Hobie Inflatable Pedal Kayak (i12s): First impressions

For quite some time I been looking into different watercraft which can be transported without the use of a car. I looked into float tubes,stand-up-paddles boards small dingies, gheenoes, and kayaks both hard and inflatable.

my criteria of a perfect craft would be as follows:

-croc/shark proof 

-stable enough to stand and cast/land fish 

-able to float in 6" fully packed 

-relativity fast, capable of getting to magnetic island in reasonable time 

-durably enough that I can be banged around on rocks and mangroves 

-capable of offshore on good days 

-portable without a car towed on a bike or taken into the bus 

-stealth, quiet, minimal hull  

-comfortable enough to spend a whole day on the water

-flyfishing friendly!!! 

Now realistically there is no supercraft out there that can accomplish all these things so I had to break it down to my uses which are flats fishing, inshore fishing, and still water river fishing. I also needed a craft that I could take to these places with out the use of a car. I quickly decided that a kayak would be the only solution. I did some research and came across a line of pedal kayaks produced by Hobie. I loved the idea of hands free kayaking and being able to use my feet to pedal rather than paddle. Originally I really liked the the Hobie pro angler especially the new pa12 with all the cool features it comes with. I figured I'd get a bike cart, strap her down and I'd be good to take her to the river\ocean. Not even. That thing is a beast!!! Which I discovered on a trip to the Sunstate Hobie showroom just north of Brissy. To my surprise I really liked the inflatable i12s kayak. I had read abit about it before but was not convinced that it would  be suitable for fishing until checking it out in person. This thing is tough!! Sharp hooks bounce right off it and should one puncture no worries. The i12s has 3 air bladders and can be repaired in 2 minutes flat. Simply take out the repair kit, dab alittle glue and throw on a patch. One week later I bought the darn thing.



Upon opening the package my first thoughts were damn this thing is heavy. Also I was disappointed that the travel case was little more that a tarp with some straps and wheels attached to it. Once I finished unpacking all the accessories I blew it up in just under 3 minutes. everything was very solid.

For the maiden journey a took her down to the river and launched from the bank. My friend Colin came with but we soon realized that it was not made for two people. Colin got pretty wet and the boat was sluggish  I also figured out that I needed to tighten the bolts on the mirage drive so they wouldn't rub on the screws of the side. The next trip was much more successful  I learnt how the boat handles and where its strengths and weaknesses lie.

The good:
-amazing stability!!!  I can stand and cast all day without worrying about falling in
-quick
-tracks very well
-steers great
-mirage drive is very effective in open water and can be flutter kick (very small strokes) when in shallow water so it drafts well. it can also be removed completely with out a problem
-more than enough storage my me needs
-plug in wheels are amazing and allow me to carry the kayak a km or two comfortably
-twist and stow rudder works great and is an awesome feature
-very tough bottom layer protects from everything other than oysters which tear through fiberglass as well
-seat is very comfortable
-mirage drive petals are great
-hands free fishing!!!

The bad:
-mirage drive gets caught in weeds and it gets annoying having to take it out and put it back in
-the wind really pushes the kayak. an anchor is needed for fishing and a sea anchor for drifting.
-fly rod storage will be needed

Mods:
No fishing kayak is complete with out acouple diy mods. Since the i12s is inflatable you cannot drill into it which presents an issue with attaching an anchor trolley and rod holders, two mods that I feel every kayak should have. I have built an attachable stripping basket but it digs into the water a bit and makes cruising awkward. I'll defiantly be fixing this shortly.I have also been toying around with the idea of a ice box poling platform and a push pole.

In conclusion the Hobie i12s is a fantastic fishing vessel. it does have its limitations but most can be over come with custom diy mods. I look forward to doing a follow up post in a week or two.

twist and stow rudder (up)         pull green tab to put rudder down(up)          steering wheel(up)

place mirage drive into slip (up)                       plug in wheels (up)                                      

                     



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              dry storage (up)

There's Always Time for FEEEESHHH

THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR FEEEEESH!!

Well February has been busy!!  The girlfriend was here for 3 weeks so I didn't get out to fish much however I did take her acouple times and I think I might have gotten her hooked on fly. For her first outing I took her for a chartered trip to the Hinchinbrook where we spent 10 hours on the hour without landing a single fish. Not even Graham our guide could land one, but he did get one hook up that got off as he passed Sharon the rod. The downside to barbless hooks, oh well.  No worries though, we had fun and Sharon didn't complain once!! After this trip she was very determined to get herself a barra so I took her to Aplin's weir which is where the salt and fresh sections of the Ross river meet. It is supposed to be a barra hot spot and I have seen them chasing bait there at dusk regularly. Anyways nothing our first trip or our second or third which I even bought a cast net for. It was kinda fun catching bait though and Sharon had fun playing with the shiners (what I call the baitfish I caught). Eventually I just said fuck it and I took her to the barra pond. Within second of her putting her bait in the water WHAMMY!!!  Sharon caught her first fish. Right after she decided to try the fly, and even faster then the previous fish this next one smashed the fly like a bull dowser. After a 10 minute tug-of-war I grabbed the fish and pulled him onto the grass for a picture. By the end of the day we where both pretty beat but it was worth it.

Whose a big hungry barramundi?? 

With Sharon gone I was able to get out on the water with a fella named Sam from the saltwaterflyfishing.com.au forums. It was a great day, not much wind, clear skies not bad tides but unfortunately we didn't land anything but saw lots of fish and I learnt quite abit about the Maggie Island flats. Pretty much it divided into three main flats and there are lots of deep channels between them. We also saw a large black tip reef shark and afew other smaller ones. Tons of turtles were also spotted along with a small manta ray and large school of spotted eagle rays. The show stopper was defiantly Mr. Toad who is a resident massive toad fish responsible for biting straight threw quite afew hooks earning him celebrity status.


Two days later I went out with a member of NQ Fly fishers named Brad. It was a very cloudy day, with quite a strong south eastern wind which really dirtied the water. After four rather crap hour on the flats we decided to hit up the rocky area around kissing point however it was too windy and after 15 minutes of fighting the wind with our flies we decided enough was enough so we headed back into the ross to chase some barra. We took the boat about a km up this small drain until we got to some water pipes that formed alittle dam and had freshwater draining. We fished this whole drain but nadda. Right after we exited the drain we continued hitting the snags on the main part of the Ross river. I saw a fish jump so I threw my fly at it which ended up getting twisted around a branch. No worries, the little bugger have been hungry cause he jumped out of the water grabbed the fly and snapped the branch off!! I had been fishing a chartreuse bendback rattler fly and I must say I am impressed with how weedless it was very, few hangups.

At this point we were getting a alittle frustrated, with only 2 shit fish landed, (Brad had caught a small estuary cod on the edge of the flats) our luck needed to improve, and it did in the way of a large school of Australian tarpon!! The tarpon here are dwarfs compared to Atlantic tarpon in the states but without a doubt posses all of the heart!! They hit hard, jump all over the place and take of very quickly. Just look at there tail, very similar to a bonefish. They also just dont like to give up and fight you all they way to the boat and then sum. Most are between 25-40cm.  We cast at them as they rolled throwing countless flies at them but nothing worked until, I tossed on a small weighted shrimp pattern and walla, Hookup!! Over the next couple hours we cracked the code and found that they we hitting right where the muddy water hit the incoming tide producing a visible "colour line" in the water. They were feeding unusually deep, as they usually feed near or on the surface. We dead drifted flies through he colour line and right as they exited the muddy water into the clearer water, acouple of small strips triggered the bite!! Brad landed the largest at 55cm and my largerst was 50cm.  In two hours we had landed about 15 fish including a double header.

 I have also purchased acouple "toys" that I have been playing with include the long awaited inflatable kayak but I'm tired and and its time for bed.

                             Before tarpon                                                       After tarpon, same fly tied by  (taken from http://www.jonmakimflies.com/)                                                        Jon  Makim

Chartreuse Bendback 

Stinky Tilapia on the Green

Last night I went for a fish with the NQ fly fishers club. We hit up the local golf course targeting Tilapia and tarpon. The ponds are also home to legal sized barra but the season doesn't open for another couple days. No tarpon or barra were landed to my knowledge but another angler caught a fresh water eel. Acouple other anglers including my self were able to land afew Tilapia. Tilapia are a pest fish that are invading the waters of Queensland killing of the native species so the are killed and discarded after they are caught. Tilapia can be caught with almost any small fly tripped slowly and usually strike near the bottom where as tarpon strike closer to the surface. A Tilapia strike feels much like a tug similar to a Rock Bass or Bluegill where as tarpon hit and take off  hard. 

Tilapia fly

In acouple days my inflatable kayak should arrive and I am defiantly looking forward to test out all the cool spots I have been looking over with google maps.

Shallow water sand bottom structure near reefs and rubble!!! 

I have also been looking into acouple diy projects including a stripping basket, push pole and floating gopro platform for filming underwater barra strike!!  I'll be posting about these when they are finished.

The First Steps: My First Couple Weeks Down Under

So I've been living in Townsville for acouple weeks now and am really enjoying the place. Quite, ocean, rum, and awesome fishing potential is how I can summarize the last couple weeks. I am here to attend James Cook University Marine Biology program, hopefully it will help my fishing, but that is rather irrelevant since this is a blog about fly fishing.

Coming to Townsville I was fresh meat when it comes to saltwater fishing and I only really started fly fishing acouple months before. I have learnt tons over the last couple weeks even though I have had rather crap luck at catching fish. I will use this post to jot down some of the things I have learnt so I can check and see if they hold true.


-its all about the tides. fish the very top and very bottom
-look for holes in the sand on low tide caused by goldens digging for yabbies and crabs. also look for flat head lies
-always cast at bait
-too much bait is a bad sign, often means nothing is eating them, no bait is also crap
-full moon=shit fishing
-bigger tides means hotter shorter feeding times
-neap tides offer clearer water but less activity
-clouser, shrimps and crabs are what works on the flats for most species, also match colours to suit bottom and when fishing for bottem feeding fish, choose a fly that hits the bottom in 3 seconds
-watchout for crocs, stingers, and sharks. wear long pants when wading and tuck into socks
-fishing the snags and pressure points when targeting barra. they are lazy so you need to really get your fly in there
-most goldens on the flats can be found in 1-3 feet of water
-wade slow and do the stingray shuffle
-lead, sink, pause-strip-pause, when going for goldies
-casting behind large rays can often be rewarding


Armed with this basic knowledge I have have been hitting the local flats around Pallarenda with minimal success however I do know that the fish are there. I have heard from local gurus that the fishing has been very slow the last couple weeks and that I need to keep trying and hitting up the same location. I the weather is supposed to be crap the next couple days so I will be using this time to devise a plan to start catching more fishing.