projoe

Well ive put on 4 guides so far.. Bit hard to take pics but heres one for now.... 3 to go, then its time to finish it offf...

Nice kit have fun. If you need any tips just PM me have built rods & done rod repairs for years. just one question what brand of epoxy or rod finish did you get?

So Ive just finished putting on the Handle, Reel seat, foregrip on.... Coming along nicely.... Will let it dry for the night then after work tomorrow will Start on the Guides.....
 
 

Headed out today with James for a northern flats session! A massive thanks goes to Underpants and Sbarnden for hinting us in the right direction. We started off the day at 6am and arrived on the flats at 6:45am. 

The tide was running out which was good but the wind was blowing pretty hard. We set up our stuff and headed straight out. Once we got close to the gutter, James hooks up to a fat whiting on the GULP worms. At first we thought it was a good salmon with the first run but once it came up to the surface, we were stoked. After a quick photo, it went straight into the homemade livewell! 


 
We kept persisting to see if we could get a few more whiting but the toadies kept on chomping out soft plastics. We decided to fish the channel/gutter and that's when the action was hot!  We started bagging some average sized tommies and salmon trout but we wanted to find bigger ones.


We made our way out to deeper water where we spotted a few black rays, but everywhere we went there were only tommies, salmon trout and toadies. We decided to go back shallower to see if we could get a few more whiting, but that's when we spooked a couple of big flathead! (around 45-55cm). I managed to hook one whist flicking for tommies/salmon trout but this one was only a baby. 

 
On the way back in, we stepped on a crab and James was quick enough to snatch it up into the livewell. Just over legal! It was a beautiful day to be out wading (would've been better without the wind  ). Here's just a few more photos! 

Did you ever notice a rusty old pole sticking out of the mud a couple of meters long on the eastern bank of the Onk a few meters south of the old railway bridge (now a path bridge) ever wondered where it went, well i'll tell you. Fly fishing around that area about 7 years back & i decided as it had been a bit slow that day & if i could get my fly close in on the deep side of the bridge pylon there might just be a bream there willing to eat the fly.
So having thigh waders on i stepped out into the water next to the the rusty old pole but found i needed to lean out just a bit further than i had waded to get the cast in & yes you guessed it it was one of those times your brain is saying don't do that but the desperation of of not having caught a fish for a few hours took over I put my hand out & put some weight on the pole & snap  in i go head first & I mean a full head first dive (lucky the water was nice & clear) it had been a mild day so on retrieving myself from the water it went from mild to bloody freezing, needless to say the walk back to the car after emptying the waders out was uncomfortable. Luckily I had a beach towel in car to dry off a bit & sit on for the short & wet drive home.

Did you ever notice a rusty old pole sticking out of the mud a couple of meters long on the eastern bank of the Onk a few meters south of the old railway bridge (now a path bridge) ever wondered where it went, well i'll tell you. Fly fishing around that area about 7 years back & i decided as it had been a bit slow that day & if i could get my fly close in on the deep side of the bridge pylon there might just be a bream there willing to eat the fly.
So having thigh waders on i stepped out into the water next to the the rusty old pole but found i needed to lean out just a bit further than i had waded to get the cast in & yes you guessed it it was one of those times your brain is saying don't do that but the desperation of of not having caught a fish for a few hours took over I put my hand out & put some weight on the pole & snap  in i go head first & I mean a full head first dive (lucky the water was nice & clear) it had been a mild day so on retrieving myself from the water it went from mild to bloody freezing, needless to say the walk back to the car after emptying the waders out was uncomfortable. Luckily I had a beach towel in car to dry off a bit & sit on for the short & wet drive home.

The Plan: Start at 10am at Southport and hit most southern beaches through to Sellicks and return finishing aback at Southport.
 
Did it succeed: Nope.
 
OK, so decided to hit Southport at 10am leading to the low tide at 11.30am and to lure for Salmon all day.
Was not expecting to catch anything at Southport, as have not yet done so, plus the low tide was not going to help any.
 
The only thing happening or moving at Southport were the walkers along the beach.
(now I'm not talking walkers from "The Walking Dead" from the series for those who have watched it).
 

 

 

 
So after about an hour luring it was off to Maslins and still only half expecting anything to take a lure at this stage of the day.
 
But, some excitement for me....a green floating ball.
 

 

 
But that was enough excitement for me, and as not takers for my lure it was off to Pt Willunga.
 
Arrived at the carpark and had a bite to eat whilst surveying the area - looked good.
 
Then.....something caught my eye......another bloody ball.  Thought for a moment it got here from Maslins before I did, but a different colour, but at least it smiled
 

 
So back to luring at yet again something took my eye....
 

 
Then it all appeared.....a shark?
 

 
Nope....a friendly.
 

 

 
There was probably about a dozen dolphins swimming around about only 50m out and with some chasing something out there. 
 
So I replaced my Halco 40g lure to a Halco 55g lure for a little extra distance thinking they might be scaring some Salmon closer to shore.
 
Just purchased these Halco's so was hoping for results.
 
Third cast and twang, the Halco 55g travelled very well and sunk to the ocean floor
​
So here is a tip for all: Always make sure your reel latch is open before casting
 
The dolphins headed North - the way I was going anyway and then one dolphin leaped out of the water with wave - looked fantastic - I gave it a 10
 
They were then gone.
 
Maybe they scared some Salmon in close as this was the result near the Northern end.
 

 
So I was happy that, to get something was a relief, but then.........it happens again
 
Yep, another   ball.
 

 
What is it with balls today I have no idea, but they are following me
 
The few Salmon were then also gone and was thinking now to go to Sellicks, but this was in the distance
​

 
Now I was thinking I was not prepared for that much rain and seeing I had hooked a few at PW, why not stick to a good thing.
 
Got a little bored with no takers so I etched this into the sand.
 

 
If you can't make it out, it says 'Strike Hook.com'
 
So ended up staying at PW without going back to Maslins or Southport due to time (about 4pm now).
 
But a great day of weather and entertainment plus a bonus Salmon and ST.
 
 
 
 

I've had a spool of 6lb sufix 832 sitting in the draw for 12 months now been meaning to stick it on a reel. so i thought i would try a leader knot on it before i spool it it off. tied a piece of 6lb Berkley vanish to it with a 5 turn surgeons knot came out very nicely no damage to the braid or fluro.
The 5 turn surgeons knot was shown to me by Adam (maddog) Royter a few years ago he was my non-boater in a vic ABT tourno & has served me well over years with bream, snapper & mulloway all being boated or landed successfully on bream gear so give it try might work alright for you.

Had a pack of the old Z-Man grubs that were sitting mashed up at the bottom of the bag, before they included that plastic insert to keep them separate and sorted, which had gone all kinked, twisted and generally misshapen.
 
So thought I would try something I've seen on the net for fixing up some types of SP's when they get out of shape.
 
Boiled up some water and dunked them. Once they are hot remove them and immediately try and flatten and shape the tail. They cool off very quickly when removed from water so you need to be quick and work at it a few times.
 
Managed to get a few into shape. Need to do them one at a time otherwise they will stick to each other in the water and get even more out of shape. The best ones were ones I had mounted on jigheads, so it would sink to the bottom of the glass and the tail would float up, in the hot water it formed the right shape and pulling it out with a spoon I could press it straightaway and it turned out looking good.
 
Couldn't get all the kinks out but I was satisfied with the end result. One thing to be aware of was pulling the tail too much, when hot it seems to weaken the plastic and the tails can be pulled right of the grub body. Seemed fine and strong again once it cooled.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

nice going Joe
       cheers b

We done projoe and I like you went home for lunch and went back out Well done.

Awesome work Joe, nice fish!
Interesting to see the trouts morphology, must be the rare hunchback trout hahaha

That's no good Projoe, I'd stick to the fishing!

I wish these would show up at my local metro beach
 

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

Yeah rub it in. I was looking out my window thinking I should not be sitting at my computer on such a fantastic day I should be fishing
 
Salt and fresh on the same day is great way to spend that day and landing some fish is an awesome bonus.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.

hey all
 
got to fish all day today first hit up the onka about 11am & got 2 bream around the 34cm mark  on 3lb fluro then when the tide slowed i got home had some lunch & headed out to a club dam with a fly rod tied on a mrs simpson & got my first cast in about 3.30pm well the trout were on the chew only little fellas but good fun finished with about 12 landed 3 dropped & heaps of follow ups the last trout tied himself up in a few knots & when i released him the heavens released its load it  put an end to a happy day. couple of photos of to days catches. hows the dumpy trout in bottom pic he fought really well for his condition. photos of the phone sorry about the quality.