abecedarian

It's very dry, even with the recent rainfall. I'd be giving it a month or two...

Speaking of Nambucca Heads bar, here's a pic of a not so successful crossing. And zoomed in... Photo was taken last year about October...

Yes, good for that where you're joining heavy mono to braid but totally useless for joining two lines of the same dimensions and composition.

The slim beauty is for joining lines of different diameters like mono to braid. It's likely to fail using it braid to braid of the same diameter. Also any knot in braid is going to be small once it's tightened so don't worry about knot size too much. The best knot I've found for this is the double uni knot. I've used it heaps for braid to braid joins and haven't had it fail once.

In the old days people used to use bottle caps screwed on to sneakers. Cricket spikes would be fine until they wear and become polished round then the won't grip. Then they need replacing but that is the same with crampons, cleats or boots made specifically for rock fishing. They all wear out, some a little slower than others. Cricket spikes may be more comfortable too which is a big plus, but may get more saturated which is a downside...

Load your boat and hook it up to the tow vehicle and set the tire pressure to say 50psi to start. Then get some chalk and draw a few lines across the tread of both tires. Go for a 10 min drive then look at the chalk lines. If they're scrubbing off right up to the side walls than you need more pressure. If they're only scrubbing off in the middle the pressure is too high and can be backed off a bit. The more weight, the more pressure is needed. Running the pressure too low will cause the side wall to bulge which causes heat build up and can cause the tire to delaminate on longer trips.

I have a few ecogear sx40 lures and a few copies that cost half the price or less. The copies have had plenty of use and have held up well from the finish perspective and their hardware was fine. But when it comes to how they swim, it's chalk and cheese. The copies, no matter how much I tweak them, just will not swim in a straight line and have a very loose and sloppy action. The ecogear lures however swim true with no work and have a much tighter and realistic action. The cheap lures will catch fish and in some cases more fish like when fishing snags where the expensive lures may not make it to the strike zone for fear of losing them. But there is a reason you pay more for an ecogear or similar. I have the cheap ones and use them often but always have just as many of the better quality lures to use when the fishing is harder.

If you're going for salmon and tailor a 2500 would be the minimum. I prefer the 1000 size for a bream stick but for salmon etc you'd want something with a bit bigger drag.

If you do attempt to repair the rod with a piece from another make sure you use a lower modulus graphite than the original rod. If you use the same modulus graphite for the repair you'll get a section that won't bend evenly where it's repaired. Using a lower modulus graphite section for the repair will preserve the action as much as possible.

There's lots of good advice if you use the search function but in a nutshell: 1) Fish the right conditions for that location (weather, sea and swell height and direction). If you are in doubt fish that rock another time. What are considered safe conditions at one location could be very dangerous at another... 2) Keep a watch out and listen. Rogue waves can happen unexpectedly but they shouldn't catch you by surprise if you listen and watch 3) Rock boots, cleats or crampons are a must have 4) Life jacket - you should wear one all the time but never use it if you follow the above. 5) If you're knocked in, first swim out from the rocks a bit then start looking for a safe place to get out of the water, a nearby beach is usually best. 6) Generally not a good idea to tether yourself to the rocks as you can get thrashed about more than if you went in the water and swam out from the wash. It also stops you from escaping from the wave before it hits. That said, in some cases it may be beneficial, but not many in my opinion. 7) if you can, fish with a mate. If you follow those few rules then you really shouldn't have any issues really and you should stay safe.

I like my curado although it probably wouldn't cast as light a weight as the top diawa reels. Still does ok though...

I release them all because I don't care for them that much on the table, and putting back a big fish unharmed means another person has the opportunity to catch it. Taking the big ones does reduce the numbers of big fish but trout can grow big pretty fast in the right conditions. Just look at TCD. When it was first open the average sized fish was about 5lb and they'd only been stocking it for a few years. All I'm saying is the larger fish aren't the only ones breeding and can actually kill a lot of fingerlings released. The big fish are trophies and I like the idea of them going back to get even bigger, but someone keeping them isn't going to reduce fish stocks, just the number of big fish until the little ones grow up.

Not true, a large trout in a stretch of river will kill the smaller fish in its territory and this reduce the stocks. I used to fish occasionally with a guy involved with the stocking program of streams around Gyndabyne and later Oberon and every time he caught a big fish he'd keep it. A 6lb trout takes up a lot of space and keeps a lot of fish from living in that area. The smaller fish breed too, it's not just the large ones...

I like chasing trout and sometimes even catch one and I think it would be a shame to lose trout as a sports fish in Australia. Which is why I support the stocking programs. What I don't understand or appreciate is the attitude that some fishos give towards those who choose to keep trout to eat and heaven forbid may not release that 6lb fish. I've come across it before when fishing and I think its crazy that an introduced species be considered so protected by some they are beyond keeping for a feed.

They're available here at some shops. They seem like a good rod, and the specs sound about spot on. Let us know how it goes when you get it.

What people refer to as "freak waves" are sets of waves from different origins that combine to produce a much larger wave than those surrounding it. They do exist and can be unpredictable. I've encountered unusually large waves when fishing that have hit hard but never done any real damage as I was prepared. Fishing the rocks at night is more risky than during the day, there's simply no denying it. And there's not much to be gained compared to dawn and dusk, if anything. With a full moon you can see the wash quite well, fish a new moon though and it's a totally different story. There's only so much light our eyes can absorb of a night. Once you become overconfident and down play the risks that's when you'll run into trouble.

It all depends on what you're chasing and where in the system you're fishing...

If you can get away without a foldable boat then look at the crossXcountry (cXc) boats. Very light, good performance and good reviews so far. Because they're so light they also only need a small motor compared to similar sized aluminum boats. On a side note there are plenty of places I wouldn't want to fish from a foldable boat, say northern Queensland where there are big toothy critters in the river systems.

What'll happen is you'll buy all these flys, eventually catch a fish on one of them then never use any other fly! For me it's the woolly bugger, also the buggers are dead simple to tie and that means you can change the weight of them to fish slightly deeper or shallower. Once you get going you'll find getting the rod and reel is just the start. Then comes the lines, tippets, flies, then the fly tying gear, bags, waders, vests, the list just goes on and on. On a bit more helpful note, if you google "troutflies" you'll find a great source of flies. Some of their fly packs give great variety and are a good place to start.

I thought rainbows spawn at the end of the closed season? The browns have already spawned or are in the process of doing so now so wouldn't expect the rainbows to start for a couple of months.

In a word yes.

For bream and flatties a 3-6 kg rod and 4000 sized reel is overkill. Fishing with a 2-4 kg rod and 1000-2000 sized reel is more suited. Fishing the lighter setup gives you more feel when fishing light lures and is more fun when you catch a fish. If you want to chase Jews the. You should have a bit heavier outfit and in that case a 3-6 kg rod is the way to go. The difference in fish size between a jewfish and the smaller species like flatties, bream, whiting etc really means they really deserve separate outfits. What you end up getting depends on what your budget is and what your favorite brand is. There are plenty of cheaper options that are good combos with some very sweet gear if you up the ante.

Fish there as much as you can in the near future because it won't last. TCD is a private dam on private property. Delta power get absolutely no benefit from us fishing there other than a bit of goodwill. Once they realize that the risk of litigation is more than the benefit of any goodwill by letting fishermen on their property they'll close it as quick as anything. It's a shame, there are good fish there. I dropped a brown that would have been a PB for me on Saturday. Not happy...

They look like they'd do an ok job at adding buoyancy and stability at rest. To add stability at rest though they would need to be in the water. In that case when you get moving they look like they'd drag in the water when making a turn, which wouldn't be good for the handling of the boat I wouldn't think...