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ARNHEMLAND BARRAMUNDI NATURE LODGE

Unbelievable as it may appear, with the Calais 200DC you can choose between: Extreme Distance Mode that allows for more than 50 000 rpm; Long Distance Mode which is an all-round setting for most fishing applications; Accuracy Mode which suits slow-speed casting to tight spots and skipping lures under branches; and Wind Mode which is what you dial in when faced with a gusty headwind.

How good is that? But it gets better: the new Calais has an amazing 7:1 gear ratio and can be cranked up to a full 6 kg of drag.

It’s little wonder that the superb Calais 200DC was a runaway winner as the Best New Reel at the tackle show.

Of course, like all great things, it comes at a price – just a buck short of a gorilla in fact.

But wouldn’t you just love one to turn up under the pine needles next Christmas?

Also new from Shimano this year are four models to complement the workhorse Curado 200 7:1 and 5:1 baitcasters: a petite CU 100SV; a big, powerful CU 300SV; and two lefthand reels in the 200 size.

In baitcasting rods, the new Australian-designed G.Loomis ForceLite range was the pick of what was on offer for barra anglers who don’t mind to spend a quid.

The two one-piece models in the range that I fancied are the powerful yet feather-light ForceLite 756 and slightly-less-aggressive 755.

Both incorporate a blended taper which uses tougher graphite materials at the bottom end and delicate high-modulus graphite in the tip section.

These rods are ideally-suited to using braid on barra because they have a forgiving tip section to cope with those explosive jumps, but also have a gutsy lower end for putting the wood on rampaging fish.

Also on display at the show was a two-piece ForceLite 724 which is the rod you take with you when you travel to new barra territory.

For bluewater anglers, there were two new casting and two new spinning rods in the G.Loomis ProBlue range.

The ProBlue 78-30 overhead casting rod is the one to go for when targeting black jew on the bottom, or trolling for big macks and GTs.

Finally from G.Loomis is the new MossyBack range which is considerably more affordable than the delightful Bass & Barra series released a couple of years ago.

You could go on forever about the vast array of exciting new rods from Shimano, but I was particularly pleased to see the top-value Raider range revamped to incorporate Fuji reel seats and fixed cork grips.

In rods applicable to the Territory, the number of high-quality, Ian Miller-designed rods in the T-Curve range was breathtaking.

Two pearlers in the range are the new T-Curve Power Spin and T-Curve Power Cast.

In the lure department, the new Classic F18 Manta Ray, in a fabulous colour range, is a crash-diver that can be cast or trolled.

Although new at the show, the F18 has been braining barra in Territory waters for a couple of months now.

Bandit lures are fairly new on the scene, and you just about needed sunnies to check out the brilliant new colours on display.

My pick is the deep-diving Bandit Prowler, a medium-sized lure which comes with super-strong VMC trebles.

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Fisheries research has extended the competition it is running for the capture of jewfish over 130 cm in total length.

This competition has been extended to 21 September due to the lack of large fish brought into Fisheries so far this year.

Only 5 jewies over this length have been brought in and many more are needed to try and determine how old these fish are by looking at their ear bones or otoliths.

Anglers who catch a jewie over 130 cm can bring it into Fisheries research at Berrimah Research Farm off Makagon Road or phone 89992144 for your catch mto be picked up.

Any angler who enters a jewie over 130 cm into the competition will go into a draw to win a Shimano rod and reel combo valued at $350.

The largest jewie entered in the competition so far – a whopper 139 cm and 22.6 kg fish – was caught by Shane Richardson last weekend off Charles Point .