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I've found the Delkor deep cycle batteries to be good bang for the buck. 100aH for around $220 each. You can obviously pay a little less or a whole lot more depending on brand and technology used. I actually found some cheap second hand deep cycles that had been used in a building backup power supply (and therefore not cycled much) for about $115 each on an auction site, but have only run them for a few weeks so far, so not sure whether that was a bargain or not! You need to spend money on a decent onboard charger to get the best life out of your batteries. The Minn Kota charger seems pretty good, and I have heard good things about Guest, Beehive and CTEK. I think you would want at least 80aH for your batteries, 100aH or bigger will give you longer running times obviously. The charger should be 10A or more. If you are charging overnight 10A would be sufficient, if you want to recharge quickly (between morning and arvo sessions for instance) a 20A might be better. Good luck, I think you might find you will get lots of differing advice on these questions depending on who you ask.

I always wonder why someone would buy a Ferrari or even a Commodore when they can get a Hyundai Excel for much cheaper. 4 wheels, brakes, gets you from A to B, what's the difference?

I'm with Red and jewgaffer, caught plenty of jew on bream gear up to 90cm, then hooked a "proper" one and got smoked. Now I use a 4-6kg rod, and 3000 reel with 10lb braid and 12-20lb leaders. Sad thing is, I haven't managed to hook another big 'un since. Same thing happened to a mate of mine - believe me, you will be spewing when you hook a big one on that light gear and lose it...

I've had slimy fillets grilled fresh, with some olive oil and salt - beautiful, if you like "fishy" fish like me.

Lucky Craft Wander 95s might work, but you will have to beef up the hardware for big kings...

If it only takes minimal contact with the water to get sick, I wonder how the guys that slalom water ski at Tempe now feel? Actually have been meaning to talk to Maritime about that as the slalom course buoys sit just under the water at high tide - very dangerous hazard for your prop. I have also had them come and start skiing at high speed while I was fishing the shoreline there -

As one of the biggest reel manufacturers in China, I think some people would be surprised at which "reputable brands" Viva OEM's reels for...

I would get your reel to Daiwa for a service ASAP. Tell them it's gone under, and they will go through it thoroughly. It may be spinning smoothly now, but most reels that get a dunk will start to corrode internals pretty soon after...

Hi scaffdog, There are two makers of the raw fibre used to make braided lines, the commercial names for their products are Dyneema and Spectra. Individual manufacturers buy this raw material and use various methods to braid it, treat it and coat it. I can't tell you what your Spectra braid is like unless you tell us the actual brand. Its a bit like asking if aluminium tinnies are any good - all tinnies are made from aluminium, every manufacturer has a different way of constructing and finishing a hull. Cheers, Ben.

Slim beauty - easy to tie, low profile, never had a prob with it personally (or heard of people having probs with it for that matter). No need to tie a double in the braid either. Used it in up to 100lb leaders/50lb braid on big barra. Use it on all my king/jew leaders (15-30lb leader, 20lb braid). http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/knots/slim_beauty.aspx The only slight trick is to not pull the braid tag up tight, but rather let it slide into place by pulling the braid mainline - it mentions this in the article above. I don't trust Albrights at all - too many stories of them slipping out (I'm sure they are fine when tied perfectly, but too much room for error IMO), plus the tag faces the guides when casting, unlike the Slim. Good Luck!

The absolute best flathead lure is one you are attempting to use to catch bream. Preferably during a bream comp. Actually most of my bigger flatties have come as bycatch while fishing for jew in deeper water. 4" or larger stickbaits or shads, whippy retrieve and if targeting flatties particularly (as opposed to jew), white or pink are the colours imo. As someone else mentioned though, flatties will just about eat anything bounced in front of them.

The Slim Beauty works a treat for me, never had probs with it - watch this video to see it done, and take note of how you pull it up tight: http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/knots/slim_beauty.aspx The best thing about the slim with heavier leaders is that the leader tag faces back up the mainline, so no catching on the guides when you cast. I don't double the braid over, neither do any of the guys I know who tie it. I hate albrights, but maybe cause I have never practised them much. Good luck!

Hi breamfisher, Not sure how deep it is at East Hills, but a 1/4oz. jighead sounds too heavy to me. I mostly use 1/24 - 1/12 for bream, in deep water (30 feet plus) I will use a 1/8 or 1/6 and let it really sink down. My advice is too use a lighter jighead - 1/16 is a good allrounder for water up to about 20 feet. Cheers, Ben.

Hi BB, As Slinky said, there are only two types of braid fibres manufactured - Dyneema and Spectra. As such, there is no "standard braid". Can you tell us the exact name of this Daiwa Spectra you have, as as far as I know, Daiwa only made Dyneema braids. With regards to the difference between Spectra and Dyneema: "Honeywell developed a product identical in chemical structure, which is sold under the brand name Spectra. Though the production details are somewhat different, the resulting materials are comparable in properties." The above is from wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UHMWPE for more info. Regardless, there is not much point discussing differences between Dyneema and Spectra because all braid manufacturers use different methods to weave, treat and dye the final product. You'll find most of the Japanese jigging braids are made with Dyneema, as the Dutch company who owns the patent for Dyneema has a licensed manufacturer in Japan (as well as producing it in the Netherlands). Spectra is made in the US. But again, Dyneema and Spectra are just the raw material, it's how manufacturers then make their braid from these fibres that counts. Cheers, Ben

Nice fish guys! For those that are asking about keeping fish from the Cooks, I personally think you would be mad to eat a resident fish out of there. The Alexandra canal (off the Cooks along Qantas drive) is considered the most toxic canal in the southern hemisphere, see here: http://www.smh.com.au/news/water-issues/pr...8743249028.html and I quote: "The Alexandra Canal, a four-kilometre man-made waterway that was once used for disposing of industrial waste, has had a "do not disturb" direction on it for at least 10 years, and has had a complete fishing ban since 2000 because of the contamination." The crazy thing is I see people keeping fish from that area (ie out the front of the rowers club, and further upstream), and worse still, slalom waterskiing right at the mouth of the canal! I'll pass on a mouthfull of that water! Cheers, Ben.