Ed.

I also was having trouble connecting to this and also another forum site, but it turns out it was related to my VPN server in Sydney (so far), however I could connect when using the VPN server in Melbourne though, not sure if these issues are related to your problems though I suspect that somehow they might.

I don't think that end nippers work as well as side cutters do. Having said that I only tried to some cut hooks with a cheapish pair which I used for cutting MIG wire, etc, so the better brands like Knipex might do the job more efficiently as they are well designed and use better heat treatment and steel.

Had the same happen to me, needed to disable the Adblock plus and Ublock origin from this website, seem now that everything works again.

Most of those baits should have worked, I am assuming that you set the pots near or in the mangroves, if you did then maybe time to try a different location, most mangroves up that way should have them. I don't think that Mud crabs are fussy as to what they eat, I have even caught them using a tin of sardines with a couple of small holes in it as we had run out of bait. The oil and smell leaked out and attracted them to the pot and they really mangled the tin trying to get to the sardines in it.

There are lots of videos on YouTube about "how tuff are Ugly stiks". and usually you can go up a line class or two from what is stated on the rod and you would have to be doing something pretty silly to break on as shown in those clips. As this is an old thread and the OP has already got his rods this is a bit of a moot point except for some additional info for those who may be looking at getting Ugly Stiks. I picked up two USB-JOH5637 80lb 5'6" Blue Water jigging over head rods on about August and was quite impressed with the power of these thinnish rods. I paired them up with a Makaira 30 with 150lb braid, tied the line to a tree and put it on full sunset drag and no issues there, should have been about 55lb drag at that setting.The only downside is that these two rods had cracked epoxy on the first large guide only when I first got them, it was where the guides sat on the blank in between the two feet. Easy enough to fix but should not have had to with a new rod. I contacted the seller only to be given a story on how they contacted the distributor and just have to wait for them to respond, (that was about 8-10 weeks ago), so not holding my breath on that one, either way I have fixed one by re-coating the epoxy and will just do the same with the other in case the seller is talking out of his bum and trying to fob me off, he did offer to get me to return it but I have time as that one is just a spare rod now anyway so not really worth the trouble. I also have been toying with the idea of stripping all the guides on it anyway and fitting them with a set of SiC ones, purely because I have some spare. So overall as others have said the Ugly's can take a beating and do survive. There is a silly commercial that was released that is good for a laugh, but I would not recommend doing it to any rod to prove a point.

Once it cures on the skin it will eventually rub off, might take up to a week or so though. In addition to all the others maybe Acetone, but it is pretty resilient stuff as you probably know by now.

My understanding is that a "MILF" means something totally different, that is unless your dentist is female!

It would probably depend on how the old fishing line was discarded by whoever collects it. If you put the old line in a bag and throw in the general waste bin, when it gets to the tip, the dozers flatten out the piles of rubbish and that bag could get ripped open and the old line exposed sometimes with hooks attached, potentially posing a tangling risk for animals or birds that scavenge the piles. If the old line get put in a dedicated bin and then the line gets disposed of by melting or other such process it would be a better and safer solution. Having said that I think that the risk to birds and animals may be quite low so it might be a solution to a problem that doesn't exist or is insignificant. When you consider that billions of birds die annually just by striking buildings and a very large number die hitting cars on the roads, I wonder if it will make any difference in the larger scheme of things. I would probably use one if it was there because it probably is the right thing to do but not because I foresee it solving any problem. Plastics in the ocean pose a much greater threat to anything swimming in it.

Yep, know the story well, last weekend all the stars aligned, perfect weather, tides right, missus wasn't working, seas flat, filled up with fuel, ice and bait, launched the boat and couldn't get out of the hole, wouldn't plane, so limped back to the ramp and off to get it repaired, should get it back on Friday. Turns out It's developed a faulty injector and also had a bad sensor or loose wire on the compressor. Previously took a 26ft Scarab up from home to Roslyn Bay, put it in the water, went about 100m next morning on the way to the fueling dock and the computer chip died, towed back to the berth, waited 3 days for a mechanic to arrive to make his diagnoses, estimating 6 weeks for a replacement part, so again towed back to ramp, onto trailer and back home, waste of holidays! Haven't had much luck with Mercury/Mercruiser motors. These things do happen when you own a boat so now I make sure that I test it out before a long road trip. So as I said before, I will just stare at my fishing rods and drool over the pics of the guys catching fish!

I would have loved to come and joined you guys up there but I am getting some work done on my motor and unfortunately I do not have the time to check it out locally on the water after it's finished to ensure everything has been fixed and no more gremlins are lurking. One thing I never do is go on a road trip without checking that I don't have a problem and just drive hundreds of kilometers, only to have to come back and to get more repairs done. So I will just have to sulk and read about all the fish you guys are catching.

Excellent, your first Mullaway will be one you won't ever forget.. They can be elusive, took me over 6 months to catch my first, after that for some reason or other they became easier to catch then.

Are you guy's trying to get me into trouble?

The missus would have my head if I bought more, I now have way more than enough rods. I traveled down with 6 but unfortunately I could not go fishing. The Ugly Stiks were 37kg rods and I only had one spare reel to put on which I spooled up today and fitted it, but I will replace one of my old short strokers with the second rod so that helps me resist the temptation to buy another reel, otherwise I will be sleeping out in the shed at nights if I get another reel as well.

Is anyone else going out fishing from Bribie Island on Saturday? Looking at the weather forecast it seems that this week end should be great out on the water, (unless I have misread the forecast) thinking of going out with the missus to the North/East of Cape Morton as I haven't taken the boat out for a very long while and would like to put some fish in the freezer.

My wife and I managed to complete the 5.2K Klm trip to Melbourne and back in one piece, we now have a new grand daughter and after a shakey start to life she is now doing well and putting on heaps of weight. Didn't manage to catch up with my old diver friend down in Melbourne as he was in the US at the time and only got back the day after we arrived home. However I will be catching up with him at X'Mas as we are flying down there for a quick family X'Mas reunion and he has invited me to his 70th birthday, so will get more details on Port Phillip Bays condition then, I drove by my old diving location at Mt.Martha rocks and although I didn't go in the water, from the cliff above it looked healthier than the last time I was there. Didn't manage to do any fishing at all down there due do to complications with the birth so all my time was spent helping out, although I did buy two new Ugly stik rods to bring back and add to my collection.