Ed.

Because it is so much nicer to catch a big fish using your own gear, and you still get to use it for other purposes when you come back home. If you are a regular fisherman you will use it often as a good reel is a pleasure to use and will last for decades. However if this is going to be a one trip only, then I agree, save your cash. Just make sure the charter boat has decent gear onboard to use first, I have seen some absolute beaten up junk on some boats. Hence the reason I try to bring my own. Drop Bear: You still haven't mentioned what your budget is.

That depends on how big your budget is! Also do you want to to cast with it or just drop the bait/jig over the side, balloon, and also troll with it?

I think that if trailer is over the 2000Kg mark you will need brakes on all axles, plus breakaway setup and a method to activate said brakes from within easy reach of the driver. There is a manufacturer that does a brake system which relies just on the brake lights coming on and is connected by blue tooth, so it is a kit that installs on the trailer and also connects to your phone via blue tooth ( for the easy reach part) . Don't know much about it as I saw it briefly on a caravan show. Personally I wouldn't get one as I think that if the blue tooth signal link was for whatever reason broken you may have issues, as well your phone would have to be on all the time and no blank screen and mounted within easy reach. On my previous 3.5T tailer, I had a Tekonsha P3 which connected to an electric to hydraulic brake unit. The P3 proportional controller allowed you to set the brake voltage on the trailer brakes hydraulic pump to increase or decrease the amount of braking power depending on the load. It also had a manual override lever underneath it and a couple of modes for a light trailer, heavy and full 3.5T. The actuator was a 1600PSI unit capable of handling a tri-axial trailer. The controller needed to be wired to the braking light wiring in the vehicle and a 50A Anderson plug to the back next to the tow bar hitch. The actuator was supplied power by that Anderson plug and also connected by the trailer plug. Worked very well. My current 2000Kg trailer has override brakes and is a bit of a pain, every time you hit the brakes hard the trailer bangs once the spring compresses.

What are those things in the air in the pic of the boat?

As I said before that was just my opinion, but just to clarify, I don't think that Daiwa is in the larger game fishing business anymore as they stopped producing the Tournament reels last I checked but I could be wrong, and I don't think that they have a replacement. The last one I owned was the Daiwa SLT50W and I didn't keep it long, sold it almost new as I disliked their gear change mechanism, as for steering away from Okuma, I think that you would be doing yourself a dis-service by not looking at the Makairas. I was just about to buy a Tiagra last year as I always wanted one but decided to do the rounds first of the different large reels, I looked at Penn Inter's, Tiagras, Finnor, Ticas and the Okuma, and the Okuma won hands down so I bought a Makaira 30. Now don't get me wrong, all of those reels are good and all have caught big fish on them and all of them have been around a long time. But in my opinion, the Okuma was much better, for me anyway, and since they teamed up with Tiburuon to design the reels whilst Okuma manufacture them, their standard of reel has improved dramatically, years ago I had one of their original Titus 30 and 50W reels but eventually sold them, anyway I ended up buying a Makaira 50W as well for good measure. Now thinking about getting a 10-15 sized one, that is if I can convince the wife! I also have had a few TLD reels but really didn't like their drags and then found the Tyrnos reels which were much better. Fishing reels/rods are very subjective things in that what I like in a reel/rod someone else will dislike, so getting back to opinions everyone has one, so do yourself a favour and check out as many as you can to see what appeals to you as you will be the one forking out the cash and using it, just make sure you at least check out the Makairas!!

Also be aware that Lowrance don't repair any of those devices as far as I know, so if a fault develops it basically a replacement job, which is fine within warranty, but outside of it you are up to buying another device, I think that they might give you a slight discount but you will still have lost most of your cash with the previous purchase. Something to be aware of!

In my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions, they are like bums,...everyone has one! it really depends on how much you are willing to spend, how often you will use it, and whether you want to use overhead or spin type reels. If you are after largish game fish I would recommend an overhead reel, and obviously the larger you go the more expensive they cost, having said that. My preference would be a Okuma Makaira 30 which should handle the larger fish as well (up to several hundred Kg's). I just watched that video of Sammy Hitzke mentioned before and watched him catching that tuna on the Tiagra 30, (at about 15 minutes in), he then took the ratchet off a few minutes later, and the noise of the anti reverse pawl (still audible) would drive me crazy for any length of time compared to the Makaira 30 (which is silent), not to mention that the Okuma has thrust bearings, bigger drag, and helical cut gears which make the retrieve considerably quieter, smoother and more efficient. Moving on from there, have a look at the Penn Fathom 2 speed lever drags in the 30 and 40 sizes, they are less than half the price of the of the Tiagras and the Makairas, they have a decent amount of drag, are silent, have a thrust bearing and are a much physically smaller compared to the 30 size reels in the first two models I mentioned. All the reels mentioned would do your job and will probably last a lifetime if looked after a bit. The Penns also have the Squall range which are basically a bit cheaper than the Fathoms but have a graphite frame, for the larger fish I prefer the all Ally frame reels. Both of the Tiagras and the Makairas come in smaller and larger models, but once you go past the 30 sized reels they tend to be very large reels and would probably be a bit tiring trying to jig with those sizes, even the 30's could get tiring if just jigging all day. Also pays to have a reel harness and a rod gimbal handy if catching larger fish, the harness is only good if you have harness lugs on your reels but the rod gimbal you can use any time. As for rods, there are heaps of them that would suit, but my preference would be something on the shorter side in the range of 5'6" to 6'6" tops, any longer and you will have the leverage working against you and towards the fishes favour. I have two in the 25-37KG range a Ugly Bluewater 5'6" with guides and a Palagic Extreme 6' with full rollers, the only thing I don't like about the Ugly is the guides and am thinking about replacing them with some SiC guides. The Palagic is like a broom next to it, it has full rollers but it is twice as thick even though it is rated the same, probably as it is made with fiberglass as against carbon fiber in the Ugly. Both of these are not "tippy" rods and need a bit of weight on them to make a curve, and as I said before there are stacks of different models and brands that will also do the job. I can't advise you on spinning reels as I do not use any that are in the larger sizes, my largest is a Penn Spinfisher 6500 but I would not grab it to go after the Jumbo sized fish, if I wanted to go for larger fish I would grab the overhead Makaira first then the Fathom second. My view is if I needed something bigger than the 6500 I would go to the overheads but the spin rods are better suited to casting lures/baits than the large overheads. So if you want more info on spinning setups I am sure someone else here will recommend something suitable. So first off I would head off to the charter boat operators in the area you want to fish and ask them about what size and type of fish they regularly catch and get gear to suit, if you ask them about the hardware, be aware that most charter boats have a mixed bag of fishermen, some of who have absolutely no idea and/or experience and some who do, so the skipper may just fit his boat out with cheap and nasty reels and rods as he knows they will probably get wrecked in the hands of novices so why spend big bucks on the better gear which will be damaged. Once you have a better idea of your likely catch, go to a tackle store or two or three and get your hands on the reels and rods you are interested in, just to get a feel of them before deciding to spend your money. The reason I say 2 or 3 stores is that some stores will not carry the full range of gear and may try to sell you something they do carry which may not be the most suitable for you. So do some research and get a reel and rod that feels right, is within your budget and will last a long time. Cheers. Ed.

Now that's a Snapper! well done.

As it appears that you have already bought the blank so this is a bit of a moot point, however I personally would have got a Ugly Stik bait caster as those rods are incredibly hard to break, so if you put the heavier line on you could still give the rod all the grunt you could (even high sticking it) and be very unlikely to damage it. With the solid glass tip they are quite sensitive to nibbles for the lighter fish. https://www.dinga.com.au/ugly-stik-gold-series-overhead-rods-new-2018.html If you were wanting something with extra grunt you could always import one of these from NZ, should cost about $140 delivered. I bought 2 of them, 1 or myself and 1 for the Son In law. https://www.discountfishingsupplies.co.nz/shop/FISHING+SECTION/SALTWATER+FISHING+SECTION/Rods/Boat++Game+Rods/Shakespeare+UGLY+STIK+-+BLACK+TIGER+Boat+Rod+70+5-25Kg+2PC%3Fsku=2786.html

Well that trip to Nambour was a total waste of time, tree was half the size quoted and starting to decay, not happy , would have much preferred to go fishing.

Sorry also Greg, if I had seen this a few extra hours earlier I could have, but I am committed now to go to Nambour to cut up a tree and bring it back home.

If at night and you want to have some fun whilst your relaxing, put out a burley slick, and some largish hooks with a big bait on a balloon connected to a largish reel and wait, as the current sweeps past there it should carry the slick for miles. You just never know what will pick up the scent. Just don't go swimming!

Generally around the top of Morton Island you can anchor just around the next corner from the point, that is usually where some trawlers anchor overnight, or further down closer to the west end of Yellow Patch, depending on the sea , I usually anchored around the middle just above the E153.26.6 which is shown on the image map. As for the swell /waves you will know when you get there whether or not you want to stay overnight, it will either be nice and flat or not! If the wind is Northerly or the swell is North something or rather, you may want to consider the Bulwar area. I used to anchor reasonably close to the shore (5-7mt depth) as there is an area slightly further out that can get quite sloppy large waves at times. As I said that area is marked on the marine charts. By the way nice rig you have there, all the comforts of home. I used to have a 26ft Scarab but since I traded it on an 18.5ft boat I don't stay out overnight anymore as mine is now an open runabout style boat so no sleeping facilities.

I used to carry a small 3kg gas cylinder and a 3 burner camp stove, nothing like a hot meal and coffee after a day out on the water and a hot coffee in the morning to give you a kick start to the day ahead.

I used to stay overnight at either Bulwar or near Yellow Patch on Morton, depending on which way the wind was blowing and the waves/swell. The Yellow Patch area has a couple of gotchas though, there is a section near the shore which has some hard flat rock with a light sand covering over it, so your anchor may not dig in too well and you will just drag if the wind picks up, so if you look around you should find a suitable section of good sand, and if you anchor too far away from the shore there is an area which is prone to largish waves ( it is listed on the maps), so just be aware of them. I have never anchored off shore though as the ocean conditions can change too rapidly for my liking in this part of the ocean, and I like so sleep comfortably without the boat rocking side to side and up and down, but that is just me. The Bulwar area is quite good provided the wind doesn't change in the middle of the night and make the water too sloppy, I use large anchors and a reasonable amount of 3/8th chain so have never dragged there and not too worried about doing so. The bottom is pretty good there and I just use Danforth style anchors.

The bracket keeps the motor leg raised off the ground and is not reliant on the hydraulic ram to keep the leg up, on my particular trailer, if I travel with my motor down, my skeg would be about 50mm off the ground, so if I travel at speed on a highway and hit a deep pothole then you can imagine what damage it would sustain. If I rely solely on the hydraulics to keep my leg above the ground, the same result would happen if the hydraulics lost pressure, the leg would drop down and being in the drivers seat I wouldn't know about it till I hit that pothole. This bracket keeps the leg at a set height so if the hydraulics fail for what ever reason, the leg would still be supported at that set height by the bracket.

When I used 12V winches on my trailers I made a lockable 2 piece ally box, the top part came off quickly and protected the winch. Once the top part was unlocked I could get to the cables quite easily. There was a cutout that allowed the cable to be attached to the boat whilst going down and up the ramp, then I would just chain up the boat to the winch post, remove the winch cable and just lock up the winch away till next time. With the manual winch I haven't bothered so it just sits there exposed.

I also have the identical bracket pictured above, mounted on my Merc 150.

It looks like I may have sold it today, a guy got in touch with me and said that he's happy to buy it so just have to see the money come in. I am almost tempted to buy a Makaira 15 reel with some of the proceeds, but the little voice in my head keeps telling me that I have way too much gear and it will just sit there collecting dust like this one did. Decisions, decisions. Yep, it did sell.

No problem, thought I would offer it to you seeing as you were looking. Cheers Ed.

I have a slightly used Ticateam ST-458 reel for sale if you are interested asking $170 plus $12 for postage to Cairns, spooled with 80lb? braid and a mono leader. Cheers Ed

BCF is having a bit of a clearance sale at the moment, maybe something like this may interest you: https://www.bcf.com.au/p/shimano-terez-spinning-rod/M299617.html?cgid=BCF10 https://www.bcf.com.au/p/shimano-terez-spinning-rod/M299617.html or if you are after a more flexible tip then https://www.bcf.com.au/p/ugly-stik-bluewater-spinning-rod/M567390.html

That is a very good idea, but it isn't just the bars you also need to learn about, the seas as well as the weather, anyone can get a boat license and most of the time boating is pretty safe provided you know the basic rules, however when the smelly stuff hits the proverbial fan, you need experience and that is invaluable if caught out in a storm, and do not rely purely on weather forecasts as they are frequently wrong. So having an experienced person teach you what to do and when is the best way to minimize your risk. I was fortunate in having been a deckhand on a cray boat in W.A for several years so picked up a lot of skills from my skipper and some of the seas we worked in were truly horrible but you put your trust in the skipper who has a lot of experience, if he said we work, then we went out, if he said we are staying home then you know you really don't want to be out there. At the end of the day experience is worth its weight in gold and it is not worth risking your life for a couple of fish. Having said that the more you go out in a boat the more experience and knowledge you accumulate, as GregOug said above, if you go out often enough it is not if you get caught out, but when!

The same thing happened to me about 3-4 years ago in the same area, the missus and I went and stayed out overnight at Bulwar on our 26ft boat and intended to head back to Bribie Island next morning about 10:00AM after breckie as the forecast was for a southerly change about 2:00PM. Well I woke up at about 5:30am due to the boat rocking, so stuck my head out of the cabin and looked around, yelled out to my wife to get organized and to put on a life jacket as we were leaving in 10 minutes. There were massive storm clouds approaching fast from the south and the wind was picking up. By the time I pulled the anchor, the wind had reached about 20 knots, and so I hammered it back as best we could, after another 10 minutes driving we we drenched to the bone, the wind by then was at a stupid speed and we being pounded left right and center as the seas whipped up and the waves were side on for a lot of the time. We outran the worst of the storm and we made it back, cold and wet but if I had have been in a smaller boat I would have done the same thing and beached it. We got back home to Spinnerker Marina a lit bit worse for wear, but we would have been stuck at Bulwar for about 3-4 days otherwise. It was also the first time I had told my wife to put the life jackets on on that boat, now that I have a smaller boat we wear the inflatables ones all the time. Just goes to show that the weather forecasts are just that and you still need to be aware that the weather is unpredictable. Similar story about 15 years ago, had a smaller Scarab, a 23ft, took the 3 kids and missus out from Jacobs Well marina, down through the Broadwater and out the Southport Seaway for some fishing, We went a few miles out and constantly watched the the horizon to the south as there was a southerly change due in the afternoon, there were huge storm clouds in the distance but they were just stationary. Finished fishing and went back in so the kids could have a swim in the Broadwater before heading back to the marina. It was a clear sky, flat seas and the clouds on the southerly horizon had not moved all morning till about 20 minutes after the girls went swimming. The clouds then started to move fast, way too fast for my liking so it was all aboard and I hammered it, I did 40 knots all the way back and the front was still gaining on us. Managed to get to the marina and moored up just as it was getting nasty, by the time I finished mooring to the pier it was a white out due to the torrential rain and winds, visibility was down to about 25 meters and wind easily 50 knots. Funny thing is that just before we got to the marina we passed a 12ft tinny with a couple of guys heading out, they were oblivious to the impending front and they would have got a nasty surprise. I mean by that stage it was pretty obvious even to a blind man that a major storm was about to hit. Some people have no self preservation in mind!

Bribie Island canals