New Member and a question
 

Hey all at BWE.

My name is Andre, from Cape Town South Africa. Been lurking here for a while now, first post for me though.
Little background and an intro....
Grew up on the East Coast of South Africa, in a little surf and fishing town... fished from the day I could hold a rod, and never stopped.... Moved to the Cayman Islands at 18 to work as a boat captain and scuba instructor, and discovered Yak fishing while I was there.... Pretty much fished everyday of old beat up rental yaks for everything from Tarpon to snapper and tuna.....
Spent 5 years in Cayman, but now back in Cape Town, running a Production Company..... Just bought my first Yak down here, a WS Tarpon 160i. Super stoked on it, as its an insane boat.
Yak fishing ain't to big down here ( ok, its tiny! ) Up on the East coast, its pretty huge though, but guys fishing off craft called Fishingski's ( www.fishingski.co.za ) which were modeled off the old surf rescue paddle craft.... They are glass fibre craft, handle the big surf our east coast dishes up well, but are a bit piggish to paddle, and being glass, are kinda brittle if you hit rock....Anyway, I wanted a yak I could do long range river trips, as well as ocean trips with, and the WS are the only ones available here... sick boat, love it!
Down here in the Cape, the yak scene is tiny, perhaps thats because we do have one of the largest populations of Great WHites in the world.....:eek:
But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

Anyway, our conditions down here with regards to species and structure, seem pretty similar to yours on the West coast, with alot of Yellowtail, WSB and othe slightly similar rockfish, as well as the bait sources of squid and mackeral, so I've been trying to get as much info from these boards as possible, as well trying to pull a crew together to fish with...

So a few questions to you seasoned Yakkers on here:

Tackle:
I am looking for a spinning rod to match up with a Shimano Stella 6000 which should be on its way soon. Gonna spool up with 65lb Braid for throwing topwaters for Tail, as well as Vertical and casting jigs ( Irons ) and possibly bait fishing.
I'd really like to get something that I can travel with, preferably 3 piece, as I travel alot, as wll as I'll need to ship it in, so thats a cost/ease of use factor.... Any suggestions??

Rigging:
Basically a question for anyone else running a WS Tarpon 160i.... Whats your ideas on rigging for this Yak? I was really keen to set up one of those Kayatank livewells, but unfortunately, after chatting to Mo at Yakshack, I discovered they can't be fitted to the Tarpons... So I was wondering what your guys best solution is to a live well, as well as a tackle storage system.... Have any of you tried the new Cratemate Jnr's on offer from kayakfishingstuff? Any thoughts or ideas or pics would be great.
I'd like to get as much out of my Yak as possible, and having a live well for me is imperitive.... I have seen a few yaks with the Liquidfishing Wells, as well as the Hook1 systems.... what do you guys do for additional tackle storage with these systems as they take up a fair amount of space.

Additional Rod Holders:
I've got two flushmounts aft of my seat, and a Scotty holder between my feet, and am thinking of adding a few more... Are the Ram tubes a good option, with the added height they give?
If I were to go with the Cratemate, obviously that would offer an additional 3 holders, but I'd like to maybe add two more to hold rods in Trolling or fishing posistions...
I've noticed on alot of the Malibu Yaks, you guys have added a number of additional Flushmounts forward of the seating position... Good idea on the Tarpon?


Wow, I've just reread this post, and its frickin long, for which I apologise, and sorry for all the questions.... Unfortunately, being on the bottom of the planet down here, there are no stores or communities of Yak fisherman I can chat to or learn from, so all my info comes from you guys on line, and I really appreciate any info or suggestions or ideas you could swing my way...
I'm also gonna be in the states for 2 months over the summer this year, basically fishing and skating my way from West to East coast, then a week in the keys, and 2 more weeks back in Cayman, so perhaps I'll get the chance to hook up with a few of you, learn some tricks, drink a few cold ones and get towed around by some fish!

Thanks again for your time and for reading!

Mad respect from the Dark Continent.

Andre

Welcome, this is a great site, and resource! I sent you a PM of a review I did for the T-160i... Hopefully not too baised, although I never push this boat on anyone, whatever gets ya to the fish.... :kayak-surfer:

Btw, not many are big fans of the spinning reels for pelagic fish, most of us use conventional stuff, ie Toriums, jig masters, sealines, Avets...

Chris

Welcome Andre, if you make it to San Diego send me a message and I'll try to fish with you, would really enjoy visiting Cape Town for the same thing.

Most people here use baitcasting or conventional reels rather than spinning reels. I think it is because of line twist on the spinners and the conventionals have better torque and drag systems. But there are still some folks who slay the fish with spinning reels. I use a cheap spinning reel for my sabiki or bait catcher and conventional for everything else.

I've found that 7' rods work best on my 15' prowler, it's long enough to get the line around the bow and not too long to make it difficult to land fish. Haven't tried two piece rods. I don't take really expensive gear out there, too easy to get dumped and I found the multiple leashes to be a hassle, I prefer to use cheaper stuff and if I lose it I'll only cry for an hour vs all day. I usually take 4 sticks, a spinner set up with a bait catcher sabiki, a baitcaster with 30# mono for casting jigs, and two baitcasters with braid, for live bait one with a 2oz slider or just flylined and one with a heavier weight for keeping live bait on the bottom.

Hope you send us some reports with your local fish, how does GWS taste? Just kidding, I follow the Hawaiian mantra of "I don't eat the shark, he don't eat me".

Welcome. Chris probably filled you in on the rigging questions, he's definitely the guy to ask about all that stuff for a tarpon. I've fished with both spinning and conventional stuff on the yak and conventional reels are much easier to handle. Good luck and don't bleed your fish on the water.:cheers1:

Hey guys

Thanks a bunch for the replies and the info.
Chris thanks for the PM, some great info on there, appreciate it!

Regarding the spinning reel set up.... I mainly fish conventional reels, a calcutta 400 on a 7 ft St.Croix Casting stick, with 30lb braid, and on another stick, a Diawa Sealine with 30 pound Mono.... The Sealine is set up on a Penn "boat stick" ( can't remeber the model ) with I guess I'm use more for bottom fish, and baiting..... But its light enough to throw a plug too....
The reason I wanted the spinning reel, is that truthfully, I enjoy fishing them, and the speed with which I can flick lures a long way, especially from a seated posistion, as well as being able to use it in rock and surf applications to fishing our rough coastline with leadheads and such.... getting an overwind on a conventional reel in these spots means bye bye to whatever lure and a good 100 yards of line you've got on as it'll just got washed over the bricks while you unpick the birds nest.... no fun... The Stella has the right sorta line cpapcity and drag power to handle this so...... I also carry a 7 ft St Crois spinning stick, with a Fin-nor 4000 inshore spinner, which I use for bait and light tackle apps...its spooled with 20 lb braid... Great set up, but I kinda want something about 2 steps up in strength, so thats basically the rod I'm looking for...

Thanks for the info again, and for the offer to fish with y'all. Def try take you up on that. Hopefully one day I'll be able to return the favour if anyone is ever down my way, we can go trolling for GWS with Seal poppers!!!

Anyway, here are a few pics from my fishing over the last year or two....No yak fishing pics yet, but they'll come soon!:D

All these fish taken on Fly wading the unbelievable flats of Seychelles outer Atolls.

http://i10.tinypic.com/40bgnwm.jpg
My best GT( Giant Trevally - Caranx Ignobilis ) of the trip... 98cm fork length, estimated around 65lbs

http://i13.tinypic.com/2mob5zq.jpg
Bohar Snapper

http://i11.tinypic.com/4h1j884.jpg
Another nice GT

http://i13.tinypic.com/43242ue.jpg
And the release

Some Bones
http://i13.tinypic.com/3zaohoz.jpg
http://i10.tinypic.com/3yg0l5w.jpg
http://i7.tinypic.com/4hixifk.jpg
The bonefishing here is so ridiculous, that catching over 40 bones in a mornings fishing is nothing special.... At one stage myself and my oldman, fishing side by side in the middel of a flat, noone else in site, went 22 casts for 22 fish each.... Thats 44 bonefish without a missed cast....Seychelles is Nirvana folks, if you like shallow water thrills, big fish, remote locations, and exotic species!

Here is a Grouper I pulled out a hole on one of the flats:
http://i13.tinypic.com/34644eg.jpg

And a few more GT pics:
http://i10.tinypic.com/42kqjkn.jpg
http://i14.tinypic.com/30c9mdk.jpg
http://i14.tinypic.com/2n6wuv6.jpg
http://i5.tinypic.com/2l8kfib.jpg

Here is one of the exotic targets on the flats.... Triggerfish! These buggers tail like Permit and eat crab flies, but can be incredibly tough to take, and doubly addictive to chase!!! Check the teeth... often times you see them eat your fly, again and again on one retrieve but you just can't hook up.... then you look at your fly and you see that your Gamakatsu SL12s has been turned into a ball of crumpled steel by those dentures!! Fun stuff!
http://i10.tinypic.com/35m321t.jpg

Releasing a Bluefin Trevally. Check those colours, thats not an adjusted picture!:
http://i3.tinypic.com/44gqycx.jpg
http://i7.tinypic.com/330citx.jpg

The largest GT taken on the trip, by Garth Wellman, 116cm Frok, estimated at over 85lbs:
http://i3.tinypic.com/2s0z2mq.jpg
http://i9.tinypic.com/3y5db47.jpg

One of the many Milkfish taken opn the trip. These are without a doubt the hardest fighting fish on the planet! Picture a Bonefish mating with a Tuna, then aquiring the acrobatic skills of a Tarpon, and the speed of a Wahoo.... Add to that they only eat Algae, and they make for a pretty tough quarry!
http://i7.tinypic.com/30ben47.jpg

And here is a shot of my best Tarpon to date, taken in Garnd Cayman, the beach, then transferred to a boat, on a Mirrolure Top Dog and casting stick:
http://i3.tinypic.com/47b7yvq.jpg

And some Pics of fishing down here in Cape Town:
http://i5.tinypic.com/2qdoc9d.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/2ryskg6.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/4cb2bes.jpg

Some from up our East Coast:
Getting bent by a Garrick ( Leerfish )
http://i10.tinypic.com/2f088e1.jpg
http://i13.tinypic.com/33c3r6d.jpg

Old man's Black Mussel Cracker.... These fish are about as tough as it gets in the Rock and Surf environment... Nice one Pops!
http://i12.tinypic.com/2vkbvbc.jpg
Got a stack more fresh water stuff too, but I'll leave that for another day!
Hope y'all enjoy the pics, cause I really enjoy seeing all of yours!
Thanks again for the warm welcome, mad respect to ya from Africa!

Wow, great pics!!! Thanks for sharing,

Chris :cool:

Welcome aboard Andre. Looking forward to reading more of your reports. Most everything you want to know can be found in some post somewhere in the archives - just gotta search for it. And yeah, Chris is definitely the man for WS questions.
G'luck - Arne

Andre, great photos!

Regarding rodholders, I like flushmounts.

I bought a couple Izorline Travellers a few years back. They are 8 foot 2 piece rods, rated 15-25 but I think they stopped making them. G Loomis makes some 3 piece travelling rods that would be good for medium sized fish. You can get em through Cabellas

http://www.cabelas.com/information/F...stingRods.html

Hi Andre, and welcome! Some great photos youv'e posted. Looks like a fishing paradise over there. Maybe some day I'll get the chance to visit.:D You will have to let some of us know if you end up in San Diego so we can share our little haven.

Awesome fish and great pics!

Super cool words and pics Andre!!!

You got to love the internet - the World has never been a smaller place... :)

Thanks for sharing.

Great pics, looks like you have some insane fishing over there...is it year round fishing or seasonal for some of those species?

So when is the Trip, lets go :paddleersmilie:

Welcome Andre
Those pics are some of the best I have ever seen! I can't wait to see some more, especially those caught from your yak:paddleersmilie:

Mark

Looks fantastic Andre. Wish the water was that clear around here.
Lots of surfers have passed through SA, of course J-Bay being one of the best waves on the planet. Great waves, great fishing, a waterman's paradise! When do you have time to work?

Ahhhh, the Bluefin Trevally:) . One of my favorite saltwater game. Even though I have never caught one, I have landed a few jacks in Florida. I hope one day to catch one though. Of course, I am going to Panama of Costa Rica later this summer and may get my chance. But, your to lucky to live in a place with so many salwater species around you. Oh... Waite!!! Everyone says that when they fish Cali! Haha! You do have a great place to fish. Tight lines!
Oh yeah! If you do see a dark fin starting to circle. Do what I would do!
:paddleersmilie:

EPIC!

Ken

That is so cool. Thank you for sharing.

-Patrick

Hey guys

Wow, thanks for the awesome welcome guys!!! :you_rock:
Stoked to be here and hopefully be able to contribute a little and learn a bunch!!!

Glad y'all like the pics.... I sure as hell enjoyed getting them!!!:D
Most of the crystal clear water pics are taken on the Outer Atolls of the Seychelles Islands, up in the Indian Ocean.... I spent 14 days on a Exploratory Saltwater Flyfishing trip to Cosmoledo and Farquhar Atolls in April 2004....Without a doubt the finest fishing on the planet...completey untouched and the closest human inhabitance is about 500 miles away....Amazing trip, but ridiculously expensive....My old man and I got lucky as two guys cancelled the week ebfore the trip, with full deposits paid, so the operators gave us a 2 for the price of 1 deal.... Never afford it any other way.... Maybe one day again!

Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it. You guys are welcome anytime down here in SA, love to host ya! Plenty waves, plenty fish, plenty ice cold brews and some damn fine scenery!!!

Respect from Cape Town!
Andre

Friggen awesome!!!!!!