[My first rod service]

On my old Daiwa 6HM Millionaire that I use for snapper I took the level wind guide off as it was a pain if you didn't have the line coming straight off the spool. It was easy just to guide it on your with your fingers and after a while it was very natural. The new Calcutta 400s that I bought had no level wind for that very reason. Just easier in the long run and less parts as well.

Ahh I hadnt considered doing that - I might get some more practice in with baitcasters first, I have since respooled that baitcaster with some 20lb braid and its all nicely lined up this time

[I thought fishing was cheap?]

Thanks for the advice guys, especially on the knots as they are still like black magic to me, I know a few but I dont know when they should or shouldnt be used so that advice on uni VS albright is gold!

I ended up finding the original owner of the reel and apparently I rigged it correctly

All my braid and mono has finally arrived from ebay so now nearly all my reels are sporting braid (the okuma overhead now has 400metres of 40lb mono on it now though for future "light duty" trolling from a mates boat)

I even managed to knock up a rod holder out of some old bed slats

[An app that helps you identify a fish]

I would love somthing like that for android. At the moment I use "fishing mate" which shows photos of the fish next to their names and if you click them, gives rig tips and regulations etc

If you catch somthing completely unknown to yourself though, it involves alot of scrolling trying to find a photo which matches the fish though

[Help! Fishing tips!]

rig 1 allows the bait to move freely though the water and lets the fish grab it and run for a bit before swallowing it and feeling no line resistance possibly spooking it into spitting the bait

rig 2 would be more towards the bottom or middle of the water column. You cant really fish the top of the water colum with them so easily unless you can cast a rig with a 20metre leader for depths of say 18metres

[You have to laugh]

Muhahahhahaha

PS you now owe me half a cup of coffee

[My first rod service]

Ahhh good point mate. Ive actually hit a knot which works great on rope that I learned working on a pearl farm, it seems to translate to braid ok but slips on mono I found out (a bowline)

Your advice makes good sense, Thanks mate!

[My first rod service]

I will remember that advice for next time Daniel, I see the screw you mention at the base of the levelwind on mine also and wondered what that screw did! Thanks alot mate

I managed to save some of the braid, probably around 50metres worth I guess. Thinking about it though 50metres of braid is pretty useless? I spooled it onto a spare handreel and kept it just incase but I think I will chuck it perhaps or maybe use it to practice knots on (I have a spool of cheap mono for that also)

Cant believe I despooled onto the shed floor, how dumb a idea was that

[My first rod service]

There's a sence of satisfaction doing something yourself that would've cost money to get some one else to do it.

Make sure not to put to much grease on.

Harry

If it's to good to be true, it usually is...

Hmmm, hopefully I didnt put too much on, there may be a issue there I guess I will see

[Oops I seem to have cast my rod]

Thanks troutboy there's some great advice there I appreciate your help and time

Im pretty sure the big okuma reel features a easier cast control adjuster Well kind of easier in that its on the outside at least but it does require a screwdriver

I think I will save that one for ocean use from a boat anyway. After casting the daiwa alot, and comparing it to my efforts with the okuma yesterday - its much easier casting the daiwa even just from a weight perspective

the daiwa was on setting 1 out of about 4 for cast control drag, I backed that off to 0 and will give it a go today. Wish me luck, I was getting really good at the daiwa casting (spent about 5 or 6 hours just practising casting already using that one) I can do a "power cast" as hard as I can without birdsnests, but I might start small again now I respooled with different line and have also dumped cast control purely for cast distance reasons

If I come back with the birdsnest from hell today I think I will put it back on setting 1 lols, but I would love "full manual control" if I can manage to learn how

[My first rod service]

Nah the line coming off the actual reel spool was on the left side, while the line guide itself was on the right side, for better casting I thought i should make it so both the line guide and the line from the reel spool were laid together inline as they were working in opposite directions and line had a bad angle on the line guide (lol sorry probably just confused you more)

Probably wasnt the best idea just to start despooling line onto my shed floor

I spent another hour trying to untangle the resulting mess, and have just given up and spooled on some mono till I can order some more braid I suppose - doh!

Im pretty happy Im starting to learn the basics about maintanance though

[Allow Me To Introduce Myself]

Welcome aboard Andrew

Warning - this website can be addictive

[My first rod service]

Im really happy with my first rod and reel service I tried tonight

Ive never pulled a reel down before so thought I would have a go at my daiwa baitcaster. It seems suprisingly easy and I had everything ship shape and greased in about 30minutes I guess.

Im also making great progress involved in the awesome "respool" process so the line on the reel matched up with the line guide again (they were opposite each other when i rebuilt it)

The respool process seems a bit slower than the regreaseing process though to be honest. Im 45minutes in and reckon theres still a good half hour left before I can have a sit down and a coffee

I also got a rod tip for $2 and fixed my shimano rod - casts way better than the one I had been using

[Oops I seem to have cast my rod]

Yay! I took off the sidecover and nothing sprang out at me, and they are exactly the same to set the cast drag settings as the millionaire series which means removing the side cover (bugga)

I might grease it all up and see about that rattle noise now I guess

[I made a lure]

How cools that

Definatly let us all know how you fare this weekend, nice work mate

[Oops I seem to have cast my rod]

Yeah the "cast control cap" which fell off, I just undid to show you guys in the photo - It does nothing on mine though - Its the exact same drag whether its on tight or even completely off and removed. Maybe Im missing somthing which is supposed to be in there like a pin or somthing? (got given the reel for free and dont know its history)

It is very close to a millionaire - nice spot Its a jap import though and I cant find any information on it apart from this with a google search which has better photos and reckons they are alot better than the millionaire s (I dont know my reels so that means nothing to me)

Thats a great video - turns out mine doesnt have any adjustment for the magnetic drag either I dont think - just the main line drag and that cap which I removed in one photo I might start saving for a new one perhaps.

I had a go today and was really happy with how easy it was compared to the bigger okuma overhead reel. No thumb burn this time on the shimano rod using the daiwa baitcaster and I used the same sinker

I love how easy they are just to press a button instead of lining up a bail etc, and the clicker is great as I can let it "stew" on the side with bait in "click mode" while I play with my tiny rod and lures

I did accidently forget to turn the clicker off before casting once though, and jammed down my thumb hard to stop the cast, oops.

Can doing that hurt anything because after about 20minutes solid casting after I did that the reel started "binding" in a regular pattern on the retrieve, and now its kind of making a light rattly noise. Might have to fly blind and pull it apart

edit - The millionaire comment made me think to search out some stuff on them

looks like my side plate comes off perhaps to control cast drag Guess I'll find out in a minute, thanks everybody Next time my rod tip flys off I will calmly just reel in hahahahha

[Oops I seem to have cast my rod]

I was lucky and the rods 2nd half just "slipped" straight off and cast itself - no damage to the rod thank god

I didnt know there was a difference betwen "baitcasters" and "overheads" but perhaps your right as I wasnt having a great deal of luck getting a good cast unless I ran that heavy ball sinker and nearly burned my thumb off

I never thought to try and use the drag to slow it down but I might just keep that one for ocean work I think, As you say I think its more designed for it (specially attached to a 15kg jig rod)

I have another baitcaster/overhead (no idea now ) which is alot smaller - but the drag on it is a bit high I think and I cant figure out how to back it off to zero. I thought it had a adjustment on the side, but that cap just unscrews and leaves a hole where I assume I put oil in? Its a Daiwa 300 MF-S and i dont have a manual or anything for it. any ideas on that one?

The Daiwa baitcaster?

I had my shimano 10kg rod fixed this morning for the Daiwa to go on, would be nice to figure it out

[Oops I seem to have cast my rod]

Walked down the waterfront as usual for a bit of a play getting used to my gear

About 2 hours in, I had my little lightweight 2 piece 2-4kg rod out running my lightest lure

I went for a big "flick" and suddenly off shoots the 2nd half of my rod. The cast distance was actually pretty impressive but I was too busy running out into the water to notice it at the time.

It was about a dozen steps in when I remembered the phone in my pocket, Doh! I did a mad dash back in and deposited the phone on the beach safely thinking "do rods float?"

I had no idea if I had snapped off or not, but I ran back out into the water again up to about hip area depth and felt the line at my feet when i kicked it. I grabbed the line and pulled it in - Thank god it was all still attached

Is this a normal part of fishing? Or can I do somthing to my rod so it wont come into pieces again. I dont really need a 2 piece rod - is it ok to superglue the 2 halves together or perhaps some tape is a better idea?

I dont want to nearly have a heart attack fishing again is all, and the rod would be used around oyster rocks also using a popper so running out perhaps isnt a option next time

Oh and one more question, I had a play with my biggest baitcaster - I managed a small birdsnest due to my thumb nearly catching on fire with the friction against the spool, and my reaction to that was that I removed my thumb...oops (using a heavy sinker)

Is there somthing you guys with baitcasters use that you can put over your thumb? I thought of gloves but mine are heavy leather ones - perhaps those would work anyway?

Oh well was a interesting day anyway - Even if I did come home shakey and with no fish

The wife suprised me when I got home and threw these at me as well (she is great and grabs the odd bargain if she sees it - $2 for this packet of hooks, and she got me some fake fish yesterday )

[Neat Advert for Forster in local Magazine]

How cools that! Congrats

Crikey you look like you got a great setup there - so jealous! Ive been hinting to the wife that if she wants fish Im probably going to need a yak as the fish around here are allergic to the shoreline I figured out

[Surprise catch...]

Congratulations - Thats a cracker whiting Im sure anybody would be happy to land

After that and the snapper and flatty I bet you got eager company to take with you on any fishing trip in the future! Thats great mate

My daughter outfishes me on whiting as well and that keeps her really keen to go fishing with dad also. Great to see familys fishing together, Well done mate and congratulate your girls for me they did good!

PS it also gives you a nice excuse just incase you come back without having caught any fish yourself. "I was helping my daughter" will probably get a "Yeah sure" response from the wife if she is anything like mine :D but at least its some kind of a weak excuse

[Whiting]

With lightweight lures that you plan on weighting down with a small sinker - Should the sinker be above the leader, or should it be allowed to "kiss" the lure on the leader itself perhaps even tied directly above the lure so its not "running"?

Maybe its a preference thing - I have no idea I havnt tried sinkers on lures before but is there a general accepted way of doing it or a way people generally prefer.....?

[Finally got my beach rod, now the questions start!]

I considered this question myself. Keep in mind Im a complete fishing newbie so YMMV and if Im wrong hopefully somebody jumps in and corrects me

I considered braid on my surf rod,but then I read mono can be good for surf beaches as the waves hit the mono and it stretches and absorbs the impact making it more likely your bait is left where you cast it. Braid doesnt stretch, so everytime a wave hits the line the bait and sinker is more likely to be dragged a little. I run patonoster rigs with star sinkers on surf beaches usually so I wanted my bait to stay where I cast it as long as possible (hence I stayed with mono)

But - When it comes time to set your hook or land a fish and for general "feedback" I guess braid would be more preferrable, but braid is also easier for the fish to see so perhaps its a trade off in a few areas and the answer may lie in how you want to fish personally and how big a fish your trying to target, and also what your rods rated for (perhaps check your guides on your rod are "braid safe" and also what rating line your rods supposed to have on it)

Maybe that helps a little, I hope Im not giving a bum steer

[Sinkers]

Is it just a size thing for your jig head mould? I worked in a tyre shop long ago - we used to trim small bits off wheel weights sometimes to get wheel balances exact just using sidecutters (its really easy)

[I thought fishing was cheap?]

thats the trap, i think there are size limits on crabs so u better check

I bought a expensive high quality trap, and Im pretty sure it had the "undersized sorting feature" included as standard and actually built in.

I think the "undersized sorting feature" works like this....If theres a crab in the trap, its undersized and needs releasing, but I wont know for sure until the trap arrives, and I get a chance to read through the volumous instruction manual it will surely also include.

If the "undersized sorting feature" doesnt work I will send it back under Aussie consumer law and get paypal to refund me or get a refund I guess

I paid good money for this thing, hmmm $2 postage from china I guess, so thats a 78cent trap right there. Reckon it might be cheaper just for me to buy a dozen spare ones than return postage would cost though perhaps hahahahahhaha

Click below me for a screenshot, kind of hard to see

As you can see I spared no expense I spent a full 20cents more than the cheapest one on ebay! so Im sure it will be fine. I just noticed it even comes "pre-bent" in the photo! Crikey they thought of everything, that saves me having to do it myself as well

[Norah Head]

LOL at the mother in law cod - will have to remember that one

Mate sounds like you had a wonderful day - So jealous! Those kingys sound like great fun, cant wait for my first

[1st marlin]

Wow mate thats awesome Congrats to your apprentice and what a nice boss you are! Can I come work for you too hahahhahahah