Bugatti Trip

[Stan Konstantaras]

Mind blowing report guys, an excellent effort.
I reckon you guys can still feel the "burn" as a gentle reminder of a memorable trip.
Sore backs all round I hope - well done.
Cheers
stan

[Brock Arifovic]

Jay - Great report mate, well said.

I must thank Duncan & Jay for posting reports, saves me from trying to remember what had happened during the trip. Well done & thanks once again guys.

Also thanks to Matt Vinton for the laughs

[Brandon Khoo]

Great that you guys had a terrific trip. Brock, I think the GT Gods owed you a good trip!

[Jay Burgess]

Jay - Great report mate, well said.

I must thank Duncan & Jay for posting reports, saves me from trying to remember what had happened during the trip. Well done & thanks once again guys.

Also thanks to Matt Vinton for the laughs

No probs Brock.

haha Mat... Silicone Balls 

[Greg Burt]

Was the 'Wookie' being his usual self 

[Brock Arifovic]

Bun

Who are you referring to as the "Wookie"?

[Dave Schmidt]

from looking at the pictures closely, I agree with Steve's assessment on this.

Unfortunately, breakages like this are common but are easily avoided. In the case of Jay's rod, I suspect that the rod slipped out during the day which has resulted in the breakage.

Depending on the manufacturer, I have treated my rods differently in this regard. All of my Smiths fit all the way in, even if I have to sand them to get them to fit in. In the case of Carpenter, I like to get it to not much more than an inch protruding although I wil acknowledge that Carpenter is paranoid that you don't sand them. I think I almost gave Konishi a heart attack when I told him I had sanded one of my UHLs to get it to the point where I was hapy with the fit. In the case of Fishermans which have the finest tolerances in this regard, I also sand them to get it to fit snugly all the way in although most fit almost perfectly out of the factory. Just remember to sand extremely carefully - it only takes a fraction for it to go from not being able to get it in to a snug fit.

What you should also do is get some joint wax for the rods. This is readily available and Smith actually produce it. I am pretty sure that Steve would bring it in alrady but if not, ask Duncan nicely and I'm sure he would. If you can't get this, simply use some candle wax. The use of the wax will significantly reduce the possibility of the the joint slipping when you are using the rod. I have seen rods come further and further out through a day. the wax stick is a very small investment that can prevent a very expensive breakage. Damon was having problems with one of his rods sliping out in NC recently and a bit of wax fixed it straight away.

Hi Brandon I have the Saltiga GT86 and it twists in the join. Havnt had any trouble with it slipping out but would the wax stop it from twisting or is it normal when lobbing out bigger poppers? Probably have to straighten it every dozen casts or so.
Cheer
Dave

[Jay Burgess]

http://www.nomadsportfishing.com.au/newsletter/nsa_newsletter_august2009.htm
http://www.nomadsportfishing.com.au/nsa_trip_reports_2009/nsa_tripreports_bugattireef_july2009.htm

[Jon Li]

I have the Saltiga GT86 and it twists in the join

Hi Dave ,

You should put a layer of epoxy to prevent the rod slipping out from the handle , check the attached image where the rod was loose inside the handle and a strike happened .

Jon .

[Brandon Khoo]

Dave, I agree with Jon's suggestion, if the joint has gotten too loose, then you really need to relayer it with a thin layer of epoxy. This will tighten up the joint again

[Travis Heaps]

Wow fellas - awesome trip by the sounds.  Congrats on getting amongst some good fish and...what's the right word...it's like if something went wrong and I had experienced it then I would say mutual commiserations...however it's the opposite, i've spent the cash, spent the time watching the weather forecast and spent the same time suffering the anticipation...i've also had it all come good like you, so is that mutual congratulations?    I dunno, nice one though 

(PS late trip report reply I know but i've been wrapped up in my other extortionately expensive past time - mountain biking - in Whistler for the last few months...trip is over tomorrow though so back to fishin .  One thing I have taken from the trip though is a t-shirt quote which can be be more the adequately prescribed to GT Popping (which i'll do now)..."GT Popping....as addictive as Crack but twice as expensive" 

[Luke Wyrsta]

"GT Popping....as addictive as Crack but twice as expensive" 

You made me drop my beer Travis - bloody classic!

[Greg Burt]

Bun

Who are you referring to as the "Wookie"?

Matt