Tony Soprano

Hi Raiders Mods- If this thread is in the wrong place then please move it to the appropriate section... My car was broken into outside my house last night. I had been fishing with roosterman in pittwater and got home about 1am, as I was pretty tired I left the three spin sticks I had with me in the car....bad move. The thieves smashed my drivers side window, ripped most of my dash out to get the stereo and stole the three rods as well. It's a long shot but if anyone hears of cheap gear for sale or sees any of it on ebay please let me know... Combo 1- Shimano Stradic 2500fi Shimano Stella spin SFS 6'6" 2 piece 2-4kg (carbon fibre look) 10lb yellow fireline Combo 2- Shimano Symetre 2500fa Shakespeare Ugly Stick 6'6" 1 piece 2-4kg (black, blue bindings) 12lb dark green maxima mono Combo 3- Shimano Sahara 1500fb Shimano Starlo Stix 7' 2 piece 2-4kg (bright blue) 8lb yellow fireline I'll try and get some pictures up later tonight. Cheers Tony

Sorry Mark's, you are correct, I've edited my above post. I think it's time for a beer. Cheers Tony

Nice squid slinky... I'm with you on the squidding thing, I get just as much enjoyment from catching squid as I do chasing any other fish... It's a nice relaxing form of fishing. Cheers Tony

I own a couple of symetre 2500s and a Stradic 2500fi (2008 model), the stradic is a fairly big step up from the symetre in terms of quality and performance in my mind. To be honest the differences between the stradic and the twinpower weren't really worth the difference in price IMHO. I have used the twinpower and it was a nice reel but I wouldn't say it was much different to the stradic for the price. For under 200 bucks from the US the current stradics are great value. Cheers Tony

Great fish Dan... Well done mate. Cheers Tony

Very nice bag of fish there mate.. Do you find the trevs OK to eat after being frozen? Cheers Tony

I find ripping the jig across the surface like a fleeing prawn can also get them really fired up

If you can see the squid and they won't hit the jigs, try a different size, style and/or colour of jig... If they're still shy and won't latch on, stick a yakka on a squid spike out under a float and 9 times out of 10 they'll find it too good to resist. Cheers Tony

I just started using the albright a few weeks ago after using uni-uni for a few years and I love it. Nice and slim, strong knot and pretty easy to tie Cheers Tony

Nice squid mate... Interesting markings on it, a similar size one I caught on the weekend had the exact same little rectangles all over it.... When I cut it open it had a sack full of tiny tubes which I believe were baby squid, inside it. I wondered if the markings on the squid had something to do with it being about to spawn. Anyone know any more about it? Bad luck about the jigs, but it happens, good excuse to buy more! Cheers Tony

Byron that's another great post, I always have to read them two or three times to take it all in. You're a great bloke for sharing so much of what you know with everyone on the forums... I look forward to going eel fishing with you again some time soon mate. Cheers Tony Edit: Ryan- how good is that! Awesome fish mate, it's stories like that which keep us all coming back for more. Well done.

I use braid for pretty much everything with the exception of a squidding combo spooled with 12lb mono and a 15kg trolling outfit. I only use mono on these two for the added stretch, with squidding I find I don't pull jigs as often and for trolling I like the shock absorber effect on strike. Since starting to use braid a few years ago I don't think I could go back to mono for most of my fishing, I love the stuff, for bottom bashing there is no contest. As for the breakages- if its fireline you're using, I have had problems with dodgy batches in some of the spools I've bought where the line snaps mid cast in the middle of the line for no reason. I had this problem with 20 and 30lb fireline in the bright pink colour. This line seems to go to shit a lot quicker than a lot of the others. After it broke on a couple of casts I ripped it off both reels and replaced it with FINS and YGK. Both of these have been great, infinitely better than fireline. Cheers Tony

It's a bit of a drive from lane cove to matraville just for tuna oil though A BIG store at macquarie centre stocks it in their fishing section. Cheers Tony

Too late Byron.... I marinated and cooked him up for dinner on saturday for me and my girlfriend...it was beautiful! I've still got his nice fat head and guts in the freezer for the jews so not all is lost Good excuse to get out their and get some more I reckon. Cheers Tony

No worries Jake, glad you did better than we did on the blackies Roberta, the water in pitty is gin-clear at the moment with the ongoing westerlies we've had over the last week. I've included a photo of the squid I got on saturday morning with Steve, a PB at 32.5cm hood length. Excuse the get-up, it was friggin cold! Cheers Tony

No worries lads..

Good report Steve... Not a bad couple of sessions over the weekend mate, I had fun. I'll have to put up a photo of my squid from saturday to even the score a bit Gday Byron, I'm always keen mate you know that! Cheers Tony

Great fish mate, he's bloody solid. Cheers Tony

CLICK ME That's a good start^^ This is a great way to create your own tough, lovely smelling baits that create a bit of a burley trail by themselves when in the water I've caught some good fish on salted slimey fillets/ strips... Cheers Tony

Great report Slinky and some nice photos... The cobe is awesome, nice pic of you holding it too, that's one tough looking fish. Cheers Tony

I'd need a weeks notice and about 12 months in the gym by the looks of it. They are some great fish, LHI is definitely on the to-do list. Good stuff mate. Cheers Tony

Good to meet you tonight Mike. Thanks again for the fish, it went down a treat with a few See you round mate.. Cheers Tony

Brilliant fish mate. Well done. Cheers Tony

Kwells have always worked very well for me. I know they don't agree with some people but whenever I go offshore I have one before I leave home, then another one about 4 hours later and I'm fine regardless of the conditions... If I don't take the tablets I'm almost guaranteed to be sick. Cheers Tony

The $30/ kilo from the antique shop are definitely arrows as I've used them before... As for if you can get them in Pittwater, I know you can but they are nowhere near as common as the southerns.. If you get one its easy to tell which is which by the length of the wings down the side of the body, and generally I find the arrows aren't as thick in the body for their size as the southerns. Cheers Tony