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News -
Latest News
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Written by Josh
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Friday, 30 October 2009 |
8 day kayak fishing & sailing expedition good to go
Eternity. That's what the past two weeks have felt like. The Ancient Mayans believe that time is slowly speeding up, but to me - and no doubt Carl, Holger and Paul as well - time has seemed at a stand still... until now. This morning's smoke break felt like it should have been knock off time, but when knock off time finally came around, time went back to normal. And you know what they say about time flying when you're having fun... no doubt the next 9 days will fly by. Because in this instance, fun is practically guaranteed.
The kayak has been fully serviced, with a complete inspection of the hull and all of it's fittings and a thorough wipe down. The miragedrive has been completely disassembled and every individual piece cleaned down and lubricated (using McNetts silicone spray for the Delrin components, Lanox spray on chains and lanolin grease inside the drum and sprocket shafts). All the knives and hooks are sharpened. All rods wiped clean, all reels oiled & greased. All batteries have been charged, all memory cards formatted, all seals cleaned and conditioned and everything on the checklist (and what a checklist it is) is checked. We're officially good to go.
Thanks to those of you who have offered your wellwishes - much appreciated. Unless I can find a way to get a web connection using seaweed & coconuts, there will be no updates for the next 10 days but upon return there will be an absolute deluge of content - photos, videos, trip reports & articles, so be sure to return on the 10th of November to get your fix. |
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Articles -
Interviews
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Written by Josh
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
A few words with the ABT/Hobie breamin' king!
 Victorian based Scott Lovig is the reigning ABT/Hobie Kayak Fishing Series champion and is currently leading the 09/10 field. Clearly he's the man to beat - but will he let that happen? I first met Scott when I purchased my first Hobie kayak and came to know him through several kayak fishing ventures into Port Phillip Bay. It was then that I discovered that Scott was pretty damned handy with a fishing rod. Being both an avid and experienced fisho as well as a Hobie kayak dealer and kayaking enthusiast, quite naturally Scott is a pretty accomplished kayak fisho as well, equally at home pulling big reds out of the bay or hauling pelagics off the Western Australian coast as he is hunting down the ever-challenging bream throughout the ABT circuit. So with Round 2 of the kayak fisning series set to kick off at Narrabeen early next month, I thought now would be a good time to see if I can dig out some insight on how he plans to maintain his lead, and more. Josh: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us Scott... I know you're always flat out! Tell us a bit about yourself - how old are you, where do you come from, how long have you been fishing for and how long have you been doing it from a kayak?
Scott: I’m 38, live in Mornington Victoria and have been fishing since I was old enough to hold a rod and reel. As a kid my parents took my brother and I on lots of caravan holidays and at each new location I would be sniffing out the best place to throw a line. My favourites were Marlo in Gippsland and using handlines on the pier with the old timers off the fish co-op in the Mooloolabah river Qld. I started fishing from the kayaks in 2004 when I became a Hobie dealer
Josh: What is it about participating in the ABT/Hobie kayak fishing series that you enjoy?
Scott: I love competition and boys trips away on the water it’s a lot of fun and a great social event I’m also addicted to bright shiny tackle and it gives me an excuse to add to the collection. It’s probably irrational but last season I was also driven to prove my self to others, I don’t want to be viewed as just a dealer in it just for the business. I can actually walk the walk.
Josh: How has series 2 been shaping up for you so far?
Scott: Round at Nelson was fought out on a spawn bite, they were down deep in big schools. It was a matter of annoying the fish into a bite by banging the bottom with metal blades. I was one of only 3 anglers who caught fish on both days. The rules have changed so that your best bag on any day is your total score not your consistent haul over the weekend so I finished with a seventh placing instead of something higher. It was still a good result, there were 33 anglers. I may miss Narrabeen due to family commitments but should be good for the rest.
Josh: Have you introduced any new lures or strategies of note into this new series?
Scott: I now have to change my thinking from getting consistency to just going for broke and gambling on catching all or nothing. One bag of big fish on one day will win, you can suck on the other and its ok. I will be using more hard bodied lures this year.
Josh: Did you put much or any effort into refining your breaming skills between series?
Scott: I have a young family and busy home life so practicing has been difficult. I just finished filming the AFC series last week, I was a beginner surrounded by much better bream anglers but I learnt a hell of a lot in just one week.
Josh: If you could carry only one fishing rig into a bream tournament, which would it be (describe rod, reel & line/s).
Scott: Daiwa Steeze reel, they are so smooth and help keep fickle braid under control. I also use the Nitro Power Bream rod it’s tough crisp and light. My favourite braid is Sunline PE its ridiculously fine and still 6lb breaking strain. I also like the Sunline V Hard fluorocarbon leader and mainly use 4lb for most jobs.
Josh: If you could only carry 3 different lures into a bream tournament, which would they be, and why?
Scott: Gulp 2” shrimp in pepper prawn, I like to weight them light and toss them tight under structure. Ecogear metal blade in black with orange belly, it can be used deep and casts a long way. Smiths Camion diving lure in any natural/clear pattern, they float so you can control the swim depth by the rate of retrieve so it can be pulled sub surface or a metre deep to match the situation.
Josh: What kayak are you using for series 2, and why have you chosen to use it?
Scott: I am using a Pro Angler because they carry so much and allow you to stand up and see into the water more. I now keep 4 rigged rods layed down so there is more variety in the boat or simply spares rigged up the same as I am using in case I get dusted in hot bite and can’t afford to waste time rerigging.
Josh: What advice do you have for someone looking to get into the kayak fishing tournament scene to help get them off to a good start?
Scott: Get off your bum and enter. It dosent matter if you are a beginner, we are too, so no one can justify an ego and we are all there to have fun. Start out with the 2 best outfits you can afford, some Gulp soft plastics, a couple of bibbed hard body lures, a couple blades and some good leader. You don’t need much gear to get fish.
Josh: It's not all about the bream for you though, is it. What have you been chasing between seasons, and where?
Scott: I like to get my snapper fix each November and also spend a bit of time hitting the salmon and squid locally. Squid is my new thing, the latest jigs and techniques coming out of Japan are just awesome. I have ordered a new EGI rod from Yamashita and some very cool jigs. My kids love catching and eating squid too so I take them out when I can.
Josh: What do you consider to be your best catch (from a kayak) yet, and what is the one fish still hasn't been scratched off the bucket list?
Scott: My favourite catch was an Amberjack taken on a surface lure amongst shallow coral bommies at Dirk Hartog Island. I had already been dusted by 2 of his mates until I watched it smash the lure and then I had to pedal after it furiously in all sorts of directions as it screamed around the coral. I even free spooled it twice when I felt the leader grinding around the coral and repositioned the kayak before yanking it out again. I am desperate to add a big GT one day.
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News -
Latest News
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Written by Josh
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
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Hobie fishing team member Carl Dubois & fellow Sydney-sider yak-fishing enthusiast Adam Ford have finally released a kayak fishing DVD that is some 3 years in the making. 3 years! Woah... All of the action is centred in the Sydney region, so this is must-watch material for any Sydney kayak anglers. I haven't yet seen the DVD myself but Carl isn't on the Hobie fishing team for nothing, so I'm assuming there's some great informative content in there. More information on how to acquire the DVD can be found at Kayak Fishing Sydney (Carl's blog). Here's a description from the horses mouth:
Finally, Adam and I have finished the DVD we've been working on the last three years! With fishing being such a fickle thing, it took a lot longer than expected to get the footage that covers most of the fish you'll catch around Sydney. Here's a run down of what you'll see us catch on the DVD - Bass, Bream, Tailor, Kingfish, Trevally, Salmon, Flathead and Mulloway (Jewfish). |
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Josh's Blog -
Yakass
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Written by Josh
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 |
Not just reporting it, but making it to!
For the second time in three months, yakabout has made front page news in the Clarence Coast Daily Examiner. One of the photos in the whale encounter story will be fully-coloured on the front page tomorrow, along with an article on how it all unfolded. So long as I keep making the news and live to tell the tale, it's all good. But for sure, it's going to be difficult to top either of those close encounters (Great White & Humpback Whale) and now having been that close, the thought of even trying fills me with trepidation. Interestingly enough, quite a few people have remarked how they'd rather experience the whale instead of the shark and I gotta tell ya... I don't know about that. Truth be told, even if only for a fleeting moment, being that close to the humpback was scarier than being that close to the shark. Especially in this instance, because although I was aware the whale was somewhere, I did not expect it to appear when it did.
 This is what appeared in the first report
And when it did appear, for a moment there I felt completely and utterly helpless. Whatever was about to happen was about to happen and there was nothing I could have done to influence the outcome at that point. I was completely at the mercy of the sheer size and weight of the whale and the effect it had on the water. With the shark hanging around on the other hand, despite second guessing myself somewhat, at no point did I feel like I was at the mercy of the shark. I just had an impulse to act. The only impulse I had when the whale appeared was to keep snapping photos, because that was the only thing I was really capable of doing.
There's a very good chance at least one of the crew will manage to capture some newsworthy photos or footage in our upcoming trip. Humpback whales? Check! Humpback dolphins? Bottlenose dolphins? Check! Dugongs? Check! Monster sea turtles? Check! Sharks? Check! Big-ass pelagic fish? Check! Baby-stealing dingoes? Check!
8 days of kayak sailing & fishing around the northern reaches of Fraser Island is likely to put us in the path of all of these things, and with something like 9 cameras (don't ask how many batteries), 12 fishing rods between us, and a myriad of encounters in front of us, great things are destined. So one way or another, we may very well be making news again some time soon. |
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Starting now and throughout the month of November, 
