Des

You can get anything printed on a reel in China😁
 
These are the same as almost all the other silver sub $50 reels and likely from the same OEM factories with just minor cosmetic changes. One of the clues is the Daiwa air rotor style design.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
Johncoo Anti Corrosion Treatment Spinning Fishing Reel Carbon Washer Drag 10Bb Saltwater Spinning Reel Metal Body - AliExpress
MEREDITH VANPES Series Rust Free And Smooth Bearing 5.0:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 8Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
EXIST Same Spinning Reel Full Metal Body Saltwater or Freshwater Fishing reels Ice fishing reel Ultralight surf Reel Best Reel - AliExpress
 
They are actually not bad reels if you buy then cheap. Instant anti-reverse, reasonable smoothness but probably 50g or more heavier than the same sized Shimano and Daiwa. 
I've got 4 and am buying more.

... too good to be true. Not genuine ????
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005627462809.html?spm=a2g0o.pay_result.0.0.60533474AE7Wpg&gps-id=pcSmartCardPaySuccess&scm=1007.10668.131923.0&scm_id=1007.10668.131923.0&scm-url=1007.10668.131923.0&pvid=c37623d8-94d5-4b94-9d9a-46d8e466da44&_t=gps-id:pcSmartCardPaySuccess,scm-url:1007.10668.131923.0,pvid:c37623d8-94d5-4b94-9d9a-46d8e466da44,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238113%231998&pdp_npi=4%40dis!AUD!446.80!40.21!!!290.00!!%402103246c17010876980253250eca24!12000033799501525!rec!AU!722497547!

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

I'd eat the small brobzies,  Dust in fish seasoning and dry bake in a webber kettle.  If to dry a flesh to cook nicely, spraylightly with canola oil...
I'm salivating... just typing about it...

Nice work putting Bob in his place, clearly needed to have a lesson in manners, the upper gulf can be full of them this time of year, I've had up to half a dozen  of the buggers between 3 to 7 foot visible circling in the burley (in the boat thankfully) at this same time of off Price.
Bronzies around the 5-6 foot mark are 4 out of 5 times exceptional eating in my experience with a head and tail removed trunk of around a metre being ideal for turning into steaks and "fillets", Bob looked a little on the small side (tasty but soft v excellent texture but too much ammonia taste) and let's face it, those YFWs are probably even better, I'd take them over KGs.
Well done on your "poor" day fishing... I mean most would kill for that but I've seen your other write ups so you get a pass on that, hope you have plenty of good trips this season, I love following your flats adventures always but being banged up post back surgery and with fishing out of the equation until new years I need this.

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

A sunny Cup day meant getting out for a fish rather than be stuck home watching the races.
.
The flats were very crowded on race day. There were hordes and hordes of legal but smaller sizes Yellow Fin Whiting in the 25 to 29cm mark. They were a fish a cast for much of the day.  But …  Not the kind of horses I wanted to back.
With so many little mugs about it was inevitable that the sly and the opportunistic would be out there ready to prey on them.
.
A sunny day on the sandflats is such a delight. The clear visibility and water clarity makes watching the passing parade a pleasure. Such an array of different species that cohabit this shallow water ecosystem. Amongst all the delightful sights on a sunny race day, are the diverse collection of Rays cruising around mooching in the sand. But amongst the happy crowd a few seedy characters lurk.
Yup, “Bronzy Bob” turns up just when you least expect it. While you are distracted.  Intensely concentrating on a big Whiting chasing your surface lure, one of only a few on a lean day, your wading tub suddenly lurches left!
.
“Bob the Bag Snatcher Bronzy”   was at it again. He snuck up from behind and latched onto my catch-keeper bag that I have dangling in the water.
Shooing him off did not work. He was persistent.
When he made one too many swipes at my catch bag of whiting, I thought I should teach him a lesson.
I allowed him to feel comfortable for yet another swipe. When he was just about to launch into my keeper bag I scooped him up with my landing net.
It was a bit of a heavier load for the landing net.
He was a healthy looking 3 foot specimen.
I gave him a stern talking too, a slap on the snoot, took a couple of mug shots for the “Crim files”, and sent him on his way.
 

 
I am told they are very good eating at this size if they are prepared properly after they are caught.
However there is just not enough room in my wading tub to handle the job.
Lucky for the Bronzies!
These guys are frequent but annoying visitors on the sandflats.
Mostly in the 3 to 4 foot range.
They are not a threat, just disturbing. I can assure you they are discerning feeders and far prefer the whiting to the revolting taste of your waders and leg within!

 
On the occasional dull session I have targeted them with a whiting fillet on ganged hooks. Good fun landing them on your whiting gear, whilst wading the shallows !!!
 

   ~ One hooked up on a previous session.
The biggest I have come across on the shallow sandflats is a 6 footer, maybe 7 feet. I didn’t hang around for a closer inspection and accurate measurement!
.
My luck had abandoned me today as the weather factors negated each other to provide difficult conditions for stimulating the YFW bite. The wind speed and direction up the gulf, negated the small natural tide movement and the resultant actual tide was virtually at a standstill all day.
Even if only small, Some tide movement is a great stimulant for the YFW to feed.
It was hard work catching and releasing dozens and dozens of smaller fish.
But I still managed to back in a few good horses on cup day.
I finished with four fish around 40 to 41cm. And kept 10 of the better ones, that were mostly around 35cm.
.

   ~ "Bob" took a chomp on this one! 
Regardless of the fishing, it is always an interesting and enjoyable day wading the sandflats.
Cheers, Des

That is a Fatty!  Great fish 

Hi Rob. As long as you don't drop your pipe and your lighter still works, you should be fine🙂

Caught this brown on fly Monday. Not the longest trout but one of the thickest I've caught. Put up a great fight too. 4lb leader, stonefly nymph. 

20231023_122301_1_1_1.mp4

For all of the Vegemite lovers like me and have been since I was a kid, here's a photo that I took this morning of a jar of Vegemite out of the kitchen cupboard and did a bit of photo shop work on it. I can remember as a kid having Vegemite on toast for breakfast, Vegemite broth with bread in it, then when I was older and a little hungover in the mornings, a Vegemite & tomato sandwich did the trick. I still have a Vegemite broth from time to time too...
cheers Adrian

Thanks Booma, it was good to see the trout were back in this little river, 2016 we had a record flood that wiped out 5 road bridges on the Mersey River as well as flooding the whole Merseylea area where over 300 dairy cattle were washed away. The Mersey River rose 7.5 metres in 2016.
When things finally settled down I managed to get a few photos of the damage on the Mersey River, it wasn't good either. Thankfully we've only had one other flood since then..
cheers Adrian
 

This trip was to a small river just five minutes from home, this stretch of river was one I used to fish quite often until the record floods back in 2016. That flood really knocked the guts out of this little stream as did another one back in 2022, this trip I wanted to see if the trout had returned in this stretch of river. 
cheers Adrian (meppstas)

Regular post readers will know I like to fish the dodge tides for Yellow Fin Whiting .
I cover a variety of reasons in detail, in this previous post:
.
One very good reason, is that you will regularly find better quality fish on the dodge tide.
YFW movements and feeding are highly influenced by the tide. Revolving around the largest tide of the day, they tend to have a 24 hour digestive and feeding cycles.
So even when the tides do not move much on the dodge, they will still have a need to feed within their cycles. The larger YFW have greater food needs and will generally preference a bigger meal such as juvenile prawns or clickers.
With the small dodge tide their feeding will be concentrated to the smaller area, covered by little water flooding in. They will be easier to find.
The terrain/substrate that holds their preferred food will naturally attract a higher concentration of larger YFW.
That terrain you can feel under foot. The softer food holding substrate.
The small tide movement, along with a deeper low tide, holds water over these prime feeding grounds longer. It provides for prolonged access to this zone for both fish and fisher person.
A better explanation of productive terrain is in this post :
.
The dodge tide on Monday with a High of 1.77 mt @ 8.15am  and a Low of 0.97 mt @ 11.36pm provided a long drawn out, run off tide. With a prolonged spell under water, of some prime food holding areas. It looked like an ideal tide and I set off fishing.
YFW are always stimulated by tide movement to feed. These tides do not provide much of that stimulus. However there are other factors that come into play.
.
The day started slowly without a strike for the first hour. The warmth of the day gradually started to take effect and the first to stir were some small Whiting.
With the warming arvo came an arvo seabreeze, as well as a predicted strengthening southerly wind. YFW love a heavy rippled surface to take cover under and lose their feeding inhibitions. The bite picked up strongly and catches were now steady. In the constrictions of the upper gulfs any lower gulf southerly wind can force water up. A wind tide pushes in. It further stimulated the YFW and kept the feeding grounds covered with a perfect level of water for a wading fisherman.
.
I caught my bag of 20 in good time. This situation regularly provides quality fish, with10 of the fish ranging from 38 to 41cm. Most of the remaining 10 fish were around 35cm.
Sugapen 95 was the most successful lure. Then again I did not need to use a lot of variety.
The new Sugapen Splash caught it’s share when the afternoon breeze picked up. This is shaping up as the perfect lure for that strong summer afternoon breeze that kicks up a bit of chop.
A few were also taken on the Ecogear ZX, when I was forced to go subsurface as a pack of persistent juvenile seagulls are yet to learn lures don’t taste good.
.
Hopefully we have some more fine weather for the next dodge tide.
Tight lines all.
Cheers, Des

Here's a couple of photos of what has become a common catch here in Tasmania nowadays, not only that, they are big fish as well..
They now have a bag limit of 5 fish per person & a 10 fish possession (house) limit placed on them which is good, minimum legal size 35 cm.