# Australian Yak Fishing Records



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

I noticed Dallas's post regarding his mate's large yak-caught Murray Cod and other posts re catching sharks etc from their yaks. Also note BillyBob and some of our US based friends exploits at catching large Mackeral, Kingfish, White Sea Bass (Jewfish) and Halibut and it got me wondering what the biggest ever yak-caught fish in Australia is?

As kayak fishing in Australia is a relatively new sport, lets find out who amongst us can lay claim to some Australian Records. I know our Hall of Fame is trying to start this record, but I'd like to find out what are the largest (length and weight) fish that have been caught from a yak in Australian waters by AKFF members.

If you have a pic, great, but lets open the floor to those who have caught big stuff and see who's going to hold our unofficial record.

So, if you've caught something HUGE from your yak let us know what it was..


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## fisher (Aug 30, 2005)

> I know our Hall of Fame is trying to start this record,


Sorry Davey G - slightly off topic, but the Hall of Fame doesn't appear to have been updated recently - I'm sure theres been some posts recently about fish caught that would make the HOF :?:


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

fisher said:


> > I know our Hall of Fame is trying to start this record,
> 
> 
> Sorry Davey G - slightly off topic, but the Hall of Fame doesn't appear to have been updated recently - I'm sure theres been some posts recently about fish caught that would make the HOF :?:


Yes, absolutely...I agree. The HOF was started with a lot of discussion amongst members and admin regarding what species etc etc, but seems to have stalled at the starting gate. My interpretaion was that the admin/mods would 'automatically' put any fish that were entered in CAtch of the Day/Fishing Reports into the HOF if they were suitable. Admin/Mods whats going on???

Apart from that I'd still like to know who has the biggest one! :shock: (Fish that is) :wink:


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Re HoF, members must submit to Scott by PM or email

What's a big fish?


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2006)

I reckon Billybob would have to hold the title, did I read one of his Spaniards weighed 20kg+ ? :shock:

Not sure what the big Murray Cod weighed......but at over 1 meter it would have to be either nudging or over the 20kg mark. Chris reckoned he could have almost stuck his head in its gob :shock:

Might give him a call later and see if I can get hold of a photo 8)


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Peril said:


> What's a big fish?


I hope you find out this summer Dave!

I'm talking anything over a metre - I know Gatesy's caught a 120cm shark, and I'm sure some of the Qld boys have picked up mackeral around that length, has anyone else caught anything bigger?


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## fisher (Aug 30, 2005)

> Re HoF, members must submit to Scott by PM or email


Done that, and that....


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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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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

heres billybobs PB spanish mackeral. estimated at 19.5kg and 1.5 metres. Caught on his birthday of all days! what a birthday pressie!

can anyone top this?


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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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QlpoOTFBWSZTWfQbFIUAACLfgAASUIGAAiGgFAo/7/+gMADaWhqeiR6UwRspp6EaD0QGpqep6jEaDQ0AAAanoIU9TRoaD1PUaDQ9QgYxUEZDO2i9vHVvNSv4qczNCg9GZno7q97J9pqzrat452Dysus5qewqerqGy4YyOEprknLb5a4XkwOR7l2Dt7v1o0Ifmit0G6xvY0NQaDQ14KenxjiESicGRMKpCRHDA44MKQrC+3dJhGESjB5O0kYOirhvEVMDHTqWCwKIb+Omc2S9I/YGDSFAIloeb5Rc8NNgEixNxYZR1vGHeiD+LuSKcKEh6DYpCg==


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Fisher, the HOF was last updated with Scupper's pike around 3 weeks ago. For a catch to added to the HOF it must be emailed or sent via a PM to me and include the catch on a known measuring device. It is all stated very clearly in the rules. I am currently just editing the original post which is why it doesn't show up as a new post with each modification. When I get a spare couple of hours I will create a couple of web pages for the HOF and add them to the site.

Davey, my best catch and release effort from the yak was a pair of Blue Sharks around the 3 metre mark and the 120-130kg mark. There used to be a photo on the site somewhere but it would have been deleted when we auto crop the old posts. I have been busy mincing burley for the last couple of weeks. Our shark season down here will start around December and I am keen as to have a good season.

Catch ya Scott


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## JT (May 25, 2006)

There is a photo of this Rob Paxevanos chap in the latest NSW Fishing Monthly holding up a yellow fin tuna on his Hobie yak. They also note that he caught a 250KG Mako in the yak on the same day, or rather state that "he had a 250kg Mako at the back of the boat half an hour later". One would imagine that he didn't pull that aboard or tag and release that puppy.

Pity he doesn't post on the forum. By the way, a good feature article on yak fishing on the Central Coast in the same publication as above.

Go people that fish from Yaks!!! 

JT


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Hi Scott. I knew you'd caught some sharks down there in Tas but couldn't recall sizes etc. I'd have to say that your previous username 'Bent" certainly sums up your ballsy approach to yak fishing. Sharks, killer Whales, Snow. Mad!

May the burley mix produce the goods for you this summer! Charge up the shark shield and let us know how you go...


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2006)

Have posted pictures of the monster Murray Cod in the COD (Catch Of The Day) section 8)

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4144

I think Chris might have the Freshwater HOF title stitched up for a few years to come!


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## hairymick (Oct 18, 2005)

> Davey, my best catch and release effort from the yak was a pair of Blue Sharks around the 3 metre mark and the 120-130kg mark.


heya Scott, As I understand it, blue sharks are a very close relative to the great whites, with similar attributes and attitudes.

At certain times of the year, juvenile blues turn up here in the Burrum River and school up on a couple of mall reefs well upstream. I have only seen them here to about a metre in length but even at that small size, they go off when hooked. would easily pull the arse out of a 40 pound barra.

I can only guess at how a 3metre version would perform :shock: i think you should return to the username "Bent" mate


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## fisher (Aug 30, 2005)

> For a catch to added to the HOF it must be emailed or sent via a PM to me and include the catch on a known measuring device. It is all stated very clearly in the rules


....I did that all of that too


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Fisher, the HOF entry you are referring to is obviously the one you submitted for Scupper which was added a couple of weeks ago. The HOF will be updated again in the next day or so to include Tryhards latest hell flathead.

Mick, blues are a lot less aggressive than whites and makos. They are generally an offshore pelagic shark species but come inshore onto the shelf chasing fish and squid. While they were one of the worse offenders for chewing on armed forces personnel during WW2 when they were in the water, I have found that even more so than most shark species they are totally fixated on your burley.

This has led me to develop the following tactics for fishing for them out of the yak. I pre-mince all of my burley and freeze it in rectangular mop buckets. I stick one of these blocks in a mesh keeper net and attach it to a rod with 10kg line on it. I run my bait around 75 metres from the back of the yak. I then run my mince bag around 35 metres from the back of the yak. I get a nice slow troll going, just fast enough to make headway against the current/swell. This ensures a nice long burley slick. As soon as I get a hook-up I cut the line to my mince bag and let it drift away in the current. This breaks the slick instantly and will divert any other sharks following the slick from my yak.

I fight the fish until I can get it just outside the range of the shark shield, generally releasing them while they are 5 or so metres away. If a big or overly aggressive shark swims past the bait and grabs the mince bag, my drag slips, I hear the ratchet and I cut the mince bag free keeping the shark away from me. As long as you don't try to gaff the shark and don't even trace it unless it is totally played out, the danger is minimised. Wind on leaders are a huge asset.

The biggest problem I have is when the fish goes deep. When this happened when gamefishing from a stinkboat we would drive off the fish for a couple of hundred metres and start fighting again. After doing this repetitiously you would generally get the shark to the surface or popping its fin as we used to call it. This is obviously impossible in the yak so you get some down deep fights where you have to just hang in there and keep the pressure on. I recommend that everyone gives it a go if they have a shield as it is a huge adrenalin rush and one of the best sleigh rides you will get from your yak.

Catch ya Scott


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## Fishmatics (Feb 9, 2006)

If you want to claim a record, please launch from the the beach and paddle to your prey. I have no respect for a hunter who claims a record when the fish is teased to the surface from a boat and then hooked under the pretence of angling.

I could go on, and on, but my point is made!

Regards
Andrew


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Hi Andrew.

Some pretty impressive PB's on your signature there mate. Were any of these caught in Australia or are they all from SA?

Any pics??


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## fishbrain (Oct 19, 2005)

Too right Andrew ! hooking up to a fish in a boat & jumping into a Yak to land it is a bit pretentious. cheers FB


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## fishbrain (Oct 19, 2005)

I think Billy Bobs mackeral & Stu 7kg Snapper should be in the Hall Of Fame to showcase some of our members great catches . Cheers FB


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2006)

Scott,

I was thinking, at the moment we have the 'Master List', which is a great reference, but is there any chance we could have some categorised threads (locked to posting) where pictures of the records holders capture can be viewed by members? No need to set up all the vacant HOF records, just the ones where we currently have HOF record holders? 

Some of the legendary captures I reckon are best immortalised in this way, and there is no danger of the original thread being 'pruned' and lost to the forum?? 

Maybe allocate a moderator to the task of maintaining the HOF section, adding threads and pictures and locking them etc? If you wanted to take it further, add URL links in the Master List which takes you right to the HOF thread with the picture, no need to sort/alphabeticalise threads this way, just add them in no particular order and link the URL to the masterlist? 

Just a thought


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Dallas, mate I aim to have the HOF linked to the forum but not actually part of the message boards. I plan to have a series of HTML pages which will be accessed by a button on the tool bar similar to the PM's ect. At present the HOF is one of a few sections that do not get cropped. The photos of the existing records can be viewed in the HOF section. This should hopefully take place shortly when I get some spare time to do it. The present HOF section was only ever intended as a stop gap solution so we could start to record exceptional captures.

Fishbrain, Billybobs huge mackerel was caught prior to the start of the record keeping period. I would hope that he takes a measurement of the next big one he gets and submits it to the HOF. Stu's big snapper was not measured which automatically disqualifies it as the records are kept on a measurement rather than a weight basis. So as a reminder to all, if you get a good fish and want it included, get a photo on a known measuring device or have it witnessed on a measuring device by another forum member.

Catch ya Scott


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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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## fishbrain (Oct 19, 2005)

I think weight is the best measurement of a fish length just puts it in prospective.
Cheers FB


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Matt, if you crack the metre mark and release it to fight another day like you have all of the other big breeding females i will call you a legend mate.

Catch ya Scott


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