Kayak Fishing in Kings Billabong - First Time!

 

Recently turning fifty, I appreciated receiving a good deal of shopping vouchers to BCF (my friends and family know me well).  It was an easy decision to invest in something I had thought about for a long time.

That's right, a fishing Kayak! My first thoughts of "this will be easy" soon changed. As the day of reckoning came closer I started to consider things like what sort of life jacket should I get, how do I tie up to a snag, how will I mount my camera, how do I protect my equipment from getting wet, as well as how much tackle do I take?

With limited space, these were all things I needed to consider and in the end I just decided to get a basic inflatable life jacket (one with a canister inside) and "wing" the rest. I couldn't see the point in investing in a new tackle box and all the camera mounts at this point. Afterall, I could purchase the completely wrong components without seeing how everything feels once on the water, or even worse I might decide that Kayak fishing just isn't for me.

Now, I wasn't going to do this solo on my first outing so I called up on my mate Ditchie who was looking after his son's Kayak  who moved across the country.. Jobs on!

Kings Billabong was our chosen location with the belief that it would be a lot calmer than the river. This turned out to be a great decision. Not only was it calm, but there were plenty of great snags to tie up to if only I remembered a rope or as we latter decided a bungee strap as the magic solution.

The new kayak handled well and proved to be great value. It came with two rod holders beside me and a main one at the front, along with a drink holder, dry compartment, storage area at the rear and rails on either side to mount various accessories to.

Here is the link to BCF with my little Kayak, 

Once on the water, I was surprised by the stability of this little Kayak, but given the lightness, it was
quite twitchy on the surface and was easily blown around by a bit of wind.

Access to the dry compartment was easy, as was the storage area on the back (did have to twist a little), I'm now thinking of all the add-ons that would make this more comfortable.

First on the list, a good seat. Second, a couple of Go-Pro's and some mounts and third a good Kayak Anchor . The tackle box I took was also overkill and a small tray would be sufficient. Also a little holder that can mount on the side rails for things like scissors and line would be handy.

As far as the fishing was concerned, I did my usual trick of catching bugger all. Ditchie (right) did manage a little Perch and dreaded carp. Considering the small amount of time we were on the water, we can't complain.

Will I be back fishing in the Kayak?

A big Yes, although I can now feel every muscle in my body. It was a lot of fun and I think once I am more comfortable with it, I may even manage to catch a fish. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A full video of the day can be seen below.