Just Me

Thanks guys it was an awesome fishing trip. The people and the scenery were spectacular and the fishing just blew your mind.I had Bonefish break 16lb leader on the take without even time to strip strike, they hit so fast and hard I didn't have a chance to even release the line from my rod hand. Awesome . The Triggerfish would take the fly then try and make it back to their hole in the Staghorn Coral, it was either put the brakes on them or get seriously buried, I lost a heap of them but they are great fun to try and catch. I had one Trigger take me 80 mtrs into the backing and I managed to get him in, he obviously forgot where he lived.I mainly fished with a 5wt outfit just for fun but the 7wt made the occasional appearance when the wind got a bit tough to cast into. Every day the wind blew at better than 20knts so it definitely made things challenging, especially when alot of casts had to be into the teeth of the breeze.The accommodation was a lodge style outfit with all meals and services provided, we only had to pay for drinks. The rooms were cleaned and sorted everyday and the food was good. The place I stayed was called The Villages and I'd recommend it highly to anyone who wants to experience this type of fishing. It is all flyfishing and we also had a guide for every angler which was brilliant. These guides can see a fish fart from 50 mtrs, I kid you not they are great. You can fish by yourself if you like without the guide which I did one afternoon but I found the best way to go about it was to just give the guide a rod and ask him to have a fish aswell. Their casting skills are phenomenal. I only fished with flies I tied myself and besides the fish liking them, the blokes I went with took great pleasure in rummaging through my flyboxes and relieving me of more flies than the fish took The Island of Kiritimati is between Fiji and Honolulu and about a 5 hour flight from Fiji. I can't wait to get back there as I have some unfinished business with a couple of 10lb+ Bonefish that bricked me on more than one occasion so until then I'll just go back to restocking my flyboxes with some little treats for them to chew on. So until then I'll have my memories and photos to keep me going until I return to the best fishing destination I have ever had the pleasure to fish in .Cheers Dazz

That's looks like the trip of a lifetime dazzSome amazing fish and species there mate and all on my bucket list Just me - yes the last fish is in the last photo is related to the leather jacket they all types of trigger fish Cheers matt

Well I'm back and after the plane didn't pick us up last Wednesday, we ended up having to spend an extra 3 days on Kiritimati fishing. Life is hard to take sometimes . Anyway as promised here are some pics of my trip and all I can say is this place is a fishermans paradise. For the trip I caught over 100 Bonefish (lost count), 7 Triggerfish, small GT's, Goatfish, Yellow Snapper and all sorts of reef species. Walking the flats and seeing Bonefish of around 10lb swimming at you in ankle deep water is a sight I will never forget. My best fish was approximately 5.5lb with all the rest averaging about 3lb or better. I had a few tussles with the big 10lb bruisers but they really like to run you through coral, which isn't really good on flylines and 12lb leaders :pinch: .Here are a few pics and all I can say is if you get a chance to fish on Kiritimati you will not be disappointed, it is one very beautiful place.Cheers Dazz

The best handling, most supple mono I have come across is the UK made Ultima Distance. It is an extremely nice line to use, and while not the thinnest diameter for breaking strain around, it is quite reasonable, and the Ultima specs on diameter and breaking strain I have found to be accurate.I test all new lines that I get, and my favourite by far for general fishing is Ultima Power Steel. It is tough, nice to handle and breaks above it's rating when using Bimini twists.I tried out the Sufix Duraflex about 6 months ago and was very disappointed with it. The rated breaking strain was from memory 28lb with a stated diameter of 0.35mm, but when tested with biminis, would not exceed 16 lb. The Ultima Power Steel on the other hand in the 20lb rating was accurate with respect to measured diameter (I think it was 0.40mm) and I pulled it to 27+lb and it still didn't break.The actual strength of the Power Steel over the Duraflex was more than 20% stronger for it's actual cross sectional area.I was recently given some Sufix Tritanium which has a very good reputation, but have not yet had a chance to test it out.Hope this helps!Regards,SB

PLATIL..i haven't heard that name for yearsI should know more about the mono lines but most of my fishing over the years has been boating and which line you used wasn't that important.Plus i used braid.Things seem to matter more when spinning of a beach which bought about this question.Doing a bit of a search this arvo i did come across this line which sounds good...Near-zero memoryhttp://international.sufix.com/fishing_line/precision_performance_mono/duraflex/

Penn 10x. 20lb = .40 nice line imo.

Have you looked at the Yozuri Hybrid? In 20lb it is .017" or .475mm diameter which is about the same as the Stren, but it is a Nylon/Fluoro Carbon composite.Its 100% waterproof (as some lines absorb water due to sunlight breakdown) and has excellent abrassion resistance. I have personally used it at 10lb and was quite impressed with it.These attachments show them on our website, and also a previous post on S&HHope it helpsJameshttp://www.strikehook.com/forum/35-bait-tackle/23683-yo-zuri-hybrid-fishing-linehttp://www.fishingwholesalers.com.au/yozuri-hybrid/

I'd go further north if you can.

I'd go further north if you can.

Less IS more.

I have been testing the waters with an Aquaponics setup . I first heard or read about the concept on the computer and done some research into the idea and funnily enough it coincided with a possible purchase of some fingerlings . In my research i also decided that i did not want to have to pay for the power that a pump and aerator can consume in there continuous demand being on 24/7 . So solar power was going to have to be the way to go . First things first i had to source out a water proof container , that was large enough to raise some fingerlings to a decent size . Back into some research i found some IBC's , as they are called on Gum Tree for just over a $100 , a bit more hunting around and i found out i can get some cheaper if i went second hand and cleaned them out myself .This was not such a good idea as after i had spent over 8 hours cleaning them i would of been better of buying them clean . I then went and bought solar powered Water feature pump that i quickly found out just wont cut it with the little solar panel and tiny battery , so i had a tinker and asked around for some bits . Got a car battery from my Father in-law and i had a house solar panel that was earmarked for the Mully Magnet but i thought it would be better of , and more productive powering the Aquaponics . Next thing to do was to source some media and put things together . I dug the tank into the ground a touch so the grow bed was at a good height , had a few dramas with what was strong enough to hold the grow bed in place but ended up going with what was mentioned on youtube (what i should of done in the first place) . Then i filled it with 250kg of cleaned media and turned the pump on . I had researched up on the Bell Siphon but with the flow i had i had to tune the pipe lengths to get it to cycle properly . Had a few issues with it not starting and then starting and not stopping . Got this sorted but the had to figure out why my pump kept turning of . The pump unit i have has a control unit that has two settings , one for solar power and one for battery power . I first had removed the original battery and wired the solar panel and car battery to the terminals but with it in battery mode it didn't work properly , so i then rewired the solar panel and car battery into the solar power inlet and put the original battery back in . This has finally worked with the settings on the unit on solar power mode .After all this i finally have the system working 24/7 just on a solar panel and car battery and entirely off the grid . wooo whoo . Next thing was to source some gold fish to condition the water before i put my fingerlings in and i maneged to get 20 of Gum Tree for $100 . Then me and the wife went up to Bunnigs to get some plants . And now i have a complete set up that , at the moment , seems to be working no problems .

Probably does the horoscopes in WW...

Such a sweet flesh don't over do the spices YUM YUM

Just got back from a little three day trip down to Port Vincent with a mate, we ventured around abit but fish were pretty scarce compared to summer which was somewhat expected. In all though got on to a few things and was some fun on some light gear! and enjoyed the scenery/weather. Heres a few clips I managed to get whilst fishing.

Hey your coffee table looks just like mine........

Did you buy anything Tri? Spool the new real?

Okay,After must help from Kingsley and B2F here is a video of flare training to do before the flares go out of date. ]It may take a while to load

Congratulations on the new grand daughter Neil. Hell i thought you was a space man I'll be giving you my vote. A vote for you may just be a vote for rec fishing in this state.I've voted for one or the other party of clowns for the last 25 years and gotten screwed. If i get screwed again atleast it will be by a new face

Thanks Ranger,Unfortunately when I do political posters etc I have to put "written and authorised by" with my name and address. It is a big risk but you gotta do what you gotta do when you believe in something.Regards, Rocket

Congratulations on the new grand daughter Neil. Hell i thought you was a space man I'll be giving you my vote. A vote for you may just be a vote for rec fishing in this state.I've voted for one or the other party of clowns for the last 25 years and gotten screwed. If i get screwed again atleast it will be by a new face

Hopefully the preceding post will give you a fair idea of who I am.

Bio for Neil Armstrong, Born Ashford Hospital Adelaide South Australia 1951Grew up in Clovelly Park, a southern suburb of AdelaideMoved to Papua New Guinea at 14 for just over one year. (Dad had a temporary transfer) Returned from PNG at 15, completed secondary education at Marion High School.Work historyStarted work at “Marion Hardware” store at 17Managed seven days a week hardware store “O’halloran Hill Paint & Hardware” at 19Sales rep/merchandiser for various companies for several yearsA two-year stint with the Australian Bureau of StatisticsVarious foodservice sales positions for Unilever Pty Ltd (from sales rep to account manager), for 13 years.Various other sales positions from sales rep to merchandiser for 11 years and currently part time sales representative selling South Australian olive oil to cafes, hotels, etc.Community involvementPlayed football (Aussie rules) from 8 till 24years old. Edwardstown f/c & Mitchell Park f/c.Also played competitive volleyball 5 yearsCoached primary school football 4 yearsInvolved in surf lifesaving with Port Noarlunga Surf Lifesaving Club, for 9 years. (Coaching, junior chairman, committee person junior and senior, house manager/licensee; won clubman of the year and best patrol awards.)InterestsShooting/hunting, till the gov’t made it almost impossible.Fishing, jetty, beach, boat and rock from age 7. I have fished most areas of the state and own a near new Stacer Northern Fisher 16-foot centre console aluminium boat. Obtaining a fair go for fishersGardening and the Outdoors Marital statusMarried 41 years, two sons, 41 & 37, two grandsons 11 & 18 months and one newborn granddaughter.OtherStood for Upper House (Legislative Council) in last two state elections 2005 & 2009. On behalf of Rec Fishers.Stood for Senate in Federal Election as lead candidate in SA for The Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party 2007

Couldn't agree more Rocket. Good on you for giving it a crack.