DaveW

Top stuff Dave Reddies are one of the best eating fish you'll find, probably THE best freshwater fish (I won't mention Bass....... that's frowned upon )

Never believe a rumour - or start one. The Hawgs have definitely been canned, what stock is left on the face of the planet is all being re-directed from the odd warehouse worldwide to us, hence the spasmodic nature of shipments. It seems there's more demand for them here than anywhere else. I can guarantee supplies are fairly limited - and will run out. If you think it's all a marketing ploy to get you to buy more no probs, just remember the above when you've got none

Great effort Dave - don't suppose the Cod came on a 3" PowerHawg

Crucian Carp I think, nowhere near as damaging as the other kind, more of a giant Goldfish. Someone else will know for sure

I just took the punt Cabelas are pretty good with their sizings, they have a section of the site so you can take a few measurements and work out what's right, plus on any particular product they normally note if the size is different to normal. A while back I ordered a cheap fishing shirt in XL with some other gear, just to see what the sizes were like and it was almost spot on for me. Since then I haven't run into any trouble ordering XL. The boots I ordered were a smidgin small (even after all the foot measuring calculations) but now that the Thinsulate has worn in a bit they're an exact fit! A few of the guys have tried on my bibs to see what the size was like and judged it from there. If you ever want to test it out I always have the gear with me so if you see me anywhere just ask.

I've got a Columbia jacket that I scored fairly cheaply - the boys at the Australian Bass Angler helped me out I also imported a waterproof bib and brace setup from Cabelas, similar to this: Dry Plus bib I bought the uninsulated version, as I figure you can always put some traccies on underneath if it's cold. I've had these on in horrendous conditions, and not a drop got through - I'm sure Buz has the matching jacket and he's seriously impressed as well. They make you look sexy too In the pic I'm also wearing my Columbia boots - waterproof and insulated, again bought through Cabelas....... after a particularly freezing Hairtail expedition I swore I would never have cold wet feet again.

Better pick of the line station:

What about this? Looks shmick Berkley Line Station

Gold mate, pure gold

I'm not sure who it is, maybe Buz, but they'd scored a tuppaware container or very similar that the spools just fit into, and about 8 or so wide. Drill holes coresponding to where the spools are, labeled each hole and worked a treat - don't know what the go was with the line keeper though.

What about a couple of these? Don't know where you'd get them?? Leader Holder

They don't often hook up well I'll agree, but if you were using other trebles you wouldn't have hookd up at all Leave the middle treble on, suffer the odd snag or get some titanium 'Luresaver' split rings (these work well by the way). I've never heard anyone say leaving the middle treble on makes them catch less fish................

Great to hear your view Tony As yet another certified SX-40 lover, I have tried the Juro's and they are simply an inferior product. One of the reasons SX's catch fish well is the rattle and harmonics - here's a test, put one of each in either hand, shake them, listen and decide. "Jeeze Dave, they're almost the same it can't make that much difference" - Dead wrong. The best example of effective rattles and vibration is the Jackall range of lippless crankbaits.... many are similar but none catch the same. I haven't done this, but is anyone brave (or mad) enough to take a saw or hammer to one of each for an internal examination? You could check the plastic thickness, what the rattles are made of, internal chambers etc........ of course, it would make it easier if Juro did a transparent one like the SX's - then you'd know for sure. One point I don't agree on Tony is that they don't always swim straight out of the box - personally the 'needs tuning' rate runs around 1 in 5, but it's an easy fix with the pliers. The Juro's on the other hand have all needed a tweak. Cheers,

Same boat plain hull:

I'll add my few cents I've had the pleasure of being on one of the newer US hulls for a run in the Harbour - bloody nice I wouldn't take it 5klms offshore, but that isn't what it was designed for. It seems like people are wanting to have thier cake and eat it too - seriously, there aren't really any boats on the market that really allow you to fish skinny water for Bream one minute, then troll for Marlin the next. Having said that, I haven't been on the new Triton that the pics are of, but it seems a much better compromise. A couple of boats I'm stunned I don't see more of are the Formula 15 and the Flycraft. Both these boats are based on the old Haines 445F hull - a proven outside hull, and quite capable in the shallow stuff. If in doubt about this hull start searching on the net and you'll be amazed. Both the manufacturers of these boats will happily build to your needs - I have no association with either of them, I just wanted to make the point that there are other options available if you think outside the square. You can also get higer sided US Bass style boats, more what they use for their 'Walleye' fishing, which could be argued to be more appropriate for our all-round fishing environments. To give you an idea I've attached a pic of a Formula 15 decked out as an offshore boat - I've seen exactly the same boat set up for estuary lure fishing, one of the Vic ABT competitiors has one and it is a very capable boat. I'll also put one on of the bare hull - It's easy to see where you can go from a blank canvas (I can't seem to get two pics in the same post properly). I hope this post isn't seen as advertising - I'm trying to get the point across that there are plenty of options out there, and a diverse marketplace can only be good for the consumer. We can get exactly what we want, without having to 'settle' for what's available.............. remember what was around only a few years ago?? Cheers,

Husky isn't it?

Top stuff Byron - hope you save some of that luck for Sussex

I was told they can't leave the racks or poles as they're a boating hazard. At least the wild oysters will still be there

Jeeze, after reading all that you'd think I like to Don't believe a word of it, I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk - alcoholics go to meetings After the eerrrrrmmm....... imbibing, last weekend at Gippsland I may have to take it a bit easier this weekend, but I've said that before Good luck to all entering the event, hope it doesn't rain too much, and the wind stays down - making the run up the Hawks from the Pitts in a small boat can be dangerous, take care all.

Got the Gippsland ABT Bream comp - just about to leave the office and do the drive now....... another 16 hour round trip fishing for Bream (insert loony smiley here)

It used to be a ripper Trout river, now it's crap You will get Carp and Redfin - the Reddies will eat anything

Thanks mate - I'll be flying the Polycraft flag

I've got two of the Yamaha branded tanks and they are perfect, never leaked, no hassles with venting etc. If you go to one of the major Yammy dealers you can generally get them pretty cheap, as Yamaha supplies them with all their motors (up to 70hp I think). Some of these motors end up connected to underfloor tanks, therefore the portable one is excess. From memory I paid $30 for one (with the fuel lead), as my motor already came with one.

Thanks for the kind words Grant I've got some pics on the work computer they didn't use for the article, particularly the Ecogear Tank cut in half and joined together - it's a ripper Crab pattern I'll see if I can get them up tomorrow If you approach their use with an open mind they will outfish Bass Minnows in certain circumstances............ unweighted down the side of a pylon is one example

I've got a 50HP Yamaha 2-Stroke on the back of the Polycraft and carry 2 x 25L tanks, the worst I've done is about 35L in a hard days fishing.