storm boy

I must say, when fishing with the kids, I use the double granny a lot. Far better than the single granny and almost as quick to tie. I actually tried triples at one stage but there is almost no difference between doubles and triples, so double it is :-) Regards, SB

The best loop I can recommend is a Bimini Twist, probably the strongest one around. Once learned, it is actually pretty fast to tie too, short Biminis take around a minute to do, with a little practice. Cheers! SB

Reverse the swivel. Tie a loop in the main line and then tie the swivels to your rigs. The swivel stays on the rig and clips onto the loop in the main line. Regards, SB

The Owners pictured below are my all time favourite for general bait work - salmon and LB snapper. The tried and true Gamakatsu Octopus is also a favourite. Regards, SB

Cal has the right idea, another option is to place a little heatshrink on the reel foot ends. Cheers! SB

The old overhead reels still seem to work OK

Pretty much all the LB snapper I've caught have been solid hookups. I do prefer overheads but have the drag set reasonably firmly. I've not seen the need to let the fish run (a la baitrunner), but other people's opinions may vary. Just for reference, my favourite terminal setup is 3 closely snelled 3/0 Gamakatsus or Owner cutting points with small individual baits. Again opinions will vary :-) Cheers! SB

Fuji BNHGs maybe? :-)

Nice setup. Would be good to use on decent West Coast fish :-) Cheers! SB

Found this one too, where I'd measured a cast over grass. It was several years ago. Haven't measured a cast for a while now, can cast far enough for most surf fishing.

Just been digging through old pics, here's one that shows the inside of the left plate. You can see the magnet, as well as where the levelwind cog wheel has been removed, and where a brass "bullet" spacer has replaced the original clicker cog/gear.

Hi Newtontoney, I'd use both of the top two for salmon, the 5000 size. I occasionally mix and match parts from different 5000s so they can change over time LOL! Regards, SB

Here are some reel pics: the top one is a modified reel, with the levelwind removed, a stainless steel bar installed in it's place, and an adjustable magnet installed in the sideplate. The second one has had the levelwind removed, bar installed, and a commercially available sideplate with magnetic cast control installed. The third pic is a UK made reel, (Abu 6500 style) with all the mods as standard. The last pic is of a Penn Squall 12 with 30lb braid. The Penn is a very tough reel with magnetic cast control, and casts extremely well, while having a much heavier duty gearing and drag system th

Here's a pic of some practice casting weights. The lead weighted/plastic ones work well but have a tendency to shatter when they hit concrete paths etc. The aluminium one was turned up recently by one of the guys at work, I haven't had a chance to use it yet. The size/ shape means that they approximate a lead with a small clipped down bait but they do not "plug" when they hit the grass.

Hi Tony, You are absolutely correct. This sort of casting is quite rare in Australia. There is a small group in Adelaide who practice casting over grass in order to refine technique. It may seem strange to some but it is the best way to learn as casting performance can be measured/quantified. I'll put up a link to a useful site, I hope the Mods allow it as there is a wealth of information there and I do not believe believe the site has any conflicting interests with this one: http://www.australiansurfcastingfederation.org/ There are a number of people in general who think that dist

Hi Tonyb, As you are aware, technique is critical in distance casting. Distances with correct gear and clipped down baits can get to around 150 metres, but it's hard to convince people that have not seen it with their own eyes :-) The John Holden videos are great, easy to follow and demonstrate how distance can be drastically improved with the right technique. Cheers! SB

This fish was caught on 8lb mono

There are a number of factors involved in controlling the cast from an overhead reel. Various different factors work together when casting, such as bearing oil viscosity, brake blocks, mag brakes, spool tension and last but not least, line diameter. Line diameters are an important consideration when casting overhead reels any reasonable distance. If the line is too thick, the effective spool diameter (circumference) drops too quickly, and allows less line out per revolution. This will have a braking effect on the reel as the line has to try to increase the spool RPM in order to keep the same

Hi Newtontoney, Could you give us some more specifics about the gear, such as the actual reel, rod and even the lures you will be using? The reel size has a bearing on what line diameter is best. Regards, SS

I forgot to add, when a fish is hooked using a pulley rig, the pulley action ensures the sinker is pulled right up out of the way of the bottom, reducing the chance of the sinker snagging while fighting a fish. http://britishseafishing.co.uk/how-a-pulley-rig-works/ Regards, SB

For the sinker snagging? You could use a "rotten bottom" rig: http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/rotten-bottom-rig When fishing for snapper landbased on rocky areas such as Point Lowly, I like to use a pulley rig with a long sinker trace and a short hook trace. This keeps the hooks off the rocks. As has been mentioned previously, on the retrieve, wind as fast as possible to lift the lead up off the bottom. Favourite hook size for LB snapper is triple 3/0 Owners with a couple of small pieces of bait on each hook. This method works well for me. Regards, SB

And again:

Pic 3. I just had to include a pic of my new billet practice casting weight :-)

Pic 2.

Pic 1.