DerekD

For starting out i'd be looking at the 1-15gm. The 1-8gm is a bit too limiting. The other thing is both those rods are a one piece if I am reading the model number correctly. Next question - WHY?? One piece is a pain to transport and store. Get a two piece.

I'm working on an article for this currently but still a few weeks off. Can you give us a budget to work to? Are we talking just rod or rod, reel and line?

Hi Moose. 1. Nothing stopping you from using shop bought squid if it looks fresh. I see stuff in the store which is either very pinkish (think pale English tourist cooked in the sun) or slightly purple. If it is this colour you would have to pay me to take it and I'd only use it for my witches hats to chase blue swimmer crabs (they seem to luv it). I haven't had an issue to date freezing squid I've caught myself and then using it weeks or even several months later if the colour looks right. Why pay money for something I can usually catch for myself plus I enjoy the process of catching squid. As a bonus I know how it has been handled. 2. The challenge with keeping them fresh is ensuring they don't cook in the sun. Keep them in a bucket with a lid and change out the water during the day. This works for both live and dead squid. I find the squid are hard to keep live without proper aeration and change out of water. I usually catch squid in the morning during a fishing session and then at the end of the day they are still in good enough condition for me to freeze them for the next session. If I catch squid for a fishing session the next day or two I will still ziplock them but put them in the fridge rather than the freezer. 3. Leave them on the line till something happens (taken by a big fish) or they get eaten by the pickers. In depth of water you are probably fishing they won't be cooking in the sun which is your biggest obstacle to keeping them fresh.

Hi again, While it would be easier in person and I could check if I could get the motion desired out of your lure I'll trust to the fact I can get pretty well any lure in this size walking the dog in this way and and usually with a pretty tight motion. Where I usually see the problem is that people can't get the twitches tight and sharp enough because they have a tendency to move the rod like for a soft plastic. They pivot the rod via the wrist. Watch this excellent video from Sandflats Fishing Australia as reference for further discussion and in particular watch what he is doing with his wrist. You can see the walk the dog motion at the end of the video. This is NOT what we actually want to be doing for the small versions. The lure he is using is a 120mm sugapen so it is a lot more forgiving than the smaller ones we are now discussing. First and critical point is after every twitch we need to create the slack which allows the lure to swing to one side. We also need to get a little bit of slack back so the next twitch pulls the lure back towards the centre and when the tension comes off the line the momentum allows the lure to swing over to the other side and then repeat for the backwards and forwards. That much I am pretty sure you have worked out for yourself. This is the part that is going to mess with your head. Do not pivot the rod through the wrist. This creates angular moment and say a 1° to 2° movement of the hand may result in a 10 to 15cm movement of the rod tip. This then has the result of dragging the lure forward rather than creating the small pulses we require. I want to to shake (not pivot) your hand from side to side say 2cm like your hand is suffering tremors. This will reduce the distance travelled by the rod tip for each pulse to also a few cm. The pulses have to be in a direction so the rod loads up the line and transmits the motion to the lure before creating/allowing slack. It is this short sharp pulsing which creates the tight walk the dog twitches you see in my video. Include this with a stuttery wind on the pauses The first three or four sessions trying this your hand will get tired as you will want to tense up the muscles. Once you learn to relax the muscles involved it get easier and easier. Regards, Derek

Hi Subtropic. When you say you have been trying to master this with limited success are you talking about achieving the motion in the video link or getting the fish to hit it? Two slightly different problems with a solution to each. BTW size has an impact and brands too to a lesser degree. For example it is harder with the 58mm lures because they have a tendency to go subsurface rather than walk the dog. Stay away from those for the time being. Once you have clarified then I think I will be able to help you further as I've seen similar issues for each person I've helped learn this and usually it is the same problem. Regards, Derek

I think my tendency to get into teach rather than fish mode when it goes a bit quiet does have some downsides. I had a ball that day with some great company and the chance to mix up some locations. My toadfish on lure at least helped me avoid a donut and it was worth it to me to see you work that MMD splash prawn in a way I had not considered for bream. I'm keen to head out with you and @HenryR (aka Mike) again as soon as my isolation lifts. I was fortunate enough to grab these photos of your fly caught luderick and HenryR's cracking 33.5cm bream on plastic. I'd also call your fish as legal.

Hi M.S. it specifically states "This notice confirms that you were required to self-isolate from 12-01-2022 to 20-01-2022 under the Public Health (COVID-19 Self-Isolation) Order (No 4) 2021". My confusion is with the interpretation of the word to. For example, I can bring someone to their front door and that implies I haven't crossed the threshold but have taken it right to the edge. Using this line of logic it means that I am allowed to leave my place say 1 minute after midnight at the end of Wednesday the 19th of January. This would also line up with the Department of health's advised 7 days isolation from Wednesday the 12th (when I tested positive at about 7am as part of company testing procedure) to Wednesday the 19th. I also logged the R.A.T. test that morning as part of the new rule change. My counter-example is that demerit points for the Christmas break were to Monday the 3rd of January but in this case it also included the whole of Monday as it were a public holiday. If I look at this example the day I can actually leave (assuming is that there are no symptoms which to date there have not been) is as the date and time ticks over to Friday the 21st. I've got a telecon with company HR next week. Currently their interpretation is that the 7 days starts from the date and time of the positive R.A.T. test. What will probably happen is (even though we are an essential industry and my normal place of work is the site) that I'll suggest I work from home for several additional days and then return to site on the 21st which will get around most of the confusion. I think the department of health statement needs to have a line "up to and including...". I'm genuinely not trying to be a smart@rse or keyboard warrior on this which is why the interpretation is causing me agitation. I'm pretty sure some court cases have been lost on the interpretation of one word. For some interesting side reading, there is an example of a US$10 million case lost for the sake of a single comma: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-21/the-case-of-the-$13-million-comma/8372956 Sincerely, Derek PS. I think we need a simple one word which could be used in place of to which would define if it is to the edge of something or inclusive of something. Kind of like "et al". PPS. I found a follow up to the missing comma story: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html

Thank you @mrsswordfisherman and @Rebel Still no major symptoms and the intermittent naps have been a semi guilty pleasure. Minor issue is that on the downside the Department of Health are not consistent about the day to stop isolating. Test came back positive at 7am on Wednesday the 12th. Their website says 7 days self isolation if there are no more symptoms. Which I'd take to mean I could head out on Wednesday the 19th. The separate notice they sent me says isolate from the 12th to the 20th (the Thursday) but then the interpretation of to the 20th could mean midnight at the end of the 19th or including the 20th. We see the same with double demerit points as the to includes the actual final day mentioned.

Hi @Little_Flatty I laughed at the 147 (of) flathead click bait and really enjoyed the report. The most frustrating thing about isolating at home is knowing there are great fishing opportunities happening that I can't get into till next weekend so these reports really make my day. Thanks for sharing. Derek

Hi All, I got diagnosed with Covid yesterday. None of the major symptoms (sore throat, loss of smell or taste, running nose, etc) and about all I am feeling is sleepy (which could be just me and the muggy conditions). I've been told to self isolate at home for 7 days and am using some of this time to work on some other articles I've had in mind for several months. When preparing the the topic of effective casting I reached out for some help with the videos but also played around with the camera gear and really nice zoom lenses I already own. I've seen several excellent videos on working topwater lures like the Sugapen but as they are mostly done with a GoPro or similar they don't show what is happening at the working end of the outfit. Essentially it is what is referred to as a walk the dog type retrieve with the lure skipping left, right, left, right and with some pauses thrown in. The rod tip is being worked in really short sharp pulses and then a stuttering wind between the flicks to take up the slack. Almost shake the hand rather than flick or twitch the hand. It will take a few goes and it will be tiring on the hand the first few times as the tendency is to stiffen up the hand. Get into the habit of relaxing your hand as you work the lure. My mate Ollie was on the camera for this one as we were working out the capabilities of the equipment. This video shows me working a Sugapen. If chasing bream I'll use longer pauses but I hope you get the idea. https://youtu.be/WY9CBQ61pDQ Regards, Derek

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Slightly older topic but I thought I'd chime in on this one. There was such a reaction against using a heavy rod in the 24kg to 37kg class on a kayak that I thought I'd discuss the opposite view. Firstly I do use a 37kg outfit on my kayak and have for a long time and will continue to do so based on my past experiences. It is a Shakespeare Ugly Stik 5’6” blue water rated to 37kg line. It is matched with an older Spheros 14,000 reel for which I have a 50lb and an 80lb spool. Why not according to some of the previous posts includes it is too hard to fight a fish from a kayak with such a strong drag. You will flip the kayak. Etc. First thing to note is the drag is adjustable so just because it is capable of about 20kg of drag I do not have to fight the fish on a locked drag - not even close. I only wind it up (which is barely) just enough to do the job I need it too. Why do I take it out on the kayak then you may ask. First answer is I already owned it. Second answer is that it is a short rod so the lever is not huge when fighting the fish. The main reason for taking it out is that I can use a very heavy sinker on it without worrying about damaging the rod (and especially the tip) as part of my poor man's down rigger. While slow trolling around headlands etc I can leave it in the rod holder with the drag backed right off for the strike. When I hear that sweet sound of the drag spinning and line peeling off I have a chance to put my other gear away before grabbing the heavy outfit. I've probably hooked more than half my kayak kings on this outfit. Yes if you snag up you will probably have to cut the line but I haven't had that problem yet. Just something to consider..... PS @frankS that is a wonderful offer you made to SP to make him a custom rod which he should get a lifetime of fishing joy out of. RESPECT!!

I'm not familiar with the rod so what is the lure rating? Something in the 15 to 60 gram lure rating should match up with the 4000 reel. Final test would be to stick the reel on it and see if it balances and looks right. Just to throw another option into the mix, one of my mates bought the Shimano ColtSniper on special and I have the odd pang of envy when I see him punching lures out on that. If you want to push the distance a little further I'd still go lighter on the braid as it usually over tests.

While there are increased numbers of people on the water and fishing I still don't think that would have a huge impact on kingfish numbers we are seeing. There is an expression that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish. While I believe it is over the top there is also a degree of truth. Many of the new anglers (mostly falling in the 90%) don't have the experience of those (say the 10%) who have been chasing them for years. While they might luck onto the odd kingfish and even land them I'd say most of what they would be catching is the undersized bread and butter species. To put it another way, while the amount of people in the 90% pool may have increased noticeably the people in the 10% pool are probably the same passionate anglers who cracked the code years ago and are pulling in (and probably releasing) similar numbers each year. The 90% would add to the annual number of overall kings being caught but not substantially. If I had to call it I feel I am seeing about 1/10th of the kings I expect to see at this time of the year in Sydney harbour. When we went out on Saturday we saw maybe two bust ups where we would previously see 6 or 7 schools feeding in just the Athol bay area alone.

Consider fishing the covered ferry wharves. There are three or three and and half sides which are usually fishable. At least one of those sides should be out of the direction of the rain. Most that I know of allow fishing as long as you respect that it is there for the ferry and the passengers and you clean up afterwards. The rains forecast over the next few days are likely to be passing showers so as long as you have some cover you can get under you should be right. Yes you might have to sit around for 30 minutes or so but that is not too bad.

Which model were they and where exactly did they snap. I own 5 Atomic Arrowz in various configurations and to date have not had a problem recommending them to others. Mine is not a big enough sample to know if there are inherent faults so I'm very interested in what the underlying cause might be. Was it when you were casting or fighting the fish? Were you using lures within the recommended lure rating for the rods?

I wanted to be able to reach some of the schools busting up in Sydney just outside the range of my go to outfits so put together a nice little outfit consisting of Shimano Stradic 4000 FK (I've had it for a for a few years and decided it would be great for this purpose so I stripped off the old line). Frogleys offshore Atomic ArrowZ rod 9 foot 2 piece line rating 14-25lb and 20 to 50 gram lure rating which I picked up for about $130. Think it is the AAS-290SS Shore Spin For the line I went a bit more expensive and got some skinny 10lb jigging braid (colour changes every 10m) which allows me to see how far each lure is casting. I can't remember which brand but to date I have been really happy with it. I have about 300m on the spool. If you are only chasing tailor and salmon you should be able to get away with a lighter braid with a benefit of increased casting distance. The leader I am running is 20 to 30lb. With a 40gram metal slice type lure 80 to 85m is pretty easy to get. With a tail wind and giving that bit of extra punch I can push it a touch over the 100m.

Dude, That photo is gorgeous. I love the colour change across the shot.

Really annoying when this happens. There I am trying to give a lesson on casting and working the lures and we keep getting interrupted by fish hitting them.... Seriously, some days it is not worth getting out of bed. That morning wasn't one of those.

I'm almost certain that is not the issue. Unless they are being netted before they even to Sydney. Even 5 or 6 years ago I used to head down to the water and I would see several intermittent bust ups in the areas I was fishing. If I saw those then I was pretty sure I was going to hook into a king. My iceberg theory is you only see about 10% of what is going on at the surface. So if there was feeding on the surface there were way more fish in the area. I was getting 1, 2, 3 or 4 kings shorebased every session. Now when I head to the water I'm seeing maybe 1 or 2 splashes from a single fish in several hours of fishing. They are around but not in the numbers we have seen in the past. Many of those kings would be undersized so should be being released. While there are people out there that are very consistent at catching them most casual fishers shouldn't be making a dent in the numbers.

I remember the golden years from 2010 to 2013. You couldn't put a squid bait in the water for longer than half an hour before hooking up a king at times. When out on the kayak you would see several schools busting up in most areas. Each year for the last few years I think it can't get worse but it seems to. Only the odd splash or school here and there. Went out on a boat on the weekend from Rozelle all the way down to Bradleys head and did see the usual off limits school underneath the harbour bridge and one other school near Sirius cove. I'd love to get the data for those three golden summers of fishing and see if it was current or water temperatures or rain or something else. I do see big schools of baitfish each season so I know it is not that - the food is around.

Hi @Mike Sydney and @HawkesburyParadise this is one of the photos I got during yesterday evening's session.

Depends on what and how you are targeting. The three species we chase there are bass, carp and redfin. If you don't feel like paying for parking then park in front of the hydrological centre outside the gates and walk in as it is not far. As you get your first glimpse of the water you will see the covered area in the article above. This is my usual starting point and then I work that little bay to the left up to the playground area. For the carp I just burley up as far as I can throw with sweet corn and then put say 4 pieces of sweetcorn on a size 1 or 1/0 hook on a running sinker. There is a gentleman I've seen several times that sight fishes for them with a fly rod. For the bass and redfin I use Celta spinners or topwater lures. Hope you enjoy yourself.

Hi @Little_Flatty I really enjoyed finally meeting you and then reading this report. I'm looking forward to our next session and I'll be interested in seeing your progress on the casting. Regards, Derek

Hi HP, Pleasure to meet you last night. Most of us fumble along to work out casting or we get passed down habits which are not optimal. There is a lot of information to pick up so it will so it will take a while but the more you work at it the quicker the growth. I was glad to see you asking questions as it means you are switched on and learning so please keep them coming. Regards, Derek