rollcast

Thanks Dutchxfisher.I might retire my petzl and buy one of these I reckon.If its as good as my cree torch I will be stoked.cheers rollcast

Ministry(Jesus built my hotrod), Devo,Iggy Pop,The Clash,sex pistols,Frank Zappa, Gnarls Barkley and Patsy Bisco.what else is there?

cree are simply the most lumens per watt of any led made.They are also significantly cheaper than $99.Have a look on ebay.Lumens is how they rate output not candle power

I have been using a Petzel for years and its pretty good.A friend of mine recently put me onto the cree led.They are the most efficient ,brightest LED on the market .I purchased one of the small 390 lumen torches off ebay (only $20 plus $10 delivery)and the brightness is mind blowing .Must be seen to be believed.I intend to get the cree headtorch soon.Most cree LEDs are marketed as ultrafire or terralux.They also sell a 1600 lumen job,which I think is about five times brighter than a comparable size maglite for about $70 bucks.They also do cree upgrade kits for maglite.Have a look on youtube there are a few cree demonstrations comparing them to other brands and they are vastly superior.CheersRollcast

G,day Darren,Thanks for the tip on the liquid fusion mate.I hate mixing small amounts of epoxy .This stuff look s fantastic.Cheers Rollcast

Hi Tom,I have a small collection of fly tying books.I would highly recommend you get yourself a copy of "Fur and feather" by Peter Luever.This is the first book i would buy.It is trout based not saltwater but thats what I am in to.It may be a bit short on patterns but the tying principals described in the back section are very handy.Australias best trout flies compiled by Malcolm Crosse and edited by Rob Sloane (fly life editor) is a good reference for patterns.I occasionally refer to Australian fly patterns by Peter Coulson.However this book draws much criticism for its bastardisation of existing patterns and the inaccurate depiction of many flies in the photos featuring wrong hooks incorrect materials and many other errors.It is still a handy reference as it covers salt ,trout and native fish.I do an annual trip to NZ and therefore "trout stream insects of New Zealand" by Norman Marsh is a must have.Other handy books are "the pursuit of fly tying"by G.E.P Rowney.If you can afford it the flytyers bible is fantastic.Lastly if you can find and afford a copy of "Dry flies of the Fleurieu Peninsula " by Ray Brown buy it.Only forty copies were published and it is one of the most sought after books now worth thousands of dollars.Ray is an honourary life member of SAFFA now residing in Tassy.Some of his flies (and the book) are featured in Fly Talk at the back of the latest edition of Freshwater Fishing magazine(issue 101).You could also join SAFFA and get access to our enourmous library of fly fishing books which has been growing steadilly for over sixty years.Hope this helps CheersRollcast

Thanks Tony,I will keep an eye out for that book.I am off to Gore on the South Island of NZ for my annual pilgrimage in three weeks,so have been busy tying.I enjoy tying starling split wing style flies such as black gnats and the smaller sizes in 18 20 etc are a must for the match the hatch style fishing on the Matuara which runs through Gore.cheers Rollcast

Tried them out of desperation on the yfw at seacliff the other day when I couldn't buy any live worms .I caught 4 whiting on them and none on the frozen bungums.I had to soak them for nearly an hour in salt water before they were soft enough.I think they are a good reserve bait for yfw if you can't get clickers or live worms.They are certainly more durable ( stay on th e hook better) than frozen bungums.I have tried the gulp worms (camo colour) and have only caught a couple of fish after several attempts.So i reckon the dehydrated ones are ok.Must try soaking them in some of these other things like tuna oil or stimulate etc.cheers

Just found it.Page 106 of Peter Leuver,s fur and feather has a whole page dedicated to the Atalophlebia dun as tied by Ray brown for fishing South Australian waters.Ray now resides in Tassie and still ties flies commercially.This is an excellent book.(i collect fly tying books)Atalophlebia dunHook:9480 downeye,size 12Silk:6/0 prewaxed RumpfRib: Stripped peacock herlTail: dun cockBody: Palmered Blue Dun ,ribbed with stripped peacock herlWing: Peacock wing quill (brown),rolledHackle:Blue Dun followed by brownTony if you cant find Rumpf silk just use 6/0 uni thread in brown or black.hook can be substituted for a Kamisan b405.Also wing can be substituted for Turkey tail slip.The same book features Rumpfs red spinner (page 70) which can be useful if the fish are mopping up spent spinners after the hatch.I would still favor the highland dun or lodges emerger as my first go to flies during the hatch.Australias best trout flies by Malcolm Crosse is another useful book.Barry Lodges emerger(tied by Jim Allen) appears on page 19.The Highland dun (by Noel Jetson) is featured on page75.There is as ectin dedicated to Ray Browns flies (many specific to SA)on page 34.Highland DunHook:kamasanb401Thread: pearsills silk brown.tail: bunch of brown hackle fibresBody:brown tying silk palmered with brown hackleRib:fine copper wireWing:Brown speckled hen wing slips tied con cave sides inward,forming a single, backward slpoing winghackle: brown cock with two turns of badger hackle in front

I think this is an atolaphlebia australisica dun (sub imago stage of the mayfly cycle).Very common on the Finnis CatchmentTry a hghland Dun (Tassie pattern) or a Pecks Dun in size 12 or 14 .A shaving brush or Barry Lodges emerger(Tassie Pattern) is also worth a try.These are all well known patterns and tying instructions should be easy to find.Once they change to spinners (imago stage) try a Noel Jetsons (very famous Tassie Tyer) red spinner.Very hard to fool the Trout once they start jumping for red spinner,Ask anyone who has fished Lake Konongwootong during a spinner session!!If you know anyone with a copy of Ray Browns Trout stream insects of the Fleuriea Peninsula it will be in there.A friend of mine has a copy ,I will see if I can identify it. Green Drake is a massive Nth American mayfly much larger than these and greenish in colour.These are a copper red colour.Stripped peacock quill makes the perfect body material but many people use red flos ribbed with gold or copper wire.Cheers

Frank Prokop is the lure expert in oz.Contact him at frank@recfishwest.org.auOr try these for info on lures www.lureandmore.comor www.kadaitchaclub.orgmost old floppys have a problem with the plastic on the bib dissolving ,if this is not happening they are worth more.The original soft ones are worth more than the hard bodies which came later.I would put them on ebay as they will attract much higher bids in an international market.They are worth a small fortune if you still have the original packaging.Good luck ,keep us posted and let us know what you get for them.

There is a bloke from Camperdown in Vic who is a professional fly tyer and bream legend around his local estuaries.Most of his patterns work well on bream.He is also a very accomplished trout fisherman.I have been to a couple of his fly tying seminars.I now tie my own version of his hammerhead pattern tied in a brown orange blend when chasing Onk bream and have had excellent results over the last few years..This is basically a version of his famous BMS (bullen Merri Special) tied with dumbell eyes.Make sure you use Mustad Aberdeen Hooks for better hook up rates if tying your own.Other wise ring Muz and order direct from him.Many of Muz flies feature in the book "Australian fly patterns" by Peter Coulson.Cheers Rollcast

I'm no expert on this but i reckon you'll find that generally speaking soft plastics rods have a slightly softer tip than hard body rods for the same overall rating.I think that if you fish hb's of a soft tip rod like a loomis dropshot it will have almost a fighting curve when retrieving the lure.On the other hand if you were to use a rod like a loomis p8400 ,which is great for hb's, it probably won't have enough tip for casting or working some of the ultra light jigheads used for soft plastics.both these rods however have a perfect loaded fighting curve when using 4 or 6lb braid for bream.Don't know about flats rods.Also i'm not suggesting you need to fork out the bucks for a loomis.Just used them as an example. there are plenty of good quality carbon spin sticks out there at a reasonable price.I use a loomis p8400 for hb's and a daiwa procaster prz6101lxs for plastics.Sold plenty of these to bream guys a few years back when I worked in tackle retail.Cheers

Sorry just re read the post and noticed you already identified it as a Port Jacko egg.DOH!!

Not sure ,but I think the first picture titlrd some kind of jellyfish might be a port jackson shark egg

Hi Chris,Well doe at new England!!I must get up there one day.Its been pretty slow down here.The big dam(you know where I mean )is not fishing that well.The fish are big but not enough of them.I have been chasing other species such as snook and Ye llowfin whiting just to keep myself occupied.They say the Beach tree mast that causes the mouse plague happens approx every seven years and must coincide with a warm winter.One day Ill strike it.Read some good stuff by Morsey a while ago about fishing deer hair mouse patterns in a lake somewhere deep south on the South Island out of his float tube.I joined TALTAC which is the "tomgariro and lake taupo angling association" so now I have cheap accomadation at there lodge in Turangi next time I visit Turangi.Cheers Mate

Brings back memories of eagle ray fishing off west beach as a kid in the seventies.I had a fiberglass 650 C5.650 was 6.5 inch C was star drag A5 was fixed handle(651 deep spool large capacity)Various friends had bakelite reels like this and even a couple of old wooden spool jobs.I always got a laugh listening to me old mate scream when an eagle'y took off on his old knuckle buster C5.The rods we all used were built on butterworth blanks MT8144.Stood for multi taper 8 wrap 144 inches (12 ft).I believe synderglass use the same mandrills.A short 9 inch butt and large stripping guide were a must.Most of us had a little hook type guide near the front grip known as an open runner.Swivels are stronger than people think and we found using smaller swivells stopped most of the line twist that caused the dreaded three strand.Level winding with the forefinger was essential.Casting was done buy trapping the line against the spool with the back (BUTT) hand and placing the front hand well up the rod towards the stripping guide. In South Africa they cast overhead surf rods with short butts in this manner!!??

Also have a look at the series NZ trophy trout.I think theyre up to about no 6 .These guys get into some amazing back country fly fishing on the south island.They work hard for it hiking long distances and occasionally utilize a helicopter.But geez they catch some good fish.Destination trout (nz) is not bad and quite informative for first time visitors.Highland Gold 1 and 2 (tassie) is very informative for first time Tassie visitors.But why bother its not much further or dearer to go to NZ which is paradise.

Have a look at "once in a blue moon".Its about mouse feeders on the south Island of NZ.I make an annual trip to NZ (did 4 months last year long service leave)and have tried much of what both islands have to offer,from spawn run on the Tongariro to match the hatch on the Matuara or sea runners of South Island west coast and even spring creek stalking for massive selective browns.I still haven't been there for the mouse plague that coincides with the beach tree mast(flowering).After watching this I can't wait to get back hopefully during the mouse plague.

My first fish was the most stupid flathead ever.I think it was about 14 inches long. I was about nine (38 years ago)at pt Lincoln on a family holiday.I caught it on a handline ,with a cockle dangled about 6 inches below the surface off the Jetty in very deep water.My dad was busy untangling my six foot solid glass Kmart rod that I received for Christmas.Still to this day can't understand what a flathead was doing this high off the bottom.By the end of the two week holiday I had caught gar, tommie's,treva's ,ST's,and even a couple of couta.I still remember watching the Tuna boats come in followed by huge schools of big sea mullet.I have been hooked ever since.I visited the cockle machine at the Patawalonga boat ramp for years when chasing bream in the Pat as a kid.20 cents a pint.They used to hang a sign frozen or fresh.When they were fresh I always took a few home for my old man to eat.I think it disappeared in the mid eighties.Ahh those were the days eh?