troutboy

Nice Job Fab, 24hr fishing machine now! Just 1 little niggle, I believe that your all round white light is only legal if it is tall enough to be seen unobstructed from all around the boat. Is your light on an extendable pole? cheers troutboy

Gday Jet01, welcome to the dark side. There are many top shelf flyrod companys that make entry level or beginners set ups for a reasonable price, companys such as Sage, temple fork outfitters, innovator nitro etc.Personally I would lean towards a more reputable brand rather than the Gilles outfit as you will tire of the beginners kit pretty quickly as soon as your casting improves. A 7wt rod and line will be perfect for what you want to do.Saltwater will quickly destroy any reel that is not annodised with a salt water protective coating so look for something like a shimano biomaster or a lamson konic or similar,these reels serviced and cleaned regularly will last a lifetime.In flyfishing most bang for buck is obtained by spending more on the rod and line rather than the reel.A quality line will set you back anything from $60 to $120 or so. Don't skimp on a quality line.The next best way to get value for your money is to get yourself some professional casting lessons, I cannot emphasize this enough.The best gear in the world will not make a lick of difference if you cannot make a basic cast. Peter Morse and Justin Duggan are conducting some lessons at the Penrith Regatta Center and it would be money well spent to attend these clinics and get yourself started on the right path. If I can be of any more help please let me know .cheers troutboy

Hi Sven, believe it or not every time I have caught carp there, a couple of Asian fellows have come running over just as I am about to dispatch the fish and begged me to let them have it. This has happened on several occasions now as the 2 gents have been there every time, usually fishing with ultra heavy gear with big hooks and sinkers. They couldn't believe I was using 4lbs mainline and 8lbs leader, so after setting up their gear correctly they started to catch a couple of fish. They were extremely grateful for the advice as the only fish they were getting were donated by me. As the area is a very popular family picnic spot I would be mindful of leaving dead fish anywhere people could see them and either take the fish for someone who likes to eat them or take the dead fish well away from the waters edge. Good luck, hope you do well. cheers Jamie

Hi Sven, great place for a fish, and while I have caught bass here they are usually smaller resident fish to around 25cm or so in length. You will get the occasional bigger specimen but they are few and far between. Have caught bass using beadhead woolly buggers and a 6wt flyrod , but the most consistent fish taker for me has been a small betts spin attached to a 2.5'' z man curl tail grub spiced up with some scent of your choice. You will get bass on the surface if you can cast accurately to overhanging structure and logs and any shady areas, usually best early morning or late in the day when the shadows are long. Rockhopping upriver can surprise with very feisty little fish from fast flowing water. But if you really want to get your arms stretched take a light 2 to 4 kg spin rod , attatch a pea size ball sinker running on the mainline to a small swivel, then a 600mm length of 8lbs flouro to a small light gauge circle hook. Bait the hook with 2 corn kernells and lightly burly the area with corn and sit back and wait for the action, it shouldn't take long. My best carp from the basin went 97cm and 22lbs, the fight lasted well over 10 minutes and left me with a very sore wrist. Hope you have some fun, cheers Jamie

Gday ALI G, sorry forgot to add ,there is plenty of scope for flyfishing both for the trout and carp, a 3/4wt is perfect for the trout and a 6wt for the carp. Beadhead wooly buggers in olive and black work well for a wet fly. Dries and or a nymph dropper also work at times. Bread flies and glowbugs for the carp . cheers Jamie

Gday ALI G, firstly let me say its a great spot for many reasons,family picnics , good 4wd driving nearby and some good fishing to boot. Access is gained by driving in along Coxs river road until you reach a gate with a small metal tag welded to it saying 6 foot track . From here you pass through some private property and a couple of more gates before reaching the 6 foot track proper, follow this all the way to the campground.You will not need to engage 4wd at all unless there has been very heavy rains. From the campground downstream there is limited fishing as you enter private property only a couple of hundred meters down the river. Upstream from the campground and around the camp itself provides some good fishing as long as there is some flow in the river, rockhopping between the pools and runs is relatively easy although care must be taken on the very slippery rocks.There is the odd good size brown to be had but the most abundant fish are definitely carp. Small paddletail soft plastics work well on the trout and corn kernells and bread burly for the carp.The section of river upstream from the camp to Bowtells swing bridge is pretty heavily fished but upstream of the swing bridge for a couple of kms is relatively untouched. Alternative access can be gained on foot from the crossing of the 6 foot track and Megalong Valley rd in Megalong Valley. The track will take you right to Bowtells swing bridge. Easy walking. If I can be of any more help just let me know. Good luck, cheers Jamie

Hi Sydneyfisher12, the tiniest circle hook you can find is the ideal hook for powerbait. I use a 4lbs braid mainline to a small swivel with a pea size sinker running on the mainline above the swivel. To the swivel I tie around 2ft of 4lbs mono leader as mono assists the powerbait to float for longer as opposed to flourocarbon leaders which sink. Tie a small light gauge circle hook on the end of the leader and lightly press the hook into the side of the powerbait nugget. Dont do what most do and totally conceal the circle hook in the bait as it will be very difficult to secure a good hookup with the hook buried deep in the bait, just press lightly into the side, it will easily stay attached to the hook if you are not casting world record distances, just lob it out with a gentle action and leave a little belly of line to allow the fish to pickup the bait without feeling any resistance.I leave my rods in holders , in gear ,with a very light drag setting and let the circle hook do its thing. good luck cheers troutboy

Hi guys, a lot of wind knots can be eliminated by using a smooth casting action and feathering the line off the spool with the index finger of your rod hand whilst casting. Also it will stop excess line blowing in the wind after casting ,causing line to be loosly wound onto the spool at the beginning of your retrieve. If braid is wound onto the spool loosly it will form little loops that are picked up by tightly wound line underneath, this is what causes wind knots in the first place. It can also be beneficial to periodically use a lure with a strong action or even a sinker to to make a long cast and then wind your braid back onto the spool under tension as this will eliminate any loose loops from forming. cheers troutboy

Hi, for a good , not too expensive braid give fireline tournament exceed in 4lbs a go. I have pretty much tried everything over the years and this stuff seems to have the minimum of tangles/ wind knots, casts really well and is extremely thin for its breaking strain. As others have mentioned once you get used to using braid mono will become a thing of the past at least as far as lure fishing is concerned.cheers troutboy

hi all, rainbow trout in impoundments live about 3 seasons tops, browns on the other hand can stretch that to a couple of years more cheers troutboy

hi all, I know it sounds counter productive but try crimping the barbs as a barbless hook will penetrate a hard bony mouth easier providing a more solid hookup, just remember to maintain line tension at all times and keep their head underwater. cheers troutboy

HI all, did all four disc brakes on my patrol the other day, probably saved myself 4 to 5 hundred bucks, easy job too. cheers troutboy

Paul worsterling is just wrongtown. the product flogging is unbelievable, some of the stuff he endorses is just crap.About the only redeeming feature of his show is that he takes the time to teach his son, but even that is coached to the max. At least rexy could make you laugh.Cant stand Al mc glashin and big fish small boats either.Bring back a rerun of a river somewhere, comedy and class all rolled into one.

hi all,fishing edge hosted by Lee Raynor, is good also . He was Rex hunts right hand man for many years, but a fantastic fisherman in his own right. Always full of practical tips and minimal product flogging , check it out , also on channel one. cheers troutboy

Hi roylo, the last series has just finished airing, but it will return in a few weeks. Channel one.5.00pm. If you have a tivo or pvr make sure to set the timer to record for 15mins before and after the advertised times as the show typically runs overtime. cheers troutboy

Hi Pod , have you considered how the honda will behave on a slippery ramp. I would not want to be trying to pull that much weight up a ramp with a front wheel drive vehicle, just another thing to think about. cheers troutboy

Sorry to hear of the loss, its a hard lesson to learn, but always always open the bail arm even if you are only putting the rod down for a second. cheers troutboy

Hi Witha, no worries bud . just trying to save you some money. Using a shallow spool explains your decision. cheers troutboy

Hi Witha, can I ask why you need more than 125 yards for bream fishing , there is going to be a hell of a lot of braid that will never see the light of day if you spool up with 300 yards.No bream on earth will pull that much line. I suggest half of that would be more than enough, and when it starts to wear out use the spooling technique I described above and reverse the top shot and you will end up with 75 yards of brand new line plus the other worn half as well.. If you do this a 300 yard spool will provide 4 top shots of line and is very economical.Cheap 10lbs mono for backing will be ample for anything larger you may hook onto as the stretch factor of the mono acts as a great shock absorber.. cheers troutboy

Hi Troutstalker, no never had an issue with line twist to date , if you have any concerns drop the hand line into a bucket of water,the spool will float and orientate itself into the position the line wants to be in and run the line across or through a cloth to remove the excess water and help maintain tension. This will also help pack the braid on tightly minimising loose loops and potential wind knots down the track. cheers troutboy

Quite simple really, tie your braid onto the spool and wind on as much as you think you will need and then fill to capacity with your backing line of choice.wind this onto a hand line spool, you can retrofit the hand spool onto a cordless drill if you want to do it quicker. Then using a second handspool wind the line onto this,this will mean the backing line will end up on the top layer of the spool. Then simply lay the spool on the floor in a bucket and wind onto your main spool. That way you will end up with the perfect amount of line with no wastage. A couple of handlines should only cost a few dollars each, and rigged onto a cordless drill the whole process should take no longer than 10 mins tops. cheers troutboy

Hi Witha, the difference between 4lbs and 6lbs braid is pretty much negligable , if I were you i would be using the spare spool for some flourocarbon or a braid with much higher breaking strain such as 10 lbs fire line and use it to target larger flatties or salmon etc .Theres not much you can catch on 6lbs that you cant catch on 4lbs fireline . The stuff is incredibly strong . Use the spare spool to give yourself more fishing options. Fins sucks. cheers troutboy

Hi all, try extreme boats big angry fish, its a kiwi show but they go into great detail about rigs and rigging ,baits ,lines and techniques they also catch the biggest kingies you will ever see.. cheers troutboy.

Hi John, in my experience its more important to have a line in the water than relying on solunar tables and such. Lets face it the vast majority of anglers cant fish whenever we like mainly due to work and family commitments etc. Also fish have to eat regardless of extended low or high pressure systems, we dont stop eating because it is raining do we? I have caught fish in freshwater on days when the moon phases and solunar tables have predicted days of minimal fish activity and have blanked on days when everything was predicted to be favourable. I think fishing periods of low light such as early morning and late afternoon into the night has more bearing on success than when certain factors are all alligned. That being said a steady or rising barrometer can be a good indicator to successful fishing as can fishing prior to a storm front closing in. I think we should all fish whenever the opportunity arrises rather than waiting for so called good conditions to line up with available spare time.You wont catch anything if you dont have a line in the water. cheers troutboy

swibo or mora both great knives, they have a high carbon content so need to be washed an thoroughly dried after use to avoid surface rust but hold a superior egde to a lower carbon content blade. cheers troutboy