savit Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Haven't posted for a while in the report section. The weather forecast for the weekend was meant to be very 'promising'. A the same time my 'kayak itch' was developing, so snelling hooks, checking the gear or similar 'housework' was not an option. Decided to seek sheltered waters and went to Cowan for a yak session on a Sat morning. Took pilchards (as a backup plan) and a plenty of lures. It was windy however more gusts than permanent wind, kayak handled it with ease even without the rudder. So I continued to paddle. Regular showers in a waterproof hat (thanks to @HenryR old advice) in a cool wet weather did not bother me. At the spot I rigged a piece of pilchard on a weighted hook and put a rod in a back rod holder hoping for some lure action. Once I took a 2nd/lure rod in a hand - I felt a 'vibro call' through the body of a yak. I thought - young bream pickers, and casted my SP. Then I felt a weight on a bait rod behind me, so I reeled the SP quickly back. Started winching the bait rod - something heavy on a line. Soon I saw a close to 1 meter white log in a water. I thought - finally Jew from kayak ! , then a log turned over and I saw big square head (bloody PJ!? in Cowan??? ) , then I managed to pull it closer to the 'boat' and a saw a flat head of the fish. Big girl had 5 or so runs. A few times a I weakened and re-tightened the drag hoping that Big W 4 size hook will not let me down. When the big girl was exhausted I had a dilemma whether to pull the fish to the shore or try to take it aboard. A shore was a bit away, so paddling and pulling the fish in a water probably would take a while. I managed to put a fish in landing net when the fish was a bit quiet, and pulled it in a yak. The last thing that I wanted - was a big girl lap dance in a 65 cm narrow tippy kayak with all the head spikes and usual flathead landing 'fun'. The girl was unusually quiet in a kayak (unlike her 60cm brother a few weeks ago). So I paddled to the shore to measure the fish, make some photos and bring the fish back. The flathead was 88 cm ( PB for me ). The big girl was released in the same spot to multiply and harass local bait fish population. A few bites, however no catches later. Alvey 500 size and very Ugly Stik did the job. No feed, cold and wet a$$, a smile for the day, new PB , a few pictures and plenty of good memories. Tight lines! 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam bros Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Wow, that is a stonker croc Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Awesome fish and write up. I have never seen a yak fisher using an alvey before. Are you using mono? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aardvarking Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Great flathead, must have been a lot of fun landing that from a kayak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toilor Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Classic catch!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutsaboutfishing Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Mate you need a bigger net!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Well done Savit, a top catch there mate. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thank you guys. Did not expect to catch anything in that weather. Now thinking about adding fishfinder to improve the chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Welster said: Awesome fish and write up. I have never seen a yak fisher using an alvey before. Are you using mono? Thank you Welster. I have read that fish yakers on Palm beach (Gold Coast) use/used Alveys on their Stealthes however never saw it on youtube. I use mono though I do not do any depth fishing (so far) or high speed troling. I have read that NZ yakkers use braid on alveys ! There are also couple videos on youtube with russian guy using alveys in NZ. I can use alvey for bait casting and bait drifting- no issues with twist . However trolling larger bait while paddling gives some unpleasant twist. I dunked a few eggbeaters in the past - and they are not so smooth since then after service (35 y.o. Daiwa (which l trolled once for 2km in the water) that you can see on the other side of kayak photo - is an exception) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Aardvarking said: Great flathead, must have been a lot of fun landing that from a kayak Thanks mate. Yes it was some totally unexpected fun. Though once I noticed that the end of hook was sticking out of the mouth lip (no leader to be chewed) it became 'tire the fish' game . The fish tend to pull down most of the time just under the center of kayak so I might have had totally different consequences with light graphite rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 2 hours ago, nutsaboutfishing said: Mate you need a bigger net!! Thanks mate. Larger net would look like a sail on my narrow yak :) May be worth considering it I have a gaff for a larger fish if it meant to be caught for feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutsaboutfishing Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 14 minutes ago, savit said: Thanks mate. Larger net would look like a sail on my narrow yak :) May be worth considering it I have a gaff for a larger fish if it meant to be caught for feed. Bigger yak? or just catch smaller fish! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike89 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Ripper fish considering the weather as of late! Well done. Interesting to see you on the Alvey there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 Thanks mate. Some unforgettable wet experience in the past and Van Staal or ZeeBaas are not an option at the moment . On a serious note , Alveys can be quite practical on a yak if Alvey rig is a bit modded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Great story, great pic and good on you for releasing her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ribs Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 On 13/05/2018 at 11:15 AM, savit said: Haven't posted for a while in the report section. The weather forecast for the weekend was meant to be very 'promising'. A the same time my 'kayak itch' was developing, so snelling hooks, checking the gear or similar 'housework' was not an option. Decided to seek sheltered waters and went to Cowan for a yak session on a Sat morning. Took pilchards (as a backup plan) and a plenty of lures. It was windy however more gusts than permanent wind, kayak handled it with ease even without the rudder. So I continued to paddle. Regular showers in a waterproof hat (thanks to @HenryR old advice) in a cool wet weather did not bother me. At the spot I rigged a piece of pilchard on a weighted hook and put a rod in a back rod holder hoping for some lure action. Once I took a 2nd/lure rod in a hand - I felt a 'vibro call' through the body of a yak. I thought - young bream pickers, and casted my SP. Then I felt a weight on a bait rod behind me, so I reeled the SP quickly back. Started winching the bait rod - something heavy on a line. Soon I saw a close to 1 meter white log in a water. I thought - finally Jew from kayak ! , then a log turned over and I saw big square head (bloody PJ!? in Cowan??? ) , then I managed to pull it closer to the 'boat' and a saw a flat head of the fish. Big girl had 5 or so runs. A few times a I weakened and re-tightened the drag hoping that Big W 4 size hook will not let me down. When the big girl was exhausted I had a dilemma whether to pull the fish to the shore or try to take it aboard. A shore was a bit away, so paddling and pulling the fish in a water probably would take a while. I managed to put a fish in landing net when the fish was a bit quiet, and pulled it in a yak. The last thing that I wanted - was a big girl lap dance in a 65 cm narrow tippy kayak with all the head spikes and usual flathead landing 'fun'. The girl was unusually quiet in a kayak (unlike her 60cm brother a few weeks ago). So I paddled to the shore to measure the fish, make some photos and bring the fish back. The flathead was 88 cm ( PB for me ). The big girl was released in the same spot to multiply and harass local bait fish population. A few bites, however no catches later. Alvey 500 size and very Ugly Stik did the job. No feed, cold and wet a$$, a smile for the day, new PB , a few pictures and plenty of good memories. Tight lines! Good lizard there mate, great fish ??and good on u for the release! Hats off to u ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 On 14/05/2018 at 4:39 PM, Ribs said: Good lizard there mate, great fish ??and good on u for the release! Hats off to u ! Thanks mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordoRetired Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Good fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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