Terry H

When you say stripped, is it the drag washers? If so, they could be felt washers - easily replaceable and even upgradeable to carbon fibre. CF will be less smooth but certainly won't flog out. Check whether Anaconda have the gear you want as well. They're often not the cheapest which is why they're so good Use them for their 10% price beat guarantee.

All of that looks like a fair haul for $1200 - the beauty of advancements in manufacturing! I have to admit, the Stradics are fantastic value for money.

Hey Kat, does this help? https://www.ikijime.com/fish/brassy-trevally/ https://www.ikijime.com/fish/trevally-golden/ It's important to focus on the physical features themselves rather than the skin colour. For example GTs range from white/silver through to black, goldens from fairly yellow to not at all. I'm not doubting your 45 measurement btw!

Nice work Kat! Gotta give it to the Trevs, they do fight well! Species wise I think the guys are on the mark with brassy/tea-leaf. A couple of differences in appearances: Goldens tend to have (with varying levels of visibility) tiger stripes down their body and the mouth structure is a bit different. They often have a yellowy, blubber-lip type thing that reminds me of a carp, whereas the brassy have something more similar to a GT. Brag mats can be terrible for measuring, especially on non-solid surfaces like grass (the mat bunches up), plus most people measure fish incorrectly anyway. The legislation states the mouth must be closed and without manipulating the fish. How many people do you see leaving the mouth open and pinching the tail tips together to get that extra cm or two? I daresay this is where most "the fish shrunk!" problems arise. Fisheries closing the mouth and not manipulating the fish! Regarding the point on brag mat bunching, the ruler shot shows exactly what I mean!

I'm not going to pretend to know what this is all about, but these reports suggest our creek water systems aren't doing too bad: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/management/disasters/pfas/sites/brisbane-airport/water-sampling but the seafood sampling shows periods where certain fish like Flathead are above Recreational trigger points for certain chemical groups: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/management/disasters/pfas/sites/brisbane-airport/seafood-sampling

Thankfully(?) the actual legislation is worded fairly straightforward... s158 of the Fisheries Declaration 2019 is the applicable piece: The issue is most people don't necessarily open up the raw legislation and you have to go dig for it. It would be nice if QLD Dpi would link to the various acts (Fisheries Act, Regs and Declarations) on their website. Edit: I just realised I didn't exactly help the situation Links to all relevant legislation can be found here, including a summary of what each piece achieves: https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/sustainable/legislation Fisheries Declaration (most applicable one for Reco fishos is here: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2019-0076

There has to be something said about a "One Year Incredible Total Peace of Mind Warranty" vs a 10 year warranty. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.

Thanks Norm. I think I know what you mean - particularly if you're talking chop in 15-20 knots of wind. I find in that sort of weather, it's about finding the right speed to stay "up" and not get into the up and down of every chop where you sink the bow. Of course, balanced with too much "up" that results in broken backs for all on board. I don't purposefully go out in that wind speed - natural drift is too fast and you'd be soaking wet before you got anywhere - but have certainly found myself in it.

I have a 6m Galey, so personally curious to hear what makes it a stretch for you in the 5.5m and what is considered a calm day? As for other feedback, Lady Musgrave isn't too much further than parts of Deep Tempest (eg 90m stuff) or the northern end of the Banks / southern end of Hards from M'bah. What's different about Lady Musgrave?

So like previous models, it's a dressed up stradic (this time FL) and an extra bearing? (oop, this time 2 extra!) I have no doubt Shimano will be sure to charge an extra $50-100 a pop for the visual pleasure. My first foray into Sustains was the one before FG, then owned a few FGs for a while before wondering why I bothered over a stradic. Sold them all to shift to Stradic FLs which feel better. Now it just seems like the Stradics offer way better value for money.

I was thinking "I never have issues with salt, what's the fuss?" until I saw this post... Anyone know how it treats fibreglass boats & gelcoat? As much as I endeavour to wash the boat as soon as I get home and before it's too dried, getting home at night in winter isn't very conducive to a washdown Although I could argue I should just use the deckwash more when I'm out on the water...

Shimano tubes come up to 2.2m which I think should handle single piece 7 ft rods: https://www.shimanofish.com.au/content/fish/oceania/au/en/homepage/productdetail.P-ROD_TUBES.html

If you aren't certain on a dedicated rod just yet, then IMO keep using whatever rod you have been using for plastics etc. You can still catch fish, only difference is a dedicated rod will do all the work and the parabolic action helps soften the jerking on the (potentially tiny) hooks. In some regards, they have bugger all backbone - the reel does all the fighting. You can still slow pitch a jig and other jigging techniques on other rods, just need to determine how. Best bet for that is to practice and see what the lure does in shallower waters where you can still see it.

Are you are flying up? If so, why not pickup a rod tube and fly with some of your existing rods? I have done this domestically and internationally without much hassle.

If you're after a dedicated rod, I'd suggest picking up one marketed as slow pitch. In terms of action they tend to be slow and parabolic. They'll be rated more to the size of jig you're dropping rather than the line you're using. This is so that when you give that qtr/hlf turn Sam mentioned, the rod loads up and pitches the lure effectively. As Sam said, you don't need one, but those + dedicated reels like Ocea Jiggers make it easier.