C&K mag #30 sp - Canoe & Kayak

KAYAK FISHING
Kayak Fishing in the Wild
Wild West by Nigel Legg
Absolutely mad on fishing, very, very
average at kayaking. I think this is a
pretty good description of my kayak
fishing exploits over the last year.
Having fished since I was a young fella
I consider myself a reasonable
fisherman. But boy was I in for a shock
when it came to kayaking.
I will never forget paddling back to a popular
Taranaki beach with a couple of mates in ‘tiny’
surf, being knocked over in no more than a metre
of water, and then rising to applause and raucous
laughter from my buddies and at least a dozen
boaties and bystanders. Being able to kayak
successfully, especially in surf requires practice,
technique, and often a bit of ingenuity.
The easiest way to learn is to just do it, get out in
the surf and try different things, try coming in
backwards until there’s a break in the wave sets
and then turn and paddle in.
• No drainage hole
• Strenghtening under flange
• Only 3 rivets for mounting,
less holes in your kayak
• Fits Great Stuff safety flag
DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS
Available at all good Kayak stores
email: greatstuff@graphics.co.nz
20 ISSUE THIRTY • 2005
The wild Wild West refers to the west coast of the
North Island principally the Naki with its rugged,
rocky wind swept coastline. A labyrinth of reefs,
sandbars, cliffs and river mouths provides an
ideal habitat for a variety of sea fish, but most of
all it provides an opportunity. To me that
opportunity is the margin of water that is too far
for the surfcaster to reach and too close to shore
for the boat fisherman to worry about. The easiest
and most effective way to fish this water is by kayak.
Kayak fishing.
A variety of kayaks on the market these days are
specifically designed for fishing. They are
generally very stable sit-on-tops, providing
enough storage inside to cope with fishing rods,
burley and tackle.
Made of super durable plastic they are virtually
indestructible. There is no limit to the additions
and modifications which can be made to these
kayaks. For example depth finders, navigation
systems, and radios.
But realistically a good seat and paddle, buoyancy
aid or lifejacket, sharp knife, anchor and rope, rod
and reel and a method for distributing burley are
enough to get you started.
Safety should be paramount with kayak fishing so
safety flags, flares and a method of
communication, (even a cell phone in a dry bag),
are desirable.
Snapper
The main quarry for this kayak fisherman is
snapper. Kayaks are ideal for targeting the large
solitary snapper in our shallow reefs.
Nothing gets the heart pounding more than a
head-thumping run of a large snapper. Snapper
are deep powerful fish with large heads and
mouths. They have good speed but their strength
is their main attribute. Not only are they great
And for variety, a trevally.
sport fish, they are delicious table fish as well.
Surprisingly most fishermen know little about
their quarry. Here are some interesting facts:
1. All snapper begin life as females but by the
time they reach 3 - 6 years half have changed to
males.
2. Contrary to popular belief the greatest
abundance of snapper occurs over open mud in
less than 70 metres of water.
3. Snapper feed mostly during the day whereas
larger fish feed mainly in the morning.
4. Snapper reach maturity at approx 3 years, at 10
years old they are approximately 380mm long.
Only a few snapper live past 40 years. The oldest
recorded snapper in NZ was 63 years old.
5. The maximum weight recorded for a snapper
in N.Z. was 17.2kg and the maximum length was
1.05 metres.
6. Snapper spawn in water 20 -50 metres deep,
preferring large open bays. November and
December are peak months for spawning but this
can depend on the season with temperature being
the main stimulus. The threshold appears to be
about 15 degrees Celsius.
7. One of the most interesting facts about snapper
gained from the tagging programmes is that the
majority of mature snapper travel less than 10
kilometres in their lives.
To me kayak fishing is the ultimate. It connects
you to the sea, provides an opportunity to explore
and fish New Zealand’s truly remarkable coastline
and who knows it may even provide the
occasional trophy fish.
Most of the snapper facts are from ‘The Living
Reef’ (The ecology of N.Z.’s rocky reefs) published
by Craig Potton Publishing 2003.
Photos by Stefan Marpul.