Thread: Kontiki advice

Hey Everyone,

I'm looking at getting a kontiki as we live 8km from the beach (Waiterere Beach, Horowhenua) and it could be quite a cool activity to do with the family. If we get into it we could end up taking it on holiday with us to other North Island beaches. Not hugely into fishing beyond the odd charter and surfcasting at the Rangitikei river mouth.

What do I need/not need ?

Any other advice ?


Thanks in advance,

Rich

check Paul Barnes kite fishing vids on yt.
he's the original kite fishing guy
end to end info

I’ve considered kontikis and been advised to get gps models. Have seen two other rigs badly affected by tidal drift so they tangled. I understand some models may be well inferior so do your homework. Furthermore a smaller one that’s relatively new to market is meant to be ok. Two mates who had kontikis have gone to fishing drones; pretty $$$$$ I think. Good luck with your search.

cool thanks

ten years ago when living in town near the beach i had a basic seahorse 46lb kontiki with electric winch. It was a lot of fun, never had issues with it running off course but don't have the big currents like west coast. Had two trace boards set up so you get it in next hooks are ready to go and sent it straight back out, then clean up first sets of hooks.
Never had any problems over the four years i owned a seahorse.
There are a few tricks to putting them out.
Biggest issue i had was people with no control on there dogs chasing bait as it was going out and kids. Also people that think it was ok to drive over all your shit i end up putting couple flags on poles so people realized there was a long line out

Yeah I have a seahorse 46lb thrust one and it goes pretty good. I would definitely recommend a gps model since the current can mean you have 2 km of line out but it's only 400m off the beach and 1.6km down the beach Waitarere the current goes right on the way out and left on the way in but the strength of the current can vary. So good to be able to point it and send it off knowing it will go where you want. In Summer there can be Kontikis every 400m down the beach on a good day, from Himitangi down to your way

Also make sure its covered by contents insurance. try to avoid fishing near rivers that carry a lot of drift wood. stay away from reefs and rocks. And if fishing the un know take a kayak.
And if you get one give it a couple of dry runs with no hooks to get the hang of it first . If you haven't had much to do with one you will be surprised how quick things happen

The Seahorse GPS works well. I use mine alot and if there was a better product on the market I would buy it.

Nice one
I bought mine before they had a GPS model. If I didn't have a boat I would most likely upgrade it to the gps one. You can set the trim tab thing for current but it's a bit hit and miss really.
How do they steer ? a little servo motor on the trim tab thing ?. I might be able to retrofit my one with a bit of jiggery pokery

Originally Posted by Got-ya

The Seahorse GPS works well. I use mine alot and if there was a better product on the market I would buy it.


Attachment 162822

I know nothing about kontikis, but if I was going down that route, I'd want a drone/aero-kontiki.

So how important is motor thrust ?

All depends on what sort of conditions you are going to set it in. With a 46lb thrust you can pull out big baits and a few weights on the trace section with ease. Chances are you can do the same with the lower powered unit but it might struggle in bigger swell or chop.

For anywhere on the west coast you want the 46 pound motor. If fact even if on east coast it is all I would buy.

Originally Posted by rugerman

Nice one
I bought mine before they had a GPS model. If I didn't have a boat I would most likely upgrade it to the gps one. You can set the trim tab thing for current but it's a bit hit and miss really.
How do they steer ? a little servo motor on the trim tab thing ?. I might be able to retrofit my one with a bit of jiggery pokery

As I understand it its just a servo motor.

Just sell it and get the GPS version, honestly it's a massive step up. I just set direction, set timer and chuck it in the tide. No holding the line tight to prevent it turning on a wave nothing. Just walk back up the beach and start putting the hooks on. While generally its a family event I have no problem running it on my own.

I don't freeze fish anymore, what we don't eat gets given away for others to enjoy the way it should be, fresh. Living ten minutes from the beach if I want a feed I don't have to go far.

iv had a few of them. two seahorse. the non GPS are ok, you just have to read the sea, if the current is going right set it left. it will drift around pull it in when slightly right. but yes the GPS is better. also recommend the battery winch. I can put one out by myself. ours is mounted on a quad bike. sometimes you may want to follow it down the beach.
I like flasher rigs, circle hooks, tube over the trace.
I have heard about drones etc, that might be even better.
the biggest issue is others that can't drive them straight and don't give each other enough room for drift error.