Hobie Fishing

After purchasing my 2012 Hobie Adventure Island I was keener than ever to take it out for a spin. Having a sail, mirage drive system, rudder and outriggers, this yak is by far a more advanced set up than my common paddle kayak.

The assembling of this yak took place where I unloaded it off the car, then used the wheelcart to transport it to the beach. On my first launch I waded out into the surf, jumped in and paddled out past the breaking waves. I then locked in the mirage drive, which on my first attempt was locked in backwards! After fixing up my pedals, I un-furled the sail, then cruised along the beach at a considerable speed. I practiced a few tacks, gybes and furling/unfurling the sail. The akas can be used to fold the amas beside the yak, which is vital when landing sizable fish.

My first launch

Being confident with the manoeuvrability of the yak I then let out my trolling lure and had a few quick runs of the beach. My trolling outfit was a 15kg Okuma Salina II Jig  rod  paired with an Okuma Salina II 5000 reel, spooled with 35Lb Sufix Tru-Braid.  With the possibility of a few mackerel hanging around, my lure of choice was the Rapala Countdown Magnum 11 in the 2012 released chrome colour. This lure can be trolled at a variety of speeds, having a wounded kicking action at slow pace, though has a tight wobble at high speeds without kicking out. This makes it a very versatile lure being used for a variety of species.

The 2012 released Chrome colour to the Rapala Magnum range

Deciding to head out towards a rocky island I locked in the dagger board and began my zigzagging tacks into the wind. When I reached the island I let out my trolling lure and continued to navigate around with both sail and pedal power.

As I passed a rocky point, the Salina II began to sing the mackerel song with a short burst run. My technique was to continue to steer away from the island, to first clear the rocks, and furl the sail. I then began to fight the fish. A small spotty mackerel was the result of the first pass of the point and my first fish from the new yak.

Travelling along the beach before heading out to the island

Gaffing through the mouth

I then headed back around and let out my trusty chrome Rapala and began on another troll past the point. Just like last time the rod bent in the holder as soon as I cleared the point. The Salina II however sung a different song as the fish hung deep in the water, pulling hard on the other end of the line in attempt to break me off on the rocky bottom. With the use of the mirage drive I was able to manoeuvre myself, rather than being pulled into the rocks. As the fish surfaced, having one look at me, made another screaming run for the rocks. With the high quality drag system of the reel, the fish was quickly subdued and brought alongside the yak. The ama was folded beside the main hull and a gaff through the mouth of the fish landed it with little fuss.

Measuring at 64cm this was my first Fingermark (Golden Snapper) and one hell of a catch from a Yak.

A great catch on my first AI trip

The Rapala CD Magnum 11 has once again proved to be an outstanding trolling lure. The chrome colour produces heaps of flash, being easy to see even in turbid water, making it a clear target for any saltwater predators.

The lure doing the damage

I can’t wait till the next trip in my new Hobie Adventure Island after having such a phenomenal experience on its maiden voyage.

Tight lines,

Rhett Thorne

Learning to Lure

Almost being blown away with winds around 20 knots, we headed down to fish the sand flats and rocky structure around the local estuary system. I was fishing with my mate George, with the aim to catch a few nice fish on light gear and lures, as George had never caught a fish on lure.

We started the day by throwing out the Storm twitching nipper lures, in hope of a flathead, over the sand flat section of the estuary. The retrieve technique is to let the lure sink to the bottom, then give it a few quick twitches then let it sink back down. Most flathead tend to hit lures on the drop so it pays to watch your line for any bumps as it sinks back down. Unfortunately we were unable to hook up on any flathead.

We soon progressed to casting hard body style lures at the rocky structure. The lures of choice were the Rapala original floater, Rapala Ultra Light minnow & shad as well as the Storm deep baby thunderstick. 

Georges first Fish on Lure

In no time George had hooked up on his very first lure fish, a goldspot rockcod, while using the 5cm original floater in the orange tiger colour. The lure was simply twitched around the rocky structure to entice out any hungry fish.

Lured Bream

I began casting the Ultra light shad in the pink colour, after catching a baby cod on the minnow. This lure is great for targeting the fish feeding near the bottom, as it can be cranked and or twitched over rocks, with a slow sinking action on the pause, while still remaining snag free. My 1-3kg Okuma X-Factor began to dance as head shakes began to pull from the other end of the line. The smooth drag of the Trio 20 reel allowed the fish to run downstream, using the current, but soon tired before it could dart for cover. A nice bream being quite a reward for the Ultra light shad.

My first brem on the Ultra Light Shad

We soon relocated to another patch of rocks where we both managed to pull off a few little cod. George then managed to catch a slightly larger cod after tying on the 4cm storm deep baby thunderstick. This fish managed to straighten the tail treble while darting for cover, but with George on the other end was safely landed, tagged and released.

A nice lure caught Cod

I made the decision to swap to the silver brown Rapala Ultra Light shad, as the highly reflective sides send out heaps of flash which imitates wounded baitfish like herring. While after catching another little cod, I put a cast right up into a washy section between two rocky patches and gave it a couple sharp twitches. The rod in one quick motion bent down and the line zipped through the water. The fish luckily swam past a barnacle encrusted rock which could have shredded my 8lb fluro leader. The fish used the wash and flow to pull downstream, forcing me do wade through the water to stay hooked up. A silver flash slowly surfaced and beached into a little cove.

Barra on light tackle

The brute force pulling on the other end of the line was a nice salty barra which was tagged and released after a few quick pics. My first barra for the Ultra Light Shad, not bad for a bream size hardbody.

This Barra ate the Rapala Ultra Light Shad in the silver brown colour

It wasn’t long before we had caught a couple more undersized cod, but then George managed to hook up on a hard pulling baby GT. He had told  the day before that the GT was on his bucket list, not sure if this is quite the fish in mind but still a great catch on bream gear and a new species for that spot.

George with his first ever GT

George was using my Okuma Taurino and Okuma Avenger II combo and was casting like a pro, getting the little hard bods into the structure, even though he had never lure cast in his life. I sure as hell can’t wait till we wet a line again.

The Storm Deep Baby Thunderstick

Fishing the estuaries is always excellent sport while using light Okuma gear and the little Rapala & Storm lures.

Hobie Adventure Island

Kayak fishing has very much evolved over the years with the production of innovatively designed kayaks, built specifically for the purpose. Hobie has reached the pinnacle of kayak fishing with a wide range of kayaks suited for the tournament bream scene to offshore fishing for pelagic.

Launching the Hobie AI for the first time

Being a kayak fisherman for only the last couple of years I have idolised Josh Holmes, the producer of the Yakass video series, for his expertise of offshore fishing from a kayak. More specifically fishing from the Hobie Adventure Island (AI). This kayak can be used regularly as a kayak, as a pontoon yak (having one outrigger), and as a trimaran when fully rigged. Equipped with a paddle, mirage drive pedal system and the furling sail, this is truly the ultimate fishing kayak.

The ultimate fishing kayak

After making the decision to purchase the Hobie Adventure Island I contacted Mal from Sunstate Hobie in Cooroy as he is the nearest Hobie dealer to the Capricorn Coast. My choice of the ‘Golden Papaya’ AI with the Hobie Trax 2 wheelcart and two Ram aluminium tube rod holders.

Picking up the yak from Sunstate Hobie

The guys from Sunstate Hobie rigged up the rod holders by attaching two Ram space saver mounts onto the inside rear crossbar. When fastened, the tubes will not be pulled backwards out of place, as they are braced by the crossbars. This is a great feature when you hook up on a big fish as it holds the rod firmly in place.



Mal and Lee from Sunstate Hobie displaying the installed Ram tubes.



The only thing left to do was to install the camera mount, purchased from Maclean Outdoors, and my Rapala decals. I will be releasing video footage of the Hobie Adventure Island in action very soon so keep your eye peeled.

For anyone who is interested in purchasing new or second hand Hobie kayak drop in here Sunstate Hobie here  http://www.sunstatehobie.com.au/

The guys are great and will look after you.

 

For anyone down in NSW I must recommend the Maclean Outdoors dealer where you can browse there online store here http://macleanoutdoors.net.au/