BTK

congrats mate! where were you in the states mate? i was in Oregon in july and came home sometime in August, i almost booked a charter because it was so cheap but decided against it and went out to the most remote river location i could find and did a bit of trout fishing with the misses, was some of the most beautiful scenery ive ever seen even though i didnt get onto a fish.

well for what your doing i would got for a 3" fish type soft plastic, but thats just my guess, there would be so many different things you could use and everyone would have their own opinion on that. as for rod and reel you can just use a light rod with a small reel and some lighter type line, if you have alrdy got it then i wouldnt go rushing out to buy a new set up unless you enjoy the soft plastic fishing and start getting into it. my setup is Rod - Berkley Dropshot Tournament Pro IM7 7'2" 2-4Kg Spin Reel - Abu Garcia Cardinal 802 Line - 4Lb berkley fireline crystal (a braided type line) but you could go for something much cheaper as a starting out rig, ill PM you a few things, the only probelm is the light that you want to use, do you know how to use braided lines or would you rather stick with regular mono? Cheers

there is many different techniques you can use for soft plastics and it all depends on what works on the day, the one i use mostly is to cast it out, let it sink to the bottom and wait for a few seconds, give my rod a flick upwards, reel in the slack and let the softy sink again. rinse and repeat that until i get to the boat or land. i use that to fish for flathead or bream, there is so many different techniques you can use though. depending on the brand soft plastics normally last for a few fish caught on them, if your use a brand like Berkley Gulp then aslong as you place them back into the packet when your finished then they keep well. Not sure if you have seen the Berkley Gulp packets but they come with a fair few lures of the same type in one packet, so losing them really isnt a probelm and they are only like 10 bucks a packet, the packets have like a zip lock on the top and make sure you do the zip lock up after you use them or the juices dry up and they become useless. Hope that helps. Cheers Cory also incase you havent seen them you need to buy jig heads to match the plastic you buy, they have different hook sizes, and different weights and even different designs, i found this the hardest thing to over come when i started and also putting them onto the jighead isnt to easy when you start. What sort of fish are you fishing for and what type of area? im sure someone here can give you an idea of what size jigheads to use with what soft plastics your going to use.

hey mate one isnt really better then the other, its really just a different type of fishing, Bait fishing is good if you want to be able to set a rod or two and relax and wait (mind you its not all just sitting back no work and relaxing) and lure fishing is good if you want to do some work, personally i like using soft plastics or lures because it gives me something to do, rather then sitting back and not doing much.

ill be in it im pretty sure, if not ill still be paying the entry fee, was good fun last year and i won a few good prizes, was a good day

On one of my outfits i have 30Lb Mono and one my other i have 20Lb Braid, i much prefer the braid but it isnt cheap to load a reel up with braid, if your not looking to spend alot of money on your line then some good quality Mono will do the trick and it isnt hard to upgrade to braid later if u decide to go that way. Another disadvantage of braid is that if you havent used it before then youll need to learn a few new knots to use it effectively.

thanks alot everyone for the good advice, i toke my new rod and reel out this afternoon for a quick go, i ended up tying some 25lb mono to the braid (about 1m or so long) and put the rig on from there, It worked quite well and im very happy with my new setup. Jewgaffer i understand what you mean about the running sinker and the advantages i would get out of that, i will be doing it that way next time, but im not sure what you mean by a leader cork? sorry if its something simple but i dont believe ive ever heard of it before. Cheers Cory

Hey everyone Today i went and got my Baitrunner 4500 spooled up with 20Lb fins braid for my beach fishing outfit, ive never used braid on the beach before, or for bait fishing at all, so im stuck and wondering if i need to have leader line before a Swivel or if the braid can tie directly to my swivel and then have leader coming off the other side of the swivel (see below picture) or should i do a Bimini twist and then do a leader to braid knot? The red is the braid, blue is the leader line Cheers Cory

hey all This might be a stupid question or one thats already been asked but i couldnt find the answer after a little searching. Whats the difference between berkley fireline and braided lines? i would like to put around a 6lb line on my Abu cardinal for soft plastic fishing for bream but im not sure what type of line i should go for. if you had a choice between Fins braid or Berkley fireline what would you choose and why? Cheers all Cory

hey all this is my first time spooling braid onto a reel so i dont really know what im doing, Ive got a Shimano Baitrunner 4500B and a 300yard spool of 20lb Fins Original. my first question is, is the 300 yard spool big enough to fill my baitrunner? When spooling should the braid come off the side of the spool like mono or can it come off the top or bottom of the supply spool? How should i connect the braid to my spool? Any help would be much appreciated Cheers Cory

thanks alot for the advice everyone, in the end i decided to go a little lighter and go for a shimano Baitrunner 4500B with 20Lb braid on it, in the end it was a toss up between the Soron and the baitrunner but i decided towards the baitrunner. Thanks again everyone

that looks like a good reel mate, i have an Abu Cardinal that i recently broke and i sent it away and within a week they sent it back fully fixed and working better then ever, thats the best service ive had experience with in fishing tackle, so Abu gets alot of points in my books. Anyone else have any other suggestions?

Hey all, i havent posted in a while, went to America for 6.5 weeks and just been working ever since i got back, no fishing yet But i went out and brought a new beach rod on the weekend,. Uglystick Platinum USP-GB1202MH 12' Med/Heavy Line Rating 8 - 12KG but now ive got the rod i need to match it to a reel, but i havent look around in a long time so i do not know my options, i want about a 25lb braid on it i think, its more of an all rounder, so for throwing pilchads for tailor sometimes or going for something bigger off the beach others, so small jewies and things of the sort. I am looking to spend about 150 to 200 on the reel not including the braid. Any suggestions would be great. Originally i wanted an overhead beach rod with an Abu 7000 on it but i do not think using the rod upside down would be a good idea? i think id be better off with an egg beater. All help is much appreciated. Thanks Cory

Hey guys Anyone been fishing there before? im flying out tomorrow morning for a month and am gonna do some fishing for salmon or something over there, not sure yet ive got to speak to some tackle stores there and see what they say. If anyones been there have you got any tips? Cheers Cory

Hey mate Once you have a few goes at chasing them with plastics youll find it a breeze to know what your doing! they are a fun fish to start chasing with plastics, i perfect fish to start with basically. My perference with plastics is fish type plastics with the paddle tails on them, any brand works really. Also i find plastics around the 3" to 5" range are the best suited for them, But the best thing to do is just trial and error, try lots of different retrieves and spots. As for time of day to catch them, im sure there is better times of the days then others but ive found that you can pick them up any time of the day regardless just depends on your luck. Hope you can catch a few soon! Cheers Cory