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.

What happened to determine it was a dud? Im sure plenty will jump up and say it needs to be in the water to cool and not burn out, but that is not a high powered transducer so should be fine. (for example a garmin support post suggest circa 1kW as the point it can't be run out of water)

I see that rail mount getting annoying and in the way. Other options are to sikaflex the transducer to the hull (inside kayak) although key is to not let air bubbles in. Or if your want something where you can remove the transducer, sikaflex a foam housing to the hull, with space cut out (of the foam) for transducer to fit. Then when setting kayak up for the day, fill the cutout with water and push transducer in...

I'm not weighing in on whether it's ethical - I have no idea. Speaking of Mary's in particular, I have seen some fish reside in the same waterholes for years, some of them (holes) quite small with the fishes only ability to move up or down the creek dependent upon rainfall. The fact that they remain there despite solid creek flows would suggest that particular hole is their turf and perhaps some level of comfort... Granted the smallest of holes I've seen is certainly a number of multiple times bigger than the tank, the fish have also been significantly larger models. (near metery's) Helpful? probably not, but I also wouldn't be surprised if that cod was content with life.

If anyone is having trouble watching them on PC - best recommendation would be to download VLC and play that way. Fairly light video player that plays just about anything and everything

If I'm thinking correctly about how you spooled it up (similar to the old pencil through spool method), you may have introduced line twist. For spinning reels I leave the spool loose on the ground (face up). Key is to match the direction of the line coming off the spool with the direction of winding (usually spool face up). Easy to tell if you get it wrong: wind the handle 20 times, open the bail arm and pull line off. If it went on the wrong way the loose line will twist and tangle amongst itself. Similar to this: https://www.wikihow.com/Spool-a-Spinning-Reel Winding it via the pencil & spool method is great for baitcasters/overheads. YMMV

I think there are two important things to consider: What you have confidence/faith in Understanding what braided lines are I'm no expert here and could be wrong, but what I've gleaned from my own research and discussions with more knowledgeable folk is all Dyneema, Spectra and PE lines are ultimately made from the same material: Polyethylene. Generally speaking, the key differences between the brands and models are the number of strands (carriers), how tightly they're woven and coatings. This can be important: higher strand count will result in a rounder, smoother feeling line that can improve castability, but each individual strand becomes easier to cut resulting in less abrasion resistance. Given the same material, you will find that the most important element for strength is diameter; most lines will break at fairly comparable ratings for a given thickness. The difficulty in understanding braid is compounded by a lack of consistency in measuring methods. For example PowerPro (as with a lot of USA products) will be rated at 30lbs breaking strain, which includes a terminal knot. Whereas some other braids (Gosen is possibly a good example) which will be rated at 30lbs breaking strain, being the mainline with no knot. That difference is important because knots are the weak point - 30lbs Gosen is probably more akin to 20~25lbs PowerPro. This is where comments about "J-Braid is strong" come about (and I don't mean this as a point to you Hamish). Yes, it is strong, because it's thick. Then you have JDM which are PE# based being a measure of thickness. When you consider above and appreciate that Brand A PE#2 will likely break about the same as Brand B PE#2, then it starts to make sense... The challenge is a lot of consumers are in the "xx lbs" mindset, and so comparing Brand C's PE2 30lbs to Brand D's PE3 30lbs will almost always result in a "Brand D braid is strong". As for wind knots, they are often user error: Not spooling line correctly. I'm a firm believer of spooling baitcasters with a pencil through the spool and spinning reels with the spool resting label up on the ground. The whole idea here is doing it the wrong way can introduce twists into the line and a lifetime of wind knots. Line not being spooled with enough tension - including winding on slack during fishing. If not careful, winding in slack line with offshore drifts of plastics can result in loose loops forming... This can then result in wind knots. Personally, I prefer PowerPro (original, superslick v2) and J-Braid (x8 or Grande). Not because I think they're amazing line, but I'm used to them and know what I'm getting and what they can withstand.

Was discussing this with some mates a few weeks ago. The Tinana, Stanley and Mary closures are huge amounts of water. I'm actually surprised they didn't include the Brisbane River. Just remember that closure for the Mary River is effectively at the AFL ground on the left as you head into Gympie (coming up from Bris). Everything upstream (south) of there is a phenominal amount of water and reaches down south of Maleny through the Obi Obi. Heading south you'll probably find that the most upstream (southern) limits of the Mary & tributaries will be some natural geographic feature like a mountain range. Chances are the other side of that mountain range will be the catchment area for Stanley & its tributaries. Coupled with Tinana creek, that is a lot of freshwater between Cabo and Maryborough that is either pemanent or seasonally closed to all fishing. Of course those smaller river systems like Coochin/Caboolture/Maroochy etc remain unaffected.

Thanks Brian. Interesting site that one :) So following on my rambles, a limit of 42t for commercial fishos is unlikely (I would think ?) to have a dramatic impact if their take is 56t in 2017. So what are we doing about the depleted fish stocks? The only change, beyond trying to crack down on Black Market fishos, is a 1 month closure. I don't think I even saw a snapper on the inshore reefs we were fishing during that time - May and June were far more productive. Obviously that's one season and you need to look at seasonal trends, but still... I'd rather see tighter bag limits if that was the case. The problem is that if we're tightening commercial (and everyone elses) catch limits in proportion with the stock depletion, then we're never actually going to recover but rather continue the decline. At some point you need to really cut back to allow stocks to rebuild. Either that or hope NSW continue to manage their fisheries at a better than sustainable level and hope our stocks can rebuild from migrants down south.

I'm a bit perplexed by the changes to Snapper. Fisheries around the country have flagged that Snapper stocks are depleted. SA apparently last month were considering a 3-4 year ban on Snapper fishing. I found a link earlier in the day to a 2014 vulnerability study done in QLD. Rough numbers I think were 121 tonnes in 2008 from commercial fishos and estimated 550 tonnes in 2005 for rec fishos. Rec fisho seems incredibly high - 10 tonnes per week, every week ? Understandably some of these numbers are quite old, who knows where they are at now. I've just grabbed the first numbers I found - so take from it what you will. So now what have QLD Fisheries done? They've capped commercial hauls to 42 tonnes. Okay, great, I think that will certainly have a positive impact on fish stocks. Cut that 121 down to 42. But Rec Fishos? Sweet f*** all. The only change is a ridiculous rec boat limit. Now I have a 6m centre console, could easily take 3 or 4 out but I only ever take 2, so I'm not impacted at all. The thing that gets me though is that Fisheries have quite clearly highlighted that this rec boat limit isn't to assist with stock levels (at least not directly) but to combat the Black Market. Obviously the flow on impact is less black market = less stock depletion, so it does have a flow on. To me, this action says the problem of snapper stocks are a factor of commercial over fishing and the black market. If so, what a pointless, stupid rule. It's illegal to sell fish privately/black market, so if they're already breaking the law and regs, what is another regulation going to achieve? If Snapper stocks are as bad as they say, I'd rather see the bag limit reduced to 2. Some other random rambling points: There are articles suggesting in 2010 time period our snapper stocks were overfished and somewhere between 15-40% biomass level. DAF's own website says a 65cm snapper has a median age of 9 years. It's going to be a long road to recovery for those Snaps Edit: Also, where are the defined boundaries for Stanley and Mary Rivers? Looking at the exclusions to the Mary River closure, I'm guessing the boundary is somewhere up near Tiaro / St Mary ? Some crazy amount of closures in that list.

Pretty sure I've got that in some of my reels lol