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MAH

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Everything posted by MAH

  1. What size assist hooks and singles are you using? Cheers Mark
  2. Have a look on Aliexpress for one sold by PLUSINNO Fishing. There are plenty of others but this one looks OK.
  3. You can buy gadgets like this from Aliexpress for under $50. Fill reel/spool with braid, then add required backing line to get perfect depth of line on your reel Reverse the process winding the line back onto the plastic spool (the backing line will be on the bottom) Use a second plastic spool to wind the line onto (the backing line will now be on top) Place this second spool onto the gadegt Wind onto the reel/spool Worth it when you have multiple reels.
  4. What Wert said. It's not hard and is a useful skill. After a couple of seasons, you can reverse the line again to so you get "new" braid on your reel. If you have a few reels (I currently have 6) it's worth learning. There are loads of videos showing ways to make it an easy process.
  5. Cheers. I'll give the Shimano Bio Tough Grub a try, the bloody bait colour looks good.
  6. I can't find a retailer for the Samaki Boom Bits Curlicious 2.5". It's my favourite grub style soft plastic particularly in the ghost bait colour. Grub style lures are prone to having the tail nipped off, but my experience is the Samaki Boom Bait outlasts both Zman and Baitjunkie. Anyone know a supplier? Hope they haven't gone out of production.
  7. MAH

    Best 3 Jigs

    If you are an Amazon Prime member with free international delivery you can find the Duel jigs. They come from Japan, will take a couple of weeks and cost around $25 each.
  8. MAH

    Best 3 Jigs

    Duel Not the easiest to find. Sportfishing Scene at Cavan have the best local stock. Looks like they have the top green jig in stock but a 3.5 only (nothing wrong with this size jig, it sinks very slightly faster). Their online store says they have one left in stock for $24.99. https://sportfishingscene.com.au/collections/lures/products/duel-ez-q-cast-plus?variant=43779590586610
  9. MAH

    Best 3 Jigs

    Des, you could go with the advice from Wert and Kelvin, but maybe grab a green jig in a prawn pattern?
  10. MAH

    Best 3 Jigs

    Hi Des I think this was the post I've changed a couple of things. I now use an Atomic Arrowz squid rod. It has a much shorter butt than most squid rods and I like how it feels in my hand for casting. I've also dropped down in diameter for my braid, so the line has less drag. I still think for a land based fisho lures are one of the least important parts. Being able to cast a good distance to weedy beds has been more important for me. When in my Yak, I use a really cheap 6 foot rod and an old Shimano Sienna reel, as there is no need to cast far, so jigs move up in terms of imp
  11. MAH

    Best 3 Jigs

    Simplest approach would be to grab 3 red-heads, any brand, in size 3.0, as they just catch lots of squid. But if you want to try a few others, here are my recommendations. Size I find 3.0 size jigs the most versatile. They have enough weight to cast well and have a good sink rate for most conditions. If the current is really ripping and you need a heavier jig, you can add a small 2gm sinker, either one specifically made to attach to squid jigs or just a ball sinker to the line. If you find yourself in a shallow area and keep getting snagged, you can put the jig under a float. Y
  12. I'm a big fan of Daiwa Bait Junkie soft plastics and prefer them to Zman. They are very soft and flexible which seems to give them a great action in the water. I recently bought some Daiwa Bait Junkie Risky Critters for when the weather and water warms up. I'm going to give them a try on whatever is swimming around the flats, keen to see if YFW will hit them. Only problem with these soft plastics is the price at $11.95 for a pack of 6. Not a huge cost, but I did stumble across a similar styled creature bait on Aliexpress, pack of 8 for $6.23. They are made from the super stretch material and c
  13. I was at the Adelaide Central Market on Saturday. I always look at the fish prices. It makes my mind spin at the prices for fish e.g. filleted Coorong Mullet for $50kg. Who can afford to eat our local fish? Certainly not someone on average wages, particularly when you compare it to alternative protein like a free range for $6.50kg. But what really caught my eye were local YFW, really nice big plump YFW. They were being sold for $18kg whole! If comparing to the filleted Coorong Mullet at $50kg, you are assuming a yield of 36%, i.e. you are only recovering 360gms of fillets for every 1kg of
  14. The weather has been poor so I haven't been fishing much. So what do you do when you're not fishing? Make stuff for fishing! I've been making some small assist hooks to replace the back trebles on lures. I bought some silicone lure skirts of Aliexpress to use for a bit of flash. The cord is cheap 30lb braid. There is no need to use such strong braid, you could use a lot lighter. But I decided to use this braid, because the diameter is easier to handle and tie knots. I measure out 25cms which gives me long enough tag ends to easily tie each hook with a 5 turn s
  15. Shimano make size 500 reels in some models for the overseas market, For example there is a Vanford 500 in some overseas markets. But you need to be extra cautious with these 500 size models, as they are not the same as the 1000 size and bigger. The Vanford 500 has a reverse switch on the bottom , much smaller gears and they are not Micro Module 2 gears like the bigger reels, which basically means they are not as well machined and hence not as smooth.
  16. WTF! I only fish for species that I intend to eat. When I was younger and didn't pay much attention to the lifecycle of different species I would keep bream, but for decades I haven't targeted bream; because they are such a slow growing fish. It's crap like that which really saddens me.
  17. This year I have been fishing a lot for tommies on soft plastics. I fish mainly from Glenelg jetty and if you asked any of the regulars what they use, they all have S-factor in their pocket. Many have tried other scents but all come back to S-factor. Over the summer, it wasn't uncommon for a new angler to be fishing the exact same spot, with the same lures etc. and not catching a thing. One of the regulars will chat to them, ask if they are using scent, and then dab some S-factor on their lure. Then a few casts later they hook up. Sure, you can catch fish with out S-factor, but it c
  18. Tommy Tortilla La Banderita tortillas Guacamole Salsa made from tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, salt, pepper, olive oil and lime juice (coriander is also a nice addition) Japanese mayonnaise (I like Kewpie brand) A few dashes of Tobasco Chipotle Sauce Fresh tommy fillet
  19. Last night I was fishing at Glenelg; when I was leaving, I saw a few decent schools of YFW cruising the shallows. I hadn't seen them schooled up in such numbers this summer. The other thing that caught my eye was an enormous flatty stalking the schools of YFW. I've never seen such a big flatty in the metro waters. If I wasn't on my way to catch the last tram of the night, I would have stopped and thrown a couple of lures at it.
  20. I'm pretty sure Zman are a Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR), so when searching Aliexpress I look for soft plastic lure that mention TPR in the title. The lures in my photos are from Johncoo on Aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002526092840.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.5.10b9f19c5V5d6w https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002537821598.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.10b9f19c5V5d6w
  21. With lures I now buy only from Aliexpress. They are much cheaper and even the cheapest lures are durable enough if rigged correctly. My go to lures are the cheapest. They have cost be about $1.80 for a pack of 10. These are not very stretchy. Because a jig head holds them firmly in place and they lack stretch they will last only a couple of casts before a tommy rips the tail off. But if rigged on a worm hook and a Carolina rig, I can catch a dozen tommies before losing a lure and when they cost less than 20c per lure you can afford to lose a few. I also find them easier to rig
  22. I also wasn't sure about what size weight to use. I read a lot of people recommending to use very small weights. I bought a range of styles of weights in 2gm, 3.5gm and 5gm. I found the cheb style of weight very versatile and easy to change, but now use the bullet weight a lot more as I'm using a Carolina rig mostly. I found the 2gm weights were not very useful and were too effected by wind and current. Now I mainly use 3.5gm, but on windy days I use a 5gm weight, mainly because fishing from a jetty, the wind easily catches your line and you need the extra weight to keep a tight line on the re
  23. When bait fishing for tommies, it was simple. A size 10 long shank hook under a float with some split shot or a 1gm ball sinker. The thinking was tommies are a small fish so a small hook. But with soft plastics I had no idea what to use, so tried different rigs to see what works best for me, I wanted to be able to quickly test different things like weights, hook sizes, lure sizes and lure quality. I bought a wide range of tackle and lures, so I would have them on hand during a fishing session and could readily make changes. I understand not everyone can afford to have lots of tackle on ha
  24. I've been fishing for over 40 years, so grew up with fibreglass rods, monofilament and bait. Now I have rod rack full of carbon fibre rods, it took me a bit longer to switch over to braid, but up until recently I was still a bait fisho and just didn't use soft plastics or other lures (except squid jigs). I bought plenty, vibes, hard bodies, soft plastics, and would give them a try but next session I would be back to bait. But this summer I have taken the time to focus on soft plastics. Sure I still pump nippers for YFW and use gents for garfish, but I've spent most of my time learnin
  25. Vietnamese style salad with pickled squid, topped with crispy fried onions (I buy a large container from the local asian supermarket)
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