And check out this small video whilst your at it. They took the hooks off after catching too many, you can see why!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/?action=view&current=5332e08d.flv

While we are looking at pics have a look at some of the fish these South Africans have been catching from ocean kayaks or skis . The fish may have different names but I can definitely see Spanish Macks , Cobia , GTs , Dollies etc . I don`t know how you would stop some of the GTs on a ski.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishingski_photos/

And just to make us all drool over what we won`t be doing this Easter check out these Fraser Island and Coral Sea pics some of the GTs are incredible as are the jigging pics and some of the Trout make mine look like a baby . Also Honsu the boys from Thailand appear to be stretching the old Tenaq jig rods to the limit , I think you might have to crank the hurt up a bit more next season.
Also some good vids on this site.
Have a great Easter.

http://www.nomadsportfishing.com.au/NSA%20Photo%20gallery1.htm

On the vids check out the Doggie bust offs and watch those Stellas scream , sorry Honsu but I don`t think a Saltiga would have made much difference.

great that we have sambo's around perth, but would love it even more if we had those doggies and GT's.

would break alot more rods too ;) ;)
hehe

haha dasho, if those kamakazi rods are always worth a chuckle.

just makes you appreciate and yearn for them.

all rods break though. :)

Having said that, I wouldn't mind some of the top end seven seas rods myself.

Getting a new modded stella to replace the old one too :) :)

Hope to get out there with you again next season though dasho, just need those pills, hehe.

you have gotta remember too, it may be rated to PE8, and you have to set your drag correctly. People forget that the drag is alot more work on the rod once the rod is loaded up, and they set there drag for the reel in a "non-bent position" . Hence why alot of those rods break due to people not setting the drag right.

Set the drag that the rod is comfortable with...otherwise....U know wat happens.....with the action of some jigging rods, they are slower action than conventional rod so dont high stick it when the fish takes a run, even if its at 45 degrees...Fish runs, hold it horizontal then lift once it slows.

i'd agree there shizz

the drag off the reel is not the same as the drag thru the guides off the rod, so thats something for people to be aware of.

and dont forget
you can set the hook aggressively, but watch the angles ;) ;)

You can cheat and use several 2 litre juice or milk containers filled with water. 2 litres = 2 kilo's. Set your rod up in your rod holder and attach the bottles to your line. Now start to winch it / them up off the deck gradually increasing drag pressure as you go until they actually lift. You can set them to one third of your breaking strain using this method before you head out and this will compensate for the extra drag exerted by the guides and give you a true setting at the rod tip.

6kilo line = 1 x 2litre container
12 kilo line = 2 x 2 litre containers

You get the picture.

mm. for higher drag settings i suggest just using a friend and some scales ;) unless theres 7 or so milk containers around

i don't know andy, just thinking the gears wouldn't appreciate winching such weight, know what i mean?

I hear you Kasey, you are right, it actually is much better if you lift with the rod. Each time it lets out line, keep tightening the drag a little at a time until you can lift the weight. No winching required.

isnt it gonna be a regular stella with slower gear ratio

metal ball handle, or the rubber grip handle provided?

haha, its not really modded, just the same modified grip.
Had a look at the studio oceanmark customs, but was recommended that the original spool drag system is still the best.
http://www.plat.co.jp/english/goods/som/top.htm

Just new :) due to the warranty and a manufacturing error in the one i have now. don't really need to modify a stella, unlike the Penn Spinfishers :) (i'm sure honsu has a few pictures of pimped out 9500s)

Heres something thats caught my eye that I just noticed:
http://www.millscharters.com.au/5.html

'There will be a prize of a complimentary day fishing trip for 4 people for any of our customers who beat the 50kg Samson fish barrier plus an additional $1000 in cash if you can beat the record of a 52.7kg fish.'

I reckon I should give that a fair crack. I'm sure I could round up 3 other anglers who would be interested in a complimentary fish, if I crack the 50kg, and a 53kg fish could give me some new gear.

Anyone been on Mills charters to give an idea how its run?
hehe... get to break the 50kg barrier and have a free trip AND possibly get 1000$ to spend.... strong incentive :)

i just swapped to the rubber ball handle that came with the reel. still want to get an aluminium one. might ask one of my uncles in japan to send me one for my b'day, or make one out of an empty VB can.

looks like you got yourself a pepsi challenge next season mate. 50kg+ sambo. you and honsu should be able to crack that.

i dont care which charter i go on, aslong as they clearly set up teams and keep a close eye on the time each one has jigging.

that mills prize does sound pretty sweet ! great marketing plan ! got me interested for sure.

Well, if you can wait for a while, I can get them for you. And don't pay more than 75 bucks for them, all up. Cheaper too if you can find a few mates, I sort of know the supplier route from singapore to taiwan.

Fishwrecked jigging charter adam?
With videos?

Come on, we need some more to add to honsus ;) I'm jealous.

If anyone's keen for a Fishwrecked charter, I'm in. Just PLEASE no idiots on 8lb trying to land a sambo; sure you can do it, while wasting everyone else's time.

I'm not a big fan of teams... I say let the weary rest, and let the energetic jig!

You give me a date and Im there. See who cracks that 50kg first....always up for that challenge. May even have new gear by then to help me...hehe

yeah, honsu gets a 51 kg fish, and 4 complimentary spots, using his new gear, and i get a 53kg fish, and 4 complimentary spots (so all of us get to go again, on the house ;)) plus $1000 so i can BUY new gear.

I WANT TO BE SPOOLED ON 80LB!

havent even been paid yet mate......but picked up a chilling pair of spotters for todays effort.

Long thread but I`m in for a charter and if you set your drags anyway other than using scaies and a loaded up rod you are a gooooooooose . If you manage to bust one after doing that you are either highsticking beyond reality or you have a faulty rod. It aint rocket science.
Cheers
BLB

ss

yeah thats rite.........jig sticks are not made for high sticking.....becoz of the way they load up. Most jig stick have a slow taper so will loadup through out the rod. This still of rod is quite forgiving on the fisho and instead of high sticking to gain line.....try winding more line in first than lift and just do short pumps. U'll get fish in quicker that way.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using scales to set your drag and if you have a deckie helping you out to do that, then that's brilliant. However I must point out that over 99% of all anglers wouldn't set their drags with anything other than hand pressure until it "feels" right. (I'm sure you probably did that just like everyone else until you read in a mag somewhere that the pro's use scales to set their drags at one third the breaking strain. By the way that is a rule of thumb as far as I am aware and no scientific evidence exists to say one third is better than nine thirtyeths or thirteen thirtythirds or whatever, so dead bang on accuracy isn't something that is as critical as you make out.)

What I am suggesting is that you can use whatever is convenient (the 2 litre bottles of ice you put in the bottom of your esky) to apply 2 kg's worth of drag pressure under load using your rod, which its certainly more accurate than just using your hand and guessing.

2kilo's is 2 kilo's, whether it is applied from a super sensitive electronic wizz bang scale branded with Penn, Diawa or Shimano or by a 2 kilo bag of sheep manure. It makes absolutely no difference apart from looking a little more professional when you use a scale (and maybe the smell bit too, but you get my point).

Most good anglers I know are a very practical bunch. They have no airs and graces and don't give a toss about how they look as long as they catch fish (you only have to see what we wear when we go fishing to understand that). If you have the money to buy the best equipment and want to do everything the way the pro's do then that's great, I'm not knocking that, but equally don;t knock the regular guys out there that fish just as hard and do things maybe a little bit different than you or I do, whilst still getting the same or dare I say possibly a better result on the end of their line. If that makes me a goose, than I'm sure I am in good company.

Now I must go and fly south for the winter, my gaggle is calling me.
Honk!! Honk!!

Thanks for those kind words Andy and first off I must agree with you that I myself have been guilty of goooselike behaviour on many occasions in the past so don`t think you will be flying north alone.
When gamefishing for pelagic species we always used to set our drags (using scales ) with say for a 24kg outfit strike drag at 8kg and sunset/full hurt at 12kg you will actually find that Tiagras and other game reels are set up like this ,if you set strike at whatever, your fullsetting will be 50% higher.This is important for mono lines however the most important thing is to know what your gear can take if you want that extra lift available to you to lift a stubborn big tuna then you can set strike at 12 and have 18 available in a pinch as long as you know where your settings are at and only use the extra when absolutely required and know when to back off to avoid a breakoff.
Braided lines and star drags / eggbeaters are a different kettle of cats,the majority of braids actually break well in excess of their quoted class and it is all well and good to set your drags beforehand ,I myself prefer not to but I do like to have scaled those drags through the rod (with a good mate not a fn deckie)so that I have a fair idea of where I am at based on feel so if I am hoiking a huge denizen of the deep out of structure I might be going really hard and know that I have enough up my sleeve to do the old double thumb routine to hold him out without breaking off or worse still snapping a rod.
The beauty of fishing is that we are all individuals and adopt different methods if we are also able to glean innovative adaptations from those we associate with , then all the better.
Once aqain may I say thanks for those kind words and also add that as I have elucidated above (I think ) that the setting of drags for bottom fishing is a completely different exercise to game fishing as is the setting of the same for braid v mono.
Appreciate you comments
BLB

I think that in reality we are not that far apart in our views on this. I have known I was a goose for years, just nice to know I'm not alone occaisionaly.

I certainly wouldn't class myself as a game-fisherman and can appreciate how important drag settings are for you guys when you are fighting billfish and any fish for that matter that is 10 times the breaking strain of your line, and perhaps that is where we differ as I am definately more of a bottom bouncer than a pelagic man afterall.

It was good to get the perspective from both ends of the spectrum, so thank you for the insight. Now excuse me while I go to the fridge as I have a little 1 kilo outfit that needs about 300mls of drag pressure to be imparted (now what shall it be...corona...millers...or carlton premium dry? It might take me a few bottles before I remove 75mls perfectly before I weigh it. Woops, have to empty one first to see how much the glass stubbie weighs too.) Hehehe.