piratepom

Great fishermans tale.🐟
I would recount a few, but they still hurt too much!😉😥😥😥

Hi Guys... Not a lot has been happening so I thought I would try something different and that could be amusing to us ALL as I'm sure we ALL have a "One that got away... " tale, so here goes my best one to kick it off.
About 20+ years ago I was fishing with an "old" girlfriend of mine at Qualco near lock 2 on the Murray, in my very distinctive Canadian Canoe "GOODOO". We decided under the cover of dusk to paddle to the lock and sneak past the bouys into the NO FISHING ZONE to catch some Callop for supper. I had a short cheap rod loaded with 6lb line and a 14 hook tipped with a single worm, what could go wrong! After a while (and you know what's coming) I got a good bite which resulted in the rod bending double under the canoe.... F#*@K what the hell is this? I was so careful as this thing was BIG (I reckoned over 20lb easily from my carp catching experience) but this wasn't a carp... no way. It didn't run off like a carp just went round in lumbering circles, I got back a metre of line now and again, edging it closer and closer to the surface then it would dive again in the deep water under the spillway (I reckon 20ft deep at least). This went on for over 25 minutes... my girlfriend said "I hope you don't lose it"... shhhhhh don't bloody say that you'll put the mockers on it!!! Any way carefully and slowly I got this THING closer and closer to the surface until I was sure another turn of the handle and I would see it.... the net is ready.... THEN the line broke at the hook.... F#@$**&%@$#!....
Gutted, never caught a Murray Cod before or since, couldn't sleep in the tent that night and I often think of that fateful evening... the longest paddle back to camp, got rid of the girlfriend, still got the canoe and have never really got over it... ALL TRUE!
Would love to hear similar tales, as we all have them, probably most of us have more than one...
MERRY XMAS TO ALL DRIVE SAFE AND DON'T DRINK TOO MUCH... tight lines F.T.

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..




 

Yeah tend to lean towards the cheapest tool that will get the job done😉

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 🤷‍♂️

Hi mate. Hopefully getting a session in this Sunday. Happy to flick a southie lure about, if you still need YFW lure testers, if not all good.🎣

Hi mate. Hopefully getting a session in this Sunday. Happy to flick a southie lure about, if you still need YFW lure testers, if not all good.🎣

Tried a tiny stream around the Lobey area this morning. The wheather was pretty average. only 11 degrees in the hills, wasn't expecting much activity.
A bow n arrow cast into a murky twig infected hole and this juvenile could not resist. 
simple grub i tied years ago.
Spotted this guy high on a bank, snuck behind him and made a short cast
Trecked a few km's, with hardly any sightings.. Overall a quiet morning. When i arrived back in the Barossa it was 18 degrees and the sun was shining..
 

@Yorky I actually bought a pack of those a while back, in the 25lb size purely switching between Squid Jigs and baited rigs when out in the boat with my mates. Havent been out since, so havent had the chance to test them.
Im heading over to Yorkes middle of next week, I might take them with me to see if I like them for flicking HBs or not.
@piratepom I think at a minimum ill be removing the split rings from all my HBs moving forward. Might have a play over the remainder of Spring and then Summer to see what I prefer in terms of straight loop knot or snaps.
You'll laugh PP, 5 minutes after I lost the new S/Rap I got a guide wrap and watched a brand new DC sail off into the distance. I took that as a signal it was time to go home 🤣🤣
Good times 👍

I very rarely use clips. If there is a split ring I remove it. Loop knot to the tow point. The only thing that can fail is your loop knot and that has never happened (hope i haven't just jinxed myself!)
Sorry to hear about your lure.😥

Chasebait  "Flick Prawns" have hooked me lately. I use them in shallow drains and shallow drop-offs on flats. They drift horizontally, life-like, and I've caught flatties, estuary cod and pikey bream on them with more or less a "do-nothing" retrieve. However, they are snag-prone, even if rigged weedless, and are not cheap. Good old gold bombers continue to catch barra for me night (Tinaroo) and day (shallow drains in the  Hinchinbrook mangroves), but YellowDoor's Sebile Magic Swimmers need some more time on the field up here. They look sooooh good in the water.

Hi mate.
Marketing is a wonderful thing when it comes to fishing gear and we all get sucked in to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are confident with the lures or SPs that's half the battle.
For me these days I've always got my nose in the bargain bucket looking for what I think might work in any fishing situation I might find myself in. Cheapskate.😉
So to answer your question I have a selection of go to's that I trust, and cheapies that I think and hope will work. I get a real buzz from catching fish on the bargain bucket lures.🐟👏😊
A few pics of bargain bucket catches.
$5 lure which I hoped would work up North.
First ever Barra!🐟👌

First Jack, same lure.🐟👍

Sooty, same lure.🐟👏

PB Barra, last year, same lure.🐟

$1 packet of SPs😊

Same SPs👌

Bargain bucket HB lure.🐟😊

Todays purchases 2 x $5 lures. One for up North and one for the local Bream etc...

Hopefully get a successful pic with one of these in the near future.🎣🐟😊
 

Hi mate.
Marketing is a wonderful thing when it comes to fishing gear and we all get sucked in to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are confident with the lures or SPs that's half the battle.
For me these days I've always got my nose in the bargain bucket looking for what I think might work in any fishing situation I might find myself in. Cheapskate.😉
So to answer your question I have a selection of go to's that I trust, and cheapies that I think and hope will work. I get a real buzz from catching fish on the bargain bucket lures.🐟👏😊
A few pics of bargain bucket catches.
$5 lure which I hoped would work up North.
First ever Barra!🐟👌

First Jack, same lure.🐟👍

Sooty, same lure.🐟👏

PB Barra, last year, same lure.🐟

$1 packet of SPs😊

Same SPs👌

Bargain bucket HB lure.🐟😊

Todays purchases 2 x $5 lures. One for up North and one for the local Bream etc...

Hopefully get a successful pic with one of these in the near future.🎣🐟😊
 

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

Hi mate.
Marketing is a wonderful thing when it comes to fishing gear and we all get sucked in to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are confident with the lures or SPs that's half the battle.
For me these days I've always got my nose in the bargain bucket looking for what I think might work in any fishing situation I might find myself in. Cheapskate.😉
So to answer your question I have a selection of go to's that I trust, and cheapies that I think and hope will work. I get a real buzz from catching fish on the bargain bucket lures.🐟👏😊
A few pics of bargain bucket catches.
$5 lure which I hoped would work up North.
First ever Barra!🐟👌

First Jack, same lure.🐟👍

Sooty, same lure.🐟👏

PB Barra, last year, same lure.🐟

$1 packet of SPs😊

Same SPs👌

Bargain bucket HB lure.🐟😊

Todays purchases 2 x $5 lures. One for up North and one for the local Bream etc...

Hopefully get a successful pic with one of these in the near future.🎣🐟😊
 

Hi mate.
Marketing is a wonderful thing when it comes to fishing gear and we all get sucked in to it, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are confident with the lures or SPs that's half the battle.
For me these days I've always got my nose in the bargain bucket looking for what I think might work in any fishing situation I might find myself in. Cheapskate.😉
So to answer your question I have a selection of go to's that I trust, and cheapies that I think and hope will work. I get a real buzz from catching fish on the bargain bucket lures.🐟👏😊
A few pics of bargain bucket catches.
$5 lure which I hoped would work up North.
First ever Barra!🐟👌

First Jack, same lure.🐟👍

Sooty, same lure.🐟👏

PB Barra, last year, same lure.🐟

$1 packet of SPs😊

Same SPs👌

Bargain bucket HB lure.🐟😊

Todays purchases 2 x $5 lures. One for up North and one for the local Bream etc...

Hopefully get a successful pic with one of these in the near future.🎣🐟😊
 

Oh Boy!! I feel I have way too many lures & a large variety of brands as well.. I'll let the photos tell the story...😉
And these are just the ones I've taken photos of... only use them on the trout..
cheers
Adrian
 

Few years ago now.
 

Yeah most of mine lately have been on weedless Z-man grubs in shimmer pearl and midnight oil.

This fish got pinned by my mate on a shimmer pearl and then went for my grub on the way in.

And three big lunker redfin followed it in to see what all the fuss was about.

Well fed fish.

Sent from my SM-J120ZN using Tapatalk

Found a photo of the big girl. She may have seen even better days previously, judging by the size of her head, but what a beast it was. 
 

46 Cm from memory 

Mine to this day is 44.5cm
Between two of us we caught easily 70 Reddies......
Got 3 Fish in 3 casts they went 42.5cm, 43.5cm then this one at 44.5cm 
Was an epic day......
 

 

 

Beautiful spring day, tried for some trout on fly in the hills. A few spotted, but not alot of action. 4 fish landed. Ran into a group of SAFFA gents, having a bbq and and catch up, along the heysen trail. When i got back to my car there was a letter and a contact number for the Association . Jolly o