Kayak Fishing

[scroman]

My wife has decided that a future family is to be considered very shortly :-[
I have always owned boats and sold the last one to pay her tax bill - I thought that sort of 'love' display would have given me brownie points for years but i think i have burnt a few fairly quickly and am now staring down the barrel of some sort of responsibilty ???
If i can't get my next boat - i'm looking at kayaks to get me on the water (safer).
Wondering if there are others who very cheaply bridge the gap between landbased and water accessible craft.
What sort of kayaks are people using how are they rigged etc. I live at the upper end of the tweed so it won't be an open water craft.
Any hints (besides using contraception :-X) would be helpful. I'ts for a good cause - honest ;D
Thanks
Scroman

[SteveCan]

Hi Scroman,

If you don't need an open water craft, then a small canoe might be an option. By small, I mean small enought to fish in by yourself (I can lift my 16ft Roscoe onto the 4WD by myself no worries) you will have heaps of room to put cargo, can easily fit an electric and they have the advantage of being able to fish two people if you want.

It is also reasonable to expect to remain DRY when you go fishing which is a BIG advantage during the winter and if you wish to fish at night etc.

Finally, all the Kayaks I have seen due to their popularity have been priced in the $1000-$2000 range. You can pick up a decent small canoe for less than $500(second hand of course). That would leave a bit of change to get a small sounder, rod holders, electric etc...

Finally mate, contraception will not save you - once they have that urge to breed, it's all over I am afraid. It might sound like rational words coming out of the mouth, but it's the other end that will do the talking :o - and us blokes have no known defence except for flight :-/. Start running or just go out and buy a bassinet. It's over.

Cheers
Steve.

PS - If I seem cynical - it's because I have kids....

[Andrew]

Kayak selection is a big subject and you re wise to try before you buy. Even forking out for a guide could be good value in the long run. Put 'kayak fishing' in your search engine and check out all the yank sites and what they are doing to customise their 'yaks'. Yak fishing has cult status in the US and of course they have all the gadgets.

Australis is bringing out a few more kayaks locally (Woolongong)which are aimed specifically at fishing so check out the local product. The Squid is a 10 foot sit on top which is soon to have a new customised fishing top put on it. There is also a stretched version of the Bass kayak which is sit inside and suitable for estuary work.

Sit on tops are more popular for fishing as you can recover better if you fall in (no eskimo roll necessary) and you gan sit with your feet hanging over the side if you dare. Sit insides are better for cold weather.Definately get a specialized seat, rod holders and life jacket then look at leashes for rods/paddles, anchors, sea anchors, marker bouys for drift fishing, sounders, live bait tanks, esky, ETC ETC. Check the web sites. Bream Master and Kayak Fishing in SE Queensland are two local sites. Check Coastal Kayak Fishing in the US and go to west coast chat. Tell Spike Andrew sent you. I just bought two kayak books off him. Very friendly and helpful kayak chat pages in US.

I've got an Australis Bass which is fine for tight water way upstream but am looking at the squid for going through surf and bigger estuaries where you get boat wash. I also have a 55kg ocean rowing boat that I have just started to customise for fishing but I also had to get a trailer built for it as I got very sick of putting this on the roof by myself. I mention this because although some of the larger yaks are more seaworthy you need to be careful not to lose the big advantage of a kayak in that being small require no trailer and can be launched anywhere as you can carry them. Also less hastle preparing for fishing means you will go more often.Hence my interest in the Squid.

Have fun, Andrew.

[wizard]

Hi Scroman

I built a wooden can-do(approx 12ft) from a plan I got from Better homes and gardens.

It has worked really well in the local dams around my area (Lockyer Valley) and Crestbrook Lake. It cost me approx $250.00 in timber and about 3-4 weeks to make than it is up to you how much you spend on paint!!!

Alot of fisho's who have seen me on the water asked me about it cause they haven't seen a wooden conoe before.

Try seaching for "6 hour canoe" on the net and that is what I built if you want more infor leave a message.

Wizard

[scroman]

Thanks Gentlemen for your hints.
I took a Scupper Dive for a paddle yesterday - very stable sit-on-top, still pretty big (4.9m, 26kg)
Dead right - gotta make it as hassel free as possible otherwise it becomes another space taker in the shed :-/
Another one being released at the Brissy expo in two weeks - comes standard with 4 rod holders and 11 compartments for around the grand - it's a NZ made kayak, sit-on-top with a ten year warrenty. Not bad considering if you buy and install the gadgets you want you can loose your warrenty - gotta get the misses hooked (pardon the pun) so that she will want one as well - both on the water may solve a few concerns ;)
Thanks Guys
I'll send some pics of the first 'yak catch'
Scroman