Mickyj

Hi Micky. Fishin.com.au have a couple of Rapala Shadow Rap Fat Jack lures in their specials that are uv bright that look ok and only $15. Regards, HBt.

Ok my Temu 500 reel arrived looks good I’ll get line put on it this week , I’ve lined it next to the sienna 1000 .

Got this line on it the tackle shop person was shocked the entire line fit on the spool with backing it’s thin 8 lb  and I put on 4 lb FC leader

I couldn’t stop myself couldn’t find a 500 size reel in tackle shops . So my family buy off Temu I got my daughter to download the app all security stuff done . I thought for under $15 why not .it’s a ZP 500 5kg max drag 5.2.1  140g . had to spend a few more cents to get to $15 so bought braid scissors to 

thanks this 500 was $14.85 thought why not I’ll give it a try when it gets here and I get line on it 

I have bought spinning reels from Temu as well - 2000 size. 12 ball bearings etc. with a spare "plastic spool". They work smooth as silk. Drags works well too - Only $35. Cant go wrong I reckon.......... 

Thankfully this medium size brown trout made it into the net before it tossed the lure... The full video of this trip will be on YouTube in a day or two..
cheers Adrian (meppstas)

Nice shallow fastwater run..

Small rainbow that fell to the Mepps Aglia Fluo brown spinner.

Another nice stretch of water.

Once in the net, out popped the lure..

This was the best fish of the spin session, a nice well conditioned 400 gram brown.

Ready for release...

The conditions weren't all that flash on this trip, very cold conditions and heavy fog topped off with ivy cold water made for a tough spin session.. Not one of my better trips to this beautiful stretch of river.
cheers Adrian (meppstas)
 

Weather is really crappy again here in Tassie so no fishing done, did get to see the spine specialist on Wednesday, not a thing they can do for my spine. Getting closer to 78 years of age had a lot to do with it not that I minded as I wouldn't have gone for the operation anyway. They've put me on a trial run of anti-inflammatory tablets that I can take each day without having any effect on the kidneys. Hopefully this weather will settle down soon so I can get back in a river....
cheers Adrian

Well I finally managed to have my first trip of the season a couple weeks ago, haven't been able to hit the water due to constant lower back problems with (spinal stenosis) 5 discs in poor condition. The weather wasn't all that flash but it was certainly good to get back in a river that's for sure. Haven't been fishing since this trip either, seeing another spin specialist next Wednesday. This is the first time in the 24 years year in Tassie that I've only had one trip to a river seven weeks into a trout season, not happy Jan.. The cormorants (Shags) are still in the rivers as well, so it will be interesting to se how the trout fishing goes during th season. A lot of trout fishers are already screaming there guts out about them, Tasmania's so called pristine waters are certainly not that any more..
Cheers Adrian
 

Only one month to go before the 2024/25 trout season opens so here's another of my 2023/24 trout season spin sessions, this trip was mid January not long after the influx of Cormorants hit the rivers & streams here in Tasmania. Thankfully. I did manage to catch and release a few wild brown trout before this little stream was cleaned out...
cheers Adrian (meppstas)

YGK one of the worlds leading quality line manufacturers i have used a couple of their products to date it is excellent stuff

Thanks Adrian that’s them

As Kelvin stated, Savage Gravity lures Micky, saw these on Ebay $10-50 each.
cheers Adrian
 

Savage Gear Gravity Minnow?

Ok tried the shimano nasci this morning way to windy but another problem again surfaced cast line and lure stops short took me awhile to pull line out and get a ok cast . I could’ve changed the lure but weather was against me .I'm almost  over this braid see if it improves with a heavier lure otherwise I may strip it and get a different braid on the reel  

Ok reel and j braid were fine today pity the bream at west lakes were watching me and laughing  

I finally caught my 12,000th Tasmanian trout here in Tassie, it's something I had never planned on doing either thankfully by keeping stats & records of each trip and every trout season paid off. I also won the Angling Club Championship again for the 2022/23 trout season for most trout caught in rivers & streams making it 17 years in a row.
cheers Adrian

My thought exactly where you buy your braid get them to spool it up and they will tell you the best braid and what weight of line 

Bought these 2 lures to try out bad weather and my health issues ( don’t ask not nice)
hopefully I’ll be trying  the shallow Berkeley pro tech Saturday 
anyone trued either of these 

Bought these 2 lures to try out bad weather and my health issues ( don’t ask not nice)
hopefully I’ll be trying  the shallow Berkeley pro tech Saturday 
anyone trued either of these 

Bought these 2 lures to try out bad weather and my health issues ( don’t ask not nice)
hopefully I’ll be trying  the shallow Berkeley pro tech Saturday 
anyone trued either of these 

This spin session was a tough one, conditions were pretty good, but the trout were hard to find, I still managed to get onto a few wild brown trout thanks to the Mepps March Brown Bug spinner. Thanks for watching, enjoy the musical photo slideshow at the end of the video and stay safe on/in the water..
cheers Adrian (meppstas)
 
A few pics from the spin session.. as always, all the trout were released..

Reel servicing is getting expensive. Daiwa is currently $40 a service for standard reels and $70 for high end. They usually drop in new bearings at the first sign of wear at $10+ a bearing.
I've paid over $100 a service each reel for my fancy reels.
Recently I've been dabbling in the cheaper end of the market, especially for wading and kayak fishing. I've got 5+ years out of a pair of Kast King Sharky reels. They are not as smooth as Shimano or Daiwa but they have survived the saltwater and are still reasonably smooth.
 
Ali Express also has some bargains and I'm sure the same factories make the Savage Gear Reels.
BEARKING Brand LT series Stainless steel bearing 5.5:1 Fishing Reel Drag System 15Kg Max Power Spinning Wheel Fishing Coil - AliExpress
I'm pretty happy with these for $30 a reel. They feel as good as my low end Shimano and Daiwa reels for less than the cost of a service. They are solid, just a touch on the heavy side.
 

Savage Gear reels?