There's nothing quite like living close to a river, particularly when its summer, the bream are jumping and you've got a boat in the backyard. Story by Ted Rose. It is a good feeling living a mere kilometre from the river. And it's even better when the same river is rich in fishing opportunities and not far from the beaches of the Southern and Indian Oceans of West Australia. It is also kind of nice having a fine boat in the garage and an enormous amount of fishing tackle to indulge your passion. All of the above came to mind the other day whilst I was fiddling about with something or other in the garage and I realised that almost my entire life revolves around fishing and related equipment. Even my four-wheel drive vehicle parked in the carport was acquired with a fishing/camping purpose in mind. Anyway, it occurred to me that I had not wet a line for a couple of weeks, and it was high time I went fishing. Since the weather and time of year ruled out offshore fishing the river was the obvious choice. So after mixing up a batch of pilchard berley, and grabbing a couple of packets of prawns it was time to try the river for a bream or two. Now, bream fishing is one of the most popular forms of angling right across Australia and I'm kind of partial to it myself. There are times when the company of a friend is appreciated, and times when a solitary experience is mighty fine. But, mostly, I like to take the wife, and this was one of those times. Wives are generally better anglers than their husbands and are often successful when the hubby fails. So working on that theory I find expedient to equip my wife with top grade equipment. In fact, she is very fond of her bream outfit, a Penn 450 reel coupled with a shortish Ugly Stik rod. For more information log on to www.marinews.com Travel articles

The bimini twist is one of the better methods for developing a strong double in fishing line. It is one of the few that works quite well when working the super-lines such as braid or gelspun line. It looks a little difficult to tie, however, with just a little practice it is easy to master and great when worked in light to medium lines. If chasing larger game fish go with a plait, however, for lighter game fish it’s quite okay. There is always a lot of debate about the Bimini Twists ability to retain original line strength. In reality that varies considerably with line type, structure and the pulling motion inflicted. Stretch lines tend to retain the original strength better than non stretch. A sudden jerk on any line will see it break at less weight than a moderate constantly growing weight. In the case of the super lines such as braid and gelspun, the more twists you place in the formation of the knot the better. The more twists, the longer the knot, the longer the knot the greater the give or stretch in it. If using the Bimini Twist with super lines, be sure to set your drag correctly and use a rod with some flex. Both these factors will help reduce any shock when a fast running fish strikes and help the bimini twist retain strength. When tying a Bimini Twist in super lines, increase the number of twists to 60 or even more. Doubles and loops are a major part of sports fishing and loop to loop connections are essential for the connection of wind on leaders and for the connection of fly line to backing from the reel. There are a number of differing methods of tying the Bimini Twist. The method demonstrated at http://www.marinews.com is one of the simplest to master.