kontiki fishing
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Newbies Corner
Forum Description: If you're new to fishing this is the place to ask any questions about getting started ...
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=111322
Printed Date: 03 Feb 2026 at 11:33pm
Topic: kontiki fishing
Posted By: gazzkon
Subject: kontiki fishing
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2015 at 4:31pm
| Hi im new to kontiki fishing i have a seahorse kontiki with a sure thing down rig the problem i have is the tow rope from the kontiki to the sure thing gets tangled on the sure thing does any one have any ides how to fix this problem ? |
Replies:
Posted By: Got-ya
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2015 at 11:13pm
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That connection cord supplied by Paul is rubbish. Mate lost his seahorse because that cord gave way. I would replace it with a light stainless wire rope or get some braided cord and slip some of that clear plastic tubing over it. I have the gps seahorse which I use without the Sure thing on the west coast all the time, not convinced about the Sure thing as they can be tricky to get to drop reliably. ------------- THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF FISHERMAN, THOSE WHO FISH FOR SPORT AND THOSE THAT CATCH SOMETHING. |
Posted By: gazzkon
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2015 at 11:18pm
| Ok thanks the only problem iv had so far has been the line gets tangeld so will try that |
Posted By: Stripeysi
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2015 at 1:08pm
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The father in-law has a shore thing with his kontiki, we haven't had issues with the line between the two but deploying the hooks from the shore thing is really frustrating. The number of times it comes back it's a full set of hooks on the spool is really high. I would be interested to know if there are any tips out there. Cheers ------------- @LAST - 5.5 Surtees Workmate |
Posted By: Got-ya
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2015 at 7:57pm
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This is exactly the problem I was talking about. Things we found that helped were: 1)- keep baits nice and small, big floppy baits can jam on deployment.2)- Make sure that the timer has actually started turning before sending out kontiki 3)- check that the small arm on the timer is releasing properly once time is up. Don't get me wrong I really like the concept of the Surething but after 25min to send it out 30-40min soak time then 20min to bring it back in only to find that the baits are still in the spool! I just use lighter trace over the winter when sharks are more common along with a shorter soak time, at least I know my baits are fishing. ------------- THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF FISHERMAN, THOSE WHO FISH FOR SPORT AND THOSE THAT CATCH SOMETHING. |
Posted By: kiwiseadoo
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2015 at 10:15am
| I had that happen several times mainly caused by the sand jamming the pivot tube and not letting the spool to rotate (the sand where we are -Whiritoa is really coarse) so I machined the tube down in size by a mm and also drilled out the two tubes that the bolt goes through for the timer pivot plate as this seemed to rack sometimes and its been reliable since. |
Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2015 at 3:55pm
| Im interested. Whats the reason for having the hooks deployed on the Shorething. To avoid losing the Kontiki due to snagging of the hook section of mainline, or something severing the mainline - couldn't the hook section be simply slung from the Kontiki? |
Posted By: MacSkipper
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2015 at 6:02pm
Yes why not - I am guessing reason is two fold - kontiki is more complex so costs more (and they are already pretty expensive) and more to go wrong (some users have problem with baits catching in shore thing mechanism and not deploying) - 2/they cannot sell you another kontiki when it is lost! I guess it is only a matter of time till someone develops a combination as losing kontiki is a real problem in some places. ------------- Good fishing trip nothing breaks, great trip catch fish. |
letsgetem wrote:Posted By: fish-feeder
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2015 at 11:48am
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I reckon its a gimmik,and paul is a very clever marketing man.Yeah they stop the baits being smashed on the way out.A kontiki is safe to use,just have all your sinkers on a 50lb trace and swivel,not clipped directly to your backbone,and if you get a snag they just break away,same as your traces.Theres not alot to get snagged really,it can still happen,but alot less with traced sinkers. ------------- dont get my personality mixed up with my attitude,my personality is me,my attitude depends on you. |
Posted By: MacSkipper
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2015 at 1:59pm
Sounds like good advice
 and a good idea use lighter traces to hooks and sinkers - lot cheaper and simpler, however one benefit promoted of shore thing is quicker pull out through surf on West Coast beaches I would have thought that would be a good idea?------------- Good fishing trip nothing breaks, great trip catch fish. |
Posted By: fish-feeder
Date Posted: 13 Sep 2015 at 3:02pm
|
ive never seen one used,but id say not really,its just more drag,and more weight than sinkers would add,and if the proverbial hits the fan....more money down the gurgler. I dont like the idea of going out if the surf is more than a 3mtr set face,so i dont have the problem of needing it to get out quicker....set at 25mins it usually gets out 800mtrs or so. ------------- dont get my personality mixed up with my attitude,my personality is me,my attitude depends on you. |
Posted By: Jcflyboy
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2016 at 7:54am
| What size did you drill the timer plate holes, I have had the same problem at Waihi Beach, timer had released but the plate was held up by sand. I had considered putting thin plastic washers at each end of the pivot point to prevent the sand from getting in. Have you had any problems since drilling it out ? |
Posted By: macrayfish
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2016 at 11:05pm
I'm the mate Got-ya refers to above.
I have spoken at length to the guys that designed and sell the Shorething about the reasons why they use the tethers they do. Hear is what I was told: 1. The plastic rope has to float - nylon that sinks runs the risk of fouling the dropper rig on release. 2. The tether between the torpedo and the trailer needs to be at least 10 metres long, preferable 15. If the tether is shorter than 10 metres, the drag on the torpedo can be too high as it punches through the breakers, and it will struggle to get out. The longer tether allows the torpedo to get through the second wave more easily as it pulls the trailer through the first. 3. The tether that connects the back of the Shorething to the main line also needs to float so it's kept well clear of the sinking mainline and hence minimises the risk of snagging the dropper rig on deployment. It's a small risk but why take chances, eh. Obviously the Barnes family have done extensive trials and testing to get the configuration right and find out what works and what doesn't. What they recommend is what you need to do. If you have a problem, give the guys at the shop a ring, or go and see them, they are only to happy to help and get you on the right track. I found my Shorething required a bit of time and practise to master, but once I understood what I was doing wrong, I had no more worries. There are very good videos on YouTube - just search "Shorething". I believe the boys at the shop will even arrange take you out and give you a practical demonstration if necessary. I understand all their testing was done with a Seahorse Kontiki, and it handled the Shorething just fine. I have a Seahorse as well and I am having trouble with mine deviating off course, so it's off to the factory to see what the problem is.  |
Posted By: ZeroPak
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2017 at 10:30am
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Hi, I recently purchased a Shorething and have tried it behind a seahorse (non GPS)46lb thrust torpedo. I am having great difficulty getting the rig to run straight. The deviation is so severe that the rig ends up beaching itself about 300m down to the right. This occurs even with 4 clicks of rudder to the left. I have never used more than 2 clicks of rudder, even on the west coast. I have tried it with 5m and 15m ropes between the shorething and the torpedo, the 15m ropes shows a very slight improvement but the rig still heads for the beach. I am not new to torpedo fishing and know how to get my gear to go straight. On the day of testing we were on Tokerau beach with 1/2 a metre of swell. After speaking to Pauls fishing systems. I tried the rig without the plastic cowling installed around the hook holder. This showed a large improvement and we did manage to get the rig to go roughly straight. The problem with this setup is that you have to be very careful while launching to avoid contact with the hooks and the beach, it becomes a 2 person operation to launch. This is not exactly ideal. So at the moment my conclusion is that with the cowling installed it is impossible to set the shoerthing with a non GPS torpedo, I wish I had known this prior to purchase. The interesting anomaly to this is that Pauls fishing systems has assured me that there are many other people using the shorething with a non GPS torpedo, I would love to hear from one of them on how they mange this. I even sent the Shorething back to Pauls fishing systems for checking, no fault was found. We also had issues with the hooks not deploying after the time was up, the flat release bar jammed in the up position and did not release the weights. This happened twice in a row, very frustrating after finally getting the gear to go straight. The timer release pin actually went right past the release slot both times. On close inspection the flat bar seems to stick slightly as it tries to release, I am not sure if it is binding on the timer rod or the pivot bolt. I will pull the release flap off and polish all surfaces and see if that improves things. ------------- ZeroPak Vacuum Sealers. Zero air Zero waste. The ultimate vacuum packing machine. |
Posted By: ROCKSTARS
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2017 at 4:05pm
| When I started out Kontiki fishing I brought a predator and a shore thing, each time we would set the shore thing up as per instructions, had 8 none deployment of hooks from the first 15 sets, very frustrating, I could understand one or two issues whilst learning but not that many failures, could,not wait to get rid of it. was very disappointed, now run a seperate dropper rig from the kontiki and no more problems. [URL= ][/URL][EMAIL= ][/EMAIL] |