Heading to Lake Windamere Aug 3-7.
First real dam/lake fishing trip.
Only ever really done local rivers.
Any tips to catching those football Yellowbelly

And thinking of launching a YouTube channel on the whole experience.

New to town and love fishing often. I mostly lure fish and want to start targeting tailor, jewies and salmon now its winter.

Hey everyone,
I’m buying my boyfriend a birthday present and I’m trying to make sure I’ve paired the right rod with the reel. I don’t know much about fishing if i’m being honest, so I’d love some advice from people who know their stuff.
I bought him a Shimano Saragosa SW 8000 reel, paired with a Shimano Speedmaster Surf 9’ 2-piece 5–10kg Spin Rod and 30lb braid.
He mainly fishes saltwater around Victoria, places like Frankston, Mordialloc, Mornington, Elwood and Lorne. He usually fishes from beaches, piers and rocks and likes targeting fish like salmon, snapper, trevally and similar species.
He has mentioned wanting another 10ft rod before, and now I’m wondering whether I should swap the rod to the Shimano Speedmaster Surf 10’ 2-piece 8–12kg instead.
For anyone familiar with these setups, would the 9’ 5–10kg be a good match with the Saragosa SW 8000, or would the 10’ 8–12kg be a better choice for the type of fishing he does?
Would the extra foot and heavier rating make a noticeable difference, or would the 9’ actually be the better all round option for rocks, piers and lure fishing?
Thanks heaps for any advice!

Hi everyone, first time poster here

Now after 15+ years of land based fishing in Sydney I finally decided to get a boat as a little project.

Now me and the guys are a solid medium rare land based fishermen. The basic bream, whiting, tailor etc. but we’re not quite the every night is a Jew fish night type guys. Yes we have caught jewfish,kings etc but no experts

So once I got this boat up and running we decided to go to the Sydney harbour after doing some research and planning the outing. 7am-2.30pm we got absolutely nothing using prawns, pilchard, squid and soft plastics in multiple spots

I thought it was just my luck, second outing was a night at Tom uglys bridge and captain cooks bridge. Now using pilchard again we got a couple of tailor but noting to write home about.

Now this is where I’m stumped. Any of these 2 days land based would’ve been a lot more of a productive day. I was at least expecting some snapper or bream

The setup right now is
4.8m polycraft
Spot lock trolling motor
Basically every bit of tackle possible
Garmin echomap 95sv

So I need this communities help

What am I doing wrong ?

Any help would be useful
Tips and tricks
Some tactics
Maybe even a sneaky dm of some gps coordinates….?

Pic of me setting up the Garmin

Never know how to start these posts, so..

I got a 2nd rod combo specifically to throw smaller metal lures and soft plastics. Since I've mostly been figuring out how to fish on my own, the bloke at bcf who helps me out and here on reddit, I always kind of approach it with a "ill learn from my mistakes" sort of way. But this just fealt straight up bad. Although I can't say i wasn't expecting it.

Basically when I was buy my combo, the guy at bcf taught me a braid to mono knot. Something I also looked up later at the water, it was an albright knot. Something easy to tie, and seemingly strong. Even the ones I tied myself, given a good tug to test, and i even managed to get a few good casts out with my metal lures (and even light soft plastics). But it always fails. I've lost 2 lures and 2 soft plastics becauce of my braid to mono knot.

I was wondering if maybe someone has a special tip or hint that I am seemingly missing from this information alone, becauce this is all I'm running off. It's always my braid to mono knot. That's where it fails.

Thanks in advance

looking to do some lure fishing around the freo area. hows this gear look to get me started?

Hi everyone,

I live in the Adelaide CBD and have been making trips to beaches and rivers to try my luck fishing. Unfortunately, I've only managed to catch one fish in the last three months!

I'm looking for an experienced angler who's happy to let a beginner tag along for a fishing trip. I'd love to learn more about finding fish, reading conditions, and improving my techniques.

I'm 25, based in Adelaide CBD, and very easygoing. I get along with pretty much anyone and am always happy to bring snacks, chip in for bait or fuel, or just enjoy a good day out on the water.

If anyone's keen, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

G'day guys, wanting to target garfish around the Mornington area (boat based) and was wondering if you had any insights regarding whether they prefer clean vs dirty water and whether they prefer slow tides or need a bit of run.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

Bit of background: I'm David from Germany and I'm planning to fly over next year (looking at Feb-ish, though I'm not tied down) to visit my family in Sydney, grab a small camper and slowly work my way up the east coast towards Queensland with one very simple mission, have an epic time and land some proper fish. GTs in particular have completely ruined my life… January this year I managed to land my first one in the Philippines and that fish completely hooked me (photo attached). Haven't stopped thinking about it since, so now I'm chasing that feeling up your east coast.

The plan: start from Sydney (a bit fishing there for kings), first stop Smiths Lake (north of Newcastle) where I've got family too and landed my first Flatty back in 2022 (photo attached), so a bit sentimental and should definitely land a second one there too. After that, no fixed plan.

Where I'd love to hear your advice & thoughts:

• Driving north towards Queensland, where's worth pulling over for some casts? especially land-based?
• Main event: Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays. Definitely want to go there. Any charter recommendations, boat rentals or connections to fish the islands would be gold.
• Doing my boat licence right now, so I'd love to go out solo eventually near the coast (will leave the serious offshore stuff to the pros for now haha)
• Good spots to camp along the route and anywhere I should steer clear of?
• Best window for GTs up there? And honestly is showing up in Feb a good move? Happy to shift timing if you think fishing is bad during this time.
• Camper/Car advice very welcome: where to rent (or is buying and reselling smarter?), and do I actually need a 4WD, or is a 2WD fine?

But mostly I'd just love to connect with a few of you. If anyone's along the route and fancies a fish, land-based or off the boat, I'm happy to connect, I don't tangle your lines (much) and I'm reliable company for a few beers afterwards :)

I post my fishing stuff on Instagram fishingdavee if you want a preview of what you'd be signing up for.

Thanks a lot!! tips, spots, connections, or a "mate, don't do that" all massively appreciated🫶🏼

I’ll be fishing in Fiji on an upcoming trip. I’m a total newbie to all of this, so I'm looking for some advice will these lures work for casting from shore?

I’ll be using a 5 piece, 11 foot medium heavy rod that can cast 3–6 oz lures. I have an SP Minnow up at the top for scale.

Thanks! :)

Looking to get a reel to pair with an oceans legacy quest SF732L (7’3” 4-8lb).

Is the Ultegra worth the extra couple bucks or does Nasci just outdo it on value? Any other recommendations always appreciated

G’day everyone,

I'm comparing three rod bags and would really appreciate some honest feedback.

I have several travel rods, and would like to choose the most suitable and convenient one.

Second salmon I didn't hook at all, caught someone's old star sinker rig and it was hooked up still.

Both fish over 55cm

I recently bought a Daiwa TD Hyper 702LFS (2–10 g) mainly for throwing soft plastics at bream in the Swan/Canning River.
My setup is:
Rod: TD Hyper 702LFS (2–10 g)
Reel: 2500 size
10 lb braid
10 lb fluorocarbon leader
Mostly using 2–3” soft plastics on 1/12 oz and 1/8 oz jigheads.
I’m wondering if I chose the right rod. My main priority is maximum sensitivity rather than versatility.
Would a 1–5 g rod have been a noticeably better choice for feeling subtle bream bites, or is the difference fairly small?
Also, is my 10 lb braid reducing sensitivity on this rod, or is it more about the rod’s 2–10 g lure rating?
I’d love to hear from anyone who’s fished both 1–5 g and 2–10 g rods for bream.

Edit: it's actually Daiwa TD Hyper 702LXS-SOL.
Misread. Thanks for the help guys

Found in a dry creek bed in Portland, New South Wales (about 10-15 mins out of Lithgow).

My mother found it a few years ago when it was tiny, and has since released it. I’m doing a school project on wildlife, and she thought it might be useful if we can get an ID.

Can anyone ID this fish with some level of certainty? If it’s native I’ll most likely use it in my project this term.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hey everyone,

I was out fishing last evening, just working my usual spot, when something hit my line.

The drag started screaming immediately. My rod was bent double, and for a hot second, I genuinely thought I’d hooked into a massive kingfish or a serious predator. It took a solid few minutes of careful reeling and pure adrenaline to finally bring this beast to the surface.

Prepare yourselves for this absolute leviathan of the deep...

Okay, okay, maybe "monster" is a slight understatement... 😂

It turned out to be this tiny little octopus! He was literally smaller than the lure I was using. I have no idea how he managed to hitch a ride on the hook, but honestly, it’s probably the most interesting and hilarious catch I’ve ever had.

After a quick photo to document this legendary battle, I gently released the little guy back into the water. He swam off completely fine, hopefully ready to grow into the actual monster I'll catch next time.

Has anyone else ever accidentally caught a "beast" this tiny before? 🐙

I'm mostly into lure fishing (year round if possible). I know about the central coast being good from the beach. Whats the situation with Lake Macquarie and Tuggerah?

Do I need a license or permit to fish?

Thanks :)

Sick view of this lizard 💯👌

Was night fishing for salmon/tailor at the beach (Hawks Nest) ​last night and landed my first ever mulloway. I was pumped but a little saddened because it was a couple of centimetres too small to keep. As I was returning it to the water I could see my other rod going crazy - "wouldn't it be mad to get another one" I thought... As I wound in lo and behold, that's exactly what it was - this time well over the limit. Can't imagine I'll have luck like that again for the rest of my life and felt I needed to share.

Gents,

Since the lure has been our a bit now, how are you guys finding this metal to work for you? Is it more productive than existing alternatives? From the reviews I've been seeing they are very large for their weight, which in my fishing situation in the Baja I don't think would be a positive. I often wish my bait sized metals were heavier to maximize casting distance from the beach as the swell is insane there.

I had a large order of Malosi gear placed with Tackle West and they were playing games with me so the order was cancelled. I was pretty bummed as the tariffs went into effect shortly after that situation so I decided not to order anything from Malosi. As time has gone on and I did more research it appears Malosi is enjoying a YETI style fanbase because of their excellent marketing and other than a sweet logo and some sick paint schemes, they're just another mass produced brand at this point. Niko and Jon do seem like solid dudes though.

Tight Lines

Made the most of a rainy morning on the rocks and landed a 39cm drummer.

Instead of cooking it the usual way, I decided to try making ceviche from one of the fillets. It’s not a species I often hear people talking about for raw dishes, but it turned out surprisingly well.

I’ve put together a short video from the session and the catch and cook.

Interested to hear if anyone else keeps drummer for the table and what your favourite way to prepare them is.

https://youtu.be/7HioXmgDhKU?si=57LFrOkaPqpag0-b

Based on the Sunshine Coast - would whiting strips be a decent bait?

Thinking either off the beach or estuary

Cheers