g.t.

Well done you lucky bastard!!! That's a trophy fish for most people you've got there! Keep up the good work, and congrats on getting it to shore through the suds.

I wish they'd broadcast in digital so I can tune in! Can't get Ch31 on my crappy aerial. I'll give Youtube a go!

Not sure if it's shut to the ocean at the moment, but there's plenty of fish in there! It can be very busy down there over a long weekend, which in turn can affect the fishing. Are you a regular down there? ie Were you doing the same thing in the same location that has worked for you in the past or were you trying something different? What bait were you using, and at what time of day/ tide?

In my experience there are a few main differences between cheaper and more expensive reels in any brand's range. As you mentioned, one of the features that should be better in more expensive reels is drag. This also dictated by the size of the reel (e.g. a 6000 sized reel will generally have more drag than a 2500 sized reel, and more line capacity of course). Better drag not only means heavier, but also more even and smoother over a larger range of drag pressure. Better drags are often better sealed from the salt water. Another feature that generally is better as you go up the range is the number, and more importantly the quality of the ball bearings used in the reel. Better ball bearings in greater numbers make the operation of the reel smoother and with higher tolerances, and these "better" ball bearing will have a higher resistance to corrosion than cheaper ones. Other worthwhile features of more expensive reels can be their general quality of materials and construction. Cheaper reels are often graphite and plastic which is fine for occasional and light fishing, but when you plan to catch plenty of large fish often, you should aim for something stronger and better constructed. As such, a better reel will usually have an Aluminium body and/or frame. This is important when your hooked to a powerful fish that will easily flex a cheaper reel, which makes the internals of the reel move out of alignment. There are always the "unstoppables", but the 4500 and 6500 Baitrunners should be fine up to that size of fish. They'll hold close to 300m of 20-30lb line. 6lb is very light for kingies, and heavier line on a larger reel with more drag will put you in much better stead. It can be dictated by your location, but what's more likely with kingies is that they'll bust you off on nearby structure rather than spool you on these better suited line and reel combos.

My preferred method is using a 2 hook rig called a "Sliding Snell". If you don't know how to tie this, do a search in this site or via google, or buy one of Geoff Wilson's books. Using this rig, I hook the top/sliding hook (the one closer to your mainline) through the very top if the squid's mantle, and the bottom/ fixed hook goes very lightly though the squid's tentacles with a bit of slack to it's free to move easily.

Hi Archilles2, Certainly go to a reputable tackle shop for advise, but with that sort of budget, I'd recommend one of the Shimano Baitrunner based combos. This is a tried and true reel that will give you a great deal of versatility and many years of faithful service. This is much easier to cast than an overhead combo, particularly unweighted or lightly weighted baits for when the kings are near the surface as they often are. Another reel to look at would be the one of the Penn Slammer spinning reels; probably the 760 size. You can often get these combo'd with a reasonable rod for around the $200-$220 range. These reels are awesome (strong, smoooooth, reliable, and fantastic drag), and seriously under-rated. I wish I owned one myself! Perhaps next purchase... Braid-wise, to save $$$ purchase 120-150m (not 300m) of your preferred brand, probably in the 20-40lb range, and "top shot" it over mono. There are heaps of posts that will tell you how to do this and the pros and cons., but the takle store you purchase from can also help you with this. If you visit one of the site sponsors and mention you're a Fishraider, I'm sure they'll look after you nicely. Good luck on the kingies!

Gday there Little Hooker. Well done on some hot kingy action there. I saw you get into that action on your downrigger around that marker. I was one of the 2 boats anchored up next to it. Managed quite a few myself (12 ) which I hope to post later today. Well done though! Your constant action seemed to piss off the bloke on the other boat that was tied up on the marker. He was rather grumpy as he'd just been busted by Fisheries for keeping an undersized kingy. Serves him right, and well done for adding to his pain by catching plenty right under his nose! Didn't realise you were a Raider, but I'll make sure I say gday next time I see you! Cheers, Geoff.

Thanks for the advise guys. I'll try putting it into practice in the next couple of days. I usually come from Tunks Park. Cheers, Geoff.

Gday Raiders. Just wondering if anyone else has been having as much trouble as i have over the last week catching livies at Balmoral? I'm constantly catching sweep after sweep after sweep, and the yakkas are extremely small and a tricky to catch.I've never had such trouble. Am I doing something wrong, or does anyone have some advise or reliable alternatives? Thanks in advance!

Personal Best

Great fish! What did you catch it on?

While we're on this topic, can I ask what jig head/ hook setup everyone's using? I tend to use 7" Gulps unweighted with a 7/0 Owner "oversize" hook (worm hook style). I've been adding a running sinker to get the plastic down deep when necessary. What's your setup?

That's bloody incredible! Fantastic read, and I'm sure you'll be recounting that story for the rest of your life!

Congrats on the new PB and a really solid bream! The big ones really like the crabs don't they.

Great haul there !!! The two you're holding up are absolute stonkers!

These idiots really piss me off. I just can't understand why some people don't get it and continue to do the wrong thing. It really is ignorance and selfishness in its purest form. Apart from anything, it perpetuates the perception that fisherman are just a bunch of fish killers who don't give a rats about the environment. Whether it's keeping undersized fish, or leaving a filthy mess of rubbish behind, it's incredibly damaging for the majority of us who do the right thing.

From a prolific reader to a prolific writer, congrats Jewgaffer on 2000 incredibly thoughtful and insightful posts. I think we're all better fishermen/women for having read your gems. I'm waiting for the book to be published!

Good topic. I've wanted one myself for some time now. What I really want to know is how you manage to go into a tackle store and actually walk out with a shirt? No matter what my intentions are when I walk into a store, I seem to spend every available penny on rods, reels, lures and other tackle . Let me know if there's any technique to counter my affliction... I'd really like a shirt!

Slimies for sure... Unfortunately I usually don't have the luxury of choice!

Tasty looking haul. And good on you for putting in the hard yards in the search of lb spots! On the under-size kingy question, I understand the feeling of respecting the fish not wanting to "waste" it. However, just because your not allowed to eat it, doesn't mean that something won't end up eating it So not a complete waste... circle of life and all that!

Voted... now sitting at 77% "no". Let's try and get it back over 80% Raiders!

Congrats on a great looking fish. I'm glad to see such a quality fish in my neck of the woods.

Holy crap ! You could ski behind the big one! Congrats to your mate!!!

Thanks for all your good wishes and advice guys . Stay tuned, plenty more to come I hope!!!

Greetings raiders. Having just bought my long awaited boat on Wednesday, my mate (and half boat owner) and I were extremely excited to be taking it out on our first fishing trip. By the way, can I start off by saying how bloody wrapped I am to finally have my boat ! Having spent so long standing on the shore and wishing, it really feels like a dream come true to be able to head out in my own boat whenever I feel like it. You may not think she's the prettiest thing, but she looks pretty fantastic to me, and has performed beautifully so far. We launched at Tunks at 0530, and made our way to the bait grounds, having a half-hearted flick for squid along the way. We drew a blank on the squid, but did manage plenty of yakkas fairly quickly. With a tank full of bait, we headed to our most reliable spot in the hope of christening the new boat and also my newest rod (Daiwa Monster Mesh) with a couple of kingies. Unfortunately the kings wouldn't come out to play, and all we managed at this spot was a couple of whopper Sgt Bakers, one at 50ish cm, and the other at about 60ish cm. Having persevered at this spot for a couple of hours we decided to make a move, and agreed on trolling some yakkas inside Nth Head. None of us had had much previous experience or success trolling livies, so we weren't expecting much. With 2 baits set out the back it wasn't long before my new rod was bucking over and the drag was singing my favorite song. With a certain amount of disbelief, I scrambled for my rod, lifted it from the rod holder, and felt the weight of a hefty fish. Although probably not quite as strong as some of the kingies I've caught, the battle was hard fought and absolutely spectacular. By leaping a good metre out of the water on 2 separate occasions, my welcome adversary revealed itself to be a thumper sambo, which I could tell would be a PB for me even before I got it to the boat. After an exciting little battle my mate gladly managed to net this beautiful looking specimen. The photo angle doesn't quite do it justice, particularly the thickness, but it measured 75cm and was a really fat, healthy, looking unit. Anyway, this week at work has been hell- I can't wait to get back out there this weekend. Thanks for reading , Geoff.