wazatherfisherman

Hi Dieter -Now that's a real "out of area" the Rainbow Runner! Cobia have also turned up in some odd spots, I was talking to ET one day while spinning at Mainbar and he told me one of his mates had caught a really big one a couple of days earlier right up in South West Arm. Have caught a few EP's in Queenscliff on live prawns and they used to get them (probably still do) around the old Pyrmont Bridge on lures.

Cool- bet the mowie went hard, my first fishing memories are from Windang, well over 50 years ago

Hi Scotty I always like fishing in Smith's there are some unusual species there at times, often right up the end. Same for opposite Illawong bay in Coal and Candle, have caught some oddities there quite a few times. Queenscliff has all sorts of oddities in there, the local tackle shop used to keep an album of unusual fish caught in there

After reading Dieter's post about unusual capture of Mahi Mahi caught inside, it made me think of all the different species I've caught or seen caught in locations where they "shouldn't be" over the years. Too many to name them all, but some more memorable ones were: several Mangrove Jacks, Big Eye Trevally and GT's from Queenscliff Lagoon, a couple of Amberjack from Jibbon Beach, a Nannygai from opposite Illawong Bay in Coal and Candle Creek, Hairtail from the rocks at the Matten's at Dover Heights and a Remora from Dobroyd Bombie. There have been plenty more, but those ones came to mind straight away. Would like to hear what other "out of area" fish other raiders have caught

Top fish on that gear Toby well done

Welcome and well done on all the fish! Derek is a great bloke and a great mentor. Hope to see all your catches on the fishing reports forum

Hi Neil yep serious $$ and great old fibreglass, made to last. Some serious hours involved with all the rod thread work also- beautiful stuff- an art form in itself. Makes my diamonds and chevrons look pretty ordinary! Bring back fibreglass! At least you could lift fish without the fear of them breaking. Great collection of rods- no doubt there's a reel to go with many of them too!

Awesome thread art on those rods. Nice bag off fish too!

Hi SaltyGreek they might have been River Gars which are greener colour and a thicker body, as opposed to Sea Gars which are more of a light blue-ish tinge to their silvery sides

Sounds like a good trip! Nice King well done

Hi Dieter only problem with using epoxy or Araldite is as Anthman pointed out, keeping balance. When using that particular brand (or any really) you need to keep revolving the "painted" item so that you don't get a "drip-lump" which will bugger the swimming action. Having said that though, I've used Araldite painted on with a disposable brush and the old "Superflex Secret Formula" epoxy also. You need to heat it with a hair dryer after mixing to get it really runny and 'disolve' bubbles. I only ever do it to seal paint where it's going to keep coming off and I have a rod lathe with 2 motors, 1 of which is a "dryer" that just revolves really slowly to prevent drip formation, it'd be a hassle otherwise as often when it's humid these coatings absorb moisture and take ages (sometimes 2-3 days to go "off") regardless of careful mixing and application. If you try it, do it on a nice dry hot day. Have also tried Anti-graffiti coating to try and seal colour in some minnows I made up from lure blanks, but that was a big failure. Tried "Clear Floor" isocyanate free timber floor coating as well,(had some left after pulling up carpets and sanding/painting floor) which is thin and dries quickly, however didn't last long on plastic bodies. Other thing is that you need to be careful of is some of the paint/patterns on hard-body lures can get eaten by modern epoxies, so just a touch up with permanent metallic markers is often a better option, as is PaddyT's suggestion of using as is. Regards Waza

Had success on them when fishing "Learner's Corner" at Yamba middle wall, but to be fair, we were catching them on pretty much everything. Just a tiny shot straight on the hook and sunk down the edge of the wall (from a boat)- no bites they just swallowed them. Have often got real small ones out of Whiting, shows they eat them but caught the Whiting on worms, not the crabs.

Hi Restyle I don't eat them, but when they're cooked "Kilpatrick" they go the same way you can also mould a bit of fresh bread around them

When I was a kid and we ran out of bait fishing the harbour, we used to grab a few oysters and boil them in a tin of saltwater, they go a bit "rubbery" and stay on a bit better.

Hi SaltyGreek look up "Red Crabs" in the search engine- some crab info for you there

Great looking reel, even the handle plates are different. Nice bit of cedar. Bet you'll be tempted to use it just once!

I had the sanded version, great rod

Mad colours on the new reels Jim! Probably last until Alvey's bicentenary ! Great idea with laser etching

Pity they don't make them any more, they are great rods. Is it a BF 3144/4144 by any chance?

DynaBait sell freeze dried squid, prawns and several different types of worms. Always got the dried Bloodworms in tackle bag for "emergencies". They work ok and would suit what you want them for. Available online

Nice looking rod Donna, nothing wrong with a bit of bling!

Cool, the coloured blanks make for interesting builds, I had to build one for a mates 50th last year and I asked him what his favourite colours were (he had no idea it was about a rod). He is red/green colour blind and said definitely purple. Had to get a few all purple blanks from the giant U.S components company. A skull and cross-bones rod sticker on it instead of thread art and "air wave" guides make it one of a kind. Also bought a lime green and an orange blank(to "justify" postage costs) All MHX brand blanks

Hi Frank I've still got about 8 or 10 blanks and about the same with butts and winches on but guides not done yet, won't be doing mine for a while either. Only built (fully) a few in last couple of years. Just posted the question out of interest to see how many still build. With so many more 'specialised' rods available and the cost of home rod building verses off the shelf buying getting closer price wise, I can see why it's a dying interest.

Hi Raiders this is just a general question- I was wondering how many of us still build their own rods, or have built them over the years? I realise that as tackle refinements have changed dramatically over the years, there are now far more options when thinking of a new rod or 'specialised' rod that is pretty much tailored to specific situations, so the need to build something (that you just couldn't buy off the shelf) has diminished greatly. Just interested to hear.

I reckon the same technique that you used for Bass would work, maybe a Sugarpen would be worth a go