"Exerfishing"
by Ross C.
My definition of "Exerfishing": Enthusiastically paddling any type of paddle-craft for the purpose of increasing fitness level whilst simultaneously trolling a lure or bait for the purpose of catching fish.
Equipment required: 1 paddle-craft, 1 rod or hand-line, 1 favourite lure, 1 camera (in case you get lucky and need to prove it), 1 pair long-nosed pliers (to release fish), 1 dose of enthusiasm.
Method: Whatever works for you and suits your craft but make sure that you don't have too much line out.
Background: During the first couple of days of a June 2004 fishing holiday at Noosa I became inspired by watching people paddling for exercise or training past my canal-side unit in all types of paddle-craft including kayaks, skis, outriggers, and sculling hulls.
To simply paddle over all that potentially fish-holding water seemed a little wasteful to me so I decided to get my exercise by trolling a lure behind my kayak around the canals, Noosa River, and Weyba Creek for an hour or two on those mornings that I wasn't specifically going fishing.
I used the "Jindivik" lure as it only runs about 3 metres deep and was very pleased with its performance, as it didn't snag the bottom in the main channels of the canals. When crossing shallow sandbanks its pointy bib allowed it to bump along the bottom stirring up sand but not digging in enough to require me to slow down. Its narrow action was perfect for allowing me to paddle as fast as I wanted (maintaining about 8km/hour soon got me working hard) without it "blowing out". It also handled weed beds better than the other lures I had, as the pointed bib seemed to let it slip through most of the weed attached to the edges of the river. Floating broken weed strands were still a problem though, as the hooks picked up the occasional piece requiring me to stop paddling, reel in, and free the lure so it could wobble correctly.
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After trolling the "Black Beetle" colour for two mornings without a hit, I switched to the "Fire Tiger" version on the third morning and connected with what felt like a large flathead opposite the Sheraton Hotel. It spat the hooks before I got it close enough to get a look at it and I was sadly deprived of the chance to impress a group of onlookers gathered on the boardwalk. This was the only hit registered in four days of indulging in this invigorating early morning routine.