IT’S been over a year now since I bought my Hobie Mirage Outback kayak and I can’t believe how much of an impact it’s had on my fishing. Over the years I’ve owned other kayaks and canoes that were primarily used for freshwater work chasing bass, cod and yellowbelly. The Hobie Outback has changed my outlook on kayak fishing completely, and in the process has provided countless hours of enjoyable and productive fishing action.
So why has buying a new kayak had such a profound effect on my fishing? It comes down to a combination of factors – fishability, location and ease of use. Firstly, the Hobie Outback is a fantastic fishing platform – these new generation purpose built fishing ’yaks are a dream come true for anglers. I can now fish all day and not come home with a sore back, which just wasn’t possible in my old ’yaks and canoes with their inferior seating arrangements. Consequently, I’m spending more time on the water and catching more fish. Secondly, living on Lake Macquarie in NSW allows me access to some great fishing options which are ideally suited to kayak fishing. Finally, using a ’yak requires minimal preparation so if the conditions are conducive to good fishing you can take advantage of them. I can put the Hobie on the trolley and walk down to my local bay on Lake Macquarie to access some great fishing options for bream, dusky flathead and whiting. Or I can throw the Hobie in my van to travel further afield to fish my old stomping grounds on Tuggerah Lakes or up to the bass dams of the Hunter Valley, only an hour and half away.
Over the past year I’ve spent a lot of time in my kayak and have learnt a lot in the process. The following are some of the lessons I’ve learned about setting up a fishing kayak and some strategies to ensure you get the most out of it.
It’s been a really enjoyable journey so far and hopefully this article will be of benefit to those anglers who are looking to get into kayak fishing or ’yak fishers that may be looking to improve their results.
The Stealth Advantage
Kayaks provide anglers with a couple of significant advantages over boats and it’s vital you make the most of them. Firstly, you can reach relatively unfished shallows and flats systems that can’t be accessed any other way. Secondly, kayaks are amazingly quiet and unobtrusive fishing platforms. I’ve enjoyed some sensational sessions throwing poppers and stickbaits at sand whiting and bream this past year on shallow sand flats and weed beds, while boating anglers who were restricted to the adjacent deeper water could only watch on enviously. Kayaks really are the ultimate piscatorial stealth weapons. Often, fish will pursue your lures right to the rod tip. To utilise the stealth advantage to its full potential, try and fish periods when there is minimal boat traffic, this may mean fishing early in the morning (most water skiers and PWC operators don’t seem to like getting out of bed early!) or fishing mid-week. It’s amazing what you see and the fishing opportunities that present themselves when you take away the boat traffic.
Location, Location
I’ve found that one of the keys to successful kayak fishing is maximising your fishing time by minimising your paddling or pedalling time. To do this, look for quality fishing spots that have launching points for your kayak in the immediate vicinity. Long paddles are great for exercise, but eat away at your valuable fishing time. If you’re doing any long paddles between fishing locations make the most of your time by trolling a lure such as a bibbed hard-body or metal spoon such as a Spanyid Maniac. These lure types work well at kayak paddling speeds. Species likely to be encountered trolling in the saltwater include, tailor, Australian salmon, dusky flathead, yellowtail kingfish, bream, barramundi and mangrove jacks. Freshwater trolling targets include Australian bass, yellowbelly, Murray cod and barramundi.
Plan B
A bit of pre-trip planning goes a long way in kayak fishing. Checking the weather forecast should be your first step. It will allow you to choose a location which favours the predicted wind direction and speed. I like to fish locations that give me a Plan B option if the weather changes. For instance, my local bay on Lake Macquarie is a great spot in calm conditions for throwing soft plastics around moored boats and working hard-bodies around wharves for bream.
However, when a bit of wind gets up it becomes an excellent location to drift cast vibe type lures such as Samaki Battle Blades or soft plastics such as Berkeley Minnow Grubs for bream and dusky flathead.
Another classic Plan B scenario involves fishing tide affected locations such as shallow water sand flats and weed beds. These locations provide superb opportunities for casting surface lures and shallow diving hard-bodies for sand whiting, bream and dusky flathead during high water periods. However, once the falling tide makes these areas unfishable, that then opens up the options for fishing soft plastics and vibe type lures along the deeper edges around the flats systems. This is where ambush predators such as flathead should be waiting to feed on any prey species being forced off the flats by the dropping water level.
Technology & Tackle
I’m a firm believer in spending fishing time in your kayak – to work out what you really need – before you start drilling holes in your ’yak. I’m really happy with the way my Hobie Outback is set up now and the only extra holes I drilled in it were to install an anchor trolley and an extra map pocket for my soft plastics. The key to setting up a kayak is to make sure the frequently used items are readily accessible. For me, these items include lure boxes, pliers, braid scissors, leader material and a tube of attractant such as S-Factor. All this gear can be safely stored under the hatch between my legs in an Osmocote bucket that’s a perfect fit for the Hobie. Any other gear that I require infrequently such as wet weather gear, food, drinks or warm clothes are stored in a tackle bag behind the seat.
I generally like to take two outfits when kayak fishing so I can have a couple of lure options rigged and ready at any time. It also allows you to get back into a hot bite quickly if you have the misfortune to bust off or have a gear failure. My preference has been for a pair of versatile light threadline outfits in the 2 to 2.1m range to maximise casting distance. When fishing I like to store the spare rod horizontally so I have unimpeded casting through 360 degrees and have a rod holder specifically set up for that. I use the vertical rod holders when travelling between fishing spots and for rigging. I have safety lines for all my gear that’s not in use and so far I haven’t lost anything, although I have broken a rod when the kayak rolled while I was dragging it up a bank to the van after a fishing session. Kayak fishing is pretty hard on gear so I’ve elected to use mainly quality mid-range outfits for this style of work.
Two pieces of equipment that have proven invaluable in my Hobie kayak have been an anchoring system and my Lowrance Elite 4 sounder/GPS unit. The anchor, which is a small folding grapnel type, is a must have for fishing in windy conditions and for holding position when you really want to work over a hotspot. The performance of the Lowrance Elite 4 sounder/GPS has been a revelation for me. It is essential for impoundment fishing and has opened up so many new fishing opportunities for me in the deeper areas of Lake Macquarie. The travelling speed of the kayak allows you the opportunity to really study the bottom structure wherever you are so I’m constantly glued to the screen looking for the next fishy location to mark on the GPS.
A well set up kayak can be a very effective fishing tool when you put some thought into how, where and when to use it. I couldn’t be happier with my Hobie Mirage Outback – it has worked out to be perfectly suited to the estuarine and freshwater impoundment fishing work I purchased it for originally.
