Is there anything else in the lake other than Carp?
At the rate you are going hopefully one day the answer might be, Yes. 
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Hi Mark @mark_m
I have lived near the lake for 46 years . When I first moved there only eels were in the lake . Later on they tried releasing Redfin (English Perch ) but they did not flourish and in the last 5 years I have only caught one of them .
When I first saw lake you could see the bottom clearly .After the carp arrived this is no longer the case .
Even though to walk around the lake it is 3.3 kilometres the average depth is only 1 metre . This is too shallow for native fish to survive . Fifty years ago they drained Albert Park Lake ( where the Formula 1 race track is ) and deepened it . It now has a thriving population of native fish i e Golden Perch , Silver perch and McQuarrie Perch as well as trout which are tagged and you can win up to $10,000 dollars for a gold tagged fish .
Roxburgh Park Lake which is near me too has been stocked with Murray Cod and other natives . Same deal on the tags for money . These are very deep lakes .
Our lake being so shallow heats up very quickly on a hot day so natives cannot survive . It needs to be deepened but we live on the Iramoo Lava Plain and go down 1.5 metres you hit rock . The area is very built up so I guess blasting would not be an option .
The Lake used to be a race track before it flooded . In the 1950ās Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss raced there . The old timers tell me it was like a dust bowl with large rock out crops . We have suggested to the local council to just put 8-10 deep holes , say 5 metes deep and 20 metes in diameter , around the lake and then try a native fish restock . At the present time we have not heard back from them .
I believe you fish for whatās there . If itās carp you set yourself goals . My biggest out of the lake is 7.6 KG and 83 CM long . Iām trying for an 8 KG and over 90 cm long .
A fact not many people are aware of is that the European Carp is the number one sport fish fished for in the world . Hope this answers some of your questions .
Hereās hoping in the future the council does deepen the lake and and thereby add some diversity regarding fish available to be taken .
Mick
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Hi Fred @Fred123
In Victoria tagged fish are released in the water ways . One of the lakes near me still has a few golden tag fish available to catch . I think the tag pays between $2000 and $10,000 . Our Government in Victoria is very pro active re fishing and stocking programs .
Mick
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4 April 21
A wind change and a drop in barometric pressure , which sometimes put the fish on the bite but not always , saw me heading down the lake . Quite a lot there either fishing or enjoying the BBQ facilities available there .
Fish were rising about 100 metres from the shore so long casts were in order . Nothing of any size was caught although even the smallest Carp were taking drag off the bait feeder rear drag easily . I have not had to adjust this or the front drag yet .
I thought that maybe the half hour battle with the 6.3 KG carp on the 24 th March 21 may have caused the drag washers to settle and bed in . That has not been the case .
Both reels are still very smooth to wind and laying the line back on the spool very evenly . I had read and watched good things about these reels on YouKnow (YouTube ) . Since coming on the market in 2013 I believe KastKing have got it right regarding price point and quality .
Mickās Fishing Tip
A big hook catches big fish but a smaller hook catches all fish .
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5 April 21
Headed down the lake at around 7.00PM . With day light saving ending the light was failing by the time I got a bait in the water . Within 5 minutes the reel gave line and I landed a Carp about 500 gr . I was using a corn bait on a number 6 fine wire Mustad bait holder hook . A good trick with the corn is to add about 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla essence to it about 1/2 hour before you head off to let it soak in to the corn . Use the real deal vanilla not the imitation stuff .
The reels performed flawlessly and again no adjustments were needed to the rear or front drag . Biggest fish for the night was just over a kilo .
Iām having to cast further this year to get onto the fish . I went down to my favourite Tackle shop , Hooked on Bait and Tackle 174 Old Geelong Road Hoppers Crossing , to see Mick the owner about maybe changing from monofilament line to braid to gain some casting distance . After I told him where I was fishing he discussed the various braid lines available and their cast ability .I ended up sticking with the mono I had spooled on the reels . His advice saved me a good deal of money as braid line is not cheap .
Both reels , as stated , performed well . They are still very smooth to wind and the line lay on retrieve has caused no issues regarding casting wind loops .
Mickās Fishing Tip
Online may seem cheap but advice from a good tackle shop is worth itās weight in gold .
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12 April 21
Headed down the lake at about 1.30 pm to fish for a couple of hours . As I got there the wind changed to a southerly which usually augers well catch wise . Cast well out to an area that is usually productive . I am impressed with the casting distance of these reels for a 3000 size . Shortly I hope to order a couple of their 5000 size for salt water fishing where I need to cast further . I will still stick to the Sharky 111 Baitfeeder .
Things were slow bite wise and I had my first fish run me at around 3.15 pm . As shown in the photo it was just under 1 kg . Reel did not need drag adjusting during landing .
Still impressed with these reels . Drag still good and they lay line perfectly .
Mickās Fishing Tip
Be confident in the fishing gear you are using but donāt be afraid to copy the rig or terminal tackle of an angler near you who is catching fish if you arenāt .
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27 April 21
High barometric pressure combined with low water temperature has made fishing very slow at lake . Really having to work for the fish . Lots of long casts . May have to change from mono filament line to braid to gain some casting distance .
Reels are still smooth to use .Line lay good , no wind loops on casts . Drag working very smoothly too .
Hopefully when Baro pressure low and water temp is higher will start to get some good fish again . All under 1 KG at moment .
Will be do some casting measurement tests soon .
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1 May 21
Headed down the lake at 6.00PM . Talking to my fishing compatriots they had only taken one fish since 4.00 PM . Casting into a slight northerly wind made distance casting hard . I knew there were some deep holes about 50 to 80 metres out that might contain fish so started to cast in around them hoping to pick up a fish .
Basically cast , wait 10 minutes , reel in and cast again . This was basically the way I fished for 4 hours . I packed up at 10 PM . The second time Iād been āskunkedā (caught no fish ) at the lake in a week .
This type of fishing will find any weaknesses in a reel . The KastKings stood the test with flying colours . A friend using a pair of āgenericā branded Ebay specials had no end of bother casting wind Knots . This comes about by the reel not laying the line on the spool correctly . Fortunately for me the KastKing R&D boys have eliminated this problem with good design .
Iām really liking these reels and have a pair of their 6000 size reels coming . Just a bit of news from the US . Received the latest KastKing news letter . Team KastKing are only 6 points off the lead in the Big mouth pro Bass fishing comp and are doing well in the other pro fishing tournaments . For a company that only started in 2013 that is a great result .
Itās a shame in Australia we only have Alvey left manufacturing . Seamartin ceased production in 2006 . They were a great surf reel . Caught many a fish on the Ninety Mile Beach using mine .
Summing up .The KastKIngs are still performing flawlessly . They have been fished hard and handled everything thrown at them .
Mickās Fishing Tip
Fish for the conditions and change to suit them . You cannot get fish every trip and that should make you keener to go back for another try
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9 May 21
With the weather getting colder I will bring my reel testing to a halt until at least late September 21 . If I do go down to the lake to fish I will be using my 5 inch Alvey Side casts as they cast out much further than the 3000 size KastKings .
To summarise my first season using the KastKings . Very impressed . No mechanical issues . Everything worked as it should . Was most impressed with the drag system . KastKing have obviously done their homework here .
The big question . Would I recommend a KastKIng over the established brands like Shimano , Daiwa , Penn , Fin Nor , Pflueger , Nash , Sonik etc . Definitely . Their quality far outweighs their price . I would go as far as saying that ābang for bucksā they are the best value reel on the market .
Just a final note . I tore one of the reels down to check for wear and see if it needed a lube . Considering it was a 3000 size reel and it had gut hauled carp over 4 kg many times there was no apparent wear . The gears on a good reel should wear in not out . This was the case with the KastKing .
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Donāt you like frozen fish?
KastKing Customer Service - AusPost misplaced a delivery of a reel from KastKIng to me . Well not really misplaced . They claim they attempted delivery to me . Strange no card left . It sat at the post office for 10 days with no attempt to notify me and was marked return to sender ,KastKIng .
I finally received an urgent pick up card dated 4/5 /21 on the 7/5/21 .I rushed to the Post office only to be told the parcel had been marked return to sender and the parcel was not thereā¦
I emailed KastKing and advised them of the situation . Within 1 hour , no questions asked , Mary from KastKIng had despatched another reel to me . This is dealing with KastKing through Ebay .Iām not sure how it is on their Amazon site . Great friendly service . Nothing was a trouble to them .
Just by the by my two 6000 size Sharky 111 bait feeders arrived today . Canāt wait to spool them up and go for a dangle .
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It is my understanding that KastKing is no longer active in Australia, all business is now done my Facebook? Kind regards, Peter
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Welcome Peter.
I assume you are suggesting itās only available from online sellers?
EG
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Hi Peter . Welcome to the forum .
KastKing can be purchased through Amazon Australia . The prices as quoted on Fishpond are much more than I paid . KastKing can be purchased direct from the factory in Hong Kong through Ebay at much cheaper price than Fishpond but delivery is slow .
A better choice is to use the seller surforfun an Ebay seller based in Sydney. His prices are the same as the Hong Kong prices and he ships from with in Australia ,
I have had dealings with KastKing customer support and they are right on the ball as far as service and answering queries goes . They are a young company , founded in 2013 , and are certainly pushing the right buttons regarding my fishing requirements . When all said and done itās all about "bang for bucks " and KastKing deliver the goods for me .
Unfortunately you will probably never see BFC , Annaconda or other major fishing tackle suppliers carry the KastKing line up . In Australia we are very brand centric .If itās not Shimano or Daiwa retailers are not interested . More the pity . Donāt get me wrong Shimano and Daiwa make great products but their flag ship reels are all over $500 and some go as high as $1400 .
Just an example . A fishing mate purchased 2 Shimano bait feeder reels .Cost was about $600 for the pair . They are great reels . I purchased a pair of 6000 size KastKing bait feeder reels for $125 . I already had a pair of 3000 size which I have thrashed the guts out of and they have not missed a beat . I paid $85 for the pair . Are his Shimano reels worth 4 times the price . A big no .That is just my opinion and Shimano owners are using a great product .
I look at things and weigh up dollar and cents . For my fishing style KastKing more than meets my needs . Oh and I like the money I save too . 
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Hi, just as a fill in, I saw an article (I think in this forum) about the KastKing and followed up and ordered a reel and line from them. It took a long time and eventually turned up but the line part of the order was stuffed up. I then contacted KastKing support about that and a few questions in relation to the size of the reel. They (support) fixed the line problem and also answered my concerns in relation to the size of the reel. In my last communication with them I asked for their recommendation about a rod to go with the reel, this was never answered and I let it go for a time then tried to contact them again to follow up but was unable to contact either the Australian supplier or support anymore, I was directed to the ebay site. I did contact them in relation to the rod queries but the response seemed to me like a response by someone who didnāt really know what they were talking about. When dealing previously with support they certainly knew what they were on about and went to great lengths to assist me.
Anyway, Iāll follow up on the sites youāve suggested. Itās a pity we seem to have lost the Australian supplier even it they were a bit long winded. Thanks for all the info anyway. Kind regards, Peter
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06 -11 - 2021 . Will be putting the 2 KastKing 3000 Reels back into service . I have a pair of Wilson Triple Threat Rods and the KastKIngs are just the right reel for them .
More when I start using them .
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Will be using the KastKIng Sharky 111 Bait feeders again soon . Have discovered some good fishable water nearby . Bit of a Tiger Snake problem there but will be careful . Will be targeting carp still and will be trying out some new rigs of a style I have not used before to test their effectiveness on them . Carp have a very fast initial run and take plenty of line and put pressure on the drag . These reels have stood up to the test for nearly 3 years without a problem .
First post to follow shortly .
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12-02-2023 . Went down to fish the Estuary at the mouth of the Werribee River in Victoria . Got onto some nice bream and a couple of flat head . Reels performed really well . I enjoy using the bait feeder feature of the reels . With the use of circle hooks (Mustad Brand size 4 ) all fished were hooked and landed cleanly . I released all fish caught .
Still impressed with reels . Very smooth winding and excellent drag . At their price I would consider them a bargain .
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I have been using the KastKIng Shark 111 Baitfeeder Reels for over 3 years now . It is about time I gave an opinion of their performance . During this period the reels performed faultlessly . I am not connected to KastKing America in any way . I purchased all the reels I tested .
The only con I would say is that they are a hard reel to strip down for servicing . There are plenty of Tutorials on YouTube that will guide you through the process .
Would I recommend purchasing this reel . In the 6000 size a handy and affordable surf fishing reel . I have 3 6000 size reels . One failed after 2 outings . KastKing immediately replaced it .
We are all looking for a bargain that offers bang for bucks . These reels fulfil that .
Are they as good as Shimano , Daiwa , Penn and Okuma . They do not match the top end offerings from these companies . They also do not cost over $1000 each .
I fished these reels heavily . Not 3 to 4 times a year but 3 to 4 times every week weather permitting .
Yes I would recommend them but I also really like the new Okumas .
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