peatop

You gotta support your local bloke cause in the end he will support you👍

I almost always buy online but only buy from anaconda or bcf when they have specials as i find they are almost alway more exspencive than my locally own and operated fishing store. 
I don't like to support any chain stores as they don't offer good advice and seem to be answering questions without reel (pun) knowledge, i was at bcf looking at jigheads with the idea of attaching a 4" sp to a 5/0 or 4/0 3/4oz for casting at bustups while chasing tuna, one of the sales guys comes over and asks "can i help" i said no thanks im just checking out jigheads after some time he asked what i was looking for? So i explained what i was thinking about and he said for a 4" sp i needed a 1/0 to 4/0 form 1/20 to 1/8oz 🤔 i asked do you thing that this is suitable for catching and landing a 30kg tuna offshore? He looked at me puzzled and said for tuna you need bigger! You need 7 to 9" sp's for tuna! With that i said but what if they are only eating bait fish that are 4"? You have to match the hatch if you want to catch? Lol it was then that he could see he did not have the required experience to help me in what i was there for but hung around and learnt new from a novice😉 
I even get similar responces from the guys in the local tackle store but they in most cases start to understand within minutes of what im getting at and then offer ideas on how to do whats required😉

You gotta support your local bloke cause in the end he will support you👍

@Aussie Dave yeah im hoping to do the SWR trip this year/season sharks don't bother me, i seem to catch my fair share of toothies, i did purchase a shark shield this year and adapted it to run off my 17.5 Ah kayak battery, after talking to minni in portland about near misses and it has also been heavily discussed in vyak at times, but yeah it all about the release, how to release them with no injuries to them or myself😉 a lot of my fishing is done with circle hooks so it's a matter or cutting the line as close as possible to the hook🤔 count your fingers after it's done lol

You gotta support your local bloke cause in the end he will support you👍

You gotta support your local bloke cause in the end he will support you👍

I only buy from BCF or Anaconda when I get a deal or my family give me a gift card 
I prefer tackleworld for DC they are cheaper 

I almost always buy online but only buy from anaconda or bcf when they have specials as i find they are almost alway more exspencive than my locally own and operated fishing store. 
I don't like to support any chain stores as they don't offer good advice and seem to be answering questions without reel (pun) knowledge, i was at bcf looking at jigheads with the idea of attaching a 4" sp to a 5/0 or 4/0 3/4oz for casting at bustups while chasing tuna, one of the sales guys comes over and asks "can i help" i said no thanks im just checking out jigheads after some time he asked what i was looking for? So i explained what i was thinking about and he said for a 4" sp i needed a 1/0 to 4/0 form 1/20 to 1/8oz 🤔 i asked do you thing that this is suitable for catching and landing a 30kg tuna offshore? He looked at me puzzled and said for tuna you need bigger! You need 7 to 9" sp's for tuna! With that i said but what if they are only eating bait fish that are 4"? You have to match the hatch if you want to catch? Lol it was then that he could see he did not have the required experience to help me in what i was there for but hung around and learnt new from a novice😉 
I even get similar responces from the guys in the local tackle store but they in most cases start to understand within minutes of what im getting at and then offer ideas on how to do whats required😉

Here's a video of one of my trips to the upper Mersey River chasing trout in clear water here in Tasmania..
Perfect day for being in a river even though I would have preferred overcast conditions..
cheers
Adrian
 

Here's a few photos from the WFFC, a few fishing in some very poor conditions on Penstock Lagoon & Little Pine Lake in the Central Highlands yesterday in snow & 35-45 kph winds that were also gusting up to 60 kph.. Today is much worse with snow down to 500 meters and gale force winds of 90-100+ kph.. not sure if today's event was on or not, checked the web cams of both waters and didn't see any boats on them..
Not sure if the river fishing was on either.. I was going for a drive to the Upper Mersey River today to take a few photos but decided to stay home in the warm..
The air temp here in Sheffield at the moment is 2.3 degrees..
cheers
Adrian..




 

Hi there,
 
Palm Cove jetty produces some great fish -- especially on live herring/sardines castnetted underneath it off the ramp. Huge GT's and spanish mackerel have been caught there. The trouble is the (cursed) sou-easter mid-year that re-suspends the muddy sediments and keeps the pelagics offshore.  So your fishing will be governed by the wind and water clarity. The sou-easter blows for weeks on end (and makes the climate bearable) between about late March and late October. The various mackerel species come right inshore when it clears up in winter.
Here is article for starters: http://www.fishandboat.com.au/articles/item/193-palm-cove-jetty-dan-kaggelis?fbclid=IwAR1gCmDzBEMNR34a88KBKL4BaEGD7bbYRhELv7iPQ4AV8Eqj4o7bBAhU59w
Here are some pics from the young jetty rat who features in the article. Barra school up underneath the jetty but are no easy capture. Suspending unweighted live baits under the lights at night is a proven method used by the locals. Barra don't mind your Murray-River type murkiness at all.

Just a quick update. 
Been trying my best to pump a few out over the last week... 
Works been a pain in the arse. Will pump a few more out before i start to give a couple out.... but heres some I've done so far..

As some might know, I had a fishing float made up of some dowel with a foam indicator as my main float rig.  It did it's job very well although sometimes a tangle would occur which was always easy to undo.  However, after re-spooling my reel with lighter mono, I kept getting more and more tangles - some to the point of cutting the line and re-rigging.
I decided to try something else and didn't really want to buy the stand shop float.  So a bit of look around on Google I saw a guy make some cork floats that looked quite good.   Problem was I didn't have any wine corks except 'champagne' corks courtesy of the missus.
Being the cheap skate person I am lol, I FB'd my neighborhood for some and received a few - and free  
Problem was that the rest of the materials for the way I wanted to make the floats was a bit expensive   But if I want to make more then the cheaper each one will become, plus the satisfaction of making my own.
Here's what I did ....
First - drilled holes through the cork and with some wood glue put a 6mm piece of dowel through it and let dry overnight.

 
Second - put a couple bits of wood together with a hole to place the dowel to keep in place whilst sanding.
I used 60 grit at first and down to 120 grit to get a smooth finish.  This one is a champagne cork.

 
A few different shapes and was also careful on a few not take away the wine 'emblem' on the cork so to give a bit of a different look.

 
Then I cut some safety pins keeping the end ring part that will help attach a bit of weight for buoyancy and leader.   I originally used some standard sewing cotton (black) but felt it may not hold overtime, so used some braid on the rest.   Put some wood glue over it all to strengthen and let dry overnight.

 
The fifth step was to give some primer to the ends ready for some enamel paint.  I used Gesso craft priming paint and let that dry for 3 hours.

Then the other end and again let dry for 3 hours.

 
Then some black gloss enamel paint on the bottom of the float.  Two coats given and will give a little extra to the braid/ring.

 
The eighth step was giving two coating with a vibrant yellow enamel.

 
Not too bad bad so far and could left without further painting, but decided to add a little decoration before giving three coats of Spar Marine vanish, by dipping the floats straight into the tin.  Let them dry well and light sand before next coating.  Pat the bottom tips to soak up the excess drips.

 
Turned out reasonably ok for my first effort although a little 'rough around the edges' lol
Took a bit of time and few dollars but 🤷‍♂️

I've joined a Victorian fisheries program called the recreational fisherman's diary program, anyway to cut a long story short!! When searching the fisheries website searching for information on studies done or ongoing all i can find is very old and mostly irrelevant information, so when i contacted the authority i brought this up with them and suggested that people (fisherman/women) would better understand why you make certain areas, limits, and sizes if they were able to access current relevant information on whats going on with the fishery, maybe some publicity in the local newspapers publishing the results, instead of just printing on all there paraphernalia "your license fees at work" as this gives no actual account of what they do😴
Today i rang them again about a study on snapper and flathead they asked me to do, while discussing snapper i remarked on the ban in S.A. and after some general discussion on the subject he told me that a group of our guys are in Adelaide at the moment having discussions on how to manage the recovery, he also said it was a number of reasons that caused the issues and in summary a few bad spawning years coupled with overfishing is what lead to the problems that are faced at the moment, he told me that here in port phillip bay almost suffered the same issues a few years ago, but the interventions setup and monitoring of the stocks via radio receivers to track the breaders gave them the information needed to secure a sustainable fishery.
After my discussion with the fisheries guy he thanked me for the work im doing to help them in their job and said hopefully i can pass some of the information on to other fisherman/women, being the person i am i wondered how could i best get the message out there? Anyway a couple of weeks ago i went to the "gone fishing" day and while there had a chat to some of the guys from the local fishing club, i had been thinking about joining one for some time and tonight i went along to their monthly meeting and joined, on the program for tonight was a discussion on how to target snapper, kings and tuna. This was a very informative night and this also got me thinking about whats been going on in the fishing sector for the last few years and the responce by people as to the affect it has/was going to have on them (both good and bad) "your license fees at work"? The comment by me that the information was not getting out, the comment by them saying that they hope i can help to get more people on board and information out?? Why don't i invite fisheries to come an speak at a meeting and give us the run down of what they are/have been doing with all the information gathered from us the fishers and their scientists? 
Rather than a night finding out how we can catch more/bigger fish why shouldn't we find out how we can help and how the information we could/are collecting for them is used to better maintain the fishery we love to relax in while exerting ourselves reeling in that fish of a lifetime? Could this be a way of getting the information out there to the people who it affects the most? Sure not all fishermen/women are in a fishing club but they do talk to other people at the ramp or cleaning table and pass on information when discussing things that are going on.
I've decided that i will bring it up with both parties and get the ball rolling as i think it's better to know why things are done and when things are going south before they happen rather than after😉 im guilty of complaining about changes they did back when the marine parks were marked out stopping us from fishing in some of the most productive areas, however now that i know why im happy they did it, instead of telling us we are doing it cause we are, they come tell us we need that area as it's were the unicorn seahorse breeds, then we can say well ok take it because i like eating them so let them breed lol
I hope im not ranting too much😴 i just think if we can get them to give us.. no keep us better informed then when things start going south it doesn't get as bad as it has now?

I've joined a Victorian fisheries program called the recreational fisherman's diary program, anyway to cut a long story short!! When searching the fisheries website searching for information on studies done or ongoing all i can find is very old and mostly irrelevant information, so when i contacted the authority i brought this up with them and suggested that people (fisherman/women) would better understand why you make certain areas, limits, and sizes if they were able to access current relevant information on whats going on with the fishery, maybe some publicity in the local newspapers publishing the results, instead of just printing on all there paraphernalia "your license fees at work" as this gives no actual account of what they do😴
Today i rang them again about a study on snapper and flathead they asked me to do, while discussing snapper i remarked on the ban in S.A. and after some general discussion on the subject he told me that a group of our guys are in Adelaide at the moment having discussions on how to manage the recovery, he also said it was a number of reasons that caused the issues and in summary a few bad spawning years coupled with overfishing is what lead to the problems that are faced at the moment, he told me that here in port phillip bay almost suffered the same issues a few years ago, but the interventions setup and monitoring of the stocks via radio receivers to track the breaders gave them the information needed to secure a sustainable fishery.
After my discussion with the fisheries guy he thanked me for the work im doing to help them in their job and said hopefully i can pass some of the information on to other fisherman/women, being the person i am i wondered how could i best get the message out there? Anyway a couple of weeks ago i went to the "gone fishing" day and while there had a chat to some of the guys from the local fishing club, i had been thinking about joining one for some time and tonight i went along to their monthly meeting and joined, on the program for tonight was a discussion on how to target snapper, kings and tuna. This was a very informative night and this also got me thinking about whats been going on in the fishing sector for the last few years and the responce by people as to the affect it has/was going to have on them (both good and bad) "your license fees at work"? The comment by me that the information was not getting out, the comment by them saying that they hope i can help to get more people on board and information out?? Why don't i invite fisheries to come an speak at a meeting and give us the run down of what they are/have been doing with all the information gathered from us the fishers and their scientists? 
Rather than a night finding out how we can catch more/bigger fish why shouldn't we find out how we can help and how the information we could/are collecting for them is used to better maintain the fishery we love to relax in while exerting ourselves reeling in that fish of a lifetime? Could this be a way of getting the information out there to the people who it affects the most? Sure not all fishermen/women are in a fishing club but they do talk to other people at the ramp or cleaning table and pass on information when discussing things that are going on.
I've decided that i will bring it up with both parties and get the ball rolling as i think it's better to know why things are done and when things are going south before they happen rather than after😉 im guilty of complaining about changes they did back when the marine parks were marked out stopping us from fishing in some of the most productive areas, however now that i know why im happy they did it, instead of telling us we are doing it cause we are, they come tell us we need that area as it's were the unicorn seahorse breeds, then we can say well ok take it because i like eating them so let them breed lol
I hope im not ranting too much😴 i just think if we can get them to give us.. no keep us better informed then when things start going south it doesn't get as bad as it has now?

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?

I've been using a quick change lure clip that you twist you lure on, i started using a similar one for squid jigs until i came across these that i now use
The lures work very well on them but find the thicker wired lures and big jigheads 5/0+ can be difficult to get on, then everthing I've read and watched on vids tend to say fish with big eyes can easily spook using clips (understandable imo) i am by no means an expert or experienced for that matter but if i use a fluoro leader so the fish can't see it why add a clip that the fish can? But i do use the clips whenever i intend multiple lure changes, i also have a couple of fluoro leaders with a good quality split ring tied at one end for my offshore lures.
I have also asked the guys in my local kayaking forum about the use of clips and lures, the responce was the majority said no clips, and loop knot to the lure however this was more in responce to fishing for pelagics. Another thing to consider about split rings is they damage the line so it should be checked often for wear at the loop or knot.

Sharks are a menace up here when floating out pillies for mackerel. If they eat the pillie you think you've hooked the mother-of-all-macks, but mostly they eat the mackerel after you hook up. I gaff the hooks on those littlies I do get boatside and let the shark bend them open to release. Not easy, and not good for the shark. Yours is a good idea, but more clutter for the tinny on top of the net and gaff (both of which seem to leap up and play trip-n-tangle when stumbling around fighting a decent fish). I reckon weld up a "crook" onto the bottom of gaff hook. Bottom of the hook gape so it does not foul the line when missing the gaff shot, and facing in an opposing direction to help "push" the hook(s) out.

As a keen COARSE/FRESHWATER angler I find I can't get some of my prefered tackle in Australia so I have to buy it online from the UK or make it myself, so as promised I will share some of my favourites over time in this set of posts...
FLOATS... I am addicted to making floats, I love giving them away to people who fish like I do and HATE losing them. 
Most of my floats are wagglers, straight or bodied, as you can see from the photo they are all slightly different depending on what they are for, or where I am fishing, some can be used in saltwater for Gar and Tommies etc as well as in freshwater. The bodies are made from balsa wood which I turn on a small lathe, but you can also easily whittle then to shape with a sharp knife or stick them in a drill chuck, I always finish with fine sandpaper and fine wire wool. Carefully one end needs to be drilled to accept the stem, which I make from peacock quill or even better native reed stem (I always use the type of reeds that have the fluffy top and the stems are like mini bamboo, there's masses on most river banks (must be dry and brown not green) Always cut at a node so the tube is buoyant.   I superglue this into the balsa body. At the other end I glue in a short piece of bamboo skewer ready to have a safety pin eye whipped on and the whipping superglued.
To strengthen the main shaft, as you can see from the photo I do some decorative whipping nearly to the top, this does strengthen it considerably, we are now ready to  apply a base white top (cheapest way is to get some flat white acrylic paint, a sample pot from Bunnings is ideal) The florescent top is just a can of that Hi Vis stuff they spray on the road to mark where they are going to dig holes etc. I shake it well and spray some on a bit of paper or the like a use a small brush and paint over the flat white base down to almost the end of the white.. it dries very quickly!
Now all you need to do is varnish the whole thing, any varnish will do as they are not exposed to the weather much, I use a stain varnish (walnut) as this gives me an attractive brown effect.
As you can see all the floats are different, it's good to experiment and see what suits the type of fishing you want to do, they are so cheap to make and work much better than bought ones.
Hope you like that.... have a go, it's great to catch a fish on home crafted gear as I did today a 17+lb carp... any questions please don't hesitate to ask, and if you ever meet me on the bank please ask for a FREE float I will be only too willing to let you have one.

Lol PP a man after my own heart, i too search the bargain bins, and if your really lucky you find older lures out of manufacture that you wish you had heaps off. Yes marketing is a funny thing these lures will catch you these says the sales rep! Hmm as you walk through the checkout he thinks "well that lure sure catches a lot of people, not sure about fish though" lol, when im in a tackle store and the sales person tells me "oh this lure looks real nice" i just say yeah but what do the fish think about it?
I went into bfc (killing time) and was looking at jigheads and sp's for tuna and kings but i wanted something in the 50-75mm sp range (a match the hatch sort of thing) so i was looking at the jigheads pondering if the hook would be strong enough to hold a 15-25kg fish, a sales guy comes up and says can i help you? After a short partial explination of what i was doing he picked a 6/0 jighead of the shelf and said this is what you need, i just looked at him and laughed, he looked at me puzzled and i said, do you think you can get a 75mm sp to sit nicely on that jighead? Oh no you need to use a bigger sp hmmm.
Although the term match the hatch is a good rule of thumb, I've found a better rule, don't be surprised, don't be surprised when you catch the fish of a lifetime on a lure meant for something else or a lure you thought will never work, I've been given lures that the person thought they would not work or didn't work only to put it on and catch a fish with them saying can i have them back now lol

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?

I often watch fishing show on tv and youtube and one that i really like (although in it's last season)is big angry fish, one of the guys has been developing these scoots (as he calls them) basically they are saltwater flys tied onto a sp jighead, these are nothing new they've been around as long as i can remember in on form or another, i bought some tinsel, thread and glue some time ago but kept forgetting to make them until i was watching an episode the other day were they went scoot fishing (no bait).
I pulled out the gear i had bought and some craft supplies i had got from my daughter and proceeded to make a few test ones.
These are what I've made and thought i would share, and ask if anyone has done anything similar for saltwater use?