Stealth Adder Rock Competition: 8-9 March 2014

TR by Tunny (addition by Redwood at bottom)

Wind:  ESE 20-25 knots

Swell:  1 m

Launch Point:  Adder Rock Beach, North Stradbroke (see maps below)

Participants:  Entrants competed both as individuals and teams, with the Sunshine Coast Team comprising Sprocket, Salti, Redgreg, Ido, Pedro and Tunny.  Eyetag and Redwood attended but injuries unfortunately prevented them fishing.  Several other NY members participated in the Brisbane teams as the teams were based on where you live.

Keen Angler Program:  Both my fish, plus most fish filleted on the beach were donated to the program.

Thanks: To Dennis and Thomas from Australian Kayak Specialists for hosting the competition and also for some of the photos; to the Sponsors; to Sunshiner for the maps.

This was the second annual Queensland offshore kayak fishing comp, organized by Dennis and Thomas from Australian Kayak Specialists.  The comp started off with a barbecue and briefing on the Friday night kindly hosted by Dennis and Thomas.  It was a great evening, with a “boerewors” barbecue, a few beers and good company, with Salti sharing some of his high octane rocket fuel in preparation for the 5h30 start.  By 5h15 Saturday the competitors were gathering on the beach, with most heading out shortly after 5h30.  The waves were well spaced and most of us got out without too much of a problem, although Redgreg got hammered several times while launching his Hobie Adventure Island.  He eventually gave that up and switched to a Stealth Supalite.

With the wind blowing from the SSE we headed east from Adder Rock towards Shag Rock.  Redwood’s mate who fishes here regularly suggested the area between Shag Rock and the Easterly point of North Stradbroke so I decided to cover this area.  I was trolling a skirted pillie.  About 200m past Shag Rock near the east end of Cylinder beach the reel started screaming and after a short battle I was loading my first Spaniard into the kayak just as Ido came past.  Using another pilchard I continued trolling in an easterly direction and within 20 minutes had a second fish on the line.  This turned out to be a nice Spottie.

I had radioed in my Spanish catch, but had not heard many other reports of fish so was getting hopeful that these two fish would put me in the lead.  But it was not to be.  By 10am I had had no further bites so headed back towards Adder Rock Beach to meet the 11am deadline for weighing in fish for the morning session.  The beach landing was a bit tricky but I managed to get in without rolling.  On arrival at the beach Dennis measured my Spaniard at 107cm and the combined lengths of my Spanish and Spottie put me in 5th position in the comp. 

Tunny assessing the surf

 Sproket showing off some surf skills

Tunny riding it home upright

The stand-out catch of the morning was Sprocket who got a Spaniard, Spottie and nice Snapper, while Ido got a very nice Spaniard and big Spangled Emperor.

 Tunny with a Spottie and his first Spanish. The Spaniard taken very early in the session.

 Sprocket and his threefir, Spanish, Spottie and Snapper

Ido and his Spanish and Spangly. No mean feat to bag those in a sit in!

The afternoon session ran from 14h30 to 18h00 and Salti caught 2 big Spaniards,  Redgreg got himself a nice Yellowfin Tuna while I never had a bite.  That night Redwood, Eyetag, Pedro and I barbequed some of my Spanish and Spottie Mackeral which was most enjoyable.  Next year I won’t pack food – just take a couple of lemons to have with the fish!!

Unfortunately the wind picked up further on day 2 so fishing was cancelled.  But this improved the surf and several participants tested their kayak surfing skills.

 Salti cracked it with a very nice Spaniard and a Spottie (helped by rocket fuel remnants)

Redgreg, after abandoning his AI launch in the morning session is rewarded with a YFT in the afternoon session. See his launch video below.

Tunny's successful homemade Spanish Special - the secret is in the small split sinker pinched onto the hook.

The comp turned out to be a huge success for the Sunshine Coast Team, with Sprocket taking first place (winning a set of beach wheels) as well as the prize for the most species.  The Sunshine coast team took five of the top six positions, and with that also the team trophy.

The Scoring System:

Entrants were awarded 1 Point per cm ( Fish need to be legal of course). Entrants with fish over 1 metre in length were awarded an extra 50%, and those with fish of over 1.5 m were awarded an extra 100%. I.e.: a 120 cm Spanish Mackerel would get 180 points. An 80 cm mackerel would get 80 points. Etc…

The Scores:

• 1st Place – Sprocket with 464 points
• 2nd Place – Yaqdog with 327 Points
• 3rd Place – Salti with 267 Points
• 4th Place – Dave Anderson ( Saltis Brother ) with 243 points
• 5th Place – Dave Tunny with 238 Points
• 6th Place – Ido with 231 Points
• 7th Place – Clive with 189 Points
• 8th Place – Rod with 162 Points
• 9th Place – Wayne Eden with 121 Points
• 10th Place – Killer with 115 Points
• 11th Place – Douglas with 94 Points
• 12th Place – Tommie with 89 Points
• 13th Place – Jbonez with 78 Points
• 14th Place – RedGreg with 77 Points
• 15th Place – Lapse with 43 Points
• 16th Place – Paddle Parra with 39 Points

 The Sunnycoasters coasted to an easy victory, miles ahead of the nearest rivals

 Sprocket claims beach wheels and another prize for individual winner and most species caught

Group pic of all the 2014 Adder Rock Comp yakkers

Overall this was a superb event.  See you all next year !!  And may the best team continue to win.

Addition by Redwood

Being sidelined due to injury was tough to take, but I made the best of my time taking pictures and videos. I did manage to get out for the afternoon session on Saturday in the Hobie Revo Stormin lent me and also a stint on the bayside on the Sunday. Thanks again Stormin. I can see why people dislike the Revo in the surf and I can equally see why Revo owners persist with them, because once you're out and setup, they're really quite nice to peddle. Most of the paddlers seemed very tired after battling the wind for hours, but I found the wind no trouble with pedal power. AKF should also have given me an award for landing the Hobie upright 1st time in those conditions. Pedro of course is a seasoned pro and seems to get out and in without any fuss at all.

A big thanks to Redgreg who's given the OK to use the video I shot of him trying to launch the AI. I take my hat off to him for his bravery (he left his Stealth at home so he'd have no option but to give the AI a crack), determination and attitude; he had a smile on his face even when things were getting really tough. There was only one other AI in the comp, and it did get out but only with the help of an initial push by four guys before the sail could be engaged and the AI blasted through the waves.

A warning: this video is 12min long, so go and make a cup of tea before pressing play.

Yakker assessing the conditions at day break, rods akimbo

 Dennis T hard at work

 Pedro psyched for the session. Unusually he came back empty handed.

 Redgreg prepping the AI

Square clouds over the headland

Flight of the Cormorants - Bayside