yellow door 1

Yeah I've always been a skinner - but I want to see how the skin reacts to hot oil in the pan

Yeah I havent tried snapper withthe skin on so I want to give it a go

although this method look pretty good too

Yeah I havent tried that one but it does look good thanks Dmck

Yeah his testing rig is slightly more sophisticated than mine - and using Standard uni knots definitely weakens the line and is not a true test of the lines actual breaking strain - but it gives me a base line I can work from. I was able to achieve higher than stated breaking strain results by passing the line through the eye of the hook twice before finishing the Uni - so it shows the importance of knot selection in line strength tests Heres my rig in action on some snaps

I get the 300m spools and just topshot my reels with 100m of braid - At the time I was buying it it was around $8 on ebay (Its since gone up to $12 for the 300m spool) - and it passed all my tests - so it turns out to be a very economical braid thats nice and limp. I tested the 8lb most thoroughly and with the way I test my lines - it breaks at 75%+ when dry and using a uni knot - but if you pass the line through the eye of the hook twice before finishing the uni, it will break slightly above stated breaking strain. If I tie an FG with 8lb Kast king braid to 8lb Vanish leader - the l

If they made undies - I'd buy em I switched nearly all my reels to the cheap 4 strand braid and use the 30lb flourokote for Jewies After my experience with their lines - I even took it a step further

Here that diy method I mentioned

And Pulley rigs stream line your bait so they fly through the air better

This might be old news but I'm going to risk it. I cant help with the rod but...... Once you get your new rod - there are ways to get your baits out a little further and make them hold. These Sputnik Sinkers act like an anchor in the sand - a sharp tug will trip the wires and make them point backwards so your sinker slides out. You can also make you current sinkers a bit more grippy with some screws sput 3

No worries - good luck

Last tip is - while you will find plenty of flounder on a clear still night with a head torch - you will find more with a submersible light. The angle of the light hitting the fishes back is important. When the light comes from directly on top, its doesnt cast a shadow - but if you have a submersible light shining across their back it casts a shadow and makes them much easier to spot. I bought one of those battery operated units as I already had alot of rechargeable aa batteries. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Prawning-Flounder-Fishing-Light-CREE-LED-Prawn-Spotlight-Battery-Bright

Heres a thread about flounder in SA https://www.strikehook.com/index.php?/forums/topic/19978-flounders/

my rod is 1250mm long and the metal rods stick out 450mm - so thats a total length of 1700mm - the solid wood curtain rod diameter is 33mm. The steel rods are 6mm diametre and come in 1m lengths from bunnings - so I hacksawed that in half to make the 2 spear points that are 500mm long. I'm from Victoria so I cant help with local spots - but beaches I spear are inside port phillip bay - flat bottomed, calm, very gradually sloping beaches that receive no swell apart from wind driven swell. Heres the regs for SA - its worth checking it out because there are laws in VIC like a spea

I rarely use hard bodied lures these days but I used to use them flat out for bream - towards the end of that era I was beginning to become dissatisfied with Owner st36ers - and that was on 6 to 8lb leaders. Too many bent and snapped trebs for my liking. I had a suspicion that quality control had dropped or the last few packs I'd bought were from a dud batch. Then I got a batch of lures that had BKK trebs on them and I remember being very impressed with those. But this was a long time ago and I didnt test them with scales like I would these days. I've got a mate who is still an avid

And while I find the process of testing tackle less than thrilling - I'm always glad I did it

There will be a point when you know you're taking your testing too far........

Since I bought this $7 set of digital luggage scales - I test all my tackle to see what it can handle so there are less surprises out on the water. Its better to break a product during testing than on a fish I test braids, leaders, jigheads, snaps, trebles, drag settings etc. Its very comforting to know exactly how hard you can pull and what your tackle can do. There will still be some surprises out on the water like crushed hooks - opened snaps and unexplained breakages - but if I know I can dead lift a 2kg fish out of the water but a 3kg fish will max out my jighead - it saves

Yeah should be great off the beach - big tough baits and you can catch as many carp as you want for the price of a can of Edgells Super Sweet corn

Took the salted carp out for another bait challenge - this time versus Barracouta and Squid. The bigger pinks wanted the carp

Yeah mine is half way between fresh and jerky if you give it a crack - I've been told not to use iodised salt - apparently fish dont like the taste of iodine

Yeah I'll have to give fresh a go. My problem is - I quite often get invited out the night or day before on a mates boat and I cant always get a fresh one in time. How does the un salted carp go with being frozen - does the flesh hold up well to the freezing process. One bonus of the salting process is there is zero waste - even if you have had a bag of the salted stuff thawed out on the bait board for hours - you just put it back in the freezer for next time - and the next time........ Some blokes dont even refrigerate theirs - they just leave it in a bucket in the shade

Yeah those first few outings when using a new lure or bait can determine whether it becomes a favourite