Hugo

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, oysters, squid etc have you successfully smoked, and are there any tips or techniques in getting the process right?

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 for way less than retail. I use leaders of around 80 -100lb for jigging, usually Pen 10X or Jinkai via an FG knot. All split rings and hooks are upgrades from what the jigs and lures are sold with. Its worth saving a few more bucks and sticking with the tried and proven brands for heavy work and you won't be disappointed.

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 hooks around southern Yorkes beaches. It has handled spanish mackerel, big queenies, trevally to 7 or 8 kg, long tail tuna and a big potato cod up in the NT a few years ago, so would handle mid size tuna down here if you have a reel with enough line capacity, but only casting small poppers or stickbaits as its too soft in the tip to troll anything but the smaller Pakula or Williamson skirts. I am currently using a Storm Gomoku Erito (red model) matched to a 3000 sized daiwa and agree with Shorejigger that if you want a boat only set up, these are tough, fun to use and very cheap for what you get.

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 used mono right through to the hooks.

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?

Del, I picked the rod up from Steve on Grange Road. I also had a 9 foot 2 piece glass spin stick and a 5120 made up as an overhead with the rope grips. All great rods. The low mount you grabbed can pitch a 4 oz sinker and a salmon fillet no problems. It's not built on an extended 4120 as its too tippy, can't remember what blank he used. Either way, it will cope with most Mullies and mid sized brown coats.

Heading slightly off subject, I recently shelled out 5 bucks and scored enough redgum sawdust and wood chips from a local cabinet maker to last me for years. I blend this with off the shelf hickory or whatever else you get in the small woodchip packets from camping and outdoors shops. Most furniture makers would be happy to let you have some if you offer to pay and take your own bags. Should save you heaps in the long run.

6 inch Phillips head screw driver and 30 seconds on the grinder to get a nice sharp point. Works a treat.

Brenton has nailed it with either a 3000 or 4000 sized reel. No need to go bigger than these reels as they have around 7-8kg drag and enough line capacity of either 15 or 20lb braid to tame any snapper. Only reason to go bigger would be if these reel sizes don't balance with your rod. Not much difference in line diametre between 15 and 20lb braids, I have both breaking strains on all my 3 -4k sized reels and most break above their rated breaking strain. I mainly use tuff line and it has never failed (just my knots).