Presenting - Viking Kayaks

KAYAK FISHING
By Stephen Tapp
Presenting
BAITS –
The swimming pilchard rig
and other classics
Hapuku, such as this 16kg Northland fish, are a fantastic reward for properly presented
baits. Rather than using a traditional ledger rig, a whole stray-lined pilchard was ‘swum’
straight onto this fish, which had been pinpointed using a high-resolution sounder. Using
the ‘swimming-pilchard’ rig, three baits delivered three puka, showing the value of this
system in deep water as well as in the coastal shallows.
Continuing on from the last issue’s
winter bait-fishing theme, let’s
take a look at the terminal rigs I’m
using.
As with every aspect of our sport,
there’s more than one way to hook your
fish, but here we’re considering what
I refer to as my ‘classic rigs’ and how
they’re used. I’ve refined them a little
over the years, but the concept and
how they work remains the same, even
20 years down the track.
For me the key point has always
been to consider bait presentation
above all else when rigging up; it’s
all about getting fish to bite. This
approach has had a huge influence
on the rigs I choose to use; unless
you’re cubing, the bait needs to look
as natural and alive as possible. In
fact, over the years I’ve gained my best
successes by thinking of my dead and
cut baits as lures rather than simply
some hunk of flesh relying on flavour
appeal to entice a strike.
New Zealand Fishing News
58-60 kayak jul12fn.indd 58
To an extent, even when cubing
this attitude holds. By laying a cube
trail, we lock species such as snapper
and big trevally into a specific food
source, then send them loaded baits
presented so they look like the others.
Best results are achieved if the cubes
containing hooks look and drift
‘naturally’ to mimic the other chunks in
the trail – in other words, presentation
is still a key factor.
If you get the presentation right, it’s
often amazing what you’ll catch and
how fast and hard the fish strike. A
prime example is my taking out the
kingfish section of the Taranaki Kayak
Classic the last two years running using
stray-lined whole pilchards – hardly a
standard kingfish technique, but one
that delivers me several hoodlums
every year. If you get the presentation
right, it can be relatively easy to fool
even these dead-bait wary fish with a
humble pilchard.
A rig for all occasions
This first rig is my absolute favourite,
and if I was allowed only one way to
catch fish, this would be it. I find it
easily the most versatile across a broad
range of fishing situations, and it has
reliably ‘brought home the bacon’
for me ever since I started salt water
kayak fishing. I can cast it in harbour
shallows and amongst mangroves,
work it through the kelp and gutters
along the coast, and stray-line to
inshore and offshore fish. It can be
twitched gently like a soft-bait to create
movement and action, or weighted
enough to make it ‘swim’ towards the
bottom like a wounded baitfish trying
to find shelter.
I simply refer to it as the ‘swimming
pillie rig’, and it’s nothing more than
two fixed suicide hooks on a short
trace with a couple of enhancements.
It’s these enhancements and the way
the baits are rigged that make the
difference. The concept is to have
the bottom hook in the middle of the
bait and the top hook at the ‘head
end’, ensuring the bait moves through
the water more naturally (swimming
forward rather than backwards).
It’s been very interesting using latergeneration, high-resolution sounders
to watch the reactions of snapper
when stray-lining below the kayak.
Rigging pillies to swim in the manner
described above generally results in
the bait being snaffled long before it
makes it to the bottom. Rigging the
pillie the other way round, with a half
hitch around the tail, will regularly
see the snapper race in to check it
out, but then follow it down without
striking until it’s come to rest on the
bottom. Alternating drifts using the two
presentations have shown repeatable
results so many times it can’t be
simple coincidence.
A rigging enhancement that
has become standard on all my
stray-line rigs involves a length of
58
.
‘It can be twitched
gently like a soft bait to
create movement and
action.’
Below: using sinkers with larger holes makes it
easy to unclip the trace and change the weight
to adjust the sink rate. This is often critical to
presenting the baits for best results.
These are the two rigs that do the most damage. Both present baits in a natural forwardswimming manner, and have flasher material that streams and shimmers around the head
and gills to help mimic a stressed baitfish. The single circle hook rig is an exceptional
performer when using fixed-spool reels with a little slack line in the water.
flasher material trailing from the top
hook. Again, this has come about
because of a measurable difference
in performance shown by running
different rigs side by side over several
seasons. My theory is this material
streaming down the front hook and
around the head of the bait creates
movement and shimmer that possibly
mimics a bait fish in distress that’s
‘gulping’ and trying to escape.
Another feature of these rigs is being
able to rapidly adjust the amount of
weight/sink rate by quickly swapping
the ball sinkers that slide down
the trace onto the nose of the bait.
This allows me to quickly fish wildly
different areas and depths as I move
around the coast, and change the
presentation of the bait. To achieve
this I use ball sinkers with large line
holes (you may have to hunt around for
these, but they’re available from many
tackle shops) and a loop at the top of
the trace for connecting to the mainline’s clip swivel – unclipping the loop
allows sinkers to slide on and off as
required.
The circle hook successor
The swimming pillie rig above
is brilliant across a broad range of
situations, but works best if you
maintain contact with it. This allows
you to feel bites and strike quickly
to drive the hooks home. There are
times, especially during winter fishing
in brilliantly clear water, when ‘feeling’
what’s going on with the bait at the end
of your line has a detrimental effect
“Got Kayak Fishing
Questions?
Call Me Now!”
- Stephen Tapp
“If you want a
top fishing kayak,
then call the guys
at Viking - they’re
great to deal with”
- Matt Watson
Viking Kayaks are professionally set
up for fishing by Stephen Tapp.
Follow us on Facebook, Search Viking Kayaks
FN5272
Ph: 0800
58-60 kayak jul12fn.indd 59
529 253
for your nearest stockist. View full range at
www.vikingkayaks.co.nz
New Zealand Fishing News
59
on presentation. At these times it’s
desirable to totally slack-line the bait to
create an even more natural look.
In this application the usual suicide/
beak (or ‘J’ style) hooks aren’t the
best choice, and I change to a single
circle hook rig. This has the same
flasher material streaming from it as
the swimming pillie rig (for the same
reasons), and it’s baited simply by
passing the hook once through the
bait’s head. Using this rig, the bait
can be cast unweighted into shallow
water and allowed to drift with just
enough line recovered to stop it drifting
into the top layers of kelp. This is my
favourite technique for fishing the
white water wash zones for moochers
hiding unseen under the bubbles.
Likewise, in deeper water the bait
can be allowed to drift without any line
pressure at all, and just enough added
weight to get the desired sink rate.
When the drifting baits are inhaled
and the fish runs, it’s simply a matter
of closing the bail (or flicking the reel
into gear) and letting the tension come
on without striking. This lets the circle
hook do its thing and set in the corner
of the fish’s jaw.
Notes on hook selection
Hook selection is always going to
be an area of personal choice, and the
well-respected brands have all gained
that respect for very good reason:
they’re top quality and work well. That
said, there are a few characteristics I
look for when selecting hooks for the
way I fish:
• Sharp points and fine gauge: since
we’re fishing from kayaks, it can
sometimes be difficult to strike hard
enough to properly set the hooks. In
part this comes from operating from
a seated position in a tight cockpit,
and in part from the fact that the
A photo out of the archives (and pre-dating
digital cameras on my kayaks): this dark
kelpy succumbed to a well presented bait
amongst the kelp. Part of the secret is
being able to rapidly adjust sink rate by
changing sinkers to keep baits from fouling
in the kelp.
kayak will pull towards the fish,
reducing your ability to drive the
hooks home. Wickedly sharp points
start the process and a fine gauge
wire makes it easier for the hook to
penetrate.
• Strong offset: I find this allows the
hook to twist clear of the bait more
easily on the strike and reliably
drive home. Once engaged in the
fish’s jaw, I have fewer problems
with dropping my catch if it gets
slack-lined while repositioning the
kayak (a critical consideration when
operating around a surging reef
break or rugged coast).
• Good nickel coating: as I pre-tie all
my rigs, I don’t want any corrosion
issues. It’s extremely frustrating and
expensive having to bin rigs because
points have disappeared and shanks
been weakened as a result of the
dreaded ‘orange fungus’.
Trace material
I vary my trace material depending
on the target species and areas being
fished. In most cases I prefer to use
a very supple material, making top
quality co-polymer lines the best
A mixed bag of snapper, puka and trevally, all caught on the rigs mentioned here, help
show the universal appeal of natural baits.
choice. These are easy to work with,
tie great knots, and have enough
suppleness to limit their influence over
the way baits drift and ‘swim’.
When targeting non-toothy species
– ranging from kahawai and john dory
to large trevally – in less than perfectly
clear water, I’ll use 18-24kg trace. For
targeting snapper and smaller kings
I normally move up to 37kg, and for
larger kings I may go for 45kg, but
material this thick will definitely have
an influence over the way dead and cut
baits are presented.
If the water is very clear and I’m
targeting sight-orientated species
such as trevally and kings, I’ll change
to fluorocarbon trace. This material is
harder and more abrasion resistant,
but typically much stiffer than the
comparatively supple co-polymer
material. This makes it essential to
drop down in weight/diameter, but the
harder nature of the line allows it to
cope with teeth and rocks very well.
For spooky trevally in clear water
I’ll drop to 10 or 15kg fluorocarbon
and accept that I may have the odd
snapper bite me off. When targeting
line-shy kings on light tackle in very
clear conditions, I’ll rig up using 24kg
fluorocarbon. Other than being reefed,
I’ve never lost a kingfish on this
combination of light line-class and fine
diameter fluorocarbon trace; it’s quite
capable of standing up to the abrasion
dished out by kingfish ‘raspers’,
provided you don’t try and trace the
fish!
All we need now is our bait and we’re
ready to hit the water for the superb
winter fishing hiding out there. There’s
less boat traffic to create noise and
mayhem, and the fish are undisturbed.
This is moocher time, so hopefully
next month will bring tales of monster
battles and mayhem…
Stephen Tapp works at Viking Kayaks
and can be contacted on 0800 529 253
if you have any kayak-fishing related
questions.
PERFORMANCE
COMPRESSION
GARMENT
Even on a warm day the wind chill can quickly
cool you down. Sharkskin is a revolutionary
technical water sports garment and product of
choice for watersport enthusiasts who enjoy their sport
all year round - regardless of the forecast!
Sharkskin garments come in a large range of
sizes and styles providing the equivalent warmth of a 2.5
– 3mm neoprene wetsuit - but with better wind chill
protection.
Performance
Compression
Top
RAPID DRY
GARMENT
NEW!
SPF50+
Rapid Dry
Top
Climate Control
with 1/2 zip
Find your Authorised Sharkskin Dealer www.sharkskin.co.nz
New Zealand Fishing News
58-60 kayak jul12fn.indd 60
NEW!