bersim

Well I am back and may edit this post as there is SO much to cover...
The trip was amazing and so much more than I hoped it would be. Baia is simply phenomenal offering so many river and bluewater opportunities. The lodge itself was top notch and the fishing was out of this world. Way more surface action than the last trip as well which is always a highlight.
Sef, Henry and myself headed to the furthermost river for our first days foray to cast up some blacks... The blacks were there in good numbers and so were a lot of quality jacks...


On the way to the Torio there were also some good bluewater captures including mahi mahi and yellow fin...

The next day we hit the Pandi which turned out to be a river we frequented. This river is ALL about the surface with log jams and lay downs everywhere making throwing diving lures tough. Although there were plenty of blacks at the mouth, this river was home to tonnes of monster spot tails as well...

After spot tail mania we had a fairly so so day in the Langa Langa river. Awesome hits but conversions to big bass were a little slow. In saying that we did have some fun out the front among some birds hooking into countless trevs, queenies and mack tuna.

So for our last day we decided to once again concentrate on the Pandi River. More spot tails abounded but you have seen enough of those, I will out up however Henry's beast and the biggest for the trip. If things were recorded this could easily be a world record as Henry caught in on a 8/14lb Nordic Stage Cheater with a 2500 sized reel and 16lb braid. Just unheard of over there. The guide said not only was it one of the lightest rods he had ever had in the boat... It was the largest spot tail bass he had ever seen. It measured in at 36.5lb (not a guess actually weighed).

After the trip had officially ended Henry and I were lucky enough to stay on for two more nights as guests of Riccard the owner of Baia.
We headed up into the headwaters of the Kulu river on the first day and caught a collection of JP's and Spot Tails on bream sized gear (actually our new prototype Nordic Stage Loki rods). This was heaps of fun and ended in a blow up mattress ride back down the river selectively ignoring the warming signs...

Our last day was spent bluewater and snorkeling. Some good trevs and doggies were hooked with smaller ones coming in. I was grossly under gunned for doggies but it was fun to give it a crack! Snorkeling was just world class.

And that was that! Back to the real world!
After a few early inquiries it looks like I will be doing this again in 2016 so feel free to contact me if you are keen to get on board.
 
Cheers.
 
Angus
 

Hope the new site is working well for everyone  
We will be continually improving the site over the coming weeks including:
posting AFO Tips explaining new features and how to do some of the basic tasks improving the menu and navigation to help you find latest posts, topics and content faster and easier looking into reorganising / condensing categories with the assistance of a new tagging feature As always, please post in the Website Problems category any issues and we will address them as soon as we can.
Also, we are always open for suggestions as well. Whilst we cannot guarantee that all suggestions will be implemented, we are always happy to hear what our members and guest would like and then we can see if they can be done.

Hi all,
We are very appreciative of your patience as Australian Fishing Online was moved to a new platform. This has been a long process but a very worthwhile one to provide a better user experience for all members and guests.
 
The site now benefits from cloud hosting with super fast performance and features a new user interface that is easy to use and looks great. The new platform provides many more features and options than the last site and so in the coming weeks and months we will be looking at incorporating or highlighting some of these.
 
Also, there are few background items still underway and these should complete in the next day. So if you see a post with some images missing these should be there soon. 
 
You should be able to login and use the site as you always have without any issues. If you have any problems please feel free to post them in the Website Problems category

Cheers
Ray

Hi Guys,

Paul and I drove down the Coast after dinner. We walked down the beach just past Sea World and saw a crowd of fishos on the beach. As the tailor are hitting the Gold Coast beaches, we decided to try Narrowneck. The gutters are not as deep but we can fish away from the crowds.

It was a cold 9 degree night with a light Westerly. The sweep was quite strong and the breakers made wading in the water to cast out quite a challenge. We fished the rising tide for two hours and ended up with 6 nice tailor. The best tailor went 56, 53 & 52cm. A yummy meal of tailor fillets tonight.

Cheers... Joe.

TAKE A TERN FOR THE BETTER 
I am now into my third season of targeting Longtail Tuna and have learnt a lot in that time! Not only from helpful threads such as this one and the many articles that appear from a simple 'longtail tuna' search on google, but the many hours I have put in to catching (but mostly NOT catching) these awesome local sports fish. 
Most aspects of Longtail Tuna fishing are covered in these types of threads, from what tackle to use to how to approach a surface feeding school with the boat. The topic that I realise doesn't get spoken about in great depth or detail is how to find the fish by observing the birds. Of course, in nearly every article about these fish you will find phrases like 'follow the birds' or 'the eyes in the sky are your best friend'. But what does this mean if you don't really know what you are looking for?
After many hours of trying to be very observant and sometimes focusing mostly on the birds and how they act I have noticed a few characteristics that I will try to explain as best as I can later on in the article. I have noticed terns to be the most reliable bird ahead of gulls, gannets and other sea birds so please note these characteristics are of terns only.
 

                                                     Common Tern with its prize
The advice that I got initially was the idea that when the birds are hovering over a school, the fish are generally at the same depth as the birds are above the water. So when the birds get closer to the surface, so are the fish as they push the bait up. Think of it as a mirror image and pretend the birds are a school of fish. This is mostly true, but in recent times I have found this theory to be flawed on some occasions. Sometimes when fishing in different light conditions the birds may need to fly higher or to the edge of the school to be able to get the best view, so keep an eye on their beaks and where they are pointing to gain a rough idea of where the fish may be. Always have an open mind and you will learn something new every session; there are no set rules for catching these fish.
Here are a few behaviours of terns that I have noticed when fishing for Longtail Tuna during the peak season:

Travelling from A to B
When a bird seems to be flying around in search of food. They fly at a half pace scanning their heads from left to right. These birds may be ignored to an extent but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on them in case they see something.
Resting 
Often you will find a flock of birds sitting on the water. This might sound stupid, but if they are nearby drive your boat towards them and scare them off. They can sometimes put you onto fish within a few minutes if they are around!
Tracking 
Is when a bird or birds are following a school of fish whilst constantly looking down. They are flying with a bit more intent and sometimes flutter and dip towards the water if they notice fish are starting to rise. They might be able to see bait fish that aren't close enough to the surface to be able to feed on them or may be following a school of predators. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to get a cast in there! A lot of hookups come from casting around these tracking birds without actually seeing fish busting up. Idle around the area if there are multiple tracking birds and get the boat in a position to cast below them. Remember to keep an eye on your sounder and hang around bait if you find some.
Sprinting 
Is when they are flying at full speed, obviously. Usually you can see a few single birds from different areas flying urgently in the same direction as each other. They know something that you don't and if you follow them you will most likely find the fish.
Hovering, circling, diving
This is how they act when they have found predatory fish pushing up bait to the surface. They will trace back, circle and hover until they get an opportunity to feed. Once the birds start diving it means there are bait fish on the surface and you will soon see a tuna feeding frenzy more often than not. As soon as you see birds acting this way, it is important to take the opportunity to get the boat in the best position for when the tuna break the surface. Those precious seconds of anticipating where the tuna will surface could mean you are able to get one more sight cast ahead of the fish before they go down and start to round up the bait again.
 
These are my observations and theories so far and I hope you learnt a thing or two about how terns go about their daily business. It is the birds who fish every day to survive so make the most of their presence. Understanding their behaviour will save you time and bring you success if you can differentiate between a bird stalking a school of fish or a bird simply passing through the area for example.
As they say, 'the eyes in the sky are your best friend.' Thanks for reading and happy tuna fishing,
Sam.

Cheers
Ray

About a dollars worth

Only $1 for 200 at the local cheapie shop

Made a few of my own using this idea, work well. But I dont drink soft drink and the kids dont need it either , so I dont have access to free empty 2l soft drink bottles.
So I am going to try something different for the funnels.
Got these on fleabay, about $19 for 10 delivered from hong kong. Comparable to the price of buying elcheapo 2l softdrink bottles and they are a bit wider at 150mm across, also a bit more robust.

These are my go to Tuna plastics, all listed are 4" except the bottom one which is 5" for reference point on size.

P.S I'm not affiliated with the brand anymore so it's not a shameless plug, but they are dynamite on Tuna

what an awesome post :cheer: just thought I would add my 2 cents. I agree that the best place to find longies and the like is where there is somewhere for them to round up bait against, e.g reef edges, cliff faces, drop offs, man-made structure etc. Unlike some of the others, I use slugs alot of the time mainly because of the fact that they cast a mile so you don't have to get as close to the school. This means the tuna are less likely to spook and will stay up for longer giving you a chance to get more casts in the vicinity of the school. The best 'all rounder' size for me is around the 14g mark. As Terry said gillies baitfish and R2S sea rocks are the top brands but the trebles do need changing for any decent sized fish. In saying that, plastics are a lot more fun and are also really effective. Anything transparent is definitely the go to 'match the hatch', but when all else fails, it’s sometimes a good idea to chuck out something a bit different and this can entice a reaction bite. Something like a 5-7 inch plastic in a wicked colour such as bright orange or green has worked for me. Really keen to get into the longies on the plastics more often and get my first one in the bay!! :side:

Just reade MArks article and the thread, (I know very slack) great info input from everybody.

The only advice that I would like to add is to make sure you use extremely sharp and strong hooks, whether it trebles or jig heads. Too many times have I seen people throwing lures rigged with blunt hooks only to hear them say, "I just had a hit, lost it" SHARP hooks will improve the stick rate enormously.

Someone also asked about poppers, they work well at times wound in as fast as possible, as with any surface lures the visuals are uncomparable.

Looking forward to the social, I'll be there trying to catch them with various methods, fly is my prference but I may revert to slugs, poppers or plastics if the going is tough.
A few photos from the past to get you pumped.



my first on fly 2005


my first experience with poppers and a bait caster (not reccomended) :silly: 2004 Cape york




Moolooh river 2011 MAck tuna on zippin ziggy

Kmcrosby, that can be a productive run through there, there are allot of mack tuna getting through there at the moment also and it is easy to mistake them for Lt's if you don't know what you are looking for.

Mack tuna feed fast and thrashy and push water differently to a longie, the schools also travel quite fast.
Lt's will usually move a bit slower and sit in the same spot for longer and ball the bait up more, sometimes they feed quite gently but other times they feed quite aggressively/violently and there's no mistaking what they are as there is not really any other fish in the bay that pushes water like a Lt..

Some people will tell you that you identify longie schools by the fish jumping out of the water, this is partly true as it is something longtail do but not something they always do, other species including mack tuna will jump also.

Like I said in my previous post, slugs have their place and work well for surface busting schools but plastics are more productive.
The most successful slug I've used over the years has been the river to sea 25 gram sea rocks, favourite colours are the pink, pearl white and pilchard colour, I always replace the trebles with singles. I like to use mustard hoodlums for singles, I remove the split ring from the slug and open up the eye of the single hook (heat it first) and attach it directly to the tow point of the lure, this method also helps the lure run more true in the water and reduce spinning. I have used purpose made singles but have bent them and went back to hoodlums as I've never bent one.

Cheers,
Al

A couple more points.

The bait fisho's don't have to miss out on these great sport fish either, a shore fire method to get them on bait is to drift single hook rigged unweighted/lightly weighted pilchards through the feeing zone and you'll pick up fish as they travel through the area.

Lobbing livies into the feeding schools will yield plenty of fish too, it's probably the easiest way to get them, I haven't done this for years but can remember even if you fudge up a cast the fish would happily travel 10-20 metres away from the school to nail a well presented live pike and being such a big bait they would absolutely smash it. You have to make sure your terminals are up to scratch here as the tuna will pop you on the hit if your knots and hooks aren't top notch.

Last point is etiquette. Please practice good etiquette, basically this means have respect for your fellow anglers and give them space, if you see someone tracking/stalking fish leave them alone and go and find your own school to track......all you will achieve if you try and muscle in on other peoples action is to spook the fish and ruin it for both parties and you may find yourself on the receiving end of a bit of bay rage....
There is no need to follow the same school as someone else, there are plenty to go around, when the fish are on there will be multiple schools about and they will be spread over a large area..

Ok I just remembered another important point, fuel.....you can tend to burn quite a bit of fuel when chasing choons so make sure if you don't have a big tank in your boat to take extra. I usually burn 25-30 litres for the day (40 hp Etec, 4.2 tinny) but there are days that I could use up to twice that, I have a 50 litre underfloor tank and carry a 10 litre jerry for just in case. Try to remember to keep an eye on the gauge as in all the excitement it can be an easy thing to forget about.

Cheers,

Al

Righto here's my 2 cents worth.

Catching Lt's has been an obsession of mine for the last 20 years, all my experience has been in Northern Moreton Bay, I have never fished for them anywhere else as I love catching them on my home grounds.

My first tip for regular success is to be obsessed.
If you want to catch your first or improve your catch rate you need to go out with only longtail on the mind and fish for them till you catch one or donut, then go out and do it all again till you crack the pattern.....don't give up.

Learn what they look like on your sounder, you don't need bust ups to catch them, locate them on your sounder and send your plastics down and hold on...

You can catch them all year round in the bay but there are times when they are more prolific, generally from March/April till September/October is the best time, some years they are thick all year round other years like last year they can be a bit sporadic..

They can be caught on light line but I prefer to go heavy, my reason for this is to shorten the fight and keep the fish in the best condition possible so it has the best chance at survival upon release.......I use 7'-7'6" 6-10 kg spin rods (custom built by me), Stella 4-5000 loaded with 30-50 lb braid tied to a 6 ft length of 60 lb mono. Don't go thinking the heavy line makes things easy though, they still peel 50 lb off a heavy set drag like it hasn't been set, the fight is usually sub 10 minutes (more like 5) but it's brutal and you really get to feel the power of these fish with the heavy line.

I mainly use 5" plastics rigged on 1/2 oz 5 0 jig heads, my favourites are bubblegum snap backs and power bait hollow belly split tails, both are discontinued but luckily I still have more than ten packs of each in my stash. I don't mind the z-man streakz but there are other plastics that I'll tie on before them, I don't really like how they rig....

Sometimes if I'm in the mood I'll use sinking stick baits, I've had success on Yozuri Adagios, Smith Sarunas and Maria Blues codes to name a few, I still find plastics more reliable though.

Slugs also have their place occasionally but again plastics rein supreme.

I'm not going to give away spots but they can be found through out the bay, just drive around till you find them and once you do stay in the area as there will usually be more than one or two schools about.

Best tides and times are whenever the weather lets you get out there, they will eat all day and any tide though there are periods of higher activity but this can vary daily, you just need to stick with the schools till all hell breaks lose.

I only fish from a small boat and this is how it has always been, my current rig is a 4.2 Renegade and it has gets me anywhere I want to go in any conditions I'd care to be out in. For years I fished the bay out of a 4.0 Hornet and it was a great boat too, so if you have a small boat don't let that deter you from chasing these awesome sport fish just watch the weather get familiar with local conditions and know your limits as a skipper and you'll have a fun safe time.

At the moment there are plenty of Lt,s in the bay ( we boated 10 or so each yesterday ) so get out there while the getting is good, there are also plenty of spottie macks out there which are just as fun to catch and allot of the time they shadow ( or vice versa) the tuna schools so it makes for a fun day.....lots of mack tuna in the bay also, my advice with these guys is to use chrome slugs, 40 gram raiders are my most successful on these fish, if don't hook up after a few casts though drive away, they can be the easiest fish to catch or the hardest fussiest fish to catch, there's no in between and if you get them in a fussy mood all you'll be doing is wasting fishing time...

Cheers,
Al

Good to see plenty of people adding info to this topic and hopefully it spurs a few other members on to write up articles of a similar nature. Just thought i'd add a pic below of a few differnt plastics that seem to do the trick on Longies.

Cheers

Mark

OK... With the upcoming monthly social events the idea was thrown out there that an article be written up prior to the event that could be made into a FrontPage article for all to see detailing the species for that month and a sort of “How To” on catching them.  This would enable people that are keen on chasing the nominated species an insight on fishing for them and might offer them a few tips or point them in the right direction.



Now first up I’m not necessarily to best qualified nor have I caught the most Long tail Tuna in Moreton Bay but I have chased them in boats and a yaks with success and thought I could write up an article on chasing these speedsters that might help a few other people on the site.  Feel free to add to this anything that has helped you and nothing I put down is given law on catching Longies so please don’t shoot me down for having a go.
 
Longtail Tuna are a member of the Tuna family  (duh!) that extend from the tip of Cape York right down to south of Sydney and are a seasonal fish that start entering Moreton Bay around Easter every year.  The fish usually travel down the coast and the reports from the Hervey Bay are usually a good indicator on how our season will fare here.  Size can vary quite a bit from year to year with some years the average fish are only 8kg, other years the average size could be around 15kg it varies from season to season.  They are a fantastic sports fish that can be taken on a variety of methods and also fare well on the plate especially for those who enjoy Sushimi.  Below I’ll brake it down into different sections and also the main focus will be using plastics as I have no idea about catching them on bait so I'll leave that up to someone else to add if they so desire.

Time of Day and Tides
 
Put simply time of day doesn't really matter a whole lot for Tuna as they are more of a gentleman’s hours fish meaning you don’t have to be up at sparrows fart to catch them, the middle of the day in the bright sun is as good a time as any.  Tide is a different story as in the bay most people looking for Longies will opt to fish an outgoing tide and like most fish “no run means no fun” this applies to Tuna as well as the tide will help them ball the bait up.
 
Locations
 
First things first for Longies there's no spot x they can  turn up anywhere in the bay, right from the top end of Bribie and as far south as near Coochie.  Generally speaking fish in the northern part of the bay will of a bigger average size than those you encounter in the southern half of the bay but the odd bigger models can still turn up anywhere.  Some of the more well know spots for chasing them would be places like The Four Beacons, Mud Island, Curtin Reef, Pearl Channel, The Sand Hills,  Spitfire Channel, Harries, Rainbow Channel, Rous Channel and the waters all around Peel Island.  Also when they're thick in the bay you don’t have to travel far as they can be quite often found within close range of spots like Wello and Cleveland Point so don’t feel you need to travel to the other side of the bay to catch one. 
 
Finding The Fish
 
Birds, birds and birds are your best friend when locating fish also word of mouth on where they're being caught is not to be overlooked because if there's constant reports of fish coming in from north of Peel than chances are if you fish north of Peel for long enough you'll find them.  Longies can vary in the size of the school from solo fish through to bigger schools of thirty or more generally speaking they don’t hang in as large a schools as say Mac Tuna.  When driving around the bay keep a constant eye out for birds and try and see what they're seeing, if there's 50 birds diving in one spot with a lot of commotion going on chances are there's some Tuna there, but it's not always that obvious with sometimes a single bird being the only giveaway to the location of the fish.  Keep an eye on any bird that is constantly dipping in one spot if he flutters to maintain position in one spot chances are there's something below him whether it be the bait the bird is after or the Tuna you're after.  Also Tuna tend to chase the bait fish up onto the edges of sandbanks throughout the bay especially in the areas north of Peel up towards Harries, so if you do find them fire a cast there direction and see what happens.  Another thing to remember when trying to catch Tuna is DO NOT just drive up at speed cut the motor and try to catch them that way sure it might work on occasions but in the end most of the time the fish will shut down not to be seen again.  Instead the best approach although difficult is to try and watch the travelling direction of the fish and get in front of them allowing them to come to you.  It can be hard at times when they're always changing directions but this way the fish will stay up longer and multiple casts can be made at one school of fish.
 
Rods, Reels and Line
 
Rod and reel choice can vary quite a lot as they can be landed on anything from a 2-4kg Bream setup right through to heavier spin gear.  They don’t fight dirty and a good drag and plenty of line is all that's required to land one but bear in mind that fishing too light will result in you having to drive after the fish and increase your chances of getting sharked.  Being this article is geared more towards the plastics style of fish my preference for a Tuna rod would be something in the 7 foot 6-10kg range and a 4000 size reel to suit, brand is not important  and all companies make gear that cover these specs.  A rod with a softer tip to throw the lure is important to achieve a greater distance if the fish are easily spooked and a strong butt section on the rod to lift them when they circle below the boat is another vital quality to look for in a rod.  I personally use a LuckyCraft Light Drop Shot 3-10kg with a Stradic CI4 4000 and have found it more than capable on most bay Tuna.  Line wise 20lb braid would be the sweet spot for in the bay and if you used the combo offshore as well 30lb would also be suitable, 10lb would do the job most of the time also but it gets a bit tedious trying to lift the fish on lighter gear.  Leaders wise Flurocarbon is the go and generally speaking the shallower the water the fish are found in the lighter the leader needs to be.  In the southern bay you could go as low a 14lb leader and be alright but as you head towards the northern half of the bay 30lb would be a better choice as you're more likely to come across other fish like Cobia, Kingfish and Macs.
Lures
 
Now that you've found some fish and have the rod and reel in your hand you need something to actually throw at the fish and get a strike.  Match the hatch is what most people work by and the same goes for Longies, having said that Longies are nowhere near as fussier fish as Mac Tuna can be and as such they take a large variety of plastics and metals.  In the bay a lot of the fish are feeding on Hardy Heads and a small 3” plastics in the clearer to opaque varieties is a good place to start, most companies make plastics that suit with brands like Zooms and Bass Assassin through to Berkely and Squidgies all having suitable styles and colours.  Jerkbait/forktail minnow styles are probably the best as they represent the baitfish better but they can also be caught on other weird and wonderful styles as well so do be afraid to throw out what's in your tackle box.  Jigheads need to be strong and 3/8-1/2oz is probably the best weight as any lighter and you wont cast the distance any heavier and the lure will sink straight past the fishes mouth, hook size just needs to match the plastic you're using.  Also ensure the hooks are heavy wire in what ever brand you use aas light wire hooks wont last long on heavier drag settings.


Technique
 
I have to be honest I’ve not found any technique to be more successful than any other as most of the time when the lure lands in the right spot it's picked up without any retrieve necessary.  But unlike metals a fast wind isn't really needed as you want the lure in front of the fish for as long as possible and I tend to find a medium twitching retrieve on the lure seems to do the job.  In the end just mix it up as one thing works on one school of fish but not the other.  Also let it sink through the school and see what might be beneath it.  Another trick is whilst fishing have a lightly weighted plastic dead-sticking out the back of the boat as I know of one person using this technique and it has proven to be quite successful for him.
 
Landing The Fish
All that's required to land the fish is patience as they wont run for any reefs and they don’t have any teeth to bite you off, you just need to survive the initial run and take it from there, the hardest past of the fight is when the fish is below the boat and circling as they can prove to be quite difficult to lift from this position.  The trick here is to just motor off the fish and try and get it arching up on the surface also try and work against the fishes direction of travel say if he's swimming away from you try to work the rod the other way so that you're always trying to turn the fishes head.  All that’s needed now is to net or gaff the fish and you're done.


Summary
 
I hope this is of help to at least one person and that you're able to score your first Longie from it.  At the end of the day you just need to be on the water and watching what's going on as most people just drive past good fish not knowing they're there.  There will be days where none of the above works and other days where it all falls into place and that's the thing with Tuna as they are so unpredictable and for the yakkers out there Longies are certainly catch-able from a yak in the bay you just need to be a little smarter about chasing them and be prepared to paddle but they're worth it in the end.  Now the wait begins for them to start showing up in numbers
 
Cheers
 
Mark

We then have to attach the lid using the shock cord and another clip made from the copper wire.

Cut the shock cord slightly longer than the height of the pot and tie a double knot in one end and thread it through the frisby then the clip and back through the frisby and tie another knot.



Then melt a hole in the other end of the pot placing the hole at 90 degrees to the weights and take another length of shock cord and knotit and thread it up through the pot and through the hole on the lid.
Pull this cord as tight as possible and tie a knot in it and trim it off.



Completed pot.

I burn my name ( Pity I cannot spell it) into the pot with the soldering iron .I also burn my name into the float ( Helps preventing people thinking that they are their pots.)
I have lost a couple of photos where I initially attach the mesh to the frisbee so I will take some more tomorrow night and update.
I did make some pots out of galvanised gutterguard and they were a lot easier to make but they are starting to rust out after only 2 months in NPD, If you can find some 250 mil begonia saucers they are a lot easier to make up and use less gutterguard and catch just as well as the larger frisbee pots.
Happy shrimping.
Cheers
Ray

After several different types I think that I have finally got it right.
What do you need.
Cable ties - Bunnings or cheaper still on ebay.
Plastic gutter guard 180mm wide Bunnings whites super gutter guard 180mm X 8 m about $7 or cheaper at Masters.
Ideally 25mm begonia pot saucers from K mart $1 each but they havent had any for months.so I use Frisbees from K mart $1 each.



Bundle of

tent pole shock cord $3 from K mart
around 12 gauge gi soft drawn fencing wire. I scrounged some from a farmer mate.
Empty 2l soft drink bottled.
I use soft copper wire for the hooks and attaching the tie rope. You should be able to scrounge some from a sparky or auto electrician


First step is to cut the gutterguard to length. Just mark the edge of the frisbee with a felt pen and place a mark on a length of wood and roll the frisbee Add an inch to allow for an overlap join.
Similarly cut the fencing wire to length.
The fencing wire has to be formed into a circle and the neck of a 9kg gas bottle is ideal for the frisbee size and if you are fortunate to find some 25mm begonia saucers an upturned flower pot is good.
Then cut a hole in the frisbee slightly smaller in diameter than the soft drink bottle.

Next step is to cut the neck off the soft drink bottle ( I find scissors best leave the screw top on the bottle and it is easier to make the initial plunge into the bottle}




Then using a small tipped soldering iron melt 4 holes around the hole in the frisbee and corresponding holes in the drink neck and cable tie the neck to the frisbee,( Do this in well ventilated area because of the burning plastic fumes.) You could drill the holes but it is much faster with the soldering iron.
You will note that I have also made holes around the circumference of the frisbee.You only make the holes on one of the frisbees.

Next step is to join 2 lengths of the gutterguard side by side.



Just tie them together loosely untill the whole lengthy is complete and then flip them out and then tighten up the cable ties.

The co joined gutterguard is then cabletied to the frisbee and the top is pulled in so that the diameter is slightly smalletr then the outher end that is secured to the frisbee and one of bthe fencing wire circles is cable tied to the top

nAnd then the second wire circle is tied in to the centre of the pot



I then insert a short rod into the top of the trap to attact the clop that I tie the rope to.



Clip is made from the copper wire mentioned earlier.

I then place some weight opposite the rope attach point. ( Anything heavy to take the pot to the bottom quickly.( I use old galvanised bolts )

Next step is to burn 3 holes in the other frisby that is going to be the other end of the pot.

Our new pup. Only four more days till he comes home. :woohoo:

Can anyone who I havent already told guess the breed?

No secret I have become a fan of higher end reels. Unlike some elitist however I would never try and persuade a new angler to spend 900 bucks on a reel. I believe like any sport, hobby etc it is just a decision you make when you get more involved and interested in the gear itself as well as the actual art of fishing.

With this in mind, and with my stella 1000 in service I thought I would give a little Symetre 1000 a run on the weekend. Honestly could not fault this reel. Still nice and compact, light and nice drag. Will it stand the test of time considering how much I love pushing the hell out of light gear? I do not know but for an entry level 1000 size I would highly recommend these.

Got this little legend last week. 9 weeks old on Sunday.

Meet frank!

This is Fraser, a guide dog we are training for 12 months. He was 6 months when I took this pic, almost 9 months now and doing great with his training.
First oic is him having a nap whilst I was at the club playing poker. Second pic is at home, just couldn't stay awake any longer.

My 12 month old Shep. It took me 2 months and lots of fence work ($) to figure out she can jump over a 7 ft 5 inch fence but not a 7ft 6 inch high fence

She's a lovely dog and so damned determined when she puts her mind to something. There's lots of training and exercise ahead for both of us.

One of our Shepards giving the young fellas face a bit of a clean. We have an Island bench in the kitchen and they will chase each other for hours if you let them.