Red

Awesome trip. Great pics, great Barra etc I'm hoping to do a trip later in the year. What lures did the damage if you don't mind me asking? Gotta start stocking up from now Cheers Red

Nice capture! Certainly a Northern Bluefin in the pic. Might be time to consider buying bigger scales Cheers Red

Well done. Some nice fish there. Great to see the harbour fishing so well. Cheers Red

Sammy, i'm assuming you are running 10 or 15kg mono on the TLD30? If so, the Mustad's are certainly not your best choice, particularly for a long set lure. Consider DJ's advice and use katana or SL12 hooks with anode tape for 15kg line class or less. They are super sticky hooks and don't require any sharpening at all which is a bonus Cheers Red

Sounds like a frantic session.....awesome!

Good report guys. Well done Cheers Red

What a fantastic report

Very true Bob. I've been lucky with the deep water bottom bashing. Only tried it on three seperate occasions and came home with the goods with Blue eye to 15kg, Bar cod to 25kg, Gemmies and other unknowns. It's a bloody tough way to fish and easily the least enjoyable form of angling i've experienced. We were lucky to not have a snag or lose any tackle in these sessions but credit goes to the skipper was quite experienced in this caper and knew where to start his drifts.......coming to think about it, he was just copying Warnie who was out there caning those Blue eyes. This guy is the King of the mountain ........well he certainly was on that particular day. Cheers Red

Bad luck Bob . It's the bad days that make the fun days so sweet. I think Mr Hunter once said there was no future in bottom bashing Browns. Perhaps he was right after all. Cheers Red

Blood knot, your Airity's anti reverse bearing only needs a drop of oil. They are a mighty fine reel. It's worth spending the money on a new bearing for sure. Cheers Red

Ah, Penguin. You still got it mate Cheers Red

Roffo, i bought my lot a few years back from a local store. Might be worth giving Shimano a call to see if they still supply our market with them. Normal Baitrunners are very good reels but the Thunnus are better thanks largely to their metal construction, making them a better choice for heavier braid line applications. Cheers Red

Hi mate, if you really need a baitrunner type reel, you can't go past the Shimano Thunnus. Cheers Red

Great fish mate. Hope they hang around. Well done. Cheers Red

Nice bag indeed Been a while since i seen a Bonito in our waters. To think they were once a pest....lol What's happen to them i wonder? Cheers Red

Tufline is very good stuff for baitcasters, as is Platil and many other true braids. Cheers Red

Rodholder, you are blessed It's great to see you back on a high. All good from here mate Cheers Red

Too good Goob, seems you and your brother Uncle Johnno have these monster flatties all sussed. Well done Cheers Red

MY03, those texaliums are excellent bait-fishing rods. If only they didn't feel like they were made of lead..... You would have some trouble finding a blank that weighs more than the good old Texie. Much too heavy for plastic fishing IMHO. I've yet to see a half decent factory 10-15kg plastics rod for $200. The only rod i've felt that comes close is the Loomis Pro Blue range. These are relatively cheap for what they are, reasonably light but seriously gutsy. A damn good versatile brute stick. Unfortunately you will need to come up with an extra $100 or so Have you had a play with one? Good luck Red

How exciting and what a great challenge Talk about doing things the hard way. This extreme yak-fishing gig is absolutely insane. Congrats! Cheers Red

Best report i've read in a long while......CONGRATS There is no greater feeling than becoming a dad . All the best Red

Mike, hope you are well. I will get over this by tomorrow and i hope it never happens to you or any Raider. We spend big bucks on boats, sounders, rods, reels etc yet we got pumped by a 50 cent hook. You just gotta laugh mate. On the bright side, these fish are still swimming around and will hopefully put a smile on someone's face in the near future. Byron, i did notice some landbased guys. Were you down there with your deckie? Cheers Red

Sammy, i can assure you that my harmony was disrupted all day Cheers Red

Fished for jewfish last night a Captain Cooks Bridge. It was very much a rush job and managed to leave a few things behind such as leader material and appropriate hooks, hook file......doh Had to resort to using rusty old blunt 10/0's that haven't been used in quite a while. Anyhow, the live tailor gets slammed and and mid way through the fight the fish shakes the hooks free....DAMN! That fish felt like somewhere between 8 and 10kg. Not happy! Oh well, try again. Minutes later, the T-Curve buckles hard and 65lb braid is peeled off at speed. This is a much better fish.....easily 15kg plus was the call. After two solid runs under heavy drag, the jew was tired and metres away from the gaff....the fish shakes the hooks free again I can assure you that losing that one made me feel sick in the stomach! What do you do? Try again! Two minutes later the T-Curve goes off again. This time it was a pup of around 3kg and pulled no drag at all. This juvenile was not clever enough to shake the rusty hooks free. He was released to do some growing up and hopefully he will avoid baited hooks till he's a teenager....lol The moral of the story......don't go to battle without the right equipment and don't rush. A dopey 50 cent hook cost us dearly. Won't be making that mistake again......... Cheers Red

Great pics and report. Congrats to all involved Cheers Red