GregN70

I've always thought that fragile reef areas, need to be shut like this for about 10 months per year to preserve stocks, otherwise there will be nothing left soon, and its getting very close to it now..
Especially along the Southern Great Barrier Reef from about Mackay to Bundy which has been absolutely flogged to death for the last 40 yrs. Like open it only for a month in Dec and then again in Jun. And Same for those extremely rare Spanish Mackerel which are on the verge of extinction in Qld waters.
For both commercial and Rec though.

I've always thought that fragile reef areas, need to be shut like this for about 10 months per year to preserve stocks, otherwise there will be nothing left soon, and its getting very close to it now..
Especially along the Southern Great Barrier Reef from about Mackay to Bundy which has been absolutely flogged to death for the last 40 yrs. Like open it only for a month in Dec and then again in Jun. And Same for those extremely rare Spanish Mackerel which are on the verge of extinction in Qld waters.
For both commercial and Rec though.

Hey Bob, have you considered the Daiwa Certate?, they seem to be a very capable nice reel, saving you quite a few $$$ compared to the Stella

But if your heart is set on a Stella, go for it!, you won’t be disappointed. 

Okay. 
 
Can't say I know him now but I did many years ago and he was a nice kid. 

Pitty, I used to get great Mangrove Jacks there.

Pitty, I used to get great Mangrove Jacks there.

Absolutely. You get what you pay for, always.
Many years ago, I looked at all my tackle and decided to halve the amount of rods and reels I own, but double the quality. And it's served me very well ever since. Not only are high quality reels a pleasure to use and perfectly reliable, they also have extremely good resale value. I predominantly use Daiwa gear as I prefer it over shminano, and when say a new Exist model comes out I pop my old ones on ebay and I usually get almost what I paid for it, then before you know it I have 3 or 4 shiny new ones to enjoy. And I keep this up also with the Saltigas/Certates I use offshore and also the couple of little Luvias I keep for freshwater and trips down south and across to NZ.

Absolutely. You get what you pay for, always.
Many years ago, I looked at all my tackle and decided to halve the amount of rods and reels I own, but double the quality. And it's served me very well ever since. Not only are high quality reels a pleasure to use and perfectly reliable, they also have extremely good resale value. I predominantly use Daiwa gear as I prefer it over shminano, and when say a new Exist model comes out I pop my old ones on ebay and I usually get almost what I paid for it, then before you know it I have 3 or 4 shiny new ones to enjoy. And I keep this up also with the Saltigas/Certates I use offshore and also the couple of little Luvias I keep for freshwater and trips down south and across to NZ.

I was looking at the exist range too, but I like the look of the Stella more but feature wise they are very close. 
The exist does hold more line  and is a little lighter which are very big advantages for what I'm after. 
The rod I intend to put it on is an 8kg 5 piece nitro travel rod, it will see service mostly on arapima, but red tail catfish and tarpon are also in its sights. 

I'm thinking about getting a Stella 5000XGFK compact as a light weight heavy duty reel. 
I need something that will handle some hard fighting fish overseas, smooth drag, can handle some heavy abuse on long fights, controlled retrieval for both slow sensitive finesse work and fast retrieval when needed, with plenty of cast length and the ability to handle big lures. 
Most of all I want lasting quality that won't let me down when needed. 
Diawa has some good options too but I am fond of my shimano's. 

That spots a beauty, fishing is a bit hit n miss though. 

I'm hoping it's a joke ...... 🙂.

Absolutely!, everybody knows cable ties are where it’s at

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

I'd avoid Motorguide at all costs, I now call them "Aspros" because they dissolve in water. I had my first one for 2 years, always washed it, never treated it rough, it corroded like crazy, despite being a SW model. They did their best to avoid any warranty. Sold it.
The second one cam with a boat I bought, I was reluctant, but gave them another shot, once again, it started to corrode badly with in a few weeks of use. Got it repaired & repainted, sold it cheap, bought a new MinnKota, and 3 years on there is no corrosion and it has been faultless.

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

I saw this bloke fixes a Samaki easy
 

Boats looking the goods on the water and some night arvo fishing photos. Great that u have a job that allows u to get on the water after work. 
 
Mates getting Tailor on main beach at night last week so they should surely be around in the Broadwater

Point 3 has been great for me. So good to be able to spotlock on the bait once you've found it.

I have plastic tags cut from old ice cream containers and lids (etc) with a hole punched that I keep with a few zip ties and a nikko, and just sippy them on to the rope near the foat, so who ever i take crabbing just writes up 4 tags and away we go.
Hows the crabbing around cannonvale? I hope its better than that around Rocky and Yeppoon. I managed just one keeper last summer from 13 trips

@Old Scaley - $400 = new gizmo on leccy you aren't sure you will ever use or need.  $400 = 8 x 1L bottles of rum on special... just sayin...