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Mackay destination report, MIA |
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Josh's Blog -
Of no fixed address
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Tuesday, 06 November 2007 |
I'll get back to you on that
I've recently made the decision to alter my course and instead of continuing around the coastline in an anti-clockwise direction, I've decided to double back and head back south towards NSW. Along the way I'll be stopping in at any places I either missed or was unable to take full advantage of. In the process I'll be updating some of the destination reports I've already written, as well as getting back to a couple of others that I put on hold. One of those places is Mackay. Although I spent a good week there, Astro and I were very focused on catching a Barra and this saw us frequenting the same Dam (Teemburra) over and over. The downside to that was that I probably didn't get the kayak into enough areas of Mackay to truly do it justice in such a report.
So it's safe enough to say that I'll be passing through Mackay again before too long, at which point I'll try a few different spots in order to better experience what the place has to offer. I'll be heading back to Cape Hillsborough when I do return because even though I fished it twice, I don't think I even come close to realising it's potential. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more...
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Tuesday, 06 November 2007 |
Time to get more adventurous
With today being the most notable exception, it's been fairly windy up here in Townsville over the past week or so and as advertized, the ocean swell has been getting up a bit. It's been a bit like that even since I left Mackay. Rarely has it been the kind of conditions that would prevent me from going kayak fishing, but it has been the kind of conditions that have prevented me from reaching a few of the fishing grounds I've been eyeing off. This has been happening since I reach Hervey Bay and has now started to frustrate me a bit.
More and more recently I've come to learn that just because Google earth says that 10km seperates A from B, that doesn't mean it'll be a 10km paddle to the destination. If the wind is non existant and there is no swell or chop to contend with then sure - as the crow flies won't be much different to how the kayak gets there. But when it is choppy it can be a different story entirely and wind and chop is typically present conditions up here. Shorter kayaks (like the Revolution) are more likely to traverse the rise and fall of the waves where as longer sea-kayak variants are more likely to cut straight over the top of them. It's that difference that has had me thinking twice about which kayak I am better off using.
As I've travelled up the QLD coast I've had to surrender numerous plans to paddle to islands or outer reefs. Not so much because of the distance involved, but more so because of the conditions one has to contend with to reach them. Simply because the Adventure tends to handle wind and choppy conditions better, I've concluded that it's the kayak I really should be using at this point. The extra storage space in the rear well won't go astray either because I'm starting to make plans for several kayak camping trips.
 Hobie Mirage Adventure Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Trip reports -
QLD
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Monday, 05 November 2007 |
Handy reef patch for kayak fishing  45cm Trevally, caught right on the middle reef | Launch: | - 2:00 PM | | Landed: | - 5.30 PM
| | Tide: | - 4:30 PM, High | | Weather: | - Hot, 31 °C, 10 knots
| Caught:
| - Trevally, shark
| | Method: | - Trolling hard body and casting soft plastic lures |
After failing to find a suitable launching spot at Cape Cleveland the previous day (that'll teach me to go by Google Earth alone) I decided to head towards somewhere that I knew would provide relatively quick access to some suitable fishing grounds. Pallarenda provided the fastest route to the middle reef that lies somewhere between Townsville and Magnetic island, so I launched from the boat ramp near the bayside picnic grounds on Cape Pallarenda road. It was an event less troll along the way, with 4.5km of water passing without a single touch. Within only minutes of reaching the reef, however, a nice Trevally of around 45cm fell for a Gold bomber lure.
The tide was rising, although the reef was close enough to the surface to keep powerboats off it and also restricted what kind of lures I could use. Even the shallow diving bomber was getting snagged up so I switched to a popper for a while, although that failed to generate any interest. I followed this effort with a 4" minnow soft plastic, which I cast in various directions and retrieved steadily over the top of the reef. Surprisingly I failed to manage even a single hook up this way so eventually I went back to trolling. This time I decided to skirt the edges of the reef and troll a deeper diving Rapalla lure (that famous red-headed style again) and it wasn't long before it got smashed by something big and pissed off. Fortunately this happened on the Godzilla rod, which took the following beating extremely well.
I was pretty sure that I had hooked a shark as soon as the fight began because rather than go for long spirited runs like a tuna or mackeral, whatever I'd hooked here had more explosive power but not quite the same sort of staying power common with pelagics. It was definitely strong enough to tow me around for a short while, managing to gain quite a bit of line in the first couple of minutes. I was able to turn the tide fairly easily by pedaling towards it steadily as I began to fight back. Before long I caught my first glimpse and was both pleased and disappointed. Pleased that my instincts were right - it was a reef shark of some description, about 140 cm in length - but disappointed because all I wanted here was my lure back... and that was going to be challenging without pissing it off even more. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Friday, 02 November 2007 |
Speed, stability and maneuverability: the Revo has a lot going for it
I wrote up a small piece on my Hobie Revolution kayak only days after I received it, mostly with a focus on some of the appendages that I had attached to it. Now after having put it through the wringer in over 50 trips and traversing at least 700km - from river systems to surf - I feel well qualified to write a thorough review. In particular, I'm in a pretty good position to compare it to the Hobie Outback model, which I was happily using before picking up the Revolution.
There were several attributes that attracted me to the Revolution model, which ultimately influenced my final decision to take it instead of the Outback that I had previously planned on using. Those attributes can be summed up under the banner of versatility. Being a hybrid of sorts, the Revolution sits nicely in that gap that previously separated the Outback from the Adventure model. The Revolution is a longer and more slender kayak than the Outback, which not only makes it a faster hull design, it's also easier to paddle. It's not as long or slender as the Adventure, however, and nor is it as fast. But being some 80cm shorter than the Adventure, it also boasts a tighter turning circle and has the added advantage of being lighter than both the Adventure and Outback. That's not to say that it skimps on storage space either - it has plenty, especially under the bow hatch.
So it would be fair to say that the Revolution is a very good all-round fishing kayak, and is precisely the sort of multi-tasker that would be suitable for someone traveling along the diversified coastline of Australia. It is also that sort of 'best of both worlds' quality that would lend itself to any kayak fisherman that fishes in a variety of conditions. It would also be fair to say, however, that because it does sit somewhere in between the Outback and Adventure models, both of those kayaks are probably a little bit better suited for their intended specific usage scenarios. Despite having good storage for what it is, both the Outback and Adventure models do offer more storage room than the Revolution. They both have more options for mounting extras such as rod holders and GPS mounts as well. The Revolution isn't long enough to offer the ability to slice through choppy water quite like the Adventure and nor is it wide enough to offer the rock-solid stability of the Outback. So perhaps the term 'almost best of both worlds' is more appropriate.
 Hobie Mirage Revolution: good to go Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Tuesday, 30 October 2007 |
Rockhampton's coastal kayak fishing playgroundsSoon after arriving in Rockhampton I was cautioned about the presence of crocodiles in the Fitzroy river, which dashed any plans I had of fishing it from the kayak. After speaking to the resident croc counter in the Rocky Tackleworld store I was convinced it would be wise to keep the kayak out of this river - especially during the time of my visit, which was right around their nesting season. Apparently this is when males become highly protective, presenting a greater threat than they otherwise do. Nearby Yeppoon and Emu Park, however, both offer some fantastic grounds for kayak fishing and are well worth investigating. So to are Corio Bay and Cawarral Creek by all reports, although many would tell you not to go kayak fishing in them alone, as crocodiles are present in these estuary systems as well. I spent my short time in this area focusing on the coastal grounds for this reason, although if I had someone with me, I'd be equally keen to investigate parts of the estuaries as well. Monster Flathead, Barramundi, Grunter and the occasional Threadfin salmon can be caught in both of them and although crocs are about, at the time of writing, there's not a hell of a lot of them.
I'm glad that I did concentrate my efforts on the coastal grounds around Emu Park and Yeppoon, because those few days amounted to some of the most exciting kayak fishing I've ever done. This included reeling in my first southern bluefin tuna, which gave me the fight of my life somewhere between Iron Pot rock and Cooee bay.
 Bluefin tuna caught at Yeppoon - note the rope I had to secure it aboard with Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Gear list section updated |
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Monday, 29 October 2007 |
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It took longer than expected, but I've finally got around to updating the gear list page, which (out of interest) is the second most visited section of this site next to the gallery. It was growing hopelessly out of date and was due for an overhaul and now only includes what I consider to be essential kit. I've included photos of most items as well as links to more info where available. No doubt I've neglected to include a few items that probably should be in there, but I'll add those as I think of them. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Trip reports -
QLD
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Sunday, 28 October 2007 |
Seeking protection behind the breakwalls  Protection from easterly winds behind marina breakwalls | Launch: | - 4:00 PM | | Landed: | - 6.45 PM
| | Tide: | - 3:30 PM, Low | | Weather: | - Hot, 29 °C, 25 knots
| Caught:
| - Small stripey bait fish
| | Method: | - Trolling hard body and soft plastic lures |
With easterly winds blowing up around the 20 knot mark today's plans of putting in a sundown kayak fishing trip were almost shelved for the day but at the last minute I decided to try for the breakwalls around the marina and shipping channel at south Townsville. I was surprised by how many boats must have been on the water (plenty of boats at the marina car park) but most were heading back in while I was heading out. My plan was to make my way around the breakwalls from the shipping channel around to the marina, which I figured would be nicely protected from the incoming winds.
With barra season rapidly drawing to a close my plan today was to try for a few livies and do some bait fishing as well as the obligatory trolling and lure casting. My intention was to fish into nightfall, but that one went by the wayside as I launched without packing my lighting kit. So as the sun started to close in on the horizon line I made a move back to the boat ramp. At this stage I was still fishless.
 Very nearly used for live bait
As I entered the channel I tied on one of my 'when-all-else-fails' lures, which is a little 2" Finn-S minnow shad. I was pleasantly surprised when it produced a fish for me, although the fish it hooked wasn't all that much bigger than it's humble little self. I was very tempted to use this little guy as a livie but with daylight fading fast I thought better of it. That was probably pretty silly of me in hind sight.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Telstra NextG wireless woes |
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Josh's Blog -
Of no fixed address
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Saturday, 27 October 2007 |
Give me the Cantenna insteadSome of the things Telstra say about their new NextG wireless network are probably true. Yes, it may provide connectivity for 98% of the population. And yes, in ideal circumstances, it may even be fast. But what they don't say is how reliable that connection will be for most of the time. Drop outs are common in my experience, regardless, it seems, of where you are. I wouldn't dare guess how much time and productivity have been wasted for me by drop outs, which often occur even with a good connection. This is highly frustrating, because unless I save my work every 2 - 3 minutes, there's no guarantee it'll work when I save it. Thats supremely annoying when you run from battery power (in a tent), which I do often. I've had to re-write or re-code so many things because of this and it's starting to irk me, hence this rant. Honestly, I think I'd rather use a 3rd world cantenna.
My last job involved travelling to 3rd world countries, where I investigated the relationship between poverty, the education gap and the digital divide. But I'm starting to learn that we have a digital divide here in Australia to. The sad thing is that we really shouldn't. Wireless should be nationwide - for free - for the benefit of us all. Let the telcos offeir their premium services for whover wants or can afford it, but for those that can't, provide something at least. In this age, a digital divide - at any level - makes for a marginalized community. This can be bad in so many ways. New Orleans figured this out after Katrina, and many other US municipalities are following their lead. Of course, the telcos over there (such as Verizon) are crying a river over it now. Telstra would do the same if a government here grew some balls and followed suit. The worst thing about Next G isn't it's unreliability - it's the price. Its a premium-plus pricing stucture, but the quality of connectivity is anything but. Telstra... get your goddamned act together. Are we listening Optus? Yes? Comments (4) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Trip reports -
QLD
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Friday, 26 October 2007 |
Trolling the breakwalls  Paddling to Magnetic Island | Launch: | - 9:00 AM | | Landed: | - 2.15 PM
| | Tide: | - 8:30 AM,High | | Weather: | - Hot, 31 °C, 5 - 25 knots
| Caught:
| - Nothing
| | Method: | - Trolling hard body and soft plastic lures |
In hind sight, my timing could have been better for today's adventure out to Magnetic Island, but there was method in my madness. With high tide coming in at around 8:30AM, I decided to hit the water just after, in the hope that an outgoing tide would make my 8km voyage to the island all the more easier. My intention was to save energy for all that trolling I planned to do on the inner reefs when I got there. I got it half right.
The problem with waiting until that hour of the morning is that by then winds are more likely to blowing. In today's case, they were coming in from the north east at about 5 knots, making for just that little extra resistance that was enough to negate the tidal push. It took just under 1.5 hours to reach the island and by the time I got there I had already drank all of my water. So before hitting the reef I made for Picnic Bay, where the local bartender was good enough to refill my bottle. With that out of the way it was back onto the water and down to business.
I thought it was going to be a highly productive day today because as I prepared to head back out I spotted what looked to be a nice Queenfish chasing some baitfish around. Soon after I spotted what looked to be a rather large Trevally. Oh yeah... this could be good.
Sadly, it didn't turn out that way. The reef is rather shallow and the lures I wanted to use were catching more reef edges than anything else, so I had to step down my lure size for a while. I wasn't able to tempt anything with these. While trying to, however, I did get to see some great sites though I was too slow with the camera to catch them forever.
Among these were the obligatory assortment of sea turtles (mostly Loggerheads I think), as well as a nice fat Dugong that surfaced about 20 meters away. Today's highlight was another shark sighting - several in fact. The first of these being both the closest and most impressive. Out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed some violent tail slashing going on and instantly I knew what it was. So I kept my eye on the spot and was soon treated to that classic Jaws scene, with a fin rising from the surface and speeding towards it's prey at 100 miles an hour. Only metres ahead of it, Mackeral were travelling at much the same speed, leaping for their life and getting airborne in the process. I paddled out to investigate but it was all over by the time I got there. I'm not sure what kind of shark it was, but if I was a betting man I'd say a black-tipped reef shark of about 1.5 metres.
Speaking of Mackeral, I did see a school of them harassing baitfish a short time later and I paddled out to investigate and started throwing a soft plastic lure (11cm Pilchard style) into the frey. It did get hit on the 3rd cast, losing its tail and failing to hook up in doing so. Damn. A minute later the action died off and I couldn't find them again. I persisted for an hour or so, but after a while I noticed the wind was picking up. Worst of all, it was changing direction. It had now moved over to an easterly, which meant I had to paddle back 8km into a strengthening headwind. It was time to go.
 Yikes... now I have to paddle back... after I try and catch a fish Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Those illustrious red-headed hard body lures |
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Reviews
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
What is it about these things that fish like so much?
 Red-headed lures: as attractive to fish as Jessica Alba is to men
I've got quite a respectable little collection of hard body lures now, consisting of higher end brand name versions, as well as inexpensive knock-offs. Perhaps the most common design of these is the oh-so common red-headed lure, which usually has a white or silver body. In times past I would discount these lures as not looking enough like bait fish and never gave them a chance.
But through my experience in recent months, I'm starting to realise that there's a really good reason that they are so common. Its because they work... really well. In fact, while trolling from the kayak I'm catching more fish with these lures than anything else in my collection - everything from Trevally to Mackeral and Tuna. What I'm not so sure about is why. I do know some gold fish look a bit like this, but I do wonder what it is that makes them so appealing to salt-water species. If anyone can tell me why they are so effective I'd love to hear about it.
I've tried 4 brands of this style of hard body lure so far and all of them have caught fish. Pictured is the Halco Laser pro, although I'd probably call the Rapalla variant my favourite - it's components and construction seem to be the best I've found. I also like the Predator versions. Having said that, I've caught most of the fish on the least expensive Trollcraft models, which cost anything from $4.00 to $10.00, depending on the size (and the retailer). However, I think that's got more to do with the fact that I've been using them a lot more as well.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
G.R.E.E.N sinker weights  Enviroweights I've never think of recreational fishoes to be environmentally destructive (not the ones who take it seriously, anyway) but I have put some thought into what the effects of all that lead that we tend to throw into the sea might be doing. Sure, most of it returns from the water safely and is later disposed of in other ways, but sometimes a snag or fish will lay claim to a sinker or jighead. God only knows how much lead is sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor - especially close to our shores. So I figured the responsible thing to do would be to replace my small collection of sinkers with these Enviroweights. I reckon it might also be responable for specialist tackle stores to consider stocking them (Tacspo are the distributors for those of you retailers paying attention).
Responsibility is precisely what the manufacturers are pitching as well, with a clearly labelled 'G.R.E.E.N' on the front of the packets. What does G.R.E.E.N stand for? Greater Responsibility for Environment, Ecology and Nature. Clever. And cute.
So what makes them environmentally responsible? Well, apparently they are 100% biodegradable if lost to sea. When committed to Davey Jones, over time they will decompose back to their harmless base ingredients. Of course, this does mean that they really should be rinsed in fresh water after use, because otherwise they are likely to start decomposing in the tackle box. I reckon that's a small price to pay for upside, which is the ability to confidently say 'screw you hippy'. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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