Fishing Australia

In part one I field tested the huge new hobie pro angler kayak.  With the warm up trip out of the way it was time to do a serious fishing trip so my Cameraman and I hit the water in search of the elusive NSW south coast jewfish.

Unloading the 40 kilo craft from the roof at 6 am wasn’t as hard now that we had some practice, the big handles at each end make it a lot easier than loading some kayaks that are much lighter.

There was with two of us this time around but I also had no problem sliding the craft off the roof on my own later that night.

After quickly slotting in the mirage drive and loading her up with fishing gear we wheeled her down to the waters edge some 50 meters away down a sandy incline.

I had three separate twenty kilogram  concrete bags on the back of the craft to counterbalance my 60 kg Cameraman who sits on the front.  This made the wheels rub on the hull a little during portage but wouldn’t normally be a problem.  It was much easier to do this than lug the concrete down separately, and no doubt someone will have to lug a 60 kg fish back up the beach the same way sooner or later.

On the water and I was delighted to have a dry bum for once thanks to the elevated seat, especially seeing winter has almost set in!

Furthermore the rudder and hull are designed so that on your standard beach launch you can step aboard and push off without even getting your feet wet.  Bring on those winter fisheries I say.

This trip was a serious lure fishing session with your basic 7’ rod and 10 pound braid loaded spinning reel being all that you need. However I like to take a spare rod ‘just in case’ and being able to mount it horizontally out of your casting way paid dividends right from the word go.

Now that  I had worked out that the rudder likes small adjustments it was quite easy to manage the wind and current so I could hold and cast to your typicall jewfish haunts.

I was able to instruct Gary along the way who was only just into his second day of soft plastic fishing and coming along in leaps and bounds. 

While waiting for the tide to slow I stood up to stretch my legs and noticed a few seven inch long squid hovering in the weed and mused that this is why the slender seven inch long slam jerk baits had been working so well-jewfish love squid.

No sooner had the tide slackened the speckled pumpkin colour I was gliding across the bottom got clunked and I knew it was a solid jew even before I lifted the rod to set the hook.

The lively fish peeled off 40 meters of line while I swung the boat around and gave chase.  The jewfish stuggled to stay with the school but after a minute or so succumbed to the pressure and started to plane upwards as they often do. 

I was guestimating the fish to be around the 8 kg mark but will never know because as she faced towards me and shook her head the hook cane out of her bucket sized mouth.  Ahh well there will be more.

A few more suspect hits over the next hour saw the best part of the tide pass so we moved peddled slightly faster than the current to catch up with the fish at their next milling spot.

Surpizingly the 2 kilometer trip was a breeze with all the weight I had aboard.  We were not in a hurry, making a few casts along the way, but using your legs to peddle is certainly a lot more efficient than using a paddle.

By now another key feature of the craft was really starting to dawn on me.  The size and shape of the craft and the seating arrangement really allows you to sit in whichever way you feel comfortable.  It is more like sitting in a lounge chair than a kayak.  This suits me to a tee as I get fidgety sitting in the one position for two long yet still like to stay out where the fish are holding.

Casting in different directions Gary scored a nice little soapy jewfish around the 2 kg mark on the great white color slam jerk shad and followed up with a 3 kg specimen a short time later on the sparkling lime version.  I scored a few nice flatties and an XL bream but Gary was happy to remind me that the score was 2 nil on the jews as we packed up on a great day out. 

I have already become fond of the new craft; it is easily the best kayak I have ever tried and I can see quite a few awesome adventures await my friends and I.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos.

Robs Column Proudly Sponsored by the Hellenic Club of Canberra.

For more information on the Hobie Pro Angler please visit the official Hobie website:
www.hobiecat.com.au/fishing/proangler.html