Soobz

I found this easy with thicker leader, so practice it on that before going thin

The main way I can imagine how the Albright can slip is the tag end of the braid is too short or not tied off. Best finish is the rizzuto, which is really similar to a uni knot, or just do several half hitches. The Albright does require a hard cinch down, as per most knots, if the braid hasn't gone a darker colour it's not tight enough. Make sure you leave long tag ends to pull on before snipping down.

I changed from FG to Albright because I had some FGs slip on some sub 12lb braid brands, plus it's so much easier to tie on a rocking kayak.

Easiest knot and pretty much slip proof is the surgeons, but it's bigger than most and not the strongest.

Hi Des, forcing text colour has resulted in my dark theme doing black text on black background . Challenging but I can read it if I highlight it

Excellent information again.

32 minutes ago, MIKECATTS said:

sorry 120lb Kastking leader.

Ah, you mean the mono leader? The fluoro and copolymers don't go past 50 which confused me. Yeah prices are good there, might try the braid, which one do you use, there are several 8 strand?

6 hours ago, MIKECATTS said:

I use the leader as well.. Lands 35 kilo kings no probs in 120lb.

Typo there @MIKECATTS? I'm guessing you mean 20lb? Not sure how you're buying direct since they don't ship to Australia. I've always ignored Kastking because it's as expensive as Sufix on Amazon usually. I'm going to get rid of the JBraid on my 3000, it's been awful for wind knots.

Normal is another word for average  @dmck I'm supernormal*

*(it's a real word, I won that argument with my wife, and winning an argument with your wife proves you're supernormal)

@Des yeah that's a concern I have too, thumbs are more a problem, I look for reels with big round/EVA grips now.

Been meaning to discuss this for a while.

I'm right handed, meaning I cast with my right hand, and like most righties I did wind with my right hand too. When I got the yak I got the irrits that the steering is my left hand, so after I've cast, every time I needed to adjust the steering I had to swap the rod to my right hand, adjust steering, then swap it back to left, repeat ad nauseum.

It got me thinking, why do righties wind right handed? Makes no sense when you consider pretty much every reel we use is geared, so it's not about more cranking powers, and you want your strong/accurate hand on the rod. It's just inefficient doing cast, swap hands, crank, when you can simply cast, crank.

So I changed the handle to left hand wind, and it took me all of an hour of fishing to be completely comfortable with it.

There's been a few interesting things that followed from it.

- almost all brand new reels out of the box with handle already fitted are left hand wind, at least the ones I've picked up in the last year or 2

- fly fishing was easier to pick up because hand swapping is risky with takes often as the fly lands.

- there's a lot less LH wind baitcasters, which isn't a huge issue as I can use RH, I just don't want to anymore , but I expect most lefties buy RH wind baitcasters

- it's amusing immediately swapping the handle on a reel when the salesperson hands it to you as they always seem to swap it back when you're done testing

I feel like a goofball it took me 40 years to work out it's better for me and was so easy to change. YMMV

11 hours ago, Kuerschie said:

Shimano Curado 201, Daiwa Tatula 200L, ATC Combat 201 are all great options.

Cheers. Got curious about the ATC and did some research. Distributed by Wilson but that's about all I can find on who ATC are. I do like they include 2 reels, low capacity/weight for casting and high capacity for jigging, plus 2 handles for those 2 uses. Found a helpful review from Lee Longs near Cairns showing a teardown of a 2yo reel. Not widely available though. Looks like BCF did sell them, at least online, are they still selling them @Kuerschie?

The Quantum Smoke HD and Abu Revo 4 Premier also look interesting.

Oh should say price, up to $400 probably, but I can wait for specials if something is a bit higher and worth it

I'm starting the long research for a cod reel. Going low profile baitcaster mainly for the ease of repetitive casting and peppering snags. I'd like something useful for the salt as well. I plan to do a fair bit of travel when I get the boat so something for Barra and possibly even a bit of jigging.

I originally thought maybe a Curado DC but 5kg of drag might be a tad light when you're wanting to get the fish out of the structure fast.

I won't mention any other thoughts yet, curious what you guys might suggest, but must come in a left hand wind

Much appreciated Des.

It's a brilliant resource and much easier to access compared to FB where the interface is more suited to 'show off' posts as they disappear very fast from the (non-linear) timeline.

Cheers Des.

A comment made by northern flats local was that because of commercial fishos hitting the YFW a lot harder in recent times, that they are getting more fussy as feeders because there is less pressure on their normal food sources and they are stuffed full. He feels they are way harder to get on lures than they were 10 years ago.

I had planned to try it but I went for more Tasline in the end because I did not want blue and absolutely did not want multi.  When they do it in a chart or yellow I'll try it I reckon. TBH the white Tasline is easy to see above water but in the water it's harder to see than the blue JBraid, and it hasn't gone grubby like I feared it might.

Actually, what's the spacing on the multi?

I applaud your decision, and having done a number of night jetty dives I can tell you it's still eerie under the water at night. Then again, if anything had have brushed against you I reckon you would have done a good squid impersonation yourself.

What is really needed is just 1 independent that genuinely supports rec fishing. There's a reasonable chance independents will hold the balance.

Regardless, most of us agree the 2 majors are self serving lying pond scum, but unless you have personally contacted them about your rec fishing concerns then you're just rubber stamping what they do. Particularly at election time.

Neither major party gives a toss, but if they think they can buy some votes they will. It's just the commercials make way more noise than the recs.

It's good to type this up here, but please also send am email to your MP. Right now is the best and only chance for years to get pollies actually doing something for rec fishing. I know the chance is slim but only the squeaky wheel gets fixed.

Oh ffs I didn't need to see that. Maxcatch do fly fishing stuff these days, pretty decent too for the price.

Which worm did you use?

My thought was for callop, maybe murray cod, and possibly whiting.

Just found this, could be something different to try.

For sake of completeness on DIY;

silicone legs/skirt material  get in fire orange

Or tie your own:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/264289765868 + some 80lb ebay braid = 12 sets at a fraction of the price.

They're very popular/useful at Parham for launching/retrieving boats, didn't think they were used for fishing but I spose they could be.

Nice work. I'd appreciate tips on snook if you're looking for a different fish, I'm not happy with the way I do those, and there's no other videos I can find.