Wert

Yellow Fin Whiting Lure Fishing Gear
I am frequently asked to recommend YFW Lure fishing gear.
It lead me to summarise my thoughts on what I consider to be the most important factors in your gear selection for this particular pursuit.
My suggestions are in a prioritised list. Starting with what I consider to be the most important bit of gear to the least important based on how I feel it will impact on your success with YFW lure fishing. I am sure my opinions will raise a healthy debate!
So what are your thoughts on the perfect set up and the most important factor?
 
1) ROD
Absolutely the most important item in this game. This should be your biggest investment.
A 7’6” rod is ideal. It can cast small lures long distances easily. Cast distance is the most important factor in successfully catching YFW on lures consistently. A long cast goes way out there amongst unsuspecting fish! It provides a long retrieve, covers more water and gives the fish the most time to be attracted to your lure. So get a rod that can cast small lures far.
The latest materials and construction methods of the better quality ultra light rods, facilitate the storage and recoil of elastic energy, which imparts lure action almost naturally. The tip sensitivity of ultra light rods, brings a lure to life and seriously makes a lure dance with little effort. A very sensitive top section is also well matched with a powerful bottom end.
The extra length of a 7’6” rod has very good shock absorption for the hard runs that big YFW have when they are in close. You will definitely pull less of those small assist lure hooks from these trophy fish.
I have found the Abu Garcia Eradicator Real Finesse Rod the best I have used to date. Model# ERFS-76LT-TZ  7' 6" Rod. Rated for 0.6 - 3 lb Line Lure weight 0.1gm-12gm The whole rod weighs just 66 grams.
The Samaki Zing Xtreme V2 762SSTXL is a close second. Rated for line 1-3kg with a Lure rating of 1 to 7gm.
The Shimano Zodias ultra light is great for those who prefer a shorter 7ft rod.
The Shimano T Curve Premium 21TCP782LC … 7" 8" 1-4 Kg line, 1-7gm lure. 2 pc  It is a little more powerful, which I use with the heavier lures.
There are a lot of good ultra light options today in the 7' 2" to 7’ 6” range, rated for 1-4 Kg line, 1-10gm. At prices to suit those just starting out. But you will soon get the feel and desire for the subtle finesse improvements in the more expensive models.

2) LURES & HOOKS
There are lures that have a long proven record for consistently catching YFW. This is fundamentally due to their good design. They do not really need to be “worked” so much. On retrieval their natural action, imparted by a good rod, does most of the work for you … naturally.
Bigger lures catch bigger fish I find. They also cast a lot further out to unsuspecting fish and work over more water, increasing your chances of a strike.
Colours … nearly always Clear with some Orange. Other colours have a fast diminishing success rate and are very rarely more successful. Lures with UV colours are a bit better in low light conditions.
The Sugapen 95 in Colour MB16 is by far the standout lure in all conditions for me. The Daiwa Slippery Dog 80 is a distant second. These Stick bait lures work better than poppers except may be on the windier days. Then I find the Shimano Brenious Rise, MMD Splash Prawn, or the Atomic Hardz, Poppers to be good.
Blades and Vibes in prawn imitations can catch as many fish on their day. But you loose the visual pleasures of the chase and a surface strike. The Ecogear ZX ranges are by far the most successful blades.
I never use treble hooks on the lures. They catch too much weed. My lures are all retrofitted with Atomic Trick Bitz size 8 or the Ecogear ZX Assist Hooks. They catch less weed and hook up well. A more detailed post on lures later.

3) LINE & LEADER
A small diameter braid is best. Braid assists in imparting more natural action and provides a better feel of your lure’s movements. I find Sunline Siglon PEx8 10 lb Braid is good. I have since moved to Sunline Siglon PEx8 ADV. I have heard some great reports for J Braid, but I am yet to try it. Again it is about getting a bit more distance in your casts. Thin lines have less drag through the air and cast further. There is little risk of abrasion on the open sand flats.
I use a variety of leaders, both mono and fluorocarbon, as this I find is not as big an issue as some make out. Especially when using the larger floating lures whose action is less affected by the leader. Again back to the rod, a quality 7’ 6” ultra light rod with a sensitive upper section, has great shock absorption. So you do not need a lot of leader for stretch and shock absorption. Around 18” in length I find good. I also use a Decoy Spiral Snap for quick lure changes so I don’t use up leader length in retying lures.
 
4) REEL
Reels are often overrated in terms of their importance here I feel. Correct weight balance with your rod, a smooth sensitive drag and a smooth retrieval action would be the main functional demands. A wider or a long stroke spool provides a longer cast.
With repetitive lure casting over long sessions, I you will appreciate a lightweight reel. A gear ratio of around 6:1 in a 2500 size reel suits the ideal lure retrieval speed. Given the harsh treatment these reels experience whilst wading for YFW, salt water resilience is important. Shimano Stradic CI4+, Shimano Vanford and Abu Garcia’s Revo MGXtreme, have all worked well for me. Should you have strong arms, strong wrists and a smaller budget, there are plenty of inexpensive heavier reel options that won’t reduce your chances of catching a fish on lures.
5) WADING TUB or BAG
Essential for carrying all your food, drink and tackle out there for a long day. Thanks to spotting  @Territory Lad  I added a "triple Axle" to mine.

6) TECHNIQUE … aka … Pretentiousness
Mostly a lot of garbage by people posturing as super skilled experts and making a simple task appear complicated.
If you start with the right equipment it is simple and close to an automatic process. It is usually people with a substandard rod, heavy line, and inappropriate lures, that have to work so hard to achieve the right lure action. A good lure with a modern day ultra light rod almost provides the right lure action automatically. It is so easy to “work” a lure. You really don’t have to try!  The only thing you could play with is your rod height position and your retrieve speed.
 
I hope this helps in unravelling the not that mysterious art of YFW lure fishing.
 
Cheers, Des.

Yep, it probably is a combination of everything, the shim thing for sure, as a kid I'd even make my own (well pre braid) for an even lay, my Grandfather taught me that, another thing he told me relevant to this was always have tension on the line when winding in, if you don't have weight on use your finger otherwise you get loose coils which will cause tangles.
I still do as he taught me and have NEVER had a wind knot, I do occasionally overfill a spool though and get the same experience.....

Yep, it probably is a combination of everything, the shim thing for sure, as a kid I'd even make my own (well pre braid) for an even lay, my Grandfather taught me that, another thing he told me relevant to this was always have tension on the line when winding in, if you don't have weight on use your finger otherwise you get loose coils which will cause tangles.
I still do as he taught me and have NEVER had a wind knot, I do occasionally overfill a spool though and get the same experience.....

There are also guys that swear that manually closing the bail arm after each cast (instead of tripping it by using the reel handle) is a good idea.

The explanation Ive heard is because you take on loose line and it adds a half twist every time you do it.

Ive always manually closed the bail arm. So I havent got to experience the issues related to using the reel handle to do it. But I am very cautious not to take on loose line while coming up tight to my lure
 

You're a jinx Des. I went for a fish on Monday night, throwing soft plastics for tommies. I grabbed my Atomic Arrows Bream Surface and Stradic Ci4+ 1000. This combination has worked great for years, but on Monday night I ended up with an ugly mess of a wind knot.
This was the second time I used the reel after I had fully stripped it down for a complete service. When I got home and had a closer look, the line lay was top heavy and a bit loose. 
I've stripped the line, added a shim and re-spooled. The line lay looks perfect again, so hopefully it should be fine next time.

Cheers Des, very interesting (no really 👍) I love me some proper research based on factual sources, for what it matters it explains a lot of my observational findings, in particular why at one particular location mid Spencer you catch them all year round but target them differently, ie shallows in summer, deeper 5-6m "pockets" in winter.
Also the bloodworm taste thing, so true especially for September KGs and red mullet, makes perfect sense now.
Keep these coming as much as you want, I'll read them for sure.

With the seasons changing and the YFW on the move, I thought I would start with this one.
SEASONAL MOVEMENTS OF YELLOW FIN WHITING IN S.A.
I have been fishing, mainly as a wading fisherman targeting YFW, for the past 18 years.
Over that time I have logged details of most of my fishing sessions on excel spreadsheets.
Recorded my various observations and analysed the data.
This is a summary of my thoughts on the seasonal movements of Yellow Fin Whiting in S.A.
 
The arrival of YFW on suburban beaches in the warmer months and their disappearance over cooler months is a regular event.
So where do the YFW come from?
And where do they go to?
 
It is a total fallacy that YFW are a Summer only species and that it is only in warmer temperatures that it is taken by the land based angler. Yellowfin whiting inhabit relatively shallow waters for their entire life. I catch them all year round, in all temperature ranges, wading in shallow water. Although their location and their behaviour does change with the seasons. So too must the fishing methods used and the areas fished.
 
INDEPENDENT GULF POPULATIONS
The YFW populations in each gulf are likely to be independent of each other. They most likely do not move out of the two SA Gulfs in which they reside. This has been suggested by some limited tagging studies to date. They are possibly similar to the Blue Swimmer Crabs where DNA testing has shown that there are independent populations in each Gulf that do not intermingle. Currently there is a study of YFW being undertaken in this area. To date the last published report from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation in 2020  https://fish.gov.au/report/341-Yellowfin-Whiting-2020  suggests 2 separate gulf populations. So it is most likely the YFW population’s movements are only, within the gulf in which it resides. I have noticed morphological differences between the 2 populations in the 2 Gulfs. Spencers Gulf fish tend to be slightly shorter but heavier built than the often longer fish in the St Vincent Gulf. And recently as a lure fisherman, I notice Spencers Gulf YFW are harder to catch on lures.
 
A study of data from the commercial fishermen’s catches of YFW, provides the clue to their movements within each Gulf.
Source:  The South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery Stock Status Report – 2011/12
WHERE do they catch most of their fish? ( Fig.1)

See the map of the areas where the Commercial Tonnage is caught. The majority of the commercial catch is taken in the northern ends of the 2 gulfs.
 
WHEN do they catch most of their fish? (Fig.2)

We see in the graphs for the Monthly catches of YFW, that the majority of the commercial catch is taken in the colder Winter months of May, June, July, August.
 
What are the Water Temperatures for those areas at those times?  (Fig.3)
Source:  http://oceancurrent.imos.org.au/SAgulfs/latest.html

We can correlate the professional catch months and their catch areas with maps for the gulf water temperatures.
Most of the YFW catch by professional fishermen, are caught in the Northern coldest parts of the Gulfs in Winter.
And the commercial catches drop when the YFW population disperse into the cooler Southern Gulf areas during the summer months.
 
The movement of YFW in the gulfs is driven by the availability of food.
It is also driven by a Poikilothermic animal using colder water temperatures to reduce their metabolism and their food needs.
 
As waters cool in the lower gulf in Autumn, their food sources in that area becomes scarce. Ever notice how bungum worms are rarely seen in winter. They along with other benthic dwelling organisms, worms, clickers, and small cockles, tend to move deeper in the sand. Are less accessible and remain dormant in the cooler months. The food that was available when the water was warmer, has disappeared from these southern areas of the Gulfs.
 
The most consistent and reliable food source over winter is in the northern gulfs. The food source here is primarily bloodworms. They are plentiful in the organic rich flats adjacent the mangrove areas of the northern gulf. Also abundant are the seaweed worms residing below the large dead seaweed deposits, that occur in the northern gulf over winter. The seaweed worms become more accessible at this time of the year, as big night tides and winter storm surges, dislodge seaweed banks and their seaweed worm populations. Bloodworms are readily available right throughout the winter period. Bloodworms are actually most active in winter. Constantly moving and relocating all through winter using the larger winter night tides to do this. Not just during their major spawning runs, when they are very visible on the surface in large numbers. Hence they become a consistent food source for the YFW in winter. Taste a winter caught YFW and you can often taste the distinctive iodine flavour that comes from a diet primarily made up of bloodworms.
 
The other main reason for the YFW to withdraw to the colder waters of the Northern Gulfs, is to intentionally enter a state of Torpor. Being Poikilothermic animals they get their body temperature from the surrounding water. Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The Northern Gulfs are the winter “Bear Caves” for the YFW.
 
However, they still need to feed. Just not as much. And certainly not as vigorously as they do in summer. This makes winter fishing for them more location and conditions specific for a land based fisher. In particular during a cold winter, they will be heavily concentrated in the deeper warmer parts of the cold  northern gulfs. Whilst they are seeking cooler waters to slow their metabolism, they still avoid extreme low temperatures. They will often be out of reach of the land based recreational fisher. I have talked with professional fishermen at Pt Parham and Pt. Wakefield. Their most productive catch days are after a few very cold frosty mornings. When the shallow water is the coldest. This is when the YFW retreat from the icy shallow waters and are in concentrated schools in the deeper warmer pockets of water. This aggregation makes them easy targets for the professional’s nets. Hence as the Figures 1 & 2 show, the majority of the professional catch is taken in winter in the northern ends of the gulfs. If you are wading these areas in winter you can see and hear the professionals banging their boats, rounding up the fish into tighter schools prior to netting them.
 
There are land based spots that are connected to deep water where you can burley in some YFW in winter. This is the only time I ever consider using burley for YFW. Other times of the year you attract too many nuisance fish rather than YFW. In winter other than Salmon trout, there are less nuisance fish about. However with a lower metabolic rate, the YFW are very lethargic in winter. Being a poikilothermic animal they wind up in a state of torpor when water temps fall below 12c. Their bites are timid. Often just sucking baits. Along with burley, smaller hook sizes and the lightest gear is more effective. I normally use a Size 4 hook but drop down to a size 6 even 8, in these months. Keep weights to a minimum. Often it is only on the bigger incoming night tides that you will find them. That is when the deeper warmer water is lifted up and onto the beach, bringing with it the fish it holds. The bloodworm runs in winter are certainly a good time for the wading fisherman to catch a few YFW. They are stimulated into feeding more. My fishing logs show, it is an exceptional winter YFW season when the water temperatures are over 13C during the bloodworm run.
There is a population of YFW that remains down south in the Onkaparinga River estuary over winter. This again is due to the fact that bloodworms inhabit that waterway. I know of fishermen that regularly catch bags of YFW in the Onkaparinga Estuary in winter. Using frozen bloodworms for bait. Little wonder that the most common early season sighting of YFW on the suburban beach areas is around the mouth of the Onkaparinga river. There are similar enclosed water bodies, such as Franklin Harbour, in the Spencers Gulf that consistently hold YFW in winter. These areas provide cooler water for a lowered metabolic rate along with a reliable source of food.
Other areas that are consistent in winter tend to hold a bit warmer water. The Torrens Island power station hot water outlet always has a few YFW in winter. Spots in the Southern Spencers Gulf like Pt Lincoln can be affected by the warm water flows at the tail end of the Leeuwin Current which will attract and hold the YFW. All the enclosed water bodies that are productive in winter, end up being too hot in summer for the YFW and their food.
 
As the water temps starts to rise, it sees the YFW more energetic and active. These Poikilothermic animals, warm up, increase their metabolic rate, and start to vigorously search for food when water temps get past 14C. Water temperatures soon rise to the optimal temperature range for the growth and reproduction of worms, cockles and clickers on southern sand flats and beaches. These now become the main food source for YFW. Bloodworms are now less available, having settled deeper into the mud for summer. And the seaweed worm areas are less disturbed and less available. It will take the water temperature to get above 22c before it is too hot for the food sources in the northern gulf. Again these benthic organisms take shelter from extreme conditions by burying themselves deeper, reducing the availability of food. However, in summer the relatively cooler southern sections of the gulf now have the optimal water temperatures for the growth and reproduction of their food sources. The main population of YFW move south into the cooler southern areas, spread across the suburban beaches, which now holds more food. In the warmer months I have found them as far south as Normanville and Coobowie in the St Vincent Gulf. Tumby Bay and Hardwicke Bay in the Spencers Gulf.
 
A number remain in the northern gulf waters. They tend to be a polarised population of very large and small fish, I find. The larger fish I think become more specialist feeders on alternative food sources like shrimp and juvenile prawns that now are more numerous in the warmer Northern waters. It is common resource partioning within a species where they do not all compete for the same food source. Shrimp are just the thing our YFW surface lures are designed to mimic. Casting surface lures for YFW in winter only seems to attract Salmon. A species that has a highly developed circulatory system as seen in their blood content. Is a bit more of a homeotherm with a higher metabolic rate through out winter. It needs a higher metabolism to chase it’s primary food source of small fish.  Whereas the Poikilothermic YFW need the higher water temperatures of summer to raise their metabolic rates before they become aggressive feeders of food on the surface and chase our lures.
 
Cheers, Des

Back in the day you had two options. Spider wire. Or fire line 😅

Follow up on Gliss. I've still got it on 1 reel. Abrasion resistance got really bad over time to the point of constant breakages.
 
It looks like most people have found the same and it is going really cheap.
WFT Gliss Hybrid Line 150m Yellow Bulk - DINGA Online — DINGA Fishing
At $3 a spool I am still giving it a miss.
 

Hands down the best braid I've used, moved onto the ADV a while back, does actually seem even better, will definitely be ending up on all my gear eventually once the old stuff wears out.

Hands down the best braid I've used, moved onto the ADV a while back, does actually seem even better, will definitely be ending up on all my gear eventually once the old stuff wears out.

Hands down the best braid I've used, moved onto the ADV a while back, does actually seem even better, will definitely be ending up on all my gear eventually once the old stuff wears out.

I have been using Sunline Siglon PEx8 for a number of years now.
 

The thinness and cast-ability has been great. However a criticism of it would be that it frayed a little easily and subsequently prone to breaking easily if under pressure.
I would adjust the drag accordingly. Sometimes too much for a good set of the lure hooks on a strike. You learnt to adjust the drag after the strike.

 
Today I tried the PEx8 - ADV version for the first time ,,,. Brilliant !!!
Smooth, abrasion resistant. I totally agree with their claim;
 "deep resin technology. Increasing abrasion resistance 4 times, slickness and knot strength. It also repels water to improve casting distance cast after cast."
 And available for a very similar price.  Highly recommend it.
Cheers, Des.

*Update on my "Any Sand Worms at Sellick's Beach?" question. 
Yep they are there for sure, only had time to pop down once in the past few weeks and give it a crack.  I managed to attracted a  few up and got my fingers on three, but the buggers gave me the slip...! they seemed a good size FYI. 
With more practice I hope to actually pull some out, its getting personal now... hahaha.  

This is just a short video clip of a few Platypus I often come across while trout fishing the rivers here in Tasmania. Seeing Platypus in a river while trout fishing is always the highlight of my day, it makes the trip all the more worthwhile.
cheers Adrian (meppstas)
 
 

I've stupidly jumped in after a few things, stupidly for me is pretty much when you can't see the bottom due to dirty or deep water,  or jumping in the Torrens lake, that's plain nasty 🤣.
The only one that compares to you though Mah for plain fear factor and temporary insanity was one night at the end of Wallaroo Jetty something big took my favourite light combo, poor thing, drag was set right and screaming, I nearly got there too but the tiny 1500 spool just couldn't keep up.
Instinctively went straight after it, probably wasn't halfway down when I realised what an idiot I was, we'd been catching bronzies and hammerheads, the rod had disappeared already and I had a fresh deck of PJ supers in my pocket.
Pretty sure I briefly became Aquaman, somehow, no idea how, don't even remember doing it, I clambered up a pylon and onto one of cross supports from there I was able to climb back up.
Easily the most terrified I've been in my life, genuinely can't remember hitting the water or getting out, just fear and adrenaline.

I've stupidly jumped in after a few things, stupidly for me is pretty much when you can't see the bottom due to dirty or deep water,  or jumping in the Torrens lake, that's plain nasty 🤣.
The only one that compares to you though Mah for plain fear factor and temporary insanity was one night at the end of Wallaroo Jetty something big took my favourite light combo, poor thing, drag was set right and screaming, I nearly got there too but the tiny 1500 spool just couldn't keep up.
Instinctively went straight after it, probably wasn't halfway down when I realised what an idiot I was, we'd been catching bronzies and hammerheads, the rod had disappeared already and I had a fresh deck of PJ supers in my pocket.
Pretty sure I briefly became Aquaman, somehow, no idea how, don't even remember doing it, I clambered up a pylon and onto one of cross supports from there I was able to climb back up.
Easily the most terrified I've been in my life, genuinely can't remember hitting the water or getting out, just fear and adrenaline.

I've stupidly jumped in after a few things, stupidly for me is pretty much when you can't see the bottom due to dirty or deep water,  or jumping in the Torrens lake, that's plain nasty 🤣.
The only one that compares to you though Mah for plain fear factor and temporary insanity was one night at the end of Wallaroo Jetty something big took my favourite light combo, poor thing, drag was set right and screaming, I nearly got there too but the tiny 1500 spool just couldn't keep up.
Instinctively went straight after it, probably wasn't halfway down when I realised what an idiot I was, we'd been catching bronzies and hammerheads, the rod had disappeared already and I had a fresh deck of PJ supers in my pocket.
Pretty sure I briefly became Aquaman, somehow, no idea how, don't even remember doing it, I clambered up a pylon and onto one of cross supports from there I was able to climb back up.
Easily the most terrified I've been in my life, genuinely can't remember hitting the water or getting out, just fear and adrenaline.

I've stupidly jumped in after a few things, stupidly for me is pretty much when you can't see the bottom due to dirty or deep water,  or jumping in the Torrens lake, that's plain nasty 🤣.
The only one that compares to you though Mah for plain fear factor and temporary insanity was one night at the end of Wallaroo Jetty something big took my favourite light combo, poor thing, drag was set right and screaming, I nearly got there too but the tiny 1500 spool just couldn't keep up.
Instinctively went straight after it, probably wasn't halfway down when I realised what an idiot I was, we'd been catching bronzies and hammerheads, the rod had disappeared already and I had a fresh deck of PJ supers in my pocket.
Pretty sure I briefly became Aquaman, somehow, no idea how, don't even remember doing it, I clambered up a pylon and onto one of cross supports from there I was able to climb back up.
Easily the most terrified I've been in my life, genuinely can't remember hitting the water or getting out, just fear and adrenaline.

Monday night I decided to head out for a fish, so I packed my squid outfit and a soft plastics outfit for some tommies. I packed it into my bicycle bags and headed off to Glenelg jetty. Got to Glenelg about 7pm and fished for squid till last light, then switched over to soft plastics for tommies. No joy with the squid but plenty of tommies about for a feed and to stock up on bait for crab nets.
The jetty was pretty empty with only two other people, which was surprising because the conditions were excellent. Then about 10.30pm the wind started to pick up with increasingly strong gusts. Just after 11pm a really big gust came through and I turned to see my bicycle being blown over. All my gear was secure in the bike bags, except my box of squid jigs, which went over the edge of the jetty. There was no moon, so quite dark but with a torch I could see the box of jigs partially floating and heading out to see. Well, 10 quality jigs and the lure box sinking to the bottom was not something I was happy about, and I quickly said to myself "F*** it!", stripped off to my boxer shorts, climbed the railing and took the plunge into the inky brine. One of the other fishos shone a torch on the lure box and I swam out to get it, then back along the jetty and underneath to the opposite side to climb the ladder.
By this stage my heart my heart was pounding pretty hard, not from jumping in (I was a regular jetty jumper as a kid), not from the swim, but from the thoughts racing through my head. With no moon, it was bloody dark down in the water and the fear of the unknown lurking below certainly put me on edge as I swam back to the ladder.
Would I do it again? F*** yeah! I'm not letting $150+ of jigs and lure box get away that easy.

Hi BTZ and welcome.
You're not the first and I don't think you'll be the last to have a hard time getting attached to a mully. Without knowing where you are and whether you are boat or land based it is a bit hard to give advice though I reckon you've worked out the first good bit of mully advice, warmer months are better for catching mulloway. Sure they get caught year around and freezing cold winter nights are apparently the best time to get the monster metro mullys here in the Port but when the water temperature gets up  your chances of hooking one goes up exponentially.
The other tip I can give straight up is it isn't easy, 10 trips without a sign of life is normal and anyone telling you they always get them is flat out full of cow manure, sure sometimes you'll find a snag or hole that is almost a sure thing for a season but it never lasts forever and it can be a long time until you find them again. So my final and best advice for you is don't give up, if you're fishing an area you know holds them keep putting in the hours, mix up technique, location etc and you'll get your mulloway or even your first few in as many casts (they can be like that) from there it gets easier, but never easy. Welcome to mulloway fishing.

Not only do commercials make more noise, they provide funds to the political parties......& are in cahoots with the whole corrupt system which includes PIRSA. Money talks, decisions made in stealth without any transparency and you just get told - these are the new rules....All just BS & totally wrong.    

Yeah we all got done trying to release double header undersized on the weekend
I swear the little fellas are more dangerous😉
 
my mate had misplaced the Flatty flickers I made him last time so it was a painful arvo

Handy when on the water