72 Boating New Zealand
usually part of a strap-on ishing kit that includes a stainless-
steel cage or frame to hold the icebox, rod holders and safety
lanyards to secure the rods and reels.
he ice box lid may or may not incorporate a bait tray; some
feature split lids and others have compartments inside the bin.
Kirk’s ice box is plumbed as a live bait tank, an innovation he
came up with himself that’s since been taken up by many other
jet-ski ishers.
he whole ishing kit assembly is quick and easy to remove if
you want to use the PWC for water activities other than ishing.
Complete ishing kits that include the frame, rod holders, ice
box, along with a range of accessories and safety equipment, are
available from PWC dealers to suit a range of PWC models.
Electronics are an important tool for the serious PWC
isher. Kirk is trialling a Lowrance 7-inch Hook 2 unit with
CHIRP sonar, DownScan and TrackBack. It has integrated
GPS-chart-plotting.
Kirk has a through-hull transducer mounted close to the boat’s
keel, the usual and best set-up for PWC, but the Hook 2 replaces
his usual Lowrance unit and requires a diferent transducer, which
is currently transom-mounted. A transom-mounted transducer is
more vulnerable to damage when launching and retrieving the ski
and may not work perfectly at high speed.
Really keen ishers sometimes it 1kW transducers and large
bracket-mounted MFDs, but it’s more usual to lush-mount
a more modest display in the console below the instrument
binnacle as Kirk has done.
Kirk has stuck with a single 12V battery, but some jet-ski conversions feature two batteries so they can run their
electronics all day without fear of lattening the starting battery.
SAFETY AND COMFORT
Kirk takes safety seriously. He always wears the kill switch
lanyard around his wrist, in case he is thrown from the ski. Trip
the kill switch and the PWC engine will immediately stop so the
vessel comes to rest.
He wears a PFD, as is required by law, a model designed
speciically for a PWC. He carries a waterproof VHF radio in
one of the PFD’s pockets and also clips an ACR personal locator
beacon onto the PFD near the shoulder.
“People often put emergency equipment in one of the ski’s
storage compartments, but that’s no good should you and your
ski part company,” explains Kirk. “Having them easily accessible
in your life vest means they’re on your person when you need
them most – in the water!”
here is plenty of specialist clothing available for jet-ski ishing,
including wet weather and thermal gear, but Kirk reckons he
seldom bothers with neoprene leggings and the like, especially in
summer. He’s more concerned about sun protection and so wears
long-sleeved shirts, gloves, a hat and often face protection as well.
When it’s cooler he’ll add a wind and rain-proof outer layer.
Kirk usually just wears a pair of long trousers: “he Yamaha
is such a dry runner, there’s generally no need for waterproof
pants...” He wears neoprene booties – your feet do get wet – and
sunglasses year-round. Full-face masks are available from PWC
specialists to protect the face against rain and spray, which can
really sting at PWC speeds. BNZABOVE A large PWC
is easily big enough to
accommodate two anglers.