In all honesty, Fordy and I had a ball last week and his Explorer is a great little boat to zip around in. Anytime you need a deckie, Fordy, just let me know.
I was itchin' to get a kingie from the kayak after our efforts and the last few times I'd been out with Daveyg had been a bit disappointing on the fishing front. So mid-week I dragged my weary bones out of bed at 5:15am and set off from Silver Beach to the Hotwater Outlet. It was a bit windy and there was a bit of chop about and I was thinking that I should've stayed in bed. In anticipation I'd set the camera up for filming but the waves and wind were throwing up too much water, so I packed it away for safe keeping.
With a 6" Mojo Twitchin Minnow rigged on a 1/4oz jig head tied to 10lb fluoro and 10lb braid, I proceeded to cast into the middle of the churning water, where I'd let it sink for 10 seconds and then jig it back with two sharp lifts of the rod tip, then pause and wind in the slack, then repeat. I circled around working the area thoroughly. I'd been casting for about 10 minutes when I almost had the lure back to the yak. Only 4 meters away from me there was a big boil on the surface, the rod bent over, I struck and ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, we're on!
These kingfish have amazing power and when you're in a kayak
they'll easily tow you around. First he headed west, then did an about face and decided going east would be better. I'd gain a few meters and then he'd race off and take them back. The nearest structure was about 100 meters away so I wasn't too concerned with him busting me off but some of the runs made me raise my eyebrows a few times that's for sure.We circled each other for the next few minutes and slowly he started to come up. First colour and I thought 'Ooh, I hope he's bigger than Fordy's?' When I thought he was beaten, I attempted a tail grab. No way, Jose! He darted a few meters down and circled beneath me. The next time I had him next to the kayak I played safe and slid the net under him.
YES! My first Yellowtail Kingfish from the kayak. Onto the
lie-detector he goes and
'Aaaarrrggghhhhh", it's just under Fordy'sby 3cm's. But I'm still stoked to get him and 69cm's total length is good enough for me. A few guys fishing for bream and trevally in a boat named 'Spanardo' kindly took a photo for me for posterity. Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I hope the rest of your day turned out as good as mine!
I had a few more casts but apart from one bump from something, nothing else joined me in the yak. Back on shore a few early morning beach-walkers were amazed that I'd been out fishing in 'that tiny thing' but their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when I lifted the kingie out. 'What??? You can get fish like that in Botany Bay?' they asked. 'Oh, this is just the live-bait,' I said. : ) Only joking.
So for those keen enough, there are still a few kingies about and although the numbers may be down, the ones still here are pretty good sizes. Next time I may just have to flick about a few of Mick Munns larger EastCoast poppers. Having one of those smashed off the surface would be un-freakin'-believable! Happy yakkin', everyone.
cheers,
Cid
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