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Josh's Blog -
Of no fixed address
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Monday, 30 July 2007 |
 Thats better...
All my gear is cleaned, oiled, batteries charged and everything seems good to go. There's been a few sad goodbyes but most of my friends and family see this for what it is, so really it's just cause for celebration. I did a little too much of that the other night though, so for now just knowing I'm ready to go is celebration enough. Comments (5) | E-mail | Read more...
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Latest News
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Saturday, 28 July 2007 |
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Bruce Smith is a Fishnet pro angler, well known not just for his commentary on fishing, but also (as I just discovered) his photography. One of his pages I found particularly inspiring - exactly the sort of stuff I'll be chasing with my new cameras. Click on over to take a look.
KayakCallan and I very nearly got close enough to some Humpbacks for photos like this in Port Phillip Bay several weeks ago, but alas, they were moving away from us when we spotted then from some 4 - 5km out. Of course, that didn't stop us trying to close the distance :-)Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Josh's Blog -
Preparation
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Thursday, 26 July 2007 |
Last minute website tweaks So as the days draw nearer to my departure date (delayed to this Monday - no biggy) I'm going hard on tweaking aspects of the site, getting everything easier to work with and more presentable. This has caused a few headaches (I'm sure I'll overcome), but on the whole has made for a cleaner, slightly less busy site.
Certain sections have been removed from unrelated pages, making for faster load times. I've also been more selective as to where google adds go - and will continue to scrutinize this. I've incorporated the review section in with articles to save on real estate, and above all, have added catagories to the yakabout google map for easier navigation. The set up of this has seemed buggy, but often google just takes a while to correct itself. Hopefully thats the case now. But all going well, users will be able to navigate to fishing spots, camping spots and worthy tackle shops. But lets see how that pans out. Comments (1) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Wednesday, 25 July 2007 |
Perfect kayaking camera, not so perfect touring cameraSome time ago I posed a question in the Australian Kayak Fishing Forums , which was: If money was no object, what camera would you buy for kayak fishing?
 Olympus m725sw
Its advantages for kayak fishing are numerous. Firstly, no waterproof housing needed and secondly, small enough to fit into any PFD pocket. It has a good sized LCD, takes good photos, Youtube quality video and does pretty much everything most kayak (or boat) fishermen would want. So why did I ask that question in the first place? Comments (4) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Sunday, 22 July 2007 |
And lives to smile about it One of the Norcalkayakanglers (thats Northern California) veterans, Dan, was attacked by a sizable Great White Shark at Bean Hollow, USA yesterday. Actually it's more precise to say that his kayak was attacked, which was infact a red Hobie Adventure. A few people have been quick to point the finger at the fins as being the cause as well as the colour, although it's equally possible that it was just sheer bad luck. It's happened before and it'll happen again - but hopefully not to soon. The good news is that Dan was unhurt. Infact, I have to say that I'm surprised that the kayak didn't sustain more damage either.
Not a lot of news has surfaced as of yet, but jdyak, who was there, did have this to say in the norcalkayakangler forums:
I was there, Dan was knocked out of his kayak by a great white in full attack mode. When he climbed back in the shark was still gnawing on his kayak. He is okay, his kayak limped in, he was taking water on but it held together. I did not see the attack, only him coming in real fast. I helped him try to settle his nerves on the water and we paddled/peddled in together. Some of the Kayakers actually saw the splash after the shark attacked. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Josh's Blog -
Preparation
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Sunday, 22 July 2007 |
...we're through for now! Tada PPB you heartless wench! So as of today, me and Port Phillip Bay are no longer an item. We both kind of knew it was coming, which probably hasn't helped our relationship of late. Today was the final straw. A second hat trick of golden ducks in nearly as many trips today has sealed our fate. We've been together a while now, secretly meeting up and spending quiet moments together. There will always be fond memories of us watching the sun go up and down, sometimes with dolphins or whales silhouetted on the skyline. Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Thursday, 19 July 2007 |
Going pro!I wasn't completely satisfied with the functionality of the previous gallery update, which was based on free software. So I decided to bite the bullet and pay the easily-swallowed sum of 12 Euros for the electrolyte-enhanced pro version of the same software. This has given me the ability to add captions to thumbnails and enlarged images, as well as improving the navigation for slideshow viewing. Another new feature is the ability for users to save enlarged images, which the free version didn't. As with before, I can still place any gallery thumbnail diplay into any article I like, which is pretty cool. Click the read more link to see what I mean.
On a semi-unrelated note, I've been using NextG wireless connectivity exclusively now for the past few days and I'm not liking what I'm seeing. Hopefully it's just a technical problem with my wireless network card, but connections have been very slow - worse than dial up. To make things worse, it seems to have disabled the ability to add simple text links in the Joomla content admin system I'm using here. Hrmmm... I have some investigating to do. Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Josh's Blog -
Preparation
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Thursday, 19 July 2007 |
Lights, camera, action!  Choose your weapon
There are 3 lighting devices incorporated – 2 onto an extension that slots into the connector, the other strapped tightly to the T-bar itself. This particular light is an Aurora headlamp, and I've positioned it in such a way as to provide extra light for the kayak itself, which should help when handling fish or tackle in darkness. The extension piece includes a powerful, waterproof LED bicycle light that points directly forward and can be swung around in any direction. On top of this is a little LED microlight, screwed tightly into the end cap of the pipe. poking upwards, this light provides reasonable circular light and despite it's misleading size, can be easily spotted from a mile away. Combined with the Catseyes headlamp I wear, as well as the red bicycle light that I can clip onto the rear of the kayak, that's my lighting issues pretty much solved. To be sure, however, I also carry a waterproof Lensor LED torch in one of my Pelican Micro cases.Comments (2) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Josh's Blog -
Preparation
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Wednesday, 18 July 2007 |
Saved by Old man BMW Kanobi For sale... bargain price
With this in mind, I wondered if I might be able to fall back on someone I know and trust to store the bike, look after it and hold onto it until it does sell. Ironically, the only person I could think of is the father of my ex-fiancee - the very same person I'm trying to get 1000's of miles away from. He's a good man with a good head on his shoulders and has a lot of empathy for the reasons why I feel as if I have to do this. The man is about as reliable as they come, knows BMW bikes almost as well as he knows cars (which is extremely well) and isn't moving from his current address anytime soon. So when I asked him if he'd be prepared to do this for me, he was more than happy to oblidge. I owe him a lot of gratitude for that.
This turn of events, my friends, is a massive relief... a huge weight off my shoulders. Not only are there a few other matters that need attending, I've been itching to be able to set a concrete date and this frees me up to do so: The 28th of July is freedom day - straight for Mallacouta. I've been coutning the hours to get out of here from the very day the boat show ended. Blogs like this one will just vanish into the ether of the web.Comments (5) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Josh's Blog -
Preparation
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Tuesday, 17 July 2007 |
The circle is complete- Darth vader  Life feeds off life
Origins of the Ouroboros can be found in a multitude of cultures, civilsations and religions, including Hindu, Norse and West African Ashanti mythology, Christianity, Gnosticism, and even Aztec civilisations. Just like Paris Hilton, it just seems to pop up everywhere. According to Wikipedia, Ouroboros was identified by psychologists such as Carl Jung, as having an archetypal significance to the human psyche. Certainly, that seems to be the case for me. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Articles -
Kayaks
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Tuesday, 17 July 2007 |
Slow drift & anchoring techniques for kayak fishing Drifting is a popular method of kayak fishing, both with bait and lures. On occasion, however, it pays to slow that rate of drift down - usually to make it easier for the fish to notice your offerings. It can also help to avoid being blown too far away from your launching destination too quickly.  Anchoring kit for kayak fishing There are other times you wont want to drift at all - especially when you're nicely positioned near or over a nice reef or drop off. This is where having some kind of anchor can really help. Sometimes you wont need them - there are some windless days that are just so calm that you can see a perfect reflection of yourself in the waters surface. Other days the same action will return an aquatuc rendition that woud make Frankenstien look like Casanova and this is just one example of when slowing drift or anchoring up might be prudent. But how?
The use of drift socks, or sea anchors as I've heard them referred to are a common part of many kayak fishermans kit and for good reason. They work like windsocks (you know, the ones you se near airports) but catch water instead air. The net result is a nice drag affect that slows down drift speeds that can often man the diffeence between catching fish and not. I attach mine with a thick bungee cord by way of brass clip buckle to the bow handle. Another brass buckle attaches it to wherever on the yak I please. As pictured, I also carry a spare 8 meter rop, which I sometimes attach to the bungee to give the drift sock more length. I suspect this slows drift a little further - it does, however, add more possible tangle opportunities. To come to a full stop, I use an anchor that incorporates a plastic-coated 5kg solid dumbell, wrapped with 34 meters of rot-resistant nylon cord. I had used custom kayak anchors before (the Hobie one I first used was great, but alas, got lost to an unmoving reef). The use of exersize weights is nothing new to most kayak fishermen either - many of us use them. But most use dumbell/barbell weights, instead of a full dumbell. I had to in the past, but found unless rubber coated, they'd rust really quick. Secondly, they were clumsier to package up with rope. The simple dumbell has the handgrip, which makes for a perfect spool for anchor line. Easy to lower out, easy to retrieve cleanly. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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