DerekD

Firstly been fishing with braid to fluorocarbon for about 10 years and refined my setup as I worked out what did and didn't work for me. I don't like the braid to leader knot (I primarily use the uni to uni knot as it is quick and easy for me to tie and has been reliable) going through the runners. I figure a knot passing through at casting speed bumping against the guides can't be good (I have absolutely no scientific or anecdotal evidence to support this). As a result I use generally about 1m and definitely less than a rod length for my leader. Gives me enough length to change out lures a few times during a session or two without having to retie the leader. I catch enough fish in my sessions to have come to the conclusion that a shorter leader doesn't put off the fish. There is a second reason for keeping my leader shorter. I often fish light gear with soft plastic lures. Nature of the environment I fish is such that I will snag up at times. When I do and can't get the lure back the majority of the time as I gently load up the line it will break at the join knot. I don't want to lose two or three rod lengths of relatively expensive fluoro. Losing 1m I don't mind. Avoid using a swivel. If you are fishing with lures which require a fast retrieve you really do not want that swivel hitting your guides if you miss time it due to bad visibility. Can result in a trip to the fishing shop to replace a cracked or damaged guide or even worse a broken rod tip. If you have to use a swivel look at the palomar knot. Have found this to be an extremely strong knot for braid. When I have two lines that are being difficult to join I will change to the surgeon's joiner knot. Essentially you have the lines side by side and then do a 3 or 4 times over hand knot. Regards, Derek

Hi, I've been fishing nippers for decades and I luv using them since they don't leave a stink on your hand like prawns and secondly the fish love them. Got a fair few 40cm plus whiting on them too. My preferred method is to use a long shank number 4 hook although if I don't have one of them I will also go to a #6. Break the big claw off at the base. They can draw blood. Flip the nipper over and look underneath and almost at the end of the tail. You will see the outlet of the poop tube. Usually indicated by some black waste under the skin. Thread it up through this hole and up to the chest cavity where you will bring it out on the underside of the nipper. You will have to gently bend the nipper around the curve of the hook. The second method I use less often is to feed it in through the mouth and down the body exposing the hook in underneath the nipper. I have heard one fisho who likes to pin two nippers by the tail to the hook. The theory is the extra movement of them kicking against each other attracts the fish.

Hi Raiders, A funny thing happened a few months ago on the water and now that the weather is so miserable I thought I'd share it and hopefully put a fishing related smile on someone's face. Was on the kayak heading out for a fish. Stopped past Clifton Gardens on the way out to see if I could catch some fresh bait. Nearby there was an aluminium runabout with about 4 guys on it. One of the guys had some heavy gear with a big bend in it. My first thought was that is one solid kingfish. The guy on the rod was pretty well built and he was lifting the rod and then winding down. Of course I had to stop and watch. He was working the rod pretty hard and the fight took him around the side of the boat to the stern and back again. Another fishing kayak pulled up nearby me to watch this awesome fight. About the same time both of us realised the same thing and made the same comment about not being a lot of head shakes showing at the tip of the rod. I changed my guess from kingfish to some sort of big stingray. At this point the big guy holding on to the rod was absolutely shattered and had to pass the rod to one of his fishing mates to take over the fight. His mate took a few more minutes to get this mysterious denizen of the deep to the surface and to find out they had hooked and landed their OWN anchor line. Priceless!!!!! I laughed and laughed and laughed some more.

Technique is about as important as location. Squid are fairly mobile so you can go back to the same spot the next day and get nothing. If you don't get any in an area then try a change of colour and/or size and if that doesn't work then shift locations slightly. 15 minutes could be all the difference between getting some and thinking they are not around. Fish areas with weed and sand patches and maybe a little bit of structure. It will be the sort of area bait fish will congregate. If you are at a jetty look for the tell tale black ink marks indicating people have caught them there before. My go to is a Yamashita 2.2 in pink and white on a 4lb braid bream finesse style outfit with 8lb fluoro leader. I have one in a natural colour but in general I prefer jigs that stand out a bit. Will go up to a size 2.5 on that same gear. I look for weed and sand and then work the edges of the weed. I have slow sinking to fast sinking jigs (There is a Yamashita range with three different coloured eyes relating to three different sinking speed (blue - slow, black - standard and pink - fast). The standard or fast sinking I use to cover distance and drop offs and the slow I use to work over the weed beds. I use three types of retrieves. A slow lift and then a pause to let it get down to the bottom. A double flick and pause to let it get down to the bottom. A short triple flick which imparts a darting motion to the jig and then pause to let it slowly settle. If I am over weed beds I count down so that I still stay just above the weed. Squid swim quickly but can be a little hesitant to hold on to a jig so if the jig is being pulled away I use a 30cm (rod tip travel) flick to set the jig and then let the natural flex of the rod absorb the shock. If I am in a snaggy area I use my larger snapper rod with 10 to 14lb braid and 20lb to 30lb leader as I can pull the lure clear of the snags. I will usually use a size 3 or 3.5 for the extra casting distance too. A smaller lure is more likely to get picked on and the 2.2 is the best compromise I have found between size and casting distance. Most jigs drop at about 3 seconds per meter. So if the water is 10m deep then count down to at least 30 seconds and maybe a little more to be sure. After each lift count down for at least 4 seconds to make sure it reaches the bottom. Fan your casts out in an area. If you don't get anything change size and/or colour and do it again. If you don't get anything then they are either not there or not playing = same end result so change locations and then try again. If I am fishing from a boat I will cast towards the shore and then more or less bounce it down (without snagging up) and away from the drop at the shore edge. Put the time in as catching them will get easier. I have glow in the dark ones I hit with a torch which are easier for the squid to spot at dawn and dusk. Once you have some squid if you plan to use them as bait you can put them down as whole baits but I prefer to strip them. Run your hand behind the upper side of the head and into the hood and break the join with your finger. Pull the head out. Either a whole bait or cut in half lengthwise for two baits. The two wings can be separated from the body by working the join with your fingernails. Minimum of two baits there but I slice them in strips to get more. Find the feather inside the top of the hood and pinch out with fingernails and throw away. I run a knife along where it was and open the whole hood out so I can cut long strips. If you want to keep squid for eating they are prepared more or less the same way but you don't open up the hood and you clean the inside and outside of the hood. If you want to keep them for fishing buy a packet of sandwich sized ziplock bags and drop them in there and do not wash them in freshwater. Freeze them in the bag for your next fishing outing. I find they keep quite well and I can also use them whole when chasing jewfish. If I catch a Southern Calamari I work the area where I hooked up as I find they travel in 2s and 3s of a similar size. If I catch an arrow squid then I keep trying till it feels futile as I have picked up to 9 in a group. Have fun and I'd like to hear a report when it starts to come together.

Hi, I've been using a variation on this for a few years. Rather than rod tip up I use the rod tip down wherever possible. As he said in the video let the jig countdown to the water depth you want and then wind in the slack. When you are ready do a short jab (say 30cm travel) away from the jig with the tip of the rod. As you return the rod to the start position take ONE wind on the reel the handle. I bring the handle back to the same point every time and my finishing point is the closest point to the butt of the rod. I repeat this in quick succession usually 3 times but you can go 4. WHY: As you do the jab the squid jig darts and then veers slightly to one side as the pressure comes off the rod and you wind in the short amount of slack. The second jab causes it to dart again and move to the other side. The third dart brings it back towards the first direction. The jig travels less than a metre in a direct line towards you but the left and right darting motion really gets the squid's attention. The pause (say 4 seconds) after the 3 or 4 darts gives the lure a chance to slowly settle back to the same depth and gives the squid the chance to grab the lure. Practice it when you can get pretty close to the water line but not damage your rod tip (or switch to the lifted rod tip technique). A boat jetty is a good example of a place you can practice this. It will feel uncoordinated for a little while but concentrate on the short jab/sweep and single wind and as the jig gets close to you watch the way it darts in the water.

I almost exclusively use the uni to uni. 8 turns on the braid 4 or 5 on the mono. However on one or two of my setups I find the same problem you mention. My work around is to switch to the (triple) surgeons knot for just these set ups. Basically you run the two lines parallel at the point you want them to join and do a three or four turn overhand knot. Because the two lines end up intertwined you don't get one knot biting down on the other line. As to your tailor problem I find that when I use a halco twisty I use a duolock clip and swivel. It keeps the line just that little further from the lure, doesn't seem to affect the action, takes a little bit of twist out of the line and I don't think I have lost any to having tailor bite one off (as long as you don't stop retrieving so they know which end is the tail to bite off). In fact I have been able to land some pretty big fish on this rig with my bream gear. If you haven't come across it yet I also suggest you change out the treble hook to a large eye single hook (Gamakatsu is one company which makes these) just for the ease of unhooking them.

The old time and tides question. One of my friends likes pissing me off by telling me when the high or low tide is thus ensuring we get more fish. Not that simple. The reason I think about the tides is it often affects where I fish. For example I like to use soft plastics to fish some of the bays on the north shore. There is generally a lot of structure and weed along the shoreline in these areas so I figure there will be fish close to shore. To get to these spots involves walking on oyster covered rocks alongside the shore and I can only do this at low tide. I also like to chase pelagic fish (tailor, salmon, kingfish, bonito) and more often than not they are cruising around looking for baitfish. Generally not too affected by what is happening with the tides. A couple of examples where tides should be taken into account: If you are fishing near mangroves or a flat bay. At high tide the predatory fish can get in amongst the mangroves or flats. As the tide is dropping food is washed out of the mangroves or off the flats so they are likely waiting along the edges. In a channel. Fish want to get as much food for as little as wasted energy as possible. If there is a strong flowing current then they have to work harder against it. A fish like a jewfish might be waiting in line with the pylons as the eddys caused by the pylons will make it easier to hold position. A trout does something similar in the stream by waiting in the eddys and darting in to the main flow to get food as it is washed past. An underwater ridge which forces baitfish to congregate at certain times of the tide. Start to think how and why a tide will affect the area you are fishing. Fish are usually an opportunistic feeder and will take food when they can and not just because it is a certain time or tide.

Hello again, If your budget stretches that far then I recommend looking at the Hobie range as the hands free option of the peddle drive is fantastic but you have to be a rather hardcore fishing nut (I know there are five of us in our group) to go down that expensive path. If you are looking for a starting point to get out on the water then there are plenty of other far less expensive SOT paddle options out there. Depending on your balance a wider kayak is more stable but will be slower on the water (boat physics) and a skinnier kayak (like the Epics) will be tippier but will be faster. Higher sides will be more wind affected but you will be less likely to get wet from wash or chop. A few of the vendors are offering fishing accessory packages (includes rod holders) to allow people to start fishing on the water. Unfortunately with the paddle type units you will have to put the paddle down to fish and the rod down to paddle (why we prefer our Hobie drives) but I've seen plenty of people managing to do this. We have two rod holders molded into the Hobie kayak and often use one for a snapper rod to troll a lure and the second one for a lighter rod to flick lures (such as halco twistys) around with. Excellent idea to try a kayak for a few hours but while doing so think about how you transport/manhandle them and fish from them and how they track on the water. We've had six to eight hour sessions on these so think about how your back and butt will feel after a few hours on the water. As you are planning on fishing Narabeen lakes this might be a non-issue as you might pull into shore and hop off for a stretch a little more frequently than we do. Met one guy at Pittwater who bought a double paddle kayak so he could get out on the water with his partner and a single mirage peddle drive kayak so he could go out by himself. Genius!!

For years I have had both a small runabout (3.5m with 25HP) and the peddle drive Hobie Revolution (13 foot long). Registration of the boat was $72 this year and the trailer was a little bit less (think $68) from memory. I went on ebay to get a pulley system for about $50 and have set this up so I can hang up the kayak in the garage. My 4 fishing mates store their Hobie Revolutions on racks down near the water and the rental is currently about $300 per year per kayak. The boat on trailer cost about $1,000 but there has been maintenance over the years which has put the invested cost up a fair bit. Had a lot of fun with it so no regrets there. Advantages are that you can set up the gear and change locations quickly and easily. You can also stand depending on the floor arrangement in the boat. The motor size is not a factor in requiring a licence but if you travel more than 10 knots (up on the plane) you will need a licence. I like having the boat as I can also take others fishing and there is a little more storage room. The pain with this is that you need a boat ramp to get into the water. I have a few more launch options with the kayak. I have roof racks for my car. It was easier to take my kayak out the heads than it was the boat as the safety equipment required on a boat is more than is required for a kayak. As the trailer is a registered vehicle you can park it on the street but consider where as I am aware of a number of incidents where residents have decided they don't like a boat on trailer being parked on the street in front of their house and have made an issue of it either physically or through council. My friend suffers sea sickness offshore but has never had an issue on the Hobie. None of the others I know with them have had an issue with this. We fish Sydney harbour and have ranged anywhere between just outside the heads and up to Balmain. Have also taken them up to Pittwater and up the Hawkesbury but I won't do that again (lots and lots of jellyfish and I can feel them jamming between the Hobie Mirage drive fins - ended up using the paddles for the rest of that day). I suspect you won't have issues with motion sickness for a number of reasons. Firstly you spend most of the time looking at the horizon. Secondly as the kayak rolls from side to side over a wave or boat wash you move your body so it stays vertically otherwise you will stuff up the centre of gravity and possibly end up in the drink. The fish are not spooked by the kayak and we have spent hours amongst schools of feeding fish. Fish have even bumped into the side of the kayak. The Hobie I have is a single person unit and cost about $2,500 with safety gear and a few extras. The double person is much more. The resale value of the Hobie range is excellent. If you get a less expensive two person SOT paddle kayak work out how you will stow your fishing gear. I don't like sitting on my backside for hours at a time but my balance is not good enough to stand and stretch like I can on the boat. You get a good workout while on the water. If I had to chose I'd pick the boat but my fishing buddy would pick the kayak. They both have their advantages. If you are fishing the lakes I'd consider the kayak as there are some shallow sections and they have less draught than an outboard and you'll probably feel more in sync with the nature. Once you feel confident about it and realise you are not getting seasick you will be surprised at where you end up taking it. Regardless of which choice you make please take the time to read the boating rules even if you don't get a boat licence to save grief about safety gear and consideration for others on the water.

Steve, Trying to send you a PM but you can't receive new messages. Have some extended advice for you but can you let me know when you can receive? Derek

Be warned that it is usually older aged gentlemen using the beach and you may end up with an retina burning image of someone standing up and stretching on the rocks thus flashing their tackle (and not the kind we go on and on about in this forum).

Ahhh this old argument..... Just got back from the Netherlands and I found it interesting to see that pretty well everyone was holding the rod in their right hand and winding with their left hand. Makes complete sense now that Australians do it differently as we drive on the other side of the road too. I laugh whenever I see people use the argument that you should use the weaker hand to wind and the stronger hand to cast and then use a baitcaster which basically forces right handers (unless they have found the rarer left handed baitcaster) to do what they preach against. Like others I believe in doing what feels most comfortable. When chasing pelagics I find it easier to wind at speed with my right hand. Furthermore even though my left hand is weaker I find it easier to wind with the right and then use the right to assist the left with the lift and then switch back to the reel as needed.

I've picked a number of squid (and cuttlefish for that matter) using vertical jigging along the wharves. There are often baitfish hiding in the shelter of the pylons and that is what the squid are probably after. When on a wharf I'll jig up and down a few times and then shift a meter or two and repeat. Alternatively I cast parallel to the edge of the wharf to cover more ground quickly. Don't forget that squid are a pretty mobile creature so catching one could be the difference between being there at the right time or getting there 15 minutes later. Put the time in and you will catch them this way.

If I have to tie direct I use the uni-knot but I suggest you do it slightly differently. Try getting some duo-lock (stronger design than some others out there) clips and matching swivels. Make sure the rating is a bit above your line rating. When I am jigging for squid I may have to change out jig style 2 to 4 times to find what is working and it is easier with the clips. There is a second advantage in that if you see some surface action you can quickly change out to a twisty or similar lure and chase the surface fish.

Just been on Skype to Jezza one of the aforementioned students who showed me up. He has threatened to come back from Spain to catch a Kraken and is planning to use an anchor as a squid spike and a whole "deleted" as a bait. He could be on to something....

Just dropped it off at a friend's place as it was too good to save for bait and my friend likes his seafood way more than I do so I thought he and the missus would appreciate it more (also way too much for one person). So big in fact he was still cleaning it for the pan when I left. I have the head and the wings and am hoping to convert them into a jewfish or a kingfish in the next fishing session.

I'm running a Symetre Fi which I bought years ago. I liked it so much that I bought 2 more which sit in the cupboard. It means I have spare spools for different braids and 8lb mono. Furthermore when it dies I can grab the next one out of the cupboard and just switch over the spools. Truth be told it usually sits on my Shimano Ian Miller first generation bream finesse on which I have landed a lot of fish including 70cm Kingfish and Queenfish too (want to get mangrove JACK on it too). For me, apart from maybe the weight it is still one of the top five rods I would choose given an unlimited budget. I picked the Daiwa rods up as a guest rod and for something a little different. I run 4lb Powerpro braid as I have found it overtests so I don't usually feel underpowered and I still have the benefit of extra casting distance.

Hi The Fisherman6784, I was on a high when I finally got it out of the water. I suspect it will be a long time before I beat that in Sydney harbour, if ever. The rod is a Daiwa Wicked Weasel which I picked up recently after a fishing buddy accidently decapitated my Daiwa Spellbinder and I couldn't get a replacement tip. The casting weight is 2 - 14 grams and recommended line weight is 2 - 6kg which I found impressive. I just think the length of butt underneath the reel seat is a bit too long to suit my lure flicking style.

Hi Fishraiders, Over the years I have had a lot of pleasure teaching my friends either how to catch squid or tweak their technique so they become more efficient at it. Now it is in the natural order of life and the movies that the student betters the master but it has left me a little envious to see how quickly two of my pupils in the last year managed to show me up. While I may have had bigger squid, since I started measuring my biggest squid hood to date was 26cm. Shortly after teaching them both, Jez caught one with a 29cm hood and then Seb caught one with a 31cm hood. I came to the conclusion that either: I taught them both too well, or; they were both supremely talented at squiding, or; they were both in the right place at the right time, or; I had set the benchmark way too low for them both. Fishing in Middle harbour this afternoon I had the opportunity to raise the benchmark and retain my position as squid-master. Was casting out a 2.2 pink and white Yamashita and when flicking the rod I felt a solid weight. Then line starting peeling off the 4lb outfit. Tightened the drag a couple of clicks and waited for the squid to stop. Took a little while to get it close to shore and realised what a thumping squid it was. Took even longer for me to land as I didn’t have a net and really, really, really didn’t want to lose this one. For the record the hood length went 38cm and is a confirmed personal best. Regards, Derek

Hi Holls, Most of the bread and butter fish in Sydney are all year round (Bream, whiting, flathead, snapper, Aussie Salmon, kingfish, blackfish, drummer, trevally) but I think the weather has an affect on the fisherman as well as the fish. For example, I catch blackfish (luderick) all year round but I would rather be spending my time chasing the pelagics in summer and hearing that line scream rather than the relatively small blackfish. So for me blackfish becomes a winter fish. If I spend more time chasing them I catch more thus I could argue that winter is better. I have been seeing big schools of salmon around the Manly area in the last few weeks and have hooked a couple but I have more fun chasing them in summer when the water warms up, the baitfish are around and it is a pleasure heading out on the kayaks for the day. I get more fun catching the pelagics than the jewfish. So even though I have caught jewfish at all times of the year I only target them in the April/May/June period when it gets cold. I put some big baits out and sit in the warm car and wait for a take. The bigger kings seem to stay in the harbour year round but in November and December (depending on water temperature) we start to see the schools of smaller (and dumber) kings. There are a few fish species which turn up specifically in Summer. The baitfish start to turn up in numbers late November and early December and are followed by the big schools of fish. About January is when fish such as the bonito seem to turn up in the harbour. I prefer targeting fish with lures in the summer as the harbour really wakes up and everything seems to be eating everything else. There are also species such as Hairtail which are considered a winter fish. Just get out there and fish and you'll be surprised what you get. Good luck.

Flathead are an ambush predator. Big mouth and powerful tail and as mentioned above a bottom fish. I use a slightly less subtle approach to chasing them. I use 4lb braid so I get some good casting distance. In general my preference is to first cover the area with a 9 gram jig and 4 inch power bait in the minnow style. Then I'll go a bit more subtle and do the same with a 3 inch minnow with either a 5 or 6 gram jig head. Fan your casts out to cover the area and then once you have then shift area slightly. Work the drop offs at the edges of channels or bays. I like a double flick to get their attention but after the flick keep the line tight (I wind it with a little bit of bend in the rod tip till I am back to my flick start position and then wait till it hits the bottom) to ensure the lures swims down like a pendulum rather than dropping straight to the bottom. Paddle tails are a nice option as that wriggle of the tail helps get their attention. Having said all of that my biggest flathead on plastic was caught on a 1/8 oz jig head with 2" grub on 4lb leader. That took a while to land and went about 75cm.

I've been successfully squid jigging enough over the years that I am rarely surprised at by catch. This afternoon, however, I had a "what the" moment which left me scratching my head. Was down at Clifton Gardens chasing some squid for tomorrow's fishing session and I started talking to a nice couple just throwing a couple of lines in. They were fishing soft plastics like they were bait. Cast out and let it sit. To give them a better chance at a fish I cut some strips off a squid I'd caught earlier in the day and put it on the hook in place of the plastic. I suggested he cast out and let it sink to the bottom. If he hadn't felt a bite in 30 seconds then bring it in a foot or so closer and let it sit again and so on. After about the third cast with the fresh piece of squid he felt weight on the line. On the piece of squid he'd hooked up and landed an old squid jig (see the attached photo). I've been a fan of Japanese squid jigs for years but if this squid jig is so good it can catch a piece of dead squid I may have to change my thinking.

Hi Diesel, What I forget to mention is that braid is a little more slippery than mono so the knots can unravel. I use double the turns on the knots with braid than I would use with mono. For example with my uni to uni knot I use 4 turns on the mono side and 8 turns on the braid side. I have heard a couple of people say the light braid is rubbish and it breaks too easily but they are fishing it like they would a heavier mono. With a light braid you have to finesse a fish not treat the rod and reel like a winch. Let the drag do its job and don't fight your own gear by winding as you are lifting the rod tip. Supposedly mono has a 10% stretch and braid has a 1% stretch so it doesn't take impact loading very well. I fish my line at a 60°to 90° angle from my rod and the shock of any hard strike is taken up first by the rod tip and then the drag kicks in as needed. Set your drag on the lighter side rather than the heavier side. You can always gradually tighten the drag up as the fish starts to race up. The way I set mine is to go light and then tighten up the drag till I don't hear the spool clicking over when I am working the lures. You will need less drag for a lighter lure and a bit more for a heavier one as it has more resistance in the water.

Hi Diesel, I've been using braid for over ten years so I thought I'd add a couple of things. With a couple of exceptions (offshore for big game fish or my blackfish rig) I use braid for the majority of my fishing. On my 7 foot plus bream rod I can cast a 1/8 oz jig head with grub probably around 20m. Try that with mono. I can feel a light bite 100m away through the braid. Most braids will overtest. I fished 4lb fireline for a number of years as it was the best value option then. One of the guys put it on a test rig and found that it broke at 10lbs. Get some 4lb braid and try breaking it with your hands and you will probably cut yourself before you break it. I don't know about the Fireline Exceed but I would recommend PowerPro over the standard fireline. The original fireline was fused together and fluffs up and then weakens after a while and I have lost some good fish I should have landed. PowerPro is a woven braid so is a bit more resistant to the fluffing. The wind knots occur more often when fishing really light lures. You have to make sure it goes on the spool under a bit of tension otherwise loops can lift off when casting. When you get a birds nest don't panic. The majority of the time with some patience and a pin (I keep some in my tackle box) you can unravel the mess and get your line back. My leaders are 50% or 100% more than my main line rating (4lb braid = 6lb or 8lb leader). For the joining knot to the leader I use primarily the uni to uni knot. Always test the knot. On the rare times the knot is being difficult then I use the surgeons joiner knot as a fall back. You will hear about people recommending 2 plus rod lengths of leader. My suggestion is 80cm to a meter of fluorocarbon leader for two reasons. Firstly I don't like having knots passing through my runners and secondly when you snag up if the line breaks it will usually happen at the joiner knot. I'd rather limit my loss of fluorocarbon leader to less than a meter (it is not exactly cheap). It is worth giving the braid a chance. To get the best casting distance the spool should be filled close to the lip. 125m of braid will not come close and it is a waste buying more in the light ratings. The easiest was to make up the difference is to have mono backing of say 8lbs. Once the mono is set up the only time you should see it is when you replace the braid after a really heavy fishing season. If you are fishing for bass in snaggy areas where you have to muscle them a bit you will probably be better with the 6lb. The 4lb is amazing stuff and I have landed a few kingfish (biggest 70cm) on this rig. People talk about the lack of give in the braid as a problem but I find the flex in the rod tip can be used to compensate.

Hello again, This catch blew us away. It is amazing how life can adapt and make a go of it regardless of the challenges faced. In this case the snapper didn't really have a choice about it but I was impressed at how long this fish had lasted with what i would have expected was a fatal handicap for a fish. We picked it up in Middle harbour amongst some moorings. We were fishing in about 10m of water and kept on getting snapper on freshly caught squid. The fight wasn't far off what you'd expect from a normal snapper of the same size (probably turned side on and used its mass and shape). Interesting thing is the way the injury had healed up so cleanly I suspect it was a birth defect rather than an injury. That is, you might have noticed that it healed to a smooth and sharp point in the photos rather than the stump that you'd expect if it had the tail bitten off. I was really interested in how this fish managed to swim and how much longer it could have lived. I believe that it had reached a size in its life where it would have been safe from being attacked by most of the bread and butter species in that water system thus probably could have lived for years. On the other hand in the long term it might have reached a size where it could not have chased enough food down because of its handicap and died due to starvation. It is certainly food for thought.