SZ1

As BillyD stated, bring some 200gram jigs, drop them to the bottom and jig your head off, just check the sounds and work the depth the fish is holding, if they are hold 20m off the bottom jig past the mark and drop again, that way your not just jigging water and trust me your arm will burn from just jigging. Hopefully the kings are thick and the jackets are not around. Cheers, Sz1

Man that is GOLD , this is a must have for all the tackle junkies out there!!! that dag systems looks tops. Cheers, Sz1

Hi Steze, 30lb should be fine i normally use 20lb or 25lb for the rocks and beach.

Can't go wrong with Tuff Line and Power Pro both very good braids and great value for money. cheers

Hin congrats on scoring a nice reel!!! Fail to get live baits you can always use whole pillys on a 2 hook setup under a float. Just have the bait about 2m below the float and adjust this length according to the conditions, this set up will catch you tailor bonito salmon and kings. Cheers, Sz1

Hi guys, Although i am late with my reply but thought i will comment on my findings as well, i take some rod with me everytime i go on holidays in Oz and i just came back from Perth from a jigging trip. This is what i have always done: Rod in rod tube (just becarefull as i have issues with the larger 2.1m tubes as well and at one stage they were considering not taking them, i soon changed this to a 1.80 and have had no problems. Although the trouble was with Jetstar where as quantas and virgin has always been good, the best thing is to call prior to travel to check) Reel, i have always carried with my on carry on in a back pack, when i leave sydney i always un spool my reel, i have always had interest from the xray people but once they see the reel they are fine with it. (however when comming home from Perth i just leave the line one the spool and they have no problems, i think this is just a myth of mine that sydney is alot more stricked) Terminal, lures and tools always stay in check baggage. If travelling overseas declaring them would be highly recommended or we might see some raider on broader security ahahaha. Cheers, Sz1

HI Nath, good stuff buddy pity about the stonker lost. I was squidding in the hacking Saturday night and found it really tough only got 2 little ones in a couple of hours of work, i found the water to be way to murky for my likeing. Also when you fish at night you can probaly go 12lb or 14lb leader as i find fish at night to be less spooked by the leader and always bring a net when you go squidding you never know when you hook that big green eye squid and need the net to land, the net is always an good insurance policy and always have mine when i go for a squid. Cheers, Sz1

Hi Top Breamer, From what i have heard the Fin Nor Offshores are a solid reel with a nifty drag on it. I have not played with the Fin Nor jig stick or the Ugly Stick Jig rods so i can't comment. I have a Shimano T-curve 200, this was my first jig sick and it have served me well, i have taken this rod to WA and landed Samson fish up to 20kgs with no problems. The rod is rated to 24kg and is a 2pc rod with a butt joint configuration. Other rods you can have a look at are the jiwrex Pe6 rod or the daiwa catalina rods. These are all pretty good rods at a reasonable price, just shop around as i find that prices fluctuates between shop and sometimes it is a pretty big margin. What i suggest also is to go into a store and have a play with all the rods mentions ie Fin nors, ugly stick so you can get a feel of the difference, and also bring you reel along so you can feel what it is like with your reel on it. Cheers, Sz1

HI Lumpookey, Balmoral Island is a good place to start with the yakkas just fish over the weed bed and burley with bread piece shouldn't be to long before they start swarming under your boat, another place to try is the spit, both spots you can get squid as well, so it is pretty productive. As for rig it is really simple, i normally tie a swivel to the main line and leader to swivel and a size 10 mustard sneck wook ( i find the sneck hook great for catching livies), i don't use any sinker as the swivel is enough to the bait down most times it is only 3-5meters water we are in, if you want you can us small split shot sinkers or bait jig as well. As for hooking the yakka i normally only pin it through the nose once and that is it linke numebr 2 in the above drawings. Cheers, Sz1

Hi Top Breamer, Good to see you geting into the jigging scene, i love jigging it is my fav frm of fishing but sure can be taxing on the body at time as it is hard work. For starter to help us help you please answer the following questions: 1 - Type of Rod over head or Spin 2 - What size reel are you planing on match he sitck have you currently have a reel ready to go, if so what type. 3 - Line class what line class you planning on fishing. Let us know what you had in mind and we can send you in the right direction. For starters i would hve a look at the Shimano T-Curve series or the Daiwa Catalina Rods, they are good value for the $$$ you pay, and should decide jigging is not for you the yo always use these rods as a trolling live baiting rod. But if have money to burn there are some very nice gear out there. Cheers, Sz1

Hi There, that outfit is plenty to stop most kings, you might still get done on that unstoppable as everyone has, but over all it should handle everything easy. I would chuck some 50ld braid onto it and you won't have any problems, that is some quality gear u have, it should bring you joy. Cheers, Sz1

Nice catch on the Crab, I think u have stumbled across a new use for plastics Crabbing plastics. Would be very happy with that feed. Cheers, Sz1

I have had this alot, when there is only strong runs and no head sharks it it most Likely a Ray or some other less desireable creatures. In this situation I normaly apply max drag to the line and give it to it pretty hard ie hard and fast pump and wind this normally gets them comming, once u get things moving it is matter of keep it comming your way or they will again sit on the bottom which be becomes hard to move. Most time don't mind losing the fish when it a Ray. Cheers

Hi Nathan, well done buddy and good work on smashing ur pb they only get bigger from here on. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come! Keep it up and I'm sure that big Jewie is just around the corner! Cheers sz1

Hi Bandit, if the rod is ratd to 6-10kg line then you might want to set it at 3kg drag, as the norm is to set the drag at 1/3rd the line breaking strain. Most rods are rated to the line strength, however some top shelf rods does state the max drag as well. However depending on the rod and blank you may be able to push the drag setting a little more then 1/3 provided you do not high stick the rod. Hope that helps Cheers, Sz1

Hi Nathan congrats on popping the king virginity!!!! how ever it is one of those thing once you pop you can't stop thing hahahaha. I have been following your fishing quests and have to say you have done very well lately scoring your first jewie a couple of weeks ago and now scoring your first king, doesn't matter what size the king is, legal or not a king is a king and to land it lb it is a great effort. I am looking forward to you post about that 70cm fish, keep at it and might bump into you on the water one day Cheers, Sz1

Hi there, i have a Slatist 40 high speed and yes mine is the same ie nosie gears and the clutch for free spool when you have a slight load it engages everytime it is only when there is no load it some times will not enagage first go. I think this is normal as i brought mine brand new and it is the same from day one. Hope that helps Cheers, Sz1

Nice salmons, they don't taste that great but sure put up a stink when hooked. they sure look like they have some size on them, well done!!!

Hi Zephi, Congrats on your Stradic by the sound of thing you got a bargin!! I am sure you will land plenty of fish on it. I don't think a 9 foot rod on a boat would be wise if you are targeting king and out hard running fish you will find the long rod will work against you as the fish will be able to gain leverage against you, even an 8foot rod is probably a little too long for the boat. There are people who use 8foot+ rods on a boat but you will find them to be specialist fishos who are targeting red or other fish with finness where they require long cast distance with plastics and the like. If your only going to be fishing on a boat once in a blue moon why not get the landbased rod first and save for boat rod later on, that way you will get the most enjoyment out of the rod/s in both situations. For land based i nomally use a 10foot and 12 foot rod. While on the boat try go for something under 7foot. For king on the boat i mainly use jigging rod whese most comes in under 6 foot and a lighter 7foot for tossing lures and float bait.

Yup same fate for us, quite day on the harbour. Went out Sunday morning with my mate to shake the monkey of his back and get him his first king for the season. Armed with 17 arrow squids caught the night before and plenty of live yakkas, we only managed 1 king 70cm who put up a good account for him self (got the monkey of his back) and a Blue Morwong 50cm (interesting catch in middle harbour) sure put up a nice fight called it for a king. Anyways there is always next time, just hoping weather is ok this weekend. Cheers, Sz1

That is a HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well done mate

HI Nathan, great work ont he Jewie mate, as said it is a top effort. With the amount of time you have put into fishing lately this fish is well deserved!!! Hat goes off to you mate, you caught the bait and you caught the fish, that is what fishing is all about. Get out there and smash a biggie!!!!!!!!! Cheers, Sz1

Hey Butch, great Trags mate i havn't seen a post of anyone catching any trags in Sydney before, great effort, what baits did the trick on the Trags? Cheers, Sz1

Hi Mate, The Jig Wrex is a nice rod i have the 508 as well, this thing is a broom stick, but the 526 Pe6 feel much better, if you shop around you can pick these up for around $300, the T-curve is a great rod, i have the 200 and have taken it to perth loaded with 80lb and still pulled Sambos up to 20kgs no problems, however the grips and thicker and rear grip is shorter as mentioned, i like my reag grip long and grip genrally thinner and this is my preference when it comes to jigging as i find it more comfortable. There is also the Daiwa Monster mesh range which seem pretty good value for money, it is worth a look although i have never used one before so i can't really comment on the performance. Daiwa also has a Catalina rang which i have seen in action is looked very good the action is great and a nice parabolic curve, these might be a slight bit over $350 but worth a look. All those rod are off the shelf and readiely available, best advice is to go into a tackle shop and load one up and see how you like it. Cheers, Sz1

Hi Young Gun If your running 80lb braid you would want to match it up to a PE6 or pe8 rated rod at least. With rod in that category you won't be asking too much for what you want to do ie jigging, cubing fins and even trolling, it would most certainly handle a small marlin. What sort of budget are you on for the rod as you know there is a wide range of rods out from $300 to over a grand. Let us know how much you intend spend that way we can give you ideas of rods in that price range. Cheers, Sz1