coogan

I fish out of Portland.

The first lure I clip on is a Black Magic Jetsetter in colour Burple.

The smaller 4" skirts seem to be favoured early in the season.  For me,  last January-March, along with the jetsetter, the Pakula hothead original skippy's in white, blue or green got fish.  The Halco angry bird did well also.  

From what I've heard from different people, I believe its definitely related to water temperature (and the bait with it). El Nino definitely has an impact as it is associated with sea surface temperatures in the certain parts of the Indian & Pacific oceans. Apparently the barrel tuna like the colder water which is unseasonally closer to our southern coastline for this time of year. Some reckon these fish are on the way back, but in normal years would be in the colder water of depths of 2000m or so out of range of boats. It has been ridiculous how many barrels have been caught this season (have heard 1000). Something that probably needs some regulation in the future...?

Carried 10'6" rods on car no probs. Can't comment on 12', mine are 2 piece. Generally put my rods in a home made PVC tube that is 11' long for protection from birds etc. If tying rods straight onto racks you may need to tie the tip down as it will wobble around a fair bit when travelling. The following link may help.http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/pdfs/safety/carrying_loads.pdf

Agree with yabb & others with shrimp net. I always have a container of dog pellets in tinny for backup if I don't have fresh bait. The opera house net is best for yabbies, just make sure it has the steel rings at the inner end of the entrance funnels (keeps the turtles out). Not legal without the rings. Info here http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/113743/freshwater2011.pdfYears ago anglers used all sorts of vessels (like old grape dipping buckets)with holes in it with a bunch of gum leaves and a cake of velvet soap submerged at the river's edge to catch shrimp.

I've got a few sabres and love them. My gf540 overhead is great for casting big baits and sinkers in the surf. Whilst I don't have any of the new graphite surf rods, I would worry about loading them up with big baits/sinkers. Also have a 196 6 1/2 overhead that is great on snapper and have caught some big Spanish mackerel up north on it. Mate has a 195-6 that is his go to rod for YP whiting. Built up a 196-7 thread line as per Australian Rod Crafter recipe, mate uses it down Glenelg river live baiting mulloway and off Port Mac and loves it. I think it's a case of blokes that have sabres love them and blokes that don't wonder what the fuss is about!

I need a new whiting rod for the boat. Haven't seen them in the flesh, but how would it compare to a Dynamix KG Killa?

Robe might be an option also...

Plenty of good options around the Grampians. Those lakes previously mentioned plus Wartook, Fyans and Bellfield all fish well at times. If you call in or phone Stawell Sports Power 03 5358 1038 I'm sure they could provide you with some good advice. I haven't fished that way for a while and don't fly fish so can't help. Good luck, it's a great area and the lakes are a great example of fish stocking and recreational use of water storages.

Looks like a butterfly tuna/mackeral. There was one caught off Portland during the tuna season. I believe they are not commonly caught in Australian waters. As trihull suggested, it would be worth contacting the museum etc.

G'day all,Check out Landline on ABC. Interesting story on artificial reefs in WA

I have a tld25 matched to backbone elite 15kg rod I use for tuna off Portland. Have only caught tuna to 15kg thus far but I'm sue it would handle bigger if you don't lose patience. I have heard of a 120 barrell caught on tld50 with 24kg line but i think it did take about 5 hours to boat. Personally I would use mono for tuna trolling as a double hookup with crossed lines in braid could end up in tears. Also the extra stretch in mono could be advantageous when a tuna hits a lure close to the boat. However, a tuna charter i did last year was also running 2 spin outfits ( in spread of 6-7 rods) with braid, mainly for line capacity. Mine is spooled with approx 600m of 15kg igfa rated mono, plaited double, 150 lb windon leader( with lumo bead running to protect rod end runner) crimped to heavy ball bearing snap swivel which is clipped to lure traces. Drag is set to 5kg. Hope this helps. Others will have different setups but this is what works for my situation.