For Christmas I was gifted an Okuma Azores jigging spin rod (Z-S-602M) and a Daiwa Saltist 4500 spinning reel, and was itching to put it to the test. This despite the fact that it was intended for a deep sea fishing trip (that was cancelled due to Covid) and was definitely overkill for my fishing in the Sydney Harbour. None the less, I loaded up my kayak and headed out with the new rig, hoping to get into a decent kingfish, that would really put it to the test.
I launched my kayak at Tunks Park boat ramp, and started trolling my way towards Clontarf. Normally I would focus on fly fishing the likely holds, and troll a single rod as I moved between spots. However, since I was out to test the new rod, I changed my approach and trolled two rods, making far fewer stops.
Within 15 minutes hooked into a decent fish on a small squid lure (and on the new rod). The fight was interesting, as the fish quickly tangled itself in my other rod’s line, causing chaos. Thankfully, I managed to land a beaut of an Australian salmon, before spending the next 30 minutes detangling the lines, and losing a fair bunch of braid in the process.
An Australian salmon caught trolling a small squid lure
The fishing slowed down after this and so I decided to do some additional exploring. I headed further into Middle Harbour than I had before, and discovered a multitude of small bays, flats, and mangroves, on my near 20km paddle. And while I didn’t land any fish, the areas certainly looked fishy, and is worthy of many more trips.
Gorgeous bays with mangroves
As for the rod and reel, they were incredible. The rod has an impressive backbone which is definitely too strong for the fish in the harbour (or at least any fish I’ve caught in the harbour), so I can’t wait to get it out into deeper water. The reel has an incredibly smooth action, with an amazing drag system. It’s also well sealed, making cleaning and maintenance so much easier. I absolutely love them both!