peatop

Just like a Shepards croc i watch a guy drag a largish schoolie into his yak scarey where it first landed was ok as i think he already had kids

Some yaks and wheel designs work well to carry them, there is one that uses the beach wheels and a cross member that works a treat on the PA but it's from the USA so way to exspencive, im happy to run mine back to the car at this stage but will have to look at something when doing a yak camping trip where the wheels need to come.

I used to love the camping trips to the vic mountain streams, the tranquility was something, i wasn't much of a fisherman back then although we often caught a feed, it's certainly something i would totally enjoy doing these days but I'm not sure im capable of doing, although im heading that way as soon as i can arrange it so i will give it my best shot, i do get a lot of enjoyment from watching and reading of others posting their trips, it also help with motivation

33 minutes ago, lofty64 said:

Great stuff Adrian , such beautiful water ways , unreal and fish to catch ……..love your work , and your videos are fantastic ,...…..love it cheers 

X2, i wish i could do this type of fishing, but think i would spend more time swimming than fishing lol

Plankton, is it a case of which came first? The chicken or the egg? These reels were designed for the such a purpose, i assume these fishermen were using other brands and complaining/asking maybe is there a reel out there that will put up with it and last longer.

I agree that the drag could be better investigated, but im of the impression that it could be a trade off for being waterproof, similar to the tightness of the wind, the price of the reals is very high, some of the reason for this is they are not mass produced, they are handmade and you are also paying for something that no one else produces.

If your after a water resistant reel there are many brands but you will pay a high price (not as high as the van staal) these reels will have a nice smooth wind and drag, athough mass produced they come with sealed bearings, and gaskets in the joins, however these will not last as long and need wasing every trip and serviced at least every year if not sooner.

I can't afford high end reels so i service mine regularly wash every trip and replace as soon as they become un serviceable  (only replaced my starter reels so far) again im a kayak fisherman and my reel get wet almost every outing, another thing to consider about water resistance,  the harder it is for the salt water to get in, the harder it is to get out, so if you wish to keep that reel in top order you should service it on a very regular basis and definitely not leave it sit for long after a dunking.

A good way to get advice on which reels are suitable to your application is ask someone who fishes your style, but remember everyone has a different opinion and usually somewhat biased so the more people you talk too reduces that list, but you have to ask them "why? What makes this reel the better choice" and other questions, the Internet is not a good place to get an informative opinion nor are manufacturers or retailers, again they are biased, don't forget to ask the most important questing "what dont you like about them" this is often forgotten but could be the one deciding factor for not choosing this reel.

I know very little about fishing and gear, the changes in the 20 years away from it have been like starting from scratch however i do have 50 years experience in how to find and choose the right gear for the job, it has been said, that you dont need to buy a good outfit to catch the fish of a lifetime, but if you want that outfit to last, you get what you pay for

Oops sorry for another long rant im blaming the meds lol

Rybak i hear what your saying, and sadly it has been said often about the SA state government, we in vic had the same issues but someone made the first move in the right direction at some point, im hoping that the current proposal whatever they choose is not smoke and mirrors, i hope they use the time as they say and invest an investigate how to better manage our fisheries, in their proposal they said they would investigate the success other states and NZ are having, but this also is upto us the fishers, recreational, commercial and charter to maintain a sustainable fishery, i include myself as we/our as fish know no borders and to quote the SA report a lot of the SA snapper actually come from port phillip bay, i somewhat hope this to be true as this will help in the replenishment of the SA stocks.

I was talking to Minni earlier this year and he was telling me about a GWS that was a local to the area he fished and somewhat friendly  (if you can call a GWS friendly ) anyway he said he and a couple of guys were out fishing one day and this friendly GWS attacked one of the kayaks, Minni went on to tell me that this shark had been getting progressively aggressive, could this be because of the lack of available food? Who knows! But if the snapper disappear what other species will follow?  And so on.

Basically it's up to all of us to offer support to our fishery, catch and release, should every fishing vessel carry release weights, should we release all fish over a certain size species dependant, the maximum sized snapper i keep is 50cm but my target is 30 - 40 as over that they are not that good eating imo.

I know how you feel with a government that you are loosing confidence in, but isn't it upto us to tell them we are not happy about this mismanagement? I know it's hard to get deaf ears to listen but we need to shout louder keep your chin up as it's inevitable that they will get it right, we just hope it's sooner than later

I watched the video, then googled reviews, watched a number of review videos, they are certainly built with a purpose in mind and definitely suit that purpose there were mixed reviews on the follow-up service of the company but no complaints about warranty, the 2 main issues that were most agreed apon was the stiffness of the wind and poor drag performance  (inadequate adjustment and smoothness).

They were designed with the serious surf fisher in mind (video) however most reviewers i watched seemed to suggest that for general use (peir/boat) you would be better off spending your money on one of the other well known brands, personally i like the reel being a kayak fisherman however the drag issue tends to turn me off for obvious reasons, if they were to invest in making the drag smoother then they would be a lifelong investment

This of course is just my own personal opinion, and would encourage others to put there opinions forward

$119 usd so about $250 - $300 here lol, because im buying all new gear I've started with a full range of ugly stiks and buying mediocre reals like fin nor lethal 2500 for my 1 - 3 kg, fin nor Lethal Lever Drag LTL 20 for my trolling rod, and penn slammers for all others, i always buy my fishing gear when on a good special.

The idea of using bushes rather than bearings sounds good as long as they are decent, I've been using my reels for 2 years now and they have all taken a swim but for the overhead reels, they do get washed after every trip and serviced every winter, my gear really gets a hammering being a kayak fisherman but so far it's only the cheap started reels (kmart) that have failed. 

Good on you Adrian, i think it's well said that the trip is not in the destination, it's how you get there a lot of fishermen fish for that big one, myself included but to fish skinny water like that is more about the adventure not the size of the fish, keep it up i do envy you lol

Great video Adrian, never believe there aren't trout in a river or creek, if it's capable of sustaining them then there's every chance they are there gratz on your first for the season.

I watched a show on tv put out by AFN and Bill was fishing creeks around the foothills of Melbourne, he was talking to people in there backyards while fishing, they were quite amused at the fact he was catching trout, not to mention my amazement. 

This has been a long time coming, with some big hurdles to get over along the way but it was achievable by the state government seeing how recreational fishing influences the local economy,  recreational fishermen have been screaming at the government since the introduction of the need of fishing licenses for non inland fishing.

Since the government has taken a positive attitude to not only recreational fishing but the needs of the fish there has been some exciting changes made in Victoria. Im not sure how many make the media in S.A but you have heard of port phillip bay being commercial free by 2022 along with corio, western port and the lakes at lakes entrance, there are also reefs being established, not just fishing reefs but reef for oysters that were wiped out many years ago.

A lot has changed in our waters over the last 2 decades and the latest being the removal of parking and launching fees. I think all states should look into doing something similar, introduce a fishing license for all fishing but not as another tax but to improve the state of the water health throughout the state, improve the state of launching facilities, take out further scientific studies into marine life to stop things like you now face, basically look for ways to better manage our fisheries, and i say our fisheries as im Australian and a lot of the fish i catch don't just live in Victoria. 

So the removal of parking and launching fees is just a very small part of the big picture, now is the perfect time to ask your state government to take a better responsible attitude towards the S.A fisherie not just the snapper issue, i had my say on the "have your say" site and i opposed the statewide ban, i also stayed neutral to the part ban, and in the comments section explain that if it's determined that the selected responses were necessary then thats fine by me, but i also said they need to take a better look into the commercial fishing structure and how much this affects the mortality rates are for under sized fish being returned after capture this also included netting of any kind, there were lots of other things but i don't need to bore you anymore. Just food for thought 

Great recipe Kelp, these are some of the things that seem to be getting lost, i like the idea of using sea water were possible.

I never got into preserving fish, although i do love a lot of bottled and canned fish. When i was a rock/surf fisherman salmon was probably my main target, however most wouod be returned as i was not one for the taste, now i target salmon quite often but for bait, i dont buy bait if i can help it, and salmon is one of my goto when fishing for gummies. 

I hope we see more recipes like this as i have a pressure cooker and very familiar on the subject of preserving

I met a guy down at my local launch one day who had a similar set to yours but his folded and he just put them in his front hatch, made me cry lol i don't think his style would suit my yak, it weighs 69kg empty

I buy most of my gear online, when i buy in the shop it's 90% at my local tackle shop where i get really good service, i do buy from BCF and Anaconda but only when they are on sale in a big way like ugly stik gold for $50 or 3 zman packs for $20, i find Dinga can be have really good sales on reels and their normal price is often cheaper than anywhere else, some others i get good service from are Mo tackle, davos, mikes, and ottos some items you can avoid postage by buying from ottos on ebay, im very reluctant to buy gear on ebay unless it's recommend or im after junk, if it's not from a well know store, i now buy my braid from an ebay store, it's very good quality Japanese braid, the last delivery was a 2000m spool of 40lb 0.28mm depth finder for about $40 delivered, this store was recommended.

When i got my hobie PA beach wheels where part of the deal, so i haven't used them much since buying the hobie but I've been tempted on many occasion to change the wheels over, the only time I've taken the wheels onboard was in the rear handle bar of the PA and this is not a good outcome, everything seems to like to tangle around them under the water.

The problem with all yaks is there are no scupper hole in the rear of the tub behind the seat so if you carry anything in the tub the wheels just get in the way. Like you i always return them to the car, actually if you carry the wheels onboard on the PA you cant use the rear rod holders

I was trying to explain a set of wheels i made for my old yak on a post Softy has started, and thought rather than hijack his post i would post it here.

I got this design from vic kayak fishing (vyak.net), used items. 2 green machine wheels  (kmart $8 each), a length of 12mm allthread, 4 m12 nuts and washers for axel, a length of 25mm ID high pressure pvc pipe, 4 pvc T joiners one 10mm waterproof yoga matt (high density) pvc cleaner and glue, a 1 ltr tin tarzan grip or similar glue. Optional 25mm dowel, to strengthen axel in pvc and spaces as required.

Note the bottom T peices could be attached 90° this is where you would glue a peice of dowel in each side of the frame (and inside the cross peice) to support the axel, the risers must pass though the top of the scupper so you can put a stopper though to stop the wheels falling out when lifting the yak.

When gluing the foam on, both sufaces must clean have glue on them, allow the glue to dry to tacky before joining, then just wrap them around until your happy with the diameter of the wheel, the diameter you require must be taken into consideration when making the frame, make the first secion (risers to first cross member then put this in your upturned yak to measure the spaces for the second (axel) cross member, pay attention when gluing, as once you join the peices they can't be taken apart, when you have worked out the diameter of you wheels thus the hight of the spacer peices, now decide whether you are adding spacers inside the axel cross member or not, as a guide under 20kg you shouldn't need them, if your going to be dragging you 20kg yak and gear over rough terrain then have the T peices on the flat and have one or two spaces inside the cross member and one in the outside of each T peice.

How much padding? The yoga matt padding has to advantages, to increase the diameter of the wheels and make them soft enough to cushion the ride, the bigger the diameter the easier it is to move the trolly, the padding makes it easier to move the trolly over rough terrain, but there's no need going rediculously big on the diameter  (remember it still needs to fit in the car)

Hope this explains the how to

Gratz Vogon

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