A Stripping Basket for the Kayak
For me the biggest challenge when fly fishing from a kayak is line management. During the retrieval of the fly, the line must be stripped into a pile somewhere. Once the fly is retrieved and a subsequent cast is made the line inevitably becomes tangled around any conceivable nook, cranny or edge that the line can find. This can be very frustrating. So let’s look at some options.
My first preference is to strip the line into a clear space. But with a pile of tackle, rod holders do hickies and gizmos that I like to take fishing, this is usually not an option. My second preference is to use a towel. A simple towel can easily be draped across any rod holders, sounders, pliers etc preventing your line from becoming snagged. In addition a towel serves a number of other purposes when canoe/kayak fishing. It can be used as a rudimentary bailer, mopping up every last drop of intruding water. It is amazing how much water even a standard bath towel can hold. On long sunny day trips I often use the same towel to keep the sun off my legs.
A more familiar choice for fly anglers is the stripping basket. This can be any container that simply collects you line as you retrieve. I have seen fisherman using everything from their hats to a washing basket. However if you are fishing from a kayak with very limited space such as a pedal kayak, you can’t go past a personal stripping basket.
I recently tried out a new basket from South Pacific. 
The basket is easily fastened around the waist using the plastic buckle. When in the standing position the basket sits nicely around the hips. When in the seated position you can just slide the basket up your torso a little and collect the line just above your lap. At first it took a little practice to deliver the line into the basket, but it became second nature after a short while. I must say I was very impressed with this bit of gear and will be sure to bring it with me on all Fly Fishing Charters in the Native Watercraft.
October 4, 2015
Had a great trip to Clarrie Hall today with Tim and Tyson. An early start saw us on the dam which was completely enveloped by the mist. I believe the low light conditions the mist provides usually gives the bass the confidence to feed near the surface for as long as the mist hangs around. However the fish had other ideas today and we saw very little surface activity at all.
By around 9am the mist had dissipated revealing a picture post card day at the dam. Not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind all day. All around us was mirror images of the horizon and each others boats as we persistently peppered the edges of the lilies with our lures. As the sun rose we switched to deeper presentations. Tim ran a 1/4 oz Slider across the points and flats and Tyson chose a 1/8 oz Revehead Jig Spin with a Slider Grub.
All 3 of us got a number of bites but on this day the bass appeared to be apprehensive in committing to an all out attack. Tyson came up trumps with a solid bass of around 36cm. Once hooked it gave him plenty of curry and soon Tyson had his first bass on a soft plastic/spin. One of many more to come no doubt. Another great day on the dam!
Shimmer Stik
I tried out Austackles ‘Shimmer Stik’ today at Clarrie Hall Dam. After first hearing about its ability to swim backwards away from the angler, I was very keen to give it a go around the edges of the weed. Sure enough when cast out to the edge of structure, as the lure slowly sinks it shimmers backwards away from the direction it was cast. I have always thought that if a someone invents a lure that swims backwards they would surely make a million dollars. Because by casting to the edge of a tree or weed like lily pads, the lure will actually swim under the structure where the fish are!
Once the lure has rested on the bottom I would slowly lift the rod and impart a few twitches. This provided an excellent darting action that I imagine would be very tempting to a hungry bass. I would then wind up some slack before letting the lure flutter back to the bottom. To a bass the whole show must have looked a bit like a wounded bait fish trying to regain its senses between epileptic fits! Whatever the case I was very pleased with the action and the bass appeared to like it too.
There are plenty of lures on the market that wiggle or shimmy on the drop but most are either too light and don’t cast very far or too heavy and sink too fast. The beauty of the Shimmer Stick is it casts a country mile but sinks at quite a slow rate. This allows the lure to hang in the face of the target species which should improve your strike rate considerably.
After giving it a go today and catching a couple of bass I am convinced it is a great addition to the tackle box. The Shimmer Stik is no magic bullet, but it certainly comes close.
Check it out here Shimmer Stik
Tweed River Bass
Here is the latest video showing some highlights catching bass on the Tweed River. On a still day this place is heaven on earth!
Post Spawning Bass
I fished the Tweed River on a solo mission today. I am pleased to say the bass are starting to make an appearance back in the freshwater. These bass move back into the fresh after they do their spawning business in the estuary over winter time. Over the next month or so I expect they will be showing up in ever increasing numbers so now is an excellent time to book a charter.
I must say that fishing these waters in the Slayer kayaks is an absolute pleasure. Not only is the scenery on the Tweed River picture postcard, but the versatility and comfort these kayaks offer just makes the day effortless. Having the ability to sit back and maneuver around the waterways hands free is just ideal.
I managed 4 solid bass for the day with two around the 39 & 42cm mark. They were all too eager to snaffle my Destroyer jerk baits from Austackle, one of my favorite lures for targeting bass around the snags.
Transducer & Battery Mount in a Slayer Propel 10 Kayak
Here is how I installed a Lowrance HDS 4X, transducer and battery in a Slayer Propel 10 kayak;
Transducer
After reading an article on a kayak fishing forum written by a guy that worked with industrial ulrta sound equipment, I decided to go with an in hull or ‘shoot through’ hull transducer mount. He explained that the sound waves produced by the transducer would not be effected when travelling through the hull and that no sensitivity would be lost. At least nothing discernible at all!
Until I found this article my research (watching YouTubes) revealed all kinds of different arrangements when mounting transducers in the hull. Some people advocated having a certain amount of water in the hull to prevent loss of sensitivity and others would simply glue the transducer down. Some used Vaseline and others used duct seal putty. Some people went to the trouble of mounting a water filled container on the hull with the transducer mounted inside. Mounting the transducers externally was also an option. The transducer could be mounted through the scupper holes or even beside the kayak using a retractable arm hanging off the side of the kayak.
After contemplating all these options I decided I would keep it simple. If the article was right and no sensitivity was to be lost with a ‘shoot thru hull’ installation, then that’s what I would do. So I spent $5 on some BlueTac and simply stuck the transducer on with that. After a test run on the water I was satisfied with the results. The images revealed solid returns from the bottom and from structure such as logs etc. Fish symbols also appeared along with the indicated depth.
Battery
As with the transducer installation I wanted to keep the battery mounting simple. I didn’t want to drill any holes but I needed the battery to remain firmly in its place yet quick removal for recharging was needed. After much thought I discovered some battery carrying bags at Jaycar Electronics. These bags were $20 each and easily fastened around the molding structure inside the Slayer Propel 10. Unzipping the bag provides easy access for recharging.
Despite transporting the yaks on their side and after several trips the transducer and battery have remained in place. I am still getting good readings and would recommend this installation to anyone.
Simon Fitzpatrick 🙂
Australia Day 2015
Fishing for natives in our impoundments can be tough. It takes a lot of planning, preparation, checking weather forecasts, organizing time off work, preparing tackle etc. But if the fish aren’t willing to play all the best laid plans go to waste. I am happy to say this was not the case with my recent trip to Clarrie Hall. One of the most beautiful dams in Australia.
It was an extremely hot and humid day and shortly after I put the boat on the water I had to seek shade for an hour or so. This gave me some time to collect some underwater footage and do a little research as to the bass’ potential food source. There was certainly plenty of bait fish swimming amongst the lilly pads. Probably Firetail Gudgeon and Gambusia. So I made a mental note to collect some next time for identification.
The other thing I noticed is there appeared to be more weed than usual. There has always been a thick perimeter of lilly pads around the edge of the lake with another rim of feathery submerged weed, I identified as Ambulia, leading into deeper water. I think this ambulia has spread since last I visited the dam and it is my theory that the extra cover provided by the weed has drawn the bass out of from under the lily pads thus making them more susceptible to angling. In any case the fishing was great!
I worked the edges of the ambulia with hard bodies, jerk baits, soft plastic frogs and dahlberg diver flies. I caught fish on all my presentations and finished the trip with about 12 bass. Watching the bass crash tackle the surface flies is always a highlight! As usual the bass aren’t huge in Clarrie Hall but they are a robust and hard fighting population with a very respectable average size of around 35cm. I also managed my personal best for Clarrie Hall dam landing a fish of 38.5cm.
Fitzy
Clarrie Hall is Good for the Soul
I have fished many impoundments on the east coast of Australia but perhaps none as beautiful as Clarrie Hall Dam. I find it necessary to be on the water at sunrise to achieve the best results. At that time of day, as the rising sun slowly dissipates the mist covering the dam, the true beauty of this wetland materializes from the early morning haze. Lush green lily pads, purple and yellow lotus flowers come to light as the lake margins are revealed. The calls of water fowl echo and the popping sounds of Bass feeding are all part of the morning symphony as this ecosystem begins another day. Finally when the fog lifts, Mt Warning watches over the lake.
This particular morning I fished a tan coloured Dahlberg Diver, blooping it across the surface like a frog or insect of some type. Initially upon touch down I let the fly sit there for a while then gave as little action to the fly as possible. If that drew no response I would make short ‘bloops’ back to the boat. I had about 5 hits and boated 2 fish of around 33cm. About average for this dam. Once the sun rose higher I changed tactics, pulled out the spin rod and flicked out a small diving jerk bait. I immediately got smashed but the fished shot into the snags and spit the lure.
All in all not a bad 3 hours of fishing. If I had managed to convert a few more hits into fish landed then I could have had 5 Bass in the live well. Clarrie Hall is my local impoundment and I have fished it numerous times. The Bass are of modest size and I rarely come home with cricket score card numbers of fish, but the place is just so incredibly scenic. I will be back!
Fitzy
Australian Native Fish in the Northern Rivers of NSW
Last summer I was able to dedicate some quality time to fishing. Chasing Australian native fish in my local creeks, rivers and dams I was lucky enough to tempt many fish on both lure and fly. By-catch included some very nice eastern cod that can be a real test on light bass gear.
A couple of valuable lessons were had during these fishing trips. On overcast days, fishing the surface is an excellent proposition even in the middle of the day. On some of my local dams, it is difficult to raise a fish at the best of times. However, tying on a surface lure in any low light conditions, be it dawn, dusk or during overcast day light hours can produce great results.
As an added benefit I found that often the larger fish are the most eager to scoff a well presented surface lure or fly. During a recent trip in the canoe down the skinniest of creeks I managed a 42cm bass on a cicada surface lure. I was amazed at the size of this fish inhabiting such a small creek. Upon closer inspection I noticed a small water dragon protruding from the bass’ mouth! What a guts! He had obviously just eaten the dragon and then decided to have a go at my lure too. No wonder he was so big.
On a different trip I was using the same cicada lure, again targeting Bass. This time a nice 65cm eastern cod snaffled my offering. The loud implosion when he smashed the lure at the surface nearly caused me to wet my pants. The fish then proceeded to put up an excellent tussle on my 6lb outfit.
Our Australian native fish species often appear to react to a lure out of instinct. ‘Reaction strikes’ can be triggered if a surface lure sounds just right when it hits the water. If the lure or fly touches down with the same sound as an insect such as a cicada, a bass for example, will smash the lure in a split second without a second thought. Similarly a jungle perch will follow a lure as it is cast through the air across the river with tremendous speed and crash tackle the offering as soon as it touches down. If not in the mood for food a cod will simply chase away any intruding lure from its territory. However if you can provoke the cod by landing the lure in it’s face, the fish will smash the lure in an instant. In these cases the strikes are lightening quick. There was no time elapsed for contemplation.
The challenge of catching our natives lies within figuring out how to trigger a reaction strike on any given day. Ya just gotta love fishing for Australian natives!
Simon Fitzpatrick (Fitzy)
