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This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 31st Oct 2010

It’s part 2 of our Darwin adventure. This time the crew  move in close to Darwin and hunt down Black Jewfish on plastics and Golden Snapper. Once the sun sets the fishing continues with some night fishing, and just wait and see what the boys pull in.

Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


Saltiga LD’s Just Arrived!
by Bradley 28th Oct 2010

The Saltiga LD reels have just arrived and will be in stores next week.

Over the past decade Saltiga reels have built an enviable reputation as the strongest reels ever developed, reels that set a standard that can only be surpassed by developing new technology and introducing new models. In 2010 Daiwa introduces their finest ever developed lever drags, the Saltiga LD series.

With the durability and performance expected from a Saltiga the new LD series is built upon a precisely machined aluminium fame and sideplate for unmatched strength. This super strong frame supports a massive stainless steel helical cut gear system that produces optimum power and ultra smooth winding power. Match this with Daiwa’s finest ever lever drag system – UTD (ultimate tournament drag) and you have incredible fish stopping power and when the going gets tough the one touch gear shift allows you to change gears fluently for low down power or ultra fast hyper speed cranking.

Built to handle the toughest fish that swim the new Saltiga LD series is the ultimate in compact lever drags.


New Saltist LD High Speed reels
by Bradley 27th Oct 2010

The Saltist LD Lever Drag series are built tough with a rugged “full metal jacket” construction with virtually all components being metal for maximum reliability while most competitor reels at this price point are full of graphite components. Daiwa is now expanding this fantastic range to include a super high speed version called the HSH and it cranks a blistering speed of 133cm’s per turn of the handle! Ideal for high speed lure applications and is one of the best reels available for teasers/switchbaiting.

For more information check out the Saltist LD series in the reel section.


This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 24th Oct 2010

On this weeks show of Hooked, Dave heads to Darwin with his son Lachlan and travel 17 hours out to sea on Arafura Bluewater Charters to chase some monster reef fish. We give the new  Daiwa Monster Mesh Max rods a good workout as the action heats up on coral trout, spanish mackeral, dog tooth tuna and much much more.

Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


This Week on Adventure Bound
by Bradley 24th Oct 2010

Lee and Andrew head to Fiji to catch monster wahoo to 40kg, yellowfin tuna and big mahi mahi. On this show there is some awesome footage of wahoo striking lures while being filmed on a towcam with one crazy fish trying to eat the camera! Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au


Phantom J Light 3500′s just arrived in Australia.
by Bradley 21st Oct 2010

The Phantom J Light 3500 is the perfect choice for the offshore sports angler. Built on Daiwa’s famous Hardbodyz reel design the Phantom’s body will resist twisting under extreme pressure so it is perfect for light tackle jigging and all saltwater sports fishing. With a water proof drag that delivers up to 6kgs of pressure, machined aluminium jigging handle and ultra strong gearing, the Phantom J will literally take on anything that swims


This Week on Adventure Bound
by Bradley 19th Oct 2010

This week on Adventure Bound the crew are getting into the squid at Queenscliff in Victoria with the latest Daiwa Emeraldas rods, reels, line and jigs. In an action packed morning Lee Rayner the presenter and owner of the Fishing Fever store in Mordialloc Victoria will show you some incredible fishing. With plenty of Calamari to 2.3 kg, this will sure to be an excellent show. Pictured is Lee with a 2.3 kg calamari caught on an Emeraldas SZ-RV jig, Emeraldas interline and Emeraldas 2506 spinning reel. Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au


This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 19th Oct 2010

This week Dave catches up with Peter La Blank to fish the reefs off Pittwater. Dave shows you all the tips in fishing the local reefs for snapper. Also the boys drift for flathead using soft plastics and Daiwa Bay Rubbers.

Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


Daiwa Hobie Opening Kayak Rounds
by Bradley 17th Oct 2010

The first two rounds of the Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series provided quite a contrast in results for competitors. In Round 1 held at Mandurah WA, anglers reportedly fished in the toughest bite in the history with only eight fish hitting the scales in the opening round held during the Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show on 9/10th October. Round 2 at Ballina in NSW thankfully saw the bream come to the party.

Mandurah produced crystal clear water, blue skies and light winds and anglers battled hard to crack a consistent pattern, with only two fish hitting the scales on the opening day of competition.

Day two offered and delivered more with overcast and windy conditions delivering anglers a more consistent bite pattern and a much welcome glimpse of the quality fishing that Mandurah has to offer.

Mastering the challenging conditions and bite the best was Shane Owen (4/6, 2.59kg) of Perth with the 20 year old breamer capitalising on a small pattern he identified late on day one and turning it into a limit producing, tournament winning pattern on the final day. Owen was not alone with his insightful day two pattern with event runner up Brett Ozanne (1/6, 0.635kg) taking his unproductive day one approach, modifying it and turning it into a fish catcher on the final day.

Victory though belonged to Owen with the tournament young gun fishing the pontoons and jetties close to the start line on day one before changing tact and heading up stream to the canals in search of legal fish.

Fishing the pontoons, boats and jetties in the canals Owen keyed in on particular pieces of structures as the hot ones to target.

Using a cut-in-half 6″ Berkley Gulp Worm in natural colour rigged on a 1/28th oz, size 2H TT jighead, Owen had a presentation that proved to be just the ticket for clear water shut down breaming.

For Owen it was a dream start to his kayak career, with the WA breamer securing a Grand Final qualifying berth and adding his name to a growing list of event winners including current Daiwa-Hobie Angler of the Year Greg Lewis, Scott Lovig, Daniel Brown, and Jason Meech.

Owen added to his rewards for the weekend, picking up the $100 Boss Hog Prize thanks to 935 gram kicker fish.
For event runner up Brett Ozanne it was a great start to the two WA rounds in the series with the kayak fishing fan overjoyed to have qualified for the GF.

Rewarded for his patience and focus Ozanne landed the second biggest fish for the tournament and found himself $230 richer as a result. The lure that delivered him his Sunday pay day was a gold coloured 1/12th TT Ghostblade, with the retrieve comprised of a slow sink, and a short, quick twitch followed by another pause.

Placings: 1 Shane Owens; 2nd Brett Ozanne 1 0.635 1 0.635 $230+ Atomic & Berkley lure pack; 3rd Alan Durkin 1 0.495 1 0.495 $130+ Atomic & Berkley lure pack

Round 2 Ballina NSW

Ballina lived up to its reputation producing wet conditions and plenty of fish in the first east coast round of the Daiwa-Hobie BREAM Kayak Series, 9/10th October.

Constant rain, fresh in the river and howling winds tested anglers’ commitment with Brisbane breamer Will Lee (6/6, 2.69kg) rising to the challenge to secure his first BREAM Kayak win.

Fishing the rockwalls and jetties near the Ballina RSL on day one Lee used a soft plastic approach, fishing 80mm Squidgy Wrigglers (evil minnow) rigged on 1/16th TT jigheads, casting them tight to structure and fishing them with a lift n’ drop retrieve.

“It was standard plastic pattern, a lift and drop with the fish hitting the plastic as it wiggled back down”, explained Lee.

The approach delivering Lee his limit by 10am and a solid, still in the hunt 0.96kg limit.

“I only wish I’d landed the big fish that bricked me. If I got that I would have been a lot higher than 8th place at the end of the first day”, explained Lee.

With more freshwater in the river on the second day Lee went looking for clean water and headed straight to the southern rockwall at the mouth of the river. It was here that he struck paydirt. The approach he used to catch his fish was in vast contrast to the day before, with Lee swapping from soft to hard and fishing a combination of the deep Atomic Hardz Cranks (muddy prawn) and Daiwa Double Clutches (lazer ayu).

Throwing the Hardz up into the wash Lee used a slow rolling retrieve bumping the lure across the rocks and into the path of feeding bream. With his limit in the well Lee made a switch, cutting of the Hardz and tying on the Double Clutch.

“I wanted a big lure that would perhaps pull bigger fish”, explained Lee.

And that’s exactly what it did, with the Double Clutch producing two upgrades and upsizing his bag to a tournament winning one. While the clutch got him across the line it was the kicker fish (0.89kg) in his bag that came on a Hardz that value added his winnings as the event’s $100 Boss Hog.

Claiming his best result to date in the Daiwa-Hobie BREAM Kayak Series was event runner-up Jonathon Chen of Canberra. For the 21 year old environmental heath student it was a dream start to the season, with a shallow water crankbait his path to tournament success. Chen caught all his fish slow rolling brown stripe and orange coloured Jackall Chubbies. The remainder of the tackle he used to catch his fish included a Shimano Rack Raider rod, Shimano 1000 Sienna reel, 4lb Berkley Fireline and 6lb fluorocarbon leader.

Placings: 1st Will Lee 3 0.93 3 1.76 6 2.69 $600, $100 Boss Hog (0.89kg), $100 1st Pro + Ballina Lakeside Holiday Park Voucher; 2nd Jonathon Chen 3 1.09 3 1.14 6 2.23 $350; 3rd Nicholas Meredith 3 0.92 3 1.18 6 2.10 $190.

The next round of the 2010/2011 series is in Sydney on November 21 at Hen and Chicken Bay Visit www.bream.com.au for more information.


Daiwa Bream Grand Final Streamlined Live in 2010
by Bradley 15th Oct 2010

BREAM tournament fans who won’t be able to make it to the daily weigh-ins at Mallacoota for this year’s Daiwa BREAM Grand Final will not miss out on the action.

The daily weigh-ins from 2pm each day on the 5-7th November will be streamed live over the internet.

“We’ve streamlined the system at a couple of events this year and it’s all good to go for BREAM’s biggest event of the season,” said ABT Tournament Director, Simon Goldsmith.

The Daiwa BREAM Grand Final assembles 56 of the Australia’s best bream lure anglers and pairs them with 56 co-anglers who have qualified through the 14 event season. Come the Sunday, the field is cut to the top 20 boaters, who shoot it out for the title and a substantial cash prize.

Links to the live stream will be available on the front page of www.bream.com.au the week before the event. - ABT


Family Friendly Fishing Tournaments
by Bradley 14th Oct 2010

Tournament Bream fishing is a fast growing sport in Australia, with National Qualifying events for the Daiwa Bream Grand Final and Classic Teams Grand Final held each year.

As with all competitive sport, participants at this elite level, fish with an enthusiasm, passion and the drive to win.  I’m no different to any other, I’ve been competing at these events for about 4 years now, and at every event I fish, I give my absolute best.

Earlier this year however, I had a very special opportunity to fish with my 10 year old daughter, Anja, at one of the numerous teams qualifying events held across the country. It was an impromptu occasion, but one that had been discussed several times throughout the previous year.

For about eight months, Anja had expressed a desire to fish in a tournament with me.  You see, for the last 4 years, I have fished the Port Macquarie Bream Classic, held on the Hastings River in Northern NSW.  This tournament is a brilliant event.  It is billed as a family friendly affair, engaging the local community, and has a number of “Father and Son” teams that participate every year.

I take my family with me whenever I travel to a fishing tournament, and at the weigh-in the previous year, Anja said to me “Dad I want to do one of these with you”.

Back to Easter this year. We had travelled to Lake Macquarie to fish an event, and my usual teammate Justin had to make a late withdrawal on the morning of the tournament.  After ringing the organisers to confirm it would be within the rules, I woke Anja at 5am and she jumped at the opportunity.

We fish together regularly on my home waters of Sydney Harbour.  She can handle herself with a rod and reel, has very distinct taste in her lure selection, and is a very capable caster. In fact her personal best bream was a very respectable 35cm specimen, fought out of some very gnarly structure under a typical Sydney Harbour Marina.

Despite this, I wasn’t sure if she would last the distance in a 7 hour tournament.  Well, how wrong was I?  She made me very proud.  Not only did she last the distance, but she caught the first, and largest of the 2 fish we managed that day.  We didn’t break any records, nor did we challenge the leaders, but we created a very special memory that will stay with us both forever.

The moral of this story?  Share your passion for fishing with your kids.  It doesn’t have to be in a tournament, nor in a boat. Your local jetty or river bank is a great place to start.  You may not even catch anything, other than some great memories and quality moments with your kids.

With Christmas, and the Family Summer holidays on the horizon, maybe consider a new fishing outfit under the tree this year.  Daiwa has a fantastic range of inexpensive combos perfect for those budding, wannabe, Tournament Anglers.

Greg Seeto


The Seeto Brothers Join Up with Daiwa
by Bradley 14th Oct 2010

Daiwa Australia is glad to announce three new additions to our team. The Seeto brothers (Greg, Ian and Chris) have always devoted themselves to anything they have done. Fishing has always been a part of their lives, but it has recently become their all-consuming passion.

The first thing anyone will learn about the Seetos is that they are a family unit. Fishing to them is not an escape from family, it is something to bring the family together and seeing wives and kids at a tournament weigh-in is commonplace.

They are also so of the most approachable people on the tournament fishing scene – Chris once went missing from collecting his prizes on stage because he was too busy talking to a passer by about general fishing tactics.

Whilst they are very competitive on the water they also bring a very relaxed ambience and their jovial nature has led to industry people referring to them as the “Three Monkeys”.

Greg, the eldest and father of three, owns his own printing business with his wife and has fished the tournament trail for the last four years both as an individual and in a team and achieved many top ten finishes in that time.

Ian Is a husband and new father and has parlayed his qualifications as both an automotive mechanic and a marine mechanic into being a maintenance planner for Caltex. He has also been fishing the tournament circuit for four years with good success.

Chris, the youngest and affectionately known as “Boof”, is studying a Masters of Marketing at university. He also works in the family printing business with his parents. The same four years has also brought tournament success both individually and as Ian’s partner in team events.

Importantly, they’ve all progressed through the ABT’s non-boater system. They all fish as Pros now, but have an excellent understanding of the challenges of fishing from the back deck. Over the past year the three guys have donated 25% of their tournament cash winnings to the NSW Cancer Council.

Chat with the Seetos when you next see them at a tournament or out on the water – they’ll be able to show you through their range of Daiwa gear.


This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 13th Oct 2010

Hooked with Dave Butfied. This week Dave takes you jigging to 3 great locatiions, first its Terrigal then its off to NZ to chase big kings and at the end of the show Dave hooks up with Adam Harvey for arm pulling Sambo action in WA.
Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


The Daiwa Hobie Bream Kayak Series is Underway!
by Bradley 13th Oct 2010

The 2010/2011 Daiwa Hobie Bream Kayak Series kick starts in grand style when the opening weekend of the series sees two rounds (WA & NSW) begin the series’ extensive march across the country. Hitting six states during its journey the Hobie BREAM Kayak Series will once again take tournament kayak fishing to the next level.

The series will feature 15 qualifying rounds and an end of season Grand Final, with the latest installment in the Hobie BREAM Tour commencing in October 2010 and running through to the ABT BREAM Grand Final Week in November 2011.

Anglers will once again visit Australia’s premier bream kayaking locations, with Redcliffe, St Helens, Marlo, West Lakes, Bemm River, and Forster all returning for the series, while a host of exciting new venues including Mandurah, St Georges Basin, and the Brunswick, Clarence, and Hopkins Rivers have been added to the tournament schedule.

“The calendar will offer anglers a nice blend of tried-and-true locations and an assortment of new spots that’ll mix things up and keep anglers on their toes during the series,” explains ABT Tournament Director Simon Goldsmith.

The opening weekend of the series will see Mandurah and Ballina play host to the first events of the season, with the Mandurah round run in conjunction with the Mandurah Boat Show (9/10th October), and the Ballina event taking place as part of the Ballina Boat and Leisure Show (10th October).

From here the series will commence its year long trip across the country, with series comprised of Qualifying (single-day) and State Title (two-day) events, with the Qualifying events offering anglers three Grand Final qualifying berths and the State Titles five GF berths. State Title events and the Grand Final will once again feature a two day combined bag format to decide the event winner, while the Qualifying events will of course be the best bag on the day.

The biggest event of the series, the Hobie BREAM Kayak Series Grand Final will be opening event of the ABT BREAM Grand Final Week, with Port Macquarie the destination for kayak anglers (29/30th October) before the BREAM Show hits the road again and heads off to the BREAM Classic Grand Final and the BREAM Grand Final.

“It’s great to finally have the Hobie, Classic, and BREAM GF all together in one week. It means traveling anglers from across the country can come together, fish three events in a week then head home with their fill of tournament breaming,’ explains Simon Goldsmith.

With the schedule set and dates locked in anglers can now start prepping themselves for the season. Event information sheets, entry fees and entry forms are in the final stages of production so get yourself set because the next installment of the Hobie BREAM Kayak Series is about to get underway.

For more information go to www.hobiefishing.com.au


Sami Omari on the Saltiga 76 Game rod.
by Bradley 12th Oct 2010

A recent spate of back to back fishing trips in a variety of locations had me looking for a versatile casting rod. One thing lacking in my fishing arsenal was something that could pelt out metals and pencil poppers well past the horizon – a dedicated boat based casting rod. While a number of 7ft snapper and inshore kingfish rods adorn my rod rack, I was specifically looking for something with a little more reach that could cast an ounce or two the necessary distance required to reach schools of flighty tuna along with spinning gars to kingfish in distant washes. I didn’t want the rod to be too long or cumbersome out of a small boat, it had to be below 8ft and light yet powerful. Enter the Saltiga S-Extreme 76 Game.

This is one of those rods that you pick up and play with then feel compelled to buy – it ticked all the boxes for my boat based spin stick being light, slick and at 7ft 6 an ideal length to allow for a decent cast without being too long or unwieldy. This rod presents as lightweight and mild mannered but possesses an incredibly deceptive amount of power in reserve with the specs rating it able to cast 15-90 gram lures and capable of fishing an impressive 14kg of drag. The butt detaches from the blank allowing for easy transportation while the reel seat features a click adjustable locking ring which functionally reduces the likelihood of the reel unknowingly coming loose. The single footed titanium framed silicone carbide guides are well positioned and steer the line perfectly with no unexpected tip wraps or guide tangles experienced to date.

Using this outfit I have caught a number of hefty longtail tuna, school yellowfin, spanish and shark mackerel plus a variety of heavy hitting trevally. The rod is teamed up to a Saltiga S-Extreme 4500H Maverick loaded with PE4 Saltiga Sensor braid while lures have generally been 40 gram metals which the outfit casts a mile. The reel has been a pleasure to use and has performed to the standard you would expect from a product of its calibre with a silky smooth drag that releases line effortlessly under all drag settings.

What really impressed me however was screwing down the drag on a number of fast running tuna and essentially stopping them dead in their tracks.  I measured the drag at a hefty 9.5kg after recently catching a couple of longtails that were quickly brute forced back to the boat which reaffirmed the fish stopping power this light weight rod possesses.

This is a fun and comfortable outfit that resides in my repertoire of fishing gear as a capable premium blue water spin rod. It has accompanied me on a number of domestic and overseas trips having caught a variety of hefty fish by casting metals, minnows, poppers and stick baits.

Sami Omari is one of Fishing World magazines most respected journalists.


Wayne Friebe on TMZ-I Interline Rods
by Bradley 12th Oct 2010

After experiencing Daiwa’s last interline venture first hand, I was excited by the news that they were not only releasing these amazing fishing tools again, but they were improving them! My only concern was that they would not be able to cast the variety of light weights that we use in today’s modern breaming techniques. But after a lot of testing in different situations, I am happy to say that they perform exceptionally well.

From a technical point of view, the interline concept makes perfect sense. The fishability of the TMZ interlines is vastly improved by the reduced weight and incredibly smooth action and put simply they are a real joy to use. No guides on the rod blank creates a perfect working arc in the rod, allowing for incredibly smooth drag pressure under load, and for very accurate casting into structure. Equally, the reduced friction normally associated with line passing through guided rods allows for long distance casting in flats and open water situations.

Most tournament anglers have specific rods for certain situations, and I use my TMZ 762LFS extensively for making long searching casts over flats and open water. It is equally at home slow rolling crankbaits, hopping vibration baits in open water and searching shallow margins with topwaters and stick baits. I match this rod with a Steez 2508 with 4lb Daiwa Dyneema braid, or with a Luvias DAcustom 2000 with 3lb fluorocarbon, depending on the situation.

Other things about the TMZ make me smile too. They are a joy to store, and quickly take from my boats rod locker, with no guides and line to tangle with other outfits. They also look pretty awesome too, which is a big tick among a group of anglers that are becoming increasingly more savvy as each tournament year rolls by.

On my home waters in Port Phillip Bay, I have also found a great niche for my TMZ 762LFS, giving the local squid population a hard time. It gives me the power to make longer searching casts over reefs while fishing land based, and also allows for a more finesse approach with lighter line on shallow inshore reefs.

In short, the TMZ 762LFS is my favourite all round fishing rod, both for tournament and recreational fishing. They are exceptionally easy to thread and rig, with the help of the interline rigging wire, and are easily the smoothest actioned rod I have ever used.

Visit your local Daiwa dealer and have a cast, or ask one of the many Daiwa anglers at your next tournament. You’ll like what you see.


Jim Harnwell on Wilderness Rods
by Bradley 12th Oct 2010

NOT that long ago, most multi-piece travel rods were, on the whole, cheap junk. However, recent developments in rod blank technology has meant that modern travel rods are now pretty much indistinguishable in performance and functionality from single or two-piece sticks. This, combined with the easy storage and transport offered by the multi-piece format, means that quality travel rods are becoming increasingly popular. Daiwa’s new Wilderness series is a prime example of modern, high-performance multi-piece travel rods. Fishing World has tested one of these cool Aussie-designed sticks over the past six months and found it an outstanding and very handy performer. Anyone who’s done much air travel will know that rod tubes are a pain in the proverbial. Some airlines now refuse to take tubes over 2.1m in length. So a rod like the Wilderness 703MF, which packs down into three pieces and fits into a sturdy custom tube of about a metre long, is a boon for Aussie anglers who like to explore new waters. This particular rod is 7′ long and is rated to lines of between four and eight kilos. We tested it with a Certate 2500-R threadline loaded with 20lb braid and found that an ideal combo. Like most of Daiwa’s rods, the 703 MFS is responsive, light and far more powerful than it looks. The rod was used initially during a snapper session at SA’s Arno bay, where it subdued multiple snapper in excess of 20lbs. It’s an ideal soft plastic rod, being stiff enough to enable solid hook sets but responsive enough to cast light jigheads and feel sometimes delicate bites. It would be an ideal rod for casting softies, jigging vibes and working small to medium stickbaits and divers for various species ranging from snapper to barra, jewies and big flathead. Typical of Daiwa, the 703 MFS features more “bling” that most other travel rods on the market. However, it’s not overdone. The blank itself is an attractive metallic purplish colour with red and black bindings on the single-footed Fuji guides. It features a split butt with black EVA grips and a stylish yet minimalist screwdown reel seat.The rod is nicely balanced and, unless you knew otherwise, would be very hard to pick as a multi-piece rod. There are no obvious “joins” or “stiff spots” in the ferrules when the rod is loaded up – it is completely seamless, in fact. Performance as a casting and fish fighting tool is, as far as I can tell, identical to that of a single or two-piece rod. When you consider that, and also consider the fact that a rod like this can easily be stored in its tube under the bed or in a cupboard, you wonder why all your rods aren’t multi-piece! The Daiwa Wilderness travel rod series are available at all good tackle shops.

Jim Harnwell is the editor and publisher of Fishing World magazine. He has been with the magazine since 1995 and has fished around Australia, the South Pacific, NZ, Asia and Europe. Jim’s favourite fishing spot is Jervis Bay, on the NSW South Coast, where he enjoys everything from gamefishing for marlin to popping for whiting. www.fishingworld.com.au


Next Week on Adventure Bound
by Bradley 8th Oct 2010

Adventure Bound – On next weeks show Lee and Andrew are popper fishing in Fiji (just out from Suva) for Giant Trevally using the 6500 S-Extremes on the Saltiga popper rods. The guys land a heap of fish between 10-20kg and get stitched up by some bigger fish.

Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au.


Coastal Barra 153H
by Bradley 8th Oct 2010

Compact yet with big reel line capacity and durability, the CB153H is built specifically to the needs of the dedicated saltwater barra angler. With all metal components anti-corrosion treated, the Coastal Barra will fight the affects of saltwater use with only minimal ordinary maintenance. Featuring CRBB bearings, lightweight aluminium spool, aluminium frame/sideplate, 7 disc super drag and marine grade brass gearing.

Available now the Coastal Barra is set to become extremely popular for the top end barra angler looking for a baitcaster reel with excellent performance but not at high prices.


Mark Gercovich on Interline Rods for Trout Fishing
by Bradley 7th Oct 2010

I usually don’t use my best gear for river trout fishing. The very nature of local river trout fishing in SE Victoria, clambering around steep banks, dodging overhanging trees and keeping it in the car for quick impromptu sessions can be hard on your gear. Therefore my interline rods were being left behind on such trips, however soon I began realizing some significant benefits of interline rods were being sorely missed. There’s nothing worse than clambering down into position to fire off a cast into a likely spot, then having the lure go nowhere because the line catches around a guide.  Because so often that cast is along the bank into a stiff wind at this time off year this was occurring frequently enough to becoming more than just annoying. In situations where you are only getting one cast at a fish you don’t want to blow that chance by a dud cast due to guide wrap.

The Interline also has proved beneficial this season in lake trolling situations. By running a lure way back you are not only keeping it out of the way of the other deeper trolling/downrigger rods but the lure is travelling well away from any disturbance made by the boat. Known in game fishing terms as the ‘shotgun’ lure, this lure is run often as far as 50-60m behind the boat. The shot gun lure has been producing well for us this season at  not only just in the dawn dusk low light periods that usually lend themselves to flat lining, but throughout the day. Using a longer rod like the Daiwa Interline 7’6” model helps keep the line out of the way of the other rods in the set and assists in positive hook ups despite the amount of line out. The longer rod also helps when managing a large frisky trout around the boat side particularly if there are other lines and downriggers still in the water.

The shorter 6’6” model has proved to be a very compact and manageable down rigging rod. The usual annoying problem of line tangling round the guides or rod tip as you attempt to attach the line to the downrigger clip is eliminated by there being no guides. The lack of guides on the interline models also helps reduce tangles should another line come in contact with the rod when turning the boat. The line simply slides along the blank and back to its normal position once the boat has straightened.

Mark Gercovich


Adventure Bound
by Bradley 7th Oct 2010

The Adventure Bound crew have really been getting into the squid fishing lately. During this week they were filming at Queenscliff in Victoria with the latest Daiwa Emeraldas rods, reels, line and jigs. In an action packed morning Lee Rayner the presenter and owner of the Fishing Fever store in Mordialloc Victoria had some incredible fishing. With plenty of Calamari to 2.3 kg, this will sure to be an excellent upcoming show.

Pictured is Lee with a 2.3 kg calamari caught on an Emeraldas SZ-RV jig, Emeraldas interline and Emeraldas 2506 spinning reel.

Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au


Saltist Demon Blood
by Bradley 1st Oct 2010

The all new Saltist Demon Blood rods are now in stores and have become a huge hit amongst saltwater lure anglers. These rods use the latest graphite’s and specialized composites, and by using Daiwa’s famous Bias Wrap Construction to produce an ultra strong, fine diameter blank that resists twisting, improves casting accuracy and has greater hook setting power. Built for optimal performance the DB rods use Fuji’s Silicone Carbide guides and the M tip guides to eliminate line wrap. Being so light these guides really accentuate the blanks characteristics delivering crisp responsive performance, ultimate power and allows for effective line heat dissipation.
The new Demon Blood uses the simple principle of “more muscle and less fat” to produce a fantastic range of offshore rods.