slinkymalinky
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Posts posted by slinkymalinky
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Great session and awesome photos DWAG 90. I haven't tangled with 'Mr Speckles' for many years and your report makes me miss it.
Cheers, Slinky
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Awesome macro work, Greg. Not easy getting good shots at that range and with that depth of field. Niiice.
By the way, thanks for the tip of the jigging glove with the spin rod for monduran. Saved me my fingerprints.
Cheers, Slinky
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Terrible that you had to suffer the disappointment of an 89cm Flattie, Skip.
You really will have to start either training the fish better or staying off the water for longer before the comp each year.
Hope you land a 90+ on the day and that Deno's is 90+ too (but 1cm shorter than yours)
Cheers, Slinky
PS... And DON'T forget the photos.
PPS... awesome fish mate. You two are on fire this year.
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Great news, Swordy.
Hats off to Gary for supporting the comp. Can't wait to see some fantastic fish winning some great stuff from Seriously Stainless!!
Cheers, Slinky
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Hi all,
Here's a great, custom 'Kolekar' handle upgrade for a range of popular overhead, game and big spin reels. If you're interested in them, please pm Alantani.
I'm not sure of the availability but for anyone who wants comfortable cranking power, they're a big step up on many stock handles...
You can see the comparison between the stock and after-market handles pretty well in these pics.
Cheers, Slinky
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Well done on your 5 fish but more importantly, on what sounds like a great trip. Love the report and pics as always, Roberta. Clarrie Hall is a beautiful place, no matter what the conditions.
Cheers, Slinky
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My chart plotter has a GPS mark about 2 or so kilometers from the boat ramp at Monduran Dam. The name of the mark is "Shattered Dreams".
About 1km from that mark is another, called 'Heartbreak Bay'.
That pretty much sums up my first experience of Monduran Dam with fellow Raiders Jewhunter, Outdoor Dan and Brown dog1. Don't get me wrong... the fishing was absolutely mind blowing. It was the catching that was the problem.
Moduran is a big, daunting piece of water for first timers, of which I, OD and BD1 were 3. Jewhunter had previously been to the dam and landed one of it's famous 1m+ Barramundi.
We had high hopes and fishy dreams in the lead up to the trip. I don't think any of us (except maybe JH) were prepared for just how unforgiving Monduran can be. We'd all seen the barra in the magazines and dvds but what they don't get across is that success on Monduran is getting more than 1 hit in a day... let alone catching a fish.
For the record, between us we actually managed to lose 5 barra from about 90cm to possibly around 120cm... and certainly at least 2 of the fish were well over a meter. In addition, we all had good hits that failed to connect. The difference between our fishless trip and a blinder where we could have boated well over a dozen massive fish, was a razor's edge. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of hooks dropping out boatside, chafed-thru 60lb leaders, tentative hits, and heart stopping missed hooks.
I won't bore you all with a full report about the ones that got away but never let anyone tell you the big barra dams are easy. We (thanks to Jewhunter) had the pattern wired from our first morning to our last session. While nearly every other fisho on the dam reported not even seeing a fish day after day, we had plenty of chances.
With the pattern consistent and clear, with the great quality tackle, with the right lures, knots that didn't fail once... 4 very experienced fishos failed to boat a fish. There was much cursing of various gods, fish, the dam and any other unfortunate... often in language that would make a hooker blush.
The actual process of fishing the dam was extraordinary. Casting on 30lb and 50lb spin and baitcast tackle with 60-80lb hard mono leaders still felt like taking a knife to a gunfight as 10-30kg fish lying in often less than 1m of water, exploded on lures before racing perilously close to the many trees, bushes and other lake edge ugliness. There's no way to dictate terms to these fish... it's more a case of taking the tiger by the tail and hanging on for the ride.
And what a ride. In 4 days of fishing I personally got 4 hits for 1 lost barra. Will I go back.... OH YEAH!
Anyway, here's some pretty pictures of a fishless trip... just in case anyone is still reading our tale of woe.
Some might suggest that this item that mysteriously found its way into my boat's glove-box had something to do with the trip results. It was found before hitting the water but I don't think anyone will tempt fate by even touching one of the yellow terrors next trip
Despite, or perhaps because of the yellow terror, I did manage to land 2 of these... the net result being dish-washing duty 2 nights running.
Jewhunter's rig is a sweet ride for this style of fishing... check out those gnarly snags!
Brown Dog had a few casting accuracy problems on the first day... unfortunately he wasn't quite quick enough to get this out of the tree before my camera was ready.
We swapped boats and fishing buddies each day and Outdoor Dan borrowed my boat with Brown Dog while I was fishing on board MV Jewhunter.
And here's the man I think OD, BD1 and I would consider our 'illustrious leader' for the trip. Quick with a banana, bestower of the 'wisdom of the knot of awesomeness' (no really, it is
)... man of dashing casting style...
...and finally, soon-to-be obscenity coach to the Australian Fishing Championship series... note the well refined slumped shoulders, dejected 'post 120cm barra loss' facial expression and fearful companion hiding in the back corner of the boat... signs of a true master of curse-words.
See you on the water somewhere, Raiders. Slinky
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G'day Warnie 100,
Set your trolling speed based on the lures and how they're swimming as much as the species. hotbite's on the money with his advice but think about what your lure is doing. If you run a pusher style skirt, like a jet head or pakula Uzi, you want it to be occasionally popping and leaving a good bubble trail... too slow and it won't do it. A lot of bibbed lures need to be run at a speed that gets them working well but too fast and they'll blow out of the water... a Rapala Magnum or X-Rap will troll faster than a lot of others, smaller lures won't handle speed as well as bigger models, etc.
The mood of the fish and water conditions also make a difference. Start out at say 5 knots and then adjust up or down depending on all the other variables.
Cheers, Slinky
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G'day Famedtrash.
Wow... what a difference to the look of the reel. Niiiiiice. I've moved this to the maintenance forum so it can go in the library of good ideas.
Cheers, Slinky
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Great post Dogtooth. This is something I know a lot of people want to do and it makes a big difference to how a reel like your Saragossa is to use. Thanks for sharing the info.
Hope you don't mind, I've moved it into the maintenance forum so it can become part of the 'library'.
Cheers, Slinky
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Get in touch with www.smoothdrag.com Sulla.
There are definitely potential pitfalls when upgrading the drags of reels like Saltigas... mainly that their tolerances are very fine so the overall height of your drag stack needs to be identical before and after the upgrade.
Dawn at Smooth Drag puts sets together for some saltigas where she mixes and matches washers to get the exact height.
Cheers, Slinky
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Congratulations Dave
And
Ruby. Shakespeare make some Ugly Sticks in the 3'- 4'range that would be just perfect for her until she's eating solid food and could move up to maybe her first jig stick.Cheers, Slinky
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G'day Aqua. I've never seen a telescopic rod that I'd spend my money on. If you're after portability, have you considered getting a travel rod... there are some good rods out there in 3-5 pieces that are easy to transport.
Cheers, Slinky
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Well done Ray. 2000 great contributions to the forums and looking forward to many more to come
:yahoo: Cheers, Slinky
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It might have been champagne at your end boys... but at this end of the phone calls the taste was a little more bitter
The sound of little Sols bleeding line was being accompanied by lots of hooting and hollering whenever the phone rang. That's just insane action Skip & Deno.
The boys wouldn't say anything and Hodgey makes it sound easy but I know that a lot of fishos on the water were struggling to get fish at the same time. If any raiders ever want advice on how to fish an estuary, 'Team Tuross' are worth listening to. Have a look at those conditions... finesse fishing conditions if ever I've seen them.
Well done on a fantastic (if frustrating for me) morning on the water
And congrats on the record fish, Hodgey... all done.
Hope that beer tasted good. I'm about to have one to drown my sorrows.
Cheers, Slinky
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The Daiwa Black Gold series reels are basically Diawa's version of the original Spinfishers. I don't have one but I've known a couple of people who swear by them.
If you're open to considering an overhead, after my recent experiences, I'd add an ABU 7000 to the list as a serious option too.
Cheers, Slinky
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I've stopped counting the number of tips I've snapped off. I've blown up a couple too... One was a Kamikaze jig stick when I thought I check out just how strong 'these jig rods' were. Apparently, not strong enough to be tied off to a desk and put under load at full lock drag with a Stella!! Boy it made a noise.
Here's the result of MrsSlinky's very first cast on our trip to Cape York a couple of years back. That's one was to learn what high-sticking means
Cheers, Slinky
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G'day Bruce,
One big difference between the SS models and the new, Chinese made SSm models as well as the Live Liners and Slammers is that all the near 'bullet proof' brass under the rotor has gone.
The SS reels have anti-reverse dogs while the newer reels have 'infintie anti reverse' clutch bearings. Clutch bearings can be a weak point in any reel and I don't have any feedback on how good the Chinese Penn ones are, but for simplicity and durability it's a step backwards from the SS models... at least in a reel intended to be tough, rugged and simple.
This doesn't mean the newer reels aren't any good, just an observation.
Cheers, Slink
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It's a bit cruel reminding us that we were working, Ray
Fantastic photos from a beaut sounding session. Any chance I could get a high res copy of the sunrise pic... definitely one for my wallpaper folder if you don't mind. Send me a pm if I haven't already given you my e-mail address.
Cheers, Slinky
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Happy Birthday boys. Have a great day
:1happybday: Cheers, Slinky
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Sounds like so much fun it ought to be illegal. What an amazing time you're all having with the lake open. Every report I hear from Tuross is just incredible.
Cheers, Slinky
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Quality not quantity, Wacko. Looks like a successful day on the water. Nice Kings.
Cheers, Slinky
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Incredible fish, Dan. I'm very jealous (but hopefully not for too much longer).
What on earth were you doing, throwing lures into Awoonga on 14lb???
Cheers, Slinky
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No-one can help with that kind of problem Zac
If it were me I'd get the light spin combo... it's more versatile. You could catch jewies on the light spin gear... maybe you could chase them in some of the estuaries and rivers to get your first one instead of on the beach. That way, you'll have plenty of fun with the bycatch at the same time.
Cheers, Slinky
)
Ruby. Shakespeare make some Ugly Sticks in the 3'- 4'range that would be just perfect for her until she's eating solid food and could move up to maybe her first jig stick.
:yahoo: 
:1happybday:
Back From The Dead!
in Fishing Reports
Posted
Brilliant to have you back with us, Donna. It was an incredible shock to hear the news but the way you've been fighting and recovering is even more amazing. Keep it up and know that we're thinking of you.
Best wishes, Tony, Sharyn, Jessica and Gemma.