24Sep2008
SPIDERWIRE CODE RED BRAID
"LINE, LINE AND MORE LINE", never before have we had so many choices of super lines from the Pure fishing stable. I have been fishing lately with a new addition to Pure Fishing's collection of super lines, SPIDERWIRE'S STEALTH "CODE RED BRAID". Code red has a round PE microfibre construction that features a smooth Teflon pressure treated finish that shoots through the guides like lightning. I have been really impressed with the way it handles, its knot strength is great and it seems to cast well on both threadline and overhead style reels. It lays on the spool nicely and resists digging into its self under load. Code Red is treated with a special colour lock technology that keeps the colour in the line instead of all over your hands and shirt. I loaded up a new Abu Soron STX 40 with 300 yards of Code Red that fitted perfectly onto the Soron's large arbor super line spool without the need of backing, simply use your favorite arbor knot then slide the line into the slot with the r
Read MoreView Comments (1)18Sep2008
Sensational Somerset Dam
About two hours drive west of Brisbane lies Somerset Dam. The lake is situated in the Brisbane Valley right next to its sister Lake Wivenhoe. Together these two lakes would have to be the premier impoundment bass fisheries of Australia. They are home to plenty of monster bass.Lake Somerset had been fishing poorly for months until only recently. The big bass are again on the bite. The lake's bass are patrolling a drop off along the old river bed in the middle of the main dam basin. This section is between the well-known Bay 13 and Queen Street areas. Here they are holding in around 12 metres of water and will take the right presentation. There are thousands of smaller bass mixed in with the big ones but these fish are not as active. Choosing the right lure and retrieve will get the bigger fish to bite.I have found they are responding well to blade baits and soft plastics. The Gulp 3" Minnow Grub in the pumpkinseed has been a standout performer. I rig this plastic on a Nitro Dam Deep 5/8
Read MoreView Comments (1)15Sep2008
Get Your Kids Fishing
I walk the edge of the Noosa River of an evening time frequently. The family gets out for some exercise in what is definitely one of the prettiest areas I have ever lived. As we walk I often take notice of the number of kids casting a line from the shores. One of the pleasing factors I have noticed of late is the number of girls fishing. Getting kids into fishing is a focus of many of the Berkley Pro Team. Many of us have kids of our own, and we want them, and as many other kids as possible to enjoy what we have over many years. Watching Jason Medcalf and Jason Erlich please countless kids at the recent Brisbane Boat Show was one of the more pleasing aspects of fishing I have seen this year. A question I often find myself asking – “Is how do we get the most value out of often limited time on the water with the kids?” Getting the equation right I believe, leads to kids giving fishing a go – which is all you can ask for at the end of the day. The answer to the equation in
Read MoreView Comments (1)15Sep2008
Jerk Shad Skip Bait
I have been chasing Billfish since I was a kid and to me they were always the Holy Grail.Now when I first started, livies were the go and a well bridal rigged tuna was always number one.With skipping Gars or swimming baits a close second. The only problem was getting the bait, no bait no fish simple.Then as we moved through the eighties trolled skirted lures started to appear and we could cover more ground and we didn’t need to rely on catching bait. Just search for bait schools, current lines, up wellings, temperature breaks and the fish are usually not to far away. The move away from bait also meant we didn’t have to learn to rig the baits (which is a dying art) and it was a much cleaner easier day out.About two years ago something changed my thinking towards billfish that has been in my head until now. We were fishing the Riviera light tackle billfish tournament in 2007 I was a deckie on Craig Newtons 37 foot Steber “Grinner” we had a crew of juniors on board and after day o
Read MoreLeave a Comment13Sep2008
GULP MINNOW, THE ALL ROUNDER
People often ask me which bait is my favourite in the Gulp line up. I’ve gotta tell you it’s a pretty tough question to answer with such a big range of tournament winning offerings to choose from. But after putting a bit of thought into it, it became pretty simple, sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but I will endeavor to explain.I don’t really have what I would call one favorite bait or colour, what I do have is sound “confidence” in what I like to call Berkley’s bench mark baits. These are bait profiles that work in a wide variety of situations on a wide cross section of fish species and have proven themselves time after time. Berkley Gulp 2, 3 and 4 inch Minnows are a classic example of the type of bait I’m referring to. Gulp Minnows have been stand out performers for myself and many others over the past few years and I now tend to use them as reference points to judge the performance of others. While some baits have niche applications, all rounders like the Gulp Mi
Read MoreLeave a Comment02Sep2008
Don’t Give the Morgans a Head Start on Home Waters!
Although the Brisbane International Boat Show’s invitational BREAM Tournament is essentially an exhibition event, that doesn’t mean that there’s no competition between the teams. Add to that a $5,000 cash prize kitty underwritten by Daiwa and Evinrude, and there’s plenty of hard fishing done … but let’s take a step back and see what it’s all about … ABT has taken the opportunity to promote catch and release bream tournament fishing to the general public at this boat show. It’s a win-win for all involved – the BIBS gets a weigh-in spectacle that’s arguably their most popular hour on the Fishing Expo stage, the boat show patrons get to see the boats and gear that they’ve been oogling at the show in action and the top ten ABT sponsors for the year get to pick a team of two anglers that will represent their brand, wear the uniform and hand out freebies to the spectators while they’re weighing in. As a bonus, this tournament uses the Moreton Bay arena.
Read MoreLeave a Comment01Sep2008
From The Outside!
I didn’t make the ABT Bream Grand Final. I’m not even a member of the Berkley Pro Team. So what in the Gulp Shrimp am I doing writing here you are asking?Well it’s like this. I’ve just finished my first season as an ABT non-boater. I say finished as I didn’t make the Grand Final (have I mentioned that already?) but I gave it a go over five events. Perhaps my expectations where a little high given, between you and me, I had probably caught two bream before my first comp on the Hawkesbury.So in to the fray I leapt, armed with a rod here, a reel there and bag of various bits and pieces. Fifth cast in to the first misty morning on the Hawkesbury and my opening effort was a 1.1kg beauty. This is too easy I thought I could even smell the podium. Needless to say that was just the bream world messing with my head and the rest of the weekend was much less productive albeit a lot of fun.It was from that first comp and the frequent practice sessions afterwards that I knew something was
Read MoreLeave a Comment01Sep2008
Striking Gold on the Glenelg!
After speaking to my good mate Andrew Axon from Canberra we made a last minute decision to enter the Vic Bream Classic on the Glenelg River in far western Victoria, being the last round for the year we thought bugger it lets have a crack.I picked up Andrew from Melbourne Airport and we were on our way, it wasn't long before the clouds in the distance became the topic of our conversation. The forecast for the next few days was terrible with wind, rain and hail forecast but we were committed, there was no turning back, so we just kept driving into the great dark mass in front of us.The following morning we headed out and braved the elements for a pre fish, after mooving around and trying a few different locations we decided that the next day we would make the long trip up river and hopefully the fish we found during the day would still be on the chew.Being a late entry saw us all the way back in 65th position in a big field of 70 boats for the start on Saturday morning and with a long ha
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