Hooked Up 169 June 2026
The June edition of Hooked Up Magazine is packed with practical winter fishing advice, including a complete guide to trolling for Southern Bluefin Tuna, how to rig spin tackle for hard-fighting big-game species, and proven techniques for targeting southern sharks during the colder months. Plus, you’ll find the latest gear, boats, electronics, destination features and expert fishing tips from around Australia.
How to cube for southern bluefin tuna
There’s something about old techniques that never really die. They just sit quietly in the background, waiting for the right moment to come back into play. Cubing for southern bluefin tuna is exactly that. It’s an approach that dates back decades, something that was almost standard practice through the 70s and 80s, before high-speed trolling and modern lure technology took over. But when the fish stop behaving how you want them to, when they sit mid-water and ignore everything you throw at them, cubing is still one of the most effective ways to turn a tough day into a memorable one. When Tuna Won’t Play the Game With the resurgence of southern bluefin numbers in recent seasons, particularly those solid
Trolling for southern bluefin tuna
Trolling lures is the most effective way to target barrel size bluefin tuna, it remains the backbone of modern game fishing — covering ground, locating active fish and consistently producing strikes when conditions align. While the concept sounds simple, consistently capturing barrels while trolling is built around understanding fish behaviour, lure presentation, spread design and boat control. Locating Southern Bluefin Tuna The more information you can gather before leaving the ramp, the more productive your day will be. Social media and local reports provides real-time information on captures, water conditions and active areas. Word travels quickly in the tuna scene and paying attention to current reports can save countless hours of searching or being in the completely wrong area. Local
Lowrance Recon Review
Electric motors have always been a core part of modern lure fishing. Whether you’re working edges for bream, holding on a reef, or creeping along a flat chasing flathead, they’ve gone from a luxury to an essential bit of kit. Over time, as sounders and motors began to integrate, things stepped up again. Spot-lock replaced anchors, GPS control improved boat positioning, and suddenly anglers had a level of precision that just wasn’t possible before. But for a long time, if you were running Lowrance or Simrad electronics, you were missing that full integration. That gap is now well and truly closed with the release of the Recon electric motor. I’ve been running a Lowrance Recon on my Stacer 589 Crossfire,
Hooked Up 168 May 2026
The May issue is packed with smart, technical fishing for a cracking time of year on the water. Our cover story focuses on the southern estuaries, winter is prime time for big bream and estuary perch holding in the timber, with EPs in particular hitting hard as they push into structure. As we move into late autumn, it’s all about finesse, refinement and making the most of the conditions. The tuna bite is firing, and inside this issue we look at cubing for southern bluefin tuna, a proven technique that can be deadly when the fish are holding deep and aren’t taking lures. We also look at fishing lighter to get more bites, breaking down how subtle changes in line,
Evergreen Wide Seeker
I don’t recall when I first became aware of Evergreen — it was probably their squid jigs — but my eyes really opened when I first went to the Osaka Tackle Show in Japan in 2014 and saw the pandemonium around their booth. In terms of popularity and people trying to get onto a booth, it was Shimano, Daiwa and Evergreen that were the top three. I learned while I was over there, and have learned since, that they are widely regarded as one of the GOAT brands in Japan. It’s an extremely influential brand when it comes to rods, with Evergreen early leaders in the big bait rod scene as well as widely being accepted as the founders of
Daiwa 25 Revelry Review
The Daiwa Luvias, when it was in production, became one of the most popular light tackle reels in the country. I had quite a few of them and they were always a great reel. It was superseded in 2021 by the Revelry. The Luvias was Japanese made and the change came mainly because Daiwa Japan ceased production. Rather than face the backlash of a country of origin change (now Made in China), Daiwa Australia renamed it to Revelry. It also introduced FC (finesse custom) and HD (heavy duty) models, giving anglers a lightweight finesse option and a more robust inshore reel. HISTORY We were sent both versions of the original Revelry back in 2021 – a 2000 FC and a
Shimano Sustain FK Review
The Shimano Sustain has always been a great reel and one I’ve had a lot of experience with across multiple generations. I’ve owned several over the years and still regularly use the previous FJ models. These reels have seen heavy use — the 5000 as a snapper reel and the 3000 primarily as an egi reel — and they’ve handled everything thrown at them including saltwater, fish slime and squid ink. Both are still going strong with nothing more than basic self-servicing. For this test of the new Sustain FK, I opted for the C3000XD, as it’s such a versatile size. It allows you to run a wide range of line classes and target multiple species, which makes it ideal