Aardvarking

Well I've just got myself my first fly rod, and am looking to take it for a spin! I'm thinking of going on Saturday to have a go on the carp, but can't really go to my usual carp spot at Parramatta because I have a mate joining me who isn't really keen on making the trip all the way out west from the shire. Is there anywhere on the George's River where you can get carp on fly that I could try? I'm not sure if the EP are still biting this late in the season, but I'd be keen to give them a go too. Cheers

Shot him an email mate, thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers, I'll check it out. I was looking to buy used originally, but haven't been able to find the right reel for me yet and I'm getting a bit impatient.

I'm looking at getting into fly fishing, but it is turning out to be so damn expensive. I found a nice used 6 weight rod for use mostly on bream and bass, but now I'm struggling to fit a reel and line into my budget. Anyone know of any stores that are offering good deals on fly reels at the moment, maybe buy a reel and they toss in line or a clearance sale or something? I really don't want to cheap out and get something crappy that turns me off fly fishing, but I also don't want to spend a fortune. Cheers

Yeah, I'll definitely make sure to pop into the local tackle store and get some info when I first arrive. Also I've looked into WA fishing licenses, I'll make sure I'm fully legal when I arrive. Even though I see their merit I'm not personally big into charters, I just feel way more accomplished when I've gone out and done it myself. I might consider and exception this once seeing I'm in a new area though, so I'll have a think about it.

So this Friday me and my Family are setting off on a trip to Western Australia, and will be spending a few weeks travelling around from Fremantle to Albany. We are spending 2 nights in Fremantle, 5 nights in Yallingup, and then spending 10 days driving down to Albany, stopping wherever we please. I can tell it's going to be a great trip, but with all that has being going on for me recently I realised that I completely forgot to plan what sort of fishing I was going to do! I have never been to WA, and don't really know much about what it has to offer. I am keen on catching some new species we don't have in NSW, but am really not fussed as long as I'm catching fish. I am just looking for any advice I can get about A ) What styles of fishing are popular and what species of fish are there to target? and B ) What are some good fishing destinations to stop at on the scenic drive from Yallingup to Albany? I will be buying a fresh new rod for the trip so I'm really open to targeting anything, but I'm not big on beach fishing so I'm looking for more info in regards to rivers and estuaries. Any help is really appreciated. Of course I'm not asking anyone to reveal any secret spots, just some general info to get me started so I can know what to look for. I've been trying to do some research but figuring out how to fish a whole state has proved pretty overwhelming, especially with only 3 days to go.

I have a policy where I go for any team that is playing against Storm. Issue is I also have a policy where I go for any team that is playing against the Roosters. Best case scenario both teams get done for breaching the salary cap and are kicked out of the comp, and the mighty Tigers are given the premiership out of pity, because lord knows we deserve it

I had the same experience at a certain world of tackle in Drummoyne. Expected that I would just have to buy the tip and do it myself, but they took off the old one and put the new one on dead straight, only making me pay the 10 dollars for the tip.

I was! Had to take off my shorts with one hand while fighting the fish, and then put then put them back on doing the same thing. Can say it was 100% worth it

Might have been, but I doubt the first on was a trev. Did the classic flathead move of feeling like a dead weight until suddenly it woke up and went crazy

It has been quite a while since I have posted here, but I have been pretty busy with school and haven't had a chance to even going out fishing. I just finished my HSC trial period this morning with a gruelling 3 hour economics exam, and thought I might reward myself with a fish after 2 weeks from hell. Didn't really plan for it, just headed to Rozelle in the spur of the moment to see what I could catch and forget about exams until I have to do them again ? Got there around 3:30pm with the intention of catching some flathead. Within about half an hour I hooked my first one, and it was a big one for sure. She started pulling drag like crazy, big head shakes, certainly felt like a heavy fish. Eventually started to tire her out before she had a dash for a rock, tying my line around it. Spent a few minutes trying to get her out of there, but after no longer feeling a fish on the end of my line I knew it was hopeless. Got my lure back in the end, but with no fish. Bummer. Unfortunately didn't think to take any photos of the scenery, but I can attest to the fact it was picturesque. A beautiful sunset over perfectly calm serene water. If that wasn't enough there was a guy playing acoustic guitar on a bench right near where I was fishing, perfect to set the atmosphere. Fished another hour or so for flathead with no such luck, before deciding to target bream instead. Took off my 10lb leader, put on some 6lb and tied on a squidgy wriggler. Ended up with another fruitless hour of fishing, and was about to throw in the towel. Even though I hadn't caught anything I was just thinking that it was great to get out to the water again, even if I didn't get any fish it was worth going out just to finally relax after a few weeks of stress. Thought seeing I had made my way back to my original spot I would throw out one more cast before I drove back home. And so I cast out my little wriggler with my 0.3 PE braid and 6lb leader, when suddenly my spool goes *ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*. Whatever monster is on the other end of my line is shaking its head constantly, going on run after run. Goes on a 5 minute straight tun before I finally start to get some leverage, but not before nearing the backing on my spool. By this point my hands are shaking and my heart is pounding. I thought for sure a flathead would have shredded my leader by now, so I had no clue what it could be After about another 5 minutes of back and forth, I start to gain control when the fish makes its way around a rock. And not just any rock, exactly the same rock the big flathead got me around earlier that day. Luckily this time I knew what to do. I end up having to wade waist deep into the freezing cold water to rescue my line from the rock, but after a few minutes surely enough the fish is free. And that's when I see a silver flash, and for a second I think I have finally caught my first jewfish. Unfortunately not, but it was a big silver trevally instead. While it's not a jewfish, I certainly can't complain! Measured it at 43cm, my best trevally to date other than my 52cm PB, but for whatever reason this one fought a lot harder. I am actually very surprised to see trevs in Iron Cove bay, didn't think of it as being somewhere you would find them!

My expertise is more around lightweight spin combos and the like, think I misunderstood what he was looking for a bit ?

Yeah, I guess that's a good point. I've just had success using that combo in that application

I'd spend a tad more and see it you can get a Shimano Catana and Sienna combo. Will be a lot better imo, and Shimano customer service is outstanding.

I'd suggest that if a swimmer has an encounter with a shark they might not be too happy with the guy on the beach throwing chum at them

Yep, this is exactly what I did. Good to know that it's definitely what caused it, because at least now I know for next time.

I was once doing some wade fishing in Lake Illawarra and felt something brush up against my leg. I thought it was just some seaweed and didn't think much of it, until I felt it moving a bit. I looked down and saw a blue ringed octopus climbing up my leg. I absolutely panicked, yanked it off my leg and threw it as far as my scrawny little arms could throw. It was probably the most scared I've ever been. It was actually the second time I've seen one in the wild. The first we saw one that had built itself a cave out of little rocks and pebbles in a rock pool. Me and my brother founds some crabs and fed it to the octopus, was very cool to see how it ate them. Coolest thing was that when he wasn't hungry anymore and got sick of us he got a rock and used it as a door to seal his cave.

I would say that winter is the best time to catch tailor in the estuaries. In fact, I caught my first tailor over 40cm as a bream by-catch a couple weeks ago at Blackwattle bay. Usually I only get choppers there, but in winter I catch some bigger ones too. I'm not sure exactly why that is, but it's just my experience of it

Well, I called Shimano and asked about the parts, it's gonna cost me just short of 100 bucks to fix both reels. Thing is, I bought them both used for 160 dollars total, meaning it doesn't make sense to spend so much on a repair. I decided to get some super fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand down any especially bad dings, and it seemed to actually help quite a bit. The reels are still a bit grindy, but are actually pretty useable, so I reckon I might leave them as is and save up for a new reel and relegate my Stradics to squid or bait duty. Also might try using some nail polish to even out any dings I can find when I get the time, which will be an interesting experiment.

Well I figured out what happened and boy do I feel like an idiot. The first time I opened up the reel I took off the anti-reverse before taking off the handle. I thought if I just held the pinion in place while twisting the handle it would act like the anti reverse so I didn't have to screw all the anti-reverse screws back in place. What it actually was grind the drive gear teeth against the pinion gear, slightly denting both. The reason I didn't realise this is because the dents are so tiny I could barely see them, but were enough to completely ruin both the pinion gear and drive gear. What I'm really kicking myself about is I did exactly the same thing when opening the 2500, not realising that was the cause of the problem to begin with. So now I have ruined both of my reels, 2 weeks before a week long fishing trip. And to top it all off I bought a brand new set of bearings which are now useless. Do'h!

I reckon salted pilchards can last a last time in the freezer, I would say they are the longest lasting in my experience. If you freeze them in a block, leave them in an insulated bag and take them out one at a time they can last a fishing session and then be tossed back in the freezer. Prawns can last a little while, but as soon as you freeze them they loose a bit of their effectiveness, so I wouldn't recommend them. My uncle swears by the 10kg block he has of Tweed bait "fisho", which is they word for chicken gut for some reason, which he has kept in the freezer for about 2 years steadily chipping away at it. I'm not as convinced as he is, but he seems to like it. I guess you would take the same approach as the pilchards by freezing them, and then not letting them thaw completely.

I've just had another good look, and finally realised what has gone wrong. For god knows what reason the drive gear has rubbed up against the drive shaft, which has stripped tiny pieces of paint of a few of the teeth. I did some extensive testing, and that seems to be what is causing the problem. What I am super mad about is that the 2500fj was working great before I pulled it apart, and now I've broken it too along with my 1000, so now both my reels are out of commission. I'm assuming there's no fixing it, but is it possible to repair the teeth? The damage is extremely minor, seems to be limited to a touch of paint coming off 2 or 3 teeth.

I have already made a thread or two about my Stradic 1000fj which I gave a service before discovering it felt worse afterwards, but after putting in new bearings they haven't helped at all. I am still getting the grindy feeling I was getting before, and it hasn't gotten any better. I have figured out it appears to be rubbing up on the section of the drive shaft which connects it to the worm shaft, but it only does that sometimes and when it doesn't it still grinds. Where it gets weird is that I decided to pull apart my Stradic 2500fj to compare insides and see if I was doing something wrong. Turns out I wasn't so I put it back together and suddenly the 2500fj was grinding too. I have no idea what would have caused that, considering I opened it up without touching or moving anything, then closed it again. Does anyone know what could be causing this?

I'm not too sure about that one. I've been catching some big tailor in blackwattle bay over the last couple of wet rainy days, and we all know it's not the cleanest waterway in Australia. From what I've seen the water has been pretty filthy in Sydney Harbour, not sure about middle harbour but it's certainly not a good sign.

If I want to fish without a life jacket and risk my own life then why shouldn't I be allowed to? I feel perfectly comfortable kayaking around Sydney estuaries without a life jacket and am confident in my abilities to swim to shore if I was ever capsized, yet I am legally obligated to wear one. When I'm rock fishing it really depends on the circumstances of whether I would put on a life jacket or not. Obviously if I'm standing on a precarious rock with wind blowing and waves crashing around me of course I would wear one, but I wouldn't fish in those conditions anyway. Most of the time I'm rock fishing I feel 100% safe that I won't be swept in, and even if I am I am confident I can make my way back to shore. It just ruins the experience, especially on a hot day, and even makes me feel less stable.