Josh88

Geez there isnt much in that, both great outfits. What are you going after? I like my Daiwa gear so id pick the second if it was me. Josh

Some tackle shops have them, but its not hard to pump them up yourself, doesn't take too long, a nice big bucket with an aerator and they'll keep for a day or so.

Finished my HSC exams yesterday so first thing i did was head out fishing today....despite conditions. Thought they weren't going to be too bad until i got to middle head, not very big swell but really short gaps between waves which made progress pretty slow. Anyway had to pick up my mate from McMahons Pt heading up the harbour with the SE blowing wasnt too fun, saw bird patches on the way so picked him up and headed back to them, they weren't what we were after, looked like yakkas feeding or maybe tiny tiny tailor but in big schools so didn't bother with them......what i dont get is if there are bait fish already balled up like this feeding why the hell aren't the big pelagic predators coming in and having a field day?? Anyone have ideas? Started going after some squid and got a couple in quick succession for a change but that soon stopped and with the swell getting considerably bigger and the south easterly not helping so headed up MH for some shelter, we got it and put down some squid and slimy baits but only found pickers. Probably should of picked a better day to go out but just had to after hsc. Cheers Josh

If its at the oysters it most probably bream, i've seen them do it a lot up there. The triangular fish you're talking about, does it have yellow on it and black fins? I think they're called a monodacillis or something like that. Josh

Hey Pat, One of the most commonly used outfits for kings is the Penn Spinfisher combos. They have dropped in price a great deal over the last few years and you can now get a 850 or 950 Spinfisher rod and reel for about $170, may sound a bit suspect being that cheap but it is a proven outfit and one that many people reliably use and im sure plenty will back me up on that. If you're only looking for a rod, the Shimano Backbone or Wilson Live Fibre are both quality rods and can get purchased for just under $200. Line generally should be about 50lb, you'll get away with 30lb braid, a lot of people opt for 80, you just don't know how big the king will be as there are some big and small fish around so its better to be on the safe side. I like using Suffix Braid or FINS. Cheers Josh

Salmon and Kings can both be very fussy when they want to be, with salmon often there isn't an inbetween size, its either a really small minnow/slice or a 6 inch sluggo that will do the trick. Rapala are generally my first choice for hard bodies and for sluggos i like the bass assasin stick baits. These will of course work on all other pelagics. Kings sluggos are usually best, even up to 9inch, poppers either halco roosta or cotton cordell work well, diving x-raps are great too. For line i catch salmon on 4lb without any problem frequently, when fish are feeding on the surface its a long way to the bottom to bust you off, you just have to take your time and know how to play the fish. Kings go a bit harder and can be dirtier so on the surface you'll get away with 10lb or a bit less but 20lb braid is a safe option. Tailor will take anything anytime but your trace shouldn't be any less than 10-15lb or you'll lose a lot of lures. Bonnies dont hit the surface that much, i get more trolling so diving minnows are the go. Also, have a look at how the fish are feeding and mimic your action to that i.e. slow retrieve if they're cruisy or fast if they're really boiling. Good luck Josh

The saragossa would be a good option, have a look at some daiwa reels as well, the Catalina 4500 or 6500, great reels and can be gotten considerably cheaper from the states. Josh

Anything from 5-8 or 6-10kg will handle most fish. Its hard to find a rod that is going to work well both of the rocks and a boat so if you're mainly off the rocks then I'd probably go after a longer rod and one that is built strong as with use around the rocks its bound to cop a few knocks, have a chat to your guy at the tackle shop about it.

Just using heavier line on a lighter rod will not break a rod. If you have a ridiculously set drag then the rod will be the first thing to go by a long way. Why do you want to use 10kg braid on such a light rod, to me it doesnt make any sense, rods that size are very thin and quite frail and use of a heavier braid such as that which will be slightly thicker and may cause you problems particularly around knot connections when passing through guides. 10kg braid (depending on brand) will usually break at a fair bit higher, on a rod that size i wouldn't use braid much higher than 10lb as they simply aren't designed for it, their purpose is finesse fishing meaning use of light lines. The heavier braid will also reduce your casting distance on an outfit like that quite considerably. What sort of fish are you after and how do you plan on targeting them? I'm sure there is a much better way to go about it. And yes the heavier SOL rod will be thicker and stronger probably with slightly larger guides. Josh

I'll back the Catalina as well, I've got the 4500 on a Daiwa Monster Mesh Rod and its a greatly matched combo, throw lures around easily and works great with baiting as well, rod is only 6'3 so it could be used for jigging quite successfully as well. I was looking on some overseas sites the other day and you'll certainly save yourself a fair bit of money buying from the US at the moment. Cheers Josh

They can be impossivble when they want to be, very frustrating. A couple of days in January I spent 4 hours casting at the same school for 0 landed, hooked a few for an inexperienced mate but he wasnt too good with fighting them and lost them. I know its hard but sometimes when they're like that you're better off just not bothering.

Ive got a couple of reels with 6 and 10lb sensor, occasionally i get it caught on the guides of the rod and even then i think its more to do with the structure of the guides on the rod but dont have any major wind knots very often. I'll get the occasional loop on the spool every now and then but ive become really diligent about checking it as im retrieving and casting to avoid that. Cheers Josh

Thats a sight you love to see

Mate grab a copy of the latest fishing world magazine, they have been running a test on a range of 200hp engines throughout the year and its got some really good info and figures on price/consumption and unbiased opinion. Some engines are more suited to some things than others and a lot of the engine suitability comes down to how you most use your boat and how you'll run your engine, its a very helpful article. Cheers Josh

Hey mate, We've been to Hammo a few times and done a couple of half day shared charters. To be honest they a bit of a waste of time, you spend as much time travelling as you do fishing, and the fishing is a bit slow usually, some trolling for macks which can be good if their hot but with up to 12ppl on the boat your chance of getting a fish are fairly slim, then its reef fishing with big handlines and a lot of the time u dont realise you have a fish on with the strong current and heavy mono. If you've got enough cash to go on a private trip then i have read good articles about that and undoubtedly with more personal attention and space you would have a much better trip. Good luck, Josh

Its pretty hard to specifically target samson fish in the harbour as they are not that prolific. And you wouldn't be much chance this time of year as firstly they aren't around and second the harbour is pretty dead at the moment, particularly middle harbour where you would normally get them most frequently as a bi-catch. Best time of year is when the water is at its warmest and other sub-tropic species come in the harbour around March-May. Target them the same way as kingies, fresh squid, personally i don't think you can specifically target them in the harbour and this time of year it would be a waste of time anyway. Josh

Well done on your first squid mate, was there some light around where you fished, that will make a huge difference at night to squid fishing. They tend to hand around wharves and pylons as it is so they're a good place to try. Might just want to note that it is an arrow squid, still kicks the ass of fish shop calamari but once you've had a southern calamari you'll realise the difference. Well done nevertheless Josh

I wasn't feeling to ambitious today and wont get many chances to fish again before November so didnt bother with future bait ideas. I forgot to mention that sammy the seal was out there today. He popped up right next to my boat when i was trolling and put his fin out the water to wave and i guess mock me in some way, he knew there weren't many fish around and the ones that were he would eat

Hi Rob, The boat is a Triumph 170CC with a 75 merc optimax. Going out there i was a bit nervy but once past bluefish point and i saw some birds it was sweet. As i said in the post though its low sides and back aren't good when theres swell around. I was on my own on the boat as most of my mates are still doing their exams but had a very experienced mate in his boat around whilst outside. Cheers Josh

Well today i decided to head offshore for the first time, something i was never too confident about in our boat, its 17ft and capable but the low gunwhales and transom are problems with this sort of work. The day didnt start well, my alarm didnt go off and i wasnt at the ramp until 7, went straight outside with the plan to head north until i found birds. Very lumpy early on and i was battling doing 15knots which gave me 2nd thoughts for a while until i saw a plethora of birds. There were birds around the whole day with patches like this which could stretch for nearly a KM. Unfortunately there was not a single splash despite all the frantic activity of these birds, trolled for hours around the area and out the corner of my eye saw one rod bending in half, jumped to it, grabbed it and thought something isnt right. Of course one of the birds has got itself caught on the lure, try to slowly ease back towards it so i could free it and get my lure back and before i know it, the damn thing is up and gone with $25 worth of x-rap Kept trolling and looked at one of the rods and realised it didnt have the normal vibrations, rather a big bend, great i thought a plastic bag, bring it towards the boat and see some tail kicks, great a leatherjacket was my first thought but then to my surprise found this: I thought once was weird enough but again?? And square in the mouth both times, with a lure not far under the surface in about 100ft of water!! Anyway kept trolling for a bit and managed a couple of bonnies Not much size and neither fish particularly take my fancy to eat so headed back in after a quick bait drop for zilch and found some birds on the way with a couple of splashes, looked to be salmon but they were very scarce, i think they ended up coming on a bit later about 1pm. Had a quick go for flatties or squid but no luck so went home. Great day to be on the water, would've liked some more fish but sure as hell beats HSC trials Cheers Josh

Hey guys, Unfortunately the HSC leaves little time for fishing and as a result i haven't been out since about April and really don't have a clue of whats going on at the moment. My last trial exams are tomorrow so im planning to hit the harbour thursday, maybe saturday. A PM or reply about whats around at the moment would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Josh

Ive seen undersize fish at sydney fish markets before, mainly kings, and did find out these fish were farmed and was ok. As for the crabs the only conclusion i can come up with is that they are not mud crabs, i saw on the food channel small crabs like that being fried up in the pan and eaten whole with the shell, claws and everything on...maybe its like that?

I've got a few of the crystal blues, the 6-10kg spin model, 2-4kg one and i used to have the 10-15kg jigging rod but that got snapped in half by a king. The 6-10 is my favourite out of all of them, its not too heavy for a bit of light stuff but its got plenty of grunt should that bigger fish come along, I use a Rovex Big Boss 5500 on it with 20lb braid and for the price of this outfit the value that comes with it is outstanding. Never had a problem with it and its handled kings to 80cm with ease.

We went to Maui in Hawaii July last year and loved it, not sure what everyone elses problem with it was. Great resort, nice people, pretty good fishing and we are planning to go back at some point.