Hookasistaup's FIRST Fishing Comp Hosted by Yak Hunters Australia

So, we did it, we braved our very first comp, having never caught a flatty before!

This was only our second time out on our Viking Espri Kayaks so we were REEL Keen to get out there for some decent water time.

We planned to stay at Bongaree Caravan Park, located at 25-47 Welsby Parade, Bongaree QLD 4507. This is a council park which is managed very well. Its a minimum two night stay so we booked in for Friday and Saturday night and we are glad we did! This park has large size powered camping spots, we managed to fit my Ford Transit Van, My brothers little Mazda (side by side) a swag on the outside of the van and we still had room for activities! If you are going to check in after 6pm, make sure you ask for a late checkin so you can get your keys before they shut! This place has really good facilities, brand new bathrooms with plenty of space and shower heads are amazing (its all about the shower head) I must say, if your going to stay here whatever you do, DO NOT MISS the sunrise or sunset, it is absolutely amazingly perfect and you have prime view right across the road from the park. With the Glass house Mountains in the distance down the passage makes for the most beautiful sight! Thanks Bongaree!

So our first day of the Yak Hunters Comp began on the Saturday, we launched at Kakadu beach about at 8-10 min drive from the park. Another beautiful spot to see the sunrise and sunset oh and PRIME handstand photo opportunity haha. Yak hunters randomly paired us off with fellow Yak Fisher Men and Women. I, (Sarah) got paired with Ron Hess from Yaken_Around. Evelyn got paired with Nate. This was very different for us because we are so used to fishing together. But we are always up for whatever gets thrown at us!

Off we launched and both of our teams headed North up the Passage, all four of us fished the banks for about a km North of the launch point. We stayed on the Kakadu beach side of the Passage, we fished our brains out that day but caught absolutely nothing! A lot of competitors had a similar story apart from the couple who caught some crackers within the first hour of the comp.

I managed to hook a small flatty but it fell off and that was our best crack at the day. We headed back to the launch point and across to the other side of the passage. There is a bunch of trees and a bit of a sand back, especially when the tide is low, we fished this pretty much until sun down and headed in. No luck here but apparently one of the guys got 20+ Flatty here the day after! We were using a bunch of soft plastics on this day, think I tried

Headed to the Bongaree Bowls club for dinner, good feed, reasonable price and only walking distance from the Caravan park (literally next door)

Rise and Shine early the next morning ready for a 7am launch at same spot. Headed south towards the mouth of the passage this time, Ron caught a small 35cm flatty on the way up paddling. We paddled up past the Bridge and then over the the opposite side of the passage again on the flats. It was only about 3-4ft deep and you could see the bottom. I could literally see the flatty and Stingrays too! I caught two decent size flatty here one 45cm and one 47cm and lost two that wiggled their way off! They were both caught on Metallic Pink soft plastic - Ill add the brand in soon! Thanks for providing the gear that caught the winners Robbie from Somerset Fishing and Tackle. Ron also caught another 42cm Flatty here, he was in a bit deeper water though towards the edge of the sand bank/channel.

Evelyn caught a decent Stingray here, but we managed to unhook him without having to bring him in our Kayaks... could you imagine if we had to unhook in in the Kayak?? Don't know what we would have done...

Weigh in came around and Sarah and Ron's team overall score was 168cm. We came in at 9th place yay! haha. I think there was only 12 qualifying groups that weighed in, but we are just happy that we qualified. I am thankful for Ron teaching me how to handle a flatty once you have got it in the kayak! I now know how to grab it inside the mouth which I think it better than lip grippers for the fish, less painful. I know that they put up a bit of a fight and like to wiggle their way off the hook thats for sure and out of your fishing net too!

All in all a great weekend! Thanks Yak Hunters.

Check out our Video from the weekend!