varp

Hah!.....and I thought I'd seen it all!!! I did not know that Newt. Just goes to show there is nothing new. Scratch hard enough and you will find a well trodden path. I do dips me lid to the Yanks though. They are an extraordinarily inventive and passionate lot about their fishing, but then I equally dips me lid to GB. The Poms have given a depth and meaning to the sport that I have always appreciated. It keeps me warm when I see how angling has been hijacked by the manufacturers and all it's attendant bum fluffery.

Damn right and the joy in angling is how you put the game together. A mate was just relating how people were fishing side by side in Sydney Harbour for chopper tailor (common pelagic table fish) and not much was happening. This guy turns up with an ancient rusted outfit and a huge bubble float with a lure and three ounces of lead suspended under it. To everyones amusement he plonks it way out then starts furiously cranking it back in. Smug smiles were soon gone - every cast a fish! The big bubble float was having a teaser, popper effect prompting otherwise shutdown fish to curiousity then a competitive/opportunistic strike. The guy cleaned up! Granted it was done with a complete lack of grace, but there is a lesson there. Part of the beauty of the sport is in the hybridising. Coming up with new, better ways to get scales on the deck may make you look like a tosser a lot of the time, but when it all comes together - you become a friggin legend! I'm still sorting out how I'm going to put this technique I've got in mind together, but the idea is to use SP's combined with American steelhead 'pinning' tactics and gear.This could leave me with egg running down the face, through the beard and bling bling and into my magnificent hairy chest, but at least I will have fun trying.

Fascinating topic and I thought I'd throw in my two bobs worth. Here in Oz soft plastics have really taken off. Last five years has seen every man and his dog off chasing every known fish that inhabits these mostly humid waters with gobs of smelly plastic. Done wonders for the tackle trade. Generally speaking, for fish in the 1 to 3 kg range, rods are not much longer than 7'6". The mainstay of the industry is bream fishing (average half kilo) and I would say 95% of anglers choose a rod around 6'6". I am different. I prefer the long wands and use rods around 8/9 ft, not too limber....sorry....soft....and they work a treat. No probs at all with setting the hook. What I am really interested in and no one seems to have mentioned it, is the use of centrepins. In my quest for elegance and simplicity I am thinking of trying out centrepins on the long rods with the SP's. Anyone tried it?

....now now.....lets not start getting parochial. It'll only wind up in tears before bed. We're all big grown-ups here and you should have left all your petty insular insecurities far behind along with your bruised egos over being so totally crap at sport. Sort of went with the empire didn't it? ....ah well.....so it goes. Kurt Vonnegut said that a lot - "So it goes". Died last week. He also said "We are put on this planet to fart around and don't let anyone tell you any different." I like that too. Take note all you cats bum safety nazi's. Martin - I'm so sorry we had to end like this. We shall probably never choose curtains together now, but ask yourself why should I bother talking with someone like your good self? I said this - To which you said this - I mean - WTF !!!!......... I'm really at a loss to know what is going to knock me senseless out of the yak? I did note that the first recorded death by a falling meteorite occured on the Mongolian Steppes a few months ago. Perhaps you had this in mind? Your thinking 'yak', then Mongolia, then the two came together in what passes for grey matter with a 'WHUMP!' Or maybe you pictured all-terrain-hugging supersonic mullet? They can be tricky now can't they Martin? Seriously - to give you the benefit of the doubt - you might be referring to a collision. Trouble is - if a stinkboat decides to have it in for you in four feet of water on a bright sunny day then a type 2 PFD is not going save your bloody mangled arse. They really want you dead, but I digress. I know how hard it must be for some peeps to accept their near total inadequacy to think and then accept consequences for their own actions and chronic stupidity is, sadly, natures way. Put the facts out there I say. Proclaim it loudly and often. Legislate to protect the weak and enfeebled. Fine the transgressors. Then consider the conditions that present themselves and could possibly present later, then make up your mind. Dunno why I just bothered with all this. You really just wanted some kind of pissy **** contest. I was trying to resist, but you insisted. ....so it goes I suppose....

onya Martin!!! AnglersNet top comments man!!! I was going to go over a few points I made earlier, but then I looked at your avatar. I love your avatar BTW. Looks to be a character that I vaguely remember playing a role as the idiot son of the squattocracy. Nice choice!

Good one Simon! That was a cracker and I'm afraid your numbers will swell by one soon. My eldest is on her way to London next month. Should prove a boon to the UK distilleries..... I hate anchoring in deep rips - too damn spooky. We get some enormous clumps of kelp here and when they wrap around the anchor line and start riding it up and pulling the stern under...... Should point out to anyone that has got the mistaken impression that I'm qualified in any way to offer sage advice. Fished out of a canoe for yonks in our lakes, bays and inlets with the occaisional trip out wide, but I'm new to kayak fishing. I have, however, been scouring the World Wide Wait for as much info as seems applicable to the sport, bought a few books and so I'm just passing on what I've gleaned and some of the possibly twisted, ill conceived conclusions that I will be running with. Simon - I've pretty much got the Dorado all kitted out. Waiting on an in-dash digital depth finder and my new wet suit, but I'll post some pics of her when I'm up to speed. Be keen to hear your opinion. I kept her simple, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well I contradict myself for I am vast and contain multitudes." - Walt Whitman As I said before you make your own call on the level of safety you are comfortable with. Better to be aware of the big issues before you make those decisions.

Here's a link to a good, concise how-to - http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/articles_...yak_Articles=20 Wish I had of read it on my first attempt....I can laugh now..... shock and awe at the time!

Sorry Chas, but you're wrong there. Thanks for the opportunity to feel smug and patronising! Can't say I'm speaking from personal experience though because I'm not. I'm just passing on everything I've ever read on the topic by switched on types with a wealth experience in the surf zone and there are a lot of them out there from Mozambique to Hawaii. The UNIVERSAL consensus is don't. Guy on the Oz forum recently dislocated his shoulder by getting tangled between yak and leash. Very graphic description of violent forces and wrenching pain and six weeks off work.

Mainly compliance....don't want the safety nazis raining blows about my head and shoulders. I also fish a lot of water where if I fall out, I stand up and get back in. Sometimes if it looks like cutting up ugly I'll put it on. Did it once. More a psychological backup I suppose for off-shore forays.

You never keep the paddle leash attached to the yak during surf entry/re-entry. You attach it to your wrist. If you aren't using the yak as your PFD then you'd only use the yak leash when you thought it appropiate. I don't use a PFD, but keep one on board.

I've read various threads on heaps of yak forums about this subject and I have just made up a leash. Staying connected to the primary flotation device is the guiding principle here. I have vivid memories of going overboard on a tiny sailboat and swimming like f### to just get a fingertip on the rudder. I do not want to repeat that experience. Ever. If tangles are going to be a prob when you go arse up in the drink then you should have a knife handy - ie attached to your good self. I don't think this will happen very often. You were unlucky Troller. To make mine I got a piece of PVC conduit 100mm long and about 32mm internal diameter. Drilled a hole about 10mm in from one end and passed a 5 metre length of venetian blind cord through the hole and attached a carabiner to both ends of the line. The line is then wound around your hand to make a loose loopy bunch and slid into the PVC. Basically the PVC just holds the line together neatly so it can unravel. This also also fits into one of my flush mount rod holders. Clip one carabiner to a loop on the back of your PFD/vest the other to a convenient deck loop. I use the one that's next to the rod holder. Everyone makes their own decisions on the level of safety they are comfortable with. I have a fear of getting flipped in high winds and by the time I'm over that shock the biggest one will be seeing the yak blowing just out of reach, then over the horizon.

...and it goes so well with the decor! Be keen to hear your thoughts on it Commando.

You couldn't get any more cryptic Simon now could you? No wait....ignore that...you probably could and that would be just too intense. Sorry Scotsgun. I assumed you would know who Chopper Read is. Getting nearly as cryptic as that strange Simon fella. I was speaking to a few people from GB the other day and they left me with the impression that Mark Brandon 'Chopper' Read was a household name over there. I was a bit surprised at that, but there you go. Notoriety has a way of getting around. He is a very funny media savvy crook that writes and performs about his life as a crim. There was a film made about him 5/6 years ago and it is really, really good. Black comedy starring Eric Bana called - strangely enuff - 'Chopper '. A slice of life from where I grew up in Melbourne that captures the spirit and tone of the times perfectly. Anyway, I thought that you bore a striking physical resemblance to him. No offence meant, but if you go to this link you'll see what I mean. http://www.chopperread.com/

Chopper! Chopper Read!!! it is you innit?.........maaaate.....wot you doing in the Ol Dart??

.........and whats wrong with that.....hmmmm??????

gotta amend my last statement cos the C-TUG and I are getting used to each other. The strap on it is not a bit crap after all. It works just fine. Still can't find out what the improvements are to it. No update on their site. I've also figured out a way to keep the trolley part of the cart minus the wheels on the Dorado and use it as a secure anchor point on the back of the ute. That way I can roll the beast up and on/off with ease.

get your hand off it seapoo! back to the council titles office for you mate.

yeah but no but .....the way I see it is when you knock off work as the assistant council title search clerk and heave your big fat arse and a ton of gear bristling from a red milk crate into a short lurid purple plastic barge and you make your ungainly way through some short sharp chop and then a racing snake in a long lean pewter carbon/kevlar craft that resembles a luminiscent sailfish effortlessy slides past you leaving no wake.....what are ya going to think? I come from a country blessed by having notionally no class distinctions, but I do know a silk purse from a sows ear and if there is a ladder of kayaking consciousness the average yak fisho is probably a shade higher than a blind mole rat, but the very best thing about that is - HE DOESN"T CARE!!!! gawd bless em all......

I WAS WRONG!!! I tried my new strap technique today when I wanted to bounce the Dorado down a track. Worked fine in the backyard, but because you reverse the load on the closure part of the buckle it doesn't handle the tension and comes undone!!! You take that pat back Seadoo and replace it with a kick! This does make me conclude that the strap arrangement on the C-TUG is a bit crap. In all other respects she's orright.

I forgot to mention that if you put the strap on according to their instructions, then you do lose a bit of purchase and it is a bit awkward cos you are trying to pull on the strap which is underneath which is no bloody good. If you still got the original instructions then put it on according to their plans, BUT when it comes to the 'Strapping A Boat To Your C-TUG' bit - reverse strap 1 so it comes up under the buckle. Hard to explain, but when you look at it it will explain itself. You want to get the strap to get tighter when you close the latch on the buckle. It also means you are pulling tight with the purchase part of the strap on the top. It is much easier all round. I deserve a pat.

I just bought the older model and I would like to know what the difference is. Great little unit .The strap on mine works just fine.

Hiya Grant! Gawd almighty they'll let anyone in here. You can carry the the Dorado if you are very good and do as you are told, but if you think I'll let just anyone give her a ride....think again my friend.....we are talking about the holy grail of yaks here. Simon - Finally got through to Kaskazi and spoke to Tracy and Arthur and came away feeling much relieved. They have been fantastic and can help me out with some repairs. Turns out Scott Bader has virtually no presence here in Oz that I've been able to find so the new owners - gawd bless em - will send some gelcoat over with their next shipment of yaks to Oz. Been fiddling around with the drains to the crate and the crate itself...having a ball. I'll post pics and comments here when I'm done in a coupla weeks. Cheers Ross

Hiya Captain. The interview with that guy was hilarious. Forty two years old I think, but he'd pass for sixty. You'd look in his eyes and you could see the mechanism had gone completely. Bought the C Tug and it is it-and-a-bit-and-a-bucket-of-chips. Best thing is the frame and supports go in the stern hatch and the wheels go into the fish hatch (just). Nice load distribution. Gave her a trial run around the paddock and she didn't budge a bit. I'm making a simple hold-down for the wheels in the hatch that I'm chuffed about too. Post pics if anyones interested. Very happy chappy, so thanks for the tips.

Thanks for that Simon. The cracking looks to be largely superficial, but there is one very nasty one that I won't know about till I expose it. I was hoping to do it myself. Not tackled gelcoat repair before, but I'll take it easy. Can't let that go through to the keeper. This is a true story from Scott who is now the administrator of the Oz yak forum. couldn't find his original post so this is as I remember it - He lives on Bruny Island off the east coast of Tasmania. Very switched on fisho that has worked on game boats, caught most everything and really knows his piscatorial onions. He has heard the local pro abalone fisherman talk of a BIG Great White that has moved in. Seal heads washing up on the beach is not an uncommon occurance there, you get used to it. Later that week Scott is 500m off shore watching seals gamboling around his yak when they suddenly vanish. Not good. Between his yak and the shore a big blunt fin is lazily arcing through smooth seas. No wind, grey and overcast. With his time on the game boats he knows what that particular fin profile means. He doesn't panic, just watches it cruise in an uncomfortable holding pattern between him and the shore. He decides that the best form of defence is attack! So he does. He starts paddling straight for it. It gives way and glides off and down out of sight. He makes the shore and he says that for a couple of days after he was in a state of euphoria. No friggin wonder! When you think about it he was right though. These beasts do observe a hierarchy and if something decides to assert itself then despite the fact that that thing is no match for it, it is often best to just move on and get out of it's way. Massive cahunas I reckon. To make that first conscious dip of the paddle towards a beast of such epic proportions just leaves me gobsmacked. Then you've got that 500 metre distance to cover! brrrrrr....... Mind you he has invested in one of those shark shields since.