Just watched TV3 news...... there was a story about multiple shark sightings up in Whangarei. Some 'expert' gave a speil about how sharks showed extra attraction to divers who wear bright yellow. So I suppose they show the same attention to yellow kayak's ?

 

I think I'll buy a red one.... or orange, or........ but not yellow.

 

Anyone who owns a yellow kayak ever had a shark lick your yellow lollipop ?

 

 

tHE bARon puRPLe

http://www.devilsteeth.net/ - http://www.devilsteeth.net/

 Looks bad for the mighty Yellow prowlers

 

Rainbow

 

 in all seriousness i wouldnt recomend trying to catch a great white off a yak ,as they are endangered , though i'm sure all donations of food packages will be greatfully received 

 it'll never happen to me.

I think at the end of the day its just bad luck or fate. Unless of course you have been burleying up a storm with copious amounts of fleshy bloody bits then its just a matter of time.

 

I agree ..

 

But the same people that are not going to go out on the water or not buying yellow kayaks because of a fear of sharks ....Probably don't even think about crossing the road where there is a higher chance of being hit by some noddy in a car than eva getting bitten by a shark wilst out on the water..

 

 

 

"Sharks usually only bite a person by mistake and people should learn to live with them, he told the Northern Advocate". "There are always risks in life. I think you would be more likely to get hurt standing on a stingray than being bitten by a shark."He advised surfers to wear dark wetsuit boots, so they were not dangling white legs in the water."When a shark is looking up, it could spot a white foot on the surface but wouldn't easily see something dark."There have been about 45 unprovoked shark attacks recorded in New Zealand since 1852 -- nine fatal.The Department of Conservation advises:

* Stay calm if you see a shark, as panicking might make the shark think you are wounded prey.

* If attacked, hit the shark as hard as you can on the head to buy some time to get away and make it think twice of attacking you.

* Any shark longer than 1.8m should be considered dangerous.

Un Quote!!!!!!!!!! So sharks only bite someone by mistake???? I can hear Mr Bitey now saying "sorry Mr Human it was a big mistake and I am not hungry honest

Sorry Mr Human but I do not use any form of sonar as my eyesight is 150% and I can see white dangly bits ok but yellow I have a faint problem with, that's why I leave most kayakers alone.

My personal advice to all you fellow yakers is to follow my plan. If Mr Bitey flops his head on the side of your yak, grap your gaff, hit him on the nose with the back end (not the pointy bit) and very loudly tel him to Foxtrot Oscar !!!!!!!

Stay safe on the roads

Cheers

Yak Fisher

 

Note how this man-eater ignored the WHITE building and went for the PINK nose...Don't buy a pink yak.

 

 

 

in the Dom post this morning there is an article on 4 divers off kapiti island just about to get in the water and a 4m GW turned up to have a look. nice pic as well and to get a better pic the guy was dangled with his head in the water to take the better photo as opposed to just putting his hands in. the GW was close enough that they could touch it.

 

apparently 4m is the size where they change their diet from fish to large black seal type snacks.

 

also was the stats that you are more likely to drown than get bitten by a shark

 

at least i am safe in my blood red prowler

 

Erik

 

In 2006 when the 5m GW was spotted off Taranaki DOC tried to berley it up to place a tag into it.    They used several huge blocks of fish berley within 500m of one of the most popular NP beaches with dozens of surfers and swimmers in the water at that time.   

 

I complained to the department about this insane prcatice of educating GW to associate boats and humans with food.    According to my information until that occasion DOC did not have any protocols on GW research but apparently they have now.

 

Personally I would like the cage shark watching banned as the sharks are attracted with large chunks of fish hanging from the cage that protects the spectators.    Again this creates an association with food and humans.     Too little is know about the memory or intelligence of these predators to rule out that sharks can form and retain such a dangerous association.     It is now well known that GW are long distance ocean travellers, which means GWs trained at the Chatham Islands shark viewing ventures regularly find their way to our shores.   

 

I don't mind GW being out there but what pisses me off big time if through the stupidity of humans and that includes researchers GW are educated to associate boats with food.

 

If that is allowed to happen than we kayak fishers are most at risk.

 

Personally I do not surface (as opposed to bottom) berley from the yak, do not cut up fish or put dead fish in my rearwell with the scuppers open.   In fact I try to avoid as much as possible to advertise my yak as an aquatic food bank.

 

Rainbow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there any tag data on this?  (serious enquiry, not a troll)

 

1. don't blood burley

2. kill you catch (don't let them flap about in your yak)

3. don't let bait/fish jucies run through your scupper holes (that's why I use a Chillie bin)

4. If you intend live baiting, use an onboard live bait tank (don't dangle nets/cages from your yak with distressed fish in them.

5. buy a green Yak

 

Rainbow - stop using big words like Feraloon

 

NM

 

Yep Green yaks are the brussel sprouts of the shark world - who the h3ll would want too eat them, however they have a soothing scantury effect on snapper Here Fishy Fishy

 

NM

 

Please enlighten us on how you should grab your little doggy mates - I surpose you grab them by the tail Captain Hook

 

Yeah I do realise that - there aren't many ways of handling a shark without doing damage to it. I was more concerned about the anglers fingers. You start grabing them further back and you're bound to loose your fingers.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of sharks you can simply raise their head out of the water and remove the hook with a pair of long nose pliers. Your doggy mates just tangle the hell out of everything and you don't only have their teeth to worry about, you also have their spines.

I always wear a wet glove when handling fish so as not to acid burn them and also so you can hold them easier with out putting pressure on them.

I do know where you are coming from, but your doggy mates are a little hard to deal with

 

NM

Gid'ay there Nath, long time no see!!!!!!!!!

Don't really have as many run ins with mr bitey in whanga though, not near as much as I did in TGA. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. I have how ever seen the biggest shark I've seen in the yak off of whanga. Maybe its a quality not quantity thing

 

 

 

Has answered the question of pulling in snapper heads - they were attracted to the metal hook, not the fish

 

Must admit, often wondered if leaving the sounder cracking away acts like a SharkShield, or an attractant with that clickclickclick very close to a dying fish twitching....If I can hear it out of water it must have a fair punch.

 

Never seen a dead shark on the road...

 

I agree with Piwikiwi - I consider it my good fortune to see a shark in the wild (up to about sphincter factor 5 in size) - above that, they have a great deal of respect.

 

 

 

I don't think colour affects the fishing either.

 

You are at far greater risk of tripping over your paddle leash while bailing out landing on a surf beach and breaking your leg than being attacked by a shark. Sensible precautions like not having berley and fish blood leaking out of your scupper holes are far more relevant then the colour of your yak.

 

Enjoy the fishing.

If you really want to avoid shark attention don't cut up bait or fish on the yak, bung up your fish well scuppers and don't surface berley directly from the yak.      The only time I had sharks visiting me was when I foolishly did/didn't do one of the above and not because I use a yellow kayak, which incidentally divers tell me looks near black when viewed from underneath!!!!!!!!!!

 

Rainbow

 

Can anyone tell me how many yak fisherman have actually been injured by sharks in NZ waters? Now i don't mean had a look at, or a little bump to see if the yak bleeds, I mean actual attack.

 

As has been posted here already, if it is your time you are gonna go one way or the other... but the chances of a shark big enough to think your yak would make a good meal has gotta be worse than getting hit by lighting while out yak fishing on a cloudless sky.

 

PS... i got a yellow prowler :)

 

As Rainbow says, keep the smell out of the water as best you can (but don't get paranoid about rinsing the knife in case a 75m GW turns up).

 

Stick with the yellow (top and bottom) you're more likely to use it to attract SAR than sharks.

 

HLD

Yellow and Proud!

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/A-Blue-Shark-Swims-under-a-Kayak-Posters_i1013176_.htm - http://www.allposters.com/-sp/A-Blue-Shark-Swims-under-a-Kayak-Posters_i1013176_.htm

 

The kayak could be red or it could be the reflection of the lifejacket in the water, it's really hard to tell from underneath.That doesn't look like any blue shark I've ever seen though.