Rode Cary

thanks for the tips ben how about the ledge at hill60? any drummer there? bertrand

got my new baby today!!! cant wait to give it a try may be a bit of spinning with gongfisho (ben) at hill60?? cheers bertrand

hey kingfisher sounds like a good spot. will try it one day if am around central coast. do u mind give me a more detailed explanation how to get there? how's the waves on the rocks there? cheers bertrand

Hi Raiders, After weeks of shopping around for an overhead reel to fish the rocks and beach for salmon, tailor and may be kingies, I decided to go for a Shimano Calcutta CT700B. Thanks to Tony the fishfinder for the good service and for the friendly staff Will put my hands on it tomorrow!!! Can't wait Does anybody fish with a Shimano Calcutta 700? I would like to get your comments: what line u use? what u target? what's a good rod to match with? use it for spinning and or surf fishing? anything u want to share. I have a 10 ft Shimano Backbone Elite and am thinking of spooling the reel with 25 lbs platypus super 100 cheers Bertrand

hi sammy thanks for the feedback. so, what do you normally target when fishing with your tekota 500 and shimano backbone? yeah i agree you will need stronger tackle for gropper. I am use to cast with amall round baitcasters pretty well with no bird's nest. do you think i need a bit of practice before trying the tekota? do you use mono or braid in your tek 600 and what line strength? yeah i was thinking of the shl30 daiwa too but am a bit worried about guiding the line with my thumb as i never used a non leverwind before. the last thing i want to worry when fishing is to guide my line on the spool. may be am thinking in the wrong direction!! how's the power with the backbone? cheers Bertrand

hey johnno i must admit rock fishig for drummer can be dangerous at times as you will normally fish close to the water where the washes are. This means danger. The spot i fish at whale beach head is quite safe in any sea except exceptional weather. Having said that that particular spot was unfishable the sunday before last. The waves were big and powerful. I wave watched for 3 hrs, hoping they will calm down with the running out tide. But i had to call it a day as i have so much respect for the ocean Hey CaineS I tried coalcliff for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit the forecast was predicting 3m swells but i decided to go as i was invited by my fishing buddy. Got there at 6 am at high tides. Impossible to venture on the ledge as the waves were huge. We just sat there and waited for low time. I chose the highest point on the ledge to be safe. Was fishing for 30 mins and no big swell so i was feeling safe. Suddenly i just saw a huge swell just 10-20 m from the ledge. Didn't had time to take any action and i got hit in the chest and got pushed back a couple of metres. I then realised i lost my fishing rod which got carried away with the wave. That's my Coalcliff experience. Never again. How big are the pigs there? Yeah Shane, pig fishing is indeed very addictive. I normally fish them on the rising tide with the best being around 3 hrs before high tide. Burley definitely creates a feeding frenzy but unfortunately attract the small fish that can ruin the fishing party. For the first time yesterday i tried the going out tid which was very good too. Around 2-3 hrs after the hide tide, the pigs were on fire. Unfortunately they were just under 30 cm. Couple were legal size though. Once i had a pig fighting, the others swam aroud the hooked fish even to the surface. They were on fire. We hooked around 15, me and a friend but released all of them. Keep them for next time:). Yesterday king prawns were outclassing the ab gut for some reason. Hey Shane do you still fish the Barrenjoey head? I fish not far away at Whale beach. May be one day we can share spots. Anyway, long live the pigs...hey its the year of the pig this year (chinese new year) Cheers Bertrand

Hi Ian, Nice day out with good catch, well done. Ooops sorry for the rod. I know what it feels like as I broke 2 fishing rod tips in a couple of years and just lost the top part on my new fishing rod in a rock fishing incident. Where exactly is steamers beach? I like discovering new places with fishing them as a bonus. Cheers Bertrand

Hi raiders, I was just fond of a Tekota 500. Am thinking of using it to target some rock species like gropper, salmon etc. Not really intending to spin, just to cast baits (pilchards, crabs) with sinkers. I know level winds are not the perfect choice for spinning off the rocks, just how you guys rate the tekota 500 for the purpose mentionned above? I will be happy if i can cast at least 50 m with it I am planning to combine it with a 10 ft shimano backbone overhead rod. What you guysd think? Thanking you in anticipation for your help Cheers Bertrand

Thanks heaps for the great replies Hey Leigh, where did you buy your Penn 525 and 535? Anybody else know where we can buy them? THe Saltist is for sure a good reel. IS the norrow diameter appropriate for casting? or its more for jigging? Cheers Bertrand

Hi Raiders, I have been introduced to drummer fishing approx 6 months ago and after my first drummer I was hooked. I fish with a 13 ft Zebco Rhino special heavy match rod and a Shakeunderwatere baitcaster loaded with 23 lbs mono. Those pigs really give you a rush of adrenaline, especially the over 40 cm ones. My favourite bait which has never let me down is salted abalone gut which I buy at Tony's bait shop. Apart from drummer, I caught trevallys, leather jackets and breams with these smelly ab guts. My second choice of bait is peeled king prawns which you can get for 9$/kg at the markets. Burleying with stale bread really fires up those pigs but unfortunately it also tends to attract small nuisance like puffer fish My two favourite spots are Mona VAle headlands and North Whale beach headlands where I caught my biggest pig of 47 cm on ab guts. My rig is pretty basic, just use a float with 60 cm of trace and No 4 suicide hook. Anybody else want to share Cheers

Hello keen fishos, It's my first ever post but have been passively in the forum for quite a while. I decided to join as I think it's one of the best interactive fishing forum in the country and there are some great posts. I have been shopping around for an overhead reel for rock fishing salmon, groper and kings. After long hours of reading, discussing with the local tackle shop ppl etc I came up with 3 options: 1. Daiwa Saltist STT 30TH (660g) One salesperson convinced me it will be his first choice. Reasons: strong and sturdy, high speed of 6.4:1, good spool capacity of 300m/20 lbs, good castability and his main reason was that this narrow spool model will make it easier to feed the line on the spool with less thumb action (?? not sure if that's right). Quite pricey though. Cheapest bargain $ 269 2. Penn 525 MAg (500g) High speed of 1:6, 250m of 20 lbs, looks strong and the main +ve thing is that it has a great castabilitya/t penn website due to its added mag cast control. -ve thing is that we can't get it here in Australia. Cost around $200+....shame nobody is importing those reels?? In Mauritius where I am from, GT's fishos use penn 345 GTI (not the best for casting) with great success. I am a big fan of Penn 3. Daiwa Sealine SL-X50 SHA (565g) High speed of 1:6.1, 550m of 20 lbs (great capacity for a light reel), and its an improved version of the SL-X50 SHV series (not manufactured anymore apparently). Cheapest of the lot....less than $200 OK guys, tell me all you know about those reels. I am looking for a reliable, easy to cast, a reel I can use all day without getting tired....in short a reel that will make me smile Cheers Bertrand