tonyb

I've owned many different outfits over the years, and I was pretty unimpressed with the Catana.Berkeley Dropshot is another cheapy which would be suitable, but for my money I would agree with TonyB and lean towards the (6'8") Rack Raider or (7'2") Bream Finnesse as a good, hard wearing and gutsy rod, while still being cheap and easy to find.These rods are a little heavier than either the Catana or the Dropshot, but as a first rod they will stand up to the knocks and bumps a little better, being far less fragile, and they are capable of muscling some much larger fish out of tight structure.

I am certainly in favour of:A range of policy demandsPublic narrativeEnvironmental issuesAccountabilityWe would be silly and irresponsible not to!I would also agree that we have a definate need for networking between angling groups and clubs, and importantly, a peak angling regulatory/representative body, to represent the voice of the anglers themselves.The policy demands, environmental issues and accountability would then show US to also be a conservation group, caring for the resource we utilise, sustaining the resource, and leaving us free from the need for further external regulation or interference, other than current fisheries legislation.This type of self regulatory and representative body is nothing new, and it has already been done effectively by other sporting/recreational groups...ie: Sports Shooting Association, Australian Bowhunting Association, etc, so why not also a Recreational Fishing Association, as we already have a basic framework in place...ie: SARFAC.Everyone by now must be aware of my opposition to the introduction of fishing licenses though, as I believe we are already paying far too much in associated fees and the GST forced upon us, which came with the promise of replacing all other fees and taxes. The promised "user pays" system!To me it seems that all of us have concerns as to how a proposed license fee may go into general coffers, and be left to the discretion of the government as to how funds would then be used and distributed.Due to this I reject the idea of the introduction of a second "user pays" fee being placed upon us. The GST is already in place as our promised "user pays" system and we are keeping our side of that bargain, along with additional levies, licenses, registrations, excise and fees, all above and beyond the implemented "user pays" system.However, a simple rejection with no other suggestion also seems inappropriate, as being responsible and concerned anglers, we also have a duty to look towards the future of our sport and it's sustainability.If required, I would instead suggest a "self funded" scheme, rather than a "user pays" scheme, whereby WE pay a membership fee, WE then make the decisions, WE oversee how and where the dollars should be spent most wisely, and WE decide the rules which should be placed upon our members!For this I would much rather see a representative/regulatory body (such as SARFAC for example). Representatives of the angling community, with their finger on the pulse of the needs, wants and requirements of the anglers, along with consideration to the needs and sustainability of the resource and environmental concerns/issues.It then becomes OUR money, OUR views, OUR decision and OUR future we are looking out for, with US calling the shots and US benefitting from our own actions, with OUR input and OUR funding, rather than the government once again making all the decisions, setting the fees and calling all the shots.This Representative body would also become a "self regulatory" body, setting a code of conduct and best practice outline, to ensure WE are held responsible and accountable for our own actions while persuing our sport, and promoting a positive image to John Public.....It's up to us as to how we are perceived and how we conduct ourselves as a condition of membership.This would not affect or cost John Citizen who buys a rod at K-mart,knows little about fishing, rarely catches a fish, and only takes the kids fishing once per year on their annual holidays, but is instead is directed at us who consider ourselves more serious "anglers" and sportsmen. Angling clubs can support the scheme by making a condition of club membership that all must be members of the "association" (as is currently done by other sporting groups) abiding by association rules and regulations, while in the process also gaining a voice and voting rights within the association.Tacklestores and industry can support the scheme by promoting the angling association to clients as a method of having their voice heard, and becoming a responsible recreational angler through following association rules and regulations, while also contributing to sustainability of the resource through membership fees which go towards restocking, improvements and other required projects.I am a responsible shooter and also a member of SSAA. I was a responsible archer and also a member of ABA. I am a responsible angler.......so why not also a member of XXXX? It's all for MY benefit, the sustainability of MY sport, yet I have the option to be a member or not based upon my own needs and usage, rather than having it imposed upon me as another compulsory fee or license.The problem I can see, under either a "user pays" or a "self funded" scheme is that we will always share the resource with the commercial sector.Why should the recreationalists be paying to sustain and improve the resource, while the commercial sector then benefit, drain and profit from that same resource? ie: I pay for restocking programmes, the commercials reap the rewards and take that stock for profit, I pay again, they reap again, improvement does not occur, we are back to square one with emptier pockets, while the commercial sector smile and again fill their pockets.A shared resource requires shared costs, shared concerns and shared input. Unfortunately I cannot see this ever working successfully, as both groups have entirely different ideals and views, both groups will come to loggerheads, ultimately the government will again set the terms and regulate as they see fit, taking economic and business interests into account while thanking us for our compulsory donations, while double dipping and then charging us both GST and licensing.The commercial sector buy a license for the right to take and to profit. Recs cannot take and profit, but are still currently contributing to the resource through GST.A large portion of our community now also practice C&R, taking minimal stock, which would make the license an "entertainment" fee imposed on them, while they still contribute to "user pays" through the imposition of the current GST.Drop the compulsory GST as the current user pays system, and I would be far more receptive to the introduction of another user pays system. Until then, I hold the government to the promise they made me, and continue to uphold my end of the bargain!

Hi Cal,Yes, I must admit that I was desperately slow getting into the weedless technology because all my lifetime experienceof fishing screamed at me that the hooks MUST be too clogged up with the soft plastic to be wholly effective. My tech savvy young fishing buddys kept pushing them until I finally relented and then, I never once looked back :woohoo:Nowadays, the weed filled dams which I used to walk past are suddenly a steady supply of magic fishing moments The best Sp's I've found to use in combination with weedless hooks, are the hollow bodied stick/flick baits which by their design, have little resistance to a hungry fish chomping down on them

Just chuck a wanted advert on and watch what turns up, all the guys will have their new gear from Christmas and are sure to be clearing out their old kit ;)I might even be tempted to part with one of my two spares if you get stuck

You should be able to pick up a second hand, Ian Miller designed, Shimano Raider for around that much cash and you will not regret a cent of the money spent :woohoo:

PLEASE take the time to read this stunning report by Martin Salter!This is SOLID GOLD for all thinking fisherpeople every where, in my opinion and hopefully yours.Try not to bring your fixed angling opinions and read it all with an open mind?Very refreshing and exactly what Rec. Fishers in the whole of Australia need to embrace, again in my opinion.I look forward to some good healthy debate on the issues and solutions proposed Cheers, tonyb.http://bia.org.au/boat-users/rec-fishing/Exec-Summary-2011.pdf

PLEASE take the time to read this stunning report by Martin Salter!This is SOLID GOLD for all thinking fisherpeople every where, in my opinion and hopefully yours.Try not to bring your fixed angling opinions and read it all with an open mind?Very refreshing and exactly what Rec. Fishers in the whole of Australia need to embrace, again in my opinion.I look forward to some good healthy debate on the issues and solutions proposed Cheers, tonyb.http://bia.org.au/boat-users/rec-fishing/Exec-Summary-2011.pdf

PLEASE take the time to read this stunning report by Martin Salter!This is SOLID GOLD for all thinking fisherpeople every where, in my opinion and hopefully yours.Try not to bring your fixed angling opinions and read it all with an open mind?Very refreshing and exactly what Rec. Fishers in the whole of Australia need to embrace, again in my opinion.I look forward to some good healthy debate on the issues and solutions proposed Cheers, tonyb.http://bia.org.au/boat-users/rec-fishing/Exec-Summary-2011.pdf

Hi Wes,Those particular jig heads you mention were bought from "Angler's Choice" in Beach Road, Christies Beach and I must confess to being hell nervous about initially paying around 10 bucks for four and secondly, would they work? as the extension piece out of the jig head to the SP gripper, is made of a very stiff wire which would mean the fish would have to bite down squarely and firmly to get a good hook up rate! Tried it out on a very snaggy stretch of the River Finnis after losing a few standard jig heads and then pulled 4 nice redfin out, one after the other with out dropping a single fish! ALL of those hooks in the pic work well and all have caught fish for me, even Trout! When you nip the lead shot on them they have a totally different action in the water to the weight forward jigs and operate similar too the middle bottom jig in the picture Interestingly, the latter mentioned jig actually travels on a level keel but sways gently from side to side in the water!Cheers, Tony.

Hi Piranha,There are quite a few stores around Adelaide which sell the illustrated weedless jig heads but you might find some difficulty getting the desired weight of lead head?I solved this problem by buying those little packs of lead shot in the weight I needed and just pinching them on to the shank with a pair of pliers, works really well and you have an infinite range of weights.Another option is to insert those little barbed type lead weights into the body of your soft plastic to get the desired weight? You can snap bits off them to make them lighter or put extra pieces in to make 'em heavier?As you say, the pre weighted ones are a pain to get ,but those un weighted hooks in the pic, in the sizes you are interested in, can be bought locally in Adelaide. (I know you're from the South East mate)[/url]

When I started out with braid some 7 years ago, I was astounded by how fine even the 10lb braid was compared with mono and over this time I only used that, but have eventually come to the conclusion that 8 lb braid by "Rovex" is absolutely the best braid I've used. Remember I fish every single week and now I'm retired, up to 4 times a week! One of the tricks I've learned in this time is to NEVER close the bail arm with the handle! After every cast, whether near or far, I look down at the spool, make sure that the first coil is laying straight, then I close the bail arm by hand then commence winding. Another thing I learnt over time was to resist determinedly the need to fill the spool to the brim as you would with mono! As soon as this was realised, there was a complete stop to wind knots! I used to carry a hat pin in my twistlock reel seat grip of my "Raider" but now I never do, but my sole concession is to carry a tooth pick in my wallet for the very rare occasions of getting a knot. Incidentally, a tip for getting that last little annoying, tightened loop out is too thoroughly wet the knot with saliva, wrap a rag, or pull your shirt sleeves over your hands to stop line cuts, then give the knot a very sharp jerk! voila and the line is usually fine!I used Fireline for a while when I started off but found it very stiff, it frays easily and when compared with the limpness of the better priced braids, there is no contest. I recently reversed my Rovex Braid line around after approximately 7 to 8 months of continuous use and then only because it was losing its colour!I have no experience with lesser breaking strain braid than 8 lbs unless I refer to my regular fishing buddy who uses 2 kilo line and has lost countless big fish and HUNDREDS of dollars of expensive lures under some misguided idea that the finer braid is less visible to the fish! HELLO? why do we fish with a couple of metres of invisible flurocarbon leader material? Hope there's a few tips to help you mate. Cheers, Tony.

http://www.waterlinemedia.tv/riding-high-a-season-on-the-fly

After waving the long wand around SP fishing is my next fav thing. I've caught everything from Spanish Macks all the way to Tommies on SP's. I felt the same way about fly fishing when I first started then everything fell into place and the rewards become all the more sweeter. Don't give up dude because when you do cach your first fish on SP it'll be like when you caught your first fish as a kid freaking awesome.Cheers 1fish

Just checked out the "Swellnet" Surf cam situated at Southport Life saving club and you can't see a bl**dy thing for the rain and when it pans around its solid "White water" to the horizon :ohmy:

they are bloody idiots (council)those mangroves have proberbly been there for 20 years or more they are very slow growing if anything they would enhance the the river. if you want to do anything about a shrub or tree on council land that is interfering with your property they will not let you touch it, i wonder if they sought any advise before chopping those mangroves down.I wont be informing them of any future sightings of mangroves or the like, this has really pissed me off you try & do the right thing to get protection for this sort of thing & some knobhead with nothing better to do decides to do this!!!!!!!!!!!! :c

Amen to that.Name me ONE council that does anything right in SA.....or listens to it's people.....or checks with experts first...

Pulling a few strings guys, should know something soon

sbarnden...where to start...I am sooo over people quoting papers at each other on both warmist and sceptic websites (yes, I did at the very least read the abstracts if not the papers until I got sick of it - and woke up to the SZ thing last year) and the conclusion I have come to is that, to say the least, the science is far from settled.Without turning this thread or site into yet another pro/anti AGW discussion vehicle, I have seen posters in other fora address some of the points you have made by quoting papers presenting contrary opinions. Lots of "he said, she said". I don`t get paid to do this, so you will have to excuse me for not quoting papers by link, nor are there enough hours in the day for me to do so...I recall a poster elsewhere countering the ARGO warming indications with a response to the effect that the calibration adjustments have been called into question by another scientist.Cherry picking swings both ways.Poorly calibrated datasets - whoa, let he who is without sin etc...I have seen the "oceans absorbing half of all human emissions" thing both supported and debunked, there are atmospheric CO2 residency period considerations and controversy, non-oceanic carbon sink issues, purported oceanic CO2 outgassing is in the mix as well, there is even argument over isotopic signatures for goodness` sake!Atmospheric vs dissolved levels of CO2 in relation to future modelled changes also rings a bell as a limited parameter modelling consideration.You speak of projections, would you care to "project" the last 12-13 year GMT record trend?And is it not trumpeted IPCC "projections", to use your definition, that we are currently and incessantly being bombarded with, almost daily? (Shhh, don`t use the "modelling" word)I suspect we will have to agree to disagree, but what really scares me is that I have seen so many parallels between the AGW and MP SZ sagas - not least of which is the indignant and self-righteous proponents resorting to "scientific consensus" and literally Goebbels-esque tactics to browbeat the lowly, ignorant and misled "denier" rabble.I am cynically over the AGW thing, but I am very concerned that the same signals have appeared in our more cloistered area of interest.

http://www.tacklebox.com.au/forums/freshwater-fishing/277-dapping-trout.html

Hi Troy, Just Devils Advocacy again, (He made me do it!)I've often tangled up a sand crab or two in my mullet rigs, especially when using a berley spring off the Jetty and also off the beach!Is the thrust of the legislation to protect the Crabs in the Sanctuary, bearing in mind the actual sanctuary zone is from the marked line on the jetty out to sea, or is there some other issue with council or others about using nets generally from the Jetty?If the legislation is to protect the Crabs, does this mean any taken as a bye catch by other legal means, need to be returned to the water?Cheers, Tony.

http://users.tpg.com.au/honeydin/Portnoarlunga/portnoarlunga/beachworms/beachworms.html