Green Hornet

It’s a different feeling through the rod that’s for sure. Even at around 50m out it’s just a gentle lift of the rod to set the hook, otherwise you snap the trace. For closer range fishing, I still think mono is the go.

Always plenty of good 2nd hand Avons going on eBay too, especially if keep an eye on the UK site. Shipping from over there can be a killer though, unless you can get the reel for a good price to compensate. Agree with you re the line guide too. I kept it on a reel that I use braid with for extra long drifts and it helps a lot with the softer line.

Correct, no line guide on the Tempo due to the fact that most luderick fishermen remove them from their Avons. Now that they’re discontinued and if yours is in good condition, the Alveys are quite collectible and you could possibly sell it for the same price, or even more than what you paid for it, should you wish.

@Steve0

@Steve0 I love my luderick fishing as well. Shame about the Avon and to hear you’re not happy with the Alvey. There’s a guy on the north coast that goes by the name of Tempo that makes a true centerpin, very similar in specs to an Avon or similar Grice and Young reel, but out of more durable materials to suit our saltwater conditions. They are quite popular with keen luderick fishermen and very good quality. Message me if you’d like more information. I post some pics shortly as the photos are on another PC.

Start out with a basic reel and work your way up from there. Once you start getting up to something around the quality of a Stradic, some parts start to get complex, but nothing out of your realm if you’re mechanically minded.

There’s plenty of videos on YouTube regarding this, including Stradics.

No problem whatsoever. I’ve ordered rods up to just under 3 meters (2 piece) and freight is quite reasonable, probably cheaper than you’d think. They do things different over there, you place your online order, then they contact you with the total cost including freight. You can back out if you feel their charges are unreasonable.

Tossing metals from the beach is my favorite form of fishing these days and I totally get what you’re saying about the harsh environment and the toll it can take on reels. The 2 main reels I use are a Daiwa Morethan 3021H that I bought back in 2015 and Stradic SW 4000XG that’s a couple of years old, both bought from Japan and still going strong. Neither reel has ever needed a repair and I guess I’m lucky enough to be able to service them myself, so they’re kept free of sand and in tip top condition. I still buy all my terminals and most of my lures from a shop I’ve been visiting for over 50 years and although they now trade under one of the larger franchise banners, they are still the same family run store I’ve seen passed down through 3 generations of keen fishermen. I also understand the whole support your local guy thing, but I’m a self funded retiree and doing my best to remain that way for the rest of my life. Charity begins at home and saving a few bucks where I can goes a long way to helping me achieve my goal. Overall I can honestly say I’ve been buying JDM stuff, mostly reels, for roughly 20 years and have never had a negative experience whatsoever.

I don’t know much about these nuggets, but assume if you mashed some up for berley, that would improve your chances greatly.

Not if you keep the tube it came in. I keep most of my original tubes for storage in the garage, as the rods I’ve imported from Japan are all high end and deserve the best of care.

I’ve never needed to claim warranty on any reel I’ve bought in my life. So I’m that far ahead of things in that regard that I don’t care. I imagine if needed you could send it back to Japan for a warranty claim. Tackle stores over there are extremely helpful and polite, plus shipping only takes a week at most.

Other fish eat all sorts of things foreign to their regular diets like bread, cheese, chicken and so on. I don’t see why the nuggets wouldn’t work.

My advice is to move away from the entrance and fish the weed edges in the Basin itself. At this time of year most species are switched into feeding on prawns and this is where they’ll be. If you don’t have an electric motor try to choose a bank where the wind will blow you parallel and concentrate right on the deeper edge where the weed meets the sand. All the usual methods work, but in my opinion lures will outfish bait as you cover more ground when you fan your casts. The Basin lacks any real hard structure, so there is no secret spot. Just move around until you find fish and then work that area over thoroughly, just like Isaac did and you should score. Hope this helps and gets you onto a few nice fish.

Welcome Luc, @South Coasty. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures from that beautiful part of the world you’re lucky enough to call home.

I haven’t used prawns for bait for a long time and can’t say I’ve ever caught a blackfish using one. If I had to, I’d peel them and use smallish pieces, just like you say. As for yabbies, use them whole and whether you break the nipper off or not is up to you. Blackfish do have small mouths, but a legal size fish will have no trouble taking a size 4 hook, which is a perfect size for yabbies and you could possibly drop down to a 6 for prawn pieces. That being said, you’d be far better off trying to locate some string weed and fish that under a float, through a berley mix of chopped up weed and damp sand during the day. Look for string weed in places like storm water drains, ponds, older style ocean swimming pools and ocean rocks, particularly those that get a bit of storm water seeping over them. Google earth is a good way to scout out possible spots.

If you want to keep cabbage weed, it will last a couple of weeks in a bucket of saltwater if you keep it aerated. Longer if you change the water weekly. Assuming you’re referring to blackfish from the ocean rocks, they’ll often take cunji or bread. Bread is quite effective if using a bread berley and good fun if you can get them feeding off the surface. In the estuaries along with string weed and to a lesser degree cabbage, they’ll eat squirt worms, yabbies and prawns, particularly just after spawning and other times at night.

Agree that it’s a crazy requirement to only have unrigged rods. If you’re not seen fishing with them it shouldn’t be an offense.

Nice fish Isaac. Judging by the lack of trailers at the ramps this morning, I’m guessing the fishing is tough in The Basin at the moment.

Great information provided by @wazatherfisherman. If Mermaids is still closed when you’re down here, try anywhere between Wreck Point and Lobster Bay/Island for bonito. If the swell is down you can also give Little Beecroft, on the south side of Lobster, a go as well. Another spot I’ve regularly caught bonito and kings is Penguin Head at Culburra. Park at the surf club and walk out to the end of the flat rock and fish the south side. Fishes best early or late in the day, coinciding with a lowish tide and is protected from the prevailing NE wind which is a bonus. Small metals work and will also help you bag mack tuna and frigates, but if it’s bonito you want with a king or two thrown in you can’t go wrong with a 150-200mm shallow running minnow like something from the Rapala range or my personal favorite, a Nilsmaster Invincible. While you’re down, take a walk out to The Tubes one day for a look. It’s prime time marlin season for the land based boys and interesting just to see how they go about it. As Waza says, the place will be packed to the gills and not worth throwing a line.

I used to see gazillions of them when snorkeling around Honeymoon Bay. Always left them well alone.

Offered and not told. Your dad chose his words carefully LOL.

Both times hit me that bad my muscles contracted that much I fell into a ball on the ground. I’ve copped a full hit of 240 volts and even an electric fence while straddling it (enough said haha). Neither came close to a numb fish and the second one left me aching all over for a couple of days.

Trust me Mike, you were let off lightly. I’ve copped the full jolt twice, slow learner I know, and reckon I’d rather be kicked in the nuts.

Real nice fish @kantong. Looks like it’s been well upstream for quite some time, judging by the colour. Another great bycatch on the bread.