get a pretty good one at the moment. I'll even buy it for you I've never had any problem buying from UK.

Maybe put your money into a match aerial the same as the one that Royce has in his photo. Trudex is nice but not as nice as that one. But if you are really keen on a trudex, keep your eye on e*** as they come up pretty often for good value. Matt

Got to get that centrepin going mate.

Nice one.

That's not true, I buy online from one of the big local suppliers that does boating camping and fishing stuff. I order 10 lures in the colours I want from the online store on a tuesday morning. I have them delivered on thursday to my door. The reason I get them in the colours I want is that they DO have them in stock in their warehouse and they have the buying power to be able to support that model. Agree that this isn't helping the local, small stores. But, I haven't had a local small store for years where I live. If I did I'd probably do it differently as I used to. Matt

Depends on the exchange rate. When there was parity with the US dollar, I bought a heap of stuff including power pro braid. Everything ended up being half price even when you consider the postage costs. I buy a lot of stuff online from local stores, it seems to be a better way to get what youwant. Often the physical shop doesn't have the lure type or colour that you are after etc. Matt

OK stop that, besides I leave the complaining to you

Windy, great to see you out and about. Let it slide go fishing, pointless getting into a to and fro on Fishraider. You know what you know and feel what you feel , others can please themselves you still catching the biggest fish when friends take you out with them?

Lets hope that any approach regarding slot sizes is based on some sort of science and not just how fishermen feel about it. Responsible fish handling should definitely be encouraged, especially if people purport to be into catch and release. This idea of catching good fish and putting them down in the dirt for a photo does my head in really. I think it's a bit of a wank the code of practice thing, but the counter is that if it helps a number of people treat the fish better, increase survival rates etc, then its a good piece of education. Matt

If you berley with bread you are liable to attract stuff you don't want. If you were fishing with me I'd give you a giant boot up the arse for berleying with bread It attracts butterfish for a start, the biggest bait stealers ever. Matt