slinkymalinky

That Toga looks like it's grinning or perhaps even laughing?? I wonder why that could be (and by the way, I recognise those particular Lilly Pads from Yabba Creek) Get back up here once school holidays finish... they should be going nuts on the surface now! Cheers, Slinky

Now that's a piercing that would get some strange looks at work!! Glad it wasn't more serious and a very timely reminder. I hope the fishing compensated for the pain. Just another reason that Sergeant Baker are unwelcome on a fishing boat. Cheers, Slinky

Nice mixed bag, Fishkiller. How have you been finding the holiday boat traffic? I wandered down to Jacob's Well to have a poke around from shore and could almost have walked to Moreton Bay from boat to jetski to boat without getting my feet wet. After battling swimmers, flying lures, boat wakes and noise, I gave it up as a bad joke until after school holidays. Cheers, Slinky

The noise could be a lot of different things... it might be a failing bearing, a problem with the anti-reverse bearing, or a part not in the right place or order. More often than not, a noise in time with the rotation of the spool will be something to do with the spool rotor itself. It might be the pinion gear too. If the noise is gear related, that usually means the gears are worn or damaged and might need replacing. I've heard a few people talk about the need to 'align the teeth' on spinning reel gears because they supposedly develop a wear pattern. I'm still open minded about it if someone with more expertise can explain it but since the gears in reels are not of uniform size, as a reel turns the relative location of gear teeth to other gear teeth constantly changes. I can't see how a 'wear pattern' could develop unless you had 1:1 gearing or (very unlikely) 1 gear that had and exact multiple of teeth to another (eg a pinion gear with 20 teeth and a drive gear with 80 teeth so the pinion constantly engages the same teeth on the drive). Cheers, Slinky

It's still only my opinion but yes, a double uni doesn't have the same issue. The other advantage of a slim beauty over an albright is that you can cast with it all day and not have it degrade. An albright constantly going through the runners when you're lure casting, can get damaged and weaken over time. Leo is spot on with his attention to detail in retying knots... it's a great way to improve your percentages and if you do that, the above isn't an issue. Cheers, Slinky

A lot of people use Albright knots as their leader connection but I personally wouldn't recommend it. If you think about how an albright is tied, there is a critical spot where the braid crosses the mono loop in a way that means under pressure, the braid can cut into and through the leader. I've had them fail several times on long fights with big fish. I switched to using the Slim Beauty knot... there are several variations but essentially it's a connection that is actually held together by 2 separate knots that slide together so that the braid never actually crosses the mono in a way where it will tend to cut through under pressure. In lighter braid (under 10lb for me) with light estuary leaders, I used to use a modified surgeons loop because its quick and easy but even with this sort of gear I now use a hybrid of a slim beauty and double uni knot. I do the double overhand knot and run my braid through the figure 8 in the leader like a slim beauty but then I uni-knot the braid instead of wrapping it. It's a bit easier in light line. The instructions will make sense if you look up the slim beauty knot. Cheers, Slinky

These days I almost never tie doubles in braid. The reason doubles were the way to go in the days of mono line were to preserve 100% of the breaking strain of the main line. When fishing braid, the breaking strain of the main line is rarely an issue... when you consider that a 6lb braid might break at say, 10lb and so-on, more often than not the line you are using is 'over-rated' for your rod anyway. This means that before you are likely to break your main line, you'll be overloading your rod. IMHO most bust offs in braid are either due to being cut off on structure or the result of poor knot choice resulting in the braid cutting through the mono or fluoro leader. The main reason I might consider a double with braid is to reduce the diamater difference between very fine braid and a heavy leader. More about how it runs through the guides than preserving breaking strain. With all that said, braid can apparently lose a lot of its strength when knotted. Proportionally more than mono. All that means though is that choosing the right knot and tying it well is important. The right knots will effectively make the need for a double in the braid, obsolete. Cheers, Slinky

Why do you want to time the gears?

Try CLR... WD40 will lubricate while CLR will cut through the corrosion and rust (to an extent). Cheers, Slinky

Well, its been a couple of years since I swore off GULP! completely after getting sick of the stenchy juice invading my tackle bags and boxes once too often. With that said though, I love the look of the new GULP! Squid Viscious... all those squiggly legs look like snapper & reefie magnets to me. So combined with a new Plano Liqua Bait tackle box to keep the juice where it's meant to be, I buckled and picked up half a dozen packs of SV's and Jerk Shads. I'll reserve judgement until I see how the tackle box performs and if it doesn't work, Jewhunter will have more plastics for his 'stink bucket' of opened GULP pack remnants. If it performs like it's meant to then I've just added a couple more options back into my plastic fishing. Cheers, Slinky

The only practical option is to clean up the end, put a new tip runner on (and if necessary, reposition the other guides, and turn it into a shorter rod. It won't be the same of course but the only other option is to throw it away. Either way, you'll need a new 7' spin rod. Cheers, Slinky

Very sad pic. Sorry to hear the news. Slinky

Underneath the Line Roller screw cap on that reel there is a line roller screw. Have you removed the screw? Otherwise, it doesn't look like there should be anything stopping the line roller being disassembled. The other possibility since the bearing is seized is that it might have corroded onto the line roller shaft. If so, try soaking the roller assembly in CLR for a couple of hours. And just in case you don't have it, here's a link to the schematics.... http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/displayimage.php?album=8&pos=348 Cheers, Slinky

Absolutely Bonkers!! Congrats on the new toys. Slinky

2 Outfits is a good idea. The 4000 size reel/7' spin rod outfit is a bit of a Northern 'go-to' outfit. Definitely my number one choice too. Because you're fishing from shore though, I'd recommend that a 7' - 10'rod matched to something like a Saragossa or Daiwa loaded with 300m (at least) of 30lb braid is a good idea. Specifically for areas where you might encounter Long Tail tuna off the rocks or jetties (that's assuming you'll sometimes be fishing the briney and not just the creeks). Even a 6-7 kg Long Tail can spool a 4000 size reel with a full load of 20lb braid (I speak from personal experience). The longer rod is simply for getting much longer casts (go shorter if you can... it will save your shoulders once hooked up)... just make sure you have a fist full of 45g Raider lures and you're set. Cheers, Slinky

I just added yet another ABU to my arsenal. This one is a real stealth fighter... a new Revo MGX. Can't wait to get it on the water as my new finesse bass weapon. Cheers, Slinky

I own a fistful of T-Curves including a 2-4kg model. I also now own a couple of Venoms... not a 2-4 but I do have a Copperhead 3-5kg. They're chalk and cheese... The Venoms are vastly my preference. In face, my 2-4kg T-Curve almost never sees the water. It has a much slower action than the 1-3kg and 2-5kg T-Curves I also have and I prefer fast action blanks. Since you've said there are venoms going for good prices, I'm now going shopping!! Cheers, Slinky

There's really only one option... get a new rod. Unfortunately grinding down the reel foot is an absolute no no. But you also can't go fishing with the reel not properly seated. The fist time it gets put under pressure something is liable to break. If you were able to bend the front 'bracket' then I'm assuming that it's metal which in turn means that it's likely to be very very old. Time to upgrade I think... the Penn is a great reel and you'd be able to pick up a decent rod to suit it for under $100 if you really wanted just a cheapie. It would be a shame not to get the best out of that reel. Cheers, Slinky

Gday One Armed Fisho, Kael is spot on with the lube treatment and everyone has slightly different views on washing but here's my own thoughts. Firstly, ALWAYS wash your reels after fishing, particularly if you've been in salt water. The aim is to remove salt, grime and other contaminants that can and will damage your reel and line over time. BUT washing the wrong way can actually take some of that crud into the inside of the reel... bad juju! That's where there is a potential problem with washing with high pressure water. I too, run my reels under a hose or tap but only under a gentle stream of water. I'm also careful to hold the reels in such a way as water isn't running up under spool rims and so on... and in the case of a baitcaster, I let the water run over the spool but not over the spool edges. It's also worth understanding why doing up the drag on most (but not all) reels is a good idea before rinsing. On most baitcasters (including yours) doing up the drag reduces the chance that water could penetrate between the washers. After rinsing off your baitcaster, give it a wipe-over with a cloth and set it aside to dry thoroughly before re-lubing. The only thing I'd add is that you might consider different lube for your level wind depending on whether it moves or remains stationary when casting. If it moves during a cast, then the way it runs will effect casting distance so I'd recommend light oil rather than grease. In the case of baitcasters where the level wind is stationary when casting, grease is better as casting distance isn't effected but grease gives better, longer lasting protection. Cheers, Slinky

G'day Mack Attack, At this time of year, the other thing to have in the tackle box is extra strong jig heads in sizes to suit 3-4" plastics... for Jacks. If you're fishing around any rock wall in any Southern QLD estuary, there's a very good chance of connecting with some... and light wire jig heads are asking for trouble. I've settled on TT heavy duty heads as my favourite. My #1 plastic for Jacks (and almost everything else up here) is a 3" Atomic Prong in pearl core colour. Cheers, Slinky

G'day Howdo, What's been said is correct in a sense, that to get an outfit (rod and reel) for soft plastic fishing, a lot of people spend around $250 on average as a start. BUT... it's not necessary to spend that much to successfully get into soft plastic fishing and enjoy yourself. I've seen combos around with Shimano Catana rods and a matched reel for around $150 and they or something like it will catch you plenty of fish and be great fun to learn to fish plastics with. Sure, like a lot of people I spend lots of $$ on fishing gear but don't let anyone tell you it's mandatory. Better gear will perform better and last longer but not everyone wants to spend heaps, particularly when starting out. Head into your local tackle shop and have a look at the combos they have. You're on the right track looking for a 7' rod in the 2-4kg range. Make sure it's a high carbon content rod too (fishing plastics on a fibreglass or 'crystal tip' style rod is all but impossible... no sensitivity). Make sure you get the reel loaded with 'braid' (Fireline is probably the best value choice) of around 6lb... You only need one of the 125yd spools but use some mono backing under it. Make sure the reel is small... a '1000' or '2500' size in Shimano or a '2000' size in Daiwa (or an equivalent size in other brands. And make sure that the rod and reel are a reputable brand... Daiwa, Shimano, Abu, Plueger, Berkley etc... even their value end gear reflects on their reputations so they make it to a pretty good quality for the price. The other option is to try to pick up a better outfit second hand. Good luck, Slinky

Penn Applause Abu Orra Cheers, Slinky

The Fishraider forums have had countless questions about braid. Which brand is better? What's the difference between braid and fused braid? etc etc. I'm not an engineer or a chemist. Nor am I a fishing expert. But I've picked up a lot of info on braids that might be belpful Its a subject full of misinformation opinions often based on little more than the marketing from the braid companies... which as you can imagine is long on 'sell' and short on objectivity. So in an effort to give some clarity around the basics of braid, here's some knowledge based on a professional relationship within the industry... I'm not going to go into braid vs mono... that's another conversation. But what I can say is that braids ain't braids and understanding the differences might help you decide what sort of braid suits your fishing style; why some are more expensive than others; and what some of the basic jargon and concepts around braid mean. SPECTRA VS DYNEEMA First, virtually ALL of the lines we commonly call braid are made from the same basic material. Gel spun Polyethylene (GSP). Both Fused and Braided 'braids' are made from this same basic stuff. GSP threads are made under 2 trade names... Spectra (manufactured by Honeywell International) and Dyneema (manufactured by Dutch company, DSL). These are simply 2 brands of essentially the same stuff and again virtually ALL manufacturers of GSP fishing line source their fibres from either or both sources. When fishos talk about Dyneema, Spectra, Braid, GSP, Gel Spun, Polyethylene and so on, they're therefore talking about the same basic material. The differences between the final fishing lines we buy are in how the different lines are put together by the final manufacturer. BRAID VS FUSED BRAID: GSP fishing lines get their strength from the weaving or laminating of many GSP fibres... Braids achieve this by 'braiding' fibres together while fused braids use a proprietary form of 'heat welding' the fibres together. When you realise that the average single GSP fibre used by most manufacturers will be around 100 Denier (that means that 9000m of the thread will weight 100g!!), you'll get a sense of how many fibres go into the ultimate line. For us as fishos, the main things to be aware of is that fused GSP lines are cheaper, more stiff and thicker than their usual braided counterpart. This doesn't mean it isn't as good. Particularly in very light breaking strains (say under 10lb) it can be much easier to handle than the wispy fine braided lines of the same breaking strain. And while they still share the same virtual 'no-stretch' sensitivity of braided lines, their lower cost makes them a great starting point for people new to braid. Be aware though that in heavy breaking strains (say 20lb upwards) it can feel a little like fishing with fencing wire. 'JAPANESE BRAID' VS THE REST - breaking strain Many fishos sing the praises of 'Japanese' braid. By and large, braids from Japan ARE very high quality but there's a few things to understand. First it's often said that Japanese braid is thinner than its counterparts. In Australia and USA as an example, the rating of braid is done around breaking strain and is complicated by the fact that we have become used to the idea that a braid should break well above its stated rating. How often have you heard someone say 'it's rated as 14lb but it really breaks at around 25lb'. So much for clarity in information. In Japan, the rating of braid is done around its 'PE' rating... a measure of diameter. Breaking strain is secondary. This means that many Japanese braids break much closer to their actual stated breaking strain. So when you compare 20lb US braid with 20lb Japanese braid, one of the reasons the good Japanese braid might be so much thinner is that it might be much closer to 20lb. So you might actually be comparing 30lb braid with 20lb braid!! GOOD BRAID VS AVERAGE BRAID - manufacturing However, there are aspects to the way certain Japanese and other high end braids are manufactured that DO dramatically influence their relative strength and other performance characteristics: CARRIER COUNT This refers to the how many woven strands of GSP fibres are braided together to make the final line. Line manufacturers often advertise when they are '8 carrier' braids. This is beacuse the number of carriers effects the cross section shape of the final line. A 4-carrier braid will have a squarish cross-section and tend to flatten out when spooled onto a reel. An 8-carrier braid has a more circular cross-section so tends to be more uniform. And with a greater number of laminations, an 8 carrier braid can potentially be stronger than a 4 carrier braid of the same diameter. But it will also cost more. PIC COUNT A pic is where a single carrier crosses another carrier within the braid. A higher pic count effectively means a tighter weave and generally results in a smoother line. Higher pic count lines also mean more braid is needed per meter to produce as well as generally requiring better and more expensive manufacturing technology... so again it can cost more. DENIER The finer the source fibres that go into a braid, the more 'laminations' will be in a carrier of the same diamater than in one made with thicker fibres. The average for many braids is to use around 100 Denier fibres... Many better quality braids will use fibres as low as 50 denier and some Japanese ultra-light, ultra-premium braids will use 30 Denier fibres (remember... that means that 9km of the stuff only weighs 30g). This generally results in a final braid that is stronger for a given diameter so that often, regardless of the rating differences, premium Japanese braids WILL actually be finer for a given breaking strain. HOWEVER... we have also been conditioned into thinking that somehow, Japanese writing all over a braid packet somehow magically makes it better. I don't know about you but I don't read Kanji so who can tell what many of the braids are saying. You DON'T need super-expensive braid to gain the benefits of braided line fishing. The top end of the market is really for people who either fish the extremes (ultra light, ultra heavy, tournament and so on) or for fishos who for whatever reason, want those extra small incremental improvements you might get is line capacity, casting distance, sink rate or so-on, which come from paying '$80 for 150m of braid instead of $50 for 300m.' BAD BRAID It stands to reason then that a lot of super cheap braid is cheap because it uses thicker denier fibres, fewer carriers, a lower pic count and as such, can be thick, rough, unreliable and just plain a waste of money. My advice to anyone buying braid is, regardless of whether you want value or super quality, stick with reputable brands. And preferably get info from people who have actually fished with them before (that's what these forums are for). You'll get no end of different opinions but you'll tend to see the same half dozen brands all the time. Hope this helps... anyone who wants to correct any of this (remember, I don't profess to be an expert), add to it, or ask questions... feel free. Cheers, Slinky

Not a problem Matt. I use a pair of digital calipers I picked up at Supercheap Auto for around $20. You'll spend more than that getting it serviced by someone else. Cheers, Slinky