sbarnden

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.

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

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.

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

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.

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

Well have managed a couple trips out on the northern flats for the month so far and got into good fish both times.
 
First time was out was 2nd August with my friend who's now on the site as TommisnSalmon chucking lures and getting into some good fish holding fairly close in over broken lumpy ground. No Strikehook gear for the comp though.
 

 
Weather was crap with rain and moderate winds but we managed to position ourselves upwind of some schools and got into fish from just over legal up to the 40's.
 
Then got away again on Saturday 15th with Underpants and his mate Blackdog3. Was out pretty early and the weather was fantastic for it early in the morning. Even had to strip off some of my insulation as I was getting a bit cooked when the sun was out. There was a lot of early morning fog which was interesting to fish in being able to see nothing but the water and grey cloud around us.
 

 
Was plenty of interesting life around the place.
 

 
Lots of activity everywhere. Was a small group of dolphins close in chasing fish in knee to waist deep water making huge bow waves and birds hovering overhead looking for scraps.
 
http://youtu.be/p8K_YDL5aGM
 
We got into fish fairly quickly. I was trying out some new lures, in particular a Savage Gear 2.5" Manic Shrimp which worked was working great on the little salmon trout but didn't land anything special. Underpants quickly got into some good fish with soft plastics.
 

 

 
We moved further out while Blackdog3 stayed behind which was a solid move on his part as further out in the sort of channel and gutter systems where normally good fish school up we struggled to get a hit. I managed a couple of good follows from salmon trout and some nice sized snook but no commits and Underpants managed to net some solid squid but as for the good salmon schools they were absent, holding again in the lumpy broken ground further in where there was no clear channels or gutter systems, just sandy holes with scattered high lumps of weedy patches.
 
We headed back to that area spotting some nice rays, one right up on shallow flats waving its wings in the air and a massive one that came right up to my feet to check me out. Underpants also manhandled a huge Pt Jackson that kept trying to eat the catch in his keepnet! Those things are like badly behaved puppies sometimes.
 

 
Managed to get into some good fish myself, switching over to a 68mm black-chrome Shimano Waxwing fitted with a quality single hook. I find this a great searching lure as it casts like a metal but can be fished with a slower hardbody like action and with the single I find it to be a bit more weed resistant than a metal as the 'wings' push floating weed up and away from the body a little when pulled through.
 

 

 
Was a good days out fishing with company, hopefully can find time to get out again with the fly rod next time. And to finish off Underpants sent through a pic of his cleaning table once he got the fish he kept home:
 

Breathables. All the way.
 
Have kept me comfortable and dry in anything down from -15 up to high-20's.
 
Light, easy to get on and off and can layer to whatever temperature you are comfortable underneath. I've got 'stocking foot' which means mine just has a neoprene sock on the bottom so I have a pair of full lace up wading boots with studded soles. The extra ankle support is great for long hikes out places. Plus, as their name suggests they 'breathe' so your sweat doesn't build up inside making you wet and keep you comfortable when you are spending all day hiking around in them.
 
Only problem with them is the price as they really start at around $150 upwards into thousands.

Been a while since I was active on here but made a small vid a few months back
Flats fly fishing on the hobie for carp.
Enjoy.

When my dad was learning sailing the cheapest option for him was buying a boat up in Queensland and doing a shakedown cruise around the Whitsundays Islands.
 
He wasn't fishing but if you want to get into long distance cruising the boats tend to be a bit cheaper with more variety up there.
 
And then he had the nerve to trailer it home (28' trailer sailor) and say it wasn't a holiday because it was having to test the boat out!
 
Charter boats can be expensive because of the all regulation around them, insurance, needing a commercial ticketed captain, marketing, profit, etc, etc. Can still be cheaper than owning and operating your own boat though!
 
There is another option, finding a cruising pleasure boater wanting to visit the area and doing a cost sharing arrangement. Private boats can't sell their services without being under survey but they can take passengers on board with just splitting running and maintenance costs. Just need to pull your weight around the boat when you go. My dad has been looking at doing this to help subsidies his trips out and give him a crew to go with places my Mum won't!
 
Or find a group, hire some gear and do a remote camping/boating trip splitting costs. Not quite the comfort of the resort getaways but if you can supply some of your own gear can be more cost effective.

Bit short on recent good fishing photo's of myself, but here is my favorite background for a while from when I was in Europe.
 

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

Would have been an almost lightning strike.
 
Before lightning actually strikes you get 2 things, one is channels of negative charges coming down from the sky and then you get multiple points of positive charges trying to go up to meet it. When they manage to meet halfway to bridge the gap then the lightning happens. But you can have failed ones, if your looking in just the right place you can sometimes see a faint red glow going up. There have been photo's of people standing around and when the photo develops they see a weird finger of light coming out of the ground heading toward the sky.
 
Standing near one apparently gives a weird electrical buzzing/whining sound and the static can cause all sorts of effects like lifting things up.

Haven't been on for a while thought I'd share my monster cray with all you guys and make your mouths water got it out of coffins with a tail snare the other day. And yes that is a carton of beer it is hugging and making look small.

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

Bit short on recent good fishing photo's of myself, but here is my favorite background for a while from when I was in Europe.
 

Unfortunately there is this little thing called 'economy of scale'. The machines for making braid are fairly specialized and the capital costs are high. That's why braid is quite expensive as well. From a news thing I read apparently it takes around 100 hours to spin 1000m of braid, so that's not a high level of production from a expensive machine.
 
Australia is too small a market for a large scale manufacturer to set up here given our high cost base, small market, poor export opportunities and trade exposure since consumers really do vote with their wallets.
 
That's why our manufacturing industry is dominated by either local generic production or highly skilled technical production as for niche basic bulk manufacturing its cheaper to do it overseas where there is a bigger market.
 
I'm sure there is Australian braid out there but the majority of stuff that will turn up on the shelves will be imports for the massive overseas markets since their production lines are so much larger just to service their own domestic demand.

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

Bit short on recent good fishing photo's of myself, but here is my favorite background for a while from when I was in Europe.
 

Did a short video on tying a twisted dropper loop. I find it's good for stopping your hook links from tangling around the main line for paternoster rigs.
 
Because its quite stiff if can also be used with the 'drop shotting' technique I wrote up about before, particularly if you put some heat-shrink tube over the twisted dropper-hook connection.
 

My solid hardbody caught Squid from Port Lincoln Town Jetty