Hooks, Lines & Sinkers

No doggie style for me!

It’s getting to that time of year when dogfish start to make an appearance in The Solent…..and if last year is anything to go by they will be there in plague-like numbers. Like wild dogs they seem to roam in packs, eat anything thrown their way and quite frankly they become nothing but a pain in the proverbial backside. The only plus side, as I see it, is they can save a ‘blank’ session but other than that , rightly or wrongly, I consider them a pest.

It doesn’t matter what bait I try …..squid, mackerel, crab, worm – I’ve caught them on the lot. Big baits, small baits, big hooks, little hooks – makes no difference to the gluttonous dogfish. It wouldn’t be a problem if you set your stall at the start of a session to catch a dogfish but how often do you hear an angler say “I’ll be targeting the lesser spotted dogfish today?”….. hmmm…….thought not! The frustrating bit is every time you send a line down the doggies are there gobbling up your well prepared bait intended for a bass, smooth hound or ray ……….and that’s what really get’s my goat! For fish like bass you can change the method of fishing to stop the dogfish onslaught but for bottom feeders like the rays it’s difficult to discourage them from your bait.

It wouldn’t be so bad if they put up a decent fight but a sport fish they are not – certainly when you compare them to it’s relative the feisty smooth hound which puts up one of the best fights an angler can get from a fish in UK waters…. especially from a kayak . With the dogfish they’re content to amble up to the surface and then usually curl up in a ball, just like a dog sleeping in a favourite chair, waiting for you to unhook them. The smooth hound on the other hand will put up a decent fight in the water before knocking seven bells out of you and your kit before it’s eventual surrender.

Another problem with dogfish is rarely do they grow to any decent size, well, not the one’s I seem to catch anyway! The majority are usually up to a couple of foot long at best, in the 2-3lb bracket, and really something of nothing. Compared this to the smooth hound once again and it’s pretty poor…….after all it could be quite feasible to catch a 10lb plus smooth hound which would be a proper good fish in any anglers book.

My final piece of evidence for the prosecution is they’re not even very good to eat by all accounts. It’s a bit of a drag preparing them for the plate and there are mixed reviews at best on whether they’re actually worth the effort! Personally, I can’t say I fancy dogfish and chips for my tea.

So, there you have it, if you were in any doubt I’m not fond of the dogfish and if anyone has any ideas on how to avoid them when bait fishing I’m all ears.

On the other hand maybe it’s my attitude to them that needs to change!

Until next time…………

Return of a reel favourite…

Many many moons ago, before I came to my senses and realised my preference for sea fishing, I used to be a coarse fisherman and spent my fair share of time sat by a lake or on a river bank waiting for a float to be pulled under or for a bite alarm to go off. There was one piece of kit I had which I liked above anything else in them days – my Shimano Baitrunner reel which I generally used when I was carp or pike fishing.

For a while now, and certainly since I’ve had the kayak, I’ve been thinking about using a Baitrunner reel for live baiting. I was particularly thinking about trying it for bass in the summer as the mackerel shoals begin to show. Last year I had pondered the options out there with a Penn Live Slammer reel a good option but if I’m honest I really wanted the Shimano Baitrunner D option which I thought ticked all the right boxes, looked the business and reviewed well………trouble was the price differential. The Penn could be picked up for around the £80 mark whereas the Shimano option was nearer £140 and I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that for it bearing in mind the limited amount of use it would probably get.

How does a Baitrunner reel work you may ask? Well, a fixed spool reel is normally controlled by a clutch which may be at the front or at the rear of the reel body. This allows the angler to set the tension at which line can be pulled from the spool with the bale arm engaged to prevent breakage of the main line when playing a larger fish. The Baitrunner is an additional clutch facility that can be engaged to let line flow freely from the spool with the bale-arm engaged, but, with a simple turn of the reel or flick of the switch, normal clutch tension is applied to the spool.

I’d put it to the back of my mind over the winter and hadn’t really thought to much about it …… until that is my wife said to me she’d ordered my birthday present but wasn’t sure if it was the right one. “The right one?” I said with an air of panic – what the hell was she doing ordering a reel for me – she knows nothing about fishing!! “Well it was on that Birthday/Christmas list you gave me last year” she retorts…… Surely she hadn’t taken a flyer on a list from last year had she?! Well, the answer was ‘”yes she has!” and yesterday I once again became a lucky Shimano Baitrunner owner! It’s not something I was expecting and probably would still have been “umm-ing and ahhh-ing” over it this time next year knowing me. The wife has really come up trumps this time and has some serious Brownie points in the bank for sure!

The model is the Baitrunner BTR-8000D so is a fairly chunky bit of kit but the main plus with it is that it should handle the wear and tear of salt water which was the major consideration when I was doing my original research. Out of the box you get the reel itself, the maintenance oil, spare adjustment washers and the instruction guide…… so no spare spool which is a little disappointing but I can live with that. The features stated on the box of the reel include:

4:8:1 Gear Ratio
3 Shield A-RB Stainless Steel Ball Bearings
Baitrunner System
Dyna Balance Anti-Wobble System
Propulsion-Line Management System
Fluidrive II Gearing System
Super Stopper II Anti-Reverse
Oversized Power Roller Line Roller
Front Dial Water Proof Drag Mechanism With Positive Click
Direct Drive Mechanism (Thread In Handle)
One-Piece Bail Wire
Cold Forged Aluminium Spool

The technical bits are:

Weight 21.7oz (615g)
Line Capacity 14lb/295 yards, 17lb/250 yards, 20lb, 195yards

For full manufacturer information on the reel click here.

Obviously I haven’t had a chance to use it in anger just yet but the first ‘dry’ impressions are very good. In particular the smoothness of the winding, the comfort of the handle and the sturdiness of the Baitrunner mechanism all stand out. As soon as the opportunity presents itself I will be giving it a proper test. It will be an excellent spinning reel as well which will probably be the first outing it gets but we’ll see. I’ll write a post on my findings later in the year no doubt along with some pictures of it in action.

Thanks to the wife for a cracking birthday present!

Until next time…

On the water at last….

Well at long last I got myself on the water again – first trip of the year and long overdue at that. In fact it turned out to be quite a pleasant few hours and I certainly exceeded my expectations on the catch front bearing in mind the time of year. I was pleasantly surprised. The launch site was the Elmore slipway at Lee-on-Solent – a familiar venue and not too adventurous for my first paddle of 2011!

I was ready to go at 7am and conditions were excellent with a light south easterly blowing. Here’s the yak pre-launch:

I reached my mark about a kilometre off shore in good time and sent my baits to the sea bed – a strip of mackerel on one rod and good old ragworm on a wishbone rig on the the other. I really wasn’t expecting much action, it was just nice to be back fishing again to be honest.

It was half an hour before I had my first bite and it was on the ragworm. It was a bite that was slow to develop but when I eventually struck into it and felt the dead weight I knew it was likely to be only one thing – a ray. It felt heavy in the tide and it was indeed a thornback ray that surfaced by the side of the kayak. I was a little surprised to catch it on the ragworm but was pleased with the result – it was probably around 6lb in weight so a good start to the year.

After the quick picture I baited up again and sat back contemplating what a relative surprise the ray had been and waited for my next bite – it didn’t take long and this time it was a small but pristine bass.

Several more schoolies followed which kept me busy – all caught on the ragworm.

Conditions remained excellent, in fact the Solent was something of a millpond for a while.

Not a lot was happening with the fish baits I was putting down but the worm was still producing as the infamous Solent pout came on the feed. They were all tiny and hammering the worm baits that I was putting down, even had them on a double hook up on the wishbone rig! The thought did occur to me they’d be excellent live bait size for bass so maybe something to try later in the year.

All in all a pleasant first trip of the year, good to get back into it and even better not to blank. Hopefully it’s a sign of a good year on the fishing front….. and dare I say it no red Solent weed to contend with either. Got the bug again now and already looking forward to the next trip.

Until next time……

The upgraded Trident RodPod hatch cover

Overall I have been really pleased with the Ocean Kayak Trident 13 but there has always been one small bug bear and that was the RodPod cover. The original cover, whilst functional, is a bit on the flimsy side and I can’t help but feel only a limited amount of thought went into it’s design at the time. Thankfully, Ocean Kayak has now brought out a new RodPod cover which was definitely needed in my opinion and on the basis it can surely only be an improvement on the original I have recently invested in one.

The cost was circa. £50 which on the face of it seems expensive for a piece moulded plastic but I thought it was worth the punt nonetheless…… only time will tell but my first impressions are that it has a lot more going for it than the one shipped with my yak a couple of years ago.

I should say first off that I believe the new upgraded RodPod cover will fit all older models of the Trident kayaks so there shouldn’t be any compatibility issues. If in any doubt check on the Ocean Kayak website to be sure! The new kit includes the new hatch cover itself, straps and fasteners, the trim lock to keep the hatch waterproof and installation instructions.

In brief, the cover is infinitely more rigid than the original and has a plethora of pre-drilled holes and mouldings for attaching things such as Scotty rod holders, GPS mounts, and such like. There are also a couple of inserts for small bits of tackle, lures, etc. with a metric and imperial ruler either side of the cover. The underside of the hatch shows the injection mouldings.

The first job was to remove the old hatch which was a two second job. I didn’t remove the existing straps and buckles – there was no need – they are in good order and exactly the same as those you get in the kit anyway. This way I have spares too!

Next job was to drill a small hole on the inside rim to thread the existing cord through that attaches the hatch to the yak. Once that’s done the next step was to add the trim lock to the cover – it clips on tightly to the hatch and provides the water tight seal between the RodPod and the cover – you do need to trim it down to the right size though.

The cover is then ready to fit over the RodPod hatch. The fit is a lot tighter than the original hatch was which I don’t think is a bad thing at all.

Here it is with the straps in place…..

Just to prove the pre-drilled mouldings work I attached my GPS mount to give an idea of how things can be fixed to the cover.

I need to have a think now about how best to use the mouldings but I think a bait board will be added for one and maybe a drink holder of some description.

All-in-all it seems a vast improvement on the original cover but as I say the proof will be when I get out there and use it ………. which hopefully will be in the very near future now.

Until next time…..

This time last year…..

It was this time last year that I was just thinking about my first yak trip of 2010 – a time to blow away a few cobwebs and get some paddling, and more importantly fishing, under my belt. I really had hoped to get out over this winter and try for some winter species but it has been impossible with my current workload and family commitments. C’est la vie!

Anyhow, looking back at that first trip last year I thought I’d share with you a few pictures of that first session. My mate Nobby and I had managed to snatch a day to get ourselves on the water and although the fishing was slow it was a cracking day out. We decided we were going to head to Dorset and see what was about and in particular somewhere along the Purbeck coast. After stop offs at Kimmeridge Bay and Lulworth Cove we eventually ended up at a new venue for us a bit further along the coast at Ringstead Bay. It was a cracking early Spring day and a smashing venue with a small inshore reef.

Here are the yaks on their way down to the waters edge…

We were fishing on the drift and as I’ve already said the fishing was mighty slow but the coastline around here is very scenic so it was pleasant watching it pass us by. We drifted to the east as far as Osmington Mills and then back west as far as the headland you can see in the first photo. The ground here is a mixed bag – rocky in places and then clear ground as you head out a bit further.

Here’s Nobby doing his stuff…

After a fruitless time using live worms I had switched to fishing with a soft plastic one and unbelievably it paid dividends if with a slightly surprising result. Here is my first yak caught plaice and a definite first catching one on a soft plastic worm – it turned out to be the only fish we managed between us all day!

Despite our best efforts that was it and mid-afternoon we decided to call it a day and headed back to shore for a brew before heading home.

It was a great early Spring paddle and nice to look back at this as I’m itching to get out again now! Hopefully, I will have a window the weekend after next as long as the weather plays ball – even if it is just a local session to get me back in the swing of things!

Until next time……

A spring clean…..

Well, it’s been a while now since I’ve posted anything and that’s basically because there’s been nothing to report! I had good intentions of getting on the water before Christmas but what with one thing or another it just didn’t happen.The yak has been well and truly gathering dust over the past four months underneath the tarpaulin locked up at the side of the house. So, with a couple of hours to spare today I thought it was at least time to get the yak out, give it a clean off and give it the once over in anticipation of better weather, more daylight and better fishing reports in this neck of the woods.

My biggest concern was that the electric wiring for the light, fishfinder and GPS were all still working and after the initial hose down of the yak I checked these out. With the connections greased and everything hooked up I flicked the switch so to speak. Happily they were all in the same state as when I last used them which was good news (a testament to Rob’s workmanship) – the GPS wiring needs a once over as the power was intermittent but that’s no change to before and I can live with that for now.

Next I checked out my bungee cord, straps and fixings to the yak and all seemed good so I think I’ll be in reasonable shape to get out on the water in the not too distant future when the fishing round here picks up a bit. Just need to check the actual fishing kit out now to make sure it’s all in order and hopefully I’ll be ready to roll.

This year I’m hoping to get a bit more time out on the water than I did last so with a bit of luck there will be a few more reports from different venues and a lot more decent catch reports!

Watch this space and tight lines for now.

Until next time………

… And the fishing drought goes on!

Well, this past month or so has been truly awful for getting out on the kayak aside from a quick paddle at the beginning of August. The weather has not been kind at all. Windows to get out have been few and far between and the yak has literally been wrapped up gathering dust. In fact, all my fishing kit has been redundant which has been very infuriating… even the charter trip I was meant to be going on at the end of August was cancelled. Since then have been off to Scotland for a wedding so there’s just not been the chance of wetting a line…… Mighty, mighty frustrating with no let up in sight for me I’m afraid as I’m off to San Francisco on Friday for two weeks to see family.

Still, at least I’ll have a chance to visit a fishing outlet or two when I’m there and they are mighty impressive to say the least with the likes of the Bass Pro shops to peruse… I will be like a kid in a sweet shop!

Anyhow, bear with me, I will be back and fishing on my return with my attentions beginning to turn to the winter fishing scene and in particular my pursuit of a first yak caught cod.

Until next time……

Little paddlers….

It’s been a hectic week for me since I got back from Wales, work has been full on … one of those weeks where you’re burning candles at both ends of the day, plus we picked up our new border terrier pup ‘Woody’ who has required some attention. We already have one border ‘Lizzie’… so there’s been fun and games this last week as I’m sure you can imagine. I don’t mind admitting I’m pretty shattered and all this has added up to absolutely no chance of fishing and not even time to update this blog…… until now!

That said, I did get chance last Saturday on my return from the Welsh coastline to take my son Billy for his first outing on his own kayak. I’ve had the yak for him for sometime now but was keen that he do a day course first just to find his feet which he did early August.

The weather was actually a bit blowy so we decided to head off to Keyhaven near Hurst Castle at the western end of The Solent and more specifically the backwaters behind the shingle bank. To make it a bit more interesting we took along ‘Lizzie’, adorned in her very own dog life jacket, to see if she would take to this kayaking lark. As we set off the signs were she was a little hesitant……

But there was no such hesitancy from Billy, who was soon in the swing of things……

It’s a great little backwater and we were going with the current plus had the wind behind us making for a nice easy paddle for Billy… my concern was coming back it was wind over tide which would make things interesting! Still, I had the foresight to pack a tow line just in case and a good decision it turned out to be in the end.

We ploughed on up the backwater and despite falling in once and jumping in once Lizzie was enjoying herself at the bow of the yak on apparent look out duties……

After about a mile’s paddle Billy’s arms were feeling it so we paddled in to the shore and the tow line was deployed for the paddle back which gave me a good workout pulling him along against the elements!

I don’t mind admitting I was a little apprehensive about taking Billy out, as most parents would be, but I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well he paddled and manoeuvred the kayak in the water. The Ocean Kayak ‘Frenzy’ he has is more of a surf yak and not the most stream line of yaks making it harder work to paddle, especially for a nine year old boy.

After a bit of graft against the wind and current we were safely back at the launch point, ready to de-rig and have a well earned rest……

We weren’t out there particularly long, maybe an hour and a half at the most, but they’re magic moments these when you see how excited your offspring, and pets come to that, are on the water. I’ve already heard “when we going kayaking next Dad?” several times this last week and after Lizzie’s successful launch I’m sure it won’t be long before the new pup Woody will be having a trip out! Once again, happy days…

Bringing this whole post back to fishing, these backwaters were teeming with small bass and we saw a couple of bigger one’s launch out of the water as well – would be a good spot to troll a lure behind the yak I reckon. There were also some big mullet cruising around which would be worth a crack at. Hoping to have a bit of fishing on the kayak soon but no definite plan at the minute in this respect. I will hopefully be fishing next Saturday though – weather willing…… have signed up for a boat charter with a bunch of mates, including one over from New Zealand, hopefully after some bass off The Needles.

Until next time…

Something a bit different

Just got back from a couple of days camping in Pembrokeshire, Wales with my nine year old son, Billy. It’s somewhere I’ve never been before and whilst we were there to primarily enjoy the joys of camping we also planned to do some rock fishing and of course I wanted to check out possible kayaking launch venues in the process!.

The campsite I chose was just outside of St. David’s as you head west in a hamlet called Porth Clais. We found a cracking pitch, wonderful view and the weather was superb when we arrived…

The piece of water in the picture is St. Bride’s Bay with the island of Skomer just visible in the distance. First evening we tried a little float fishing from the rocks near the Porth Clais harbour inlet – the water is crystal clear and we were getting lots of bites from the tiniest of wrasse which were just clinging to the bait rather than the hook! Here’s some more pictures of the coast line and harbour at Porth Clais…

As the light faded we switched to lures to see if there were any bass around but it was almost too calm with nothing to get excited about. Still, it was a lovely evening and it was good practise for Billy who is just getting into his fishing. His casting has come on leaps and bounds but his patience needs some work! Here he is on the rocks…

We spent a pleasant night under the canvass and woke up nicely refreshed – a quick bacon sandwich and cup of tea for breakfast and we were on the road. The plan was to head up the North Pembrokeshire coast and see what and where we could find. The weather was cloudy and actually quite cool for August with a fresh and increasingly strong wind.

The first stop was the fishing village of Porthgain where we took a wander to the old quarry along the coastal path to the left of the harbour as you look to the sea. There looked a couple of good rock fishing spots but the sea state had worsened and it was fairly exposed so we decided against this spot. The harbour itself would be a good spot to launch the yak from though and the local pub nearby – The Sloop Inn – would be an excellent after fishing watering hole!

We headed up the coast calling in at beauty spots along the way such as Abermawr, Abercastle, and Strumble Head all the way up to Fishguard where we picked up some bait and a spot of lunch. We decided to head back to Abercastle where we had noted calmer water and safer looking rock marks for Billy to fish from. It was another lovely looking spot to launch a kayak from…

We walked to a rock mark to the left of the harbour and fished there for a couple of hours but it was slow and the only fish to show between us for our efforts was this plump little rockling I landed on a whole sandeel…

I was really hoping for Billy to land something but despite his best efforts the bites didn’t come and it wasn’t to be. There will be other days for him I’m sure when his luck will be in!

We headed back to the campsite shortly after that with the weather closing in all the time. Just about managed to get a barbeque in before the first spots of rain were felt – it turned out to be a wet and windy night but the Vango Hurricane 200 tent stood up to the conditions with ease – an excellent piece of kit in my opinion…

The next morning things hadn’t let up so we begrudgingly decided to call it quits and head home. It rained pretty much all the way home so a decent decision in the end.

A smashing couple of days nonetheless and a little bit of groundwork put in on fishing spots and possible kayak launch venues – really would like to get the yak to some of these spots in the not too distant future and do some more exploring of this stretch of coast. It’s a truly beautiful part of the UK and somewhere I can thoroughly recommend.

Happy days.

Until next time……

A ray of hope…..

Have been off work this week primarily for a camping trip to Wales later today with my son but yesterday morning did present me with a fishing opportunity. The weather looked favourable according to the forecasts so I loaded the car up Monday night ready for an early start on Tuesday at the local haunt at Lee-on-Solent.

The yak was rigged and ready to go by about 5:15am but when I got to the launch point there was a fair old lump to the sea and a bit of a blow coming from the west – certainly not as flat as previous outings but it was do-able.

Got out to my favoured spot and set up with a good sized crab bait on one rod and a lash of mackerel on the other trying to avoid the pin bream that can strip the baits if you’re not careful here. This is a picture of the sea state which probably doesn’t do justice to how bumpy the conditions were.

In addition to my rods I was hand lining for mackerel and almost instantly I was into a couple of them which were despatched to the cool bag.

It didn’t take long either for the first knock on the crab either and I connected…… you can tell pretty much straight away if it’s a smoothie and that’s exactly what surfaced. This one being of the starry flavour and as with all smuts he wasn’t too pleased to be aboard the yak! They really do go berserk when they’re out of the water but eventually he calmed down to have his picture taken before being returned…

A good start I thought but then, save for intermittent mackies on the hand line, things went decidedly quiet with no more sniffs on the crab bait and not a squeak out of the mackerel strips I was putting down. Still, the wind had swung round to a north westerly and the sea flattened off a bit which was nice – nothing worse than trying to have a coffee in a lumpy sea! Here’s a picture of the sun on it’s way up……

After a good hour or so I finally managed another bite on the crab again and was really pleased to see this bass come up – not a keeper but a bass is a bass all the same… they are such beautiful fish.

By now it was 9:30am, the first of the Cowes week yachts were beginning to gather and The Solent was beginning to get busy so I was contemplating calling it a day when I had my one and only bite on the mackerel bait. It was a strange bite and when I struck into it all I could feel was a dead weight but when it got to near the surface I saw why… it was a thornback ray – not big but my first from the yak so pleasing. A couple of pictures and he was put back to fight another day.

Stuck at it for another hour or so but it had gone quiet again which probably wasn’t helped by the hive of activity on the water with yacht after yacht skimming through. It’s an impressive sight even if puts an end to the fishing!

I paddled in and gutted a few of the mackerel ready for the smoker and the rest that were left I kept for bait – probably had a dozen or so in total, not bad for fishing anchored up using a hand line just underneath the yak…

So, another nice little session but I really must try a different venue next time!

As I say, leaving the wife and dog at home and off to Wales later today with my son camping for a few days, and hopefully, there will be a bit of fishing to be had from a couple of rock marks I’ve been told about… we’ll see.

Until next time……