Softy

Hi all..
Went out for a scout/cast today.. Tried some where new.. Walked the out going and incoming.. About 5 ks.. Not a biggy..
Water temp was warmish, Getting there.. Water was clear but patches of tape weed about....
Found a spot where they were.. Only were about where I found noodling holes... There wasnt too many of those either. They were concentrated in a few patches/areas only.. They were active, but fussy. Lure changers was the key. New lure = 1 fish, repeat.. Managed to get 6,, Not big ones but ok.. From 30-34cm.. Fat and healthy though.. Lost 3.. Weed tangles... At one spot they were hanging in the deeper gutter edge/run off area. I had to cast over some weed mounds to get them.. They were moving around that area.. I just stayed put and when they swan by Ide cast.. I was sight casting them.. Great fun.. They would hit the lure just as it hit the water and I started to retrieve.. Had to be quick as it was very close to the weed edge when they hit the lure..
After a bit they wernt taking the lures, just follow and turn away.. I moved on and found some more in roughly same type of area.. Got 2, lost 1 there.
It died down as the tide went low.. So I moved on and explored the area.. Mapped where I was and did some marks..
Plenty of salmon trout about, again? There every where.. Mullet, and some baby King George whiting.. Little buggers were smashing the lure in one spot.. Plaques of them.. I moved on.. 
I didnt see too many crabs.. Only in the one area.. Roughly the same area where the YFW were lingering about..
Lost another lure to a salmon trout.. First fish of the day and drag was too tight and it went under some heavy floating weed... Im loosing a few this season.. I didnt loose any last season.. Lucky I buy 2 or 3 each time.. Dont tell the wife..
Used 1 spool.. Snapp off.
All in all it was a good day, very promising area which Ill go back to later..
Mike









 

Hi all...
I went out today..
Tried some where new.. Really a scout as winds and tides were good for me. Walked the out going and the incoming.. It was a long day.. Walked about 9ks today.
Anyways.. Water was coldish.. No warm bits really. Was clear but a lot of tape weed about...
Plenty of salmon trout about.. Says a lot!... Only found 1 patch where they were... There was a small group of them, all nice sizes.. Got one 36cm. Lost 1 about the same. Very timid/scitish.. They would only hit the lure once and go.. Change lure and again, hit it once. Then they would follow but wouldnt grab it, just turn away at the last minute. Frustrating... I recon I was lucky to get the one I did. Where they were was where I found some fresh noodling holes.. Muddy grew stinky mud..
I Moved on, walked about and as the tide started to turn I went there again on the way back.. and yep, they were there.. But same again.. Didnt get 1.. I couldnt hang around as the tide was coming..
As I was walking back to the car.. I was casting in the fast moving very weedy water, staying about shin deep.. I seen plenty zooming about, but I didnt have a chance to much fast flowing weed....
I didnt see one crab? Plenty of puffers.. Plenty of mullet and gar.. Too many salmon..
All in all it was a good day, found some new areas. Got a fish!.. and didnt loose any lures... Got 2 wind knots, 2 spools.. Ide rather change the spool when I get a knot I cant get out.. Way better than chancing a lure!.
Mike
 
 
 

 
 

Cheapest white one and a black one is usually in my kit, not that I go squiding much anymore.

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I watched a video recently, they used the old style and the new style with a camera watching the squid. The squid were far more aggressive on the newer style jigs and hooked themselves easily. The old style clearly works but maybe takes more skill.
I will be buying mostly the good lures now, mainly because I've decided the pointy bits are the most important thing when fishing.

Well done Mike some great fish to kick the season off! I MUST make more of an effort this year. (I say that every year)  

Well done Mike some great fish to kick the season off! I MUST make more of an effort this year. (I say that every year)  

Well done Mike some great fish to kick the season off! I MUST make more of an effort this year. (I say that every year)  

Well done Mike some great fish to kick the season off! I MUST make more of an effort this year. (I say that every year)  

Hi all...
I went out for a cast.. First for the season.
Walked the outgoing and incoming left as the wind came in.. Got cold.
Went to a spot I know.. Found where they were.. Only fired up when the sun came out.. as the clouds builded they stopped.. I kept moving/exploring.. about 7ks
They were there in small numbers but very sluggish, wouldnt really commit, all nice sizes which is usual first start of the season. Managed to get 2, 39/36.. nice and golden, fat and heavy.. Beautiful fish.
Lost 3 due to floating weed/stuffing around setting drag, lost a very nice and heavy one. Got it close though.. It was big... Drag was too tight and got all tangled up in the only bit of floating cork weed about, pulled the hooks and was the first fish too! Wasnt happy..
Took everything I new to get them.. They would follow but not commit.. Was frustrating but I know they are starting to fire up.. need some HOT days...Were very active before lunch as the sun was shinning and it was warm.. died off when it cooled down.
Lots of salmon trout, Mullet were every were, bloody pain.. Seen heaps of gar in the shallows as well... Only seen 1 keeper crab but lots of small ones.. Water wasnt too warm.. but getting there.. not much floating weed.. Was a nice way to start the season..
Oh! lost 2 lures.. Bloody wind knots.. It was and old trusty and the other was a new funny one, it worked very well got 2 fish! Always happens with new lures and when I spool new line.. Oh well.. excuse to buy more.. Took 3 spare spools and used 2.. Happy with the new line.. Casted well after it settled down.
Mike

DODGE TIDES … YOU BEAUTY!
 
Many Yellow Fin Whiting fishers complain about Dodge tides. They find it difficult to catch fish during a dodge.
I feel the dodge tides present an opportunity to easily catch fish.
 
Dodge tides are small and always with a higher water height at low tide. They do not spread the fish out far and wide across the sand flats. The fish are held in a concentrated area for a prolonged spell. Most often the fish will be congregate on the lower food rich sand flats. On nipper and worm rich flats nearer to the weed lines. The experienced YFW fisher who has previously worked the same spots, having previously followed normal tides out and back in, will know the terrain and exactly where to go at their regular spots.
 
At times on a dodge the YFW may seem lethargic and uninterested in your offering. YFW are stimulated to feed by water movement. And normally there is little movement on a dodge tide. However the movement and stimulation can be provided by a variety of other small factors.
 
In the SA Gulfs the tide is amplified the further north you go. So a small tide movement is a bit larger if you chose a location further north in the gulf. The lay of the land, channels, weed beds, etc can accentuate what little movement there is. So fish those spots of slightly greater water flow. Like a sand flat near the opening of a channel that will experience any small water movement from that channel draining or filling.
 
Wind always stimulates feeding in YFW. And even more so on a dodge. Check the forecasts and fish a time when the wind picks up. Late afternoons are good. A strong sea breeze creates a wind tide, with enough movement to stimulate feeding on these otherwise listless “Dodgy days”.  In cooler weather periods, it is the smaller water body of a dodge tide that will warm up quicker. So dodge tides actually present some opportunities.
 
I had a good recent session on a dodge tide. One of frequent good dodge tide sessions. On this day, I started fishing at the bottom of the tide, early in the afternoon. The low tide was at the higher level of 1.00mt. The next high was small and about 12 hours away. There was going to be very little natural tidal movement. However the wind was predicted to turn SW and pick up on this arvo. Given that the opening to our Gulfs face SW,  SW winds in or gulfs always produce a higher tide. And do produce a wind tide. At the bottom of the tide, I was positioned to benefit from any movement. I worked an area of sand flats adjacent the weed line which had a number of channel openings in it.

Any water movement was going to be felt here. Fish were lingering around the area from the start. Lazily cruising around in the extra pools of low tide water that the dodge holds. They took some coaxing at first. But as the wind picked up, they certainly got a lot more aggressive. The water movement was noticeable even if a bit slow, if compared to a regular tide.

There was no need for small lures and timid fishing, with the stiffening breeze. The Sugapen 95 did most of the damage on this day.

Late in the session it got a bit too choppy. A switch to sub surface with the Ecogear ZX caught the last few fish. There were some very solid fish at around 40cm in the catch.
 

It finished up being a very satisfying day going to plan.
 
Cheers, Des

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

MARINATED TUNA RECIPE
Please see the attached photo with one of the best Marinated Tuna Recipes out there.
I love my sashimi but this recipe is must to try and the tuna will melt in your mouth. You can cook it all the way through it doesn't dry the tuna out.
 
Shared by
REEL N DEAL TACKLE
Shop 2 / 4-6 Brighton Road
GLENELG EAST SA 5045
www.reelndealtackle.com.au

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

I tie a new leader before every trip, so I hardly get memory on my spool from the fluoro leader. Normally I’ll be fishing within 24 hours of tying the leader so it doesn’t coil up. At the end of the day like TL said, it’s perfectly fine to have 1 rod length leader and you will catch fish like many people do. 
One other option entirely is to go down the route of straight fluorocarbon and getting specific casting fluorocarbon and then no more tying leaders at all. Some pro breamers use them during tournaments when the fish get super picky.

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

I've only ever gone a rod length of leader.. Don't like the knot on the spool and possible memory in the leader being wrapped on the spool?
Actually surprised to hear you run that much leader Kuerschie..

Free whiting measurers for days

A very good supplier. Freight Free > $125. Express post. Usually get their orders the very next day if Oz Post do the right thing. A good price at $349.50. It is the next larger size MGXTREME 30. A bit heavier at 168 grams.
https://anglerswarehouse.com.au/product_detail.asp?productnospaces=abu_revo_mgxtreme_30_spin_reel_18521
 

Nice one SurfcaztR.

I remember going to a salt water fish farm in Ballina and thinking - this is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel - it definitely wasnt.

The owner asked me what lb leader i planned to use - I said 8lb - he said - you wont get a touch on lures unless you use 4lb. These fish have seen every lure and presentation imaginable.

Of course I had to test the theory - only took 45mins to realise 4lb leaders might be the best choice - it made a big difference.

That visit was a bit of an eye opener - at a fish farm where they arent fed live food - their food doesnt look like fish - it looks like pellets - they werent the lure slaying maniacs I expected them to be

The owner came up toward the end of my session and threw in a hand full of pellets to show me what was in the pond. The joint exploded with jewies. They were tracking the pellets through the air before they even landed.

The only lure Id have complete confidence in, is something that looked like a pellet😉

 

That's not the Australian model as that is available from Tackleworld only and does not have a spare spool, plus the colours are different. I do wonder about those Aliexpress reels, as in are they actually genuine Daiwa?
Also currently at sub $200 delivered consider the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM)  it's 175g, 76cm retrieve, fully magsealed, long cast spool, monocoque body, very well built - it's the same reel as the Ballistic MQ as sold in the US. The JDM version has the higher gear ratio we don't get in AU. As far as I can see, a second spool from JDM is available as a Daiwa SLP Works Alpha for around $50 or the proper Caldia for around $80, but you'd want to check on the compatibility. At the Vanford AU price you can have a Luvias, no contest this is a much better reel (ignore I-Fish on youtube if researching comparisons, his old video seems to pop up and he has since said he likes it). Both should be in AU tackle shops, though not at the same gearing and certainly not at the same prices. PM me if you want more info.
FWIW, I am a Daiwa fan, though also a Shimano one, the magseal oil is available if you did want to service your own reels.
 

Awesome post Des I got a lot from it. 

Giving this one a go..2600Mha lithium battery..84-leds..5000lux..High light 2.5 hours..Mid light 3.5 hours..Low light 5 hours..Waterproof: 164ft(50M)