wazatherfisherman

We used to catch them in Lake Northam on tiny balls of bread about half the size of a pea- the biggest one we ever caught in there was about 6 inches long and that was a 'monster' compared to the others we caught!

Have to agree with you Mike- have done a bit of Carp fishing, mainly along the freshwater end of the Shoalhaven and never caught one under 2-3kg. There are some genuine monsters down there- which can often be seen, but you don't see the small ones. The only small ones I've ever seen we used to catch in Lake Northam when I was a kid- they were 2-4 inches long and we traded them with the pet shop

Good topic Neil! Personally, I am right handed and hold the rod in my left hand and wind right handed . Over the years of using Alvey's and centrepins without drag systems, the 'feel' for judging the pressure you need to apply to the free-spinning spool ('palm drag') can be critical when fishing either light line -say sub 3kg- or having stand-up 'muscle fights' with fish like Black Drummer or Kingfish. For me, using those types of reel having your more dominant hand 'adjusting' the pressure is as critical as holding the rod.-Obviously a different story with spinning reels, but I guess you just become accustomed to one way or the other. Americans seem to use their dominant hand on the rod and wind left handed- or are there more 'cacky-handers' over there? Funny thing is, baitcaster's can go either way it seems. I tried using a large left hand wind Mitchell spinning one trip and I couldn't believe how uncoordinated I was with it

Hi Neil glad you like the look of the rod- now looking forward to seeing you catch some big Cod on topwater. Hope you'll be able to pop in when next you are around this way and yes, I really love fishing. Great you got out in amongst the pretty ordinary weather and caught most of your target species too Cheers Waza

More excellent information and another great article. Super job

Yet another great article Derek, it should help entice a few fishers to have a go at our beloved Luderick. Great info on a species that many are a little unsure of but would like to have a go at!

Nice collection and love the wooden handline too. The Bakelite versions are really underrated and I still like using my 6 inch Bakelite's

What a nice way to start the day! Amazing how many fish get caught on the famous 'last cast/s'!

Thanks! Took a while to collect them all, have nearly as many small spin reels and all sorts of older fishing 'goodies'

Thanks! I've got a few more here somewhere. I reckon they look good when all together like this!

Hi Pete the gap in the reels in the picture was my 'purist II' which we were all spinning and marvelling at it's 'spin-time'! That old black Golden Eagle was my 3rd of 4 and caught countless fish, before making way for the newer Shakespeare version which was much more 'saltwater compatible' The back row from left: Lewtham (English) larger sized reel, Bakelite Alvey, B/Bearing Alvey, Fibreglass Alvey followed by Bakelite again- all sidecast models Middle row: Wide spooled Golden Eagle (English), Fish Zone (modern), Centrepin Alvey (non sidecast) J.W Young Rapidex, unknown English timber Centrepin, Bakelite Alvey (non sidecast) cheap Asian pin I got new for $5 from a fly fishing shop- no name on it but works OK Front Row: Inox, Emperor Cypranius, South Pacific 'Black Float, J.W Young Purist 2 (missing but in the background of Neil's rod post) Golden Eagle, Capstan 34 (with lead line) trout trolling reel There are a few more somewhere like an Avon, a couple more fibreglass Alvey's and a nylon backed Eagle. I've posted a better shot of the floats in an old post called 'Show us your Luderick Floats", most of the quality ones made by the legend Alan Skelton

Again, thanks Derek for posting this! Glad to show some of the collection. As a long time Alvey user and advocate for these types of reel, am happy to provide any info on the use of them. Regardless of the advancements in both overhead and spinning reel technology, there are no better reels for fishing the rocks for most species. Fighting a fish 'one-on-one' without a drag system is also a 'buzz' of it's own!

Hi Mike no it's not 'marbling' but I thought it would be a nice match for the colour scheme of the purple blank. After finishing Neil's rod and starting to muck around with a few more, I did a couple with diamond binds, chevrons and stumbled across a new way (for me anyway!) to do a 'fish-like' pattern. I stopped doing decorative patterns years ago due to worsening eyesight, but with better glasses, more light and plenty of time have done a few again (some turning out better than others!) with mixed results. They don't catch any more fish but are nice to 'individualise' a rod

Thanks Derek and Neil I really enjoyed the visit and was happy to build the rod for Neil, hope to see some nice Cod caught on it soon! There's never enough time to talk about all the things fishing that you'd like to! Building a few rods again has certainly helped with focussing on fishing and got me to make some of the blanks I had into rods- which has been enjoyable to say the least. Look forward to catching up with Raiders as the Raider community is such a wonderful group and sharing experiences and information with like minded folk is soul food for fishers!

Sorry have been really busy but will have a decent look for them today

Hi Albert looks like a conger eel- they are fairly common in the harbour

Great to see you getting out on the old stomping grounds Rebel! Well done on the fish and I bet the neighbours are happy! Hope you enjoyed your Calamari feed Waza

Try and put a photo of the entire rod if you can- might give us a bit of an idea- I know it's hard to take good photo's of long rods

Welcome to Raider Peltzer great to see someone get a nice bag of Snapper

Hi Frou if you have a look at the Halco version to see what it looks like, you will see copies/close similarities available on the net- same for Abu Toby's- I'll try and find a couple here and take a photo in the next couple of days

Welcome to Fishraider Frou- a good and inexpensive lure that will catch you Tailor and Salmon from the beach on your outfit would be a Halco Twisty (there are also cheaper versions of same lure) or most chrome coloured metal lures in the 20-40gm range

Have a wonderful time!

Excellent result and on the peas! Were they taking it before the bottom?

Hi Burger and thanks! I was actually wondering if you'd caught any- knowing you're a keen Luderick fisher. I reckon a lot of the bust-ups attributed to Pigs are in fact Surgeons. Duff's young bloke has achieved something special catching two on the same day and has bragging rights over his Dad at the moment! Surgeons will be around in numbers during September, so hopefully a few more will be subdued as they are a very worthy target, just beware all- they love 'collecting' floats!

Hi Duffy cool and well done to the young bloke! Did you get them on weed or cabbage?