slinkymalinky

Fantastic little fishing buddy you've got there mate. If you've read many of my posts you know how proud and happy it makes me that Little Slinky is such a fantastic fishing companion. I spent yesterday evening teaching her (at her request) how to tie uni knots. I had a serious illness and years of operations a few years back and having family around you is absolutely the best medicine you can get. The smile on Little Jewgaffer's face says it all. Glad that you've grown such a top little Raider. If you ever want crew for a day out, I'd jump at the chance with my little Gemma. I've only just broken my Jewie virginity and she'd love to nail one. I'd happily reciprocate chasing kings. Cheers, Slinky

Hi g.t. I've had an Okuma Epix 6000 and a 3000 model for about 5 years. Never had a problem with them. For the price, they are as good as Shimano reels I own at about the same price (I'd rate them the equivalent of about a Symetre). I've also got a Titus Gold 15kg model lever drag that is very reliable. They're not in the same class as better, more expensive reels. My Stradics are better spin reels, and these are nowhere near top of the range these days.... and I trust my Penn 30W as a better game reel, but you get what you pay for. $ for $ I think they represent good quality and value. Cheers, Tony

Seems like every time I read one of the Team Upyago posts it involves helping some poor unfortunate with a broken down boat. Not sure if that means you're nice guys or like a mini bermuda triangle floating around the harbour. Some nice fish even without the kings... thanks for leaving them unmolested for little Slinky and I to catch this weekend. Cheers, Slinky

4000 Shimano Stradic

It's a blue and yellow fish. Slinky

A new update!! Tony from Fishfinder rang to say he's found an even better blank... doesn't need to be cut down. It's maroon in colour so we've gone for blood red binding instead of purple. My little girl is going to look better than me on the water!! Can't wait to see it and see Gemma catching fish on it. Tony was almost as excited about the project as me and I'm sure it's going to be something pretty special. When I pick it up I'll make sure I get a pic of the proud new owner with her new weapon. Cheers, Slinky

Heading out weather permitting with Little Slinky and her new Mini Kingy Slayer from Fishfinder if it's ready this week. Just thought I'd see who's going to be on the water.... Brett... your spot is ready if you're free to come out!! Hoping to have some pics to post of some nice kings for my little fishing buddy. Cheers, Slinky

Nah!... she's more of a centre console girl so she can work all round the boat. Slinky

Boy Howdy!! That's some dang fine fishin! I'm gonna get me some of them there catfish next time I is up tha Hawkesbury Rivva! Shoot... I'll even wear my rally hat. Just hope I don't get my arm caught down the throat of a big Dusky!! I likes ma skin!! Cheers, Slinky

Welcome aboard Cheers, Slinky

Awesome little fishing buddy there MrMagoo, Love seeing kids getting into fishing. Puts smiles on their faces that you never see when they play computer games. Cheers, Slinky

Hey Captain... It doesn't end at puberty. My wife's 42 and she still does the same thing!! Cheers, Slinky

Hey Roffo, I tried the barbed eyes a couple of times and they have a habit of causing the tip of your fly line to shred over time. I wouldn't trust them with anything over trout weight tippets either... just not enough of a connection to give me any confidence. I switched to a braid loop for loop to loop connections on all my saltwater outfits years ago and still tie the old nail knot in my trout outfits. Cheers, Slinky

Just came back from Fishfinder after giving the order and money to Tony for Little Slinky's custom kingy slayer. My little 6yo fishing buddy will be getting a 6kg rod rolled on a pro blank cut down to 6' and fitted with little-girl sized butt and shaped fore-grip. Threadwork is going to be purple and pearl which will look killer on the black blank. Can't wait to pick it up for her and to get some pics for Raider of the mini-beast in action! Next weekend is now scheduled as the christening of Little Slinky's weapon. Cheers, Slinky

Hey Fisherboy, Don't know that reel in particular but sorry to say it may just be the quality of the reel. I've had other problems in the past with less expensive reels and baitcasters in particular seem to be a case of "get the best you can afford. It sounds like the level wind mechanism is not well syncronised with the spool rotation meaning the work gear in the level wind is probably not correctly profiled. If that's the case, not sure there's much you could do about it. Maybe have a chat to the guys at Go Fish or Fishfinder. A specialist tackle shop is more likely to be able to give good technical advice than the less expert staff at more general stores (not that I have anything against them). Slinky

Don't think I'll be getting out there this weekend so you'll have to get up early and get all your own squid Hope you hit a few better models this week so I get to see what I missed out on when you post the photos. Cheers, Slinky

Your fishing style will decide whether you use a fused (like Fireline) or braided gelspun. Every brand in the world uses either Spectra or Dyneema fibres... they are the only 2 manufacturers of the fibres. The 'braid' companies then manufacture the fibres into line. The better quality braids use finer fibres to braid their lines leading to smoother lines. Cheap braid can often be 'lumpy' and have weak spots due to cheaper manufacturing quality control. One other characteristic you can consider is the pick count. 8 pick lines have a slightly rounder profile than 4 pick lines (more fibres in the braid). I use both with no appreciable difference to my styles of fishing but I know jig nuts in particular sometimes prefer the rounder profile of 8 pick lines Berkley have a patent on fused braid which is why you can only get it from Fireline and Stren (both their brands). I switched from fused to braided line a couple of years ago on all my outfits and prefer the longer casting, more supple, finer per breaking strain, characteristics. I have no problems with line wrapping but it's very important not to overfill your spool. You'll find as many fishos in both camps so try both and use whichever you are more comfortable with. Another point of discussion with braid is breaking strain. Typically, Japanese braids are often considered finer. They're not... it's just that they tend to be labeled at close to their true breaking strain while American and Australian braids most often greatly understate their breaking strain (eg. you're really getting 30lb braid even though the label says 20lb). Steer right away from unknown brands from e-bay.... the quality is unknown, the fish of a lifetime is not worth saving a couple of bucks and braid is one area where you really get what you pay for. I've declared before on Raider that I have a vested interest in using Platypus but I'd always recommend buying Australian when it's truly world class and failing that, talk to one of the sites Tackle Shop sponsors if you're looking for something new to try... they'll have all the lowdown and plenty of customers letting them know whether a brand is any good. Cheers, Slinky

Hey Kiwi, If you'd stayed in bed it probably would have guaranteed I wouldn't have found any squid. Certainly had to be there early that morning as they really went off the chew at the change of tide. I restocked with Southern Calimari when I went over to our earlier spot so I still managed to put half a dozen in the freezer for next time. Cheers, Slinky

Me too... my T-Curve jig rod matched with a Saltist 40 is my primary downrigging weapon.

Just thought I'd give Fishfinder a plug.... I spoke to Tony today and a plan has been formulated for Little Slinky to get a custom Kingie Slayer. As you can imagine, a request to build a serious sport fishing rod for a 6yo girl isn't common and it presents some unique issues but Tony came up with a couple of great options and we settled on the approach. I'm going down there on Saturday to sort out the final details and part with at least a deposit for what most people tell me is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a kids rod..... they haven't seen Little Slinky in action!! Pics will follow once the LKS (little kingie slayer) is built up. Then hopefully some in-action shots soon afterwards. Cheers, Slinky

That question is bigger than Texas! Let us know what sort of fishing you want to be doing, where, for what kind of fish and you'll get plenty of info from all the top fishos on the site. There's no such thing as an outfit that will even go close to doing everything so give us what thoughts you've got and watch the advice fly!. Cheers, Slinky

I should clarify... the jigs they were following were squid jigs. Like little marlin teasers for little marlin to bring them in range of the appropriate hardware. Cheers, Slinky

Had a revelation on Saturday I thought I'd share. I was drifting around in the morning flicking squid jigs and had my 'Spit Bridge" paternoster set up sitting in a rod holder with the jigs straight under the boat to see if I could pick up any extras. What I noticed was that the entire time I was drifting, I had pods of yakkas following the jigs under the boat (still had the glow stick going too). If I'd wanted yakkas I could have easily picked up heaps without the need for berley. Not a bad standby in case of leaving the berley at home!! Cheers, Slinky

Don't like to be a voice of dissent... in fact I agree with almost everything said. I particularly agree with the commercial fishing and fresh water theories and Sydney Harbour is certainly a much better option this season but the kings are in Pittwater. I haven't done much fishing up there this season but I've caught kings on both outings up there. A 74cm model on a slimey and BrettP pinned a small one on a squid, and I had another bait smacked without hooking up. We've had no problem catching plenty of squid in the area. There has certainly been a lot less surface activity this year but it's the same in the Harbour.... can anyone remember the massive schools of Bonnies/Kingies/Tailor that seemed to be everywhere last year from about October till March??? I think that it's just part of the natural cycle where the weather patterns and stuff change everything on us constantly, but some good fish are still in there. Don't get me wrong though, with the way the harbour is fishing, that's where I'll be spending most of my time. Cheers, Slinky

Hi all.... I was thinking about all the tackle I have and thought that maybe there's a way I and other Raiders could offload the excess and do some good at the same time. Could Fishraider consider organizing a tackle auction? - Members 'donate' any tackle they want to sell - They set a reserve price that they will receive if the item sells - The auction is run on-line over a set period where members post bid prices which are visible in the forum - Anything received over the reserve price goes to charity Many years ago I think one of the fishing clubs (Hornsby Kuringai FC) in Sydney used to do something similar although I'm not sure if it was for charity or to raise money for the club. If they still run this annual event and it's for charity, maybe Fishraider could co-host or something. It would make it a very big event with all the raiders around. Not being a computer wiz, I don't know what would be needed to set this up but I know I could use some extra space at home and that I'd love to see some money going to charity.... Westmead Children's Hospital is my vote (my eldest daughter was a very premmie baby so I love their work) but any worthwhile charity would be good. What does everyone reckon? Admin...Is it feasible to do what I imagine is a pretty complex set-up? I'd be happy to help organise it if it happens and there is anything I could do. Cheers, Slinky