Crossfire63

Ain't that the truth

No mate... Flathead aren't bait... they're food....Salmon are bait

Id rather be catching flathead than salmon

No reason why they wouldn't work, although I wouldnt be using a jighead, just use a normal hook and run them on the top hook. I've used big plastics rigged on weedless hooks with some success for Jewies off the beach. Works on the same principal as a surf popper we use for salmon and more often than not they'll hit the popper instead of the bait. Never hurts to try something different. I'd also be putting some artificial scent on them if you were going to fish them with this method rather than the traditional cast and retrieve

I cant think of anything that would be a successful filler.. I'd try polishing them out first with a dremel

If you really want to attack your reel I'd be using 2000 grade wet/dry, used wet. An alternative would be to use a Dremel and polishing paste. Your spool will usually be aluminium and wont take to harsh abrasives. You could also try wet steel wool. What ever you use will remove any anodising on the spool. If the nics and scratches are bad enough to have a serious effect on casting casting distance you may be better off to get a new spool.

If its half as good as the old Ballistics its a great hi speed spinner. Down side is its mag sealed As such it can only be serviced by Diawa, Contrary to what you may read elsewhere

I agree on this one, It also serves to put a taper on the knot. If the FG is tensioned correctly it shouldn't slip if it has been tied correctly. There is a method of tying the FG knot without the half hitches, on youtube but its not very clear.

I get away with 8 and have never had one let go

So much common sense in what you say.....I agree whole heartedly.

Hi Mike For the money you'd be hard pressed to find a better reel. Yes they are heavy but built to last like the original Black Golds and GS-9's. I would think that a 4000 loaded with 20lb braid would be more than adequate for what your targetting. You'll probably need to add all 3 shims under the spool to get the line to lay properly on the spool. I had to on my two 6500's

1) Blue bottles stick to braid like super glue which will give you no amount of grief on a beach at night when you handle your line even though you cant see a blue bottle attached to it. 2) When using braid every movement of your rod tip means a similar amount of movement of your sinker, so unless you bury a grapnel sinker your bait and sinker will at some stage end up out of the fishing zone and back on the beach. 3) As you get a fish closer to the beach there is less give in the system so you'd better remember to back the drag off to sop the fish from throwing the hook. 4) Even top quality 8 strand braid isn't very abrasion resistant

Hi Donna Its pretty simple. Big Jewies do not have a hard boney mouth or top pallet which makes it hard to set the hook. Most jewfish will hook themselves with just a bit of gentle pressure or even just on the pressure of the drag which makes the statement by "Gold Member" "Jewhunter" complete rubbish . Violent striking trying to set the hook will more often than not rip the bait out of the fishes mouth. He's obviously mistaking Jewfish for Marlin or Tarpon which probably have then hardest mouths of any fish but are not often caught off the beaches of NSW. With all due respect members should be encouraged to make statements of fact not fanciful notions.

Rubbish

Many