samsteele115

I'll be there! Looking forward to it

He doesn't visit the site anymore unfortunately @kmcrosby78. Last time I spoke to him he wasn't building rods for others anymore from memory. @bowds13 a minimum of 12-20lb rod with a 7'2 minimum length. You can afford to go a little heavier and longer than that and you certainly wont regret having the extra power on the 15kg+ moreton bay longies if you hook up to one. The longies up north are smaller and you can afford to go lighter.

Ahhh of course

So if you have caught a bass on a banana, why the superstition? That seems like good luck to me!!

steely_70@hotmail.com

So much to learn in this thread, some really good info! The stuff from tunafreak is like gold. Hands down brisbanes best longtail fisho so if you see him out there keep your distance but watch and learn

I don't expect a fix especially if it's not consistent with others but thought I would mention. On the computer is no problem at all but my phone is my computer most of the time so most of my afo browsing is phone based.

Ok if you insist.... Afo on my smartphone is an absolute nightmare: Delayed typing (type the sentence and it starts appearing 10 seconds later. The more I type the more delayed it gets) Can't tag people (it works, but after tagging I can't do anything else because it won't allow me to click the cursor away from the tag. Probably too hard to explain) Adding pictures can be difficult if you accidentally single click to insert picture instead of double click. Everything stuffs up and basically got to delete everything and start again. Emojis don't work. Only if you manually type in the ":P" for example. Cursor randomly jumbles and jumps back to a previous sentence. There are other things that I can't think of right now but will come to me. Had to type this in my notes app in my phone because the typing delay on here is too tedious to put up with. Apart from that everything since the platform change has been awesome. Especially activity as mentioned.

do 60cm bass actually exist? Never seen one on a mat

Wow, great write up Luke. What a fantastic story of an old fish! If only the bass could tell it's own story. Cheers

Sienna's are so good! Bargain.

Thanks for replying for me @kmcrosby78 haha, didnt see this notification til now. Thanks @AFO Admin

Does anyone know where the original article has gone? @Angus @AFO Admin

Yeah something I have never understood

Nice looking boat! Perfect bay rig

Were you targeting sharks?

Holy crap! What do they fight like?

It always gets me thinking though... How come those little chubby cranks (like the atomic cranks) are so successful on bream and flathead, especially in that brown colour? They don't look like any other bait fish I am aware of. But in saying that I don't think I would ever use a toadfish as bait!!

Nice report mate, enjoyed that. Looks like it was a bit of fun!

Epic. Looks like a great trip Angus.

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.

Teckee, I had the same problem with my Stradic 1000fj to the point I took it back due to stiffness and noisy bearings. The one I replaced it with wasn't any better, but I can tell you it definitely smooths out over time. I'm very happy with my Stradic and will continue to use it in years to come. Super tough reel! Edit- just realised you said you bought a used reel. It has become quieter for me over time so hopefully it doesn't go noisy again! Haha

Product: lucky craft Sammy 65 Type: surface walk the dog lure Colour: clear for saltwater, dark for fresh (although a pearl white colour has had most success on bass for me) Colour range: so many colours I havnt seen all of them yet Quality: excellent Value: worth every bit of $20 Action: has an irresistible walk the dog action on the surface. Very fun to use and casts like a bullet. Experience: this lure is one of the best of its class in my opinion. Caught me lots of surface bass and they hit it hard! My go to lure along with the tiemco cicada and osp bent minnow, depends what I feel like using at the time. The advantage of the Sammy is it's casing ability. Can get exceptional distance and accuracy. Even the little ones have a crack!