CJay

Gday Raiders! So its that time of year and the Spanish and Tuna are haunting the bay in Byron once again , harassing all the bait fish and putting on some awesome aerial displays , Ive been watching bust ups for the past week and seem some giant Longtails sailing through the air just on sunrise ! Also good reports from the Byron Fad with Dollies touching 10kg and the odd solid King! Are there any Raiders up this way keen for a session either at the Fad or backside of Julian? Have all the gear and stoked to get the reels screaming! Tight Lines guys

Never had an Fg unravel on me ever, sounds like the tag end isn't tightly hitched it shouldnt slip at all period. Fg has the highest breaking strain of any knot out there , but if your running leader so thin and not casting lures all day id go with the Albi or Uni-Uni heaps faster and less room for error

Fish of a lifetime right there! Stoked you released this fella i cant stand when people take fish this size and so beautiful

The Demon Bloods are a solid go to for your price range man ,if you go the earlier red model its a bit cheaper than the Demon17. you could probably find one for 280-300 , plenty of stopping power for everything that swims when paired with a good quality reel with the line capacity , can fire 40g lures for hours and the rod doesnt put much pressure on arms/back How is the J braid treating you? Ive read a few reviews on it sometimes getting a few wind knots quite frequently when casting?

try the sugapen poppers if you can find them dynamite little surface lure

yeeow only a matter of time before a jack or jew smash a sp

Are any of you guys close to Smoky Cape? Its hard fishing when your solo theres many spots i cant safely access alone, ive been looking at the Matterhorn under the lighthouse there for about two years now but theres no way i can do it alone ,as id need to climb down to set lines then use pulleys to drop the gear down, since the goats at the lighthouse have gone its near impossible to see the tracks that used to run down there and its pretty sketchy as it is. Ive heard you can get around to Groper rocks from Tallows beach but cant find any info on those spots anywhere but i can see them on google earth...

Ballina South at the end is probably the hardest spot to land a solid fish on anything shorter than 12' hey and thats with a friend helping with the telescopic gaff, ive landed a couple of Jew there by climbing down on the smaller swells and use the small flying gaff but one wrong step and your going for a good 2m drop into the wall ,its like a maze in there i had to rescue a rogue tailor that spat the hooks and ended up finding half a tackle box of sinkers and lures someone must have dropped a while back The local fellas all seem to run 50lb straight through to 80-100 leader with the livies and braid for the soft plastics and the like. Brunswick is a pretty tame breakwall even on the bigger swells its always an option, ive taken heaps of fish over 10kg from Jews to Sharks there but always managed to work them round to beach side or down to Torakina . Hopefully i can find some Spanish this year when we get some offshore wind and the ballons come out to play, i hooked up last year off the South wall but quickly got spooled 300m of 30lb like it was nothing!! They recently built the wall at south up so the meat grinder at the end of the wall has gone and been covered with some horribly shaped stones (all edges and not easy to run back up when you see the rogue set coming) Yeah i can only really make a decision once ive had a few casts or run the line through, as you say they can behave differently with mono or braid. One piece 14ft sounds like a nightmare to be fair haha be brilliant if it was safe to keep up top of the ute though . I think im going to have to drive upto the Goldy and have a squizz at these Prevails ive seen a 10ft heavy model that could be fun! I watched a video from a South African fisho on those interchangable tips and he was smashing a small ball sinker about 120meters! Im heading upto Sydney in the next week or so to chase some Kings/Groper if your around we should go for a fish!

all good if its only plastic brother or the cast nets a no go unfortunately , i use the big plastic drums from an old water cooler to catch bigger mullet live baits i find a juice bottle only gets the fingerlings

Hey Dave howd you go Saturday chasing Dollies? Congrats on the Marlin thats one off the bucket list ay! how big was she? If your looking for company Il be around the area in the next week or so , have all my own gear and a new reel thats begging for a Dollie run Tight Lines!

fish as light as you can get away with for the location current etc, and keep terminal tackle simple with the lightest leaders for spooky fish if you start getting busted then just up the leader strength! Tight Lines!

Hey mate we are definately on the same track with the old rods, If its broke dont fix it right?! Iv got the slammer 3 running 40lb tasline for spinning but want to give her a crack on a heavy rod see how she goes ive not had chance to take it offshore yet. 13ft still is a bit daunting i think the weight of it just got my attention more than anything, your live bait theory is correct though ive had multiple problems at Ballina South with the 12" around the tombstones and all the old jew guns are rocking 15ft blanks with overheads The Prevail looks like a nice piece of equipment il have to search through some older threads on here..Ive not got a time limit but it would be nice to actually get a feel of the rods in store, pretty struck for stocked up shops this way otherwise a drive upto the Goldy i guess Thanks for your help bro!

yeah those ledges have a reputation and i dont have a gaff buddy either.... only managed the flying gaff solo a handful of times . Ive got ropes and harness but hard to find friends that are up for the mission :/ hows the water looking out your way Dave?

Hey mate what sort of distance are you thinking of climbing/abseil? Petzl Ropes are a top quality go to man i used to run Contact 9.8mm which is a lightweight rope and really durable,(you can get a duratech style which still grips and handles well in the cold/wet weather) you can run it with a Petzl zigzag if you have the cash too ,think they cost about $300 but worth its weight in gold! Havent really had to climb anywhere for a long while but adds an extra element to getting to that new spot

Ive seen Makos both blue and grey topside colour?

Sweet footage bro loving the bare feet in the wee tinny yeeow Looks like a chunky Mako they used to smash the Kahawai schools and Penguins/Seals back in Nz like that!

Hey mate, 15ft is one beast of a rod id be targeting Bronzies with that thing! Ive seen some crazy japanese blanks that are around 15ft and super whippy but cant seem to find any that arent under 700$ ive heard a few companies that make the big blanks make the butt piece long so you can cut them down to your preference or something? Seems like you got a good system going haha throw in a rod strap and your hands free, be good for those colder winternights The Aerowave felt real good in the shop almost ridiculously light, I use an old ass fibreglass from the 90s for nostalgias sake, god knows why i still use it but it caught me my first Jew and first Thresher shark and I cant just let her sit in the garage . just recovered from a bad wrist injury so im leaning towards the lighter stuff this time. Have you ever tested the Aero on groper or pigs? It seems a pretty solid all rounder for the price , hows the range firing out bigger metals? Cheers!

Epic brother you best watch out she'll be catching bigger fish than you soon

hey guys, just been having a sticky beak at some new blanks to pair up with my Slammer III 6500 (running 40lb Tasline) and im chasing some recommendations.. I was looking to pair the slammer with the trusty demon blood but im going to be targeting more fish from the stones/rocks this season and wouldnt mind some extra length (especially if targeting groper/blackies from higher ledges) had a look at the Shimano Aerowave Graphite 13" which looks and feel nice and light and also the Sensor Surf but heard the action is a bit too soft , im mainly going to be throwing live baits and metals so any advice would be golden! Tight Lines

yeah ive got a real old glass beach caster from about 98' it just wreaks havoc on the sore wrist its heavy as all get out especially after a few hours on the stones :/

Turned up the heat this morning with a 3kg Rat and a few Tailor off Yamba breakwall on the 6' pearl swimmers, nailed literally as soon as it hit the surface and I saw a good size Longtail smashing up the wall on first light , exciting stuff but no takers.. Looks like the new reel was delivered yesterday (just my luck ive been waiting just over a week before my time off) so might jet back up to pick up the Slammer 3 and find a new blank! Looking at the Shimano Aerowave 13ft Graphite but still not too sure , just want something that can cast bigger lures and snapper rigs out to the bombies and reefs , any suggestions rick?

Hey Neil hows it going? I was an avid carp angler as a kid couldnt get enough of the stuff! I know that the Grass carp were introduced over here along with the common and mirrors all around Australia , also classed as an invasive species, Ive seen two caught when i lived out at Bendigo/Shepparton from the Murray River, they were both pretty small around 5-6kilos but Grass carp non the less Ive not really heard of them anywhere up this way in NSW though. Is there many places where you are that hold carp too? Tight Lines

sounds good rick im held up in Yamba waiting this patchy weather out will l et you know the progress

cheers rick! What lures would work best down there sps or metals? Was thinking just grab a couple big Tailor and smack them under a balloon or freeline em off the point for a hungry Mack The boat is up north with my buddy so im landlocked for the moment :/ Whats the gaff situation like off the points there i hve a small gaff but might need an upgrade

Gday Raiders! Fortunately i managed to score the week off work for my birthday so i packed the rods and im headed down the coast tonight towards Southwest Rocks/Hat Head , im keen to get stuck into some spanish/kings off the rocks so any advice on location / lures would be highly appreciated! Would Southwest or Hat Head hold blue groper and possibly cobia? I know its closer to the shelf but how deep are we talking? The deepest drop offs under the rocks around these parts is maybe a few meters if your lucky! Cheers Guys Tight Lines!