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2012 Bass: Trip 1
After exploring some of the best looking water I have possibly ever seen without even a bump from a fish the previous day we were more then keen to catch a few fish this time! We rigged up the kayaks, (Viking Espri Fisherman and Nemo Fish) and headed out in search of some hungry Bass! The day started quite slow, throwing lures right into the back of snags to try and wake a fish up. After an hour or so I hooked up to my first fish, it wacked the lure right next to the kayak, after a short fight I had the fish in the net. After a few photos the fish was released. The next few hours were really quite, we peppered every snag we could flick a lure at without even a bump. Morning Tea time came around so we found a nice spot and pulled up for a bite to eat, and tried to work out where these bass were. After morning tea we paddled back and headed further upstream in search of the bass. It wasn’t long before we found them, and they seemed to be firing. From a pretty average day it soon turned out to be great. Although the leaves on the surface, trees, and wind played havoc we managed to land some quality fish. One of mine from the day put up a great show, towing me around and trying to get back into the sticks, It had them wondering if I had the fish or it had me; after riding the merry go round for a few laps I landed a solid bass of 45.5 cm. It was a great day out on the water with over 13 bass landed by the 3 of us. Look forward to chasing a few bass this year!
Cheers Aidan
October 2011 - Sunshine Coast
Sunday, the last day that we would be fishing the Sunshine Coast. I rigged up my Viking Espri Fisherman and headed out. I headed straight out to a nice weed bed which produced a few smaller flathead the day before. Paddling over the weed beds you could see small flathead darting out every where. I casted out a plastic and it wasn’t long before I was into a nice little flathead. After gaining some local knowledge I put on a lure that had been working in the area. I casted out along the edge of a drop off, gave the lure two twitches and bang, the rod loaded up and I was onto a nice flathead, the flathead was playing nice at first  until it realised it was hooked, the fish screamed off into the shallow water; after a long fight trying to keep the hooks in the fish I finally landed it. It was a huge flathead which measured 60 cm long, I got a few pictures of this big girl and let he go as she would be a major breeder for the area. After catching this fish I was stoked, it was an awesome way to finish off a great week at the Sunshine Coast.
Cheers Aidan
  
October 2011 - Sunshine Coast
After opening the account with a nice flathead on Friday i was keen to get back out early Saturday morning to catch a few more fish. I rigged up the Viking Espri and headed out. Once I paddled out into the middle of the creek; I casted out my two rods one with a bought hard bodied lure and the other with one of my Home-Made Lollypop Lures. I got one paddle stroke in then zzzzzzz, the rod with my Lollypop lure on it bent right over almost touching the water, i quickly grabbed the rod and let the fish run, the fish stopped running after taking about 30 meters of line. After a great fight I landed a Gt which was 55 cm Long. After a few pictures I continued on fishing. Later on in the day i landed a few nice flathead. It was another fantastic day out on the water and some nice fish caught out of my Viking Espri Fisherman.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
  After having a fantastic week of work experience at Viking Kayaks, I decided to go for a fish on the Friday afternoon. I rigged up my Viking Espri and headed out for a quick fish. I went for a bit of a paddle and explored the water in which we would be fishing the next day. After paddling around and flicking lures for a while I decided to start trolling back. I was just about back to our unit when my rod bent over and line started pulling off the spool. After a great fight I landed a nice 54 cm Flathead tacked on a hard bodied lure. I paddled back to our unit and got a few pictures of the fish.
It was a great way to end a fantastic week of work experience.
Cheers Aidan
Tuesday, 4 Oct 2011
On the 10-11th of September we went down to Wivenhoe Dam to fish the Wivenhoe Kayak & Canoe Fishing Convention.
We arrived there on Friday the 9th, the weather was overcast and looked like there was a storm on the way. We unloaded the car and quickly set up camp with the help of some friends off kfdu.
Just after we finished putting the tarp up the storm front came through, the weather turned foul; Blowing about 60 knots, pouring down rain and the temperature dropping to a chilly 3 degrees.
After holding down the tent for at least 40 minutes the storm had past and we finished setting up and assessing the damage. There were tents flattened, and kayak’s upturned.
That night there was a briefing about how the comp would run the next day.
The next morning we got up grabbed our catch cards and keys and went off in search for some bass. I casted at every snag possible without even a hit. It was pretty amazing paddling in there waters and looking at how high the debris was up the trees, at one spot there was a big log stuck in a tree about 20m up, and when you looked up even further there was a plastic chair ; it just goes to show how much water went through the river. The wind picked up and we still hadn’t caught a fish so we decided to head back.
On Sunday i went with a mate to a different spot, after long steep, track down to the water we headed off. Throughout the day i landed 11 bass i caught some trolling and a few casting into the shadows using a constant winding retrieve. I caught the Bass on my own Lollypop Lures and an old Eddy’s lure. My biggest bass was 38cm to the tip of the tail, it was a great day out on the water and a great weekend at Wivenhoe, even if there was some pretty wild weather.
Cheers Aidan
  
  
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Day 1- Coombabah Creek
 Coombabah is a great little area, very quite and ideal for looking for some big dusky flathead and whiting, as it has a mix of sandy shallows, weed beds, rocky channels and muddy banks. I set up the kayak and headed out; it wasn’t long before I was into a nice little flathead which went 36 cm. It was caught on a vibe style lure, using small sharp rod lifts keeping almost continuous contact with the bottom. I continued making my way up the creek and found a nice drop off to troll along. My rod bent over and I was onto a nice flathead this time it went 38cm and was caught trolling a deep diving minnow style lure along a drop off. Drop offs are an ideal place to fish for flathead on an out going tide, they will sit in the deeper water and wait to ambush pray that drain off the shallow flats into the deeper water. I changed over to a small soft plastic and started fishing for some whiting. I found a few fish on the sounder and dropped the plastic down into the school. When the plastic got to the bottom I slowly hopped it back to the kayak. You have to make sure not to strike at the whiting as most of the time they will only suck onto the back of the plastic, if this is happening often then a stinger hook may be need to increase hook up rate. I caught a few small whiting around 20cm using a slow hopping technique. The tide started running hard and I called it a day. After a long paddle back against the hard running tide I packed up, loaded the car and got ready for the next days events.
Day 2- Wellington Point
Wellington point is a very popular fishing spot on the Brisbane Coast Line. Out on the point you will find a Jetty, Barbeques, Amenities, 2 Boat Ramps and a Kiosk. Fishing out on the point you are likely to catch, Pike, Tailor, Snapper, Squire and Flathead. We loaded the kayaks and started paddling out, we paddled out around 2 km until we got to the Red Beacon. On the way out I caught a 34 cm Squire which fell to a trolled minnow style lure. When we got to the beacon we fished small plastics on a 1/4 oz. Jig head. It wasn’t long before I was onto a nice squire. Although the squire didn't have much size to them they were still fun on light spin gear. Shortly after I landed a small Moses Perch and a few more Squire. The day got late and we decided to start palling back. On the way back a 34 cm Tailor took a liking to my trolled minnow style lure. Up ahead there was a school a large pike which kept us entertained for a few minutes. We got back to the ramp packed up and headed home. Throughout my two trips in Brisbane I was using a Viking Espri Fisherman Kayak, which moved easily and fast through the water, It also handled Wellington Point’s swell, and boat waves without a problem. I would highly recommend this kayak to someone that wants an all round Fishing kayak wether you want to fish Estuary, Dam or Offshore the Viking Espri Fisherman has it all.
When I got back to Hervey Bay I decided to go out and see if the fish were about. We arrived at the Spot, rigged up my Viking Espri and Dad’s Viking Nemo, and started paddling out. The waves were quite choppy on the way out but the fish didn't seem to worry. We threw the lines out and started trolling, not long after dad landed a nice size Tailor which was 37 cm. We continued on and caught a heap of pike some of which I have kept to pickle up for reef bait. So after having a bit of fun on the pike we continue on catching pike and the occasional Tailor. I stoped for a fish casted out and I was on, landing a nice Tailor which went 36 cm. I kept on going and later on managed a few more Tailor, one which was 35 cm, I threw back around six other which were undersize. I turned around and saw dad having a nice fight with a fish. He landed it and it was a nice Coral Trout which was 30 cm and caught on a shallow diving minnow style lure. I kept on trolling, drifting and flicking when I saw fish on the sounder. I drifted into a nice looking area, saw a big show on the sounder and casted out Twitch, Twitch, Pause, Wind, Bang. ZZzzzz, I tightened up the drag as I though I was onto a Coral Trout. After a nice fish and getting towed around I landed a Cracking Snapper!! It measured 50 cm and was caught on a Shallow diving minnow lure. This was a Personal best. for me and a Pb. for the Viking Espri. The day went on and we had a bit more fun on the pike and small Tailor. We decided to call it a day and head back to the ramp. It was a Cracking Day out on the water catching 4 Legal Tailor and a 1 Snapper.
Cheers Aidan
  
  
Monday, 16 May 2011
Took the Viking Espri out yesterday and caught a 33 cm bass on a home-made (LollyPop lure) I was casting tight in to the bank using a constant slow winding retrieve. Dad also caught a nice Barramundi on about his 5th cast, also on a homemade lure.I have mounted my fish finder on the yak, it looks great, I'll take some pics of it set up soon.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
I took the new yak out to the dam yesterday. Well what can I say but FANTASTIC. It paddles like a breeze, is stable and tracks perfectly. Cuts through the water nicely, an all round great yak I have to say. Dad couldn't keep up with me in the Nemo. We paddled up to the wall about 4km up and another 4km back, we were out for 8.5hrs. After around 5000 casts I caught a absolute cracker bass of 45cm on one of our homemade lures. The bass pull very hard especially out of the kayak.I took a few pics of the bass and let him go. Dad also managed a nice Barra of around 60-65cm on one of our home-made lures, our ruler wasn't big enough to measure the fish correctly. It was a great day out in the yaks, slow fishing till around 2pm but the fish sure payed off and the yaks are great. All we need to do now is get Mum out on the water in a kayak, do you have any good deals going in a tempo (fisherwoman) in pink.
PS. Stay tuned for the next trip when i get a bigger bass/barra.
Tuesday, 16 April 2011
 I went Barra fishing with my mate Richo on Friday. My third cast of a homemade lure I hooked a Barra of around 80cm it took off around a stick pulling the kayak along. Not long after I got done by the Barra around the stick it cut my braid and I lost my home made lure (so I thought), within another 30 seconds it floated to the surface. I picked it up and saw that it had no hooks/split rings on it. That must of been a good Barra. A little further I caught my first Barra from the yak of 55cm on another homemade lure. Few more meters up I hooked another Barra, it leaped out of the water right next to the kayak and shot the lure back at me. So to summarise things upI caught only the one fish. Lost 2 Barra. Had hits from 5 barra. Richo caught 4 bass biggest 48cm.
Monday, 4 April 2011
I managed to take my kayak out yesterday in one of the creeks in Hervey Bay. When we got there the tide was coming in fast so paddling was easy. I trawled all the way up to the top and I caught one bream around 25cm on a hardbody minnow.
On the way back I caught a 26cm bream, 4 cod, biggest 35cm, and a small flathead. Was a great day out on the water, fish were a bonus. All fish released.
Cheers Aidan
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
I just got back from Toonumbar Dam where I caught 5 bass and had a great time with 25+ members of KFDU.
I caught the first one on Friday when we got there, it was 21cm long, and I caught it on a RMG scorpion.
Saturday morning I went out and I caught 2 Bass, one 28cm on one of my homemade lures, and a 16cm on a warlock lure. Saturday afternoon I didn't catch anything. Sunday morning I caught another 2 bass, one that was 27.5cm on a Mojoko lure, and a 17cm on the same lure.
Cheers Aidan
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Yesterday the Viking Nemo came out for another fish at Swan/Butha creek. I did some filming of my fishing/paddling. I caught a 50cm flathead on 6lb leader on a berkley gulp camo sandworm soft plastic rigged on a 1/16oz size 1 jighead, I think, a whiting jighead anyway. I also caught a thumper 36cm whiting on a yabbie and a 26cm tarwhine and have that on video. Mum and Dad also caught alot of fish. I didn't catch as much as them though because I was using plastics/poppers/lures and they were using bait.
The weather also turned when we were out there and ended up blowing about 25 knots and there were a few waves about and the Nemo kayak handled the waves pretty well - there was just a bit if spray. The water there was very dirty and smelt/tasted very fishy/(weird???) there was also something big chopping up big mullet as well. The mullet getting chased were about 60cm so whatever was under them was huge... the noise was amazing, sounded like a F18 taking off. I'm guessing maybe sharks?/ big barra/ mangrove jacks? Maybe I'll catch one of them from the yak soon. I have caught a mangrove jack from that creek before but this was fishing from the bank.
So for the whole day out this is what was legal:
2 flathead
3 bream
8 Tarwhine bream
14 whiting
Cheers Aidan Robertson
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Hello Viking Kayaks
It's 14 yr old Aidan Robertson here from Hervey Bay,I have seen my picture in a few magazines now i'ts great. Sorry I haven't been in contact with you for a while, have had a lot of school work and fishing in my only spare time while it hasnt been raining. I would like to say that the Viking Fishing Nemo is still doing a good job. I have changed a few thing round on it to make it more suitable and spacious for fishing - it is pretty decked out now. I went fishing on the weekend at Swan/ Butha creek near Pona and caught 5 or 6 good size flathead and a couple of whiting. I thought I would send you the pictures and let you know how i was going. So by the way how are you going and have you been doing much fishing??
Cheers Aidan Robertson
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