Sylvathorn

yep that's why I like our current boat .... when it's going .... bigger than the average croc! It's about 23" long but can operate at Hull depth (cathedral hull with the auxiliary set up in the Port channel), shallower than our old 16fotter could go in

Our boat's not going ATM So we currently buy our Muddies from Rob These pics are from his page ..... and yes, they do bump his Tinny occasionally

I'm getting it too, but didn't notice until I looked for it, after seeing this post

sometimes it helps to print off a screen capture (Alt PrtScreen to capture then paste to Paint or whatever and print) and take it with you into the store and tell them they have to honor it - works in Bunnings, even if the counter person doesn't like it, you just demand to see the manager ... not sure with BCF though, but definitely worth a try

have you contacted your provider? it could be their local equipment @Ed.

Waiting .... waiting ............ cooking a turkey hindquarter ATM Hey Ed, were you there that weekend on Mornington pier when that boatload of yobbo's went up the Eastern side, way too close, cutting off everone's lines with their prop. and laughing at us all, and then anchored 80 or 90 metres off the end of the pier. There were a few of our group there, pretty certain Jeramy and I, plus Steve, Shane, I think Pete and a few others. It ended up an exciting afternoon .... if you were there you will remember .... Jeremy featured

Yep, it was! You've seen him cast then He could make his FT144 7W, Ambassadeur 9000C and 6ozs of lead absolutely fly. We used to fish the gravel beds 110 metres off the end of Mornington Pier. If you couldn't reach them, you wouldn't catch any decent Snapper, which is why he made me practice until I could consistently get out over 120 metres.

OK, lot of good points so far, thinner newer line, weight , overhead as opposed to side cast and wind behind you. Everyone seems to think distance is difficult! Technique is everything and I am a big believer in overhead for distance and side for flat accuracy, but if you don't load the rod tip you don't have the rod working for you. I could consistently push a 4oz sinker with a plastic pilly at 125 yards plus using 17lb mono with a 6'ish foot double leader (all paced on my local footy oval - I was made to put in a serious number of hours practicing!) with my FT120 4W I was taught by a Tournament caster who was built like a brick outhouse and could consistently push 6ozs, 165 yds plus on his FT144 7W and put it through a 1 metre box at 120 with a side cast. Years later I was chatting with a mate who said I was probably a bit ambitious with my distance estimations, so I went out the back and pushed 3 out with 4oz on my 6'6" Jig stick that went 96, 97, 96 all paced. It is all technique, to get distance you must load the rod tip. If you don't load the rod tip, you won't get the slingshot effect and you won't get good distance. You must match the cast weight with your rod. You also need to practice, so you also have control (which is why I couldn't do 6oz, couldn't control it). Don't wait till you're at your fishing spot, get out into the paddocks or your local footy oval with your fishing rod and a bucket of water and practice!

And back in the day (we're talkin the late 70's and early 80's) I was buying my first Ambasadeurs (7000c, 5000C & 3500C) and honing & polishing the drag washers for hours getting the drag smooth as silk. Then came my Lord Howe Island trip, gotta get a hot game reel, fell in love with the flashy gold of the Penn Inter's, got a 50 W, had a couple of test runs ......... there I was, honing & polishing the drag washers again! The moral of the story ???? does it really have to have a moral?

And ya know what, yes I do have a bit of mid to high end equipment .................... but I've still got a couple of old Alveys too

And you know I love the Snyder Glas blanks

looks nice

Great write up, thanks a lot!

Awesome catch of tuskies, persistence pays off

Hi @TheCharliefisho, thank you for your confidence , and yes a cracked guide needs replacing, can catch the line and cause it to break. I don't doubt that I could fix it, guide replacements are straightforward, and I mostly charge $15 per guide up here, plus the cost of the guide itself - guides are usually from $1.5 to $5 mostly for light rods. Problem is that you show as being in the Brisbane area, and freight cost to ship the rod (both ways) would kill it. There are plenty of people doing rod repairs down there, perhaps some of the other members in the Brissy area might be able to help. Any members able to help Charlie? cheers Misha

haha @Bob9863, there's always a price to pay, but still it's a productive and hopefully a satisfying way to spend a rainy Sunday. I'm mostly doing rod repairs today

that's a lot of venison from that! is it a Sambar?

Margie's keen to try out her new rod ..... but there's still a little work to do

I'll look out for that video too Neil

Hi @mzaakir, there has been a lot of good advice so far from all. Don't buy to a budget, thinking in good conditions I will be fine, as mentioned by a lot earlier, conditions can change rapidly. I put in at Rudy Maas one time when the forecast was 20 gusting to 30, I've got a 23 foot Cathederal hull, so fine, I'll just troll around the southern end of the bay I thought. By the time I got to Cabbagetree point it was 40 knots gusting to 60 (didn't really notice it until I was in the middle of it as my boat handles a trailing sea better than most, it was really when I noticed the height of the waves) ... open water there, so it was a slow wet ride getting back amongst the islands. Most of the time you are looking 10 to 15 knots and it's not just going out, it's getting home. In Moreton bay there are a lot of ways to avoid the worst of the water, but even then there are rough spots you have to cross, if you're fishing the Moreton Island side. There are a lot of good small boats out there, deep V, glass boats tend to handle conditions better, but cost more to power and I'm not up to date with modern boats. Also, you mentioned the seaway. Coming back in with the wind at your back and an outgoing tide is definitely not something you will enjoy if you are in an underpowered small boat. The swell/waves stand up a bit, and try to suck you back in, plus you sometimes get the odd waves heading North to SouthWest (crossing the seaway) in those conditions to complicate things. Oh, and I've done the seaway crossing probably more times than you've had hot breakfasts, I was a Quartermaster with QF1 Australian Volunteer Coastguard, and I was with that flotilla for a bit over 10 years. So don't rush in, heed the advice of all these good people, especially about which are currently good boats, they'll be up to date, I'm not. Don't forget, your boating/fishing experience should be a pleasure, not a pain Not trying to put a damper on it, just saying don't rush in.

gonna get a few rods happening now, got a few parts in .... busy, busy, busy. and Muddies for Margie on Friday, I'll be in the good books! .... well, for a little while at least

Haha, just a slight miscalculation, and was all good fun.

OK, Happy stories is what you want eh.... Ed and I do go way back .... Special friend that I trained with for a number of years, and his lovely wife was a good friend too, and the friendship didn't stop there. Just spent an hour on the phone together, was absolutely great, reliving old times and catching up on the now times. We didn't talk about this, but I'm now remembering a full contact basketball game we both participated in, in northern Tasmania - full contact takes on real meaning when all the participants are practicing Karate exponents Oh and by the way @Ed., I do still remember the back kick you got me flush on the jaw with @Ed.! happy, happy, enough @Angry51 hahaha cheers Misha

Here are pics of my baitcaster version with the 5500C. I've got another that's threadline, but it's on loan to our next door neighbor as he's just sold his boat (needed to by extra machinery for his business) and his fishing will be shore based for a while.

yep, definitely about 50 years!