Hundreds of Kontiki's have been lost due to sharks biting through the mainline.
The reason is simple, sharks are attracted to both the baits and any fish caught on the hook section. Having baits and fish on the same line that is used to haul the Kontiki back to shore is very risky. You just don't know if you will get it back.
Now, there is a simple answer to the shark bite-offs and lost kontiki's. It's the New ShoreThing fishing system.
The ShoreThing system is a fully automatic longline setting device which is towed behind your existing kontiki and sets the hooks far away from the mainline.
When the hook section is bitten through by sharks, you will only lose a few dollars worth of hooks, instead of between 1000 to 2000 dollars worth of kontiki, hook section and leader line.
If you are considering buying kontiki, check out this system first, it is by far the safest and most efficient way of setting hooks with an absolutely minimal chance of losing an expensive kontiki.
Give us a call and we will tell you what you do and don't need for the ShoreThing Fishing System.
You don't need a hook section and 150 meter leader line in your mainline, or a trace rack and traces or clip on weights.
Everything to do with fishing (Traces, Stoppered Hook Section, Weights and Dropline) comes with the ShoreThing and is always stored on the ShoreThing Reel. Buying these items separately would cost up to $350.
Limited Stocks of ShoreThing Are Available Now.
For all ShoreThing enquiries, please ring Morgan at our shop
The ShoreThing is the Safest Kontiki Setting System Available
The ShoreThing is a dropper rig system that deploys a 25 hook, baited longline offshore when a timer releases the weight on the end of the hook section. The 72 ounces of weight anchors the kontiki much more securely than any other system. The weights are dispersed along the hook section and this dramatically reduces any risk of tangles in the hook section.
If sharks approach the hook section they are well away from the mainline which is used to haul the kontiki in.
If a shark bites through the hook section, you will only lose a few hooks and sinkers, your kontiki and mainline is kept safe from loss.
Sharks Versus A Conventional Electric Kontiki Fishing System
Contrast the safety of a ShoreThing setting system against the vulnerability of a conventional kontiki fishing system. The hook section on the conventional kontiki rig is actually part of the mainline and also crucial for safe recovery of the expensive bits.
The baits and any fish you have caught will lure any sharks in the area right up to your mainline.
If there is anything of interest on the line the sharks will find it and have a go at eating it, because that's what sharks do! Sharks are the perfect scavenger and opportunist feeders renown for detecting dead and dying fish from miles away.
If the conventional kontiki fisher is lucky, the shark will only cut or break the trace if it becomes hooked, if the trace doesn't break the shark will panic and roll in order to escape, this behavior poses a serious risk. As the shark rolls the hook section will wrap round and round the head and gill area of the shark.
If the sharks razor sharp teeth contact the mainline at any time during this rolling frenzy, it's instantly all over for the hook section. The hook section is completely severed and the kontiki is lost.
If the shark is still attached to the kontiki end of the line it will tow it around until something gives out.
If it is on the beach end, at least you will get to see what caused your kontiki to be lost.
One to two meter long school sharks (tope) will most likely be the culprits on the West Coast (in most cases it's a hooked gurnard they have eaten), although bronze whalers, the occasional white pointer and seven gill sharks are all present in close on the west coast.
While the West Coast of both islands and the East Coast of the South Island has the greatest numbers of sharks and poses the greatest risk, Bronze whaler, hammerhead, seven gill and mako sharks are more frequently the cause of kontiki losses on the East coast of the North Island.
Now that there is a much safer option available it is no longer compulsory to take such risks with your valuable kontiki.
How The ShoreThing Fishing System Works
A slotted reel holds the drop-line, 25 hooks on running traces and 72 ounces of line weights.
To set the Shorething, bait the hooks on the reel and put it back into the two clear cowlings and place the reel and cowling assembly back into the ShoreThing hull.
Fit the back weight loop over the back weight support pin and connect the other loop to the release pin on the timer. A gobstopper is ideal for sets between 15 and 30 minutes and aniseed balls are perfect for shorter sets if required. Any really hard candy will also work.
ShoreThing Timer
Please Note: The timer fitted to the new ShoreThing is different to the timers shown on the original videos. We changed the timers to a gobstopper release system which is far more reliable than the old clockwork ones. Watch a video of the new timer below setting procedure below.
Check the kontiki and ShoreThing shackles are properly attached to the mainline and set it all on it's way.
If you have an autopilot kontiki then, that's it until you haul in, everything to do with setting the baited hooks is fully automatic.
If you don't have an autopilot kontiki then you will still have to tension the line opposite the desired direction of set to hold it on course in the usual way.
Either way there is no baited hooks and traces to clip on, so no worries about getting hooks in your hands or feet, or anyone else's.
Click this link>>> SHORETHING For Prices or to Purchase a ShoreThing Online on our Secure Site
Catches
The catches below were taken during our extensive sea trials, the heavily weighted hook sections fished extremely well.
Dennis Bradly (right) is currently using his ShoreThing often. He has been one of our test pilots for the ShoreThing and his feedback has helped us immensly. The photo above is from a single 25 hook set of the ShoreThing at Pakiri Beach.
The pic of Dennis above is a haul of snapper up to 9kg taken at Muriwai Beach recently. The pic below is from another haul on the same day
Brian Rundstrom (below) Paul Barnes, Barbara Osborne and Liz made up a four man team in a recent Warkworth Kontiki contest. A 12 hook limit was in force and we fished at Glinks Gully.
Below is the catch from one 12 hook set run at daybreak. The team wound up catching the two biggest snapper and winning the contest.
Benefits of the ShoreThing Kontiki Fishing System
Advantage 1. Sharks Biting Through Hook Section
If you have a ShoreThing fishing system the chances of losing your kontiki as a result of sharks biting through your hook section is very, very low because of the much greater distance between the hooked shark and the critical mainline.
If you don't have a ShoreThing and a shark bites through your hook section then you cannot recover your kontiki from the beach with your mainline, if you can't get someone with a boat to rescue it, the kontiki is lost.
According to customer reports and our vast experience with kite longlines, (a very similar system to a conventional kontiki rig), it appears that well over half of Conventional Kontiki's lost are due to shark bite-offs.
Advantage 2. Snagged and Broken Hook Section
Snagged hook sections are the second most common cause of kontiki loss. If your 100kg to 150kg mainline is in good condition the snagged 65kg hook section of the ShoreThing will either break through abrasion on the snag, or the 65kg drop-line will break. You will still be able to recover the kontiki as usual.
As with any kontiki you still have to keep your mainline in tip top condition.
If you have a conventional kontiki and snag the hook section you are stuck until you break the mainline and lose the kontiki if you can't get a boat to rescue it.
NOTE: A few other kontiki's are cut off by boat propellers and vehicles driving through the mainlines on the beaches, both of these are avoidable if you take care where and when you set, and keep your gear near the waters edge, and not with mainlines spanning the entire width of the beach as some do. If just the mainline of a ShoreThing or conventional kontiki rig goes under a ledge or submerged tree the chances of losing either is still the same so we do not recommend fishing the ShoreThing in snaggy areas.
Advantage 3. Less Drag
The ShoreThing is easier to tow out than a conventional kontiki hook section and leader line despite the fact that it carries far more weight to better anchor the kontiki against the rip.
In our tow trials we used a boat with a GPS to tow the gear and always towed the same stretch of water consecutively. Note: Most kontiki's set between two and three knots.
The conventional hook section in the test was 150 meters of 100kg line, 32 ounces of weight (4X8oz) and an 115kg 80 hook pre-stoppered hook section baited with 25 average sized baits.
The ShoreThing as tested had a 25 hook longline aboard, baited with average sized baits, 72 ounces of weight on the hook section and a 30 meter drop-line
The ShoreThing had around half the drag of a conventional hook section at normal kontiki setting speeds of two to three knots.
When hit by swell surges the apparent speed in the water increases by about 3-4 knots. At all speeds tested the ShoreThing had less drag than a conventional kontiki hook section and mainline.
Many beaches have steep offshore banks that are quite shallow.
A conventional kontiki hook section can get bogged or really struggle to get the line over the bank as the mainline weights and following hook section bulldoze into the bank and deep into the sand. The drag from this can be enough to spoil the set, or run the batteries flat before the gear has reached the fishing area. If the weights are left off to get over the bank, then drift when set becomes an even greater problem with the conventional kontiki system.
The ShoreThing floats everything well above the bank and the un-weighted mainline, free from heavy weights and bulky baited traces and clips, slides easily up and over the offshore banks while carrying plenty of weight aboard to anchor everything at the pre-set fishing distance.
Advantage 4. Set Further Out
The normal length of a leader line on a kontiki is 150 meters, this means when set to 1000 meters, the furthermost hook out is 850 meters offshore. On the same 1000 meter set with a ShoreThing the furthermost out hook is 990 meters offshore.
Advantage 5. Better Anchoring
The ShoreThing usually carries 72 ounces of lead (it can carry more). As the weight is onboard the Shorething it does not have to be dragged along the bottom on the way out. When set the 72 ounces is distributed along the length of the hook section with heavier weights at each end.
This weighting pattern acts like a chain and is very efficient and tangle resistant. A thin wire grapple or large breakout sinkers on a safety trace can also be added to the very end of the hook section if greater anchoring capability is required.
Advantage 6. Drifting Weed
Some areas suffer drifting weed (red weed, sack weed, sea lettuce) which can form into clumps over the baited hooks when setting a conventional kontiki. Usually, fish will seldom be caught when the weed is around the hooks or covering the bait.
This weed is often in a belt near the beach. The ShoreThing will always set the hooks clean of weed at the desired distance offshore and often beyond the affected area. You will still catch weed on the way back in, but it will be much less than the conventional system, as you have only passed through the weed belt once on the way in.
Best of all you have a much better chance of catching fish because your baited hooks were weed free while the gear was fishing.
Advantage 7. Better Catch Rates
When using a ShoreThing the baits are not dragged over the seabed for one to two kilometers before fishing commences. The baits are carried aboard the ShoreThing and are set in tip top condition right where you have decided to set. The extra weight on the ShoreThing hook section further enhances catch rates.
Advantage 8. Stress Free Fishing
Once the gear is out you can relax. The gear is very well anchored and your kontiki is vastly safer than a conventional system, even if sharks bite through your hook section, or you snag the hook section. However you will still need to keep the reel near the waters edge and avoid areas where there are snags, boats are active or commercial fishers set nets, lines and crab pots etc.
Advantage 9. You Don't Need a Trace Rack or Hook Section in Your Mainline
Mainline maintenance is a breeze, you just need bare line wound onto a winch or beach reel. You don't need a trace rack or clip on traces either as everything to do with fishing is always stored on the ShoreThing. If you are buying a kontiki rig, give us a call and we will tell you what you do and don't need for the ShoreThing Fishing System.
RISK AND PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF BEACH FISHING SYSTEMS
Factors Affecting KONTIKI Fishing Systems
ShoreThing Dropper System
Electric Kontiki
Longline
Effect of strong rip when setting
LESS
MORE
Effect of strong rip when anchored
LESS
MORE
Mainline risk in weed blooms or drifting seaweeds
LOW
MODERATE
Mainline risk from snags
MODERATE
HIGH
Mainline risk from sharks
LOW
HIGH
Limited Stocks of Shorething Are Available Now
For all ShoreThing enquiries, please ring Morgan at The PFK shop
Ph(09) 634-5005 or Mob 021-548 377
or email Contact Us For Prices or to Purchase a ShoreThing Online through our Secure Shopping Cart
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