Bob9863

Is there a reason why, everything I read up on the 2022, hell any of them actually says they are the gold standard. 

What are they missing or not good at that makes them not worth it and what reel is the best of the high end value for money wise? 

I'm quiet certain my vanford 5000 would be up to the job if I didn't abuse it too much, but I would like something I can really work the arse off of. 

Yeah, I gotta agree it's hard to read much of what he writes. 

I also think the Diawa certate range is bigger then I need, all I need is around 8kg minimum drag, 150m of 50lb braid, smooth drag, light weight and a long cast. 

If the Stella is worth the money over other reels in their line-up then it's worth it for me. It fits all that criteria and it's supposed to be a beautifully smooth and long lasting reel. 

I'd like this to last like my C4 ambassadeur, just keep on ticking and doing all I want it to for many many years while other reels come and go. 

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. 

I've got an electric for it, but damn the little Yamaha 4 stroke is so smooth and quiet I doubt I will ever use it. 

A lot of mates up at Darwin bought the smartwave poly boats made in NZ, yes a bit heavy but they are beautiful to fish out of and damn stable. 

Poly are probably the most stable fishing boats around. 

Nice looking outfit, I could definitely think of some uses for it. 

No the punt is getting the 4 stroke, also have a little electric for sneaking around in the shallows. 

When she is all cammo up then it's going to look good.

I've been meaning to buy another kayak, I sold my last one due to it being almost as heavy as a boat. 

I think a canoe would suit be better, but are those ones plenty stable if the wind picks up or you get a bit of wake hit you? 

14 hours ago, ellicat said:

What's your dream size ?

What's the specs on the heavy setup ?

I'm going to break the 10lb mark, they are in there but so far the biggest I've personally seen was 9.5lbs.

But 16lbs is the biggest I've heard about coming out of there. 

The "Heavy" set up is a Shimano Vanford 5000 spooled with 15lb braid and on a Nitro Viper 6-8kg med/heavy 5 piece travel rod. 

I'm just giving that a shake out, I've got to put the 50lb spool on it to get it broken in too. 

That's my new travel rod for Asian fishing parks. 

55 minutes ago, benno573 said:

nice one mate, was that on another of your home made lures?

 

Are these destined for the smoker or is it just for the sport?

That one was actually on a store bought one, only because I wanted a heavier lure for the heavier rod, but I still painted it myself. 

These latest ones have been going back, as they are river caught, but the lake ones are kept and yau had better believe they are eaten. 

But the rivers open up for trout on Friday, now I've got my eye in and my gear sorted pre season, there will be a lot more coming home. 

That's Trout done Thai style. 

This is a rainbow just off of Google images, it's got practically no stripe but you can clearly see the spots on the tail. 

Both, but so far I'm only catching browns. 

It can be tricky to tell the difference sometimes but the easy way to tell is rainbows have spots on the tail too and browns don't. 

Some rainbows don't have the rainbow stripe but they always have the spots. 

It can definitely be a problem if you overload them, saw, a bloke a few, days ago snap his tip casting a lead fish with a soft plastic rod. 

The lead fish are around 25-28gm and the rod was only rated for a 7gm lure. 

Been doing that, I've been going good with a #2 beam sinker painted dark green with a fluro pink belly and a red tab on the treble. 

Makes a great redfin pattern which is 90% of what they are eating atm. 

Not as well today only a baby, but it beats a doughnut any day of the week. 

But then in the streams I usually fish it would be a pretty decent fish. 

It will, you can make them all sizes, just take a large barrel or bean sinker the right weight for your conditions. 

Put some wire through it, crush it in a vice, give it a coat of etch primer, then a colour coat, then a gloss clear coat. 

Twist on a, swivel, bead and hook. You could put on a glow bead and glow tube on the hook, run a second hook on the front if needed. 

If you don't have sinkers with a hole all the way through them, just an eye. The drill a hole through the back of the sinker at a diagonal, run the wire through and twist on two hooks one at each end. 

That would definitely save money, you could even sprinkle on some glitter when the clear coat is wet. 

That 1st one is a pretty decent fella, or lady I suppose. 

I've tried soft plastics, ice jigs, spoons, tassie devils ect but these simple cheap lures are the only ones that work. 

I'm going to make some little ones to try out in the streams when they open next month. 

They would work great for a lot of fish, anything you can use a flasher on should bite, on these just as, well. 

I like to play with new methods and techniques, that way wherever you go you can usually figure out something that works. 

Besides, always doing the same thing gets a little mundane.