Hugo

I run 10lb braid whem flicking lures at the lake and had plenty of problems with wind knots and line twist.Run a small swivel with about 1m of flurocarbon (or other line) to your jig. Can almost guarantee you wont have any more problems

I use fireline on most of my threadline setups, from 6lb up to 14lb, never have trouble with wind knots. Because it's a fused line rather than a proper braid it's stiffer and less likely to misbehave. I also have 8lb power pro on one of my reels right now and not had any issues either.

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.

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.

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).

Southie, photography can be nearly as addictive as collecting fishing tackle! Canon 650D is a great camera and will last you for years. Suggest doing a short photography course, usually a 2 day job to fast track getting the best out of your camera. Good luck, look forward to viewing your pics.

Agree with Kuerschie about using mono in preference to fluorocarbon. Fluro tends to sink and pull the nose of the lures under, where as mono allows them to skip across the surface better. I don't bother with loop knots for surface fishing, just tie straight onto 4lb mono. OK to use bigger lures to 70mm especially if the surface is chopped up by wind (Sugar pens are excellent for this), ecogears and 3B scum dogs when it's calm. I use prawn type colours and patterns in summer, but it pays to understand what the whiting are chasing in any given location and try and match lure colours. If the whiting are about in numbers and feeding, a straight retrieve is often all that's needed and competition will see them smack lures straight away. Often though, you will need to work the lure to attract their interest, particularly if they are spread out. If you get follows but they are not committing, then it's a case of mixing up retrieve speeds and amount of lure action to find the trigger.