Weather forecasts for the Sunday had us hoping that our luck would change and that we would also be able to get into a few fish. Clear conditions weren’t ideal for the surf but discussions with the regulars had indicated that the beach was still running a bit murky as a result of the recent flooding and southerly swells.
Heading down to Marks we were planning on meeting up with Graham Johnson, Rob, Dennis, Mark and a few of the other guys from that side of the world. The plan was simple enough , just bring down a few of the rods that I use in the form of the Century Tip Tornado Ultra lite, LD , LD untrimmed , LD Super Match 12’ , LDSM 13’ , Match, Lite , Sport , The FMJ 13’ , Samantha’s FMA and a few others . Graham Johnson was also planning on bringing a few of his sonic and Zziplex rods that he has procured , with the Bullet and Bullet Hi=Flex being of special interest to me after reading about them on a number of the overseas forums.
Pulling into Marks drive saw that the guys were already having a play with the rods that Graham had brought down a good selection of rods. In short order the rods were also being pulled from the back of my cruiser and the yard was taking on the look of a tackle shop much to the pleasure of everyone.
It was good to finally get my hands on a few of the other branded rods as nothing beats actually getting them out with a bit of room to really feel what they are like, not just shaking them in a shop. After a hasty coffee and talk we had selected the rods to go down onto the beach with and I must say that having to only walk across the road and over the sand dune was tops.
( The beach later on )
The beach was as expected with no discernable formation other than the regular first gutter running the length of the beach interspersed with a few small bars. The water was also discoloured and a little bit lumpy which was to my liking.
Graham Smith was first into setting up as it had been a while since he was out and he wanted to open the account and put his Super match and TTLD through a bit of a work out. Rob decided to start by using my TT ultra light and casting 2 oz’s off his Daiwa 7HT , I should point out that I got the UL as an untrimmed blank which means that it is approximately 2” longer than that of a factory build . It may surprise people that this little difference makes a big difference in the way the rods feels especially when wanting to cast the lighter weights. As I like using this rod for long range spinning as well as bait fishing that is how I built it up.
( Rob and the TT UL )
(Graham unloading his TT Super Match)
Graham Johnson was using his Zziplex’s and Mark Johnson was trying out a few of the rods with the LT13, Bullet Hi-Flex being the initial pick of the bunch. I was using my Tip Tornado Low diameter Super match in the original 13’ length as I find this provides me with plenty of power yet the longer length softens the rods feel whilst taking the casting easy.
( Graham Johnson using the Dvice to get a big pillie bait out )
( Mark Bending up the TTUL )
( Mark Trying out the Zziplex’s )
I had a few casts with the Zziplex hi-flex Bullet and found it to be a very pleasant rod with an easy loading tip and a butt with plenty of power, though with casting on the beach I couldn’t really hit it as hard as I would have liked. The loose footing isn’t the best when trying to get max distances as well as the wet spool adds the spool slip problems.
I’m looking forward to the weekend of the comp where I hope to do a bit more casting with these and a few others that the guys from interstate have to try.
The fish were once again non cooperative and the crabs were making short work of the baits making it necessary to check the rods at regular intervals and put on fresh ones.
Graham Smith was the luck man to have a smile put on his face when his TT Super match let out a howl and he was onto what we hoped was a good fish. After a bit of a battle the culprit turned out to be a small Eagle ray, which whilst putting up a good fight weren’t what we had hoped for. Taking the obligatory picture the little bloke was then sent on its way bag.
( Graham Hooked up to his Eagle ray )
( Gra getting the hook out of the Eagle )
( Heading back home )
( Dennis who came a bit after we had started fishing )
It was good to see the guys casting the rods and the discussions on how they felt and performed also helps me with understanding what other anglers are looking for in their rods.
( Rob with the TTLDSM )
The ability at the end of the session to simply walk over the dune and to the house was very much appreciated as was the BBQ that Rob and his good lady had set up for us. All in all a brilliant day spent doing the things that we love. Really looking forward to the coming weeks as the delivery of some new toys is happening this week and it gives me another reason to head out for a fish and cast.
Thanks to everyone that made it a great day and a pleasure to be part of the ASF.
