Need Swains reef fishing trip advice.

[rando]

Just remember if you get snagged with 100lb line it is a bitch to break. I have used 75lb and 50lb at different times,even went down to 40 on one trip.
Forty is a bit to hard on your hands if you get a good one on.
Raid one of the kids bikes and take the tube to cut up for finger stalls.
Hand lining in the shallows is a gas, especially when an xxos spangled picks your bait up and heads for the bricks you wont believe how hard some of those critters up there can go.

Another tip,get a hand line with a winder handle. Saves a heap of time when you want to move.
You will have a heap of loose line in the bottom of the boat ,and it will save on tangles and twist as well

You lucky bugger

[Rip it up]

If you have a boilermaker mate get a de hooker made up.

Basically. 6mm stainless rod bent into a right hook shape (4mm gap) at one end and a handle on the other.

Grab the line. Slide the de hooker up against your hook inside the fishes mouth. And pull against each other. One flick of the wrist and they are gone.

Good for the underside critters.


Damo's dodgy boat building repair centre.

[rtp1984]

Hey mate. Not long to go now.

I mi done a trip on the iron joy a couple of years ago. You won't be disappointed.
My best advice for you is dint be obliged to fish only out if the dories. We got plenty of reds, nannies, gold bands ect fishing a bit deeper water off the big boat.

regardless you will have a great time.
Cant what to see the report.

Cheers rob

[seastorm]

Hi SlimeyGecko
I have just come back from the Swains 2 weeks ago on the Iron Joy, we had a shit week 25-33knts all week, but Dave the skipper tried all week for us and Stuart the chef serves up awesome food all week. I would take up some Rapala red white lures (aka Qantas) as the work the best also a bag of balloons and ganged hooks, float out the back of the main boat we got spanish mac and green job fish like this. Take your squid jigs we got a dozen one night and Stuart then did salt and pepper squid the next arvo for us. We had to fished the shallows a lot due to wind and the boys who had overheads with mono did the best as they float lined down. Also take a sea anchor with you to slow down your drift in the dories. We take up out own GPS and sounder for the dories. If you need to know anymore just PM me.
Andrew

[Gumby_III]

Probably a bit late for you, but I used a Live Fibre spin rod with a Penn 950 out of the dories. Rig was a light sinker just above the hook with either squid or pillie as bait. From the mother boat it was a Gary Howard rod matched with an overhead. If I had my time again, I would go a lever drag rather than star drag.

i would love to be going again, but will find it difficult to justify to SWMBO given I have just outlayed fro a boat and have already had 2 holidays without her this year and the group I would normally go with are going the week before I go skiing for 2 weeks. Well maybe skiing given the lack of snow in Australia this year so far.