Andrew_P

Keen to revive this thread and see what gear others find as their favourites. I know there’s been a lot of love recently for the old Live Fibres and Thunnuses

@ellicat I was joking about my RDO. I have to work Monday. Was at the cricket on Friday I don’t think the boss would appreciate another four day weekend so close to Xmas

The thing about replacing missing FADs is....they don’t have schools of dollies under them when they’re in the boat Doesnt stop ppl from fishing them as we deploy them but! Ha!

Doesn’t sound like the state gov logo. Ps my last day out on the work boat to replace 2 FADs we were at the ramp at 3am and back at 6pm. 120nm for 270L. All to improve rec fishers’ fishing experience

Gee I hope their super funds weren’t damaged in the accident! Doesn’t look like any of the boats I know - we have to have boats built to survey which means they are almost always aluminium. Will get off my shiny bum and put my nose to the ground and ask around on Tuesday (RDO Monday ) I’m sure someone will know the story...

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/clontarf/fishing/shimano-tld20-over-head-fishing-reel/1265699002?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=ios_VIP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=com.apple.uikit.activity.copytopasteboard

A rod rated 20kg for trolling inside the bay is overkill in my opinion. 10-15kg would be suitable and you could get away with 8-12kg. If you are confused about rod ratings just choose line halfway between the rod rating to be safe ie 8-12kg I would fish 10kg mono, and slightly heavier braid - maybe 15kg. This would be plenty to tackle bay mackerel, tuna and even a rogue kingy. Rods and reels made in the last 10 years are so good you can get away with smaller, lighter setups than you think and they are way more fun to fight fish rather than big old heavy cumbersome gear.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mooloolaba/fishing/live-fibre-rod-with-shimano-tld-20-reel/1265574415?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=ios_VIP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=com.apple.uikit.activity.copytopasteboard

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/margate/fishing/australian-made-wilson-live-fibre-fishing-rod/1257975188?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=ios_VIP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=com.apple.uikit.activity.copytopasteboard https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wurtulla/fishing/tld-25-fishing-reel-with-line/1260906837?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=ios_VIP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=com.apple.uikit.activity.copytopasteboard

@GregOug 4000-8000 spin reel. 20-30 lb braid. 30-40lb mono or fluorocarbon leader joined to the braid with an FG knot. 7-8ft 6-10 or 8-15kg spin rod. Graphite or composite (graphite butt, fibreglass tip) like your live fibres. mate I’m pretty sure some of your existing setups will do the job. List what you’ve got and let’s try to save you some $$$ eg my tuna spin setup is my soft plastics setup - 4-7kg 7’6 rod and 5000 Shimano reel with 20lb braid I also spin with a 7ft 8-15kg composite rod with an 8000 Shimano reel and 30lb braid but this doubles as a do anything bait rod gumtree is also a great place to find lightly used gear. I’ve seen some great condition live fibres on there recently. You should be able to pick up a TLD15/20 for around $100 for your trolling reel. everyone is different remember to see how it feels in your hand as you will be the one casting it all day!

I think pony fish have smaller scales, this one looks like a long fin silver biddy to me https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2432

@tiotony mate I’ll take the 2500 Shimano baitrunner off your hands. Happy to pay postage to Brisbane + a 6 pack of your choice

Great work and thanks for the report @marty

@Sneaky1thats a million dollar combo right there mate You’ll be super happy

Back on topic - the new Shimano baitrunners aren’t as bulletproof as the older versions but they do the job. I use the cheap silver version on my beach rod. The gold ones have a nicer handle and an extra bearing but I couldn’t justify the extra $$ especially in the sand. I have a Thunnus 8000 for boat work and its the tits! Light, strong with a smooth, heavy drag. I think Shimano invented the dual drag baitrunner system. They have definitely perfected it over time. The Penn liveliners are way heavier in my opinion. The 6000D should last you a good number of fish

Well you definitely have a problem then - you don’t have anywhere near enough rods!

Is that your only rod stand or are the rest of your rods under the doona?

Went for a quick squirt down the Logan onSunday. Had a hard time dodging crab pots! Put the casts in from the carbrook ramp to the mouth for 1 decent flatty (57cm). Also caught an undersize buck muddy on a plastic - he had snipped it with his claw and the hook was stuck in a groove between segments. He swam away cranky The river was very dirty I reckon it’s had a heap of flow and run in from the rain. There were no fish showing on most of my spots but small patches of bait. Hoping it starts to fire soon but with the sheer number of pots out I doubt I’ll get down there for a crab. Might hit the southern bay instead I almost cast my arms off for the flatty! my neighbour got some more boneless and skinless fillet I’m sure she enjoyed it as much as the whiting

Never had a good experience jigging bait with them. Sure it manages the jigs well but I struggle bringing up a full string without the “pop! Pop! Pop!” of hooks pulling out of soft mouths. better off buying a cheap 7ft + fibreglass overhead rod with a super soft tip, picking up an old abu baitcaster and spooling it with 10-15lb mono. When you aren’t using the jig take the sinker off and wrap the dropper loop around the handle of the reel. Works for me

@Ed. Innisfail is still Qld I agree - it sucks having to purchase blanks sight unseen and paying top dollar for them, but with no blank manufacturers left in Australia that is the situation. you could go a Calstar from Ross @ the Rodworks but he is in South Australia and for an 8ft H-XH blank you will be looking at north of $350 for the blank alone, plus delivery from Adelaide. Australia isn’t even a pimple on the bum of the US market so it’s little wonder we struggle getting products here.

Aaron McKell imports/distributes them https://acmcustomrods.com/collections/rainshadow-rod-blanks

Mate just make one! Then you can’t complain about it Rainshadow do a nice 2 piece butt joint tuna popping blank for around $150USD. https://www.rainshadowrodblanks.com/product-line/tunapopper/

My neighbour Wendy looks after her elderly mother (94 not out) and has shown a very keen interest in the adventures of Yewgary especially the contents of its esky . She mentioned her favourite eating fish were surf bream from Evans Head that her old neighbour brought back from their annual pilgrimage. Full of bravado from my last little excursion out the seaway I asked her if she would settle for some whiting. Yes that would be great she said and I thought oh sh!t, I haven’t fished for whiting since I was a kid! Not long after sending a quick message to Brian @ellicat to see if I could tag along on his next trip to the Nerang and Brian had given me the good oil and even encouraged me to go myself. Well everything lined up for a Thursday crack and my mate from work (who hates fishing) was even on holidays down the coast so I invited him along to chew the fat. A quick stop at the Gem for some bait and Yewgary was soon in the Nerang. We got to the spot and anchored up, deployed our lines and I got a fish straight away! A nice legal whiting around 26cm. Slipped him in the esky and waited, waited, waited. The tide turned and not much was happening til Darren’s rod loaded up ever so gently. He waited a good 30 seconds before striking and there was a heap of weight on his line, with the fish taking drag against Darren winding. This fish had it’s head into the current and was fighting hard all the way. A few runs near the boat and a large brown shadow appeared which we both called for a nice flatty! I grabbed the net and the fish took a lunge near the boat before popping up and into the net. This was no flathead it was a horse of a Nerang river whiting! Darren was laughing now at the size of his “flatty” and it measured at 36cm! He was super stoked but more excited that a spot “some bloke on the internet” told me about had actually produced a couple of fish We stayed til about 9pm and ended up with 5 fish from 26-36cm. Not a busy session but very comfortable and enjoyable fishing nonetheless. After cleaning the boat the next morning I popped over to Wendy’s with 4 prime fillets of whiting for her and her mother. She was very pleased and kept saying how great a fisherman I must be to offer a feed then actually deliver on it. Well I think it was more good luck and the willingness of AFOers like Brian (“some bloke on the internet”) to share their knowledge that contributed to the catch but I’ll take the complement anyway! Thanks again Brian you’ve made 4people’s days with your help I’d love to fish the next Nerang whiting session in Yewgary next to Ellicatch.

Pretty sure his donger is twice that size @GregOug proportionate to his sinkers https://lunaseasports.com/store/cushit/