bass kayak fishing

A few Sunday's ago I went bass fishing at Rhenosterkop Dam. It was a mission that Brain from Hunterski Kayak put together. There where 5 of us and he took his rubber duck up for a spin and to bass fish off. It was a great opportunity to test drive the hunterski kayak. So Brain loaded up a demo model for me, and off we went. The drive was long and squashed but worth it as I you will see. We got there and I was in the water in no time as I could not wait to get a few casts in. Brain then loaded me up and took me to the hot spot of the dam where he off loaded me and we all started fishing. I was the first person to break the ice with a nice size bass soon after we arrived at the spot.
On the boat I was fully loaded, the only 2 things I forgot was my hat and water. I had my tackle box, 2 rods, GPS and my fish finder rig. The kayak had no trouble with that load and I soon found the right colour lure and was soon into more bass. Never fished this dam before I had to just explore and cast to where I thought I bass would be. A few times I managed to fish between the reeds and the bank, the water was amazingly clean and you could see right to the bottom, well the depth was only about a meter deep. In the end I paddled 7.5km in 5hrs and I felt like I was only getting warmed up. I got this info from my gps and plugged it into google earth. It was only then did a really see how big this dam is and some spots that I would love to fish are hidden away. So a mission needs to be made to go and visit Rhenosterkop again. I will definitely do it in a kayak again. It was so nice to get into spots that other boats could not. Having the freedom to move around was also the best, just next time I must not forget me hat and water.  The hunterski kayak was also very comfortable, and stable. Next time I want to take my rig for my rods so that I can have them upright because when you move through the reeds they tend to get hooked up.
At the end of the day Brain managed to land 18 bass, I forgot count after 10 and non where under the 1kg mark. This was must first real bass fish of the season and it has started well. I look forward to hitting the water soon.
I have attached 2 pictures one of the full dam. In that one you can see where we fished by the dot in the top right. The other picture is the track that I fished I know it is a bit hard to see, but not sure how to change the colour on google earth. Until next time enjoy the fishing and kayaking. I will be sharing my fishfinder rig with pictures soon, so look out for that story.

See the full gallery on Posterous

My kids and fishing

I have 3 kids, 2 girls and now a boy. My boy is only 20 months old but he is showing signs that he is keen to get fishing. He walks around my father in laws dam with a stick and pretends he is casting and catching fish. The 2 girls being older 10 and 7 have been fishing for a while now and they love it. I think the one main thing to making fishing exciting is fishing in dams where there are lots of fish. We have been lucky in that regard. My father in law made a dam on his property and stocked it with lots of tilapia. You throw you bait in and a few seconds later you are on. So it has been great to show the children how to fish. I feel the on downfall of this kind of fishing is that when you go to other waters they get bored because they are just not catching any fish. They are learning about patience and I must say they are doing very well.
I have attached a short clip of my eldest a few year ago casting and catching a fish. This was in Rosendal in the Free-state. Thanks to Sue Christie for the free accommodation. The dam was crystal clear and full of bass, we had a most relaxing weekend there.

Barbel Fishing

I do a lot of bass fishing off my fishing ski. It is a lot of fun and it is amazing what you sneak up on. I have been given the fright of my life when some huge fish suddenly takes off right next to you, with a huge splash. I have also collected a lot of lures that people have cast-ted into trees and have just been unable to collect.
I remember once at Golden Harvest paddling round an island and there where a lot of dead trees in the water. Hiding in the shade of the tress where these most huge carp. I was fishing for bass so had nothing with me to catch the fish with or even some bread to throw to them to see if they would want to eat it. It is a plan of mine to one day go back and see if I can catch one of these big carp. I must say that is something that I also have not caught off my fishing ski yet. Time to go on a mission and see if I can catch, photograph and release some big carp.
I often go to Emmarentia for fishing and sometimes we as a family would go for walks and to feed the ducks. When we would feed the ducks we would see these huge barbel under the ducks eating the bread. It got me totally excited but I know you can't fish from that side so I knew I would have to make a plan with my boat. The day came and I got my bread and tackle ready. I decided to use circle hooks as I was keen to see how they worked and I did not want to be trying to get hooks out deep inside the barbel. So I launched my fishingski and paddled over to the side where the ducks where getting fed. I parked on the side in shallow enough water so that I could use my feet as an anchor. I made a bait ball with the bread and put it on my hook. I just had the flick it out as I was not far from the ducks. I left my reel on free spool and it was not long before the line started peeling out. I flicked over the bail and just held the rod. As there is no striking with circle hooks. I could feel the power of the fish and I lifted my legs so it could pull the boat. It did pull the boat all the way to the other side of the dam where I managed to pull it out and take a photo before letting it go. I then paddled back and did it again. I am keen to try that again this summer and it would be cool to catch it all on video.  All this talk of fishing I am keen to hit the water. 

Bass fishing farm dams

I still love fishing in Farm dams, and the funny thing is you can get some big farm dams with some big fish in. 2 spots that come to mind is a dam in Gingindlovu and one in Richmound. The Gingindlovu dam I used to fish there often when I lived in Mtunzini. I must have caught about a 4kg bass there. It was a monster, it was the king of thing that takes your breath away when it comes out the water. For me it is can a bass get that big.
This weekend I went fishing on a farm dam, thanks to my neighbor for inviting me to pop around and see his parents. It is not a huge dam but it still had lots of bass in. My neighbor on his first cast hooked a bass, he was so excited and I think he is hooked. He wants to now go and visit a fishing shop and get some equipment. The main story I want to share is safety. My neighbor has a boy of 2 years old, the dam had a boat on it so we decided to all hop on the boat and see if we could fish. I insist on wearing a life jacket, my neighbor feels the same way. Well we where on the boat and Matt was hanging over the side because he wanted to touch the water. Well as you can imagine disaster was about to strike, and sure enough it did. Over board went Matt, headfirst. His dad dived in right after him causing the boat to capsize and I was in the drink also. Eish the water was cold and it took my breath away. Lucky I had my tackle box attached to me and I did not let go of my rod. Matt's dad did let go of his rod, fully understanding on that one as he was saving his son. Lucky the boat did not fully capsize and we manage to get Matt back in the boat as we swam it ashore. Poor Matt he was in a shock and very cold. Now we had one rod missing and I was not keen to do any diving. I removed my rubber worm and just had a bare hook and sinker, I started casting hoping that I would pick up something. Well lucky us after about the 20th cast I managed to hook the line and ended up pulling in the rod and reel.
I must say Matt is doing fine and I don't think he is afraid of the water and we will be back in summer so that we can go for a swim.  We all caught lots of fish and to top it off we chowed down on a fantastic curry for supper, that warmed us up on the inside.
So be safe on the water, you never know what might happen.

A quick bass fish at Golden Harvest Park

I had been slaving away at my computer all morning and decided I needed a break, so I popped my rod and tackle into my car, raced off to Golden Harvest Park which is 5 min from my house. I have not ever had any luck there before. I have seen many a big carp there and that is still something I am keen to catch but not the normal way. I want to catch them off my fishingski. Anyway that is another story for another post. I have also seen the odd bass so I know they are in there. I meet and chatted to a chap that was fishing there and he said yesterday he managed to hook a nice bass that was why he was there today. Well I decided to give it a bash. I walked round the dam and casted where I could. I must say I am not a very keen bank fisherman. Anyway I ended up close to the island and made a cast into the tress that had fallen down. Well I was surprised when I felt the jerk of a fish. I struck and was on. Soon it was landed photo taken and put back in the dam. I am glad I have broken my spell of not catching any fish. I am now keen top go back with my boat and see what else we can catch.
I was using a chartreuse moto oil worm, with no weight.
Until next time, tight line and keep on trying you never know what is in the water.