# SA: 11/2-26/2 KI e'rry day



## Squidley (May 8, 2010)

Having not had a full on holiday for a while I decided to spend two weeks kayak fishing and maybe snorkelling in Kangaroo Island, from the 11th to the 26th. I was a bit freaked out that a neck injury somehow sustained while mildly boogie boarding was going to ruin it but luckily I ended up with a good physio and I was fixed just in time!









_Also just fixed in time, my fish finder install, now using a bung hole and foam plug instead of a cut and resoldered transducer cable_

When I got across, I headed off to check out D'Estrees Bay, Island Beach and King George Beach (thanks kikid and kanganoe for the suggestions). It was a real bumpy, windy ride from Cape Jervis that day, and I was thinking I might have to stick with a river if I went out, but every spot I scoped, even D'Estrees bay on the south coast, was flat as a tack somehow! Not being able to check in til 7pm, I decided to have a quick explore and troll around King George Beach.









_travelling light_

What a pretty spot; it's like if Second Valley wasn't built up and had cooler cliffs, rockpools and reefs. I was trolling qantas colored HB minnows, and quickly found out how much the wrasse loved them. This was news to me but was just one of many new things I'd see on this trip.









_Wrasse just can't get enough of these minnows_

On my way back I picked up a snook on the minnow; excellent, I went out at an arbitrary time for an hour just trolling hard bodied lures and I have dinner. As I was missing a cooler bag or esky on the kayak at the time, I strung the fish in the water to keep it cool-ish, then I flipped it back into the kayak when I passed a seal on the way home 

The next afternoon I headed back out to King George beach geared up to stay out past sundown. I collected a number of wrasse on the way with the HB again, and came to a sandy spot among the reefs, which I decided to drift across flicking around a paddle-tailed soft plastic. Very first cast, drop, lift, there's weight!









_And after a fun fight, a 35cm silver trevally_

I was pretty damn pleased that the very first SP I cast in KI produced a keeper, but I think a recently departed boat's berley trail might've been a factor, as I didn't get anything more on the lure at that time. I anchored and berleyed up myself at a reefy bit not far from another sandy patch. Among all the wrasse and leatherjacket was a 40 cm silver trevally, which did a great job yanking my rod tip into the water. With twilight setting in I headed back to the beach, pretty happy about my best ever trev.









_I spiked and bled the bigger trev on capture, I found it tasted a lot better than the smaller fish as a result_

On the 11 pm drive back to the hostel (I picked a place in Parndana figuring it was central) I was thankful I'd decided ahead of time to stick to 80 on the asphalt and 60 on the dirt. Tense driving here at night without a roo bar.

The next day I headed to King George again to do some snorkelling for a change, which was very pleasant. There was this one pretty black and white striped fish with frilly fins and a tubular snout. It got too close to my shark shield and all its fins stood straight out like a cooshball . Seemed OK though.






Why why why didn't I buy a gopro. At 4:30 you can hear the drag speed up as the shark does a run up and then a splash and the boaties' reaction to what they at least saw . Sorry to anyone that just stared at my shorts for five minutes waiting for a shark to jump.

So having caught a perfectly adequate meal and seeing a shark jump twice, I head back, shaking my head and chuckling.









_The yacht again on my way back, lovely night_

So the next day I did a little sight seeing before boarding the ferry back to Cape Jervis and the ride home, completely satisfied with my fishing trip that ended up being a safari


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

Excellent stuff! A great trip and a top report, I'm envious of your time at such a venue.


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## skorgard (Oct 6, 2007)

Great report of an excellent trip. You are right there is always somewhere fishable on KI. You should send the report to the KI tourism people. I bet that you are planning a return trip.

I will have to persist with the deep divers for snapper, maybe get me some of there fancy ones kikid is getting in.

Regarding the Coopers, I note that you have no chain. The instructions are that with no chain you need 10:1 length so for 5 m depth you need 50 m of line out. I have added 80 cm of double chain - I know that you lose the weight advantage but with that about 3:1 will work. The AI catches the wind more even with the sail furled so I need a good grip.

I should have warned you about the current - if you want to go for a tour (no fishing allowed) in Pelican Lagoon, make sure that you go in with the tide and out with the tide. It would be hard to paddle against it.


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Well done Squidley - the old qantas lure and 4" nuc chuck came up trumps  - and a couple of sharks :shock: - well you trumped me there ;-) . Consider this viewtopic.php?f=51&t=52855


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## mudpat (Feb 21, 2011)

Great report, congrats on breaking the snapper cherry.
Can sympathise with you and the 5 min crotch video, had a similar issue last week with a shark, needed two hands just to maintain control of the yak, must get a go-pro.


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## kikid (Dec 8, 2008)

I'm pleased you had a good trip and caught more than a few snapper - it's a good feeling to land the first one but I must warn you that the whole process is highly addictive. The weather is atrocious here at the moment but i can't wait to have another go! I even cast my new magic swimmer off the rocks just to watch the action. I can't see how it wont suck in the snapper bigtime. March/April is great on the north coast for snapper and the wind tends to moderate so here's hoping.


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## Squidley (May 8, 2010)

Thanks everyone. Skorgard, Nick is also chainless so I'll mention that to him, thanks. Even though I don't slip in my small boat as it is, I'd benefit from having less line out because anchoring in just the right spot is a crapshoot at the moment.

Andrew I didn't exactly get that shark on scales and a brag mat but I may as well enter  Maybe those guys you can hear go "whoah!" will find this thread though. I know everywhere I went on the trip I was hearing from locals about the guy who got the bluefin off a yak...

Kikid you're making me contemplate a return visit earlier than I might've. Maybe there's a metro shark that'll help me save on the ferry trip.


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## Zilch (Oct 10, 2011)

Well done and a brilliant report Squidley !

Congratulations on your snapper  , some how I get the feeling you may be planning your next trip back to KI sooner than you though ;-)

Steve


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## suehobieadventure (Feb 17, 2009)

Great trip report, gotta love KI. I was over for a week with my new sea kayak, hence no fishing. Awesome holiday again.


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## kanganoe (Apr 30, 2008)

Great report .Looks like you did not need any local assistance.well done.


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## Big D (Apr 28, 2007)

AWSOME report. Makes me want to go back. Maybe we should!


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## OldDood (Nov 6, 2008)

Hi Squidley,
That was an extensive fish report!
You could turn that in to a series and sell it to a publisher.
Congratulations on the fish especially the pinkies. You will never stop hunting them now. :lol:

Two suggestions on the anchor set up- 
#1 As long as you use about 2 metres of bungy between the anchor float and your kayak your anchor should hold.
It is the shock of the wave action on a tight rope that makes your anchor drag I have found. The bungy acts as a shock absorber and stops your anchor dragging. I have found that I can normally anchor in quite soft sand. I dont use a chain on my 1.5KG folding anchor.
#2 I do not use cable ties on my anchor. They are too hard to break sometimes and are of variable strength. I use one strand of 20lb fishing line. That way I know what tension it will break at and do not have to risk roll overs trying to break it. ;-)

Solatree should be able to confirm this method and neither of us has had anchor problems for ages.

Regards,
Mark


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Squidley an enjoyable report to read mate and some nice fish to match


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## vikodin (Apr 3, 2011)

That was an awesome report to read on a miserable wet windy day here in Vic.
Some great fish caught 2 congrats.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Great!
Thanks for posting, looks like a very nice holiday.


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## Drewboy (Mar 18, 2008)

Just plain stunning.
Congratulations on a great bunch of fish caught.... Particularly the snapper.
Look forward to one day sharing some time on the briny.


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