# 2009 SA AKFF & Strikehook Bream Comp



## fishnfreak (Jun 22, 2007)

Hey guys,

Thank you to all who showed up to the event, and although the fish did not play at all, I beleive everyone had a good time, and enjoyed meeting some new faces and catching up with the old ones. 

Not much of a report, as I'll let others tell their own stories.

For one, it would have to be the worst bream competition ever held, with one bream caught (forgot who by exactly :? ) A few salmon trout were caught plus the one lonely mullet.

Because of the poor turn out by the fish, we were forced to change the way the prizes were given out.

First prize went to Darren (Fishnuts) for the largest salmon trout, at a staggering 26.5cm :shock: For that he received a Plano 4400 tackle vest, which was donated by Kym Sykes of Salisbury Tackleworld.

Second prize went to Mike (MikeG) for his outstanding catch of 5 salmon trout, up to a size of 24cm. He may well have taken out the largest, but he fed 3 fish to some hungry dolphins on the way back, unaware that we were to change the rules. For his trouble, he took home a copy of Yak Fishing Adventures, donated by Fishnfreak (me ;-) )

Third prize ended up being a "tough luck" prize. DrJosh took home this one. He had a bit of trouble launching this morning and ended up half in the water, although not a full capsize, he was the closest of the day ;-) To make matters worse, he then snapped a rod, a Starlo Stix spin rod. We thought he was truely deserving of the tough luck award, which happened to be a $100 voucher for Salisbury tackleworld, donated by Ranger and Kym Sykes.

Fourth prize went to Solatree for his solitary mullet. The area was inundated with these fish, yet he was the only person to boat one. So he took home a suction cup stubbie holder. this was also donated by Kym Sykes of tackleworld.

All in all a good day, plenty of stories told, and new faces put to usernames. Hopefully this is the start of many more social get-togethers and mini competitions for we blokes in South Australia.

Big thanks must go out to Ranger, who, without his help, would have resulted in a much more disorganized mess of an event. Also a big thanks to the guys who acted as guides for the day, I believe it was Buff, Water_baby, and Fishnuts. Finally a huge thanks must be sent out to Kym Sykes from Salisbury Tackleworld for his support with sponsorship for the day.

To finish it off, I'll leave you with some pictures of the day. Fishnfreak :twisted:


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## Del (Jun 23, 2009)

copy/paste

well... i came for a fish.. and left with a Quest... 

didint get to blood it.. but had a enjoyable day exploring the creeks and mangroves. Paddled solidly for over 4 hours.. and had a great time of it .

thanks to all involved in putting this on!

and good to meet a few people 

MASSIVE thanks to all those who organised it and also to Salisbury Tackle world for sponsoring the prizes!!

huge thanks to RANGER for making my day 

cant wait to head out with ya fishing in our yaks 

and cheers Wedgtail for taking my newly aquired yak home for me 
Craig


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## Buff (Dec 31, 2005)

A freezing morning but with a Fantastic turnout it was a great day
No real big fish tails as small Salmon were the fish of the day.

A few Photos of the day

A cold morning start


















A hint of a sunrise


















Finally Sun Light









A couple of snags that looked the goods but wouldn't produce.


















Heading back to the ramp









After the prizes and a few stalwarts still lingering.









Front row at the car park









Looking the other way, 









The second row









Fishnuts PA which he only just took delivery of the night before









Its Rude Bits (or Does My Bum Look Big In This)









Great to meet so many new faces and put some names to Old ones ;-) 
Definitely a great Day


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

A beautiful day - a great crowd and really good fun.

It was an early start - and when I got there, discovered I left my sounder at home. S**t ! Oh well - Being one of the last to launch, I headed off to a small creek.










Came across feeding mullet and scored my first SP and Yak caught mullet.










And then bumped into Del on his Quest, along with DrJosh guided by Waterbaby on the swing !










Caught another 3 mullet in the creek before heading out and around to the first of the North Arm wrecks where I knew there were some good drop offs. Current here was really strong and with no interest shown (and no sounder) I decided to head back to Barker Inlet.

Paddled along the mangroves to the Pylon embankment where a found a school of STs.










Scored 4, largest to 27cm (24.5 to the fork).










Was joined by MikeG before I headed back to catch up with my friend Vic who said he would be at the launch site at 11.30. He was keen to check all the different kayaks that would coming back at around that time.

A really big thank you to Fishnfreak and Ranger for organising the morning, get together and BBQ. Great meet some people and put faces to avatars !
Also a big thank you to Salisbury Dive and Tackle World for generous sponsorship.


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Not bream - but here's a few other things along with some acknowledgement for the comp sponsor, Salisbury Dive and Tackleworld.

SP caught mullet - 2 on 1/2 6" gulp camo worms and 2 on 2" gulp sandworm nerels (what the f**k is a nerel ? )









Juvenile aussie salmon - salmon trout or STs in SA - all 4 on 3" Gulp minnows in nuc chook.


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

If fishermen are keen, then kayak fishermen are just plain fanatical!

To say I'm impressed is an understatement, and I'm glad to say that I was a part of this event!

Cold and frosty predawn conditions saw a plethora of kayak bearing vehicles descend on Garden Island, and the dim light saw preperations begin as a huge turnout of over 30 kayaks were prepared and launched, a site possibly never before seen in our estuary, as the local SA kayaking crew completely took over Garden Island!

A quick run down to familiarise travellers with the local area, and a few organisational aspects of the day took a little time at the ramp whilst awaiting sunup, when the troops headed off to brave the wintery conditions!

Fishing is always tough at this time of year, and the cold weather saw the Bream go deep and shut down, although Salmon Trout and Mullet were picked up by a few anglers, and I did chat with one angler who got smoked by a decent Mulloway . ( I think he's keeping that quiet with a view of returning for another go at it, but I'll be watching for ya fellah!)

After 5 hours on the water a return to the ramp for a welcome barbeque saw us gather for our presentations, and a chat about future ideas, events and thoughts for kayak fishing in South Australia!

With many thanks to Salisbury Tackleworld, and with the lack of quality Bream showing for the day, it was quickly decided that the rules for the day would change! Bream Comp cancelled&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..Fishing Comp instituted!

DR_Josh had a day to remember! A cold winter dunking at the ramp whilst launching and to top it off a broken graphite rod in the mangroves! Hopefully a $100 Tackleworld voucher will go quite a way to amending these fopars and making the next launching a slightly more pleasant process!

The fisherman of the day turned out to be Fishnuts in the new Hobie Pro Angler, with the largest fish of the day, Salmon Trout at 26.5cm! A kayak fishing pack and goodies valued at over $100 courtesy of Salisbury Tackleworld seals his victory!

Runner up, Mike_G found himself with a larger bag of fish for the day, but he just couldn't better the 26.5cm length shown by Fishnuts, and the competition was for the largest fish, not the greatest bag of fish. A Kayak Fishing DVD marks his achievement!

Solatree even found a 24cm mullet was enough to secure himself a Tackleworld stubby holder to stick on the yak!

The fishing was incredibly tough out there, but we were already aware that things wouldn't be easy today. Winter fishing can be very tough around this area.

Thanks to everyone who attended on the day! Unfortunately I couldn't get out to fish with you all today, as someone had to man the fort, but I'm looking forward to the next event where I too can get out there and join you all!

It was fantastic to meet many of you today! Some very friendly guys, who are open, welcoming, keen, fired up, and ready to get on the water at the drop of a hat!

I don't know where the next event will be, or what species you'll be targeting, but if I'm not working count me in regardless!

Many thanks to Salisbury Tackleworld for their generous support of this event, and I'd urge you all to drop in to the store when you have the chance, to have a chat and meet Kym in person! He's a friendly and helpful guy, who's been involved in the local tackle industry for years now. He supports local events, local anglers, local websites, and he's willing to go the extra few yards to help out the local anglers with tips and advice, and I'm sure you'll find a bargain or two whilst familiarising yaself with the store too!

To Fishnfreak for getting the motivation to organise something for the local kayak fishermen! This day only happened thanks to you! We all owe you one, and I for one will be keen to hear your ideas for the future!

To the staff and members of both the AKFF and the Strikehook website who came together to make the day what it was! Sincerest thanks, as I believe two websites combining forces has never happened before, and possibly we are now setting a path and a precedence for all other websites to look up to! Congratulations on your foresight and willingness to attempt something new! I'm certain it's meant more members for each site, and has also forged a spirit of friendship and co-operation for the future.

To the many members who attended today! Thanks to each and every one of you! You were a fantastic friendly bunch of guys who it was a pleasure to associate with, and I'm anxiously awaiting the next event! I'm a bugger with names, so guarantee when next we meet I wont remember your username, but I will remember faces, and I'll be looking forward to speaking and fishing with you all next time!

Cheers guys, and thank you one and all!


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

Some random pics


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

A few more:


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

Just a couple more:


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

Oh, and now that Del owns the Quest








Be warned, Ranger's new toy came off a truck from Sydney last night, and now Ranger pedals hands free!








_Insert evil laugh here!_
He who dies with the most toys...........WINS!!! :woohoo:


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Great Pics Rob - thanks for initiating and to you and Ranger for organising the day.



fishnfreak said:


> plus the one lonely mullet


He actually had three mates - all 4 caught in the same creek but in three different spots.  The mullet were cruising up and down. The first I got was in quite a big pool where they were actively feeding and breaking the surface - taking insects I suspect - where was Fishnut and his fly rod ? 8)


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Wow!!! what a day S.A., looks like you lot had a ball and what a turn up, how many did you actually get there.
Some great photo's as well.
Sorry have not been watching this one, I gather this was a meeting between two Kayak Fishing Forums!! Well done for getting it organized and coming together to do what we do best, Fish and Socialize.


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

ELM said:


> Wow!!! what a day S.A., looks like you lot had a ball and what a turn up, how many did you actually get there.
> Some great photo's as well.
> Sorry have not been watching this one, I gather this was a meeting between two Kayak Fishing Forums!! Well done for getting it organized and coming together to do what we do best, Fish and Socialize.


I didn't get an exact head count, but at a quick glance I counted 23 vehicles in the carpark, some arriving with 2 kayaks, so over 30 yaks on the water.

Not two kayak fishing forums! One Kayak fishing forum (AKFF) and a local state based fishing forum (Strikehook). Many attendees are members of both websites, coz kayaks are to fishing, what ice is to beer! ;-)


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

viewtopic.php?f=77&t=29693&p=313369#p313369

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=29648

Moderators, is it possible to consider merging these three topics?


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Nice turn out fellers and appears to be well received down there, and also nice to see a pair of Swings bookending the fleet in one of the carpark shots


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## Big D (Apr 28, 2007)

solatree said:


> Great Pics Rob - thanks for initiating and to you and Ranger for organising the day.


Ditto from me. It was great to be able to put some faces to names, although there were sooo many my aging memory was in overload. Doesn't really matter though, it was great to get together with like minded people, check out a few rigs, bounce some ideas off each other for other meets, and share some quality time on the water in quite beautiful surroundings. And thanks for organising fantastic weather despite poorer predictions earlier on in the week ;-)

Fantastic pics there Rob, the new camera's a gem with a bit of help from a good operator, and a picture of just about everyone.

I still reckon our next meet should be a crossing to KI (on a good day of course) :twisted: :twisted: :lol:

Big D (Damien)


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## DRJOSH (Aug 3, 2008)

I dont know where to start!!!!!

Huge thanks to fishnfreak for getting the ball rolling, I may not have had much imput over the past year but have still seen how much effort people go to ;-) . then Ranger for taking it above and beyond

once again huge thanks to waterbaby for giving us his time and some very valuable tips and pointers and showing us through a few creeks and what not ;-) we may not have caught bream but atleast we saw some which is better then nothing :lol:

I'm still flabbergasted by what I have dubbed the "stupidity award" and am very gracious  I will be making a visit to replace my broken rod very soon.

All I can hope is some of you got some entertainment from me falling out of my yak on the launch :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## feelfree09 (May 5, 2009)

thanks to ranger and fish'n'freak for their hard work to get this day sorted. although the fish didnt turn up it was still an awesome day(damn cold at first tho :twisted: ) congrats to fishnuts with the huge st's lmao. your P.A. mojo just may have inspired me to order one this week. as for everyone else, keep up the good work. and i'll be keenly watching the trips section, coz i had a great day and look forward to many more


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## MikeG (Jun 16, 2009)

Well what can I say, thanks very much for a top day out, a massive thank you must go out to FishnFreak for getting the ball rolling and to Ranger for his help with really getting this thing off the ground and of couse for the BBQ, Kym at Tackle World Salisbury you done us proud with your donations and your commitment to a group of like minded nutters.

Hey the fish didn't turn it on for most of us, especially the Bream, but I think we've proved that we can get of our arses at silly o'clock in the morning and make a good day of things and judging by the comments of the people I met and had a chat to hopefully this will be come a regular occurance, I for one would like to see it happen.

Thanks again for a very enjoyable day out guys and nice to meet you all and put faces to user names.

Mike


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## labrat (Jul 25, 2008)

Top day out, no fish but at least gained some experience and will improve the rig for the next trip based on this. Also finally managed to catch up with a fellow ply/epoxy junky in Wedgetail.

Thanks to the organisers and Tackleworld for a great day including good weather and a feed.

This was the water condition at around 8am









Couple of punters in Swan Alley. SimonD at rear.









Rob back near the ramp


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## waldo (Aug 19, 2007)

Some days it all about the beer and bullshit fellas.

I snuck off early, while ranger rambled on through a glorious sunrise, and paddled around to the ships graveyard ( ignoring a large school of ST's on the way  )




























After cruising around solo for a bit i caught up with darren and matt and explored a couple of creeks, mostly driftin and sippin on a coldie. Also got a quick fly fishin lesson from darren ( not for lazy, tangle prone fisher people like meself ) before bumping into damo returning from the narrow end of a creek.



















Managed to upset a few BIG rays on the way back in ( almost spilled me beer twice ) then settled in on the lawn for a few sausages ( cheers ranger and rangers missus ) an ale or three, and a bit of a shit stir.

Good day all up, nice to meet a few new fishos.

Big thanks to rob and ranger for organising the whole shebang, and to darren for sharing a couple of his favourite snags. Hopefully the fish turn it on for the next one eh !


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## Drewboy (Mar 18, 2008)

Just a top-up on my previous thankyou post on the other thread...

Here's some pics that show the early morning exodus, along with the victor of the day...and the first blood on his new ride.
Well done Darren.
And as said before, thanks to Rob and a special thanks to Tony and to Tony's partner for their extra effort before and during the get-together..
Good to see you all on the day as well.
Oh and by the way... for what it is worth, I got smoked by something big on my way back to the ramp only 10 minutes from home.
My rod buckled back hard in the rod holder and when I picked it up, it seemed that a log on the bottom may have been the culprit.That was until I wound in my deep diving lure and found what suspiciously looked like the pulpy white flesh of a mulloway mouth on one of my trebles. It was only as big as a match head... but that was enough...so I'll be back.
Drew.
























The double header to clinch the title.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Looks like a chilly morning to be out there and massive props to the two blokes in shorts!!!

Any chance of putting some names etc to the photos?

Well done to all for making the effort but bad luck about the fish. It seems that lack of fish is a common denominator amongst most AKFF get togethers!


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## labrat (Jul 25, 2008)

Davey G said:


> Looks like a chilly morning to be out there and massive props to the two blokes in shorts!!!
> 
> Any chance of putting some names etc to the photos?quote]
> 
> ...


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## flea (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks to Rob & Ranger & Mrs Ranger for the organising of the Akff get together well worth the trip.  
Well i got down to Garden Island around 5ish am & Fishnuts & a few others were hovering around the new PA like maggies around a bit of mince & going on with a bit of BS. :lol: 
I launched when the gun went of & followed Nuts in his new PA, well in his wake that new yak gets through the water really well i had troble keeping up in the Revo  :?
I lost sight of a few of the yaks so i went with skorgard & Drewboy they took me on an excersion up into some mangroves what a spot real fishie looking spots but they just did not come out to play.  
Great little fishie creek.









Came out of here & found sme dolphins don't see any of these on the murray so spent a while cruising around with them.  









I had a great day catching up with a few fellow yakkers, i hope we can get something else happening soon i will come down that way anytime to be with great company.  
Cheers 
Kym.


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## Drewboy (Mar 18, 2008)

I blame the bloodworm run Kym. 
Good grab of the dolphin by the way.


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

flea said:


> I had a great day catching up with a few fellow yakkers, i hope we can get something else happening soon i will come down that way anytime to be with great company.


Great pics (your creek one is good for the photo comp) - and great to meet you Kym - and fantastic that you come down from Renmark to join in. An inspiration to us.


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## flea (Jan 24, 2008)

solatree said:


> flea said:
> 
> 
> > I had a great day catching up with a few fellow yakkers, i hope we can get something else happening soon i will come down that way anytime to be with great company.
> ...


Thanks Andrew
When there is a bit of yak fishing i try & be there.   
I felt a little left out i think i had the only Revo on the paddock lucky me. :lol: :lol: 
Cheers Kym.


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