So does anyone fish or just nah???

[Cracker Boy]

Bought an excel viper f4 all welded. Alluninum boat the bracing runs lenght of boat its all hydro turfed.you can stand on it barefoot in summer and it deadens noise too.its fast dry ride turns on a dime im running 60 hp evinrude 3 cyl 2 stroke

 

[Xtr3me]

This is how we roll in Ga after sunset...
a weekend of gigging..

 

[Cracker Boy]

Like to learn more about gigging what kind of lights you use led or halogen.ive been a couple times i got some leds they just dont seem to penetrate the water much

 

[Xtr3me]

Halogen, powered by Honda EU2000 Inverter

 

[Cracker Boy]

Can u send me some pics of your rig and what part of ga u in brunswick darian

 

[Xtr3me]

Can u send me some pics of your rig and what part of ga u in brunswick darian

PM sent...

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Yesterday evening. New kayak shakedown. Still plenty to set up/learn/screw up.




Softbait barely lasted an hour before it was shredded by the fishies.
Still learning how to get the most enticing action from them when trolling.
Metal lures (20g - just under 3/4 oz) were no good yesterday, so back to the softbait and my homemade (pen lid) lure. I guess the fish are feeding on tiny anchovies or the like because it seems like the smaller (or at least lighter weight- I will test a lightweight but long lure next time) the lure the better the outcome at the mo.

Will buy a few micro' lures that are metal but only about 5g (I gues about 1/5 of an oz) and see how well they work. If as good as the softbait then they should at least last a lot longer.

Quite a tradeoff between casting weight /distance though. I can't cast the pen lid lure because it is too lightweight, but can just cast the softbait lure a good enough distance that most times I can stay on the edge of the boil-ups. I hope to find a metal lure that is a bit heavier but still works, so I can cast further.

Casting saves a fair bit of paddling in the kayak, leaving me with more energy in reserve if the wind gets up and it's a slog back to shore. Lots of little things like that added up will hopefully mean a bunch of worthwhile experience and resulting lethal efficiency come next Summer when I chase kingfish proper.

 

[Adirondackstihl]

LLS?

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Had to google that acronym, guessing the S stood for salmon. Nope, not land-locked salmon. It's an ocean fish around NZ and Oz. Called Kahawai here in NZ, Eastern Australian Salmon (although not really a salmon) in Oz and the scientific name is Arripis trutta.

In the native language 'Kaha' means strong and 'wai' is water. They are a strong fighting fish that like to break the surface and throw the hook. Not the best eating fish though and need to be bled immediately upon catching them if going to eat them. The kingfish I want to target once I learn enough to survive such an encounter eat Kahawai. Biggish sized kingfish will take a kahawai of the sizes above if used as live bait. The kahawai above was big enough to tow my kayak around, so it could be quite a trip if I ever get and stay, hooked to a kingfish.

 

[Cracker Boy]

We get kingfish here in the states not very good eating unless cooked fresh or smoked then make dip.but fast and hit hard.tournoments are big thing for kings here in fl

 

[Wagnerwerks]

I'm really jealous of you saltwater guys... Someday I see me living near the ocean....

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Have never tasted kingfish. I can't stomach seafood. It usually leads to a violent rejection by my body for some reason. But I know we have far better eating fish, probably most common of which would be snapper.
Am I right in thinking our yellowtale kingfish is sometimes called an amberjack up there?

 

[Cracker Boy]

Once you go. Salt freshwater gos by by

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Is anyone using fishfinders in their boats?
I'm researching a small one (under 5" screen) for my kayak. Never used one though. Should cheap be avoided, most of which don't go very deep?

I could be in 300' of water, 10 miles off the coast if chasing big fish, once I get more experience. Or perhaps a FF will actually cause a rethink if one shows me how many good spots there are closer to home that I have been paddling over without knowing about.

So much to learn, so few weekends.

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Two weeks ago, in a relatively small ali boat, these lucky buggers did OK:

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

We get kingfish here in the states not very good eating unless cooked fresh or smoked then make dip.but fast and hit hard.tournoments are big thing for kings here in fl

What are the main ways people target them up there? Here, the clear favourite used to be slow-trolling livebaits, weighted if they are not on the surface. But i think it's probably quite even between livebaits and mechanical jigging of stickbaits/jigs (if not surface trolling of livebaits).

 

[Cracker Boy]

Pretty much the same teasers with balyhou kind of like trolling for dolphin cedar plug trolling too sea witches with strip bait like bonita Belly strips

 

[Cracker Boy]

Look at garmin depth finders i did my homework very easy to use great maps great color and dfinition i bought a. 5 in screen one with down view and sonar chirp with gps. And preloaded maps can download onto computer can buy extra maps has sd card great mounting system the way mounting system works is your power and transducer mount to your bracket that stays on your rig so uou arnt trying to plug them directional cords in all the time they are in bracket and line up every time

 

[Cracker Boy]

It will msrk your trak mark waypoints as well got it new for like 480 bucks

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Look at garmin depth finders i did my homework very easy to use great maps great color and dfinition i bought a. 5 in screen one with down view and sonar chirp with gps. And preloaded maps can download onto computer can buy extra maps has sd card great mounting system the way mounting system works is your power and transducer mount to your bracket that stays on your rig so uou arnt trying to plug them directional cords in all the time they are in bracket and line up every time

Thanks. That sounds like it covers all the useful bases. A real plus to be able to take it off and stow it during surf entries and landings when it's easy to flip the kayak. The way point marking would be handy when drifting and being able to find my way back to the hot spot when I drift out of it.

Is it the striker 5cv model?
How do you find the mounting point - is it easy to get on off and does it feel like it will last if you were to do that often?
Is the battery built into the unit or just a separate item that is bundled into the portable package? How is the battery charged and how long will it last? I expect to be doing 6-8hr days and possibly a few multi-day outings camping on island where there are no power outlets to recharge anything.