# What was your YakFishing highlight of 2006?



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

With another year behind us I was wondering what your yak fishing highlight of their year was??

Was it your PB fish, was it a great session, was it the company of mates or was it something else?

Mine...well, gaining confidence in the yak progressing from still water to offshore, and also my first kingfish would be the highlight/s for me.

I'd be interested to hear what yours was...


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## FishinDan (Jul 3, 2006)

Mine was organising my very first yak fishing trip for the 1st of Jan 07


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

The picture says it all
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

jeez thats a big livebait simon!


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## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

Discovering that yak fishing existed, buying a swing on the spur of the moment and then catching my first fish.

Also just getting the point with my fishing and yakking where I can think of a fish i'd like to target, get my rig set up, go out to the right spot at the right time and then being successful. First happened with a tuna off Mooloolaba so that was a highlight for me.


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## simond11 (Aug 29, 2005)

Yes, I took the picture as the bloody thing snapped my line and swam off. He was my last livie... :shock: :wink: 
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15


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## aleg75 (Dec 20, 2005)

Good thread dave......for me it was getting my first yak and experiancing the whole fishing from a kayak! meeting all the members on this forum who are always willing to offer sound advice and support! in particular those who I have had the chance to meet (victor-victor, paffoh and Red Phoenix)......I am hopping that 2007 will get the yak salty, and a couple of overnight adventures to eucumbine and also brogo dam! also meet a few more of you!

thanks
ashley


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

Tough call, it was an awesome year, getting right into this sport has been massive for me. Actual fishing highlights I would have to say either catching my PB flathead on a solo trip down to Wello










or catching tarpon on poppers in the brisy river


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Meeting live for the first time other akffers, at Hinze Dam about April/May, and subsequent outings


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## Fishing Man (Oct 4, 2006)

getting my yak, 
meeting a few of the AKFF guys and catching bass from the yak


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## Clarkos (Oct 11, 2006)

Apart from making a few nice improvements to the yak, my highlight, probably would have been catching a frigate tuna while flicking plastics for bream. It was the last cast of a very long day. The day that had been fishless up to that point. Half asleep the frigate hits and takes off under the yak, and thankfully away from the rocks and out to open water. First time I've nearly been spooled. They go hard early, but only have two runs in them before they knock up.


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## fisher (Aug 30, 2005)

finally getting my kayak, and then actually scoring some nice fish from it


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2007)

My highlight was buying my 1st yak then getting a nice little cod on it's maiden voyage, since then I havnt looked back and fell in love with this style of fishing.










Cheers, Allan


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Catching the 41cm bream in my avatar on an AKFF weekend in Forster - great location and people, and the odd nice fish


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## fishing mik (Dec 5, 2006)

mine was getting my first yak and catching a few fish in it what a buzz    
cheers mik


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## Hawkey (Nov 15, 2006)

The highlight for me was not a time when i was catching fish.
I was at McCarrs Creek and the tide had peaked and there was no run at all. The fishing had been slow all morning but when the tide stopped so did the bites.
Although there are many houses on one side of the creek there were no residental noises(cars,mowers,etc...) at all.
The sun was refreshingly warm, almost energising, there was a slight breeze which smelt sweetly of salt water and gum leaves from the surrounding bush and i was treated to the summer symphony of cicadas and birds.
It was at this point that i felt a smile on my face and a feeling of complete serenity and peace with the world. It had been a crappy year both on a personal and business level but all of that seemed so insignificant at that moment.
I can still vividly picture that day in my head and it always makes me smile.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

meeting a group of great akff guys at the end of year christmas function Davy g organised


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## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Too many to mention but I will give it a shot eh?

(1) Meeting Red Pheonix, fears that all web based users offering help were usually after my money or my body were quickly cleared when Claire and I met Red for a paddle on LBG, I had been fishless for a few months on the yak when I studied the master at work while he put me on to my first yak based Redfin ( Thanks again mate! ).










(2) Catching my PB and only Golden Perch of 2006, after the morning trip mentioned above when I got my first Redfin I decided to go out in the afternoon solo to try for some more Redfin, not only did I get the big Golden Perch trolling I also managed about 7 more Redfin including my PB Redfin of 38cm ( Thanks again mate! ).










(3) Going to Googong with fellow AKFF members, meeting Ash and Brad for the first time and watching Claire get the catch of the day as well as paddling on the body of water that 4 months earlier I wandered the shoreline for no fish watching a lone yak fisho on a Hobie Outback enjoying the dam ( An inspiration that got me hooked and got me a Hobie! )










(4) Taking the yak to the salt for an awesome coastal adventure, watching Claire hoot with joy as she fought her first yak Flathead on her first cast with her first prawn in the first minute, netting that beast was the highlight of the trip ( At this moment I realised she was a better gun fisho than I first thought! )










(5) Meeting Allan and Victor, Victor being such a friendly bloke always keen to participate and give away spare smokes will always be welcome on a trip anywhere with me, Allan and his beard really struck a chord and I have enjoyed the conversations we have on MSN daily as he is such a Cod guru and willing to help anyone that can keep a secret and not communicate the joy disrespectfully ( Thanks again Allan, looking forward to joining the darkside properly! )


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## PoddyMullet (Aug 29, 2005)

Catching up with some old akff faces and meeting some new. Hope 07 is a repeat on that front . On the fish front a highlight was slowly working out I could troll for PPB pinkies in winter, when I was wondering where to head with very low freshwater levels...up until 06 winter had been trout time for mine  .


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## WayneD (Jul 11, 2006)

Two for me.

1) Paddling over to Peel Island and camping there for a long weekend with five of my mates. Bloody unreal. Weather was perfect, fishing was great. How's the serenity.

2) Catching my PB 80cm Flathead on only my second trip in the yak. Just wish there was someone else with me so I could have been in the photo, instead of just the fish.


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## Ironsides (Jul 10, 2006)

Actually buying a yak, catching fish and being ' able bodied' on the water.
All thanks to the encouragement of AKFF, thanks guys.

Ian


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## Polar (Sep 1, 2005)

Just getting out on the water whether it be salt or fresh and the missus getting her kayak


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

Three for me:

1) Getting onto a hot bite of 40-50cm snapper, mid morning on a saturday, with no other boats in sight, and landing 6 

2) Seeing Tony (Smurfsmuggler, now Y knot) go from zero to hero in yak fishing - from a few capsizes and not many fish on the first trip, to catching snapper, flatties, and even estuary perch, and loving every minute of it. Love your keeness mate :wink:  

3) Seeing Squidette outfish the boys (myself included) on numerous occasions, and watching her confidence in soft plastic fishing, and handling her little yak grow with every trip. She caught some ripper squid too. Also watching her hook and land 40cm salmon, 35-40cm pinkies, heaps of flatties, and a 39cm King George whiting on a soft plastic.


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## Mr Angazi (Mar 24, 2006)

Definetly the trip to Zavora Mozambique........as posted further down
PB 20kg Couta and wonderfull place


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

Spending a couple of hours fighting salmon in Two Peoples Bay (east of Albany) in April. These three I took home each weighed around 4kg and some of the others I lost were probably bigger - no, since they got away I have to say they were definitely bigger :wink: .
Salmon season 2007 is nearly here & I'm trembling just thinking about it...


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## Jeffo (Sep 10, 2006)

Discovering this sport & this site and the very last yak fishing session of 06 when my brother & I absolutely brained the snapper & bream in as perfect conditions as you could hope for.


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

naturally it was discovering the mind-blowing experience of Kayak Fishing, gaining valuable skills,techniques and knowledge from this forum and meeting generous blokes (Jason/Kevin) and lasses who are intrested and sometimes excited in giving a little helpful advice on how where why and when.
I will always be indebted to AKFF for this.

Also having always loved fishing but really never getting the chance i have now fished more in the last 3 months that i began yakFishing, than i have in my 30 odd years. And have caught such a variety of fish and so bloomin many fish. 

P.S. already 2007 covered....stepson has moved out of my house


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## evarn (Jul 10, 2006)

Well, getting my first kayak goes without saying... Thanks to HobieVic for his patience and advice dealing with me in that regard.

But for sure, my first launch would be the highlight.. Just getting to the water and launching while observing the long queue at the boat ramp was enough to know I was on a winner..

Each subsequent trip has been a highlight in itself as well... Bring on 2007. 

Ivan


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## victor-victor (Jan 12, 2006)

Getting off my arse, stopped dreaming about going fishing and doing something about it, buying my first water craft, my Yak! God I love paddling and fishing from it.

My first memorable experience was buying my prowler with not a care in the world. I was overly excited, left work early to pickup the Prowler and straight to water without a thought on how I was going to get the Prowler back on the car. Paddled for a few hours, practiced tipping the yak and trying to get back in (using all AKFF tips and advice). This was the life until it was time to pack up and meet the boss. 30 minutes later finally getting the prowler on the roof racks thinking did I buy the right Yak? Searching the AKFF site finding ideas on how the hell I am going to load the Prowler on the roof alone. A solution was found and I have never again regretted my wonderful Prowler. After a few days later back on the water, rods rigged and time to catch something, fish preferably. First outing not so much luck but the next time out, a redfin!

After this I haven't looked back.

The other side of the year looking back is meeting other people who like to fish, paddle or peddle and not having to do it alone. One of the greatest thing about AKFF is that you can meet strangers for the first time without fear and just go fishing, no demands just enjoyment in what we do.

Another memory, I got my prowler salted, learned to use poppers, caught fish (finally feeding the family ... another 600 fish to pay for the prowler), getting zapped by lighting :shock: , meeting Tryhard four hundred miles away, just to go Yak fishing.

To sum it up, a Yak, wet arse, new friends, and learning to fish all over again! What Fun :!:

2007 it can only get better! :lol:


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

I think that Victor has summed it up nicely - buying my yak, christening it on the first trip and just enjoying every trip out since and also meeting a couple of legends in Dodge (the Bass master), Spottymac (and Headman too) over on the Gold Coast in Dec.
2007 will be a big year hopefully - fishing the Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton should be a highlight in Feb, but just beingon the water in the Outback is priceless time


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

About this time last year I joined my first kayak fishing forum. I had done a lot of kayaking and kayak fishing to that point; mostly by myself. I was amazed at how much information was available in the forums. I quickly shed my "lone wolf" ways and became active in the local kayak fishing community. This has been my highlight of the year. I am now a much better paddler and fisherman thanks to the willingness of others to share their knowledge.

As much as I use the local kayak fishing forums, AKFF is still the first one I check when I go on-line (and not just because it is the first one in my bookmarks either). AKFF is a much more civilized forum with a real sense of community. This is a rare commodity in the world of web forums. I'd like to thank the members and moderators for making AKFF the fine forum that it is.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

DGax65 said:


> . AKFF is a much more civilized forum with a real sense of community. This is a rare commodity in the world of web forums. I'd like to thank the members and moderators for making AKFF the fine forum that it is.


Doug as you are no doubt aware Aussies put great value on mateship in daily life and perhaps that plays a part on the forums outcome and lets us cover often difficult issues with a minimum of anxst; your views from the other side are also welcomed mate


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## Gunston (May 10, 2006)

I would have to say that it has been great talking online and meeting other like minded guys. There's no bullshit, just people who enjoy themselves.
Oh yeah! and becoming mates with Dodge, who is only too willing to give you a hand. (even though he's old enough to be my grandfather :lol: :lol: :lol: )

I just have to do a bit more fishing in 07 

Hope you all have a good year 

Regards
Chris


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## abercornmick (Oct 10, 2006)

My highlight of the past year is definitely discovery Kayak fishing and then purchasing my boat. I'd always dreamed of owning a (stink) boat but had been thwarted by lack of storage space. The Kayak is the perfect solution and a much more adventurous and enjoyable option.


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## YakAtak (Mar 13, 2006)

DGax65 said:


> About this time last year I joined my first kayak fishing forum. I had done a lot of kayaking and kayak fishing to that point; mostly by myself. I was amazed at how much information was available in the forums. I quickly shed my "lone wolf" ways and became active in the local kayak fishing community. This has been my highlight of the year. I am now a much better paddler and fisherman thanks to the willingness of others to share their knowledge.
> 
> As much as I use the local kayak fishing forums, AKFF is still the first one I check when I go on-line (and not just because it is the first one in my bookmarks either). AKFF is a much more civilized forum with a real sense of community. This is a rare commodity in the world of web forums. I'd like to thank the members and moderators for making AKFF the fine forum that it is.


Doug, it's a pleasure to have you around, your input is often invaluable as you obviously have quite a bit of experience in fitting out yaks and have seen what a lot of blokes in the US are doing. 
Also it's just great to have ya around cos up till you joined we thought all americans were like Kraley! :lol:


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## hairymick (Oct 18, 2005)

For me it was First Blood in my swamp girl.

First S&G Build

First trip

First cast

First Blood.

First Bass

PB Bass (46cms) still


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## Geejay (Sep 26, 2005)

For me it was the general wildlife encounted; dugongs and dolphins under the yak, creeping up on turtles, big fish jumping near you, whales in the distance.

Fishing-wise, it was getting towed a couple of hundred metres by a giant herring at paddling speed, followed by my non-fishing mum and l landing a 8.5kg estuary cod with her sitting in the back tankwell.

Looking forward to doing it all again this year.

GJ


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## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Mine has to be building my very own kayak, then taking it outside the heads for a nice Morwong and my first ever Salmon......and meeting you guys and gals


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