Hugo

+1 for the red Gomuko rods for all but the biggest snapper in shallow water. I have the spin model matched with a daiwa 3000 reel and run 20lb Tufline. I see these rods have dropped in price recently and they are crazy fun and way stronger than they look. My other "go to" rod and reel is a Nitro Magnum Butt spin rod matched to a 2500 daiwa reel, overkill for KG's but great general purpose rod reel combo for most of what I like to chase. I run 15lb braid through this rig and find it better for soft plastics for snapper etc as its a tad longer at 7'6" and less parabolic.

Have a look at the range of Samaki Zing surf rods. A tad over $150, but have a range of 2 piece 12 foot models. I have the 10 - 20 kg model and will be giving it a run this Easter with an Emblem Pro reel. Would suit the bigger pen spin reels.

I second putting the butts facing forward, had a seagull shorten 2 beach rods a few years ago. If the rods stick out more than a metre behind your car be sure to tie a piece of red cloth to the end, and don't travel anywhere with sinkers of lures attached as they may break your rod(s).

Just bought 3 mojiko XTR Vibe 160 tuna trolling lures on sale from Anaconda for $7 each. Same lure as the River2Sea Killer Vib 160 that sell for over $20. Hooks and split rings are inferior on the Mojiko's, but can be upgraded easily. River2Sea on the bottom in the photo. There were another dozen or so left on the stand this arvo.

Sweet rig, good luck with it. Post up a report when you get amongst them next. 50lb braid on an Emblem Pro is a no nonsense "come here" set up. I run 30lb Tufline on my Emblem Pro and have found this ideal for casting with a 60lb leader long enough to get half a dozen wraps around the spool when casting. Go the FG or PR knot for line to leader knot as it glides through the guides nicely (I hate that clunking sound bulkier knots make when they hit each guide).

Is it a black or yellow blank? Also is it a custom job or does it look like it has been made up for a tackle shop to sell? Perhaps take it into one of the tackle stores that build up rods and they should be able to ID the blank for you.

I've just ordered a couple of "cush it's" for jigging. Hope they aren't cu shits instead!

Kuerschie, I have a Nitro Powerbream Finesse (2 piece) 7 foot 1 - 3kg spin rod for sale. It's unused and you can have it for $200. PM me if your interested.

Dusted off the old fish smoker recently and turned out a pile of tuna off cuts and scraps along with the belly flaps which the kids demolished before any had time to cool down, and it got me thinking what other fish I have smoked. So far I have done salmon, tommies, mullet, snapper and snook and Callop which were all delicious. Tried some Redfin fillets which were a fail, but that's it. I use redgum (grabbed a massive bag from a local furniture maker) and mix it with hickory and or a few other over the counter packs of various wood types.Question is, what other types of fish, sharks, rays, oys

Diving lures try Yozuri hydro magnums, Rapala X-Rap magnum dive baits in 20 and 30 feet and the River 2 Sea Killa Vib 160. Skip baits try the Williamson surface pro, Rapala X Rap walkers, Sebile 155 Stick shadd. Casting lures try the Press Bait Saira or the bigger adagios and the ever trusty Halco Roosta or Williamson jet poppers for some serious surface disturbance. I have had success with all these either trolled or cast. Best to talk with your local tackle shop as they will have info on what's currently working. Good luck, but be warned, its a addictive.

For Samsons and Kings I use a Saltiga deep 55S spin rod with a Stella 8000FA running 80lb Tufline and Saltiga Hiramasa 63S spin rod with a Stella 5000SW rod running 50lb Tufline. Originally had the 8000FA on the Hiramasa running 50lb Tufline and it handled Samsons to 30kg west of Greenley Island no problems. I use the 55S with the 8000FA and custom Challenger 15kg overhead rod with a Shimano TLD 20 running 30lb braid trolling for tuna. The Hiramasa and 5000SW is also a wicked bottom bouncing rig that is my first choice for any deep sea work. Picked up some of these rods and reels second hand

As far as reels go for what ever rod you end up with for beach work, don't overlook the Daiwa Emblem Pro. Great reel with heaps of drag and massive line capacity. There are a few models that have similar features from the wind cast to the Saltiga surf. The Emblem pro is in the middle of these in price. Before using this reel on my heavier surf spin rods, I used an American made Penn Spinfisher 850, which after 15 odd years of service is still in good shape.

My fav all rounder is the Nitro Magnum Butt distance spin. 7'6" rated 4 - 6kg, but handles 15lb braid easily. I have the 5 piece version which I take everywhere as it fits in a suitcase (and I have taken it as carry on luggage). I usually hang a 3000 size Daiwa on it, so a 4000 size Shimano would also balance well. Great snapper on plastics rod, but still light enough for whiting. Its just as good as a land based rod as it is in a boat. I use it on the beach when conditions suit and it handles lures up to 30g. I also use it as a soft plastics rig for flathead, or with a whole pillie on ganged

I have been using Tufline for most of my larger reels for general boat fishing duties. 15lb yellow or red on my 3000 and 4000 size spin reels and 30 and 50lb for bottom bashing and jigging. Never had a knot problem with either fluro or mono leaders and always use an FG knot first up and a double Uni or slim beauty if I need to retie due to a bust off. Have re spooled one or two reels with Power Pro, but just like the feel and performance ofnTuffline more

The green Gomoku rod, the Keiryo, would also make a very good whiting rod. I have the red one which is the next size up. The green model would be slight over kill for the average KGW, but would deal with any bigger by catch that might jump on, whilst still being light enough for the job. Parabolic action but enough stiffness to set hooks and matches smaller 2500 sized reals nicely. Another $60 over the Bushy and KG Killa, but still affordable and would suit a wider range of situations and species. Definitely worth a look.

Used some 6.5" Gulp Nemesis in white glow on snapper recently. Great size for shallow water fishing and the long curly tail worked a treat. Have always liked curl tail plastics for snapper and the Nemesis is right up there.

Hey Dingo51, welcome to S&H. KG Killa is a great whiting rod, good long butt for sticking the rod under your arm. Well suited to a 2500 size real. I also have a Bushy Bait Legend "go to" rod, also by Shimano. Couple of inches longer, with a shorter butt. I use the Go to with circle hooks and leave it in a rod holder and fish the KG Killa in hand with long shank bait holder hooks. Both rods have more than enough power for whiting, and have also landed ruggers up to a couple of kilos.

Hamo1234, try swapping the back treble on your sugar pen to 2 Decoy pluggin singles attached so they face each other on the split ring.

Haven't vacsealed bait, but it makes sense. I have a small cryovac that I use when I have a bog load of fillets or meat to freeze. Best results are when bait (or food) is super fresh. If you are going to use the bait within a few weeks, don't bother freezing it, just keep it in the fridge. Once thawed, it will go off the same as any bait. If frozen, it will last for months, once thawed, it will be in better nick than if you froze it in a zip lock bag.

Great stuff Des. Saw something similar a few years ago in Northern NSW, where a guy I was fishing alongside was using a tiny trebble as a stinger hook on beach worms. He hardly missed a fish whilst I was there, (can't say i had the same hookup rate)! His method was to keep the worm bait moving at all times by SLOWLY winding in keeping the bait on the bottom and the whiting were pretty much hooking themselves as he wasn't striking at bites, just continuing to wind in. He had slow actioned rod about 9 or so feet long (like a nibble tip) that had a decent curve in it just retreiving the bait and

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, lots of good tips. One of the challenges in experimenting with new products is that sometimes you get a lemon. The old adage of sticking with what you know applies and I have gone back to the tried and tested brands that have always worked for me: light braids up to about 8lb - original fireline or TD sensor, 10 - 15lb power pro and Tufline for anything 20lb and over.

Shims, I tie a slim beauty normally for a leader knot onto 14lb hard rock fluro. Reel is a 2500 daiwa. Yozuri live or Daiwa Sephia jigs connected via a small egg type snap.

Been getting more than my share of wind knots recently casting 2.5 and 3 sized squid jigs on 15lb braid. I am relatively diligent in keeping the line tight on the spool, but not happy with the current stuff I am using. Interested to know what brand of braid in the 10 - 15lb range you have settled on that is less inclined to miss behave.

Did you put up a good fight? Hope you didn't ink yourself

Witnessed a guy pull in a 50cm flathead at Moonta Bay jetty recently on a cheapie jag. Interested to know what other fish species you have caught on a humble squid jig?