Rode Cary

another thumb up for the FG knot from me. since i've learned this knot, i never looked back. the braid actually grips on the leader, hence the harder u pull, the more the braid will grip on and stronger the knot. it is very slim and as mentioned by a few raiders it will flow with ease through the guides. i have never had any breaking issue with the FG knots. there's a few youtube videos on FG knots but if u can get a mate to show u, that's even better. as with any knot, practice is vital. cheers bertrand

hey steve, u will need at least 50lb mono and locked drag. u cannot give them even 1 inch as they will snag you. i use a 13tf daiwa sensor suf rod, a daiwa BG90 with 80lb varivas gt braid and 100lb leader, joined by an FG knot. with this set up i've caught groper up to 20lb with no drama. mate if u want an intro to groper fishing just pm me, we can organise a trip. i'm always keen share cheers bertrand

hi guys, looks like the slipper eisen pro is getting the thumb up just wondering how much they cost? do they come in pairs or single? cheers bertrand

i use a daiwa seajigger 325 which is retailing around 300-350 box i think. its a nice light rod which you can use to spin all day without getting tired. a cheaper rod is teh 12ft daiwa sensor surf rod reatiling around 250 box. cheers bertrand

hello harry, saltist 6500 and stardic 6000 are two different sizes. the daiwa 6500 sizes are for heavy duty fishing while the shimano 6000 sizes have much lower capacity and lighter. u can compare a saltist 4500 and stradic 8000 and either will do the job for spinning tailor, bonnies and kingies in sydney. most of my reels are daiwa but now i'm switching to shimano just because of the aftersale service. hope that helps. also what rod are u gonna use to match the reel? cheers bertrand

i've been catching these brutes for a couple of years now starting with mono but now i've swithched to 80lb GTavani braid and 80-100lb leader. the gt avani braid is expensive but it's really worth the money. no wind knots, thinner than other braid of same strength and it casts like a dream. i have been using this setup for more than a yr now and i never had any problem. i caught anything from 1lb to 20lb. i reckon u can get away with 60lb braid and 60-80lb leader cheers bertrand

i strogly support the suggestion of sending it to shimano at tarren point. the service is 5 stars - cheap and excellent service cheers bertrand

well done and that's a nice reward for your perseverance. drummer are quite easy to catch if you know a good spot. just berley with bread to get them on a feeding frenzy, 2hrs before or after high tide is good, use prawns as bait and you'll have good fun. i find float fishing on light gear so much fun to catch them. i normally use 20lb line but anything from 15lb to 25lb should do the trick. one of my best fish to catch and to eat. however, as u're new to rock fishing, just be careful. yesterday was an exceptional day when the swell was less than 0.5m. normally with float flishing for drummer, u have to stand pretty much at the edge of the rock platform and 80% of the time u're watching your float. in a big swell day, float fishing for drummer can be dangerous. so, be careful. cheers bertrand

thanks for your valuable tips , but i've been told that it's illegal to spear crabs. i might be wrong, i would appreciate if somebody can clarify that cheers bertrand

you can get red crabs on the low ledges at low tides and low swell. you should get the green and black crabs on most rock ledges. just a reminder that you are allowed only 10 crabs at anytime and caught only by hands. cheers bertrand

sorry for the reel mate. this reminds me of similar breakage of a couple of saltigas 4500which i saw on other fishing forums. daiwa needs to put their act together and come up with some valid explanations. cheers bertrand

the penn slammer 560 is a good reel with snooth and strong drag. will last you yrs of happy fishing

good choice mate. i rate the daiwa sensor surf very high. i use the 13tf for heavy rock fishing. light but strong and reasonable price. u've done well bertrand

the daiwa sensor surf rods cost anything bet. AU$250-300

snyder glas v/s daiwa sensor surf well u will get more feedbacks on the snyder glas as its been on the market for years and its the rod of choice for many aussie anglers for rock and beach fishing. no dout that they are strong, very strong. however, they are heavy, hence not comfortable for long hrs fishing. i owned a daiwa sensor surf rod (the one rated 40lb line). its approx half the weight of an equivalent snyder glas, hence very nice to fish with all day. strength? i winched some good size fish with that rod, so trust me, that rod is a strong rod. on top of that it is a good and smooth caster. my local tackle shop owner told me that lots of groper fishos are moving from the heavy snyder glas to the lighter weight sensor surf. well, the decision is yours. both are good value for money cheers bert

i've heard lots of negative feedbacks from the sealine bull owners. there's a reason they are cheaper. if you can get the capricorn 4500J mate, u'll be delighted. such a polyvalent reel. nice smooth drag and the reel itself is smooth but strong. the oceano is a cheaper version with less bearing and i'm sure it is a good reel too. cheers bert

hey steeve u will find that each drummer fisho has his or her own preference in terms of what gears to use. lots of anglers use the traditional alvey and a few use eggbeaters. having targetting drummer all year round for the last 3 yrs, i personally enjoy targetting drummer on light to medium gear. its just a personal preference as i get lots of adrenaline rush compare to if i was fishing heavy (and u get tired at the end of the day). i use a abu baitcaster 6500 series on a 13 ft rhino df rod. very light but enough grunt to turn the heads of drummer up to 2-3kg. i like baitcasters b'coz i find it easy to give and take line...its just a personal preference. i'm pretty sure your outfit should be able to handle good size drummer (not sure for groper though). one thing u can do is to upgrade your line to 20-25lb and make sure u use a good abrasive resistance leader. the fight is won in the first 10sec where the aim is to turn their heads up...otherwise thay will snag u in the rocks or other structures. keep trying mate as that's the best way to learn. i'm sure u will get further valuable advice in this forum....this is where i learned most of my fishing...from fishraider members:) bertrand

i own a slammer 760 and its definitely smoother than my old 9500ss. u also get stronger drag on te 760 slammer. i estimate at least 15kg whereas u'll get around 8-10 kg on the 9500ss. it can definitely take braid....as i have some on mine. its honestly a good and strong cheap reel. cheers bert

hello raiders, i was thinking of retiring my old spinfisher 9500 (10 yrs use and still going good). i read on a few websites that the slammer reels are an improved spinfisher. anybody got good or bad experience with the slammer? braid friendly? good line laying? drag? application is fishing from the rocks. warmest regards bertrand

is it legal to catch crabs at night on the rocks with the use of a torch? cheers bertrand

mate any freshly caught fish will make good sashimi.....except the likes of silver drummer!! cheers bertrand

hi matt i fish for pigs not far from the ovens and it seems like sweeps have called all the good ledges home. couple of years ago the ledge i fish was free of them but this year is the worst. cant get the bait to the bottom. i found that warmer water is worst and cold water of winter is better with less sweeps around. btw were u fishing inner or outer ovens. needs a bit of a climb for the outer one right? keep trying, some nice pigs around tight line bert

well done mate what rod and reel were u using and line strength? cheers bert

hi guys looks like there's few mauritian ppl on fishraider. i myself is from that beautiful island. summer time is great fishing for marlin and tuna and GTs hope u ate lots of dholl purree cheers bertrand

yep let me know how u go and enjoy 'boulette poisson', 'dholl purri' and 'briyani la viane' cheers bertrand