Kite Fishing

[Bigfoot]

Hey Raiders,

Just wondering if anyone has tried or for that matter been

successful whilst kite fishing.

Big overseas I know, never seen anyone try it here.

They use long lines which are obviously out of the question in

my local waters of NSW, however, I am keen to try and am

looking to source the neccesary equiptment at the moment.

Have seen several web sites dedicated to the sport, however

I would prefer to give my hard earned to people closer to home,

Not O.S

Do any of the site sponsors stock such Gear?

As i am going to give it a go, is there anything i should know?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Bigfoot

[arpie]

Hi Bigfoot

When I was in NZ, I got interested in kite fishing. I have a small fishing kite but haven't caught fish on it at this point in time (we don't often get offshore winds here) - but they surely do fly high!!! You need a prevailing offshore wind - that is why the west coast of NZ was the place to fish, as Auckland basically has on-shore winds. Mind you, in some parts, the west coast is only 1/2 drive or less from the east coast!! (Auckland way, anyway!)

You basically use 2 rods - one for the kite & one for your rod. You need big line for the kite & have a bottle filled with sand or water to prevent the kite from flying too high, as you want it to go out, not up! In the old days, the line to your rod is connected below the bottle on a dropper & is connected (often) by a lifesaver lolly! This lolly is dunked in the water as it goes out & by the time it dissolves & drops your rod line, it should be far enough out to target the fish hiding well behind the breakers. Now they seem to use downrigger clips! They also use quite a few hooks - over here, you'd be restricted to 3, I think, with clip on traces & using a crimp to space them about 1-2m apart. The further out you have your gear, the stronger the reel & line needs to be. Over there, they used to use Penn Senator 4/0. The line would go out 500m - 1km.

Huge snapper, & even sharks, are caught on kite rigs off Piha Beach in NZ. Some rigs are so large, that they use huge 'garden hose' style reels to bring the lines back in! I have caught a snapper, Aussie salmon/kawhai & gurnard on a 'garbage bag' contiki over in NZ which was blown up & tied to the fishing line & went out with the out tide & off shore breeze! That was fun!

Check this local site out for info - looks interesting!

http://www.caughtinflight.com.au/

Cheers

Roberta

Edited September 23, 2007 by Roberta

[coastspinna]

helium balloons work jus as well....