DrRaymondSnapper

I dare you to poke that Leopard Seal SteveO. Even if it does look pretty skinny as you said.

Watching the sun rise over the ocean is one of the best parts of beach fishing. View from my " local " Dudley Beach. And not a soul in sight.

No doubt the first of many. Always easier after you get the first one. Now for a bigger fish.

I`m glad that I was able to help in your choice. That`s a good price for a great reel. I think that you`ll find that he Saragosa will be perfect for many situations. Now go and catch some PBs. Good luck.

That`s so sad. The ocean can be very unforgiving at times.

Agree with that sentiment. Its great to get a new reel and even better when you get to use it. Good luck up the coast. If you don`t mind me asking , what sort of deal did you get ? No need to tell me where.

Sorry , I stuttered.

Mmmmm OP Bundy and coke. Good medicine. A few of those and the pain goes away.

Have you decided which beach rods and reels you are going to get and have you purchased anything yet ? I`m curious as to what you think will work best for you.

+1 on the techno crap Neil. The problem is that too much clean country air makes you susceptible to the filthy city stuff and its horrid diseases. Its technology muddies your pure rustic mindset , rendering you techno illiterate. My tip is to avoid cities like the plague , especially Melbourne , the Soddom of the south. Hope you are feeling better soon. As a doctor , I prescribe a course of rum , especially the OP variety. It cures everything from asthma to Zellweger Syndrome. Best wishes. PS as to your coughing question , I`m guessing that the colder air is irritating your airways that are already inflamed from the virus. When you breath in , air is warmed by the upper respiratory tract and if this is compromised by a respiratory infection then this function is lost. The infection is probably also reducing protective mucus secretion from the cells lining the upper respiratory tract and leading to more irritation during inspiration.

Thanks SteveO. I`ve never seen , let alone caught one before. Their diverse range of colouration makes identification difficult and confusing. It latched onto a 65mm Fishtrap that I was throwing for flathead.

Is this a Painted Grinner ? Caught in March 2024 in Cowan Ck in the Hawkesbury. Thanks for the expert help.

Commiserations from a Sharks supporter.

You guys must be the last 2 Tigers fans left. I thought that they were extinct.

Both the Spheros SW 6000 and Saragosa SWA 6000 are very similar in specifications. Both are solid , chunky reels with nice big knobs and carry about 300m of 30lb braid line capacity and have 10kg drags . The Saragosa has one more bearing but the Spheros is slightly lighter and is cheaper by about 25%. Personally , I really love the Spheros that I have and the extra $$ you save with the Spheros could be put towards a nicer rod. A lot of people love the Saragosa and I think that its a great reel but mine is attached to a Terez White 7` 6 and isn`t used on the beach whilst the Spheros performed well in that environment and I never felt under-gunned with the Spheros with any fish..

How about a big Leatherjacket ? I caught some massive ones there a few weeks ago.

Only if the bream was over a metre long. The only hook mangling monsters that I can think of in the Hawkesbury would be sharks or propellers. Even big Jews would be unlikely to inflict that much damage to a big hook like that. Did you see or feel the bite or did you just find it like that when you retrieved it ? What hook size is that ?

Have I just broken the record for longest reply.

I guess that i have been doing the same as you [ looking for an allrounder on the beach ] but just been doing it for a lot longer and have tried multiple combinations of rods and reels. After all this time I think that I may have swapped around too much rather than becoming more familiar and confident by using a combo for a longer period. Having said that , I think that I have a fair idea of what suits my fishing type. When I first started beach fishing , it was with an Alvey 650 and a custom 14 ft fibreglass rod. Technology in materials and design has improved so much over the years that you can get the same results with a much smaller setup. I went from the Alvey to a Shimano Aerlex then a Speedmaster on a 12ft Revolution rod but wasn`t satisfied so then changed to Aerowaves with Big Baitrunner then 5500 Ultegra XR. I also had a Pfleuger Contender 12ft with a Penn 750 Spinfisher at the time too. The Big Baitrunner was a handful at over 700gm for long sessions but with 20kg drag and massive line capacity , it could handle anything with fins , including the odd surfer. I didn`t want arms like Popeye the Sailor so I downsized to the Ultegra XR which was an awesome reel off the beach --15kg drag / 350 yds of 30lb line capacity and only 455 gm in weight. The Ultegra was also unbeatable for anything that swam. I was fishing almost exclusively with bait and didn`t consider lure tossing to be a factor in rod and reel selection but in hindsight , the Ultegra could have done the job in short sessions but with larger metals or hardbodies. After a sneaky wave stabbed me in the back on Dudley Beach one night and nearly drowned me , the Ultegra was never the same. I then got the idea that I could try and achieve the same results with lighter gear so started using first a Stradic C14 then a 6000 Saragosa on a 10ft [ or so ] Revolution rod. Then I became hooked on trying more different combinations - 6000 Socorro and 6000 Spheros and Daiwa TD Sol with Wilson Live Fibre and Shimano Sonic etc. The Spheros was definitely the pick of the reels that i used at the time and still use it occasionally. The fish that I was targeting were the typical salmon / tailor / jewie / bream species. Then lure throwing became big and I wanted something that could do that as well as casting big baits for hundreds of metres. The Spheros changed into the smaller Ultegra which still had a fairly strong 11kg drag with almost 300 metres of 20 lb line capacity but only weighed 285 gm. The rod changed from Shimano to Penn Prevails , first at 12ft then down to 9` 6. The lighter unit was a marked difference and was better for lure casting [ mainly the 9` 6 ] and allowed for longer fishing duration without the arm fatigue. I realise that weight is irrelevant if you stick your rod [ s ] in a holder and sit on your esky to fish off the beach but I think that you miss fish if you aren`t holding your rod and I`ve always avoided doing the holder thing. I didn`t feel that the lighter setup cost me anything in terms of stopping power for larger fish and if anything failed , it was usually due to poor knot tying or wrong terminal tackle. I was happy with the Ultegra / shorter Prevail for a long time but soon realised that I was kidding myself if I wanted to do both jobs with one combination. I will say that the 4000 Stradic c14 was also excellent with the Prevail. Now that I`d decided that 9`6 was the perfect bait throwing size , I changed the reel to a 5000 Stradic FL [ the one before the latest FM iteration ] and found it was superior in casting distance. I always prefer a nice big ball handle when retrieving [ snicker ] and found that 5000 was an excellent sized reel. The new Stradics are amazing reels -- very smooth and quiet like the Ultegra. For throwing lures now I always carry a Shimano T Curve in 7`2 with a 5000 Stella FJ and never changed this as it couldn`t be faulted and performed flawlessly every time. Occasionally I would use an 8`6 Shimano Hardrocker BB with the Stella if I wanted a change for throwing metals further .I still use the Stradic now but it doesn`t throw huge baits well but I don`t use them so its fine. Then I changed to a T Curve Surf model for a while but found it was disappointing. Then I discovered the Abu Garcia Veritas and it was a revelation. The Veritas was superior to the Prevail with a faster action and excellent " feel ". its well balanced with the Stradic and I`m very happy with the combination and its my current go-to setup. The only downside to the the Veritas is the grip and it wears badly very quickly. The wrap grips on the Prevails are brilliant and are hard wearing and comfortable. For the Veritas I used tennis raquet overgrips to cover the damage and find it works a treat. Its hard to apply to the small sections but improves rod handling immeasurably. I bought the Penn Prevail Apex to see if it was any improvement on the 2 version but there was no appreciable difference in performance. Its very nice to use but inferior to the Veritas. The Veritas is probably the only rod that I would feel confident throwing lures with and I think it would do the job with heavier slicers for salmon and tailor or big stickbaits for jewies. If you prefer more rod weight at the butt end and plenty of grunt then the big Ultegra XR would be hard to beat with the 12 ft Prevail 2 and I still use this combination when I expect to be battling larger fish like Jewies if I specifically target them with livies or big flesh bait strips. The Big Baitrunner gets a run too at times. I don`t throw lures for jewies but would be happy if one accidentally took one when I was using the Veritas / Stradic setup. I recently got a 79cm specimen off Grassy Head when I was chasing tailor with the Veritas and it handled it with no dramas at all. Very exciting. I can only give an opinion on the rods and reels that I have used in the past and don`t have much experience with Daiwa gear. I seem to favour Shimano products for my angling gear. I am also sure that there are other great rods and reels out there that I haven`t tried ....yet. Other people will have different ideas on what constitutes a great beach outfit but the concept of one rod and reel to do the whole range of bait and lure fishing is unrealistic and you will require two different combinations to get the job done consistently. Rods and reels are very specialised these days and no manufacturer would claim that any one setup will be perfect in all situations. They have a vested interest in selling more gear so won`t produce anything that will reduce their capacity to make a profit. My opinions on rod and reel selection are only based on how I fish and what I fish for and will undoubtably differ to other peoples ideas of what constitutes " beach fishing ". That is why it is important to consider this when choosing gear and getting hands-on experience with it before purchasing it. Don`t listen to sales staff in most cases and ignore exaggerated claims in advertisements. Be sure you know what you want from your fishing gear and choose it appropriately. Your reel maintenance and care is better than mine but make sure you get saltwater rated gear that will endure the harsh conditions of beach fishing. It is also true that you should get fishing outfits that suits where you are mainly fishing and what you realistically expect to encounter. The right rod and reel won`t let you down when you need it the most and don`t be afraid to pay a bit more for quality gear. I think that I made the mistake of using too many different rods and reels rather than getting familiar with one setup for any length of time but it seemed like the right idea at the time. I hope that you can get some idea from my experiences and hope that I haven`t just confused you. Don`t overthink the subject and be realistic in what you hope to achieve. Good luck and the invitation stands.

I hate to be parochial but Newcastle is the place to go. Australia`s largest salt water lake , beautiful beaches , closer to Penrith , less crowds , friendly locals , great weather , varied land based options , multiple species to target , many non-fishing activities , excellent accommodation options. And no pesky sanctuaries except around Nelsons Bay [ primarily ]. Jeez , I should be in their tourism department.

I don`t wish to be a spelling nazi by the way but , Sydeny is spelt Sydney [ check your bio ]. When you spell it Sydeny it sounds like you have just won the right to hold the Olympics LOL.

Ultegra XR is a heavy bait reel. I find big reels above , say 450gm . are difficult when trying to generate hand speed for casting lures repeatedly but OK when waiting for fish to takes baits. I also got a Pen Prevail Apex a month ago in 9'6 and find it also goes well for bait or metals off the beach. At various times I`ve used Shimano Revolutions in 9 and 12 ft , Aerowaves , Wilson Live Fibre in 12 ft , Prevails in both sizes , Shimano Sonic Surf Spinning in 12 ft [ very fast action ], Pfleuger Contender in 12 ft , Prevail Apex and the Veritas. Invariably , its the Veritas with a Stradic FL 5000 loaded with 20lb braid or the Vanford 5000 that I reach for first these days. When I was younger I could hold a big combo for long periods but these days I find that fishing is more fun with lighter gear and I don`t consider that I`m less able to handle bigger fish with it. I`m always hands-on when beach fishing so I don`t want to be holding a telegraph pole while I`m waiting for a bite. As others have said , you will find it may be necessary to have two outfits for the two techniques that you mention , baits and lures , as they are very different in their fundamentals , especially if you are targeting a variety of species. A single all round combo would be ideal to own and the Veritas / Stradic setup is as close as I`ve come to finding it so far. Personally , I find Saragosas to be less efficient for long casts and heavier than the Stradics to use. I have a 6000 Saragosa and have tried it on the beach but prefer it off the boat for serious fighting fish. The other reel that I like is the Shimano Ultegra 5000 XGFC [ not the XR C14 5500 ] from a certain large tackle store with 3 letters in its name. . A very nice reel with the Veritas too and versatile. The beach is very unforgiving on gear so make sure any reel you get can handle the sand and salt environment safely or you may run into problems. Caring for a reel properly after use is also vital to success. I think that your choice should be dictated by the way that you fish and your primary target species and your personal abilities. its such a huge field with so many variables that its hard to be precise with suggestions as its very much a matter of personal taste. Good luck and I`m sure that you will make the right selection. Just make sure that its after you have personally inspected each piece of gear and not just picked them online after reading their product specs. i hope that they still make the Veritas. Its a nice piece of gear. I would be happy to lend you or let you inspect any of the gear that I have mentioned so far. Just no high sticking that big jewie. Sorry for the wordy reply., its a huge topic with no right/ wrong answers.

Go 20lbs and use a 25-30lb leader. Any fish that can take 295 metres of line off a 6000 Saragossa deserves its freedom. Also , people who use white rods look more professional . ha ha ha. Forget the Speedmaster , go the Veritas. Your arms will thank you. A more sensitive all-round rod too.

So bloody jealous. Just a tiny bit more spectacular than European carp !!

I used a 9 ft Penn Prevail 2 for a while [ or was it 9'6 ] but changed to an Abu Garcia Veritas in the same length. The Abu had a much faster action and could cast a mile. I also have Shimano Aerowaves but the Veritas is my go-to rod on the beach. Nice and light so I can hold it all day but plenty of grunt for larger fish. The Veritas would be better if contemplating lures too. I also use a 12 ft Penn Prevail too for heavier baits for jews. All the rods I mentioned are not hard on the wallet either. Reels are Shimano Stradics in 5000 / Spheros 6000 or Ultegra XR for the heavier rods. And my only Daiwa reel --a 23 TD Sol in 5000 size. And a Big Baitrunner Long cast but that`s a heavy reel to hold for long periods of time.