Offshore fishing kayak/catamaran

[ubnt]

Hi friends,

I have been landbased fishing for the last two years in Brisbane and getting a bit bored by what can be caught onshore.

 

I was wondering if anyone could give insights on kayaking/or sailing to Moreton Island from Sandgate for fishing? 

I am not so keen on just fishing near the shore, but traveling a bit further. However, I am not quite sure if a fishing kayak or Hobie adventure island can handle the trip on a not so calm day. 

I cannot afford a powerboat, therefore I prefer kayak.

 

Cheers!

 

[Drop Bear]

4 minutes ago, ubnt said:

I was wondering if anyone could give insights on kayaking/or sailing to Moreton Island from Sandgate for fishing? 

Hey mate,

I understand the desire to get out there but I would send some caution. It is a very long way to Tangalooma across very open waters, with strong currents and you need to cross a shipping channel. I wouldn't encourage you to do this unless you are extremely well set up, experienced and have a good support crew. 

However, there are some good fishing options on a yak a lot closer to home. There are some great reefs just of Scarborough and whiting options etc. 

[The Mad Hughesy]

thats a monster journey. Moreton bay can turn nasty really really quickly. If youre really keen on chasing some better fish, go offshore from the sunshine coast. you dont need to go far to reach some great fishing ground that hold loads of reef fish and pelagics too. 

[Junky]

No way. Do not even attempt it. 

Catch the barge over there with your yak, then paddle from the shore of Moreton. 

That way you're close. 

I would also recommend a personal epirb. 

 

[kmcrosby78]

I echo the comments, and recommendations above. If you wanted to do an extended trip which involves camping as you get better set up and more experience, off the top of my head there's a few good options also. You could explore Pummicestone Passage (there's a boat-only access camping spot), the Jumpinpin area, the southern bay islands (camp on either Peel Island or Blakesley's Anchorage on Nth Straddie) or Wave Break Island in the Gold Coast Broadwater.

To start off though I'd be doing some research on the nearby reefs off Scarborough/Redcliffe as you should be a chance of decent fish and decent variety.  Looking forward to reading about some of your adventures .

[Ed.]

My 2 cents is also the same as others here, do what Junky  said above. No amount of fish is worth that risk, it is a bloody long way between those two points (31Km) and then you have the return journey to tackle. Between the winds, tides and current changes, very sloppy and big sea conditions that can whip up very quickly not to mention it is about a 62km round trip without any other paddling around. If you do it, there will be a good chance that you will end up being talked about in the news, and not in a good way!

[Jono4500]

You'll be right mate give it a crack! Let me know if you make it back n il come with ya next time! 

      JOKING! 

 Dont attempt it. Whilst not impossible, you'd need a lot of things to go your way for a safe trip. Experience, weather, tides, swell, physical fitness and more need to be considered before attempting. I'd recommend getting your hours up near shoreline before getting too far out, understanding and expecting how unpredictable things can get, practice deep water capsize recovery, understanding weight limits, selecting minimising and packing essential gear etc. All help make adventures possible and not a trip to Davy Jones locker. Donnybrook to mission point camp spot on bribie is a great starting  mission for someone looking to get into offshore kayaking.

 Let me know how you go! 

 

[ubnt]

Thanks a lot for all your  comments and I felt like embarrassed for asking the question! Well now I know the limit of a kayak and sailing boat in real life! I will definitely try the Pummicestone Passage as someone suggested. 

Thanks again my friends!

[Ed.]

ubnt:  No need to be embarrassed, better to ask and find out before hand then find out the hard way when it is too late and your 15km off shore in 2m seas. The Hobie would be better than the kayak as it is a lot more stable and you get more speed due to the wind pushing you, which would result in less time spent in the middle of the bay, you also wouldn't wear yourself out as quickly as paddling a kayak, having said that, I still wouldn't do it in either.

Cheers

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

On 27/01/2022 at 2:10 PM, ubnt said:

Hi friends,

I have been landbased fishing for the last two years in Brisbane and getting a bit bored by what can be caught onshore.

 

I was wondering if anyone could give insights on kayaking/or sailing to Moreton Island from Sandgate for fishing? 

I am not so keen on just fishing near the shore, but traveling a bit further. However, I am not quite sure if a fishing kayak or Hobie adventure island can handle the trip on a not so calm day. 

I cannot afford a powerboat, therefore I prefer kayak.

 

Cheers!

 

Like said above, it’s not a good idea.

The Brisbane River, Pine River, rivers/creeks/canals around the Gold Coast, Jumpinpin Islands, and areas around Wellington Point all offer good kayak fishing options.

Cheers Hamish

[Angry51]

I wouldn't even put a yak in a 50 metre pool.

It's just too far from end to end for this old f#rt to paddle.

[Drop Bear]

On 27/01/2022 at 10:00 PM, ubnt said:

I felt like embarrassed for asking the question!

mate no embarrassment in asking questions. It is a lot more embarrassing getting rescued. 

I look forward to hearing about your adventures mate. 

[Drop Bear]

On 27/01/2022 at 10:23 PM, Ed. said:

The Hobie would be better than the kayak

Do you have a recommended model? I would like one for Amity. 

[Ed.]

1 hour ago, Drop Bear said:

Do you have a recommended model? I would like one for Amity. 

 

Unfortunately no, I only have very limited knowledge of these sort of small craft and that was a long time ago, I have sailed some small Hobies on the swan river in Perth when I was younger and also kayaks, and between the two,  multi hulls with a sail beat the mono hull kayaks for ease of travelling and crossing distances and stability, they do come with compromises, in that from a fishing point of view you have a mast and boom to avoid with the rods and also the associated ropes and pulleys. However, you can travel at a much greater speed and can cover greater distances with virtually no effort provided there is any sort of breeze around.

Comparing them with a kayak which would barely do 4-5 knots and which you would not be able to do speed that more than a minute or so, but kayaks are more manoeuvrable in tight spaces such as in creeks and mangrove areas, and only a few restrictions for fishing. In my opinion, kayaks are more suited to close to shore activities. I have often contemplated building a 20ft or so GRP sailing cat (but with an expanding hull  for ease of towing) similar in size to the Nacra 6.0  or the Hobie 20ft but have left it a bit late in my life to do that sort of thing, also a small 5HP outboard  for backup in case the wind died completely. However, used models are relatively affordable and I could modify one for more of a fishing use with a trampoline in the front as well,  but it would still have the restrictions due to mast,  boom and lines to avoid which I could work around and I could live with that.

Have a look at these sort of cats, although these are much bigger physically than the Hobie Adventure Island that "ubnt" mentioned in his opening post. So even if you don't fish from them you will still have a lot of fun sailing them, but overall in my view, these sized ones are much safer if you venture out into more open waters as the old saying goes, bigger is better!

[Ed.]

As for getting caught out in the surf or sloppy bay conditions, I would rather be on one of these than in a kayak as a lot of these cats can do up to 20 knots in those conditions. Personally I am not that brave but it would be nice to know that that they are much safer than a kayak in those conditions if you get caught out. A lot of cat clubs actually have sailing  competitions in those conditions.

[Drop Bear]

On 02/02/2022 at 9:44 AM, Ed. said:

A lot of cat clubs actually have sailing  competitions in those conditions.

Wow. Sounds like an expensive sport! I don't thin there would be much rigging left if you flipped. 

Thanks for the help mate. 

[Ed.]

I have never flipped a Cat but from what I have seen, the rigging is fine after righting it back up, new these cats are reasonably expensive but used ones seem to be quite affordable (4K to 10K). A lot of these sailers who enter comps try to get the latest designs/models, so they sell off their used ones reasonably cheaply.

Cheers

Ed.

[Sailhand]

Hi I have lived on a sailing catamaran for 17 years and owned one of the first hobie adventure islands in Queensland. I would not hesitate to do that journey on an AI however I would check the weather on something like windy or meteye and consider the tides and plan accordingly.  There are AIs making much larger trips than that, but again it all comes down to the 7 pees. Prior preparation and planning prevents piss poor performance. Starting slowly and carefully with shorter trips, doing some heavy weather work on a lee shore so that if you sink or capsize etc you get to experience these things at a low risk as you will be blown ashore. You can prepare your craft and yourself to survive these conditios comfortably and expand your horizons appropriately.  No one just gets out of their lounge chair and scales the north face on everest, it takes preparation. Increase your knowledge base and your fitness, get the right gear, epirb life jacket etc organise to travel in company with other vessels etc. In other words be prepared for the worst and hope for the best not vice versa. The hobies are a fantasic boat and in perfect conditions that is a 3 hour run but more likely 5 hours. There and back in a day is a much greater challenge due to tides and afternoon sea breezes. I would camp on moreton and return the next day. A much better option would be to start somewhere like caloundra for instance as there is great fishing just a few miles out. I bagged a 42kg longtail there the best tuna Ive ever caught.

[longhairedwahoo]

Hi, I started kayak fishing at Green island from wellington pt. Plenty of variety to be caught there all year round from Tuskys and snaps to the occasional mac. Its a decent return paddle but for about 60% of the journey you are just following the sand bar to king island (see google maps) so you can always get out of trouble. From there I would look at hitting offshore reefs which are quite popular like palmy or brays as you should never be to far from trouble.