Fishing Monthly Magazine | October 2020 Tackle Extra

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2020

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Strike Pro Armour Braid

$ Price/m - 13 cents

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Berkley X5

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Daiwa J-Braid x4

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Siglon PEx4

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The ultimate 20lb braid test? Here’s what we found

by Steve Morgan We’ve been planning to do this test for a pretty long time. Finally, we assembled all of the sample lines just before COVID hit. So it all got shelved during lockdown and only reappeared on the radar in the middle of 2020.

At that point I hit up Gareth Williams from Brisbane’s Tackle Tactics to borrow some of his testing machines. Gareth recently acquired Platypus lines and as far as I know is the biggest braid manufacturer in Australia.

Gareth agreed, and after a few hiccups (which involved us taking out power to the entire TT operations while they were ultra-busy) we got the work done.

What are the results? Well, you’ll need to read on to find out, but I learned a lot about braid and braid testing along the way. And I’m happy to take y’all along on the journey.

Gareth summed it up pretty well on day one.

“Although braid has plenty of amazing properties, it’s all pretty poor when it comes to abrasion resistance - monofilament line will win that battle every day of the week. It’s why we tie leaders to the end of most braid setups. Abrasion resistance and to reduce visibility,” he said.

At the end of the day, there’s

> Highly technical gear - like this $60

Aldi microscope - got dragged out to try and untangle the braid equation.

plenty of ways to test a braided line.

We tested with the machinery that we had available. Other companies test different ways and other industries test different ways as well.

And we know that different anglers look for different properties in a line. Some want thinness, others abrasion resistance and others just want to spend as little money as possible to get the job done. We get all of that, which is why we’re aiming to rank the lines in plenty of different ways based on these preferences.

The first thing that stood out to me

Nomad Pandora braid

$ Price/m - 20 cents

60x >

Strike Pro CFS Fish Floss

$ Price/m - 20 cents

60x

> Here’s Platypus’ abrasion testing machine. It’s been around for decades but there seems to be no standard way to test abrasion that’s accepted industry-wide.

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was that there’s no, one line that’s the best at everything. If there was a braid that was the cheapest, thinnest, most abrasion resistant, most supple and had amazing knot strength, then we’d all just buy that.

Guess what - it doesn’t exist - at least not yet.

There’s 24 lines in our test, which we think represent most of the braids on the market today. There were a few companies who declined to participate in the testing, and we didn’t force the point.

Let’s start off at the easiest comparisons first …. Let’s rank the braids cheapest to dearest.

>

Price

Line Price/m Strike Pro Armour Braid 0.13 Berkley X5 0.15 Daiwa J-Braid x4 0.16 Siglon PEx4 0.17 Nomad Pandora braid 0.20 Strike Pro CFS Fish Floss 0.20 Daiwa J-Braid x8 0.23 Berkley X9 0.23 Siglon PEx8 0.23 Platypus Platinum Braid 0.25 Toray Super Strong PE 0.25 Sufix x8 0.26 Shimano Kairiki braid 0.27 Daiwa J-Braid Grand 0.28 Platypus Bionic Braid 0.29 Sufix 832 0.29 Platypus P8 0.29 Power Pro 0.29 Toray Jigging PE PG 0.30 Schneider Super 8 0.33 Sufix 131 0.36 Power Pro V2 0.36 Daiwa Saltiga EX 0.50 Toray Sea Bass PE 0.57 There’s lots of variability in braid packaging. Some are measured in metres, others in yards and there’s all sorts of different lengths. We have converted all of the braids into price per metre. It’s worth taking into account, because the cheapest braid (Strike Pro Armour Braid at 13c/m is less than a quarter of the price of the dearest (Daiwa Saltiga EX at 57c/m).

All of these prices are based on the manufacturers’ stated Recommended Retail Price (RRP).

Chances are that you may well be able to get a better deal from your local, independent tackle store, so keep that in mind when looking at these rankings.

BREAKING STRENGTH One property that we could test that won’t stimulate much argument is the overall breaking strength of the line in a straight pull. Platypus had a machine just for that and it was pretty easy to use. You had to load the line

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into the machine making sure that it wasn’t pinched anywhere and you flicked a switch to do the rest.

Overall, the results were very tightly grouped - there was usually only a pound or two difference between the highest and lowest breaking strain in a particular line.

Where there was a lot of variability, however, was the actual strength of the lines. In fact, none of the lines we tested broke at 20lb - the closest was Toray SeaBass PE which averaged at 22.8lb.

The strongest “20lb” line in our tests was the Schneider Super Smooth Braid 8, which didn’t let go until it hit a staggering 53.3lb.

But there wasn’t daylight between the places, Sufix x8 and Daiwa J-Braid x8 both came in at 48lb. And with the strongest 20lb breaking at nearly double the weakest, you have to question the way that manufacturers label their braided lines.

Indeed, the labels often give this variability away. Berkley braids are a prime example of this and they label a braid once that will sell into many worldwide markets.

Daiwa J-Braid x8

2020

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>

$ Price/m - 25 cents

60x Toray Super Strong PE

> Berkley’s labelling tells the story.

Amazingly, this 20lb is stated to break at 37lb, it actually breaks at more than this and everyone seems OK with this.

You can see in the image that Berkley’s 20lb X5 braid is labelled for USA, Europe and Asian markets simultaneously. It’s a 20lb braid in USA, a 17kg (37.5lb) in Europe and 0.17mm. In Asia it’s called 37lb and when we tested it, it breaks at 37.5lb.

Confusing? You bet. Especially since Australia gets braids that were originally made for all of these markets.

From what I gather, Americans want a 20lb braid that breaks at 40lb, Europeans work on diameter and Asians just want to tell the truth about the breaking strain!

So, to be fair, we should take

>

$ Price/m - 25 cents

60x Sufix x8

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$ Price/m - 26 cents

60x

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Shimano Kairiki braid

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... continued from page 5

breaking strain into account when looking at things like diameter, because we are literally presented with lines between 23 and 53lb breaking strain here. And this will effect other tests, like abrasion resistance.

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Daiwa J-Braid Grand

$ Price/m - 28 cents

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Platypus Bionic Braid

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60x

Tested Breaking Strength

Line Toray Sea Bass PE Sign PEx8 Siglon PEx4 Daiwa Saltiga EX Platypus Platinum Braid Toray Jigging PE PG Sufix 131 Nomad Pandora braid Platypus Bionic Braid Strike Pro CFS Fish Floss Toray Super Strong PE Strike Pro Armour Braid Power Pro V2 Power Pro Shimano Kairiki braid Berkley X5 Berkley X9 Sufix 832 Daiwa J-Braid Grand Platypus P8 Daiwa J-Braid x4 Daiwa J-Braid x8 Sufix x8 Schneider Super 8

lb 22.8 23.2 23.4 24.6 24.8 26.4 27.8 30.2 31.1 31.8 34.3 34.8 35.3 35.5 36.8 37.5 38.4 38.8 39.6 40.7 43.4 48.0 48.0 53.3

been using it for years.

It uses a moving rough surface (800 grit sandpaper) against a small length of line under a small amount of pressure.

But when we see how other line companies test their abrasion resistance, it’s the polar opposite.

Daiwa have a video on their site that shows their J-Braid being abrasion tested on their own machines. It moves the line across a smooth, smaller diameter edge under much more pressure?

And I’m sure that each manufacturer has their own testing regime.

Which one is right? Maybe they all are.

What we learned very quickly was that if you did a series of tests that used the same piece of sandpaper, it would fill up with abraded pieces of fishing line and the results would 100% reflect the order in which the lines were put on the machine. To test this, we ran the same line repeatedly over an unchanged piece of sandpaper.

>

Using Same Sandpaper Test # 1 2 3 4 5

Revolutions 40 77 134 298 344

ABRASION RESISTANCE

>

Sufix 832

$ Price/m - 29 cents

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Platypus P8

This is the section which will definitely cause the most debate. Let me remind you of Gareth Williams’ original words. “…it’s all pretty poor when it comes to abrasion resistance - monofilament line will win that battle every day of the week,” he said.

We also borrowed Platypus’ line abrasion testing machine. You can see exactly how we set up the machine and used it in the accompanying video (that you can watch by scanning the QR code at the start of this article) and we did it the same way that they have

$ Price/m - 29 cents

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Power Pro

$ Price/m - 29 cents

60x

> Yep. There were some pretty

good messes that we made on the way to our final conclusions.

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By the 5th test, the result was nearly 10 times more revolutions than the first test. So any of the test you see online that use the same piece of sandpaper over and over will be rubbish. The later they test the line, the more abrasion resistant it will appear.

That said, this type of ‘brute force’ testing will also be influenced by several factors and I think that the main two are the type and amount of line coating that the braid has and the number of strands in the braid itself.

The higher the number of strands in a braided line (there’s 4 up to 13 in the samples we tested), the thinner the individual strands are and the more easily they seem to be plucked apart by the grit.

But also, a thick line coating tends to still have an effect of dampening the sandpaper’s effectiveness. For instance the Strike Pro Armour Braid seemed to wear nearly all the way through and then get polished by the sandpaper fill of the coating.

So we took a different tack. We decided to measure the lines and plot the thickness of the line against abrasion resistance. If there there was a trend between thickness and abrasion resistance, then thickness and breaking strain, there’s no point ranking lines in terms of which one is more abrasion resistant than the other. It’s not a fair fight.

So now all we had to do is measure the diameter of the lines.

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Toray Jigging PE PG

2020

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$ Price/m - 30 cents

60x Schneider Super 8

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$ Price/m - 33 cents > Wrapping the test line around a glass microscope slide and photographing under the 60x setting gave us a good enough image to measure diameter.

BRAID THICKNESS Of course, measuring the thickness of the braids isn’s an easy task. Some braids flatten out easily, meaning that when you measure diameter - even with an awesome pair of verniers - it’ll read thinner than it actually is. Some companies use lasers to average a diameter and others don’t even state a thickness on their packaging. Many Asian braids use a PE rating as a proxy.

So out came the Aldi microscope, a metal ruler and some creative thinking to get the job done.

We wrapped the braid 10 times around a glass slide under a small, constant pressure and taped off both ends.

We then put the slide under a constant (60x) magnification with a constant focal length and took a pic. Then we gave the ruler the same treatment and on the computer, made a moveable measurer with 1/10th of a millimetre increments.

We’d pick the thickest, thinnest and then three random measurements of the diameter and average these out to get a number.

That was ‘our’ braid thickness.

During the process, there were some interesting images generated.

For instance with the Sufix 832 braid, you could quite easily see the single, GoreTex fibre running through the line. It seemed to not take any of the colouration that the other fibres.

Most of the 4-strand braid were noticeably angular. You can feel this through your fingers when when you run the line through it. The more strands in the braid, the smoother it feels as a general rule.

But what did we find?

Some of the measurements were pretty much spot-on with what was written on the packaging. If there was to be a “Most Honest” award, it’d go to Siglon - their breaking strengths and diameters stated on the packaging were pretty close.

Scan the QR code to watch how we tested these lines.

Most were thicker than stated.

None were thinner. Regardless, we were able to ascribe a diameter to all test samples and plot this against the measured breaking strength.

And guess what - there’s a correlation between thickness and strength. Who would have thought?

After that, we plotted strength v abrasion test results and also thickness v abrasion. Also a relationship.

All of this passes the pub-test, although there’d definitely be some Karens on social media that’s sense a conspiracy.

60x Sufix 131

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$ Price/m - 36 cents

60x Power Pro V2

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$ Price/m - 36 cents

60x Daiwa Saltiga EX

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$ Price/m - 50 cents

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60x Toray Sea Bass PE

>

$ Price/m - 57 cents

60x

> Here’s the Platypus’ line strength testing machine in action.

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SO WHAT CAN WE REPORT? After finding correlations between strength, diameter and abrasion resistance, we’ve decided no not publish the individual results for these three tests.

It’s not a fair fight.

Generally, a non-Asian market braid labelled 20lb line will all of the

fights. That’s because it’s really a 40lb braid.

Generally the Japanese braids are pretty honest, the American ones are understated and the Europeans seem to buy on diameter and don’t really worry about anything else.

Does this make it a ridiculously difficult market for the consumer? Yep. Should there be some standardisation in how braids are labelled? Most definitely. Will this Fishing Monthly

Strength v Diameter

article make it happen? It’s unlikely.

This sort of sucks, because we went into this piece hoping to come out with some pretty solid rankings on what’s the best and what’s the rubbish.

In reality, It comes down to you.

Armed with this information at least you’ll know that when you’re buying braid to fill up your next reel, if it feels nice, it’ll most likely do the job and if you’re on a budget, you know what

braids to look at.

And when you’re fishing it, just make sure that you have enough leader to cover all of the contact with fish and structure.

Like most of our features, you can watch the video-version of this test on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel.

You can do it by scanning the QR code at the start of the article and we all know how to do it now, thanks to COVID.

Diameter v Abrasion

Strength v Abrasion

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The original Concept Z rocked the industry with its ground-breaking CZB technology.

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Shimano’s Saragosa SW has built a reputation across the globe for remarkable cranking power and unmatched durability.

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The new Vanford is the latest addition to Shimano’s spinning category with this series being designed to become the ultimate finesse fishing reel with a super-fast start up. The Vanford series replaces the iconic Stradic Ci4+ and is equipped with a range of technology upgrades that sets the Vanford apart. A lighter and more balanced new MGL rotor makes the reel 48% lighter to turn when compared to a standard rotor design.

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20 Aird-X Rods

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Infeet/Infeet Z Rods

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Saltist Hyper Rods

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Anthem Saltwater Rods

DAIWA

DAIWA

DAIWA

SHIMANO

Aird is a name synonymous with affordable quality from Daiwa, with Aird LT reels setting the bar for small spinning reel performance. Now, that same evolution is here for rod design, with the introduction of 20 Aird-X. Featuring Daiwa’s Braiding-X technology, Aird-X blanks are more powerful than ever, and have been made lighter by the use of new finishing techniques to reduce unnecessary weight. This reduction in weight improves blank sensitivity, making 20 Aird-X the most sensitive rods in this price point Daiwa has ever produced.

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Joining Shimano’s extensive range of saltwater rods, the new 2020 Anthem SW series is built tough and designed specifically for Australian anglers. This series of dedicated sportfishing series of rods feature 12 purpose-built models that include 2 overhead, 6 spin, 2 stick bait and 3 jigging models across varying line ratings.

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NEW 2020PRODUCTS PRODUCTS >> NEW 2020

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T Curve 2020

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Gulp 9” Jerkshad

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This year brings anglers a redesigned and upgraded iconic Shimano favourite, the new TCurve 2020 series. The reputable TCurve series has been used by Australian anglers for years and it was time to bring this series back to life and into anglers’ hands once again. The new range consists of 13 specially designed models to suit an array of fishing styles and techniques throughout Australia. The cosmetic design features a classy grey blank with slightly darker bindings to complete the sleek new look, giving it a modern finish. The butt design features a mix of custom shaped EVA and cork split grip butt sections with a Fuji reel seat. The guides showcase Fuji’s premium Faz Lite K frames in silver, which provide great casting performance. The Faz Lite guides are designed to disperse line heat from extended fights around the guide, reducing damage, ensuring you land that PB fish.

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> FISHING TACKLE

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Powerbait HD Hollowbelly

BERKLEY

The Hollowbelly range needs little introduction, a renowned paddle tail profile known for one of the widest, most irresistible body rolls in the game.

This year, the Hollowbelly gets an upgrade of High Definition finishes.

There are four ultra-realistic colours in the lineup: Yakka, Slimy, Mullet and Garfish, all of which are high on the hit list of an Aussie predator’s menu.

Available in 4 new colours, 3 sizes: 4”, 5”, 6”.

RRP $14.99 W

berkley-fishing.com.au/ Berkley Fishing berkleyfishing_aus

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60M Crankbait

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Bait Junkie Soft Plastics

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Hard Armour Leader

JOLLIP

DAIWA

PLATYPUS

Jollip lures Specialise in making bass lures and now have stepped up to the plate with this awesome new crank bait the MF 60M. Already in its prototype stages it has taken out a 1st and 2nd place in the ABT Bass Electric series on the venue it was designed on - the mighty Richmond River.

The MF 60M is the ultimate river crank bait reaching depths up to 4ft paired with its silent approach it’s a must in your tackle tray this summer.

Coming in a range of great Jollip colours they’re sure to be one that ticks your box.

These will be available shortly at www. jolliplures.com.

RRP: $23.00

Bait Junkie is the culmination of years of collaboration between Daiwa engineers from Japan and local Australian R&D teams. Developed specifically for Australian conditions, Bait Junkie is the furthest evolution of soft bait design, incorporating innovative material science with unique and functional 2D and 3D designs to release a full range of soft plastics that are just as effective as they are exciting.

Made from Daiwa’s Elastomax material, Bait Junkie baits are stretchy, durable and buoyant material, with Elastomax allowing thinner designs to be created to optimised swimming action and performance at slow speeds.

Amino-X, a natural based flavour and scent masks any unnatural plastic odours or smells, while Bait Junkie baits and packs are also loaded with Shrimp PowerOil, a powerful shrimp-based formula to make sure that the moment your lure hits the water it’s working. The range includes six of Australia’s most popular soft plastics models, including 2.5” and 4” Grub, 2.5” and 3.2” Minnow, and 5” and 7” Jerkshad.

Packaged in a double clam tray to keep each bait straight and true and kink free, Bait Junkies are available in an extensive range of fish catching colours, with UV colours prominent throughout the range. Built tough and designed for Australian anglers and species Bait Junkie is the range to give you your soft plastic fix.

RRP: $11.99

Tackle Tactics history of product development and innovation has seen a new release from Australia’s oldest fishing tackle brand, Platypus Fishing Lines (Australian Made since 1898).

Hard Armour Leader is the result of countless hours of laboratory and on-water testing and R&D, resulting in a leader that has increased knot strength and up to 20% more strength and abrasion resistance when compared with equivalent diameter leaders from leading brands.

Available in both a Tough, for maximum abrasion resistance in harsh environments, and Supple for maximum action without sacrificing abrasion resistance, Hard Armour is manufactured in Australia from premium Japanese co-polymers for outstanding clarity, knot and crimp strength and controlled stretch for shock absorption. Includes a bonus line tamer for easy dispensing and spool management.

Hard Armour Tough: 20lb – 150lb / Supple: 20lb – 100lb RRP: $19.95

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jolliplures.com Jollip Lures @jolliplures

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fishplatypus.com.au Platypus Fishing Lines @platypus_lines

daiwafishing.com.au Daiwa Australia @daiwaaustralia FISHING TACKLE

2020

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EXTRA

2020

> FISHING TACKLE

NEW 2020PRODUCTS PRODUCTS >> NEW 2020

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Gulp! Gel | Rub On Scent

BERKLEY

You’ve been asking for it forever. We’ve finally perfected the development. 30 years of scientific research and on-water testing boiled down into one tube of undisputed fish catching ability. Now, legendary Gulp! scent isn’t just for soft baits, but can be applied to all manner of lures. No other scent triggers a bite response from fish quite like Gulp!

Available in 35ml tube.

RRP $14.99 W

berkley-fishing.com.au/ Berkley Fishing berkleyfishing_aus

Roadie 24 Hard Cooler 2

YETI

The Roadie® 24 Hard Cooler is a fresh take on a tried-and-true YETI favourite.

It’s 10% lighter, holds 20% more, and performs 30% better thermally than its legendary predecessor. With no drain plug, you can ditch excess water or ice with a quick flip. The all-new design accommodates an upright bottle of wine, allowing you to instantly up your picnic game. Plus, its slim design means it’ll slide behind the front seat of the car, giving you quick access to ice-cold drinks no matter how long the journey.

Please note: The Dry Goods Basket is sold separately.

RRP: $299.95

Trailhead Camp Chair YETI

Once you’ve conquered a killer trail, you’ve earned an even better break. Our Trailhead™ Camp Chair is a best-in-class seat designed for legendary durability and hardcore comfort. Included carry bag makes it easy to take your chair on the trail. And ultra-supportive FlexGrid™ Fabric makes for a comfortable landing.

You and your seat are going places.

RRP: $399.95 W

au.yeti.com YETI @yeti_au

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FISHING TACKLE

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Panga 75 Duffel

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Edge Master

YETI

PLANO

The YETI Panga™ 75 is an ultra-durable, fully submersible dry duffel. This dry bag is built to take a beating and keep your gear dry in the face of whitewater, or when you’re fishing off-shore. This is a whole new category of waterproof.

RRP: $449.95

Over two years in the making and countless hours of research and development has led to a tackle storage system that solves every major problem anglers encounter.

Every feature on Plano’s new EDGE series is part of a well thought out system to help you be a better angler.

With a family of 10 boxes offering both general purpose and specialised storage that fit into the current Plano system, they will prolong the life of your tackle and give you an edge on the water.

One quick glance shows these tackle boxes are different. Look closer and you’ll find they’re not only different – they’re better in every way possible.

The EDGE Crank features the patentpending Crankbait Catcher – a system of silicone pegs that hold crankbaits securely to prevent hook tangles. This is the first crankbait storage solution of its kind and you’ll only find it from the fishing experts at Plano. The shallow depth of the EDGE Crank – Small provides the perfect protection for finesse baits, jerk baits and slim-profile lures. Also available in an extra-large size for deep-diving crankbaits.

RRP: $69.95

Daytrip Lunch Box YETI

This fresh-for-hours, easy-to-clean lunch box is your one-way ticket to packing a lunch you’ll actually look forward to. It’s loaded to the gills with insulation power, engineered with a water-resistant exterior, and built with a rock-solid form factor so it holds its own when riding in backpacks and bags.

RRP: $109.95 W

au.yeti.com YETI @yeti_au

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jmgillies.com.au JM Gillies @jm.gillies

Meet Jack’s Little Fat Brother...

NEW FOR 2020 Diving jerk bait up to 10ft • troll or cast retrieve with twitching action • available in 6 colours • best for jacks, flathead & barra • rrp $30

TWITCH 105

Shadow Rap Fat Jack 04

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R AD JN H S Z 60mm • 10 grams • floats when paused • available in 6 colours • best for bass • rrp $25

online store and stockists

www.jolliplures.com

Slow Rise • Subtle Rattling with Glass Beads • Wire Through Construction • VMC Black Nickel Hooks • Targeted for all Estuary Species both Freshwater & Saltwater

Model No.

MSRP

Running Depth

Length

Weight

Buoyancy

SDRFJ04

$23.95

3m

4cm

4g

Slow Rise

All new website now live

All your fishing needs at the click of a button

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Latest News • Product and Species Search • Where to Buy Product Reviews • Newsletter • Video Content for Various Products Tips and Techniques • Optimised viewing on all devices

Visit us online at

www.jmgillies.com.au jm.gillies

Rapala

@rapalaaustralia

rapala.com.au FISHING TACKLE

2020

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