Estuary Setup - Need Advise

[yakfishing]

Gday,

Just looking to re-spool my reel. I only have one reel at the moment and need to make it as versatile as possible. I mainly estuary fish (usually Narra Lake) either drifting baits or flicking plastics out of my yak. I have a 2-5 Kg light flicky graphite rod. I was thinking 3Kg line or should i go lighter? Is 3kgs ok from bream luring? I also have some 20 Ibs Vanish, is this overkill for using as a trace or leader to help stop bightoffs from the flatys? When Im drifting I pick up bream and flatys, will 20Ibs Vanish spook the bream or is it still pretty invisible in shallow water? One last question - what is a good quality main line for a decent price?

Thanks

[Jigholio]

G'day Yak,

You have many many many choices. I'll start by suggesting how I'd set up. Firstly, if you have a spare spool for your reel...yipee. If not i suggest acquiring one. I would consider a fused braid like fireline on spool one. my choice would be 10lb, this will give you mega line capacity.still fish it with say 1 kilo drag or whatever puts a nice working curve in the rod but still allows lift from the lower section. You might consider a topshot of say 100m braid on mono to keep the cost down.The feel is so direct you'll clearly distinguish rocks/weed/bumps etc. If you hook the big one you've got the best chance of landing it. On spool two go fluorocarbon all the way. Great for sweetwater/clear sunny days or when they're spookish/not playing the game, 3kilo is fine. 20lb fluoro leader is ideal for lizards, might want to go lighter for bream.

hope that gives you some ideas...

PS do you ever launch ur yak from Tunks Park?? saw one just like yours a coupla weeks ago as I was driving on my trailer.

Edited January 3, 2008 by Jigholio

[mottyman]

G'day mate,

I fish 4lb fireline and 6lb spiderwire fusion on my bream and bass gear and its more than enough to handle the odd sambo and good size flattie I get so I reckon would handle what you're after no worries.

I fish 4lb, 8lb and 12lb Vanish as leader material as the conditions dictate and what I'm after. I just love the stuff and in all the years I've used it I have never had it let me down once, even on good sized flatties. I'm careful tho, and keep their head under the water to stop them sawing me off before they're netted. Never lift their head clear before you have them in the net.

The 4lb fireline has a much higher breaking strain than 4lb and casts like silk thread - I'd highly recommend it. Just don't overfill the spool and take it easy on the big casts when its new till it "breaks in" a bit. That will help reduce cast knots when the line is new.

I've fished this way for ages and it all works well for me.

Good luck with it all.

Cheers

David.

[yakfishing]

Thanks Jigholio and Mottyman.

No I havent launched from Tunks before, but thered be a fair few more Hobie Outback yaks floating around the place, the sport is really growing. A couple of years ago I was getting weird looks and comments like "your gonna fish outa that?!" but thats happening less now and Im seeing a lot more fishing yaks out there.

Edited January 3, 2008 by yakfishing

[mottyman]

Thanks Jigholio and Mottyman.

No I havent launched from Tunks before, but thered be a fair few more Hobie Outback yaks floating around the place, the sport is really growing. A couple of years ago I was getting weird looks and comments like "your gonna fish outa that?!" but thats happening less now and Im seeing a lot more fishing yaks out there.

G'day again Yakman,

I've never fished out of a yak but...

How do you find it stability wise. What happens if you're fishing and get side on to some boat wash etc etc or a bit of a chop gets up... do you constantly feel like you're going to wind up in the drink???

Obviously you don't go out into the harbour with a 30 knot southerly blowing but how does it handle different conditions.

Cheers

David.

[stricko4]

G'day Yak,

My suggestion is 10lb Suffix braid. It's finer than Fireline & has great knot strength to boot. I've fished with it for 3 years now & have no complaints at all. As for leader it is really a case of horses for courses. Match the weight of Vanish (which I also use) to the target fish & you can't go wrong. BTW Suffix isn't the cheapest braid going arround but it is comparable to Fireline. Topshotting is a deffinite way to save on the $'s but personally I have loaded 250yds onto my 2500 series reels without any drama. As someone mentioned earlier with that set up you would easily handle anything from Whitting & Bream to Sambo's no problem & I can vouch for that myself.

Paul

[yakfishing]

G'day again Yakman,

I've never fished out of a yak but...

How do you find it stability wise. What happens if you're fishing and get side on to some boat wash etc etc or a bit of a chop gets up... do you constantly feel like you're going to wind up in the drink???

Obviously you don't go out into the harbour with a 30 knot southerly blowing but how does it handle different conditions.

Cheers

David.

Gday David

My yak is really stable because its heaps wide, its takes up most of the roofrack on my car to give you an idea on the size. Ive leaned pretty far (for a yak) either side and it seems like i could push it even further. Youve given me the idea just now that I should go out into some shallow water without any gear and see how far I can actually push it. Ive kayaked for years so Ive got pretty good balance, but twice Ive come close to falling in. The first was in some pretty high chop in botany bay so my balance had to be shifting in all directions and unpredictably which is harder to do with fish distracting you. Its far easier keeping balance on direct waves from most angles (and no you don’t ever want to be side-on to any big waves or wash, you’ve gotta look out and postion yourself accordingly). The second time I almost tipped was in Narrabeen Lake and it was because I was twisting around looking for something and getting frustrated. Bad planning on my part as you should have everything you need easily reachable, so that ones easily avoided. You want to pick a good day to go out as with most boating but it’s a little more restrictive as you mentioned you don’t wanna go out if its too windy. I don’t constantly feel like Im gonna fall in, because Im confident in myself and the craft but as Ive mentioned you occasionally get a close call. But the more you do it the better you get and balance becomes easy and autonomous and you can handle most situations admirably.

Edited January 3, 2008 by yakfishing

[Davemmm]

All my bread and butter reels are loaded up with 6lb I just change the trace for whatever practice I am doing.

If I am using lures (soft or hard) I have 4lb leader. Bait fishing for breamand whiting 4lb but if I get smashed up it to 6lb and 9lb if I am specifically targetting flathead.

99% of the fish you catch when fishing the estuary will not bust you off using 6lb, it only happens when they take you up against structure. Of course this all changes if you fish for Jews and kings.

Dave

[mottyman]

Gday David

My yak is really stable because its heaps wide, its takes up most of the roofrack on my car to give you an idea on the size. Ive leaned pretty far (for a yak) either side and it seems like i could push it even further. Youve given me the idea just now that I should go out into some shallow water without any gear and see how far I can actually push it. Ive kayaked for years so Ive got pretty good balance, but twice Ive come close to falling in. The first was in some pretty high chop in botany bay so my balance had to be shifting in all directions and unpredictably which is harder to do with fish distracting you. Its far easier keeping balance on direct waves from most angles (and no you don’t ever want to be side-on to any big waves or wash, you’ve gotta look out and postion yourself accordingly). The second time I almost tipped was in Narrabeen Lake and it was because I was twisting around looking for something and getting frustrated. Bad planning on my part as you should have everything you need easily reachable, so that ones easily avoided. You want to pick a good day to go out as with most boating but it’s a little more restrictive as you mentioned you don’t wanna go out if its too windy. I don’t constantly feel like Im gonna fall in, because Im confident in myself and the craft but as Ive mentioned you occasionally get a close call. But the more you do it the better you get and balance becomes easy and autonomous and you can handle most situations admirably.

Thanks for info... I didn't realise the yaks were that wide.

Sounds like any time you go out in a new craft, pick your day and take it easy till you know your craft and how it handles.

Also sounds like once you get your "sea legs" you're good to go in conditions suitable to the craft.

A bit of planning and the yak sounds like a great fishing platform.

Cheers

David.

P.s I love the way the look with a couple of rods in the holders as well.

[yakfishing]

Thanks for info... I didn't realise the yaks were that wide.

Sounds like any time you go out in a new craft, pick your day and take it easy till you know your craft and how it handles.

Also sounds like once you get your "sea legs" you're good to go in conditions suitable to the craft.

A bit of planning and the yak sounds like a great fishing platform.

Cheers

David.

P.s I love the way the look with a couple of rods in the holders as well.

Mines a wider model. Because mine is wide its slower, and some people want more speed so have to sacrifice stability. Yeah theyre great platforms especially when you want stealth. I like creeping around shallow weedbeds and flicking lures for flattys. Mine has a peddle flipper drive so I have my hands free and I can follow the weedbeds and look for dropoffs etc.

Edited January 3, 2008 by yakfishing

[RPL]

G'day mate,

For mine i would go 6lb Rapala titanium braid, thats what i use or 4lb fireline with a 6lb Nitlon flurocarbon trace. That line can handle more than you would imagine, i have landed 65cm kings, salmon and big flatties on it, the key is when fishing light is to take your time and be patient.

BTW the fireline breaks above its rating.

Nitlon is about $17.50 for 100m as compared to vanish that is $19 for 200m or something, and i haven't found that there is that much difference between the two.

It can be expensive when fishing with this line so the key is to leave a gap on the spool so you dont get wind knots, its painful and time consuming trust me!

I fish the flats so my fish dont graze the flurocarbon as much as they would if i were in the boat so if fishing for bigger flatties i would go about 10-12lb flurocarbon, of course they can still break it but your a better chance with that over the the 6lb.

Hope that helps.

Edited January 4, 2008 by RPL

[yakfishing]

It can be expensive when fishing with this line so the key is to leave a gap on the spool so you dont get wind knots, its painful and time consuming trust me!

Thanks mate. Excuse my ignorance tho, what do you mean by leaving a gap on the spool?

[RPL]

Thanks mate. Excuse my ignorance tho, what do you mean by leaving a gap on the spool?

Sorry i mean like the gap between the lip of the spool and the line, in other words don't overfill the spool

[andrew399]

Hey mate, i have spooled my light estuary gear up with 4lb Vanish. I usually fish this straight through and have not had an issue. In shallow water this is the most invisible set up your going to get and it significantly increases catches. I have caught a 60cm salmon on this gear and although it took me 15 mins to land it all held up fine. If im fishing a spot where i know big flatties are around I sometimes will put an 8lb leader, again Vanish, on... and again I have never had an issue. For bream, whiting and to a lesser extent flatties in shallow water you want a super light and 'invisible' outfit. You would be VERY unlucky to get busted off with this setup and appropriate drag!