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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
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AKFF member 'Paulo' has just attained lengendary status by catching a 78kg Marlin from his Hobie Revolution kayak the other day. Joined by around 25 other enthusiastic kayak fishos (all AKFF members) at Sth West Rocks, Paulo put in a lot of hours and km on the water to achieve this and I think I speak for just about everyone when I say 'wow... just, wow!' Apparently it took about 2.5 hours to bring in, which doesn't surprise me at all. Sounds to me like the AKFF posse ate really well that night  By all reports , it was actually fairly quiet during the week at Sth West Rocks, but there were a few other notable catches as well, including Longtail and Yellowfin Tuna, among others. Well done guys. I think I'll be setting aside some holiday time for the next big gathering at the Sth West Rocks.  Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more...
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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
The Big Catch fishing competition (& lots more)
 Apollo Bay will play host to the Great Ocean Sports Festival this coming weekend of Feb 9th and 10th. Of particular note is the inclusion of a major fishing competition - The Big Catch - that is featuring land, boat and kayak based fishing. The kayak fishing division is being called a 'grand slam' where whoever catches the longest combination of all eligible species (greatest total combined length) wins. Eligible species include: Snapper, Flathead, King George Whiting and Bream. This is a different division to the powerboat anglers, whom also have shark on the list of eligible species. If I was still living in Victoria I'd be there for sure. It's great to see kayak fishing being featured in more and more fishing tournaments. I know some of the 'Melbourne Mangoes' from the Australian Kayak Fishing Forums will be there, so good luck and godspeed gents.
Although the fishing competition kicks off on the Saturday, there is a briefing at 8PM on the Friday night. Confirmation of your participation is required on the Friday night by the sounds of it, so get in quick (but drive safely). Here's the details on that:
Check-in for Event Confirmation and pick up your Event Kit, Measuring Device and Competitor ID Tag), from 7:30pm – 10:30pm on Friday 8th February 2008, at the Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club.
The Great Ocean Sports Festival is also running a bunch of other paddle sports events as well, including a Stand-Up Paddle Board Race, an 8km surf ski race from Marengo Beach to Apollo Bay, an outrigger canoe race, a 4km racing Malibu board paddle race, a 1500 metre surf board paddle race and an Otway Adventure race that will see particpants (individual, pairs and teams) compete in a combo endurance race including running, sea kayaking, mountain bike and surfboard paddling. It's going to be an awesome weekend. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Sunday, 03 February 2008 |
Going back for that monster flathead
A few trips ago I mentioned that I hooked a fairly sizable flatty in the basin that I figured was around the 50cm mark - but lost it before even getting it to the kayak. The next time I went out I targetted that same fish, in the same spot, using the same lure. And I'm pretty sure I succeeded to, even if it didn't turn out to be quite as big as I thought. Well a few trips prior to that I lost an even bigger fish and this one I did see. It was a flatty that was around the 70cm mark and I clearly remember where I hooked it. Unfortunately for me, it snapped the main line (4lb braid). This evening I'm going back to that same spot to try again, this time using a bit of berley in the area to make sure something comes sniffing and then using the trusty Stealth Prawn lure to suck it in. And this time my drag will be set a bit lighter to prevent another line breach. So this is the pre-emptive post intended to give me good luck on my mission. If I come back with a photo of a big fat flatty slung across the deck of the kayak (I'm using a Hobie Quest this weekend) you know I kicked some. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Saturday, 26 January 2008 |
Woah back there gal! Sailing the Hobie Adventure
As a part of my initial preparation efforts for my planned Bass straight kayak crossing, I had deliberated between employing my trusty Adventure kayak, or otherwise upgrading it to a complete Island package. I have had a brief play with an Island and my experience told me that yes, this trimaran styled kayak would be a good choice. But a little devil on my shoulder has been whispering things like 'it's more of a sailing vessel than it is a kayak... it's fast, yes. Its stable, yes. But the argument could be made that it sits on the borderline of being described as a kayak'. So of course, fitting the Adventure with a standard sail has been the other alternative darting around my busy little mind. Up until today, however, I hadn't yet tried out the standard sail on a Hobie kayak.
That all changed this afternoon, because I borrowed a demo sail from the factory for the long weekend and today I gave it a brief test in the Basin. Well I'll be dipped in sheet... colour me impressed! Man, that was fun. I was expecting it to add a few extra clicks to my cruising speed but I wasn't prepared for the speeds it actually facilitated. Even in moderate 10 knot winds (and reasonably calm waters), a fully unfurled sail afforded me so much speed that pedalling was almost an afterthought. Assisted with even just moderate (ST fin) pedal power, I was able to achieve speeds of around 12km an hour with ease... and that was without even trying. I think this experience has helped me make a final decision on how to travel. At this point I'm thinking the standard Adventure with a standard sail is all I really need. I only want the sail for assistance, after all... not to actually do all the work for me.
 This is the rig that'll get me to Tassie
Despite my complete newby status when it comes to sailing, I was able to keep the kayak upright the entire time, although there were moments that I would have tipped over had I not shifted my weight or quickly unfurled the fully erect sail. I was pretty confident the whole time really, but now having seen how close it can get, I'm now hoping to test out this arrangement with Sidekick outriggers attached. The added stability afforded by these could very well be rather useful in waters like Bass straight. My next test will be in Jervis bay and after that, off shore beyond the bay. I'm really looking forward to that but it'll have to wait a few days because I'll be spending the next couple of days fishing in the bay, not sailing it.Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Saturday, 26 January 2008 |
Prepare to be insanely jealous
I walked into a tackle shop in Nowra today with intention to pick up three things: one of those 'X-Tool' gaff hooks that Coolbreeze mentioned to me recently, a bait fish trap and a packet of Squidgy stealth prawns which I reckon will out fish the Gulp shrimp lures here in the prawn infested Basin. Just out of curiosity I asked the salesperson if they stocked Nitro rods and he said: 'not usually, but we do have one in stock'. I asked him to show me. It was a lone 'Distance Spin' model, which just so happens to fit in nicely between the Ulra bream finesse and heavier Viper rod.
'How much?' I inquired.
'Well, we ordered it for someone who never picked it up, so... I dunno... $170?'
'$170? You sure?'
'Err... yeah.'
'Done. Wrap it up!'
I knew full well that these rods typically retail for about $100 more than that and given that I really do have a specific use for it (and a reel to match) I just couldn't pass it up. Regular readers here would already know how much I admire the Innovator Nitro fishing rods, so even though I really couldn't afford it - even at that price - it was too good a bargain to let go.
This brings my happy little family of Nitro rods up to 4 and covers my varying fishing needs perfectly. The Nitro Godzilla really is my mandatory off-shore rod, put to use every time I head out chasing fish like Tuna, Kingies and the like. The Viper also accompanies me on each off shore trip and handles the same sort of species nicely. Heavier lures go on the Godzilla, lighter models on the Viper. Both rods are heavier than I need for the Basin, but I have been taking out the Viper on the odd occasion. The reason for this is that whilst I'm finessing with the Ultra bream rod for bream and flathead (using 4lb line plus 8lb fluorocarbon) I've often had the Viper there to cast towards Tailor that I see busting the surface (using 10lb line, with heavier trace). And it does the job quite well, but I've always thought a lighter rod would do it better. The 'Distance Spin' fits the job description to a T.
 A thing of beauty
It's heavy enough to handle the kind of lures that I'm casting at those Tailor and will handle 6lb braid (which i've had tucked away for a while now) beautifully. Fortunately, the Distance Spin is also solid enough to accompany me for excursions around the beaches of Jervis Bay, where I'll be trolling for Aussie Salmon and Tailor (right next to the Viper). So with this new Nitro added to the collection, I've got just about every possible scenario I can think of covered. Below is an exerpt from the Nitro website that describes the Distance Spin:
The most exciting rod to hit the Australian market in quite some time. In the prototyping stage this rod found it’s way to the bream rivers on the far south coast of NSW right to the flats of Bynoe Harbour in the North. Along the way it accounted for Bream, Flathead, Salmon, Tailor, Kingfish, Striped Tuna, Mack Tuna, Longtail Tuna, Barra, Fingermark Bream and small GT’s and Queenfish. As the name suggests this rod is the Distance caster, aided by the high modulus graphite and extra length the Distance Spin will cast Small metal lures like no other rod before it. The length of this rod also makes it the rod of choice when soft plastic stick baits are used and imparting an action to your lure is paramount to success. It’s also handy when that once in a lifetime fish bolts under the boat in that last dash for freedom – extra length means more reach around motors, anchor ropes and keels.Comments (4) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
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I've been procrastinating on doing some long overdue updates to the site recently, partly because I have been trying to figure out how to adjust the content and layout to better fit my new circumstances. Thankfully I've finally worked most of that out, so there will be some more noticible changes over the next few days. This will include updating the gallery completely, which will mean cleaning out a lot of the not so glorious photos and speeding up the load time of those pages, as well as adjusting the catagories somewhat. I'm also going to tweak the Yakabout map, replacing the destination markers with trip report markers (because I'm no longer writing destination reports). This will see the Yakabout map repopulate with far more markers than it currently has, and will provide another means of navigating to specific trip reports. The FAQ section will get an update and I've started the ball rolling tonight by re-writing the 'about' section, so it now reflects my current situation and future plans. Finally, I'm also going to set up a slide show for the front page, although I'm yet to find a software package that it both inexpensive and suitable for my needs. That one could take a couple of weeks. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Saturday, 19 January 2008 |
Time to start getting serious about this  367 km as the crow flies. No wuckas!
Several years ago I started dreaming of kayaking all the way from Tidal River, Wilsons Prom to Launceston in Tasmania. At the time I wasn't really sure how I'd go about it, but it is an adventure I never stopped thinking about. Since then I've done a fair bit of reading on the experiences of others who have completed the journey (as well as those who have failed) and slowly but surely, I've been cobbling a bit of a game plan together. Now I've got a much better idea of how I'd go about.  After having briefly played around with the Hobie Island Trimaran kayak at the Sunstate Hobie bass bash event I've fairly well concluded that this is the kayak I intend to do it with. That sail really is very effective and obviously, just such an appendage would help considerably. I'm looking at traversing over 360 km as the crow flies, after all. Considering how lumpy the water tends to get in bass straight, I'd say it'd be a fairly safe bet to double that, if not more.
I do have a hell of a lot of planning to do yet and over the course of the next 12 months or so I'll be ramping up both my research and training efforts. Right now I'm thinking March 2009 would probably be the best time to do it, but obviously that is just an approximate date for now and will very likely change. I'm guessing I'll probably have to set aside a couple of weeks to complete the journey. By no means do I expect to be on the water that entire time - I'll be island-hopping all the way. But I do have to expect weather to prevent me from crossing some of those legs on occasion, quite possibly by consecutive days.
By hook or by crook, I'll be attempting this journey some time next year. Now you know why I was so keen to install a compass into the Adventure I am currently using, which I'm hoping to convert to an Island with an upgrade kit sometime between now and my departure date. Obviously there is a fair bit for me to figure out yet and as I do so, I'll write about it here. I don't have any plans to abandon writing about kayak fishing whatsoever, but this Vic to Tas kayaking project will become a large focus of my contributions to the Yakabout website from this point forward. Much more on this later.
 Ritchie Kayak compass will definitely come in handy - as will my GPS Comments (5) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Saturday, 19 January 2008 |
Armor All for cleaning and protecting the kayak
 I was really very keen to head out into the Basin to catch some bream and or flathead for dinner tonight and having pin pointed the most fishiest of areas within a comfortable paddle distance, I'd concocted a pretty much fool-proof plan that involves a stake-out pole, loads of berley and my Ultra-Bream Nitro fishing rod. That plan, however, has been thoroughly defeated by the weather, which has been bucketing down in spurts and showering in between. Sadly, it's just not much of a day to go paddling at all. So instead, I figured I'd do a summer-time spring clean in what feels like typical winter weather.
The first port of call was to get my car into reasonable shape. It's an absolute disgrace and has been for some time. It hasn't been washed and vacuumed since I left Townsville so that was my main priority. That meant a trip to a car wash in Nowra, and then an hour or so of scrubbing at home. My main ally in this cause was Armor All protectant, which I've recently started to find all sorts of fitting uses for.
One of those uses is to clean my kayak with. It really does a pretty impressive job of bringing a respectable shine back to the polyethylene surface. It's also great for cleaning up the mirage drive as well as hatch seals. It makes a world of difference on the hatches and I now use this instead of Vaseline because not only does it help to restore a smooth working action, it also helps sure up the seal itself. Water tends to bead right off this stuff, so that and Armor All's UV protectant qualities really is a good way to go. Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Monday, 14 January 2008 |
 Xtools - well suit to kayak fishing
Coolbreeze and I are constantly keeping ourselves tuned in on hardware, be it computer or fishing related. Recently he sent me an image of his collection of XTool fishing tools. I've been eyeing these off in tackle stores lately and for good reason - they look a lot like they've been made specifically for kayak fishing. The reason for that is that they float... and a quality such as that truly lends itself to fishing from a confined platform. I'm almost ashamed to admit how much hardware I've lost over the side of the kayak. Recently I've been using Hobie gear keepers to help prevent this from happeneing, although this is also another good way to circumvent the scenario. I haven't yet tried any of the Xtools, but Coolbreeze assures me they are built for the task. As such they're worthy of mention here.
If you are as clumsy or as unfortunate as I've been in the past, you could do worse then equipping yourself with some of these.
The term 'X' typically seems to mean eXreme. Admittedly, 'X' labelled 'anything' always makes me wonder though. Extreme tools hey? By extreme, does that mean they'll bust out into a breakdancing routine on their own accord while you're not looking? A breakdancing gaff hook? Shieeeet! That'd be one for youtube!Speaking of kayak fishing gear, I chanced upon another website completely dedicted to supplying kayak fishing specific equipment today. Hook 1, going by the URL of kayakfishinggrear.com is a US based website that specializes in kayak fishing accessories. Quite the range they have to. Be sure to check that one out. Comments (1) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
 things started getting a bit wishy-washy as I paddled out of the bay
It's been a while since I've caught a truly respectable fish and I was determined to put an end to that trend today. I've been eyeing off Jervis Bay trips reports from various sites lately and it seems as if most of the action has been taking place some 8 mile off shore. In what was a rather over-ambitious intention, my plan was to paddle/pedal that distance out from the heads at Jervis Bay today to try and get amongst the action.
When I woke this morning (later than planned) I looked at the skies and figured the gods had smiled on me. No clouds whatsoever and from what I could tell, not much wind either. Although it didn't look quite so good when I launched at around 9AM, it still looked more than good enough to go kayaking. But I soon found out that the water can be deceptively calm in the bay, and when I paddled out into open water it started getting pretty washy, with winds hammering somewhere between 20 - 25 knots.
At first I didn't let it deter me and I kept on going. But I only managed to travel about 1km out from the heads (going by my GPS) before I realised how silly I was being. I probably could have reached 8 miles off shore but I'm not so certain I would have made it back. I think one would need picture-perfect conditions to do so, and perfect it wasn't. So with my tail between my legs I turned back and headed back to shore.
I did spend some time fishing around the outer reaches of the bay afterwards, but not only did I fail to raise a bite, I didn't detect any activity on the sounder either. Apart from a single sea turtle sighting (I didn't know they could be found this far south) it really was a fairly event-less trip, yet again. Shame that, because I had a real taste for fish for dinner. I think I'll head out into the Basin this evening to make up for it.
Unfortunately I also managed to re-injure my shoulder while lifting the kayak onto my roof rack as well. It's not too bad really, but I'll have to go easy on it for a week or two, which means my plans to take a Hobie Lanai out for some paddle surfing are on hold for a bit. Luckily I don't have to lift anything to get the kayak down into the calm waters of the Basin. Comments (5) | E-mail | Read more... |
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Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
20 days later than originally planned, James Castrission and Justin Jones have succeeded in paddling across the Tasman sea. They arrived at Ngamotu Beach on NZ's West Coast around midday yesterday to a warm reception and were promptly provided beer. Many believed the crossing simply couldn't be done but in their custom built tandem kayak the pair have proven the doubters wrong. That's not to say they did it easily, however. At one point they were caught in a 'whirlpool' that had them inadvertantly going around in circles, and from all reports, there were numerous other low points that challenged their morale. The welcoming beer at the end of the trip probably made it all feel worthwhile.
They were at sea for about 2 months, which (as most of you would know) is an exceptionally long time to be paddling. Just imagine what it would have felt like to stand up on dry land again... I feel wobbly after just 4 or 5 hours! Congradulations gents - I'm cracking an honorary beer right now. Legends!Be first to comment this article | E-mail | Read more... |
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Friday, 11 January 2008 |
Trip reports of late (or lack thereof)I've received several messages recently asking why I haven't posted any trip reports lately and the answer for which is a combination of several factors. Part of that is the fact that although I've been on a few trips lately (especially at my new local haunt) and caught a few reasonably worthy fish, the trips themselves have been relatively eventless. 2 of these were ventures in Jervis Bay, which had all the potential to be highly memorable... but weren't.
 Basin View has lots of Tailor
The Basin, however, is an estuary system that looks and often feels more like a lake. Although I've caught a few tasty morsels from there (of the Flatty, Bream and Tailor flavour), the trips themselves have been so placid that I worried I might bore readers to sleep by reading the run-down. I very nearly did have something worthy to pass on, because I did hook onto a large Flathead that would have gone somewhere between 70 - 75cm, but it spat the hook yakside (and saved me the trouble of releasing it, which I would have done).
Because it is close to home, I'll be fishing this patch regularly but instead of recapping each outing, I think from now on I'll do a weekly Basin wrap up. In time I'll write an article passing on everything I learn about the place and it'll definitely be worth reading. Weather allowing, however, in times while I am based in the area (which will likely be most of the time) I'll aim to hit Jervis Bay and beyond once a week. I'm expecting big things from doing so, and for sure, if anything exciting happens I'll write a full report.
 And bream
Weather reports here almost always seem to be way off the mark and showers and maybe even storms are predicted for this weekend... which probably means it'll be perfectly sunny and calm. That being the case, I'll be heading off shore on Sunday. I'm also hoping to get in some kayak surfing this weekend to, but not in the trusty Adventure. I've taken a loaner demo Lanai kayak for the weekend and will be aiming to have some fun in the surf with it. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to attach my camera so I can film myself riding the waves (and or getting dumped in them).
Before I do any of this, however, my first port of call is to go and buy a proper matress. I've been sleeping on a single camp matress for the past 6 months and yes, it's now starting to take it's toll. It was so much easy to swallow while travelling, but with a home base it feels completely unnatural and overwhelmingly uncomfortable.
 And what waterway worth it's salt doesn't have the obligatory Flathead? Comments (1) | E-mail | Read more... |
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