First Time Out with Fishraiders!

[SpeedyGiraffe49]

About a week ago I introduced myself to this forum with no expectations, except to contribute to an online resource that has benefited me over the last few years and hopefully meet one or two like minded people.

Today my expectations were thoroughly exceeded, after meeting @linewetter and @DerekD in person! Can personally vouch for both of them being lovely people in person, and particularly for Derek’s knowledge and generosity.

As he has done for many before me Derek walked me through a range of lure techniques, efficiency gains in my casting/rod handling and knowledge of where/when to fish.

One major highlight for me was realising that allowing the lure to swing backwards before loading it up in my cast made my cast longer, smoother and more accurate. Another was learning how to work a jerkshad from side to side through the middle of the water column for targeting kingfish/pelagics. And another was making my walk-the-dog retrieve much tighter/faster - he showed me how to get the lure to flick from side to side much faster and more erratically.

These are only a few of the lessons I learned from Derek today.

To top it off, I managed to score a 37cm Tailor on my first cast with a Daiwa Slippery Dog! Beginners luck 😆

Thank you @DerekD for your time today - I’ll have to buy you lunch next time we’re out together. And likewise @linewetter - looking forward to doing a full session together.

If anyone else is interested in going out for a session together, I’m pretty keen to apply the techniques and learnings Derek shared with me today. Let me know!

Edited April 14 by SpeedyGiraffe49

[big Neil]

Welcome to Fishraider and its many benefits. Plenty of advice and heaps of opportunity to meet other members if you are keen. Well done on the Tailor and you now have a good opportunity to practice what you have learned. Look forward to following your progress. Keep the reports coming.

Cheers, bn

[linewetter]

It was very nice meeting you in person!  That is a really nice Tailor and at first cast too?  Nothing beats the feeling getting a fish, and a good one at that, on first cast 😁  I'm really looking forward to getting to know you more on our next fishing trip together, you seem like an awesome person to fish with.

[bessell1955]

A very warm welcome.  The members are all very like minded and really do enjoy assisting others with their passion. 

[DerekD]

Hi @SpeedyGiraffe49,

It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday and I was impressed at what you picked up so far with lure fishing. Based on what I've seen on how quickly you picked things up I was kind of surprised that you were not doing better at the lures than you say. Hope those tweaks are enough to kick you along a few steps in your growth. I also think a few sessions with @linewetter will help build up some further confidence (unless he catches all the fish like he has been doing recently).

Looking forward to fishing with you again.

Regards,

Derek

PS. For anyone looking for a fishing buddy in the Eastwood area suggest you reach out to SpeedyGiraffe as he is good company and has a good sense of humour (translation: laughs at my jokes and anecdotes).

Edited April 14 by DerekD

[SpeedyGiraffe49]

1 hour ago, DerekD said:

Hi @SpeedyGiraffe49,

It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday and I was impressed at what you picked up so far with lure fishing. Based on what I've seen on how quickly you picked things up I was kind of surprised that you were not doing better at the lures than you say. Hope those tweaks are enough to kick you along a few steps in your growth. I also think a few sessions with @linewetter will help build up some further confidence (unless he catches all the fish like he has been doing recently).

Looking forward to fishing with you again.

Regards,

Derek

PS. For anyone looking for a fishing buddy in the Eastwood area suggest you reach out to SpeedyGiraffe as he is good company and has a good sense of humour (translation: laughs at my jokes and anecdotes).

Thanks @DerekD! As you say - I think it’s partially been a confidence issue since you’re the first person to give me any personal feedback on my techniques and methods. But as I mentioned in my private message, the changes you made are still significant and I suspect will go a long way.

@linewetter will be tough to match - I haven’t even caught a whiting on live yabbies as big as his one yesterday!

I’ll echo Derek’s shout out for fishing buddies - lemme know if you’re interested 👍🏽