TheRunningMan

You could look at the Charter special, it has lever drag and level wind, plus i put nearly 400mtrs of a very expensive, but thin, 30lb braid..And that has caught some huge stingrays without even looking like struggling, and id be well confident on bronzies upto 60 or 70kgs no worries...Yes alot of people use them for snapper, but they are a very strong reel...Plus, with the right rod, it is possible to cast this reel quite a distance if required, which can be useful to get your bait out and away from whatever you are fishing on.. I have mine on a 20kg beastmaster and all up cost me around 300

They all work mate,but i think the best ones have red and yellow mostly.. stick with the 2 hook 5/0 ones, dont get the 3 hookers which are designed with lighter leader (i think)... either 60lb or 80lb available..

im pretty sure you can get them with 7/0 and 8/0 hooks, you wouldnt have any trouble putting a whole pilchard or squid head on them.

I have used them for around a year, and used the mustad ones before that..Hooked my first big snapper on 1, caught 3kg salmon at Pt Noarlunga last year on themand have since continued to use them baited and unbaited at wallaroo, pt riley, waitpinga and even in wa with good results everytime.No doubt everyone should have some in their tackle.

I think that there are enough excellent rods in the stores now that, unless you are after something really special, theres hardly any need to buy a blank and have a rod custom built.. Some of the latest shimano and daiwa gear is pretty special, some what expensive, but pretty good all the same..

Cal, can you tell me about the sabre rods? as in, what rating is the 540? ive never really looked into buying one, but if i find 1 that is suitable for me and livebaiting in the port, then i will definatly consider buying one..Without giving too much away yet, do you stick to the jervis bridge area or say torrens island areas more? I personally have had more success (if you can call several bustoffs success) :icon_eek: up around the jervis bridge end..If you see me out there and im holding something big and silver, its not me

Ok mate, im usually a bit shady on details, but i joined the forum to learn and help others, so here goes...Pt River, 22.5 kg mulloway on a live shitty,pinned through the head on a 3/0 black magic KS hook, 40lb black magic supple trace, 50lb braid.. That is the only 'landed' pt river mulloway,released to fight another day, ive had alot of takes, bust offs, huge runs, pulled hooks, everything.. Ive hooked 10+ on 8lb braid and 100mm plastics with 10lb trace, but not landed 1 yet. (one fight over 2 hours) :icon_eek:I could write a novel, thats just a short summary. ive seen schools of 10+ up to a

Yep for kings i would say you have made an excellent choice, i use the new toy thing alot 2! A calcutta 700 is pretty much what i was thinking aswell for the Pt, i dont much like going too light in there either as the disappointment of losing a big mulloway would (and has) brought me to tears! ha ha Ive hooked a couple on 8lb braid, and trust me, i wish i had something heavier.. Im also thinking of getting a new outfit for livebaiting in the Pt, but totally landbased so id prefer a spinning reel..im starting to think my 13ft daiwa sensor surf rod and Saltist 4500 should be kept for the beach o

The first big ray i hooked was off the garden island causeway, fought it for around an hour on 20lb, got it to the surface but it eventually swam underneath the jetty and broke me off.I ended up catching quite a few on 10kg over the last 5 years for a bit of fun, then one day in feb this year, on a penn 950 spinfisher rod and reel and 50lb braid, i hooked up in the outerharbour channel (theres heaps in there) fought it for nearly 2 hours, didnt even get close to seeing that sucker and it nearly took all 350mtrs of that 50lb braid aswell. I figure it got deep into the channel and busted me off.

Gday mate, Very good choice of rod you have there, although i dont think you could go wrond with any of them really.i have used a 10ft monster mesh a friend of mine has and that is one mother of a rod ( saltiga DF,80lb braid + 30kg GT ) A question i have for you is:Is there a reason why you have chosen that particular gear for the Pt River? Or is that so you can double up and use it at Pt Augusta? Its just personal preferance, but i use an outfit somewhat lighter than the one you have chosen in the Pt River for live baiting..Cheers