ellicat

High sticking is when you lift the rod so high the tip is in a perilous state and could snap at any moment. Typically when the rod is near vertical and the fish is close in.

Nooo! We can't ditch threadies!

the hard part with under or oversized fish is the fact that this comp is now bigger than just QLD. different rules for different states.
i feel like jacks, threadfin could be replaced with an emperor category and a parrot/tusk fish category. i mean you could have an endless list of fish categories, but that just doesn't feel right for the comp. i don't think a jack has ever been submitted and only one threadfin has even been submitted from memory. One year i just had a combined threadfin/jew category.

Worth thinking about how to include grassies, tuskies etc without blowing out the list of target species. Might also be good to think about whether undersize (or even oversized) fish should be eligible? Just from an optics perspective. 

Thanks to @christophagus for organizing again this year, was a bit of fun, glad i was able to at least contribute for team north! 🙂
 
I think tuna should stay - they are a summer species and i'm sure if there were more fishing days available there would have been some entries in this category (i hooked 3 on Oz day but pulled hooks on all! gah!) 
I think if we look at where the "usual" competitors are fishing, i feel grassys should be a category on their own.  misc reef fish is a tricky one - eg does a 40cm moses perch beat a 42cm undersized red?  not all reef fish are created equal... 😉
 

yes kelvin, you need to contribute more and neil needs to contribute less... 😛

But now I'm leaning towards a Stejcraft. The arse end looks very similar. Even has the exact same handles.
 

I'm not saying it's operator error but you won't get a refund due to operator error.
 
While graphite rods are tough, they have their limits. 
Never high stick a rod.
Always a gentle bend, let the reel do it's job. 
Also, when you feel the rod blank trying to cut its way out of the grip when loaded up, stop. 
 
 

Headed out with @Old Scaley this morning to test our luck at a spot we got sharked about 7 times at two weeks ago. Conditions were forecast to be around 5 knots so we were expecting a stinker on calm waters. Well it was blowing about 10 to start the day and gradually worsened to about 15 as the day went on. Plenty of wind against tide saw plenty of whitecaps amongst the chop.
We tried with artificials for the first hour with no interest received, so we settled at Spot E* and brought in a couple of 30cm snaps, then I got a just legal 38 that was released to the esky. We soldiered on with a few more unders then I hooked up and said this is a better one. Steve slipped the net under a 48cm snap, which we immediately took a picture of and sent to @benno573 who was unfortunately at work and we knew he'd be keen to see what we were up to.

I'm glad to have boated a decent keeper so early in the year... Lookout 70 !   I said to Steve that the next one must be going to be 58cm to keep the number pattern going. It seemed I was wrong again as the next one was about 28. Ho hum. Managed a little estuary cod that didn't release well but eventually scurried away to the bottom. Steve hooked a shark about 80cm that left with a new piercing.
The tide changed and the pickers were having a great old time stealing our baits, so we punched our way south to some shelter. Steve was off to a good start with a solid hit and run and with a bit of weight. We thought it may have been a ray, before a big dirty cattie surfaced. He wasn't coming aboard, let alone sliming up my net, so Steve dispatched it cleanly over the side.
A couple of stray hits here and there but no real love so we decided to call it and head back to the ramp.
A fish each for dinner, so a good result all 'round.

 
*Spot E = a Spot X that Everyone knows about.

Yeah… I was STOKED to receive that photo at work…

Since when did you become glorified?

Yeah, when @benno573 and I troll for macks I'm happy to drive the boat and let him man the rods. I get to go fishing more than he does, so it only seems fair. We split the catch at the end of the day so everyone wins.

Good going Greg.  Your putting together a few good trips
Little tip, try floatlining your baits back towards your spot keeping your bait higher in the water column , if there are bigger fish about they will come up and grab it and run off
I can go into more detail if you like, just let me know
 

Yeah, when @benno573 and I troll for macks I'm happy to drive the boat and let him man the rods. I get to go fishing more than he does, so it only seems fair. We split the catch at the end of the day so everyone wins.

Another great day with 72 bass tagged and released plus a couple under 20cm that were too small to tag. The usual big tandans and quite a few spangled perch stealing bait.
Only went to 2 drop offs upstream and ran out of bait and back at ramp by 10am.

Yeah, when @benno573 and I troll for macks I'm happy to drive the boat and let him man the rods. I get to go fishing more than he does, so it only seems fair. We split the catch at the end of the day so everyone wins.

Yeah that breeze was certainly better than what's on offer today. 

Yeah, when @benno573 and I troll for macks I'm happy to drive the boat and let him man the rods. I get to go fishing more than he does, so it only seems fair. We split the catch at the end of the day so everyone wins.

You mean to say I've got many years ahead yet of being the glorified decky .......... 🤨🙃😬.

Yeah, when @benno573 and I troll for macks I'm happy to drive the boat and let him man the rods. I get to go fishing more than he does, so it only seems fair. We split the catch at the end of the day so everyone wins.

Mate that is really bad luck. You won’t get a refund because it is not a manufacturing fault. Where is it broken? If it is close to the tip you might be able to cut it off cleanly and hot glue a new tip runner on. It won’t be the same but could be still usable.

Thanks mate. I'm not sure when I'll get down there but I'll share my experience good or bad. 

Yeah that breeze was certainly better than what's on offer today. 

I caught most of the fish the trip before and I don’t care who catches the fish as long as we catch some. When my sons come out with me you would think they’re still 5 years old. I usually sit back and bait the hooks, take the fish off, man the net or gaff, get more bait ready etc. Lol. 

Another great day on the water @ellicat.  Considering the heat around town yesterday we were probably in the best place to stay a bit cooler even if the water was a bit bumpy.