A man from Australia contacted me about building him some fishing rods for a trip up the NSW coast onto the Gulf of Carpentaria and then to Papua New Guinea for mackerel, barra and other fishes. If anyone in Australia would like this man's email address send me an email off-board and I'll send the contact info to you. While I could do this work for him I think that he would be better served (shipping / time) if a builder in Aussie-land did the builds for him.
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// Extract from email:

A 5'6" single handed bait caster around 4kg.
St Croix 5c60mfg. it is 6ft so may have to be cut down. I will be using 20-25lb braid with a 30-50lb mono leader on a low profile baitcaster like the shimano curado or calais
For this rod I want it to be light. I want good sensitive grips and runners.

A 6'6"-7' rod for trolling/lure flicking with mono and general fishing on the way up. I will be using 30lb mono on a penn international baitcaster 975.
I am thinking one of the following st croix
5C70HF-G
5C70MHF-G
5C66MHF-G
This rod will be used with mono but I still want alot of feeling.

and finially a big rod to handle the impoundment barra and PNG bass. Im thinking 6-6'6" and around 15-24kg. I will be running 50-80lb braid and up to 100lb mono leader. I will be using a penn international baitcaster either 975 or 965
I have absolutley no idea what runners to go on this one or grips. Something thats comfortable and heavy duty but still light to handle.
Any recommendations.

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Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken,

I am interested in this job. I would appreciate you passing on my details to him. I build quite a few Barra rods of varying weights. Even if you refer him to my members gallery on this site would be apprecaited.

Mark Fisher
Outback Rods
Ph 08 8087 6067
M : 0411 436261
fishrod@bigpond.com

Thanks heaps
Mark

WOW, bet those 975's don't last long. Unless they really got beefed up lately they were intended for 15 to 20# class.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Mark -
I sent him your contact information in an email and included you as cc. This looks like a very interesting set of rods. I fished for barra about 30 miles from Darwin some years back. We camped near the beach on a small barrier island and had 'salties' bellowing at night. It was SCARY - in the morning there were tracks and slides along the beach. I'm definitely glad that we cleaned the fish and left the carcasses well away from camp.

G'day Ken,

Mate I have been in touch with Rohan and we are sorting through some ideas and suggestions at the moment. I want to thank you very much for your selflessness in passing this customer on. It is much appreciated.

Those Salties are the cause of a number of deaths every year up North. I don't know how keen I'd be about camping on a beach near them. I bet you didn't sleep much!

Best Regards
Mark

If was "most disconcerting" .... 'chokin' darkies' as it were

Ken,
If you ever get the chance to go the NT again take a good torch and go near the water at night , carefully!!!!, and shine the torch around. You'll be amazed at the number of double red dots around, particularly if it's an estuary. A few tears back a couple of mates did the long trip up the east coast to Cape York. They stopped to camp one afternoon at Cape Tribulation which is well north of Cairns. They asked a National Parks ranger who was there were the safest place to camp was. He showed them a location "where the crocs never go". Two years later a big croc demolished a tent and took the bloke that was in it from that same spot!!!
Mark I hope you get the job. Good luck finding a 4 kg blank thats going to handle 20-25 lb braid. If you haven't tried them take a look at the Pacific Composites Stealth DCX664, 666.and 668 The 664 is a 4kg 5ft 6'" baitcaster blank but I doubt it would fish 20lb braid to its capacity. The 666 is a 6-8 kg baitcaster that would better handle the braid and its nearly as light in the tip as the 664. The 668 would handle the braid but its an 8-10 kg job and probably wouldn't throw the lures that this guy has in mind. Ive built a number of boat rods on these blanks and have found them to be very good blanks. Mo tackle at Coffs Harbour have good prices on these and ship them in PVC tubes. If that's too far from you Ross at The Rodworks stocks them under Excell Composites.
ESFNEM Col

Col -
Around 1984 my family and I had a holiday in Cairns - stayed at a motel across from a Zoo on the south side of town. I decided to go fishing at night 'round back of the motel which was on a small estuary. I had a torch with me --- LOTS of 'red dots' - all they saw of me was my backside in retreat. Salties are not something to play around with ... not at all / not ever. I understand that they've now go them jumping out of the water to amuse the tourists.

Ken,
In the NtT they've got double decker tourist boats on the rivers. They suspend dead chickens from poles and have got 3 and 4 metre crocs launching themselves completely out of the water to get a feed. The local fishos are rightly up in arms about it as they are worried that the crocs will associate boats and humans with food. The Japanese tourists can't get enough of it and while someones making a dollar it will probably continue. Far as I know it's still going on.
Was lucky enough to spend a month at Weipa which is near the tip of Cape York on the gulf side. Got stalked by a two meter croc for a couple of hours and we were in a 5 meter boat. The things are absolutely fearless and see anything that moves as one thing only - a potential food source. Would go back tomorrow if I had the chance as the fishing is great unlike what it is in my neck of the woods these days. Just need to keep a constant look out for the crocs and never take anything for granted.
Better stop talking non rod building or the wrath of Tom will be upon us.
ESFNEM Col