abecedarian

A PFD will improve your chances but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to fish dangerous conditions. If you wouldn't be comfortable fishing the area without a PFD then putting one on doesn't automatically make it safe to fish. A PFD should be thought of as a safety device for the unexpected like a freak wave in relatively calm conditions. If people start fishing more dangerous conditions because they are wearing a PFD and think they're safe then far more education is needed as this is a dangerous attitude to have and will surely result in greater injury/mortality stats. PFDs are great and every rock fisho should wear one. But they shouldn't be used as an excuse to fish dangerous conditions where one would usually go home.

The 30 g halco twistie does the most damage for me with salmon, tailor and bonito. Over the years I've probably caught at least 3 of those species with that lure to every 1 caught with another weight lure or other lure altogether. It also depends on where you fish and the local bait. I fish mainly Sydney and south coast. If you head a bit north around Stockton beach a longer lure more like a garfish seems to work better. Don't have a lot of experience with that though.

If you're spinning for Bonnie's, definitely go for a faster retrieve speed. 6:1 or there about is a good ratio. If you go for a slower retrieve rate like that on a Sol I think you'll regret it.

Depending on what you want to do but I'd be confident that you'd be disappointed by the sol if you were planning to spin for pelagics, especially bonito. I'd recommend a shimano sustain 3000. Its a higher gear ratio than the sol which makes it easier for high speed retrieves for bonito etc. if you want a slower retrieve, just wind slower. I have a twin power 4000 and I even find that hard to get enough lure speed for the Bonnie's at times.

I've got one. If you looking for a heavy rod that can only cast a 20gm lure 10 meters, has no feel or sensitivity and is still 6 ft long when you break it down then the Surf Assassin isn't the rod for you... They are a weapon mate. Only thing is if you're looking to fish small soft plastics or similar then there's an even lighter nitro rod that's 10ft long (the name escapes me) that would be even better. But the surf assassin is capable of putting serious hurt on a fish, can cast a 30gm lure a mile and can cope admirably with lures as light at 10 gm too. You feel every bite and bump and its so light you barely notice it. and whats more, when i pull it down its the same length as my 2 piece bream rods. Match it to a sustain 4000 and it's a top lure outfit for pelagics.

Ryobi are cheap and nasty, very much for the domestic market and not built to last. Metabo, hitachi, bosh (the blue ones), makita and de Walt are the guys to go for if you're after something that lasts. For all of them the biggest individual cost I've found is the batteries. The 'skins' aren't really that expensive...

A sad day for this community, I'd doubt there's anyone who was as generous with their tips and locations as Byron was. I never met Byron which was my loss. Here's hoping he's in a better place with no more suffering. R.I.P mate!

Go with a 6 wt rod to start with, they're probably the most versatile weight out there. Good for trout in dams, ok in streams and fine for bream and flatties etc. There are a few places you can buy combos from that are decent. Peter Morse has a line of fly rods that are excellent by all reports and affordable. But what you have to realize with fly fishing is that to get a decent rod (not including the reel!) you're looking at about $800-1000. Some go up to as much as $2000. You can get ok ones cheaper but the quality really drops off when you go below about $300-400. Obviously there are exceptions, but not many. If you want to go the cheaper option buy a secondhand rod. You can get good ones for not much money in good condition if you look hard enough. Reels are less important and you can get away with a lot cheaper reel compared to rod unless you fishing for big game fish. Gillies make good large arbor reels with disc drag for about the $70 mark. Casting lessons are useful and make life easier but it is possible to learn by yourself. I taught myself and so did most of the pros as well. My casting isn't brilliant, but certainly more than good enough for any fishing situation I'm in, and probably better than the majority of fly fisherman I see fishing when I'm in the zone. Lessons are good, but a good rod will help your casting almost as much as professional lessons in my opinion.

Just FYI, anyone caught in a closed national park or forrest are subject to a $2200 fine apparently. Best to stay away, that's a lot of fishing gear you can buy for that...

Grant is bang on the money, it's mostly because of slack loops on the reel or too muck line on the reel. Sometimes the reel itself can compound the issue due to their line management systems or lack thereof. Also make sure that when you flip the bail arm over it doesn't lay the line across the top of the spool as it closes. Happens with one of my reels and causes a wind knot next cast...

If its bright and sunny get some small bubble poppers, clear or prawn colour. Bring them in gradually with a "bloop bloop" action with a pause every now and then and see how you go. Make sure you use nylon leader, not fluro and heavier line (12lb) will make the lure track better. Good luck!

I can't stand it when people can't be bothered to punctuate their sentences. There are some other fishing forums where punctuation and an honest attempt at correct spelling are a prerequisite for membership. They have a notice on the front page. Perhaps Fishraider could adopt a similar policy and improve the quality and readability of the posts?

Sunline and nitlon are another couple of good brands. Just go into your local tackle shop and ask. If its Japanese chances are it'll be pretty good.

Are you bait fishing or spinning?? Also how much are you willing to spend for the outfit. Basically a rod from 10-13 ft is the way to go. Match it to a reel you like in about 4000-6000 size. If you want something that will be used a few times and you're fishing bait just go to a department store or better still you local tackle shop, tell them your budget and buy a surf combo that fits it. If you're after a spinning rod that you plan to use for years to come its better to spend a bit more and get a decent outfit.

Not true at all with regard to golf. New technology in all clubs make it possible for an average player to hit their irons, woods and drivers straighter and further than previously possible. Give an ordinary person a driver from 15-20 years ago, even from 10 years ago to compare with a current driver of the same class and he/she will play miles better with the new club. Fabian, if you play off 2 then you must be a good player but if you were to invest in a new custom fit set you may find you're a scratch player, or even better. But it's not so much the case with fishing, where the expensive gear has less impact on numbers of fish landed compared to knowledge and experience (AKA "skill"). The expensive gear just makes fishing more comfortable and may have advantages with drag (smoothness), line management and casting. I have an old shimano taipan surf rod that is a great rod, and cost less than $100 when I got it. But now, even though I catch no more fish with it in reality, I exclusively use my nitro surf assassin. The reason? It weighs about a third of the taipan and casts better, so I can fish for hours with about half the effort. Makes a big difference when lure fishing, and for me fishing with the expensive gear means I keep casting much longer before I give up and go home... Basically, anyone telling you that expensive gear is no better than cheap gear is talking crap! And anyone telling you that you won't catch fish without expensive gear is talking just as much crap! Get what you can afford and what you're comfortable with then just go fishing.

Braid is pretty much the way to go with everything now when it comes to spinning or baitcaster reels. Only problem with putting braid on baitcasters is that it can become a very expensive habit if you get a few birds nests...

It's a great place to fish for salmon and tailor. It's got a good sandy bottom just off the rocks. The waves almost always wash over the rocks. Pretty much unless youre fishing a very low tide you'll have your feet wet so cleats are a must, ones that give grip in all directions not just forward and back like some do. But even though there is a lot of wash there's very little chance of being washed into the water as it drains to a channel about 20-30 meters behind the rock edge. That said its still a risky place to fish as there's lots of deep holes that if you get knocked over you may end up in, not to mention the grazes. It's easy to get caught by a bigger than usual wave. When I'd fish there some times the waves would roll over the ledge gently and you could safely fish with water rising to knee to thigh deep. Other times I've fished there I've been knocked over with waves going up to mid calf level. My advice is it's a great place to fish but if you are then aim for low to mid tide and avoid it altogether if there's more than half a metre of swell from the south east. That's the swell direction that will really hurt! And as always if there's any doubt, or if you get wet above the waist move to the beach.

No point looking for reviews after you've already bought the rod. Just go out and enjoy it!

You're not silly for throwing them back mate! Good on you for only taking what you use.

Haven't lived there but I know a bit about the area. It's a nice location geographically as with most of the south coast. Some of the people let it down a fair bit though. A lot of drugs around Nowra and I think Ulladulla has a problem too along with Wollongong. As for medical services closest hospital is Milton Ulladulla Hospital, its a primary referral hospital which means it deals primarily with simple stuff. Bit more complex stuff goes to Shoalhaven hospital in Nowra then on to Wollongong or Sydney if its even more complicated. At least of you're renting you can move to find the right area of town. I wouldn't sign a long term rental agreement anywhere in Illawarra/South Coast without having lived there for a while first. I think it takes at least 3-6 months to see the true colours of a new area.

Another good place for Jews is at the end of Wharf Rd, Gladesville. Same as I said before, full moon, high tide and fresh local caught squid do the trick from what I've heard.

I've heard it's good for Jews though never fished there. Apparently night time on a full moon with high tide and use fresh locally caught squid. At least that's what I've been told but as I said, never actually fished there...

Hen and chicken as well as Canada bay are good landbased, can't imagine it's different in a boat...

That's fishing mate. Sometimes no matter what you do they won't bite. That's when you check local reports to see where's firing and try those spots. There's a reason it's called fishing and not catching...

There's nothing wrong with them cooked if you bleed them quickly and cook them the right way. There's a few ways of cooking Aussie salmon and I'd say they're better than average eating when done right.