On water reveiw of the Stealth 550

Location; Long Reef Wide.
Conditions; 0.5m swell
Wind; 0.0 knots
Distance paddled; 5.5nm
Target species; Yellow tail kingfish.

First off a brief on what we wanted from this ski;

Speed...Length...Stability
A light yet durable ski that can be easily handled fully rigged on and off the car and then to the waters edge without the need for trolleys etc.
A ski that had the speed to run poppers, fast lures,deep divers and dead baits as well as the ability to cover vast distances with minimal effort.Incresed length to around the 5.500m.Reduced width with just enough balance to land 90cm plus fish.

Loaded the ski up with minimal kit comprising 1.6m rod, lures, cut bait, and assorted tackle. Set up time was around 5 min.Launch was a breeze carrying the complete rig down to the water. The minimal gear approach I feel is the only way to fish this ski to its true potential.Keeping the weight and thus displacement to a minimum so as hull speed does not suffer.

Plenty of speed and acceleration with minimal effort was the first thing I noticed. Turning circle was excellent for a 5.5m ski.
More than adequate stability with the skis 600mm beam. Having said that I still think you would need a reasonable amount of offshore paddling under your belt to hang onto some of the larger kings without the fear of being reefed.Cockpit area stays nice and dry in swell thanks to the raised forward deck area deflecting water off to the sides.

I intend to only carry and fish with the one rod to keep things simple and organised.One species one rod for this ski is my motto.May just sneak the odd squid session in.

Deployed a 100mm popper out the back and had it running like a dream. This is one lure up until now that I have never had enough boat speed to run. Went wider with cut bait and got into some action. I found fighting and bringing the fish on board no problem with both legs over the side of the ski.The rod shute can handle a 91cm king(Pauls fish...Marks ski) with a squeeze. The internal drain system in the rod shute and foot well is a weak point and as we is as speak being redesigned.It holds water and does not drain quick enough when the ski is nailed by a breaking wave.My next 550 will have a screw hatch in lieu of a lift hatch fish box arrangement.I have opted to fit a backrest to the ski which made for a very comfortable ride. A couple of the boys are paddling without one and say they find it OK.

The foot pedals are easy to adjust giving the ski correct leg length.

Rear hatch is large and easy to reach which makes it ideal for keeping gear dry.

I dont fish with a shark shield so did not bother trying to mount one. I think Mark uses one on his 550 and stows it in the rear hatch.

The ski is fitted with two rear flush mounts angled to the side.I opted to mount a forward Scotty which also accommodates the Go Pro camera.

Rear tank well comes with shock cord and is a great place for life jacket or spray jacket stowage.

To conclude the ski met all of my expectations and I believe it is “The Ultimate Fishing Ski” however it will not replace my BFS which I love for its stability,deck layout and massive fish box. The combination of the two skis is perfect. You could fit a downrigger to this ski(running a light 2lb bomb) making it much more vesatile however the BFS looks after that aspect of my fishing.

If you want the ultimate paddling /fishing experience this is your craft.The ski with its length/beam and cockpit layout is pure kayak fishing "Eye Candy".

Thanks Bruce...Thanks Barry you have produced a very tidy package that has raised the bar just a little higher and put a smile on a number of faces around the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

Stealth 550 Fitout.

Birth of a Stealth 550.."The Cornsnake".

The latest from the Stealth production line"The 550"

A welcome sight just three days before Christmas.We all opted for custom spray jobs air freighting them from Johannesburg. This time minor damage was sustained to one of them.Pauls had a knock from a fork truck.As we speak,in good faith Stealth are making a replacement.

At 5.5m long,600mm wide and weighing a tad over 20kgs....this thing will fly.

This is by far the "Ultimate fishing ski"aimed fair and square at the paddling purist with some experience and a love for all things glass

Early days of kayakfishing.The Dawn Prawn Fishing Club.

04/12/10 Yellow tail kingfish.

2nd king for the 2010/2011season over 90cm

0.905m

Caught on live yellowtail downrigged to 18ft

Wall of Kings.

Mid week afternoon madness.

Mark paddles out packing a "Nudge"and runs into a massive school of kings.

Downrigger along with bomb cam is deployed ..... he then gets smashed.

Fishing Ski Downrigging Bombs.

Our custom fishing ski bombs are all made with lead filled 316 Stainless tube.

We attach a swaged 200lb Jinkai 1.1m leader at the back complete with stainless snap clip.The swages are then covered with heat shrink.

The Mona Vale Hilton

This is a Baitube that Paul perfected.

We have loaded it with up to 10 yakkas and all stayed alive.

The concept of reduced size came from the success of Tuna Tubes.

It has also worked well on squid.

Soon to be a familiar sight at Longreef I would assume.

The Mule

This is my latest purchase.Stealth BFS fully kitted for offshore downrigging.

THE MAKEOVER...............

Removed all deck fittings,buffed ski then sealed & replaced all fittings..

Removed and replaced existing rubber.Added extra wear pads where needed.

Made custom downrigger mount .

Fitted out inside of ski.

Awesome craft.

joe&therookie

My Zeebaas Zx2-25

Go Pro Custom Bomb Cam.

Go Pro camera mounted on the back of "The Nudge"a custom 4lb bomb.

Game on.....0.930m king

First king for the 2010/2011 season over 90cm

Downrigged live squid did the damage

0.955m kingfish

1.080m kingfish

0.930m kingfish

In pursuit of the perfect bait.

It's all about the perfect bait.
As the kingfish become scarce any spare time is spent stocking up the freezer.
No shortage of these inky critters during the winter months.

Fishing OC1 style

I believe that we have found the ultimate set up for those fast afternoon inshore blasts when time is short and the bite is hot or the urge is strong.
In an effort to keep pushing the boundaries let me introduce my latest purchase 6.2m, 9kg full carbon fibre Kai Waa Pegasus outrigger canoe. Fast and fairly stable and now fully rigged up for fishing the Northern beaches of Sydney.Note the Scotty rod holder on the rear iako.
Wiggy has purchased the Kai Waa Scorpius with a slightly larger volume.

As well as an excellent fishing platform it also provides a great training resource.
I have been paddling the OC1 for around 4 months now and have had around 10 solid longreef sessions on it and can’t fault the canoe.

Chasing the winter kings.

Well ,we are three weeks into the winter of 2010 and the big kings are still with us.Paul,Henry and myself shot out for a late arvo fish which payed big dividends.

Fishing with the reliable system that we have had going for big kings for the best part of 6 months Paul caught a thumping 0.910m unit.After a short tussle it was soon residing within the confines of his Stealth495.

Mark is currently up in Noosa targeting spaniards & Tuna

Target species offshore Snapper and flathead.

As the long warm summer days slip away the target species switches to snapper.Handlines,fresh squid along with the odd soft plastic replaces the downrigger.

On the water.

Humpback whales,sharks and amazing early morning sunrises are all part of inshore kayakfishing.

Our fishing platforms.The Stealth Evolution495

The ski's we fish from are Stealth Evolution495's.We imported these from South Africa a little over 8 months ago.
These ski are made from fiberglass and purpose built for offshore conditions.
We have made many modifications to suit our local conditions,one of those being the addition of a downrigger.

Large baits=large fish.

2010 has been a cracker of a year targeting kingfish from our kayaks. We have been using the downrigger and various other techniques unique to our style of fishing to increase the catch size with positive results.Numerous 70 to 85cm fish have beeen caught along with some 0.900m plus hoodlums.