jdanger

If it's just the leader you're uprising to 6lb then I don't think casting will be too affected unless your leader knot is on the spool and causes interference (smaller knot means the line comes off the spool easier). Bites definitely increase the lower you go though. I was fishing an 8lb leader recently and wasn't getting any bites. Switched it to 4lb and caught two fish in two casts straight away so yeah, I think you'll get more action on the lighter line

Cheers Howard! Yeah, the GGB is my go-to colour for sure and the Atomic 38 strikes the perfect balance between price, castability and reliability of action. Keen to try the Samakis as they seem cheaper than the Jackalls, but I don't think they make anything smaller than 70mm. The Samaki Thumpertail looks pretty good but again, a little big for the fishing I mostly do (shallow water for bream). Thanks Savit. The reason we use a net is not because of the rod, but because of the line. If I'm fishing 3lb and catch a decent bream (or flathead, or anything else for that matter) chances are the fish will be heavier than the breaking strain of the line. Add to that the fact that any knot almost halves the breaking strain and suddenly there aren't that many fish that you can dead lift. I've lost more than enough fish (and lures) trying to do that.

IME flatties will eat pretty much anything as long as it's bouncing in front of them and kicking up sand. Heavier soft plastics and vibes are a great choice as they fish the bottom well. Shrimp, jerk shads and paddles tails all work well as do small grubs in shallow areas. Even heard of people using red jelly snakes. Soft vibes are the flavour at the moment but they cost a bit.

Hi all, Hit the water the Sunday before last before the second round of storms were due to roll through. Was fishing with a mate who's due to head overseas for a few months and we wanted to make the most of the flats. Despite the forecast, it was glassed out with only the odd drizzle. I was armed with a freshly spooled roll of straight through Sunline Super FC Sniper 3lb fluro which is as light as I've ever gone, as well as some new and expensive soft vibes from Jackall (Mask Vib Gene 55 if anyone is interested in specifics). Having never tried the soft vibes before, we were keen to see how they'd go in the traditionally quiet winter. Nick had a slightly better insurance policy, opting for 4lb braid and 4lb Sensei FC leader. After Nick hooked a cranky seagull early on, my fears about the 3lb fluro were realised after busting off on a mid-range fish over some shallow rocks. One hardbody down early on and I'm reconsidering tying on the $28 lure... Fortunately, we made the call to head over to some more snagless flats and within a couple of casts on the new lure I hooked a good fish. After two nervous minutes up came a 40cm blue nose which picked up the lure off the bottom. Cheers were shared and in next to no time, Nick had made the switch too. After some moving around we found another patch of fish and my Jackall found a snag. I almost considered going for a swim but the two of us agreed that the first and only fish was more than enough to compensate the dent in the wallet. We fished until mid-way through the runout and bagged a half dozen flathead to 55cm and 4-5 bream between 27cm and 40cm. Not bad for a Sunday session we were about to pull the pin on! The Jackall definitely outfished the other lures but the fish were still happy enough to take my hardbodies while Nick continued with the rubber vibe. We also found S-Factor made a difference, especially when dead sticking between lifts. Still not sure how I feel about fishing straight-through fluro though. The extra stretch is definitely noticeable which means plastics would be hard to use, but I suppose the results speak for themselves in terms of increased bites from old and wary fish. Anyway, here's the vid. https://youtu.be/9cSNoJPDHHI

Great bream! Those trevs would've been a blast on the light gear. Great to finish on a high note.

Some good bass there, Stan. Love it.

Hobie R&D.

A few people have said it but fireline is great especially for the light stuff. I find the heavier you go, the more problems you have. Been using 3lb crystal for my light spin for over a year and don't remember having a single birds nest or windknot. Start getting them on 6lb exceed though. Used 20lb exceed initially for spinning off the rocks with >80g chromes and had to take it off after the second session due to fraying (fluffing as DerekD described). Non-fused Finns didn't have this problem.

Cheers! Big Neil, the camera used is a shimano sports camera. Pretty similar to a gopro in function. Basically a small waterproof digital video camera I can stick on my head or chest. Once I'm done recording, I take the SD card out of the camera and stick it in the computer. The files are opened using Windows Movie Maker which is a basic video editor that comes standard on most Windows computers. From there it's just a matter of adding a song I like, cutting out the boring bits and chopping the rest up to fit the music. Once I'm satisfied the clip is interesting enough to pass the disinterested missus test, it goes to YouTube. Easy enough process, but a bit time consuming.

Hi all, I know it's not the time of year, but I've put together a short video of a couple of bass sessions on the kangaroo Valley river from back in January for the bass junkies missing summer fun. Enjoy! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JGhBLoXUUBI

I would start by looking at the pflueger trion or shimano raider series to start you off. Both readily available at under 150 and both are well known and respected products. I prefer 1-3kg rating but 2-4kg is a bit more versatile. Reel -wise, shimano symmetre is a good starting point. For braid, 4-8lb is fine but remember that the lighter you go, the more bites you get. I'd stick to 4lb and change the leader to suit conditions. Good luck!

Great fish and nice work on the king!

Thanks guys! And yeah, fragmeister. Caught it at manly dam back in january after heavy rain on an sx48. That redfin and a small bass on the cast immediately prior were the only hits on an otherwise biteless day.

Gotta say, the zmans really do cope well with the choppers. I can only remember having 1 destroyed and that was by toadies of all things.

Hi all, Put together a brief fishing compilation from the last few months' worth of urban fishing adventures. Fished the Parra River at Canada Bay most recently (last Wednesday) and picked up a few small bream, the usual chopper tailor and a couple of flatties around the 44-46cm mark. Atomic Hardbodies and ZMan grubs accounted for most of the damage. Mullet bait schools were around in their droves and we witnessed a few close-to-shore bust-ups which looked like salmon but couldn't tempt a hookup. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/embed/WKqFa9ppPSA

Hi guys, Just a quick one, been a very long time! Went bass fishing for the first time on Sunday in the Kanga Valley. Landed a few fish with my best going 35cm or thereabouts and got smoked by a mongrel that was much bigger. Gotta say, this bass fishing thing is tops. The below video was the highlight of the day with my guide landing a solid 46-47cm specimen which showed us a little surprise all on its own. Enjoy... https://youtu.be/vpBnJu5tnwQ

Top vid! Talk us through the gear, for all the tackle geeks out here.

Awesome!

Good session! Agree with flatties giving you a surprise. Had a 50cm model smash a flickbait intended for salmon a few weeks back on a quick retrieve high in the water column and it put up a good fight too.

Good stuff Ian. Sounds exactly like h&c recently, though things should be getting better now that the water's salty again.

Now that's some classy angling. Hats off!

Awesome trip poddy! Ticking off the big doggies sounds like a reasonable excuse for a return trip if you ask me. What a chore!

Howdy. Never been carp fishing. Do they make good fertilizer?

Yeah daveyb, I reckon that was them. Nice blokes. and yeah Houdini, he was. Pretty common practice around there. I've had someone who identified themselves as the local fishing inspector instruct me on more than one occasion to use undersize tailor for bait. He even went as far as ripping the trebles out of one and killing it in the process despite me pointing out that I was using lures, not bait. Overly familiar fishing inspector, if you ask me.

Hahaha! Nice one, mousse.