marus8504

I have a budget of about 3k and am looking for a setup which I can bottom bash browns . I have been looking at Miya epoch cx8s or the comand 8hp. The comand 8hp is the one I am looking at. Do you put it on a normal game rod like the shimano t curve 37kg game rod . Is this the best setup for this style of fishing . Or is there another option which I should look at. Help much appreciated thanks

thanls for the help i think i will look at the 5.5m poles with the reef rigger bases thanks all

i am about to buy some outriggers fo a Cruise Craft 685 Explorer. i am planning on chaseing marlin and tuna, what bases and poles do you recomend, i have been told that reelax are the best. does anyone uses reelax poles and bases and if so what setup would you recomend your help is greatly appreciated thanks mark

mate i just bought a jig wrex pe 6 one peice jig rod and matched it to a stella 20 000 SW with 80lb line, great setup but you wont have much change out $2000. my next out fit will be an acurate single speed and custom jig rod, should be just over 1100 for the lot, maybe you should have look at something like that. that would fit the bill very nicely mark

not much of a Daiwa fan but, they look bloody great, wounder if they will work as well as the look.

Very interesting topic, it has made me think. When I first started out, which was only a couple of years back, I started off with a $100 okuma, silstar rod combo. At the time I though, wow who needs to spend $2000 on a combo as this one caught me plenty of fish offshore for the first year. As I became more and more obsessed with fishing I thought, what do these more expensive rods and reels offer. Being an engineer I researched into the construction of both rod and reels to try and work it out. Now this is my view on this point and I may be wrong. By using a more expensive rod, I have been able to push the boundaries of the rod and whilst doing so I have found the fight more sporting, and have the confidence that I will be able to land this fish. Currently I have two custom fishing rods which I use for offshore work. These rods are lighter and have a better action than rods which are rated at 1/3 of these rods rated line weight. I have pushed and caught fish well above the rated line weight of these rods and they have responded beautifully. This is down to build quality and the components of these rods, and I strongly believe that my trusty old okuma combo would be able to handle it, but it is just not as sporting or fun. It is true that people have been catching kings big reds and tuna for a long time as pointed out, but from what I have seen of their old gear, (my opinion) their rods are like broom sticks, and I have seen structural support beams on bridges which have more action. The benefit I see as you go up the price range is a lighter rod which provides a more sporting fight, but still classified in the same line class as a cheaper rod. When fishing, you must set the drag to the appropriate setting in order to match the line and rod class. If this is done correctly you will catch fish on any price range of reel and rod combo. But I want to feel the rod bending over itself whilst still feeling in control and still have the power. You will achieve this more often when you use more expensive gear. I buy reels on their line capacity, smoothness and drag capacity. I own a full range of reels from the okuma which I talked about earlier to my new addition Stella 20000SW (tuna time). Line capacity can be achieved on reels at all price ranges and all you need to do is to match the amount of line you need to the type of fishing you are doing. Drag capacity to a certain extent can be achieved on all price ranges; the quality of the drag is the problem. Now this only becomes a problem when you are fishing very aggressive fish. The fish I am talking off are the ones that can take large amounts of line off, in a short space of time. The drag system works on resistance, and in return to friction, heat is produced, the higher quality reels will deal with this better. This is not to say that the low end of the market won’t. It is just that the stress caused by the production of this heat will cause less of a problem in the long run on a more expensive reel. Now smoothness I feel is achieved better at the higher end of the market. Is it necessary to catching big fish or just fish, NO, but it is a luxury. the okuma which I first bought was very smooth for about 5 weeks, after that it was still working fine, I just did not think it was as smooth as what it was when I first bought it. You do not need the most expensive gear to catch fish, you just need to match the gear to the type of fishing you want to do. I would take a PENN 950s reel over a Stella 2500 any day that I am going fishing for tuna, and this because it is better suited for that fish than what a Stella 2500 is. This saying better gear sometimes produces a more sporting fight and it will last the distance, and this is why I will take my Stella 20000 when I go tuna fishing Please understand that this just only my opinion MARK

mate it is a Daiwa so it will be the roughest 30Kg of drag you have ever felt.

Hi was just woundering if anyone has experiance with this real, as i am thinking of adding it to my collection. i am comparing this with the stella 5000, and i am not sure what to get, it will be used for offsure heavy plastic work and metals, like the shimano lucanis jigs thanks

from my understanding dont do it from what i understand the rods have a so called back bone which is created by the way the guides go on. if the rod is to bend against this, which is what would happen if you switched a spin rod to make it a overhead, you stress the points of guids and would break of the guides. some people may have other thoughs on this but in my books it is a bigg no no. make sure you know a could rod builder if you try

i think personally it depends where the join is on the 2 peice rods. if it is low down like some of the new shimano rods it has very little impact on the feel of the rod. saying this, i feel with ultra light gear it is best to always have a 1 peice rod as any join will impact on the action of the rod. with graphite rods i have never had any come apart and some times it is the complete oposite.

Just ordered some new felt drag washers and i was woundering what oil do people use on them, i have been told give them a light spray of ballistol but i am un sure. also with a dry system do you have to use any oil at all ?? thanks mark

the sustain is a great reel and i own both the 8000 and 4000 in the new models, but for deep water jigging i feel that the 8000 does not have enough spool capacity when you are using lines above 50lb braid. this is only my thoughts though and the sustain is a great reel and will stand up to anything

Hi I am planning a fishing trip down the south coast and am planning to stay at Moruya. Will have the boat down there, so will be planning some offshore work. I was just wondering if anyone had any info on the fishing , or even if they had some gps marks they would kindly share of around the area Moruya. Also I was wondering what the bar like or the inshore fishing like. Are there any good fish shops to speak to? Any info will be greatly appreciated thanks mark

the jig was a 300gm, red and gold diawa sacrafice

mate it was about 1 1/2 hours from lion island or the palm beach headland. we were very far out, there some spots closer to terrigal, a bit of a treck but well worth it.

Does anyone use a little supper glue on the knot, if you pre make the rigs thanks

what a weekend, we headed out of pittwater at around 4.30am on saterday, an hour and half later arrived at or frist jigging spot which is located very wide of terrigal, there were plenty of surface fish around which was fun chasing on lures, with out much succses. the weather was beatiful, the sun was out and i have never seen the swell so low. loaded with a selection of new jigs, i decided on my fav which was a diawa sacrifice in red and gold (300gm) to use frist, within minuets the sounder showed that not only were there kings around at about 80-105m deep, but what only could be described as a fisho's worst nightmare, leather jackets. unfrotunatly due to censor ship i can't repeat what i said, but with the leather jackets sitting aorund 20m, when they decided to bite me off they not only took my brand new jigs, but 70m of new 60lb braid, this happened 3 times within 1 hour costing me an estimate $200.00. so the day was not looking good everytime we moved they followed, there were about 15 boats and two charters which were clearing up with kings, i have never seen anything like it, but unfortunately we had nothing. then things changed. 100m deep i get hit,hit hard. 5mins later and one hell of a workout a nice 80cm king. we managed a few other fish after but the highlight was the king, an expensive king, but who said fishing was cheap

mate there are so many out there but here is what i would look at Fishfinder Tony makes custom rods and is about to bring out a new jig rod, and from what i have been told it is going to be one of a kind. i have some custom fishfinder rods and i can not talk highly enough of them, he is a site sponser my next choice going down in budget would be Shimano makes T curve Jig 400, this rod is an excellent rod for the price, nice light weight and strong then. Rapala make a braid concept which once again for it's price is an excellent choice

Thanks very much for your help, i will give the uni knot a go for both the hook and swivel

i recently bought some 80lb leader material and was woundering how everyone attaces it to their terminal tackle, i was surprised at the large diameter of it. thanks

mate as i now own to of tonys custom rods i can tell you they are one of the best custom rods around. give him a call

thanks guys for your help

Hi i am becomeing more and more intrested in buying a kayak for fishing but am not sure what to look for, can anyine help as i know a few of you own kayak. i would like one kitted out with fish finder and a electric motor. what are the good brands and how much will i be looking to spend thanks

Go see tony at Fish finder, he will sort you out

Someone correct me if i am wrong, but Sustains are more expensive than Twin Powers and are a slightly better reel If your budget is around $250 i think the stradic will be your best reel for that price range. the 2008 model is great though, if you want to spend abit more go to the twin pwer or sustain, i own the 2008 sustain and they are solid and smooth reel