Banging da big Inkers.

Stealthy Squid from the 550's

Its that time of the year again roars the lion king.

Mark and Paul bag 8 nice squid... some well over the 1kg in weight.

Stealth 4.700m vs King 1.060m.Ski patrol...banging more of da big ones.

Two 1.0m plus kings in two weeks at either end of the peninsula has to be a kayakfishing first.

Great effort Henry...you are leading the way and kicking some serious arse.


The storey goes something like this.......

1.You troll up the stinky pike.

2.You head out into 20m of water.

3.You deploy the custom 3lb bomb via the Scotty 1050 depthmater downrigger with pike in tow.


4.You paddle two strokes hook the 1.0m plus king .

5.To conclude you proceed to wind up the downrigger and boat the fish.



It is as easy as that?????

Stealth 4.700m vs King 1.120m.Ski patrol...banging da big ones.

Henry joins the 1.0m+ club.
Measured at 1.120m.
Caught on downrigged stinky pike.
Awesome fish.......Awesome effort.
I witnessed the fight and it was top notch all the way.

Winter kings at their best.
Well done mate.

Stealth 4.700m vs king 0.970m.

Henrys turn to nail a 90 plus.

Yellowtail kingfish 0.970m
Downrigged live bait

Welcome to the club mate.

So let me get this right.You caught the thing on a Stealth using a live downrigged bait...cool.

Things then start to go down hill.....
1.I hear you were wearing that crazy eskimo hat.
2.I get hit on the head by a rogue Bennet paddle (looked like it had been used upside down for the past year) whilst swimming Mona Vale Basin.Since been informed that you lost a paddle fitting this description whilst landing the above brute.
3.My spies then tell me that some bloke wearing a strange hat was seen trying to paddle a mule back to shore with a Mona Vale Hilton bait tube as a paddle..... still full of live yellowtail I might add.
4.Then to top it off I hear my old 495 was seen rendering assistance with a mule in tow.

What a story.......Henry have I missed anything?????

Well done mate.....Both you and Dave sure have put the hours and effort in this season.

The Mud Snake.

Full carbon Stealth 550.

Screw hatch in lieu of lift hatch....Drybox not wetbox.

Custom color...Exposed carbon band/black band/tangerine band.

The perfect Snake.

Stealth 550.....Full Carbon Missile.

Paddling with a "NUDGE".

A tad awkward but reality when paddling the Mud Snake.

This thing is just insane.........Light ,fast,stiff and wicked on the water.

The 550 in carbon has a totally different feel to my 550 in glass.The reduced weight and stiffness result in a craft that accelerates and maintains speed with minimal effort.I would estimate a third lighter than the same ski in glass.

With these skis we opted for a screw hatch in lieu of the lift hatch to access the internal fishbox.This has resulted in 100% dry stowage and of course reduced weight with no water intake.

If you get the opportunity to paddle one of these skis...........you will buy one straight up.They are that good.


Hand made......Cutting edge....Pushing the boundaries.....Leading not following.....Good on you Stealth and well done Bruce.....Awesome craft.

Stealthy squid

The Exotic Weave.

Two carbon missiles in transit from South Africa.

One rod....One Species....No Bling.....Oh and a Rash Shirt.

In the pursuit of perfection Paul and myself have upgraded to carbon with our Stealth 550's.
To reduce weight and simplify things we have also opted for the screw hatch in lieu of the fish box.

Check out these for the ultimate dedicated pelagic hunting carbon missiles.


Mine is the "Mud Snake".

Pauls is "Guatemala".

Mark taking on The Dragon.

Stealth 5.5m "Trouser Snake" vs 1.5m Dragon.

Plenty of speed.....heaps of power......no back shute.

No dinner for you that night Dragon.

Snapper caught from EVO 495.

Caught on my old EVO 495 by Dave Beat whilst trolling for kingfish.

Beware of "SLEEPING DRAGON".

This fish came with a substantial damage bill.

Whilst landing this fish both Dave and Henry got dealt a fair spanking from "SLEEPING DRAGON".

Henry had a 200m swim to retrieve his ski (at 5.00am in the dark) and Dave sustained damage to his ski all as a direct result of an angry Dragon.

Doing time in the stones.02/02/11

Have been fishing some out of the way surges during the week day afternoons for some awesome results of late...especially this week.
We often get asked why we fish 80lb leader.
The short video clip shows just what damage a sub 90cm king can do to your leader when he has you on the bottom.

1.170m kingfish

Nice way to kick off the 0.900m kingfish season.

Blood On The Trousersnake. 1.170m Kingfish

24/01/11

4th king for the 2010/2011 season for us over 0.900m

Marks turn to pop the 0.900m cherry on his Stealth 550.

1.170m yellowtail kingfish.

Caught out wide on deep trolled squid head.

Epic battle on a 550 or any paddle ski for that matter.One rod,one ski,one paddle...no bling,no electronics pure ski fishing.

Mark was that excited he pissed his pants.

09/01/11. First 90cm plus from "The Cornsake".

The Boys reckon the singlet looks gay .....even more so tucked into the wetsuit pants.....maybe they have a point???

It is a fair dinkum hoot landing a 10kg plus King at nearly 1.0m in length from a ski.There is much to consider and many obstacles to over come.They are hard enough just to find let alone entice.Once these fish get to over 90cm they are just so brutal and unforgiving. A hook up can often end in a bust off if you are not prepared.

We "Think BIG" on every outing and target these things with a massive passion that appears to give us consistent results.We do have a system and finally feel as though we have a rough idea on how these larger specimens feed and behave.

For me this fish is the pinnacle so far in my pursuit of the yellowtail kingfish.To land it on probably the most unstable purpose built fishing ski just added to the challenge and thrill.

It's all about keeping things simple and raw ...One ski,one paddle,one rod,one bait and one species.No bling, no electronics.Kayak fishing in its purest form.

Please enjoy this short clip of the fish I caught and the ski I hooked it from.

Blood On The Cornsnake. 0.990m Kingfish

09/01/11

3rd king for the 2010/2011 season for us over 90cm
0.990m

Rigged the new ski for big fish and caught one.
Popped the cherry on the Cornsnake (Stealth 550).
0.990m yellowtail kingfish..Tried to stretch it out to 1.0m.
Caught out wide on live bait.
Monster Mesh rod/Torium 30 reel.50lb braid/80lb leader.

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.