etay

This guy went 74cm. Fight was subdued for a fish this size, must be the cooler water making them sluggish. Same thing with a 60cm model yesterday. Both these fish only made 10m runs, where in Summer, similar or smaller sized fish were going 30-40m on the same drag settings.

G'day Are yous till chasing a LBG rod? If so, check your PM's, I may have something you're interested in.

CTS. You can get them in oz from a well known rod building supplier. These blanks are the lightest, most sensitive out there. Loomis are good, no doubt, but not worth the extra $$$$$.

yes, carbon fibre and graphite are the same thing said in different ways, however, most rods on the market do contain some level of glass in the "scrim". there are a few blanks out there that are however, 100% graphite with no glass at all. these are the top level blanks and quite $$$ as you would expect. I have one which I rolled into a spin rod, and there is no comparison with IM6 let me tell you that. Even mid range sticks don't compare with it. because it is full graphite, it is much lighter, more responsive and more sensitive. Basically it is more powerful than another rod of the same weight. the rod is rated 4-6 kg and weights less than 3 oz.

They are worth it. Much lighter than stainless steel guides, and on a light flick stick, you'll definitely notice a difference. My preference is the TATSG guides with the TLSG fly guides further up the rod. Don't like Recs, esp when fishing with braid. The TATSGs are essentially as light as the RECs anyway. A set for a bream stick should cost around $110 maybe a less (esp if you start with a size 20 guide). there are a few other off the shelfers that come with Ti guides, like the top end daiwa stuff ($$$$) and the pfleuger medallists, which are similar in price with the Rapalas you mentioned. between the two, I would chose the pflueger which is built on a USA rolled blank (All star). Top rods for the price.

This is regarding the newest models of Avets... I believe avet made a few changes in direct response to Alan Tanis findings about salt intrusion into the drags... anyway, my mate bought an sx from the states late last year, and when I clocked the drag, it was well over the advertised "14lb" at full, more like 24 lb at full and 12-14 lb at strike! This was well over mine which is an older model, so, I decided to pull it apart and see what gives. Well, what avet is doing now is glueing the drag onto the spool, to prevent salt water intrusion. With only one side of the drag washed able to rotate, this has the effect of greatly increasing the drag pressure. So, if you ever want to change the drag washer, that may be a little problematic! I guess you could dig it out and use some actetone or something to get rid of the glue... I think this modification was a little unnecessary. I've opened mine up a lot and never found salt intrusion. But I also dunk mine in a bucket for 1 min after every trip. Just be aware that at these high drag settings, it is also slightly harder to crank, but it doesn't seem to affect the casting control (if you have good braid on it). I've found that they cast OK if you have a large weight (>50g), but with small lures/sinkers, they are a nightmare to control. I do most of my casting when the lever is on the "baitfeed" setting.

There is a "bump", it's just not on the sideplate, it is actually on the lever itself where it attaches to the reel (You can only see it when you take it apart). Don't worry, there are definite "draguations" between freespool, baitfeed, strike and full. I have an sx and a big ex 4/0 2 speed, and at full, the drag is still smooth, no stickiness whatsoever.

Just use a hacksaw a nd file the end down till it's smooth. Take a burl cork or EVA ring and glue it onto the end and cut around and sand off into the shape you want. Be careful though, as you will change the balance of the rod by removing a significant portion of the butt. the rod will become more "tip heavy"

Thanks Huey, that helps. if it's only a difference in spool size, I'd probably go the 3000.

Does anyone know if the body of the 2500 is the same as that of the 3000? I've been looking at the specs, and they appear to be the same weight (240g), but the line capacity is significantly different. Is it just a different spool? Thanks in advance.

the public wharf at cottage point, the wharf at Bobbin head, both have yellowtail, you'll need a bit of burley to get em going though. If you really want to increase your chances of getting something serious, try for some squid in Appletree bay...

I am not sure what coastal watch defines as swell, but I think they have a different definition than BOM. BOM measures total swell as the total height between the bottom and the top of the swell, whereas coastalwatch is more for the surfies, so they define it as the height relative to land, ie 1/2 the TOTAL swell. Hence, coastalwatch is always about 1/2 the reading of BOM. I usually go by BOM, as it tells me the direction too. If fishing a NE platform, 1.5m SE swell is the most I will fish. 1.5m NE is dangerous though. I've seen people do it, but that's when the waves start coming over the edge.

The only brand of reel which caters for the lefties is Avet, but the left handed versions are basically only available from the states. But I'm with you on this one, it is damn hard to find a LF retrieve overhead.

Hey Brenton If you are jigging, I am assuming that you will be using braid. The problem with trolling a star drag with braid is that you only have two drag settings, freespool and full. Obviously you can only troll with the drag engaged, so if a fish hits and you are trolling at speed, you are likely to pull the hook. So a lever drag will be much better suited for trolling wiht braid. I have an avet, it's a lever drag, and it has excellent freespool. It's the most versatile overhead at a reasonable price. Check them out. Cheers

I read in a fishing Mag a little while ago that a king will eat a snapper, so I don't see why they wouldn't eat a bream... When it comes to bait fish, I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference. Yakkas are so widely used because they are easy to catch and last so long on the hook.