Do$tylz

WTF? I hope some kneecaps got some touching up. Still smashing the deep waters Sef?

Hey Hamish, You will want to keep practicing that and getting those loops tighter before using this for fishing. There should be no visible leader under your braid wraps. Feels tight and OK now but will be a guaranteed failure when it gets wet and a few casts in. If you wiggle and push the braid wraps at the leader end (bottom of your picture) you will see your braid will start to unwind and loosen up.

There is always multiple opinions on this but the only one that matters is your own We can all share with you the things to take into consideration, but the value of each consideration is up to you. In saying that, here's my 2 cent. 1 - Buy the best you can with the money you have You've been getting into fishing lots and you've been really enjoying it. Doesn't look like you are going to be slowing down anytime - so consider getting a reel that is likely to last you longer than 1 year. The Sienna or Sedona is about as low as I could recommend. Consider going the step up to the Nasci - it's the replacement for what used to the the Symetre and those were great value for money. They last multiple years if you do the basics of looking after them. 2 - Look after your gear and it will last. Look after it like you would $150 in cash. You're not gonna just throw $150 in the sand or in the water and if you do, you'll wash it off before putting it into your purse. 3 - Picking up the "balance" conversation. I will go a little bit against what BwB is saying here. I would go 2500. There is minimal chance a 1000 reel is going to balance well with the rod you have. I'll put money on it that a 1000 reel will make your rod balance with the tip being heavy and naturally pointing down. You may want to consider having the weight more balancing neutral or being bottom heavy (rod tip pointing upwards). To test this out, put the reel on your rod, hold your rod in your hand with the reel stem between your middle finger and ring finger. Now, slowly release your grip on the rod and which way does your rod tilt? 2500 is also more versatile for your changing fishing needs. If you buy a model that lasts years, you'll find more use for the 2500 than the 1000. It will also generally allow you to cast further than a 1000 as well. To give perspective - I actually prefer a 1000 myself..... but it isn't what I would recommend for your fishing atm.

oh sweet as then. You have prior boating experience. I'd say that gives you more reason to be able to take the 3.7 to fit your current situation and needs. From the original ad you posted, it looks like a great buy for the price and you won't lose much (if any) money on it when it's time to resell. Especially if the leccy is part of the deal.

I think it might be OK in the bay for the middle of the day. Early morning might be a bit lumpy. If the forecast wind direction is correct, it looks like the wind doesn't get enough time to really get going because if goes from west, to north, to east to south throughout the day. I'd say there would possibly be periods of glass out while the wind figures out what it actually wants to do

why no fishing today Ray? And beautiful sunrise! We get spoiled as early rise fisherman with a few of those spectacular colour palettes and morning silence.

awesome Dino. Great exercise Do you think they might start hitting topwater on the edges as well? Is it getting warm enough?

Love the fishing enthusiasm and your dads a legend for getting out there with you as much as he does.

Yeah get the smaller tinny then. It'll do the job. Especially if this is your first boat. Great to learn on a smaller tinny that you can make small mistakes on (running aground, loading and unloading etc).

ok - so I'll buck the trend a little bit here, but with some caveats. You can do it, but you'll need to be cautious and safe. Mud and Peel is possible in your 3.75 with a 20 if the weather stays good (less than 7-8knots. Under 5 is better). Like others have said, those days aren't overly common but they do happen and you'll need to pick them. Don't get caught up in the hype of trying a harsh day because you haven't been out in a while. Keep an eye on the forecast and understand what the weather does to the bay. Example - a constant southerley over days will make the bay rougher than you would think. I would consider stringent safety steps for every trip to the islands - lifejackets on while underway, a working bilge + buckets, a phone that is charged in a water proof box. Ultimately though - you can catch pretty much all of the same fish from closer to mainland. So going off from wello/cleveland and staying close, or launching from fishermans island and staying around the front wall or into the river (although running past the port in a tinny that size can be scary and dangerous). Based on your situation - I'd say get the tinny - but change the locations to fish that you had in mind. Northern bay - stay close to land. Southern bay - go around the islands. Hit the Pin or the broadwater. And go harass the bass like Dino and Ray. Those gents a living the life

Good to see you trying out lots of different techniques BWB. FG is great (and easier) for the heavier line classes. As you get to the top end of line class, PR is the ducks nuts. Well done getting a FG to tie and hold on 6lb. Too much effort for me on 6lb and the couple times I tried I failed.

That 50 is a picture perfect specimen! Looks like a cracking day out Dino.

yeh mate. I only started coming back in the last month or so. Kids are old enough for me to now be able to get out for a fish. I think the big change was actually the mrs now finding a hobby and understanding and having a perspective of the obsession I had with my hobby of fishing But happy to be back and slowly contributing again. I think this whole work from home thing is also letting me get on AFO more too. 4 screens on my computer desk with 1 committed to AFO. Just like the old days I just caught up with Rob Searing and we had a good chat about some of the old names and it's so great to see and hear of so many fishing circles that formed because of BFO are still getting around and catching up. Great idea to combine your boats. Yeah, last I recall you had a terrible situation with your rig and the builder selling the business so wouldn't fix?

wow your kid has grown a lot Ted! Great way to break the boating hiatus. Delicious haul

background whitenoise! pack a bluetooth speaker and play rain sounds as you sleep. It helps muffle your ninja steps as you leave.

Oh man - so good to see some old names pop up How are you Ted? Great to see Dom is still out and about as well. Big trip to do man. Who's beast rig is that?

Nice one Benno. #dadlife and fishing is a hard thing to balance in the early days. I could not imagine being able to pull off 5 days of camping with a 5 month old. Hats off to you.

Nice one Callum! good to see you back on AFO too. Lucky bugger living in FNQ.

I'll need to find my picture... but the best from my kid was actually left on Angus She'd dropped a very leaky poop on his lap while he was playing with her. It was gross

Great thread guys. I've started packing a spare powerbank for my phone as well in a tupperware container. I thrown my phone in there as well. I don't get offshore so am always within range and 4g/3g. If I'm solo fishing i make sure my location is shared with the mrs on my android so she can see where i am if needed. And you're right - 2 minutes for boat safety briefing is something everyone should get in the habit of doing. I've been asking my deckies to test fit the lifejacket to make sure it fits them as the strap sizes keep varying based on the size of my deckie.

sorry - late to this party but check ebay. I just got new ones delivered for $13.90. 150mm high, marine grade vinyl, in white. Took less than a week to arrive and fit seems perfect so far.

Left your kid some instructions. I would like photo evidence thanks.

Hey BwB, There are 4 models before the FJ. The FE, FG, FH and the FI.... there's a theme in the Shimano naming conventions The FH's are almost collectors items these days. Absolute workhorse and hard to find. I've still got a FH1000 and a FI 2500 (well, actually gave that to my brother but I keep wanting to take it back). Never got into the earlier ones so can't comment on those puppies.

Changing drag washers to carbontex isnt going to help you here. The ht100's are already carbon washers. As already mentioned by most here, not much more you can do to increase drag. At least not safely. Most reels come with a max drag and that's what they are built to handle. Much more and you are going to wear it out faster - bent parts, stripped teeth/threads, melted parts etc.

Hey camplazlo (Tom?), I've got an old raider from that era. Missing the top guide but other than that, still in decent nick for it's age. I think... haven't really looked at it (let alone used it) in the last 6 years.... let me know if keen. sorry - it'll be the 1-4kg one.. or something like that...