Intro to Kayak fishing

[Bennyg78]

Well been a while since I have done a report.

I have recently jumped in the deep end, I recently bought myself a Hobie outback kayak along with @AlbertW.

With all the gear and no idea, it was time to consult the knowledgeable @DerekD for some guidance.

We all planned to meet up down Pittwater way on the Saturday just gone. The objective of the day to learn on how to use the Fishfinder on the yaks as well as some general help on how to set up and navigate the water in a yak.

We arrived the morning to set up and to be greeted with some moderate winds blowing north westerly, this would proved a little more challenging and maybe a little less pleasant.

We were all in the water by around 8 am, and Derek gave a great run down on some tips for turning and working the kayaks correctly, he then explained and gave us a run down on how he works squid lures and trolling lures on his yak, unfortunately no squid or takers on the trolling lures.

We then ambled around to a location of a wreck to try and find it on the fish finders, which was really cool to see on the imaging when we did find it.

On the way we decided to cast some lures for fish. I was keen on using a soft vibe for some flatties, which I did get two to the side of the boat. 1st one did a good shake and leapt out of the boat and the second gave a good head shake. After that some poor technique by me resulted in a birds nest and coming home.

Some learning for me for kayak fishing:

• everything gets covered in salt as your so low to the water so cleaning and maintenance of your gear after is important,
• when you land a fish you have a small working space so need to be thinking about how you will handle that, learnt that the hard way !
• definitely need to plan your trip and think about the weather
• sun protection is vital as their is no shade at all

Big thanks to @DerekD for giving me and @AlbertWsome valuable insights, knowledge and things to ponder.

I am looking forward to growing my experience in kayak fishing and keen to get out with others so please shoot me a message. 

 

 

[AlbertW]

Big thanks to @DerekD from me as well, you took your time to take us out on the water and taught us the ropes of kayak fishing even though I didn't do my homework, Cheers Ben, thanks for helping me out on the kayak with the coordinates and line tangle, I agree with you on the salt part Ben, I had to hose everything down when I got back I also got a massive tan line around my leg haha.

 

[Little_Flatty]

@Bennyg78 I did hear you and @AlbertW were heading out. Sounds like a nice day on the water with some great lessons learned.

@DerekD probably has a material impact on the GDP of the nation, owing to all the tackle/equipment purchases he encourages! 🤣

[Isaac Ct]

Great stuff mate, keep at it. Hope to see some reports from yourself and @AlbertW soon.

 

[Restyle]

good to see a successful maiden voyage! hope to see more from you soon. The great thing with kayaks is the challenge, the challenges of landing, releasing and the elements from sun, rain, swell, tides and whatever else pops up on the day. 

What you mentioned in the learning section is great and a whole lot of information to take on board. the only way i found to keep a fish from sometimes flapping out of the kayak is to shove it under the seat while you handle the net, lines & rods.

one of the biggest issue with kayaks though, landing anything of real good size is a balancing act with tipping over, but worst of all is realising it

[DerekD]

1 hour ago, maccapacca said:

 just curious about how you maintain your reel after kayaking.

Regards, Macca

Hi Macca,

The advice I give to people buying a Hobie is to get the rod holder extensions. It puts the reels far enough away from the water that they stay pretty dry. This is my kayak set up. In your case you may have to look for something similar. Even the classic milk crate with rod holders bolted to it might do the job.

[DerekD]

Quite easily. The kayak gets you out there. It gets you access to the schools that you can't reach from land. Most are pretty stable. Don't bring too much gear out the first few times till you get a feel for the limitations of the set up.

One of the people I got into kayak got one of the kayaks2fish range and did extremely well on the fishing front for the year or so before he upgraded to a Hobie.

Did you read my two articles on kayak fishing?

[slothparade]

MY trick when handling fish on the kayak is to either lift them into the kayak and chuck them up the front and quickly dispatch or just remove the hook and back into the water. Because I usually have my feet over the side for stability the whole area in front of the pedals is free. If I need to make adjustments, I have the rudder somewhat pre set to adjust depending on how I've needed to adjust before and just pedal with my hands. 

For emergencies where a quick escape was needed, which has happened while I was still landing fish. Ive turned a car shade into a freezer bag so I just pop the fish down the hatch while making my escape. 

As I do basically all my fishing in salt water, I never use a stringer. As for the rigs I usually fish a dropper rig so I just have the sinker over the side and keep the spare hook over the side as well. 

As for the rod holders, I have a rack with 2 30 degree pipes out the sides for trolling. But this is setup for offshore, absolutely useless for estuary. 

Thanks again Derek for teaching me about the ins and outs of kayak fishing. 

[Squidless]

Welcome to kayak fishing and let the addiction begin! Great on you @DerekD for helping so many people enjoy the different varieties of fishing and as @Little_Flatty said, keeping the tackle shop lights on 🤣

As for handling fish in the kayak, I usually keep them in the net and drop them either side the pedal drive where my feet usually are or . Now if they are particularly green and flapping about then I lift the net up so they cant jump out and make an escape. I have a particular large net though, which was made for landbased fishing

In terms of dealing with large fish, i haven't had an issue with that either because i havent caught one 🤣

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Squidless

[DerekD]

6 minutes ago, Squidless said:

In terms of dealing with large fish, i haven't had an issue with that either because i havent caught one 🤣

[dlvbw]

Hit up the weed beds in Narrabean Lagoon when you have a chance. I had plenty of good sessions in there with my kayak and also not too much can go wrong in those waters! Good sized flatties! 

[jenno64]

Hey Benny

 

You're on the right track with a Hobie Outback. Just focus on one species at a time and you'll crack the codes:)