barker

david, not sure if you know but the commonly accepted conversion of 10:1 for mono poundage to PE number really isn't accurate. 15:1 is roughly the reality as you will see on many of the japanese manufacturer sites. so as you will note by your new rod ratings, PE #0.8 - #1.2 rates as roughly 12 to 18lb nylon. you will also see this with the upper quality braids rating their lines in both pound and PE#, for example daiwa's 40lb - PE #2.5. and yes, that is a fine looking piece of gear. one thing i have learned - buy the best you can afford. barker.

impulse, that post is unreal mate. not a word of a kingy, great photo and no fishermans lies. easily my favourite and the most entertaining post i have seen. keep 'em coming my friend. barker.

Boofhead, line going down the side of rollers mostly occurs during trolling and when jigging with an erratic action. when trolling, if the line is not running straight back from the roller tip, due to rod holders pointing out and back at an angle, the line can easily pull into any gap, big or small, and from there its all bad news. mostly you won't know it has happened until you strike when hookep up. then it is usually too late to get it out under the load of a fish ripping line off at a rate. in the least the line will rub on the roller frame under tension all day as you troll, instead of sitting in the roller cleanly. this creates a weak point in the line at a place not normally wound on until late in the fight, causing many failures put down to poor line quality as it didn't break at the knot. i know this isn't really the answer to your post, but just be aware the vast number of boats with rod holders pointing out and back at an angle will not be good for roller tips. from my own experience with both styles of tip, a well adjusted roller tip allows the line to run over what is at times, the tightest angle the line will see with minimal friction. as long as the line runs straight back, they feel like they do a great job of getting line on and off without the friction feel of a standard tip. however, a standard tip with the new fangled eyelet material has an air of 'nothing can go wrong' about it. back to basics when it counts is a good feel. even out of a compromised rod holder setup, a standard tip will be fine if not cracked or scratched. either way, a quick check of the operation and condition is good policy. eyelets can crack or scratch and rollers should actually roll smoothly - not too tight or loose. i like both but mostly for trolling i go roller and jigging/livebaiting i go standard. hope this helps. regards - barker.

frangkie, mate that takes the cake. bettin' against the forcasted bad weather to fly up there in the first place, then sixty kays out in the open tinny chocked full of fuel. you and your buddy deserve those quality fish and more, good onya mate. just rewards for the effort put in. the rat.

thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments. have just logged on, so sorry for lack of reply. as i fish out of the hacking, mostly it is either a left or right turn at jibbon, yesterday was down under the cliffs of the national park around wattamolla. they do seem to move about a bit, then settle around an area for a while. previously we found the malabar area to be producing the goods, then it backed off and i thought to go and look elsewhere. pretty much i troll a skirt and a couple deep diving minnows to find a school, then dead slow troll baits around the area till the bite goes off. doesn't always work, however going around the usually accepted bite times - days and times - seems to help. thanks again for your encouraging replies. barker - this username is not at all related to my schooling, just a long winded path from my surname.

hello all, have been very busy of late with no fishing becoming the norm. finally went for a run early this morning with the run up tide to break the drought. headed south to an old haunt and kept on going to try a not at all secret stretch, but new for me. found a school trolling lures then slipped a rigged gar and squid in for a dead slow troll. over the next dozen passes managed five hookups, a few stolen baits and an absolute smoking. both the gars and squid did the job with a pretty hectic pace ending within an hour. four kings returned to fight another day and one in the box for dinner at 71cm. after a bit of a rest and a general cleanup i dragged a skirt on the way home for the fattest salmon i've seen giving some real stick. back home by ten and looking forward to a return hit and run on the 'new' ground sometime soon. barker.

hey jewgaffer, how are you mate? my mate frangkie is a top bloke with a good sense of humour. he loves to take the piss and couldn't waste the opportunity with another fella at work linked to the mentioned reels. have you been getting amongst the action yourself? same-same action for me, although now i have a new rod/reel combo to dish up a bit more to the kings. see you out there again one day, regards - barker.

now now franga, leave the nice man alone. he was just trying to help us all with this most difficult pastime of ours. now back inside and remember... don't touch those sharp hooks on your new lures, i haven't had time to file them down for you yet. sorry netic, we lost sight of him around the shop earlier today and the snotty fingermarks we found on the office computer gave us an inkling he was up to no good in there for a while. thanks for keeping him occupied for a bit... we will keep a closer eye on him in the future.

netic, please excuse frangkie, he is a good mate (patient) of mine from the sheltered workshop i work at - he has always been partial to buying rubbish product and telling anyone that listens of the gargantuan captures he makes. take his comments with a grain of salt and encourage him as we all do to help him along. barker. cop that franga. ps.- sorry to anyone offended by this in-joke.

blood knot, thanks mate. i acquired my combo from my old man - he bought it in the early eighties and had a custom 6'6" rod made up for it. i have had the runners replaced and the fella added one and re-spaced them for how he thought the blank required. it always had an aftco roller tip and he left it as is. he said it was probably a 6kg rated rod and it feels great in hand when fishing 15lb with the lightweight tld5. i have mine spooled with 15lb Ande mono and a 12ft x 30lb Ande mainline leader, tied on with a slim beauty knot so it can be wound-on. i've gotta say, i do find the drag curve of the tld5 to be very steep once past the strike button. she gets pretty sticky in the upper range. lately i have been looking for a solution - maybe a replacement drag washer or some drag grease - if anyone has any suggestions it would be appreciated if you could pass them on. i have two marks on the preset wheel to run 5 or 8lb of strike drag, and fish it like that without going past strike. it is definitely my favorite combo - practically and sentimentally, and as long as it deals it up to the inshore kings - well you know. 15lb makes for great sport and it makes you concentrate when tying knots and getting back to basic fishing. cheers blood knot, barker. p.s. byron, thanks mate for your encouraging remarks - although i feel a bit embarrassed with your comparisons. back to basics fishing and a bit of knowledge of the sea from more than twenty years of surfing really seems to help, and of course the stupidity of youth. thats one hell of a report there mate, a few coffees and a durry gives you wings. good onya mate.

penguin, thanks mate - you're right, the cap was the reason i asked who he was, and lo' and behold... barker.

hey wildfish, good work mate, breaking in the new season. out and back in no time with a feed. barker.

thanks robeebee, i only got my boat a few months ago and have decided to fish 15lb gear exclusively for the kings inshore. it makes for great sport as i fish solo most of the time, so i am on the steep learning curve of boat handling and medium tackle while fishing for about the dirtiest fighter around. i tell ya, i really am enjoying getting to know the boat and the limits of my gear. cheers, barker.

thanks kiwi dan, he certainly gave me some stick mate, the kingy - not jewgaffer. and yes, he was a character, thats for sure. jewgaffer - not the kingy. cheers, barker.

Hello All, After a bit of a late start coming off the night shift, my boat was off the trailer and keenly watched as I sided up to the wharf. Carefully avoiding the lone figure and his lines, I tied her off and parked the trailer after a quick introduction to the fella in the Fishraider cap. Turns out to be Jewgaffer - whom I have recently been PM-ing through the site. He'd been waiting for a mate to go for a fish for a while, and as he seemed to be a no show - away we went. It took a while to motor up to Long Bay in the nor'easter - but with Jewgaffer filling me in with a some great tips and some funny stories, the journey was as good as the destination. Out went the squid (thanks Fishfinder Tony) - slow trolled around the washes with one whole rig hooked up on reef and gone first run. Having only one rig left, the next couple of runs were trolled a bit shallow and three kings to 62cm gave us a bit of excitement on the fifteen pound / tld5 combo, and returned to fight another day. With the Jewgaffer taking mental notes of positioning, reef contours and depths - he suggested we run our next pass a little wider of the shelf and deeper, looking for the bigger boys. Sure enough, as we passed the lineups we both watched the rod buckle and the tld5 scream off a solid first run. With the drag up a touch and pushing out into deeper water, the only times he stopped was to rub my leader all over the reef. After some more tense moments, he hit the deck with some reef wounds and a shredded but still intact leader (thanks again Tony - 80lb Shogun). He topped out at 75cm to take my 15lb/tld5 and recently acquired boat P.B.'s. Another slow run home and some more great hints from my hitch hiker, saw us done and dusted within a few hours. Thanks Jewgaffer for your good company and tips - being a novice to this fishing game, your willingness to pass on some hard earned knowledge was very appreciated. Having a good laugh and telling a few stories really made the day enjoyable. P.S. - Jewgaffer - non of the photos on the phone came out, I got a few of the fish when at home. Did any of the shots on your phone work? Barker.

my thanks again to all, netic - have had a good look around the net and see what you mean with regards to pricing and the availability of models from local shops. i did find a fella in south oz with most of the models available and at good prices too. mostly the shops around here stock only the black magics - though i have found the BMX to be the equivalent to the MXL 4.5 with the same overall weight, features and line capacity. i really don't want to lose sight of the intended use for this combo and believe the MXL 4.5:1 to be the closest to achieving my goals. i have other dedicated jigging and 30 & 50lb outfits, so to attain my desire for a more powerful and smoother drag, while keeping an overall balanced feel with this combo would be a good result. thanks for the pics of your setup - they do look the part as well as doing the job don't they. lrrr - thanks mate for your notes on the upgrade avet has made with the washer - very interesting way of solving the intrusion problem that probably only very heavy reel abuse could cause anyway. by the sounds of it, if treated okay, saltwater intrusion would be minimal. i would rather the capability of the two faces of the washer for wear and the ease of replacement if ever needed. would take the advice of greasing the washer if intrusion made it necessary. sammy - thanks mate with the info on the rod for your combo. feels good to fish an outfit to its limit and see what it can do. this fishing game is good fun when you've got good tools to fight with. thanks for the links yockman. cheers all, barker.

thanks sammy, looks like a nice setup you got there mate. can i ask what the line class rating of your rod is? steve.

damn straight netic, taking note of experienced people in all walks of life is a sensible thing. it is not hard to realise he is being respectful of a good product and offering to tell others of his findings. offering ways to alleviate the problems is rare - mostly people just winge and bag a product. an experienced man and willing to help in my books is as good as they come. thanks again for putting up that link. steve. ps. i was just reading your reply and my wording in the previous reply. i was in no way questioning the validity of your link and alans findings - i was expressing my praise for his willingness to inform and help others from his own experiences. 'how good is the info....' - as in that is great of him to inform and you to post the link. no offense intended, only respect and thanks.

thanks all for your replies, lrrr - good onya mate for the info on the draguations and the full range drag smoothness, just what i wanted to hear. netic - how good is the info on that link you put up mate - maybe controversial to some - but bloody informative for others. have you had yours apart or serviced and found any of this saltwater intrusion? sounds like better informed than mislead. as suggested, would be better to grease drag and service regularly. maybe they have been abused and poorly looked after, but easily repaired as noted. as always though - prevention is better than cure. thanks also for your thumbs up. yockman - ta mate for your input - experience with the reels and the positive report on their lifting power is good. best is that you went home and checked em' out yourself. even happy at bottom bashin' in 85m with what sounds to be the SX (smaller) model is encouraging. could you tell me of the offset handle you describe - is it the soft rubber trinidad type handle or was it the hard plastic torpedo style? thanks again ant180 for your opinions and drag graduations / performance conformation. i am doing the rounds of the southside stores and am finding them stocked with the black magic models only. these are advertised to have an extra thick black anodising- how does that sound? otherwise same-same. the two black magic models available seem to be the BSX and the BMX. from what i can tell the BMX model i am after is the equivalent of the MXL 4.5:1 as it has a line capacity of roughly 360yards of 20lb or 330m of 10kg. has anyone got one of the black magics and does this sound about right? where did you guys get your reels from, where they orders or were they at local shops for you? i would be very interested to hear from any sydney or wollongong members for local purchases or anyone with a good order experience. thank you all for your help, barker.

thanks gary, i was wondering how to know when the lever was at strike, from the photos i have seen the writing seemed to be the only indication on the sideplate. 7lb of strike sounds great as compared to my 5lb at strike on the tld. they make the 9lb at strike call on the site for the MX. what line class are you fishing on your SX? cheers, steve.

thanks ant180, these are very good points you have bought up about the retrieval speeds of smaller diameter spools, (even if full of line) as with this combo i have got to remember my original goals. medium sport for kingies with 15-20lb, and leave the casting and high speed retrieves for other dedicated combos. i think the 4.5:1 MXL is more suited to what i am trying to alleviate with the tld5. i agree with your comments on two speeds for their versatility when really pushing the limits of a line class as i have a 2 speed 50lb setup and find that invaluable at times. i am pleased to hear of your thoughts on the avet reliability and performance under pressure and thank you for your reply. steve. ps. could anyone vouch for the smoothness of the drag once you have pushed past the strike area, and is there any form of indent or something to feel when you are at a certain spot on the lever travel. ie. can you feel a bump or something when you push the lever up from free through bait through strike and on? sort of like the buttons on the tld's.

gary, thanks mate for your reply, only good reports on the avets by what i have read and heard. the only decision i am lingering over is the choice between the 4.5:1 and the 6.3 ratio models. your SX has the 5:1 ratio i think and i would prefer this for the torque and good retrieval speed, however the MX comes in either 4.5 or 6.3. i am wondering if the 6.3 lacks any in lifting power, otherwise it would be the better all rounder. mostly i cast with threadlines, but i am learning to cast overheads and the 6.3 would be right up that alley when the confidence is up in the future. thanks again, steve.

red herring, thanks for your prompt reply mate, are the MXJ's the narrower spool model? if so do you guys use them for jigging or as allrounders? also - what line capacities are you running them with and how do you rate their drags for smoothness? with the speed ratio's have you noted your 4.5 to be any more powerful for harder fights or does your mates one perform as well with the 6.3? plenty of questions but thanks already for your opinions, barker.

hey all, i was wondering if anyone owns or has had experience with any of the avet range of reels? i am looking at the MXL model for its larger line capacity, but as a well balanced pairing for a 15 - 20lb setup. my goal is to use this as my kingy combo, giving some extra drag capability to my existing tld5. i find my tld5 is smooth enough with strike drag but the drag curve really tightens up quick and becomes sticky when pushed beyond the strike button for reigning in the usual king rampage. i am wondering of the avet drag smoothness throughout the full range and their claims of higher drag tensions at strike while retaining freespool. i am looking at the 4.5:1 ratio for that little bit extra pulling power over the 6.3:1. any feedback or other suggestions of reels would be most appreciated. barker.

thanks robeebee and shadda, shadda - i tell ya mate when i was headed up from the hacking there was only a bit of swell, but the mixed up chop and the northerly wind was a bit much at that time of day. when i got home and after cleaning up, i had a quick surf and for a while there it looked better after the morning chop died off. i always find the entrance to botany to be the worst conditions of anywhere, once you are out and away from the backwashes and the chop of the narrow entrance of that big bay, things get better. there is no doubt the bay will start firing soon, it is only a matter of time before the clean/warm water is in there consistently. the water outside was only 17.5 degrees today, i think the amounts of bait have been the driving force to the good start to the kingies. barker.