keenist

By then I will have finished 3 / 4 final exams and have a new boat ready to be picked up!!! She's a quinnie topender with all the trimmings. Can't wait!! Will definately be out on the water at some point, throwing the new addition around. Might get some livies and slow trawl for a king or two??

Swoffa should be able to help you out, as I recall he used to buy Owner jig hooks in bulk. Flick him a PM.

Mate Awesome fish, especially for that area. I have been fishing down that way my life and have only heard of a handfull of fish over 15kg caught there. To get 2 in the one night is a top effort. Well Done!

Interesting this topic has come up for discussion as just yesterday I was chatting to a fellow f'raider 'fisherman dan', and he was telling me how the Shimano Trinidad is no match for the Daiwa Saltiga jigging reels. He mentioned that they are a great reel and fine for fishing in and around sydney, but he wore through a Trinidad quick smart when fishing up in the tropics. He went on to talk about the japanese anglers who jig Lord Howe Island for XOS kings and samsons, would fish Saltigas. In saying that I have a Shimano Calcutta 200 that is about 10 years old now and is still going strong. I have upgraded the drag to an Erskine Carbontex under my own accord, and the bearings were replaced by Shimano on a mandatory service, but apart from that, it has undergone the usual maintenance only. The reel has handled that many fish, but 8kg Kingies and 1m+ Barra are but 2 of the probable thousands it has subdued. Brings back memories of a photo in an old fishing mag of an angler struggling to hold up a 25+kg Cobia, with a Calcutta 200 baitcaster outfit in one hand. Nice effort.

Awesome stuff mate. I wish I could just stroll on down to the local breakwall and catch a quality mixed bag like that! Think I might move up north

No first hand report. But, I have heard of kings up to 10kg being caught at the usual haunts in Sydney. They aren't thick but supposedly size is up. The average size is growing each year. Things are looking very promising!!

Thanks for the reply fellas. As it turns out, the boat is on its way with a sounder already packaged in! It's a Lowrance LCX17M which I was under the impression I could change. Must have been a slight misunderstanding. Anyhow, it was factored into the deal, and I would have had to fork out a few xtra hundred for an upgrade anyway. I hope it serves its purpose though... Hey swoff, still playing with tackle, or you back in the real estate game? Mate the new kit is a beauty - 460 Topender coupled to a 60hp 4 Stroke Yammie, plus minn kota leccy! Thought it would be a good comprimise between estuary jig-flicking, pelagic chasing and inshore kingy wrestling! It will sure beat the old runabout for dedicated sportsfishing. (thats a lot of "-ing's") Maybe we can get out some time? I had a good session up the georges not a week ago scoring 7 jew to 7kg...

Cheers mate. Didn't realise I had the facility of searching the archive... All good. Thanks for the tip

Was wondering if anyone can help. I am waiting for a 460 TopEnder to arrive and am thinking about which sounder I should have installed. Most work is done inside and inshore - nothing really over 60m in depth. Kinda hoping for widescreen and best detail possible for sussing out underwater structure and bait shoals. Hoping for the best I can get for under or around $1000. GPS not needed. I am thinking either HB Matrix or Lowrance but am pretty much clueless, as my last sounder was an entry level 'give the depth only' job. So what are the recommendations?

kinda depends on the action of the rod and the speed of the fish, doesn't it? Fast long running fish = roller tip for less friction. For rods that don't really bend that result in a 90 degree angle when fighting fish, the roller is the goer. Isn't this the reasoning?

Mate that flatty is MASSIVE!!

Well done! Top fish and great story to boot...

It is normal. The bottom half is wrapped. The theory is that it makes the bottom half stronger and stiffer. Helping with lifting power as well as making it a really fast action rod. Don't distress, for the money they are half decent for flicking small lures around.

It's important not to get too caught up in the older school thinking matching physical sized rods and reels. The Avet and some of the newer Daiwas and Shimanos are tiny but can handle massive drags and have fast gear ratios. Combine this with GSP line that is so thin for its strength means you can get enough of it on this type of reel. Having a tiny reel and line combo that punches well above its weight means that it will happily handle a much more powerful rod than one may think. For example I know a guy that fishes a tiny Avet with 40lb braid (from memory, could be 50?) on one of the lighter Daiwa Saltiga rods and absolutely loves it. The rig is so light and responsive yet it can subdue quite large and powerful fish species, such as larger kings and yellowfin tuna. Don't know if I am iterating what everyone already knows? Just a thought...

nice fish. motty mate you get much twist when trolling metal?

thanks for the replies guys. think i'm going to reposition the guides into the "spiral wrap" position so as to not need to add a guide and maybe mess with the action. i heard acetane is good for cleaning the blank after the guides have been removed as per the above methods. might give that a shot. cheers, alex

swapped a rod with a fellow fishraider (i wont mention names) and have found that it doesn't have sufficient number of guides and they are positioned all wrong. when fully loaded, being a baitcaster the line touches and pulls down below the blank. anyone know the best method of removing the guides and residual epoxy? the rod is a daiwa procaster z light baitcaster (freddy's) and i'd advise anyone interested not to buy one. even though it has a nice action and quality finish/componentry, this just shouldn't happen on a rod in this price range

i had the chance to play with a GLX loomis baitcaster when i was up fishing the daly earlier in this year and was pretty impressed. the weight reduction is fantastic - can only help the rods action. the fact that they are so damage resistant is just a bonus. thing is, i feel my BB is light enough already. even coupled with a non mg reel (ultegra 1000) its hardly noticable

sounds interesting. whats it called?

sh*t! you boys are keen fishing from that craft? no lizards around those parts?

well done. some nice fish there good stuff for this time of year if you don't mind me asking which section of the bay you fishing? and what technique - just drift and cast? plastics? whenever a kingie shows up i've managed to convert into a hookup if a blooping style popper is fired out near where the fish just was. 'blooped' back in short bursts with long pauses usually pumps the king up enough to start nosing it. remember to pick up the retrieve as the fish nears the lure. onlty then will you get it fired up enough to strike. i've been wanting to try 'walk the dog' style poppers for this kind of fishing.

andrew, yeah thats where i saw it. looks pretty sweet huh? its pretty light tho, well i only was there for 10min. i want to use it for jew, rat kingies and heavier stuff that may need a bit of extra balls. think it has the power?

anyone familiar with this rod? i am looking for something to couple a chronarch sf, 15lb braid, something that casts 5g-15g or thereabouts. going to be used for light pelagic work, spinning for eps, bass (occasionally), flatties etc. want something that'll cast well the lighter stuff taking over when the breambuster can't. have had good experience with ian's rods so thought this could be the gun?

noty sure about makos, but a mate caught a 90+kg whaler on thursday in botany bay!

yeah baitrunners are the goods. haven't had much experience with penn but they're said to be solid bits of kit. have you thought about an overhead? i feel they are a little bit better fishing for the larger fish? i have a trinidad that i fish alongside baitrunners when baitfishing for jew and find that the OH has that little bit more power thats nice when fishing big baits in fast water and when fighting larger quarry... still has a freespool function with the ratchet, loud too.. the faster retrieve speed also comes in handy when fish seem to be coming your way or when chasing slack line fishing long leaders trying to set the hook. haven't had a problem with the btr's though. i guess its personal preference really?