g.t.

Not too important exactly what you use as long as you use one of the following- -softer rod action -and/ or mono line -and/ or lighter drag setting Any or all of these measures will help to provide sufficient shock absorbtion into your system.

What restraint they've shown don't you think? Anything over 1400HP is just showing off!

Great hoodlum there Very impressive and congrats to your dad

Thanks for the reply Slinky. Actually, one of my main reasons for looking at the Penn was after reading one of your great posts! I think I will probably end up going with the Symetre, but the more I think about it, perhaps I shouldn't be such a tight arse, and maybe I'll fork out for a Stradic after all... I'm conflicted!!!

Hi guys, I checked out the Pflueger Trion Tournament rods recently and I was really impressed, particularly for the price. I'm planning on buying one for general plastics use on bream and flatties, and I already have a reasonable quality 1500 sized reel for this. I had some great fun last year spinning for salmon and tailor on light gear so I'd like to also have this option. To do this I think I'd need a reel with a larger line retrieve/ higher ratio and a bit more capacity to handle larger specimens. I was thinking of getting a slightly larger reel in the 2-3000 size range for this purpose, spooled with 8-12lb braid. On my slightly heavier tackle I run a 4000 Stradic which is great for high speed spinning, but I rather spend a bit less on this one as it will really just be a secondary reel. I was thinking of a Penn Affinity or Applause, as I've heard they're good quality for the money, but I'm not sure if they'd suit this purpose. Also I'm not sure whether a 2000 or 3000 would be better suited for my needs or better balanced on the rod. Any advice or alternatives would be greatly appreciated Edit: I'm starting to think the Shimano Symetre 2500FJ might be well suited. The only downside I can see is that it's not a full metal body (aluminium frame, graphite rotor and body).

Great pictures as always Ray. I admire how often you get out amongst that great scenery. I wish I could manage a session after work during the week.

yeah yeah... I guess it's kinda big. ...or should I say ridiculously big!!!

H.F.S !!!! I gotta go to Fiji!

Great looking fish there squidking. How big did it go?

The tubes look great, but it looks like you have a similar condition trailer to mine! I wonder what it'd cost for Gary to knock up a stainless trailer

H.F.S!!! 30 kgs! That's massive!

Great fish there Slosh . We'd all love to know the stats if you feel like indulging us... After my summer of rats I hope I can upgrade to a similar sized fish too! That really is a bloody nice fish for the harbour

You crack me up Slinky. If it's not already taken, I think I've finally settled on a name for my boat

Far out! Some pretty big stats there Bob, and a great post! A couple of stats missing that I'd be interested in though... Like number of kg's tasty fish consumed vs number of litres of in those seas ! We're all very jealous of you

I bet a chunky pig like that would have been a real handful. Good on you for successfully landing it!

Sounds like you've caught my problem in catching squid. Good luck with the HSC studies. It's a stressful time in your life but don't panic, give it a good effort and let your hair down afterwards. It'll all be over before you know it! Cheers, Geoff.

Great catch there Zenman! Lovely looking flattie. Once the samsons loose their juvenile colouring find them and amberjacks very difficult to tell apart without counting the dorsal rays (amberjack 29-35, samson fish 23-25). Given the shape of that one I would have probably guessed samson, but I could be wrong! Well done either way

I've been running some dark green 40lb Whiplash for the last year and it seems to perform well. It's reasonably limp, and seems even thinner than other braids and fused lines. I'd buy it again. Cheers, Geoff.

That's what I first though when I assumed it was a 600ml bottle. I think you'll find it's a 1.5L bottle, making it a nice legal catch. LGF! Nice catch there! Hope it's the first of many

... but minus the "darling", " ", and the "xx"! In all seriousness though, have an awesome day and year ahead!

Hi Mike. I too have a esky-based live bait tank. Mine is a 40 litre Willow which has a hatch built into the lid. It works quite well. I'm planning on making an addition to it which you may be interested in... The addition involves making a divider to keep my bait types separate. My plan is to make the divider from alloy flyscreen frame, the same size as the internal cross section of the esky. To hold it in place, I'm planning on making a slot out of 4 sections of right angle bracketing, glued vertically inside the esky as in the image below.... The flyscreen will allow a good flow of water between sections, but should keep fighting species apart. As they say, "good fences make good neighbours".

Hehehehehehe..... Me thinks I find that almost as funny as the Mods and Admins do....

A bit of sshh and a BIG keeper tank and it could have been caught "tomorrow"... nudge nudge wink wink Just kidding... but that's one mega chunky flattie!

I vote GT... with a surprised look on it's face!

Now that's some well prepared kingfish! Good on you for being a good Samaritan