Hodgey

G'Day all, Finally managed to get out on the water after a 4 week absence. There has been good reports of big schools of salmon in the lake, which sounded like the ideal opportunity to test a new rod. I have a Berkley Venom Black Mamba 4-7kg. The rod sounds like a broom stick, but nothing could be further from the truth. Extremely lightweight, with a very light tip, this outfit can cast 50mm poppers, 1/8oz jigheads, 3/4oz spinnerbaits and everything in between. Normally, a Stradic Ci4 3000 lives on it, but today it was matched with a Stradic 2500/10lb braid and 10lb FC Rock leader. Dene and I hit the water at the gentlemanly hour of 8:30. Light winds and NO boat traffic ... ah, life's good! No obvious signs of salmon busting up on the surface, but we headed towards the entrance regardless. It didn't take long to find them. Not a lot of commotion on the surface, but they were streaming under the boat in droves. Dene hooked up after a couple of casts on popper, but I only had a couple of half-hearted slashes on the 50mm popper so I changed to a 1/8oz jighead and a gulp 5" Jerk-shad in Glow color. Second cast and I'm on to my first salmon of the morning. Our fish weren't real big (between 50-65cm) but they had plenty of go in them! I was very impressed with the Black Mamba. A little over-powered for salmon but it was great to put it through it's paces. When I tightened the drag on the upgraded Stradic, they were conquered in very quick time. It is capable of long casts and you can feel every knock and twitch on the retrieve. This rod met all my expectations, and indeed exceeded them. Also used my faithful SOL outfit today. (2-4kg rod and 2000 reel). Didn't do it as easily as the Venom rod but gave a great account of itself as usual. Still my go-to outfit for anything in the estuary. The salmon were making short work of the Gulp lures so I decided to change to a ZMan 5" Jerk Shad in Shiner. These lures are brilliant. They are very durable yet they will stretch to in excess of 600mm without breaking. I caught the last 6 salmon for the day on one of these lures, and it's back in the packet again ready for the next trip. Unfortunately my camera is at work but I'll get a photo of the lures (and rod) and post it on Monday. Check 'em out Raiders. At $10 a packet they're worthy of a swim. We lost count of the salmon that were caught and released, and I managed to find one nice flatty roughly 57cm that went to Dene's elderly neighbor for a feed. It was great to be back on the water ... and to hear that sweet song of a screaming drag! Have a great weekend everyone. Cheers Hodgey

Congrats to everyone who has contributed to the site. Seven years is a long time for a forum to remain on the Web! I hope it continues for many years to come. Cheers Hodgey

Lots of raiders celebrating their birthday today! Have a terrific day everyone Cheers Hodgey

:1happybday: :1happybday: Many Happy Returns to everyone celebrating today. Have a good one! Cheers Hodgey

VERY envious mate. These fish have been on my 'must catch' list since watching Rod Harrison chasing them 15 years ago. No other fish has held my fascination like these buggers! Congratulations on a terrific fish and a very worthy Record. Cheers Hodgey

:1happybday: :1happybday: Wishing all the Raiders celebrating today a very Happy Birthday! Cheers Hodgey

A great report as always Greg, and congrats to Mike on his first trout. What a beauty to open his account with! Cheers Hodgey

dchu Mottyman, Andy and Geoff have all been added Cheers Hodgey

Raiders. Have a terrific day! Cheers Hodgey

You have been added, Thien. If work intervenes, then we'll just remove your name later. Cheers Hodgey

fellas! Hope you have a fantastic day and celebrate accordingly. Cheers Hodgey

Great pics mate. Thanks for going to the trouble to take 'em. Terrible conditions Cheers Ian

Mmmmmmm...bream and bass Hell yeah! Are you looking for a non-boater Stewy? Cheers Skip

At one stage or another, I have (sheepishly) caught: A water iguana A passing boat A very indignant Fisheries Officer's broad-brimmed hat ... while he was wearing it A cormorant and most recently, a galah ... on a popper with no trebles ... in my front yard Cheers Hodgey

newbie88 Berleyguts Captin have all been added. Cheers Hodgey

to those Raiders celebrating today. Hope you find somewhere warm and dry to have a Cheers Hodgey

Many Happy Returns, Raiders. Hope you have a great day! Cheers Hodgey

Depending on your budget, have a look at the Nitro Travel series. Cheers Hodgey

Depending on what you're targeting: Pfleuger Trion SP701LT Starlo Stix STP Pro Flats Spin L7102 Daiwa TD SOL II 701LFS The first two fall well inside your budget and represent good value for money. The Daiwa is a touch over your budget (about $220) but is the pick of the 3. I have all three rods mentioned, and the SOL is my go to rod for casting plastics at flatties, spinnerbaits at bass, poppers at salmon ... it does it all. Samaki are very popular down here at the moment, which possibly suggests they're worth considering? Good luck with your new purchase, and happy shopping! Cheers Hodgey

Congratulations on your latest milestone, Basil! I look forward to the next amusing and informative 1000 Cheers Hodgey

Raiders. It's a wet 'n' windy ol' day so you'll just have to find some indoor entertainment to celebrate! Have a terrific day cheers Hodgey

to those Raiders celebrating today. Have a good one! Cheers Hodgey