FISHING WITH ROB PAXEVANOS VOL 1 (OUT NOW)

'FISHING with Rob Paxevanos Vol 1'

Join gifted fishing instructor and host of Fishing Australia Rob Paxevanos as he illustrates the very best techniques in disc 1 'Getting Started' and the ground breaking new adventures of disc 2 'Barra, Beach and Billfish'.

The DVD contains lots of kayak fishing, including:

• Giant Kayak Barra (The ultimate freshwater adventure)
  
  
• Jewfish on lures and baits (Plus berlying techniques)
  
  
• Old favourite clips (Extreme Fishing)
  

DVD available at all good tackle stores around Australia (OUT NOW)

COMBINING AN OLD AND A NEW FRIEND

Having purchased my first fishing ‘yak’ a couple of years ago, my thoughts turned to how can I manage the long wand from it? There’s a school of thought that the two activities are mutually exclusive. The reality is, if you can sit in a chair and wave a stick around, you’re halfway there.

For me, the set up and storage was going to be the most important factor as I'm fairly limited to space on the Yak. To counter this, setting up the rod prior to launch is an absolute must. Piecing together a 9ft fly rod, and threading a fly line through it can be a logistical nightmare in such limited space, prior preparation takes this out of the equation.

Now for the storage part, a 9ft rod doesn’t slip into the back pocket easily and the shortened butt doesn’t allow for it to be slipped into any existing rod holders on my yak. Simple solution for me; grab a $3 screw on rod holder from Big W, take a small vertical section out of the centre of the holder and voila, somewhere to pop it in, nice and tight. There are designated rod holders manufactured by scotty (and others) which are ideal for laying your rod down. But for me, having it tucked in by my right shoulder is ideal. Now for the fun part!

My first foray into fly-fishing from the yak was a visit to my local, Lake Ginninderra. ‘Ginny’ is located on the north side of Canberra in Belconnen, a short 5 min drive from home. I’d been given a heads up by some of the Canberra Massive that ‘Ginny’ holds a resident population of native and introduced species; my target species for the day, Redfin. These guys are quite prolific in the local waterways in and around Canberra, and are a worthy opponent on the fly due to their ferocity and willingness to chase anything that moves.

Having launched from the boat ramp close to Ginninderra Drive, it was only a short paddle over to the reeds that surround the bank I wanted to fish. A quick cursory look around to ensure my back cast was clear and I commenced. To be honest, it didn’t take long for me to get comfortable with casting, even in the seated position. If you know me, standing and kayak don't mesh well. In no time my Bass vampire fairly got monstered, 2 false casts and it was nailed as it settled on the water. It was no behemoth, but it was a first! 11cm (maybe 12) of unabated fury graced me on the yak.

Truthfully, apart from the hit, I actually didn’t know he was on. I continued to pepper the same area and intermittently, his friends kept dropping in. A nice little 2 hour session provided many touches and takes and by the end of it, I’d managed 6 fish of around the same size. For me, it wasn’t so much about the size, quantity or fight; it was more about knowing my capabilities in the yak, and the challenge and combining an old and new friend.

Since that first trip, I’ve chased estuary species in the Sth Coast lakes; flathead, whiting and Bream with varying success, and unsuccessfully chased natives in the local lakes. To be honest, my lack of success on natives is my own damacles, I once was once told by a guide; ‘each time you take your spin or baitcasting gear on the water, the fly rod tends to be neglected’. This has proved to be true and something I aim to rectify in 2010.

My goal in 2010, a native on fly (Watch this space...)

HOBIE PRO ANGLER STEERING UPGRADE (FREE)

Pro Angler steering is more sensitive than some user’s desire. Hobie Cat has designed this new steering drum to reduce this sensitivity. This change reduces the motion of the rudder in relation to handle movement. Turning sharply is reduced, but steering in a straight line is easier. The original drum size is 3 ½” while the new drum upgrade is 4 7/8” and engineers from Hobie Cat say the change to the tightness of the turn is minimal.

This will be a free upgrade and will be put into boat production. Hobie will contact registered consumers directly with this free upgrade offer once the parts are available. For all enquiries regarding the steering drum upgrade contact your local Hobie dealer.84500501 Steering Drum (In stock now)

http://static.hobiecat.com/web_uploads/2009/11/24/84500501.pdf

HOBIE EVOLVE (POWERED BY TORQEEDO)

How many examples can you think of where a boost of power would make your kayak experience that much more fun?

That’s the theory behind Hobie Kayaks groundbreaking new eVolve series powered by Torqeedo’s revolutionary Ultra light electric motor. For the first time in kayak history, you’re one touch away from quiet, clean, and efficient electric propulsion. Go for hours at a steady two knots, or pour on the juice for a burst of speed... It’s your call. This compact, German engineered motor is custom designed with two different types of Hobie mounts to slip into your existing Hobie kayak. The eVolve easily secures into the Hobie Mirage Drive well or the eVolve can be mounted on a Hobie Twist and Stow rudder. The conveniently placed remote throttle controls the electric motor and displays all the essential information you need at your fingertips.

A 230wh Lithium Manganese battery (8Ah at 28.8V) is the heart that pumps the power to Torqeedo’s Ultra light motor. At only 6.6 pounds, this battery has a built in GPS (for speed calculations) and is completely watertight… It actually floats. At a full charge, this battery will continue to perform for up to 8 hours. The installation kit comes with all the parts needed to run all of your wires internally for a clean deck with minimal exposed wiring. A totally unique connection system allows everything to be completely IP68 watertight in both connected and disconnected states.

The remote throttle allows you to mount your controls conveniently near your seating position using a RAM mounting system (provided with kit). The easy to understand readout gives you all of the critical information that you need to know to get you to and from your destination. The throttle pad is also equipped with a magnetic key pad for a safety key in the event you are separated from your kayak or to prevent theft.

http://www.hobiecat.com.au/pdf/kayak/2009/evolve.pdf

NSW - FANGACT COD OPENING WEEKEND 2009

Defending last years title was going to be hard...

Bloody hard, in fact it was almost impossible but fish were caught by a chosen few. The FangACT crew have a gathering at Burrinjuck the first weekend of Cod open season and last year I managed the winning fish. Been looking forward to this weekend for a long time but the fishing was hard, from the reports gathered on the FangACT website only one member of Fang landed a legal Cod while others got bricked and busted off (Or like me, caught bugger all).

Not to say the kayak collective didnt try, Jason, myself and Josh (Koich) covered a lot of ground on Saturday and struggled. Jason got distracted by sight fishing for Carp while I just trolled and trolled and trolled till I couldnt troll no more. Even the Redfin were in thin numbers but the Carp were in plague proportions (Didnt help the weekends cause). Just when I thought the game was up I spied a following Cod buzzing towards my Spinnerbait but it just wasnt interested.

Boats would come and go from the ramps and a dozen or so big Cod were kept for the table from other visiting anglers (Each to their own) but thats 12 fish between 60 + boats with an average of 3 anglers per boat. Pretty poor odds given the size of this fishery, I spoke to a known Canberra Cod angler who mentioned it just wasnt happening and blamed water temperature, lack of warmth and other factors (If anyone would have a clue, he probably would).

Still, on returning home I was pleasantly suprised to read Fang member Pitch had managed a decent fish on Saturday before lunch (Staying otherside of Dam, didnt catch up with remaining group) and so recieves the trophy for 12 months. I admit it was hard to hand it over as the collection of annual trophies is dwindling, but its a worthy fish from someone who deserves far more than me to have their name on the trophy (Congratulations again Grant).

Looking forward to next year and finding that silly mojo I lost in 2009...