# What got you into fishing from a Yak?



## Blaen (Jul 4, 2006)

Just wondering, what got you into fishing from a Yak? Why did you do it to begin with?

For me it was a combination of reading about the expolits of a Kayak Fishermen in the Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News magazine on his trips to Craigbourne Dam and around Bruny Island (no prizes for guessing who that turned out to be). Being constantly shore based, was becoming old hat, as I could always see the fish I wanted just out of reach and Scott's articles started to inspire me towards Yak fishing.

Plus a mate who I regularly fish with wanting to get a canoe to fish the lakes from and continually pestering me to get one too. I didn't like the canoe option so I went for the much more versitile Yak.

And not being able to sneak a stink boat into the household budget I found it much easier to get an environmentally friendly Yak in there 8)

The love of fishing cetainly helped out a lot.
_
(If this in the wrong spot for this post Mods please feel free to move it)_


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2006)

I was looking at getting a small boat and 6hp motor or a canadian canoe and a small motor, but after thinking about my other experiences with boats such as long periods of no use due to weather and swell I decided they were a waste I had read about kayak fishing a bit and so I thought I would combine my need for some kind of water craft to access areas I couldnt on foot with my need for a new fitness regimen as I quit footy last year due to injury so I got rid of the gym membership and bought a kayak and now paddle four times a week always towing a lure sometimes I just paddle other times I paddle to fishing spots.


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## Milt (Sep 2, 2005)

For me it is a love of fishing and eating fresh fish and lots of it. I considered a tinny but then though Hmmm where will i put it, running costs, repairs etc!!!

I read somewhere on a fishing website about kayak fishing and thought wow this is it. I had only been canoeing once i my youth and I thouroughly enjoyed it. So I thought why not combine the 2 and fish places where I never be able to reach by boat. And improve my fitness level as well.

So far it had been a great experience and lots of good company has been met both on this site and in person with the Melbourne Mangoes.

Milt,


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## Gator (May 10, 2006)

What can I say; when you get a yak for a carton of beer and like to fish the result is enevitable! Trouble is, the ancient orange is just a bit too much to handle so now a proper fishing yak is on the cards. SOON  Smile will get bigger when I get it.


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## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

I have the great man Milt to thank for getting me into yak fishing. I had always been a very keen land-based fisho, and also had a small rowboat which I used to take out when conditions were calm enough. Then I met this fella Milt via another fishing site, who had 2 kayaks, and was prepared to take me yak fishing, despite having never met me before! Wow, what a generous man, I thought, and a kayak has to be faster than that rowboat. And it was.......and so began the obsession  
Cheers Milt :wink:


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## hairymick (Oct 18, 2005)

I fished from surf skis in the late 60s - early 70s, regressed to stink boats, Got into sea kayaks and canoes a few years ago. Then started fishing from them - a natural progression/obsesion. Now my stink boats are parked in the shed and rarely get used.

I/we also eat a lot of fresh fish so Robin and I can combine our two greatest passions, paddling/touring and fishing- perfect.


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## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

hairymick said:


> Now my stink boats are parked in the shed and rarely get used.


That explains one of the many sheds on your block. Hope you have locked the doors and thrown away the keys  .


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## yakfly (Jun 8, 2006)

been in and out of canoes since i was 5 and like anyone who fishes any chance he gets i consider them a valuable tool when chasing certain species.we used to make canoes in Port Moresby by bending over sheets of roofing tin then folding the ends and sealing the nail holes with tar.We also learnt to swim this way cos they invariably sank if you didnt keep your balance.After moving to OZ and discovering the joys of fibreglass and plastic ive fished out of canoes up round innisfail and mackay in the eighties and down in the pimpama,albert rivers and maroon dams in the 90s .always had one up til last year when i sold it cos of work commitments.


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## hairymick (Oct 18, 2005)

Hi Troppo.

Mate, my sheds are never locked, the back door to the house has hardly been shut these last 6 years or so and I don't even know where the key to that door is. 

We have some seriously bad mannered dogs who keep an eye on things and are renowned locally for their ability to discourage unwelcome visitors. :twisted:


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## WayneD (Jul 11, 2006)

Four of my mates have them and regularly paddle over to Peel and camp the weekend. I was missing out on all the fun and time with the boys so I finally got off my a$$ and ordered an Espri on Friday.

I too have a little stink boat 10 ft tinny with a 3.3hp. I don't know if I will still use it or not but I can probably paddle faster than it. I will still use it when taking someone else fishing or if I want to try for some crabs.

Apart from that always had a love for fishing. When I moved to Brisbane from Mackay I had about a 7 year break from fishing because I didn't know where to fish and if there would be any fish, plus I was working way too much. Have new job now and actually get time to fish.


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

My old man has fished from surf skis as long as I can remember and I have used his handlining technique in the past.
It wasnt untill I stumbled accross AKKF and the penny dropped and I realized that modern techniques like rods and sots make it the fantastic sport we follow. Ive gotten noticably fitter since ive being playing Kayak Fishing the past couple of months.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

I bought my yak (last November) for a bit of upper body fitness (aka to put a halt to the gut size which was starting to increase). Mountain biking, skiing and touch footy had taken care of the leg fitness over the last few years but the belly was missing out.

NOT being the gym sort of guy, I thought long and hard and came up with kayaking as a good upper body conditioning sport.

Bought the yak, took her out for the first paddle and HANG ON...look at those fish! I reckon if I had a rod (or 3) I could get them... :idea:

And a new obsession was born!


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Got back into fishing a couple of years ago after only trying when on holidays. Frustrated by land-based fishing I got permission from SWMBO to buy a boat. Was thinking of something suitable for breaming and was looking at a 4.1m Polycraft with 50HP motor, side console, leccy, sounder, ... for around $20K.

However, her desire for something suitable for waterskiing (this can only mean less fishing time), the running costs and a dread of all the things that can go wrong with a boat had me looking for something simpler. A fishing website led me to canoes and further investigation led me to SOTs. Brilliant.


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## andybear (Jan 15, 2006)

Whilst I was still in the army, I went to an open day, or some kind of show, and I think it was somewhere near the North Pine dam. (North Brisbane). some people were giving free rides in kayaks there. My mate had a go, and I thought I would try it too. I was immediatelyl impressed just how well a kayak would go, for a little bit of effort. (compared to rowing a boat). Shortly after I got my discharge, back in 1982, I bought a TK2, whilst the "Ekka" was on (Translation for Southern states :::Ekkasibition:
I packed a rod and reel on board one day, and caught a big catfish, but that was as far as it went fishing wise up until last year, when I drilled a bit hole in an old TK1, stuffed a bit of 40mm PVC pipe in the hole, and went trolling at Dohles rocks. Caught my PB bream then, and progressed to getting my Tempo Fisherman, and my lifes goals all changed from there.

Life is now all about kayak fishing, and kayak fishing is life (as far as permitted by she who must be obeyed at all times, is concerned) I firmly believe that one day she will yak fish too!

Cheers all Andybear :lol: :lol: :twisted:


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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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## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

Peril said:


> . . . her desire for something suitable for waterskiing . . . . led me to canoes and further investigation led me to SOTs. Brilliant.


So, how's her waterskiing going? No wonder you needed a leccy?


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Onya Blaen, a top idea for a thread mate. I have been paddle fishing since I was 12. (23 years). I used to paddle fish from a motley collection of distance surf skis, my shorter goat boats (wave skis) and Canadian canoes. I stopped paddle fishing in all bar estuaries for close to a year after me and my crazy mate sunk his Canadian canoe trolling bridle rigged bonito for big kings off the Bombie (I think it is called east reef just north of Broken bay.

We were lucky to swim back to shore that day being around a km off shore, half tanked on beer and having taken our PFDs off due to it being a hot day and we wanted to get a tan.

After a year or so I got the balls back to start to have a lash for kings and little hammers off broken bay on my distance ski. I caught and released a couple of nice blue sharks off long reef and was hooked again.

Around 2 years ago when I moved to Tassie I thought that I would get a dedicated fishing yak. After procrastinating for 6 months or so I discovered the original forum which had recently started out. I was talked into a SOT. I did a bit of research, scored "Katana" and have never looked back. As a result, the trailer for my tinny ran out of rego 2 years ago and the tinny sat on the beach unused for over a year until I brought it home where it now sits unused in the yard.

In my opinion, nothing can compare to getting up close and personal with your quarry which you get whilst yak fishing. I have interacted with seals, dolphins, penguins and killer whales all which wouldn't be possible from a stink boat. I also get a bit of satisfaction from knowing that we have gone back to one of the original forms of fishing, yak fishing a practice many of thousands of years old.

Yak fishing, once you fish from a yak you never go back!

Catch ya Scott


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

We had a number of boats over a number of years, and realized that the last boat [had her 17yrs] was only leaving the jetty about 6 times a year, and I was still paying all the usual fees for minimal use, rego, slipping, and maintenance, so we discussed it and sold the boat.

After deciding to get a canoe to tour, I found AKFF, and a new world of fishing SOTs as a result of Jake pointing me here.

It livened up a fairly quite retirement to a fantastic new challenge, with the major challenge being the need to reduce tackle to one bag, a tuckerbox size esky to 24l one, and the enjoyment of fishing in water that I had passed by the last 30 odd years.

Also noticable is the awakening in cruiser mates who are astounded on seeing and trying the yak...a sort of maybe he isn't senile, maybe he's really smart


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## PeterJ (Aug 29, 2005)

A moment of madness


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## BUUDZ (Nov 15, 2005)

for me i have alwys fished sencethe 80ties around Eldon dam and altona where most of the rallys live.  >>>BUT the light bulb didnt go off till l wanted to teach my daughter to fish  when she was 3 and for me the tinny was king ,, but as me and my daughter got older and the family got bigger more kidds and more camping gear and more rainy holidays the tent was out and the caravan was a must :shock: SO the tinny was left at home and a need for a boat of some kind that could get me away from little suburbea that always seemed to grow at holiday sites was a must. so l meeded a canoe of some kind,and as they say the rest is history   BUT now lm waiting for my back to heal and for someone to come up with the self loading kayak for people with dogie backs   and hopfully l will be teaching my grandkidds to fish tooo


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## PoddyMullet (Aug 29, 2005)

Like a few others over the shorebased thing and after a way to explore waterways, a drive back from Lake Tyers had me thinking about the Canadian our family had when I was wearing a younger body. That canoe toughed out a session with my brother and myself throwing dry cow shit at our old man as he paddled past, a rear end flip when an ill fitted Johnson to the back became unbalanced when the front person got out, and a coupla small bream/mullet encounters.


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## rawprawn (Aug 31, 2005)

I had a boat, which like Dodge was the most expensive lawn ornament in the street. I used to look down the street see the conditions on the lake where perfect then I would look at the boat and think of all the things I had to do to get ready to go out and in the end I just wouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t bother.

I used to play Kayak Polo when I was younger so I was familiar and comfortable with them as a plaything, but it wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t until I stumbled onto the original AKFF site that things started to fit into place.

Since I started yak fishing on my local lake there is now a regular small but dedicated flotilla of locals who have either purchased yaks for fishing or added rod holder to there original yaks.


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## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

PeterJ said:


> A moment of madness


Has it passed? 8)


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## sam60 (Aug 30, 2005)

My wife and I had not long got back into fishing and looked around at small tinnies or kayaks. We decided to get a kayak after doing some searching on the net. Our goal was to get a bit fitter and also be able to get away from the crowds when fishing. Most of our time is spent in the rivers and we are able to take turns fishing or paddling or taking pics. We don't get out very often due to work but figure it is better than having a stinkboat sitting around not getting used. I found the orignal AKFF site handy when looking for info about setting up the yak for fishing and used a couple of the ideas to set up the yak and still use them.


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## Jake (Sep 23, 2005)

John,
Its a great question and a good thread.

I wore glasses since the age of 18 and being rather blind without them I shunned all kind of watersports. 2 years ago I was faced with the dilemma of needing to consider a career change unless my eyesight improved. Well, the only way it would improve was with Laser Surgery, so I did it xmas 2004. 
As soon as I was used to my new eyes I was keen to get into some water sports. Go to the beach and have a swim, be able to find my towel again... :lol:

Anyway, one of my neighbours has a Hobie, and he was raving about it one night on the turps, so I had a go, and went for it, initially with the idea of just getting some exercise. Bought one for me and one for my missus.

After the second outing on the yak, I realised that I could be catching fish, I mean, we were out there, why not throw a line in? Then the next chapter started, and I was very fortunate to make my first stop Mossops Tackle shop in the gabba, who were brilliant by teaching us how to fish from a yak, and where to fish, and even went fishing with us. The rest is history I suppose, absolutely bloody love it.

Cheers,
Jake


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## Salty Dog (Sep 18, 2005)

THE INTERNET! I was searching the internet late at night for fishing stuff & came across a couple of kayak fishing sites. As soon as I saw it, I thought "I have to do that!!"


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## yaksta (Oct 27, 2005)

You guys got me started. I came up with the idea of buying a kayak for fitness and whilst searching the internet I found you guys. As soon as I read a few threads I thought what a great combination. Get fit whilst doing something I love, fishing. Although I'm not much of a fisherman I do enjoy the challenge.

Wayne


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## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

Yaksta, your story is much like mine. I found the forum via BillyBob's amazing website when searching for reviews on yaks. Fitness was a goal. Thought fishing from a yak was a bit strange. But the more I read, the more I thought I should give it a go from my short yak. I enjoy fishing and doing it from a yak was an awesome thing. I got addicted. Don't want to be cured.


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

After too many trips on crowded sportfishing boats I started looking for alternatives. Buying a stink boat was not a realistic option at the time. I talked to one of the California kayak fishing gurus at a boat show and I was hooked. I bought an OK Drifter on the spot. Kayak fishing was perfect for me. I could get out on the water three or four days a week and it was much less expensive than owning and operating a boat. More than anything else, I love being out on the water in a kayak. Fishing from a kayak provides an intimate, almost primal, connection with the ocean. No matter how bad your day at work; all your cares just slip away as you paddle out into the sunset for a little fishin'. 8)


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## garyp (May 30, 2008)

Disappointed that there were no really good trip reports after what looked like a pretty good day (I wouldn't know cos I was working) I thought I would troll through really old posts, which is quite fun.

Found this one and liked it.

For me the answer is bass fishing on my uncles farm in the lowveld of South Africa, quite near the Kruger National Park. There were some great submerged trees in the middle of the dam and I could not reach them, so I would take his old surfski and head out there with a couple of plastic worms and catch monster black bass. Funny to think that I was about 7 years old and went out there unsupervised, with no life jacket and spent hours out there with no one checking on me. Times sure have changed. Wouldn't dream of doing that now


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## giddyup (Aug 24, 2009)

Used to fish a lot from the local seaways with a HEAP of other locals.

After getting but loads of Snags on rocks and constantly tangling lines with the other fishermen on the running tides i thought to myself
"gees i wish i could be dropping my line out just 20 metres out to miss all the rocks/other lines."

KAYAK was the answer!!!!!


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## giddyup (Aug 24, 2009)

Also i am an avid Longboarder so when the surf was flat i used to see all the boats out at the reef a couple hundred metres out and wished i could get out there and fish instead of waiting a couple of hours for my pisshead mates to wake up.

KAYAK again! POW!


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## giddyup (Aug 24, 2009)

NOTHING AGAINST GROG EVERYONE :shock:

;-)


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