Red

I'd probably go for a TLD15 seeing as you are mainly bottom bashing. Not that the old TLD won't handle anything better. Cheers Red

Roylo, you won't go wrong with either. I personally know people that have knocked over some incredible fish on the Stella 20000's. You probably wouldn't get much more than around 300m of 15kg mono on them. I'd choose either reel without losing any sleep however i do have a preference for Shimano, only because their after sales service has been superior. Regards Red

Humesy, congrats, i'm so happy for you. Won't be long before you start nailing the monsters on a regular basis. Keep up the good work Regards Red

Netic, there's only one bloke worth offering cash to and that my mate Jewie Jim. Try-hards like myself aren't worth 5 cents Yeah, i'd like to fish with the crazy man when the weather warms a tad. He looks like a fun guy Hopefully we could tee up a trip with Penguin and the other crazy man. Too many crazies in that group Regards Red

I think circles are great if you plan on releasing fish, otherwise a couple of snelled Gamakatsu's are hard to beat. Make sure the hook size is suited to the bait size.....eg - no good running 7/0's on a large mullet. If you're having a hard time hooking them on J's, you are probably doing something wrong. Cheers Red

Outstanding I remember Crazy Faradation at the last workshop, complaining about a lack of success on the jewfish and then he comes up with this beauty of a first. Congrats Crazy man. I can only imagine your anxiety and joy after landing your first. Regards Red p.s. did you try that little spot i mentioned the other night?

What a success! The best workshop yet . Special thanks to all involved. Regards Red

Mate, the July "catch of the month" comp is over already Congrats on a mighty effort. Cheers Red

Holy cow What a great fish! That is my dream fish right there. Only played with smallish models and boy do they pull hard and fast. Much like a king only better! Thanks for the pic Dave . Cheers Red

Speed. PG has a low gear ratio and the HG is fast. Cheers Red

Ross, get yourself a fish tank Red

Mate, the Twinpower HG/PG series are superb reels. Better than the ageing Sustain which is also a fine reel. Cheers Red

Greg, i've seen people go in the drink but not pulled in by fish . Sounds like a wicked combo you scored yourself. I just hope you don't run 20kg of drag straight off the bat because an unexpected strike from a large critter will almost certainly pull that combo out of your arms in a flash. Where are you going GT fishing? Cheers Red

Gleeso, the 6500B is many times better than old 6500. For a start it has a balanced rotor that doesn't wobble. It lays the line better, the line roller actually rolls and it has fluid drive. Have you compared the two? My old 6500A reels were garbage when compared to the B series. Maybe your mate scored a lemon? Regards Red

Good post. I'd be giving the river a wide berth for a while. Are the "Waterways" going to be doing anything about the logs? Is it part of their duty? Anyone know? Cheers Red

Aussieraider, i'm not a fan of auxiliaries for offshore fishing. They are next to useless out there. They are often neglected and poorly maintained motors that are likely to fail when needed. Just ask my father Twin motors are the best option if you can afford them. I'd probably choose Etec as they are lighter and use less moving parts. This can only be a good thing, especially with twin setups. Realistically you won't go wrong with either. I believe Etecs are going for good prices at the moment so there's even more incentive. Good luck with it all. Regards Red

Mate, pretty much all modern outboards are reliable these days. You'd have to be unlucky to buy a lemon. I've been fishing outside in my own boats for 17 years and broke down only once. A 2nd motor would've been a godsend at the time. If you plan on fishing wide on a regular basis then twin motors are the go. I've spent a lot of time on a Seafarer Vagabond with twins and they are an awesome trailerboat. However if you just want to duck out for some inshore fishing around the Peak etc with just the occasional shelf trip, a single outboard is fine. Most pro's use 4 strokes these days so i guess they can't be a bad option. Cheers Red

Talk about a Stump puller! Make sure you don't get snagged because that puppy could pull your transom under Regards Red

G'day Humesy, hope you are well. This time its my turn to watch you nail two in 5 minutes . Want to join me for a bash in october? I owe you a trip or two. Best regards Red

Hard bodies are a great choice when you see jewies crashing bait on the surface. Usually around bridges or breakwalls. Otherwise stick to soft plastics. Best hardbodies seem to be the River to Sea Live bait (cross between a hard and soft lure), Killalure Jewie 150 and the Rapala Super Shad Rap 14. Basically you need a shallow running lure with a big roll when worked slowly. Regards Red

Here here!! Watmough is an outstanding player. If they genuinely chose the team on form he'd be the first one in there. NSW selectors seem stuck in a time warp because size is their number 1 criteria and they refuse to select Watmough because he's not the biggest 2nd rower in town. El Masri won't get a run for the same reason. "Size" has now lost them 4 on the trot! When will they realise that form/skill/zip/hunger are more valuable than old fashioned size? Oh, by the way did Anasta play last night? Cheers Red

Congrats to the Canetoads. How did the ref and his touch judges miss the blatant forward pass that led to the winning try? Ray Hadlee reckons they were adjusting their undies at the time Anyhow, they deserved the win. Our side were woeful in attack. Kimmorley kicked well and tackled his heart out but he forgot the reason why he was there.......to attack!! Anasta, well he had a shocker! Brett Stewart on debut was the shining light for mine. Here's hoping we get a new coach for the next series.

Voodoo, When starting out with jewies, its best to fish spots that are known producers of school fish. Get plenty of soapies/schoolies under your belt before progressing to the big fish. It is possible to get 10 or 20 runs a night on schoolies at times and this will keep you interested because once you target the big jobs, one run a night is all you will get if you're lucky and you will inevitably lose interest. Jewfishing, as with all fishing is about attitude. If you take the right attitude with you, your chances of success are solid. Some people think i'm crazy when i mention this crap but i'm a firm believer Ever been fishing and thought, what on earth am i doing here? Or, geez a hot pizza would be nice right now? You end up getting lazy and dis-interested. I'm sure we've all felt like that at times and i'm sure we caught bugger all when in that mood. Many times my mates would say "geez i'd love to catch a jewie one day" but rarely i hear "tonights the night, i'm going out to get one". You always put in a greater effort when in that mode. A common mistake when targetting jews is to throw a rod out for bream, tailor or whatever. You end up being kept so busy by this rod that your focus is lost. You forget to check/change your jewbaits and you will catch bugger all jewies. When we go for jews, we use four jew outfits and thats it. No distractions! The beaches are a good place to be in the cool months as are the upper reaches of the rivers. I'm not a fan of fishing rivers because of this mental thing about river fish being filthy creatures and would never feed them to my kids. Typical over-protective parent But in saying that, i couldn't resist the temptation last weekend in the flood conditions and pulled hook on a ripper of at least 40lb Would've released it anyway but it still hurts losing a solid fish in that fashion. Hope you stick with jewfishing as they are a worthy opponent and will keep you learning forever. Cheers Red

Mate, the list is long. Check out the Shimano website. Which models are you interested in? Cheers Red

Sad news indeed. May he rest in peace. Regards Red