Kayaking

Paddling the upper Brisbane River

Indeed, in our very diverse group we had canoes being paddled by a single adult, by an adult and child and even by two adults with three children on board and occasionally a boat-hopping dog. The ease of paddling, combined with excellent load-carrying ability meant the canoes could cater for nearly any combination of paddlers and passengers and still give …

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Tips for kayak safety in winter

kakay safety winter

Tony chooses to err on the side of caution and always sticks with shorts when we hit the coast, reasoning that the discomfort will be short lived. Fortunately, the weather patterns that give us our coldest mornings are calm and clear, which means the day will quickly warm within a few hours of sunrise. If you ever want to experience …

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Squidding in Moreton Bay

squidding moreton bay

When reeling squid in, keep them in the water and don’t lift them out because when you do, they tend to fire ink, and in a kayak it’s likely to be right at you. Once alongside, slide the net under the squid and point the top of the tube in your direction so any ink gets shot away from you, …

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Fly fishing from a yak

I leave off rod holders and keep the deck of my kayak bare for the fly line. If I take other rods, I don’t sit them upright in rod holders, I lay them down either in a hatch or secured along the side of the hull. My fly rods are over 8’ long, so I use a landing net with …

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Lake Lenthall barra fishing thrills

lake lenthall barra

I worked my way back to camp just after dark using a topwater approach but failed to entice any further interest. The others didn’t have any luck in the afternoon session but we were all keen to chase them early the next morning. Everyone was up and on the water pre-dawn the next morning. We were keen to make the …

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Kayak fishing in canals

kayak fishing mangrove jack

It involves rigging a Keitech 3” Easy Shiner weedless and skipping it under pontoons and boats and has proven very successful. A quicker retrieve with short pauses will often prompt the reaction bite. Round eight of the KFT Australian Kayak Fishing Tournaments series was based at the Raby Bay canals. The target species was bream and the mystery fish cod. …

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Chasing kingfish from a kayak

These little squid hold in deep water (10-11m) and don’t really go for larger squid jigs, so I normally run a 2”, 1.5” or even micro squid jig with a tiny crimp-on sinker to get the squid jig down to the right depth. The best part about this location is there’s plenty of shelter and places to fish for other …

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Dream Kayaks ‘The Beast’ fishing yak

THE Beast fishing kayak is a brand-new model designed by Dream Kayaks. It’s a 3.5m kayak with plenty of stability, perfectly suited to estuary and river fishing. The raised aluminium-framed seat is unbelievably comfortable – far more so than the usual foam seat on most kayaks. The large rectangular hatch right in front of the seat measures 24cm x 32cm …

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Kayaking for Gold Coast mangrove jack

Your gear will cop a lot and I’ve had endless trouble with my Daiwa Tatula baitcast reel. My usual kayak partner in crime, Brad, has also had the same issues. When chasing jacks, 20-25lb braid will be sufficient, coupled with a 1.5m, 40lb leader. While on leaders, there has been a lot of talk lately about the FG knot and …

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