Hi, I’m looking at buying my first stratic soon, I know the handles screw in but I have heard reports of people having trouble swapping the handle over from left to right. Can anyone help?  ..read more

Just looking to get some opinions on a custom combo as the title says: Shimano Vanford 5000 Compact XG + SAMAKI ZING XTREME V2 SPINNING ROD 15 - 30LB. Would this be a good combo or would a lighter rod like a 12-25lbs be more suitable? I mainly fish land based off piers and rocks etc, with the occasional boating.   ..read more

G'day Everybody. I recently decided to attempt to create my 4th custom rod. It was deeply inspired by the Daiwa Kix 23. (Black, Olive Green, Silver, Gold). It is a Samurai Premium Rod blank, 2-6lb, Medium Fast, 7'0.  All was done using Fuji reel seats and collars, guides etc.   Below are some photos:   I'm very proud of myself, I have gotten quite fast at it now, I did the design above the reel seat in about 2-3 hours. I completed all the guides and the tip in just over 3 hours. I planned to have done a full covering for the design on the bottom but I ran out of green thre ..read more

Hi all, I'm looking to purchase a UV torch to charge up my lumo beads. etc. Will looking online it commonly comes up with 365nm and 395nm. Which one is better for fishing purposes, to charge up lumo beads and other lumo things. If you have other suggestions I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks for everyones assistance. Kind Regards, Peter ..read more

I’ve been  wanting to make a custom spin  rod for  Tailor  fishing up at Fraser Island for a while now . About a week ago I got on Facebook and  purchased  an old  trashy looking 13 ft butterworth surf rod, (the number on the blank appears to be ss 51569 )for the princely sum of  $50 -hoping I  could do something with the blank. First up , I stripped it all back and shorted the blank down  till it felt real good at 11 foot 8 inches. I wanted the rod to be powerful ,but as light as possible , so got on line and ordered a set of Alps  alumin ..read more

I’ve always stuck to daiwa j braid x8 since it’s cheap $35 for 150m at bcf it’s also very good never had any issues with old or brand new works like a charm . But I’m looking for something much cheaper . I seen this kastking stuff before and have heard good things about it but never had the balls to buy it’s $15-17 for 300m I’m looking for 8lb braid to fill my daiwa legalis LT 2500 I’ve been told that the dye comes off quickly so if I get it I will buy it in white . If anyone’s bought this braid and used it I would like to hear your opinion  ..read more

So, I decided I needed(?) a new reel. As you do. After a bit of research I decided a Shimano 19 Ocea Jigger F Custom 3000HG would fit the bill. So I did some price research and found they were basically $799 plus delivery (give or take a dollar. And in my experience everyone takes a dollar, rather than gives a dollar. Anyhow, back to the story).  Then I found Discovery Japan where the same reel was supposedly $617 delivered! So, being the stupid old bastard that I am, I ordered one. And guess what? It arrived today and seems to be an actual Shimano reel! Even the correct one. Just letting ..read more

Hi All. Just shows you how prices change. I bought this reel just over 12 months ago from BCF. It is one of Shimmano's better reels. I paid $40, which was full retail. Today $80. On special for $64 at the moment. Say no more. Cheers ..read more

I'm in the search for a new fishing reel for an ultra-light, after finding the right reel for me (21 Freams), I scampered around tiring to find it at the right price. After a long search I came to conclusion that it was generally out of my price range, but that's when i found it, a suspiciously cheap Amazon listing selling it for almost $100 cheaper then BCF. I've been hovering over the purchase button for a while now, I am begining to think it could be a fake, or some internals have been stripped and replaced, and that's lead me here to ask a couple questions. Do faked newer generation fishin ..read more

Good Afternoon all. I have some queries regarding a rod which my old neighbour gave to me after moving out of that suburb. He gave them (a few rods, 4 good nick one) to me approx 3-4 years age. I looked at the first one and it was an old bamboo rod and didn't look good so I didn't touch them for 4 years. Recently I was cleaning up and opened them all and to my surprise were some really cool older rods in great condition. The rod I'm most intrigued by is the Daiwa Sprinter : Model SP-602 ML           6"0' (1.83cm)      4-8lb line    &n ..read more