# If you live in Sydney and your WEREN'T at Balmoral today...



## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

It was amazing out there - on home made yak (flump), a prowler elite 4.5 (?), myself and about 10 hobies (lost count and they all look alike to me  ). Small bustups all over the place.

Trolled "Bombora" fly and a large metal popper until we saw the bustups then tried casting the popper, followed by casting a softplastic. Had a couple of takes and the paintwork on the popper got worked over, but no hookups.

Finished off the day by testing out my downrigger, with a gulp 7" jerk shad. Nothing hit it but I learned a bit about using the clip and the way it alters the tracking characteristics of the yak (basically it was turning the yak towards the bomb).

A couple of pics (a little blurry due to the sea motion).


----------



## Pommy Matt (Dec 11, 2006)

Hey guys sorry I missed it! I launched at Clifton, after yesterdays action there I couldn't bring myself to laucnh at balmoral - conditions weren't good with a brisk noreaster cresting up some whitecaps just out of the bay - I thought about going back and driving round to Balmoral after a phone call to peril confirmed there were fish there. In the end I decided it was too much of a pain to retrieve the yak, drive round park and re-launch so set about peddling round middle head. As I got round to middle head the swell coming in through the heads and the wind chop got too much for me - I was uneasy on my own as a relative novice and worried about getting back round if it got worse, so headed over to sow and pigs. Got a nice little kingy on a crease fly (surface fly) from a mixed salmon/bonito/kingy bustup but that was about it fish wise - did not see a lot at all. What a difference a day makes!
matt


----------



## Crikey (Oct 30, 2005)

Balmoral turned it on this morning for us big style. I was amazed by the number of yaks that were out fishing, a guy on a stinkboat asked me if it was a yak fishing contest.

I had 2 bonito (40's) and lost count of tailor in 25cm to 35cm range I caught on the way back to the beach, all fish were C&R. By the time I had figured the match the hatch thing I was on the way in, just before the moorings there was a big bust up of tailor and every cast was a hook up. There were some kings amongst them but the lure didnt get anywhere near them before a tailor hammered it. It was probably just as well as they were quite close t the rocks and it would probably have ended in tears - mine! The killer lure was a 4cm metal slice a Gillies make I think, a good baitfish pattern rather than a gaudy pattern.

I did see one bust up of kings about 5 metres in front of me earlier that lasted for all of about 20 seconds, at that stage I had a SP on the threadline and a couple of casts at the bust up did not produce anything.

There were a couple of kings brought in Terry (Hobie Revolution) and someone who's name I didnt catch (Hobie Adventure) both had fish of 60+

Pommy Matt, PM me your phone number, Balmoral is a much more consistant venue than Clifton for all sorts of reasons I have been fishing there probably twice a week for the last 6 months so if you want some info drop me a line.


----------



## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

The AKFF is reaching critical mass. Stinkboaters across Australia will take note. They have seen the YakBorg and will soon be assimilated. 
It is a great feeling when you look around and see that you outnumber the stinkboats. Better yet when the yaks are out-fishing them.


----------



## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

A very good session for my first hit out at Balmoral. Managed 2 40+ cm tailor and a 45 cm Bonito (my first). Everything I heard about them is true. I was expecting a small king the way it peeled the line off.

It was also good to catch up with a few people I met at the AKFF lunch a couple of months ago.

And even though there were a lot of us out there, there seemed to be enough water so it didn't look like we got in each others way. I can't say the same for one particular stinkboat that seemed to want to be able to tell the time by reading my wrist watch. They pulled up 3 times within 5 metres of me when I was casting into a school breaking. The 3rd time I wasn't even casting I was just having a slash and I think they thought I must have found a school. (how good is that mirage drive opening for a convenient toilet?)

Only downside was a friend (Mike - Revolution) I brouhgt along got a big treble in the hand when trying to extract it from a tailor, and ended up in Manly hospital (Mike not the tailor).

Boss is off tomorrow so I'm going to have a early mark I think and have another go same spot if anyone is interested.


----------



## wigg (Jan 6, 2007)

Hi Kraley

That was my sp that decided to dance with your sp.
Only my second time out. Thought I was about to get my first scales on board.
I still went home empty handed.
Very dissapointed.
I had alot of trouble with the downrigger and line twist.I missed a couple of good drifts whilst cutting off line and re rigging.
Trolled a bibbed minnow for no hits and flicked a 3inch sp no hits.
Took about an hour to get back to little manly.
Then I had to pull a 4wd out at the ramp.
Not sure how the guy got his old Pajero off the ramp, bogged with water lapping in the door sill.
Still he was stoked to be saved.
All in a days work hahahaha.
Next time I think I will check the weather before paddling so far.
Is there a spot to launch at Balmoral?
Has to be easier driving to Balmoral than paddling there and back from little Manly.
Is it worth fishing in the afternoons at Balmoral?
I finish at 3 so I can get home load up and be there by 4.30 - 5.
Anybody interested?


----------



## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Set out from Clontarf with Dave (Peril) just before first light and we both trolled our way up to Balmoral. About halfway there I hooked into a Tailor which did a bit of a tail walk and was lost  . Another 100 metres saw me connect into another Tailor, but this one was not so lucky  . Nice size at 40 cm's.

Proceeded on to the Naval Wharf where everyone and their dogs was out on the water. I think I counted about 15 yaks at one point, along with the obligatory 6 or 7 stink boaters, most of whom were very polite (except that idiot with the fly rod who went straight through a bust up, then as the fish hadn't gone down, went throught them again, nearly cleaning up both me and kraley on the way) :!: :!:  . Trolled around the naval wharf, up to middle head and back several times, then did it all again but with no luck. Fish were regularly busting up, just couldn't match the hatch :? . I threw my whole armoury at them :shock: :!: :shock: .

JT (I think) trolled past me and got into a small tangle, I released his lure from my line, then called him to stop again as I thought he'd tangled my other line. He said none of his lines were tangled and sure enough a sprited Tailor came to the yak tail walking everywhere. Another one at 40cm's  .

Just after this one was landed, I managed to suck a Nuclear Chicken SP into my bilge pump :evil: . The pump then proceeded to grind itself to a halt making a bit of a nasty noise. As I don't have scuppers, this was a major problem :evil: :x :evil: .

After another half hour of trolling, casting, trolling, casting some more I had to go in to the beach to empty out the water. On the way to Cobbler's Beach I hooked and returned a 29cm Snapper. Another half an hour and the yak was full up with water again so decided to call it a day and head back to Clontarf.

Glad to hear that some decent fish were landed after I left. Only confirmed fish before I left were two Bonnies for Lloyd and a Salmon for JT. It was just a struggle to match the hatch :? . I'll be back out on Tuesday arvo for some more action if anyone wants to join in if I cam get the SP out of my bilge pump :!: :evil: :!: :evil: :!: :evil:


----------



## tugboat (Nov 15, 2006)

Friday afternoon was a bit quiet,,, not many surface fish busting up, however Yellowfin and myself did hook up on fish. There was some bait balls on the sounder but nothing like this morning, the sounder was showing plenty of fish and bait schools.

I don't think I've ever seen so many kayaks together fishing, not to mention Hobies  
Even caught my first Kingy... and guys it was legal...only just (65cm using a measuring tape at home) I thought I was going to get lined on the first run to be followed by quite a number of heart stopping runs. Caught the kingy on my heavy bream gear (6lb tip and 8 lb fireline).

Mike's treble in the hand looked very painful... had me thinking I should carry some pliers / very small bolt cutter just for this purpose. Friday I had a lure smack me in the leg... thinking back had it hit at the right angle I would of had a treble embeded in the leg.

It was good to meet so many forum members, nice to know there are so many like minded kayakers out there.


----------



## JT (May 25, 2006)

What a great morning it was! And to think that I got out of bed at 4:45, looked out the window and thought "gee it looks pretty crappy out there...perhaps I should give it a miss"?.

I didn't  The first thing I noticed as I came over the hill way above Balmoral was the 2 or 3 flotillas of yaks heading out to sea. They left a long visible wake behind them. They sort of looked like a flotilla of warships as seen from a spotter plane that you see in old WWII footage.

Anyway, launched and worked my way out noticing the number of birds moving from patch to patch in the bay. Dragged a number of lures to no avail and then set about working the rising fish as the sea started to boil for 10 to 20 seconds and then subside.

There were a huge number of fishing yaks out there. We easily outnumbered boats 3 to 1. For the first time ever I noticed that the yaks were outmanouvering and outfishing the stinkers. Infact I didn't see a single fish landed from a stinkboat (there might have been but I didn't see it). I also noticed the slightly bemused/annoyed/frustrated looks on their faces when Ken and I hooked up not 10 to 15 meters from them 

Boated a PB Yak Salmon of 56 cms which fought like the proverbial. Jumped clean from the water twice and took off on some reel testing runs. Bbzzzzzzz! Sat back to watch Ken fight the same fight only to have the beasty give him the finger and break for freedom Yakside 


The wind was up and the sea was kinda choppy so headed off the water after a 2 hour bash. Good to catch up with a whole bunch of AKFFers and to meet YaknDive (Paul) who had a charmed first day out with a single lure. Great result Paul!

I absolutely defy anyone who says that Aussie Salmon isn't a magnificent feed if prepared in the right way. Garlic, a little hot english mustard, soy, salt and pepper, lemon juice, fresh ginger, eggs, diced carrot and celery and a handful of breadcrumbs..oh and 2 big fillets of salmon made for delicious fish cakes 

Look forward to next time.

John


----------



## 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.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWX+CfpsAACvXgAASYOckoBSgP+//sDAA9sthojSYkxtU9E9QDTQwmg1Ce0mUnqeoBoA0Gh6ganqaGlPamiaBiAyAEQA4EgI5HGXAZRpTl0QvOzH2xJ6t3ZILJfVp1PE0gqdTJt2c9JgWK6oa90VD9+BYguU7Q2fmo+S9ETj0DDpIsXVVNpXghOJlgwHBTMU/Pbsg+zk98MottuDPclQIBQLZoZaH5MoFG7IV5o4CZ2qvaGwN6YoUGvUyFaXhoCQTZdkj1eq5Gwgi33BI0FURdJ2vddFd4+sNUbwKqmFz0nAA3GgtJMVw05n0G9Rn/a3CJCr/xdyRThQkH+CfpsA=


----------



## Duckman (Jan 8, 2007)

Great report guys. I think i might have to try and gate crash the next one!!


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

yeah, that part of the harbour certainly seems to be 'turning it on' at the moment.

last thursday after returning from the FAD, we pulled into BAlmoral and there were schools of fish busting up everywhere. Myself gatesy, kraley and JT threw every type of lure we had at them (even cutting our smallest soft plastics in half to try and match the baitfish that the mackeral were chasing) but could I not get a take. thats exciting (but really frustrating) fishing!

some good fish caught there guys-----well done!


----------



## kantong (Nov 5, 2006)

great report!!!! what an army


----------



## Pommy Matt (Dec 11, 2006)

Davey G said:


> Myself gatesy, kraley and JT threw every type of lure we had at them (even cutting our smallest soft plastics in half to try and match the baitfish that the mackeral were chasing) but could I not get a take. thats exciting (but really frustrating) fishing!


sounds like salmon on tiny stuff to me - myself and a mate fishing from a boat came across a few schools out from manly and towards balmoral a couple of weeks ago - you need to take up fly-fishing! - it is far and away the most productive method when the fish are in this mood. We were casting 3cm surf candies at them and even they were only getting hit once every 5 chucks - we changed down to tiny fuzzle flies (about 1.5cm long) and got hit every time (see http://www.flylife.com.au/library/articles/40/40.html). It is surprising how big a fish will eat a tiny fly. I have known conventional anglers get success in these situations by fishing a small fly as a dropper a foot or more behind a lure (there for casting weight).
matt


----------



## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

redphoenix said:


> Absolutely spectacular guys.
> 
> These are the sorts of days that make us endure those early morning, groggy, rain-soaked, choppy, queezy, no-fish days time and time again.
> 
> ...


As opposed to rainy, grog soaked days....they DO make you queazy :wink: :lol:


----------



## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

awesome report guys, can only imagine what it must be like to go out with such a big group of YakFisho's, it musta been a bloody hoot. Geez that salmon looks a rippa fish.


----------



## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

Ok forget about a repeat of yesterday this afternoon. With all this rain I think I should be able to launch the Yak in my front yard.


----------



## bombora (Mar 8, 2006)

Awesome report guys. AS Pommie Matt said if the sambos are on tiny bait _ eyes etc _ and you are not a rope thrower (fly fisher :lol: ) try a tiny fly (tackle shops in Sydney sell em, ask for eyes flies) about two/three feet behind a popper. Lose the back hook from the popper _ losing the front hook is good too, less tangles _ and tie leader from there to fly. You'll have long casting distance, the popper attracts fish interest, and then they see the fly. Medium slow retrieves with lots of pauses best as these tiny baitfish are not the world's fastest swimmers. Cheers


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

First report I've done was in the wrong spot I think....here it is http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5933

Pics wont load so will try tomorrow.....site really slow at the moment?


----------



## Holy Mackerel (Jun 4, 2006)

kraley said:


> Lotsa fish busting up everywhere, lots of yakkers getting after them, and lots of frustrated stinkboaters watching in awe.


A nice side benefit to kayak fishing! Thanks for the report, sounds like a great day of fishin... A kayak Salmon is still on my list!

Chris 8)


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Chris,

Our lot down here;
Species and range

The ranges of the four species may overlap to some extent, but can be described thus:

* Australian herring, Australian ruff or tommy ruff, Arripis georgianus: Gippsland Lakes, Victoria to Shark Bay, Western Australia; endemic
* Eastern Australian salmon, Arripis trutta: From western Victoria to New Zealand, including the islands of Tasmania, Lord Howe, and Norfolk (rarely to Western Australia).
* Western Australian salmon, Arripis truttacea: Western Australia to Victoria and Tasmania
* Northern kahawai, Arripis xylabion: New Zealand, west to Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands

It should be noted that some systematists consider A. trutta and A. truttacea as subspecies of the same species.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_salmon for more details.

They don't taste as good as your salmon no matter what we call them.


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Some pics from Sunday morning at Balmoral. Sorry guys - still can't seem to get any pics uploaded?


----------



## JT (May 25, 2006)

tugboat said:


> Mike's treble in the hand looked very painful... had me thinking I should carry some pliers / very small bolt cutter just for this purpose.


I feel a little embarrased that no one has asked the obvious question amid all the fishy excitment  :roll: ...how is Mike's hand doing? Mike are you out there? If so tell us how the hospital went, how they got it out and how it happened?

JT


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Ditto. It looked nasty. Wish we could have helped more on the spot. Hope your hand is recovering well.


----------



## Russ (Feb 24, 2006)

Bloody hell what a report you blokes are without doubt the akff ambassadors of the month. Ha  woulda loved to have seen the heads on them stinky boat boys.

8) Go the akff

 fishing Russ


----------



## onemorecast (Apr 17, 2006)

JT said:


> tugboat said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'll answer for him as he's not too computer literate yet (he's only 55!) and doesn't know much about the internet. :roll:

Anyway he rang me Sunday evening and left a message saying that he got to Manly hospital before all the sports injuries came in and they gave him a local, cut the hook out and had him patched up him and out the door in an hour. He did mention to say thanks for the help and that he'll probably not forget his first time out fishing from the yak.


----------



## DiveYak (Feb 5, 2007)

Eric,
Glad to hear all is well.............it looked nasty.


----------



## wrasseman (Jul 28, 2006)

you're making me homesick...
Great stuff guys, would have loved to be out there. Sounds like it ws going off.
Col.


----------

