Bob9863

That's probably much better then a regular gaff, I never found them quite sharp enough.

That's a pretty nice stick there.

Sounds like a great day, I love a little soft plastic finesse fishing.

It's clearing up a bit so we're going for a fish now the work is done.

Yes it's nice Sambar stag, the owner reckons it's one of the best ones to come off the place, so I'm very happy with it. Although now I'm spending a rainy Sunday cutting up a lot of stir-fry meat, and making sausage out of the trimmings.

The back legs were so heavy I had them on a hoist last night to cool and they broke the rope holding them up. I hang whole fallow bucks on that hoist and I've never had a, problem. That's a lot of meat, there was 15kg just in the back straps.

Went out with a mate to scout around a new property we just got access to. It goes from the hills right down to the water, so I've got a private boat launch for a out of the way section of the lake, and I've got ducks and a lot of deer too. Apparently there's some big cod hanging around as well along with trout. Looks like my freezer is always going to be full and I've got a new potential fishing hot spot.

Haven't even bothered taking it out, too damn cold lately.

Just a small change in how you fish can make a big difference. Not many are fishing the river atm as none of the old favourite methods are working but after a period of trial and error I've managed start pulling them in again. I went down for an hour and a half yesterday and got two cod at 51cm and 60cm, as well as loosing a good trout. I got down for an hour this morning and pulled out another 60cm cod and a small 35cm yellow belly. But I'd forgotten to put my wet weather pants in the car so I was cold and soaked after the 1st hour and decided to call it quits. But I'd tried the big TN80's smaller McGrath vibes and TN70's, I tried soft plastics, some hard bodies and jelly vibes. But nothing was working so I decided to buy some heavy metal blade vibes and see if they could give me more distance and get me into where I think the fish were feeding. Well I got an extra 10m or so out of the blades and they are definitely hitting in the strike zone now. It's funny what a little difference can make and why having a few different tricks in your bag can turn a few bad days around. It's not just different lures but having a variety of ways to fish them that can turn a no into a yes, it definitely pays to practice a few different techniques.

Some interesting jigs there that seem to have done a pretty good job.

I got out for 3 hours today, damn cold, damn wet and only 3 redfin to show for it. Might try again on Friday and see if things pick up, I've got a new spot I found that should be good for trout in theory anyway. It's got all the right conditions for them so there should hopefully be a couple hungry ones there.

It's hard atm, they are there but they just aren't feeding for some reason. On top of that I could see trout near the bank but could not get them to have a go at any lure. But things have to pick up soon, that seems to be how things are working atm, they go quiet for a, week then are ravenous for a couple of days. You just have to be there at the right time.

That looks like a good day with some good fish caught.

Important question, what's the budget? There's plenty of rods to suit what you need but the quality varies a lot along with the price.

I'm a firm believer that it's better to be lucky then good.

I popped down to the river today for a quick look, a slight break in the rain let me get almost an hours fishing in which was enough to land one good 7lb yellow belly. I decided to call it quits and only just made it back to the Ute before the heavens opened up again.

Good to see a few cod still getting around, I was talking to a bloke the other day that said the river was, super low and there were some fish kills. Hopefully things will be picking back up now.

My 3 favourite outfits atm anyway and I'd guess for a long time to come are my travel outfits. For the heavy fish I've got a Nitro 007 Bonecrusher PE4-6 rod with a Shimano Stella 5000 reel spooled with 59lb Shimano Grappler braid. Next up is a medium/heavy Nitro 007 Bonecrusher PE 2-4 rod with a Shimano Stella 4000 reel spooled with 38lb Shimano Grappler braid. Lastly is the rod for the little stuff, trout streams, snake head ect. It's a Nitro 2-4kg Traveller with a Shimano Stella 1000 spooled with 14lb Dangan braid. I've learnt that once you find gear you really like then run with it. It can be really tricky finding gear that really suits how you fish and what you fish for. I've got other rods that I use more, but then I use them in places that can be really hard on them. But they are nitro rods as well and still Stella reels 2500 and 4000 models. I could get away with using cheaper gear, but I really enjoy using the nice stuff.

A bit of soft plastic action is always a good day.

They look surprisingly similar to what I use for trout. If the trout are anything to go by then they should work brilliantly.

I'm not really sure what it would get used for, I do prefer my spinning rods these days Ut it might be nice to have a good 6kg baitcasting set up for cod lures and flicking out heavy jackall TN80's for big yellows.

I've gotten out of baitcasting gear, but I still have a few rods left and I'm considering getting a Shimano Calcutta Conquest DC to put on them. I'm just a bit each way on if they have any advantages in any situation that might make buying one worth while over a similar weight/size spin outfit. That's in relation to casting distance and accuracy.

Sounds like a great evening.

My lure set ups are all Nitro rods ($350-$450) and Stella reels ($1100-$1400) and my baitcasting gear is Nitro rods ($350-$450) and Diawa Ryoga and Steez reels ($800h-$900) Ive got two cheap bait rods that aur Shimano rods that I cheap at $50 each at a closing down sale and Shimano Nasci reels I got for $150 each. I've also still got my old favourite rod from when I lived in Darwin am ugly stick with an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C6500 on it. Honestly I could do all my fishing with those cheaper outfits an would still catch just as many fish. If your a serious dedicated game fishermen then it might be well worth investing in the more expensive rigs that can take more abuse, or are a serious finesse fishermen. Then buying a more expensive outfit world be beneficial to you. For me, I buy them simply because I like using top of the range gear, and to my thinking if I look after them and get them serviced every year. Then they should last me 20-30 years, or twice as long as a mid tier one would have and cost the same amount over their lifetimes anyway.

Sounds like an action packed day, definitely a great time for the kids.