rjc123

Hi Fishon, Both Paul and Roberta have answered your questions really well. I got mine new for $3350. This was only for the kayak, not any extras. Including the extras (livewell, sounder, batteries, Rod holder mounts, etc...) it added up to around $4k. Not cheap, but the place i got it from are great and gave me plenty of discounts which was great. Yesterday i took it in as i was having problems with the sounder connection etc.. and they fixed it in 15 mins for free. I'll PM the place. They weigh A LOT. Mine fully rigged is easily over 50kg... That's the one complication with these yaks. Unless you get a small trailer for them, they are quite hard to get on and off the roof racks... So in other words, you'd struggle at first to do it yourself but others have found ways to do it by themselves. Like suggested earlier in the thread, slide it on from the back using a towel or mat to cover the back of the car. Overall, a great fishing machine, very stable and a great alternative to a boat. No fuel fees!! I'll shoot you a quick PM of where to get them from.. Cheers, Tom

Nice work mate I caught a 38cm a few months ago with a similar injury. I thought maybe a small bull shark may have a had a go? For the smaller bream and pinkies, probably bigger tailor harrassing them....

Thanks guys! Much appreciated. I'll try a few of these ideas and see what works for me. Not much fun lifting a 50kg+ yak with a fractured vertebrae Cheers, Tom

Thanks for that mate Sounds like a great rig. I'll have to just use trial and error for the moment. See what works best for me. Cheers, Tom

Thought I might make use of the new "kayak crew" forum and ask a question to those who own a pro angler. How do you transport it? I put it on the roof racks as opposed to a trailer but it really is a two man job. I can't always rely on someone else helping me get it off. So, has anyone found a good way to put it on/off? I have a rack and roll system which is meant to help but doesn't work too well on my car... Any advice or other ways of doing it would be great Great Idea on making this kayak forum mods Cheers, Tom

Yeah that would probably make things easier. Either way, i just made the downrigger. A handline with 40lb mono (30m) with a splitshot every meter so i know how deep im running it... Attached two really big snapper leads to the end. Should be all good to go. Cheers, Tom

Yeah might have to mount a go pro on! I'll give the make shift downrigger a go. Hopefully all goes well Will post a report.. Cheers, Tom

Yeah, got a lowrance elite 4-dsi. I'll be sure to keep it a few meters off the bottom. Thanks mate, I'm planning to run one rod with squid (live if i can catch a few otherwise i have a few fresh dead in the freezer) and one with a live yakka. Do you reckon it would be worth dojng the yakka with the slow troll rig, and making a "make shift" downrigger for the squid? I have a few big, big weights lying around. I might let these weights down below the yak (a couple of meters off the bottom) and attach the fishing line via a small elastic band. Do you reckon this will work? Cheers, Tom

I've hooked a few 4-5' bulls on live mullet while fishing for jewfish. I have no doubt that i've hooked bigger. Been bitten off on 50lb Flurocarbon a few times. Apart from sharks there's not a whole lot up there that could bite me off on 50lb... The weight before they bit me off was immense! These big hook ups were at night. Certainly wouldn't get me swimming around there... There are tigers up there over summer believe it or not. I read it and heard it from a few people but didn't really believe it until i saw one late last year.. Just past the first bend (upstream from the bridge). Scared me shitless! Was on a surf ski!! Cheers, Tom

Yeah it's like that sometimes.. I've also been getting plenty of big pike up there lately. Squid? That's unusual. I very occasionally see them in the shallows but i guess if you're catching them there then they would be a great bait choice. Keep going with the unweighted prawns. You'll get a few 40cm+ bream sooner or later. I've got 6 over 35cm and 2 over 40cm at rosie in the last month or so. Released them all so theyr'e out there! Make sure you don't burley too hard. Sometimes the bull sharks move in and if you end up hooking a jew they'll probably take it. They're usually under 5' that i have trouble with but i now for a fact that this time of year sees 10' sharks up there... Might be an idea to target them? Would be interesting! Cheers, Tom

Thanks guys, Is there any point in having them unweighted a fair way behind the yak and basically drifting or pedalling really slowly? Other wise i'll use the above rigs.. How long should my trace be from the swivel to the hook? 1.5m? Cheers, Tom

Hi Raiders, Looking at getting into the kings in the next week or so. Might hit up pittwater for a look. Haven't been up there a while and the kings should hopefully be inside by now. I don't have a downrigger on the yak so keen to give slow trolling a go with live yakkas and squid. Just looking for some info on rigs to do this. Do i need weight? I assume its very similar to downrigging only without the bomb... Any help would be great. Also, any reports of kings in pittwater yet? Cheers, Tom

I've had my PA12 since August, and still havent figured out the livewell. I've read all the instructions and tried it on the water multiple times but it just won't fill with water... Any ideas/tips? Cheers, Tom

I guess there's no harm in trying them. I say give them a go in the morning (or if the tides better then in the afternoon) and try cowan in the afternoon. Chuck a live squid down at juno or flint n steel and see what happens. Might get lucky!

I've caught and seen plenty of these around roseville. Most are tiny around 10cm but pulled in a 30cm one time. No idea what they are either... Some sort of Lungfish ? Maybe they grow into eels ? Only ever see them at roseville though...

In that case I'd go for the Daiwa Black Label Versatile 3-5lb. Top rod and have just ordered one myself after many recommendations and using a mates.

Thanks for that! Will keep it in mind! Cheers, Tom

Agree with whats been said above. If your after school jew then poke your nose into Cowan Creek and you should find some. Any obvious drop offs are worth a look but just move around a try find a school on your sounder. Jerusalem Bay and Waratah Bay are good starting points, but they're throughout the entire creek. Cheers, Tom

Nice Bream I've been hammering them at rosie on unweighted prawns lately... By far the most successful technique at the moment. Have had very few sessions in the last few months without a bag of bream with the odd standout of 40cm+. As for the jews, I haven't got one at rosie since April. I can't say i've been putting in the time and fishing the best tides but they certainly have been tricky. On a dusk tide change, have a livie out near the overhead pipe and you'll be in with a shot. The reason for this is that there's a nice hole near here and the jews come out during slack water a feed around the pipe area... As for bait, live tailor = #1 bait! Got my jews at roseville on them so certainly best bait for me. Yakkas and mullet are next best. Generally I don't use squid here as i like to "match the hatch". Squid aren't particularly common around roseville which means they may not be the best bait. If i were you, I'd keep putting in the time, fishing the best tides and you'll get one. Over summer you'll find loads of schoolies up around roseville. Just keep having a livie or two out and fish unweighted prawns in close. I also get some good bream on unweighted chicken strips and mullet fillet. Keep at it mate! Hope you get lucky Cheers, Tom

I also have the jewell. I've had a bit of bad karma with them in the past. Snapping 3 jewells in the space of a year.... Ranging from car incidents to high sticking when netting big fish. I elected not to get another one as breaking 3 of the same rod in a year says something... I do infact have a heavier 4-8kg model of it for jews and rat kings. So far its great. Depending on your budget, you have many options. The Pflueger Trion is a lovely little rod. Ideally suited to plastics and can come as cheap as $100 if you look in the right places. Another step up and you have the T-Curve T-Series. These are great rods. You can get them for around $220 but seen them around $200 as well. These may be a bit pricey compared to the jewell but the Daiwa Sol and Daiwa Black Label Versatile are fantastic. They both go for around the $250 mark but the black label is certainly better. It really comes down to if you want something to just do the job, or a really quality rod. The ever faithful Raider series are a great work horse and cheap. Cheers, Tom

Great stuff namesay! Brilliant report with some cracker kings. From the looks of it you got a few of them within the harbour. Not looking for a specific spot but what area have you been finding them? Hopefully I'll have a crack this weekend Cheers, Tom

Thats a big Hairy I've heard that they occasionally hang around until october/November but still wouldn't expect it! What depth did you catch it in? Cheers, Tom

For me the picnic area is pretty quiet.. Either the area betwenn the bridge and overhead pipe (and just to the upstream side of the bridge can be good) or well upstream of the picnic area. It's the sort of area you have to crack the code for. So experimenting with different lures/retrieves/techniques is a good idea. Cheers, Tom

PM sent

The z-man grubz 2.5" in either bloodworm or watermellon red are my favourite for bream and small-medium flatties. The z-man 4" streakz in baby bass and gulp 4" pumpkinseed minnow are better for the bigger flathead. Cheers, Tom