Fishing Australia

With spring bringing many species on the bite along the coast and the opening of the trout season in the hills anglers are starting to dust of their old gear and investigate what’s new. There are two new products that I am particularly excited about, one I found while browsing in a tackle store, and one I have helped design myself:

STORM FLUTTER STICK MAD FLASH
The FlutterStick MadFlash lure is a sinking hard body lure. It has an elusive dance/darting action imparted by the twitching of the rod tip, and when stopped, it falls with a seductive rocking motion. NEW for 2011, the FlutterStick MadFlash is available in a Bream-gobbling 4cm size, perfect for all manner of estuary applications. As the name suggests, the lure is designed to flutter down, just like a wounded baitfish, and hence it works well fished vertically alongside oyster racks, rock walls and snags.

While Captain Kev and I have targeted and scored some XL bream on this lure on the south coast, big flatties also seem to love it. I am also looking forward to trying it out on resident brown trout in the snags. The lure is an easily cast able 5g in weight and available in 5 seductive new colour patterns.

FISHING AUSTRALIA’S ‘GLO TIP’
Here’s one I’ve been helping design and test myself:

Complementing the current Range of Fishing Australia Rod and Reel Combos are the hot new Fishing Australia ‘Glo Tips’. Based on the original Fishing Australia Combos these are the very best Rod and Reel Combinations in their price bracket. They have gone through and extensive design phase followed by an extended and vigorous 5 year testing period around the country carried out by yours truly. Featuring stunning new blue and silver cosmetics the rods are were specifically made to be distinguished in the tackle store via the fluorescent ‘glo tip’. The tip is white in colour during the day, but is highly visible at night but not over bright or overbearing. However if desired the tip can be charged further by a small torch light to glow in low light periods. We did this to help anglers see the sometimes subtle nibbles of big wary dawn and dusk predators.

The rod is made from a high performance fiberglass blank material, the formula of which Okuma keep a secret, and furthermore the tip is specially made to handle the glo tip finishing process, and the result is a unique casting and fish fighting tool that is also incredibly durable.
Interestingly, the process in building the perfect ‘glo tip’ took a long long time and lots of testing before I was happy to put my name on it. I owe much to the support and work of the Okuma team which includes one of our country’s most talented Rod Designer-Dean Ferguson.

Funnily enough there are already some hurried ‘glo tip’ imitations out there-good luck with these. The finishing process on a glo tip is incredibly tricky-Get it wrong and the result is average, but get it right like my team and I eventually did and it is something to behold. The genuine ones have my signature on the rod above the top grip. These combos come with a superb silver/blue anodized reel that can land incredibly big fish and has stood the test of time. The reel is spooled up with the highest quality monofilament available. The range includes over a dozens models with a rod to suit most species from bream flathead and trout up to tuna and kingfish and of course everything in between eg surf fishing models.

The original Fishing Australia Combos are stocked at most tackle stores, while Rays outdoors are the first to get the new ‘glo tips’, more tackle stores will have them soon. Only downside is that they are already in short supply in some towns, so if you want one for Xmas it’s safest to place an order at your local.

See you on the water
Rob Paxevanos