yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Soobz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 2 tennis balls and a stick are another option Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 20 minutes ago, Soobz said: I'm curious what "freestyle" was. free style was a mix of hand winding - dodgy "knocked up on the spot" drill attachments that kept malfunctioning - and alot of swearing I kept trying to do the bare minimum to get it to work and it ended up taking forever with all sorts of complications. Everything was just a smidge out of whack but I only had one reel to do - so I thought Id just try to get it done with the wrong tools - huge mistake The tension wasnt there - and the spool kept slipping on the drill - I hadnt been that frustrated in a while Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Although I use a bottle top with a drill attachment and 2 litre bottle to take old line off.( Stuff that’s going in the bin.) a guy on face book just mentioned he cuts knife grooves into a spool and then just cuts it off over a bin so now I have a back up plan if I can’t find my bottle top Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Soobz said: though I use a M8x50 machine screw with 2 mudguard washers. Had to google what Mud guard washers were - Nice. Yeah I wasnt quite sure what Diameter washers I would need for the variety of different spools I had - and the standard washer looked a bit little. But I do have a shed full of ply offcuts and a hole saw kit - Dodgy mudflap washers of all sizes on tap Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wert 472 Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 I find a pencil float and my toes does the job beautifully for spooling up. For reversing a few minutes with a couple of old handlines, then getting it back on with the old pencil float and toes is a simple task I actually find relaxing, actually handling the line during this process also has the added advantage of letting you potentially feel any imperfections you might miss doing it mechanically. Then when the line is dead (which can be many years after purchase with quality braid) the old cut job per above or just pulling it off works fine. I'd spend less than an hour on this most years, indeed with winter and the bloodworm run I've just sorted my reels in the last couple of weeks as part of my yearly "sort everything out when it's cold and miserable" routine. Not trying to get down on your work and it is clear that you love your tinkering but now that line, rollers & guides are so good a fresh spool up can last you years even with heavy use if you can avoid mid spool bustoffs, I can't imagine a world where I'd need to go to any more effort than I do. Like I said this is not a criticism, I actually reckon your crazy problem solving thinking and solutions you come up with along with your obvious passion for doing this is great but sometimes I also reckon keeping things simple is the best way to go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 35 minutes ago, Wert said: I find a pencil float and my toes does the job beautifully for spooling up. For reversing a few minutes with a couple of old handlines, then getting it back on with the old pencil float and toes is a simple task I actually find relaxing, actually handling the line during this process also has the added advantage of letting you potentially feel any imperfections you might miss doing it mechanically. Then when the line is dead (which can be many years after purchase with quality braid) the old cut job per above or just pulling it off works fine. I'd spend less than an hour on this most years, indeed with winter and the bloodworm run I've just sorted my reels in the last couple of weeks as part of my yearly "sort everything out when it's cold and miserable" routine. Not trying to get down on your work and it is clear that you love your tinkering but now that line, rollers & guides are so good a fresh spool up can last you years even with heavy use if you can avoid mid spool bustoffs, I can't imagine a world where I'd need to go to any more effort than I do. Like I said this is not a criticism, I actually reckon your crazy problem solving thinking and solutions you come up with along with your obvious passion for doing this is great but sometimes I also reckon keeping things simple is the best way to go. Yeah if I wasnt a tight arse using 100m top shots of braid - life would be a lot simpler when it comes to respooling - Just slap on a a few hundred metres of straight braid and then the jobs done But these line spoolers came about because I would often do up to 4 reels at a time - so my fingers would be nearly falling off if I tried to do that manually. Reel on Braid first, then the mono backing to fill out the spool then unspool then reverse then respool Completing that process once in row is not something I look forward to - but doing it 4 times in a row manually would almost break me I reckon I admire the strength of a man who can enjoy the process but Im not made of such strong stuff. I view respooling as a necessary evil and I want it done quick and with as little effort as possible. And until I can match a "2-speed gearbox with a maximum speed of 1800rpm" the time it saves is enough for me to keep doing it Big jobs like this need a power assist Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rybak 641 Posted August 2, 2022 Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 Alot of tackle shops do the unspooling & spooling for free...Once you've bought the line from them...Well they have for me. Des and yellow door 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2022 17 hours ago, Rybak said: Alot of tackle shops do the unspooling & spooling for free...Once you've bought the line from them...Well they have for me. Yeah my braid shopping is all online these days - and I tend to buy bulk spools and break them up into 100m top shots to stretch the dollars a bit further. So all my spooling is done at home - the lengths Ill go to, to save a few bucks, sometimes doesnt even make sense to me. Rybak and MAH 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MAH 449 Posted August 3, 2022 Report Share Posted August 3, 2022 7 hours ago, yellow door 1 said: Yeah my braid shopping is all online these days - and I tend to buy bulk spools and break them up into 100m top shots to stretch the dollars a bit further. So all my spooling is done at home - the lengths Ill go to, to save a few bucks, sometimes doesnt even make sense to me. Makes sense to me. If you have only one or two reels it may not be worth it, but I have 6 reels and use 3 different diameter/strength lines. If I save $10 per reel it's worth the effort. yellow door 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2022 3 hours ago, MAH said: Makes sense to me. If you have only one or two reels it may not be worth it, but I have 6 reels and use 3 different diameter/strength lines. If I save $10 per reel it's worth the effort. Yeah if I break up a 300m spool - a 100m top shot of 8lb braid currently costs me $3.16. But when I think of all the extra effort I go to save $6 by not just using the whole 300m of braid per reel - Its bordering on my limits for effort vs money saved But it all stems back to my bream on plastic days, when I used to buy 120 yard top shots of braid, for up to 10 times the price I pay now. Using top shots is how Ive always done it - so Ive just continued doing it. Back in the day - top shotting would save me $60 a reel - so there was really no questions to be asked - but these days there is room for self reflection because the drawn out process only saves me $6 a reel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2022 This should shave a few seconds off the braid reversing process Softy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 Had to sharpen 7 pencils from scratch - One took 50 manual turns with a sharpener - bugger that. Its an ancient technique and I stuffed up the footage a bit - but you get the gist doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 turns out I didnt stuff up the footage as bad as I first thought - Youtube just cropped it out when I made the vid into a short Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 There was far too much passing the flicker around on the weekend for my liking - we did a flatty drift and there were 3 blokes constantly hooked up on micro flatties. This was causing a queue for the flicker - that will not happen again Upgraded the flatty flickers to Stainless Steel from an old pie warmer tray I found. The coat hanger ones are good (left in the first photo)- but they arent as robust as a bit of thicker stainless. doobie and Softy 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MIKECATTS 1,488 Posted August 11, 2022 Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 On 03/08/2022 at 11:53 PM, yellow door 1 said: Yeah if I break up a 300m spool - a 100m top shot of 8lb braid currently costs me $3.16. But when I think of all the extra effort I go to save $6 by not just using the whole 300m of braid per reel - Its bordering on my limits for effort vs money saved But it all stems back to my bream on plastic days, when I used to buy 120 yard top shots of braid, for up to 10 times the price I pay now. Using top shots is how Ive always done it - so Ive just continued doing it. Back in the day - top shotting would save me $60 a reel - so there was really no questions to be asked - but these days there is room for self reflection because the drawn out process only saves me $6 a reel. Im very happy using Kastking braid.. cheap and works well.. I have landed some mighty fish with it.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2022 42 minutes ago, MIKECATTS said: Im very happy using Kastking braid.. cheap and works well.. I have landed some mighty fish with it.. Yeah Ive got full confidence in the 4 strand after a few years of using it - it really suits the way I fish. My experiences have basically been trouble free or as trouble free as things can get with braid - Theres no "break in" period like my old line "Berkley Fireline" - no fluffing - it performs great straight after spooling up. - limp enough to detect little bites on free falling unweighted lures - Consistent breaking strains with no unexpected breaks (Actually there was 1 spool of 6lb I bought early on, that broke at around 4lb) But the spools I bought before and the 10 spools Ive bought since, have been great. Ive now got it on all my reels This stuff is right up there with the best Ive used and costs a fraction of the price I just wish I never had issues with that 1 spool of 6lb - coz everything else Ive bought from the Official Kast King Store has performed well and truly, above the price tag. MIKECATTS 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 Not mine but I like it https://www.fisheze.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR3TRabs7cvK5smUs1c_Ml8YXDy6dexhHFbvMWd1UrthMtupHAtjCAEx6Ko doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Soobz 559 Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 That guys spams all the facebook fishing groups. IMHO a bit of PVC works just as well. You only want the tube to go a little past the head, say 10cm, then slice the PVC tube in half lengthways and mark the length lines on the inside of the PVC. I have my doubts the fisheze will measure salmon trout or gar, or possibly anything other than whiting. doobie and yellow door 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 28 minutes ago, Soobz said: That guys spams all the facebook fishing groups. IMHO a bit of PVC works just as well. You only want the tube to go a little past the head, say 10cm, then slice the PVC tube in half lengthways and mark the length lines on the inside of the PVC. I have my doubts the fisheze will measure salmon trout or gar, or possibly anything other than whiting. Ahh sorry for passing on the Spam - I just joined a heap of Whiting pages and it didnt take long to came across it Yeah I'd never pay $40 for one, as Ive already got stuff that that does the job - I just thought it was a nice idea for whiting. We were having difficulties measuring flatties on the week end, as my mate had thrown out my Genius measurer. So "measuring devices" were on my mind My measurer is made out of roof gutter cleaner, so you can scoop little flatties off the floor for a quick measure, and flick them over board with out getting spiked - works on whiting too Soobz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Softy 2,991 Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 I use one of the fishmaxx rulers. the fish usually behave while laying on it.Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk yellow door 1 and Soobz 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 2 minutes ago, Softy said: I use one of the fishmaxx rulers. the fish usually behave while laying on it. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk Yeah I like a device which cradles and contains the fish a bit - especially on those small flatties - handling those little buggers is like trying to tame a toddler mid tantrum Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Soobz 559 Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 I'm same as Softy though mine is the Dreamfish one which seems to be the same and was about half the price of the fisheze delivered site is down atm but is www.dreamfish.com.au yellow door 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Soobz said: That guys spams all the facebook fishing groups. IMHO a bit of PVC works just as well. You only want the tube to go a little past the head, say 10cm, then slice the PVC tube in half lengthways and mark the length lines on the inside of the PVC. I have my doubts the fisheze will measure salmon trout or gar, or possibly anything other than whiting. Yeah nice one I magine there’s plenty of spaghetti containers for around $5 that could be converted if you were looking for that clear finish Crabby 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rybak 641 Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 8 hours ago, yellow door 1 said: Not mine but I like it https://www.fisheze.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR3TRabs7cvK5smUs1c_Ml8YXDy6dexhHFbvMWd1UrthMtupHAtjCAEx6Ko Been around for a while now - $40...bit rich. Good on the person flogging them off - but I have PVC cut away ones I've made many years ago - Same but different. yellow door 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 3 minutes ago, Rybak said: Been around for a while now - $40...bit rich. Good on the person flogging them off - but I have PVC cut away ones I've made many years ago - Same but different. Yeah I love those little time saving devices - but more importantly - things that take frustration out of the session. If theres a device that makes things run a bit smoother everytime you land a fish - Im into it. I did a flatty session without a flicker a while back and found out just how close the surface my rage is So alot these little things I make, are just to keep the demons bottled up inside where they should be Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Softy 2,991 Posted August 15, 2022 Report Share Posted August 15, 2022 14 hours ago, Soobz said: I'm same as Softy though mine is the Dreamfish one which seems to be the same and was about half the price of the fisheze delivered site is down atm but is www.dreamfish.com.au Mine is from Dreamfish also but if you flip the ruler over it should be stamped Fishmaxx. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 In my local Bay - Legal Flatties and Whiting are 27cm. I had to snip the lip off the container with tough little snips - then sand it down for a smooth finish. Removing the lip would make it easier to scoop fish off the floor. Bit its got a thin side for whiting and a fatter side for other fish - A legal pinkie is 28cm - so if you can estimate what a centimetre looks like - it could be of some use there aswell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wert 472 Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 2 hours ago, yellow door 1 said: In my local Bay - Legal Flatties and Whiting are 27cm. I had to snip the lip off the container with tough little snips - then sand it down for a smooth finish. Removing the lip would make it easier to scoop fish off the floor. Bit its got a thin side for whiting and a fatter side for other fish - A legal pinkie is 28cm - so if you can estimate what a centimetre looks like - it could be of some use there aswell SA size limits, flatties 30cm, KGs 32cm, snapper 38cm. I never realised there was such a huge difference, I realise different conditions etc are at play but this much gap in sizes seems crazy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 11 minutes ago, Wert said: SA size limits, flatties 30cm, KGs 32cm, snapper 38cm. I never realised there was such a huge difference, I realise different conditions etc are at play but this much gap in sizes seems crazy. Yeah we need to thin out the herd a little in Port Phillip Bay - since they stopped netting, scallop dredging and alot of commercial fishing - the joint is carpeted in fish. We caught about 30 undersized flatties in as many minutes before getting a legal, last session. Ended up giving up because the reward wasnt there Pinkies are the same - absolutely thousands of the little buggers hammering your baits - it gets to a point where you have to go looking for single big arches on the sounder, to try to get away from the piranhas. No matter how many rec boats are out there plundering the resource - the spawning just keeps getting stronger. I think the scientists reckon about half the juveniles reach sexual maturity at around 27cm to 28cm - but with pinkies you've got to wait till about 42cm before nearly all the fish are sexually mature - dont quote me - but its something like that. If they notice a decline, Im sure they'll raise the limits. But so far, it almost looks like our limits are a form of population control They did raise limits a while back - but it was only by 1cm - thats not going to do much when it comes to percentage of fish that are sexually mature - but they reckon they know what they are doing - and recruitment of tiny, time wasting, bait thieves doesnt seem to be an issue at the moment Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Soobz 559 Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 48 minutes ago, yellow door 1 said: Yeah we need to thin out the herd a little in Port Phillip Bay - since they stopped netting, scallop dredging and alot of commercial fishing - the joint is carpeted in fish. SA can dream they'll wake up here and do the same one day. Rybak 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 14 minutes ago, Soobz said: SA can dream they'll wake up here and do the same one day. Yeah my reply was a little tongue in cheek, but also a bit real. Recruitment is strong. "JULY 26, 2022 This year is proving to be a fantastic year for Victoria’s snapper stocks with high recruitment found in Port Phillip Bay. The latest snapper survey by the Victorian Fisheries Authority has found the third highest abundance of baby snapper since monitoring began almost 30 years ago." NEWS Strong Snapper Recruitment in 2022 JULY 26, 2022 This year is proving to be a fantastic year for Victoria’s snapper stocks with high recruitment found in Port Phillip Bay. The latest snapper survey by the Victorian Fisheries Authority has found the third highest abundance of baby snapper since monitoring began almost 30 years ago. Soobz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,841 Posted August 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 May aswell round out the collection with a 50mm pvc pipe unit. Saved myself 3 bucks with a fiddly bits spray can lid and gaffer tape "end cap" - if it proves itself, I might splurge on a real one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.