Kite fishing advice for an Aussie

Hi guys. This is my first post on this forum, having been a regular visitor to the forum for many years now.

I have just ordered a Muller kite and the bait ferry system, as we do not have anything like it in Australia. I was thinking of using a short stroke game rod 24kg and possibly a Shimano TLD 30 2 speed reel as the kite flying rod and reel combination. As I do not know the kite or the power of it, would this be enough or too much in a 25 kph wind?

I see a number of people use the KP reels, but this seems too much like hard work (which we Aussies cannot do) to haul in a kite. I still have a Daiwa slosh 50 (paid R1490 for it in Hermanus in 1998 - so has not increased in price much then ) is this reel adequate for hauling and holding a Muller kite?

I will probably only send the kite out a maximum of 300 metres and will use either the bait clips or the ferry system. Any advice would be appreciated.

Last fishing trip I used SA style chocka baits for kob on our Mulloway (fancy Aussie name for kob)and boy did they work. Poor fish did not know what hit them.

My beach rods are Century Kompressor SS, Zziplex M427, - which will be my fishing rod, probably with the Slosh 50 or Saltist 50.

Hi, i also use the Mullers kite for taking out my lines. I usualy use it to catch sharks but it will work to take any tipe of bait out far behind the backline. The gear your have should be ok, but be carfull. The Mullers Kite is very very strong and will give your a lot of problems in strong wind. I put big baits on Mine of more thatn 3kg and it takes it out with no problems. There dropper clips are the best but i have not had sucksess with there ferry. The baits i send out is to big for that tipe of kite. You can also look at the SKYMASTER kite from Hi-fly kites. This is also a very nice kite to use if the wind is a bit to strong for the Mullers.one.

Thanks for the advice Neville. Thought for a moment that nobody would help "daai verdomde Aussie met sy belaglike visgerei". The problem I had was that very few South African companies replied to my emails. Windsong are reluctant to post overseas. There are some very good - okay, adequately good Aussie kites, but no ferry system. Despite what you hear, I think you guys have bigger sharks in greater numbers than we have. Then again, nobody has really fished for them with any great purpose. Not only do you guys beat us at rugby and cricket, you also outfish us. Not having a gillie to help me, I was hoping to employ the ferry system for repeated delivery of baits to 200-300 metres (I do not mean for the gillie to swim out with my bait - illegal to do that here). Being a tight arse, max bait size would be 1-1.5kg with a 9-10 oz sinker or a live bait (if I catch any fish that day).

Part of this is to introduce new fishing techniques to my fishing association. As you can tell from the above, I was born in SA, but went via USA and UK to Landdownunder many decades ago. As a young lad I used to watch the old toppies at Margate and Umhlanga kite fishing. Then one fella in our association asked me if I had ever kite fished in RSA. As it was illegal to kite fish in a nappy, I replied that I had not, and then wondered why the hell I don't give it a try. So I am the experimunt and will then try and teach the other dom aussies what I have learned.

SL50 won't be up to a kite set for use with a ferry system

When we use a kite to drop a bait we set it for lift and tack, in other words it doesn't pull at max.

For a ferry system to work you need 45kg braid or minimum 0.80mm mono because the kite must be set to maximum pull to keep the line taught with the weight of the ferry and bait on it.

The only way is then a powerful 2 speed reel or a 1:1 KP

I must say the new ferry system on the Windsong is a breeze to work if you use the Falcon and set the kite for maximum pull. You also need to attach the kite to a 80-100m line to ballast to keep the kite from flying to high

OMB (o my bliksem) what I have embarked upon. Thanks for the reply, Enigma, it does seem as if you are highly regarded and very knowledgeable from previous posts. I have an aweful lot to learn and guess that I will be returning to this forum on many occasions. It looks like the Penn Senator 9/0 may just have found employment again on the 100-130lb stroker rod?

I suppose the concepts of lift, pull and tack will become more aparrent once I start practicing with the kite. Unfortunately we hardly ever get an offshore wind in South Australia and the best I can hope for is horizontal to the beach - hence the choice of kite for maximum tack.

I had no idea these kites were so powerful. I did intend to seat the rod on the holder on the back of my Land Rover Defender 130 - but for fear of having her pulled into the waves, I may just wear a harness and get my 140kg big, hairy, Scottish mate Harry to hug me like a bro' (not like in Brokeback Mountain).

Thank you for advice thus far and I am sure that I will be in touch again.

By the way, the service from Muller Kites has been absolutely fantastic. I can highly recommend them for friendliness and excellent communication and service.

Ive used the mullers kite on lotsa occasions and to get the kite to tack more than 40-50 degrees is not so easy, the more you tack the mullers kite the lower it flies and thats not what you want especially with the lighter winds,the bait ferry needs a really strong wind and the only two kites that work for me with the ferry is the mullers and the new falcon from windsong,the biggest bait ive dropped with the ferry is a 10oz and a shad,normally i just drop smallish shark fillets

Put a long tail on the mullers ,10m nylon rope will work fine,my favourite combo at the moment is the baitblaster ferry from windsong and the mullers kite

Thanks guys. Anna-Marie tells me my kite is in the post and I now anxiously await its arrival. I have decided to step up the gear to Shimano Tiagra 80 on a 100-130lb roller rod and a Shimano TLD 50 2speed on an 80lb roller rod because you guys have scared the hell out of me. I have elected to load the Tiagra with 100lb Dacron.

I will probably spend a month just flying the kite and becoming proficient before I try and snag a surfer or yak fisherman. I have reread much of this forum and have noticed that so much of the information I need is already here.

I will keep you posted.

PS: Why are the Blue Bulls now playing in pink? Is this to try and engage their feminine side? Next thing we will have low alcohol Castle Lager!

Not that I am a Bulls supporter but it's part of a drive for funding for research and support to Breast Cancer sufferers.

No offense intended, but they do not look as intimidating as they once did. That is a good cause however.
Enigma, I wish I could come and spend a few hours with you so that you can teach me the basics. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Although when I look in the mirror I still see a 19 year old tight head prop, I cannot fool a flight of stairs which makes me feel evry one of my 53 years old.

jonnovet wrote:

No offense intended, but they do not look as intimidating as they once did. That is a good cause however.
Enigma, I wish I could come and spend a few hours with you so that you can teach me the basics. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Although when I look in the mirror I still see a 19 year old tight head prop, I cannot fool a flight of stairs which makes me feel evry one of my 53 years old.

Click to expand...

Hey jonno...:welcomesea: you will qualify to join The Old Toppies thread in the Lounge.

Hey Psy, as long as the lounge is not up two flights of stairs that would be good.We can go there and I can buy you a hot chocolate while I sip on Klipdrif and coke - what the MMWC's drink(main manne what counts)and I can tell you boring stories about how good the fishing used to be at Hole in the Wall, Kei Mouth and Hluleka in the good old 60's and 70's. Or I may just sit there on my own mumbling incoherently to myself and dribbling saliva down my chin until my aged carer comes to clean me up - you cheeky fellow.

Jonnovet, Solid advice you got allround.Just for interest sake check out ''Caught in flight''on google.Aussie concept kite fishing.

Enjoy.

http://www.caughtinflight.com.au/WhatIsKiteFishing.aspx

http://www.caughtinflight.com.au/WhatIsKiteFishing.aspx

Elementary demonstration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isTmUnJJ1cA

Hi Guys,

That is my video "testing out my new Caught in flight kite"

I used it quite a bit but found - in the end- that the sled design was very unpredictable in strong conditions, retrieving a kite that has hit the water from 300 meters out is no fun at al!!

I am in the process of getting some Mullers kites sent over.

Im on the west coast of WA (Perth) on a flat day we can see you guys!!

PS, Dont let Jonnovet fool ya, there are some bloody good fisho's here aswell!!!

Cheers Russ

You are quite correct Russ - but I cannot find footage anywhere of Aussies casting big overhead reels without a levelwind. I have also been unable to locate any footage of 100+kg sharks being hauled by hand onto an Aussie beach after a 3 hour struggle with rod and reel. As Perth has a strong South African contingent, the tackle shops there do carry more of the RSA type products - slides, possibly 8-10oz griplead sinkers, Purglas and Blue Marlin rods, Posseidon rods.

Spend some time perusing this site - look at the tackle discussions, bait presentation, fishing tactics, and you will see why I hold them in such high esteem. I fish for pleasure and competitively and I learn more from this site than any other. There is a frank and open sharing of information and ideas. People are not afraid to share there knowledge (Enigma, Psy, Brett etc etc)or their fishing locations. Yes, Australia has some very good fishos, but to me these guys are tops.

I hope you enjoy the Muller kite ( I think this is a better product than the Aussie or NZ models). I have found it very stable in a direct offshore or slight angle tack - but prone to acrobatics at the extreme tack angle. I will continue to work on this. Read first flight and I would really suggest you use a Shimano TLD 30 or 50 two speed reel for hauling in the Muller kite - this is a kite with some serious pull. I think if it fell in the drink and did not collapse one would be tempted to cut it free and let it float back to Durban.

Hey Jonnovet,

Your right we have a huge SA contingent here, I fish with a lot of SA guys at Quobba station, Wagoe, Dirk hartog Island and Kalbarri and I have had some great times with them. I think that our cultures are very similar in many respects and thats why we get along so well.

If you ever get the opportunity to head west im sure you would have a blast.

I can wait to get my Mullers kite, were very lucky here on the west coast with the easterly winds, it gives us heaps of opportunties for ballooning and kiting.

All the best.

Russ