TROUT FESTIVAL - A KFA MEMBER CLEANS UP

The Snowy Mountains Trout Festival for 2009 has been and gone and from all entrant accounts it was a superb event that rivalled previous years. 600+ adults submitted entries and fished the waters of Lake Jindabyne, Lake Eucembene and the river surrounds. With higher water levels that last years festival some found the going a little tougher than they hoped, what was working so well last year either failed this year or only tempted their prey late in the week.

Thats not entirely true but from a trolling perspective using the kayak as a stealth machine I struggled to land many fish on day one. The jointed Rapala J5’s and J7’s run shallow early mornings snared miniscule size Rainbows, no matter what colours were deployed. Predatek Min Mins were slow too until I tied on the Perch pattern and lost it to a bruiser (Knot failed, a first in a long time).

Rebel Crawdads and Big Craws got a run, Rebel Crickhoppers and smaller jointed lures also deployed in the bays. The high water levels had perhaps risen too fast this year as the weed beds hadn’t really moved up the banks, this was evident from the lack of usual dynamite Powerbait action when resting from trolling or fishing overnight. With myself, Craig, Jason and mates armed with kayaks and boats between us we should have had a horde worthy of contention.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom as KFA members did weigh in some corker fish, infact Jason ‘Squidder’ Price almost got the fish of the comp. A 3kg gilled and gutted Brown came out to play and being on netting duties I was nervous. This fish had power to boot and kept us on our toes for a good 10 – 15 minutes, with rocks around and snags the light line luckily stood the test of time and was dispatched for weigh in.

We weren’t sure how others had gone on day one but when Jason weighed in it took out the biggest Brown of the day at our nominated weigh station and earned him a set of respected Trout Fest glasses (A sentimental prize if anything). Craig had also weighed in a Brown that while only 4cm smaller, weighed almost a kilo lighter. Fishing as part of the FangACT fishing team was great fun and once again (Same as last year) we dominated the team’s efforts from our kayaks.

Once again this is not really true but it’s not a lie either, I only weighed in the one Rainbow on Saturday and one on Sunday. I got some advice from one of our teams Trout guns on Tasmanian Devil styled lures and colour selection (Thanks Lynnie) which got me on the board on day two, along with a few mates. I had been looking forward to this trip all year and was disappointed with the fishing on opening weekend as I had to return home to work during the week. Apparently it picked up later in the week with many team members from Fang securing Trout Fest glasses.

On Saturday when Jason, myself and Craig were fishing the ABT Hobie Kayak Fishing Series at Narrabeen Lakes Jason got a phone call. The Fang team captain and committee attended the presentation on Friday and they had called Squidder to let him know they had picked up the major trolling prize for the competition on his behalf. Jason had won the Basser Millyard prize pack consisting of a Scotty Downrigger, lures and trolling attractors and a massive tacklebox.

Jason was humbled and modest at the same time, I think he was as surprised as I was that he won. It was a freak of a fish that was easily his personal best Brown Trout and was the second biggest fish of the entire tournament. To think there are even bigger fish in Lake Jindabyne and Eucembene just waiting to be caught, still it was hard to imagine anything bigger than the behemoth shown below:

For full festival and tournament results, please visit the following link below:

http://www.troutfestival.com

MY HOBIE PRO ANGLER - TOURNAMENT KAYAK

Recently I picked up a kayak for use in tournament situations (Both fresh and salt), after considering the options of portability, usability versus manoeuvrability and a million odds and end usages it was decided a Hobie Pro Angler would be a better option that the choice I had been pondering on for a few months. At first an Outback seemed like the logical choice, it was nimble and pack ready and served me well in the inaugural Hobie ABT series. However, the more I thought about what I required and where it would be used the more I fell in love with the idea of taking a bare bones Pro Angler and thinking of ways to tweak and enhance my own performance from a kayak.

My needs revolved around casting access, trolling ability, buoyancy and capacity. While fishing bream tournaments may be as easy as a couple of rods, some lures and a net one must not forget the 30kgs of water in a live well located behind the seat. My Hobie Quest works well enough in a live well scenario but when aiming to cover large amounts of water easily I found paddling took too much energy to maintain over long periods of time. The Outback I used during the QLD ABT rounds earlier this year was great, pedalled well with the extra weight and provided a greater deck layout.

Freshwater Tournaments I enter involve catch, photograph, release or gut, gill and weigh (Species dependant) and have no real restrictions. The field is made up mainly large boats decked out with casting platforms and downriggers offering their fisherman the best of both worlds. The Pro Angler offers the chance of a kayaking parallel, the large flat hull deck space provides enough stability to stand and pepper casts while the forward mounting options are suited perfectly for trolling rods horizontally. There is also significant room to upgrade to more advance options like downriggers, GPS mounts or additional ram style holders.

Basically for Bream tournaments (Example – Hobie ABT Bream series) I need the front of the yak free for casting , to the point of 270 degree access available at all times. For freshwater tournaments (Example - Snowy Mountain Trout Festival) I need the rear of the yak free for trolling, allowing line travel over the rear of the yak when arcing and turning. Sure a combination of the above works well in many different scenarios but this was not the reason I had a pro Angler in mind. Any kayak can be over pimped to offer the best of both worlds (And anything in between) but the fact that these yaks can be used minimally to greater effect is a godsend.

The sheer multitude of features available straight off the factory / showroom floor without being an optional extra also helped firm a decision. Its well publicised turning circle, casting platform, below deck rod storage, mirage drive (Turbo fin equipped), built in tackle tray system, comfortable seat and flat hull bottom design places in more in a functional punt category. Many other kayaks provide confines that can be limiting to forward facing cockpit restriction, this I found to be a hindrance when competing for long periods of time. Being comfortable in your surroundings and housing leaves time for tackle refinement on the water and a more solid state of mind.

To the right in the menu bar are some videos via the youtube.com feature I made of a basic install and the reasons behind them, it’s really just a beginner’s guide to how a simple setup approach will have specific benefits. The Hobie Mirage Pro Angler will really excel in a variety of situations and is already the kayak of choice for the Hobie ABT Kayak Fishing Series. Only time will tell if this is the kayak for you, paralleling peoples views and opinions and viewing them in action will entice and provide suffice. All information provided above should be taken with a grain of salt and is offered as my opinion only. I look forward to competing in the rest of the ABT series and enjoying the Pro Angler beyond tournament state of affairs.

NEW 'FISHING AUSTRALIA' VIDEOS ONLINE

Well known fishing Identity and TV personality Rob Paxevanos has been a busy, busy man. In between hectic filming schedules he maintains and runs http://www.fishingaustralia.tv, an online site dedicated to the show and his fishing exploits. Recently in his spare time Rob has managed to upload some videos showcasing Kayak Fishing in verious destinations around Australia. From Mothership adventures angling for big Barramundi in QLD to Bass fishing South Coast NSW impoundments there is plenty on offer to view. Tips and tricks are offered along with special guest appearances and worthy captures.

http://www.fishingaustralia.tv/videos/

Rob assures me there is plenty more crazy antics to come, hopefully the KFA crew can get a chance to catch up with Rob soon. I for one would love to be involved in shooting some local freshwater footage from our Pro Angler kayaks. KFA has been following Rob's exploits via print media since the early 1990's, Rob Paxevanos is an enthusiastic advocate of kayak fishing. As such Rob and the Fishing Australia team have explored and broken much new ground in the world of kayak fishing and Hobie remains his kayak fishing platform of choice

For more information on Rob and Fishing Asutralia, please visit:

http://www.fishingaustralia.tv/

NEW 'KAYAK FISHING SYDNEY' DVD

One of the most anticipated Kayak Fishing DVD’s has been released recently; Carl Dubois and Adam Ford bring you ‘Kayak Fishing Sydney’. Showcasing a couple of years worth of footage its sure to prove a wise purchase, either for archiving purposes (When visiting Sydney) or an addition to any library. The following information can be found on Carl’s blog, http://kfsreports.blogspot.com, but his friends at Kayak Fishing Adventures thought it deserved a friendly nudge towards infamy. Here is what Carl (Aka Cid) has to say about the new DVD release:

“Finally, Adam and I have finished the DVD we've been working on the last three years! With fishing being such a fickle thing, it took a lot longer than expected to get the footage that covers most of the fish you'll catch around Sydney. Here's a run down of what you'll see us catch on the DVD - Bass, Bream, Tailor, Kingfish, Trevally, Salmon, Flathead and Mulloway (Jewfish)”.

“Adam and I run through the lures and techniques needed to catch these species which can be used throughout all locations Australia-wide, so don't think that this is a DVD that's only relevant to Sydney. But for those that are Sydney siders, or even potentioal visitors, we've include maps that show locations for all the surrounding waterways, like the Nepean, Cowan Creek, Pittwater, Sydney Harbour, Parramatta River, Botany Bay, Georges River and Port Hacking.”

“Also on the DVD is a brief description of the set up on my own Hobie Sport, a segment on installing a sounder and a fish photo ID page covering the main species I've caught throughout the Sydney area from my kayak. "

Running time is 82 minutes with 10 minutes of extras. RRP is $24.95, which includes postage and handling to anywhere in Australia. To purchase, please visit the main websites online store @ http://www.kayakfishingsydney.com/

NSW - SOUTH COAST WEEKEND 10/11/09

Squidette and I booked accommodation for Saturday night in Bateman’s Bay, so had two wonderful South Coast days to look forward to. Unfortunately it was a touch on the windy side, but we still got some good paddling in, got our first touch of sun of the season, Michelle caught her first few South Coast fish, and we brought home a feed, so despite the weather the weekend was full of win. Saturday saw us venture to Spot X.1 on The Clyde, where Craig450 was already there, having launched an hour or so before us.

Craig had caught a couple of bream on hard bodies but rated the action as pretty quiet. We started plugging away diligently with plastics, but the only action on offer was in my guts, as the gigantic steak (plus Paddy’s cauliflower) that I consumed at the AKFF gathering the night before made its presence known. All of a sudden I felt like I was the star of my favorite TV show ‘Seconds from Disaster’ ……… doubled over and sweating, I made a beeline for the nearest bankside vegetation, and emerged 10 minutes later feeling like a new man . The incident seemed to improve my mojo as well, as I caught my first bream, a nice fish of about 28cm, soon after.

Craig caught a lovely garfish on a surface lure, which he sheepishly presented for a photograph (see above). Craig kindly donated his garfish for Michelle to use as bait – I rigged her up a float rig, and using pieces of garfish flesh as bait, she soon caught a couple of cannibals. I had a bit of a splurge on some new lures that I wanted but didn’t really need last week, and on its fifth cast I managed to catch an almost-legal bream on my new ‘Super Sledge’ suspending minnow which I can’t wait to use up at Narrabeen next month.

Day 2 saw us rise to a breakfast of champions (bacon and eggs), and then seek out a land based spot, as the wind wasn’t playing fair…….some Craig450 wisdom saw us on our way to the Moruya River, where suicidal poddy mullet provided hours of fun, and eventually a ripper tailor on the last cast of the day. Highlight for me was spotting a school of small trevally from the bank, then sight casting a plastic to the school, and watching them fight each other for it.