,
Not good
(That it's needed)
Good 
,
Just to let you know IA Oct is now out and contains Soft Plastics III,
from your humble scribe, that attempts to cover techniques.....
,
Been using YGK G-Soul WX8 braid for a year or so with excellent results until very recently when problems have begun......I've been getting the mother of all wind knots every other cast which has never happened before but I think I know why. Recently I've been fishing a lot with weightless soft plastics (Wave worms, Midways, Senkos, Flash-J, Still Hunt, ect) and, combined with not using a swivel clip having moved on to Delanlande INOX No6 clips or the good old JB No3 with the swivel removed, I think I've put twist into the line. Despite running it out across various surfaces and winding back onto the spool numerous times to remove the twist the problem won't go away. The braid looks perfect with no evidence of a problem even when off the spool but I think its time to reload with new and go back to using the JB No3, with swivel intact, when fishing weightless soft plastics.
,
Decided to pass on the All Ireland Hurling final between Tipperary and Kilkenny this afternoon in favour of............going fishing, what a surprise! The phrase "Less than ideal conditions" is a bit overused I feel but casting a lure into 30knot+ headwind which was enough in itself to put a bend in the rod and with the lures barely pentrating (maybe not a day for the fly) I think you could definately say these were not ideal conditions. You can imagine what the sea looked like, big waves and lots of white water. I opted for soft plastics with various patterns of shads and was delighted to hook and eventually land this 6lber on a Sawamura One up Shad in #064 (Wakasagi) pattern supplied by
Absolute Fishing after a battle that nearly ended in disaster when the fish dived for the kelp and nearly succeded in its escape bid. It just goes to show that the fish can still be on the feed in the wildest conditions and can be caught if you have the tactics right.
,
Ok, so it cost as much as a half decent rod but this
Simms wading stick was worth every penny in my opinion. Its saved my bacon so many times in terms of avoiding certain falls which could have cost me a lot more.
Don't know why I didn't see the potential and get one sooner, its not so much the deep water wading its more the loose wet weed covering the rocks that no boot can grip. Its no trouble to carry when its not needed either