Saltwater kayak fisherman

Hook1 – Swag for shots!

2012-01-20T20:54:00.001Z

For the next couple weeks, Hook1 are going to be giving away a few pieces of HOOK 1 Gear to lucky customers who send them some of their kayak fishing pictures.

Full details can be found here -----> Hook1 Swag for shots

Conger madness !

2012-01-20T18:32:00.002Z

It’d been a week since my previous trip and I felt suitably recovered and ready for another trip on the water. The earlier trip had lasted twelve hours and had left me somewhat tender!. I’d seriously considered fishing the Monday night, though I decided to get another day trip under my belt before I resumed full on night sessions, so I decided to wait until morning.

It was an early start, I hit the road around 5:30am and enjoyed a steady drive up to the Blue Anchor in Somerset. On arrival the tide had barely turned, this was expected as I’d planned to drag the kayak over the reef in order to launch. However, I decided on plan B, pour a coffee and relax in the car for an hour or so. I’d been unable to source any fresh lugworm and I didn’t have to time to dig any so I was making doing with frozen squid and mackerel plus a good amount of fresh ragworm.

With the kayak rigged I made my way down to the beach. Being a smaller tide there was less mud exposed so I was able to launch a couple of hours into the flood without any fuss. The sun was rising, the skies were clear and the air temperature was four degrees below freezing. Allied with only a light breeze conditions could be considered perfect, if not a tad chilly. It was approximately 8am when I launched onto the muddy waters of the Bristol Channel.

With the anchor down the kayak duly swung into the tide. Both rods were baited up and I was soon sitting back awaiting the first bite of the day. I didn’t have to wait long before the first bite and I was bringing a steady string of conger eel and the odd whiting to the kayak. An hour or so later I was joined by a couple of other kayak fisherman. The skies clouded over though conditions remained wonderfully calm.

Slack water was relatively quiet with just the odd fish, though the frantic sport resumed as the tide began to ebb. An hour or so into the ebb I picked up a nice sized Cod, though it turned out to be the only Cod for me that day. It’s odd how a venue can fish so differently only days, sometimes even hours, apart.

Despite the pleasant conditions is was still rather chilly. I found that my feet did cool off somewhat, though not uncomfortably so.

I’d recently upgraded some of the fittings on my kayak. I’d removed the somewhat corroded 1.5” RAM balls that hold my RAM tubes and replaced them with later model composite items. It was second trip afloat in this configuration. I’d noticed on the previous trip that the rods had a slight tendency to bounce, the RAM ball mounts flexing ever so slightly, though it was something I soon adjusted to.

However, whilst playing a fish on one rod the other rod bent over as a decent sized fish pulled on the bait. I wasn’t too concerned as this happens quite frequently at this particular venue. However, a couple of seconds later there was a loud crack and the rod dropped to the horizontal position. I managed to quickly grab the rod and it was immediately apparent that the RAM ball had sheared from its base plate!.

I removed the RAM rod tube from the rod butt and secured it elsewhere on the kayak. The composite RAM balls clearly aren’t capable of putting up the abuse that the aluminium versions endured for four years. I’ll be removing these items and replacing them with new aluminium RAM mounts at the earliest opportunity. It’s somewhat disappointing, though a learning experience I guess.

I was a little unsure as to what time to fish until, the longer I left it I’d have to recover the kayak over the reef. As I’d used the C-Tug trolley I really didn’t fancy that kind of haul, the Big Game is way too unsteady on the C-Tug. I decided to make a run for the beach which was roughly a mile and a half away. I knew I was cutting it rather fine and coming ashore onto deep mud was a real possibility. As it happens I did hop off the kayak into knee deep mud, though within 3-4 steps I reached far firmer ground. Bar a set of very muddy boots all was good!. It was about 4:30pm when I recovered to the beach so the session had lasted just over eight hours, another decent session on the water.

Below is some video footage from the day. The launch footage is a little grainy due to the low light levels, though I decided to use it anyway. I only had a couple of wire traces with me and once they’d been destroyed by the conger I was forced onto some traces made from 100lb monofilament. That wasn’t always up to the task, a conger eel has sharp teeth and given the opportunity it’ll make short work of ‘lighter’ mono lines. I’ll be re-stocking on traces this weekend.

Watchet, Somerset

I’m heading off to Norway for a couple of months hence I wont be posting any kayak fishing reports. That said, I’m packing a heavy duty spinning rod and I’m also hoping to fit in a couple of charter boat trips. I also want to have a go at ice fishing!… got to be done. As you can see, I don’t intend being located above the Artic Circle to stop me fishing !

A marathon session !

2012-01-12T21:41:00.002Z

Previously my longest trip on the water was around eight hours, on Monday I somehow managed twelve hours on the water. Trust me that’s a long time and I’m still having trouble sitting comfortably two days later. As the Queen might say, One’s behind is somewhat delicate!!. It was definitely too long, the occasional leg cramps I could happily deal with, though it effectively resulted in a recovery period of 48-72 hours.

The cunning plan was to launch around three hours before low water, to fish the whole flood and return on the ebb tide. The problem was fresh bait, I always keep plentiful supply of frozen bait, though for Cod some live worm is advantageous. I needed to be on the water by 0930 and the tackle shop didn’t open until 0900. That left too little time to travel to my launch site, rig up and launch, it was likely that I’d miss the launch window. There was another tackle shop a few miles west that opened at 0800, allegedly. I was awake at six and sat in the car with a packed lunch and a hot flask of coffee by 0630. By 0745 I was sat outside the tackle shop in Minehead.

The sun was coming up and the view over the harbour was quite spectacular. There were a couple of shore anglers setting up next to my car. A few minutes later I realised that they were in fact packing up!. I asked if they had any worm they were prepared to sell, a moment later I was driving away with a pound of beautiful ragworm for the cheeky price of £5.

A short while later I was parked up at the Blue Anchor seafront rigging up my kayak. I was a little slower than usual as it was my first field test of the GearTrac and the PanFish camera mounts. It was also my first real test of my PS200 drysuit and Weezel Extreme undersuit.

I launched around 0900, the weather conditions were almost perfect with a light westerly breeze rippling the surface of the sea. I’ve not fished this area around low water before so I paddled out about half a mile into around 6m of water. The fishing was quite slow with whiting providing the majority of the sport. Water temperature was 8⁰C (46⁰F), air temperature was approximately the same. The tide was around the top of the springs, predicted water movement was over 11m.

Periodically the clouds over the hills would darken and this was accompanied by strong winds. The sea was quickly whipped up and I’d be sat there surrounded by white caps, twenty minutes later it’d blow itself out and calm would return once more. This cycle repeated itself another 3-4 times before the tide started to flood, a point at which I chose to pull anchor and paddle east to my favoured grounds.

It was just under two miles to the mark, the tide was barely moving so tide assistance was minimal. I paddled along steadily at around 3.5mph and eventually dropped anchor in just over 6m of water. In around six hours time I’d be fishing in over 17m of water!. As the tide began to flood the fishing picked up and I was soon bringing a string of codling to the kayak. Most were small at around 2lb and the majority were returned.

The larger conger eel were noticeable by their absence with only a couple of very small eels coming being caught. Eventually one rod nodded over hard and I found myself tussling with a good sized thornback ray, the first of four that day. Whilst unhooking the fish the other rod bent hard over!. I left the ray on my lap and reeled in a nice plump cod… two good sized fish were sat on the kayak, result!. Excuse the quality of the photos below, they’re actually video images.

It was not long after this that the weather went down the toilet. The wind picked up to a strong north westerly, the swell grew quickly and was soon breaking. I sat it out hoping it would pass, though it continued to deteriorate. The strong flood tide was keeping me pointed in a easterly direction and the swells from the northwest were constantly breaking over the the side of the kayak. I was far from comfortable and I was soon ignoring bites, happier to sit tight and ride things out.

The situation showed no signs of improving so I decided to get out of it. I didn’t fancy swinging across the tide/swell whilst recovering the anchor, so I chose to unclip, paddling hard back uptide to pick up the buoy. The first couple of pickups weren’t good, the swell causing the warp to jump off the cleat, the kayak swinging side across the tide. With the warp released I tried again. I probably should have left it until later, though the third attempt was successful and I had my anchor back on board.

I made for Watchet harbour where I intended to sit out the weather, however the the harbour is tidal and had yet to flood out. The waves were breaking across the harbour mouth, the muddy harbour floor clearly visible beyond. That left plan B, recover to the adjacent beach. I stood around for twenty minutes before the wind eased once more. Whatever happened to the forecasted of a light breeze all day?. It was still quite lumpy so I fished a little closer inshore. I took the opportunity throughout the trip to play with the DogBone camera mount from YakAttack. It’s exceptionally versatile and rock steady. I found myself using it to get angles close to the water, looking aft, from the side, etc. It’s a great piece of kit which I’ll continue to evaluate over the next few trips

There was a heavy pull on one rod and I was soon into a good sized fish. It was clearly a cod judging by it’s steady ‘nodding’ action during the retrieve. As the leader broke the surface everything went slack, the fish had slipped the hook and as a result I was quite gutted!. Twenty minutes later I experienced exactly the same, I suffered a slight sense of humour failure at this point. To that end I won’t elaborate on the third good sized fish that slipped the hook.

I would have been more than happy to call it a day at this point, though I was three miles east of the launch site and I had the wind, waves and tide against me. I wasn’t going anywhere so I continued to fish into the night.

Once the tide slackened and high water was only thirty minutes away I pulled anchor once more and began to paddle west. Initially I was averaging around 2.5mph, though once the tide began to ebb I was picking up towards 3.5mph. The wind picked up once more and I was soon paddling face on into a firm westerly wind with an ever increasing swell, it just wasn’t my day. With about a mile to go the wind increased to a strong blow, though bizarrely the swell was now pushing down from the north. The was a little concerning and I could now hear the surf crumping onto the beach and cliffs.

As I closed into the beach I flashed up my Apex headlamp and switched it to main beam to pick out the slipway. My heart sank, the slipway was getting hammered, the surf running 20-25’ up the slipway (past the white railings for those who know the spot). The slipway runs parallel to the sea with a large concrete wall running down the inside, needless to say it didn’t look good!. My options were limited, either risk the slipway or paddle another mile further down the bay to recover to quieter waters, knowing I’d have to then trolley the kayak all the way back to the car. I chose the exciting option and positioned myself several metres from the slipway, holding my position. I chose what I considered a quiet moment to make a dash for it, yup, I got it somewhat wrong!. I was duly launched up the slipway at a great rate of knots, legs out easing the impact against the wall. It actually ended very well and I hopped off dragging the kayak clear of the next swell as it rushed up the slipway.

I took the opportunity to clean my catch and rehydrate before returning to the car to de-rig and head home.

It was 2100 when I recovered back to the slipway, bar twenty minutes stood on a beach it’d been twelve hours on the water, not something I ever intend to repeat. I reckon seven to eight hours is sufficiently long. I clocked up just under ten miles which is another record for this venue, normally I’d only manage half of that at best.

Here’s a video clip from parts of the day. It’s not the best, I spent a lot of time experimenting with the new camera mounts so not all footage was useable. That said, it’s not too bad. I apologise for looking so grumpy and swearing on the odd occasion!

Blue Anchor 10th Jan 2011

The PS200 Drysuit performed extremely well, it was comfortable to wear whilst sitting or paddling on the kayak. The Weezel Extreme undersuit proved to be very warm and excellent at wicking moisture away from the body. Allied with my new Fourth Element Artic socks it seems to be ideal for the UK winter weather, keeping me warm throughout the long session, even my feet stayed warm!

YakAttack forum

2012-01-07T15:46:00.001Z

There’s a new YakAttack forum. It’s heavily biased towards rigging and it’s a great place to post your rigging solutions or to ask questions. Come and join, it’s only just started but I’ve a feeling it’ll take off!

To go direct to the forum click here ---> FORUM

Typhoon PS220 Xtreme – Initial review

2011-12-29T16:01:00.002Z

After the demise of my Kokatat drysuit I found myself in the market for a replacement drysuit, this resulted in the purchase of a new Typhoon PS220 Extreme. I was originally looking to purchase the Typhoon Multisport, though it was out of stock at the time so I raised my budget a little the PS220 was the result. It’s not exactly cheap at £500, so it immediately raised the question as to whether it was worth the extra money or not.

It turned up within 3 days or ordering it from the Wetsuit Outlet, a free fleece undersuit was included. The first thing that struck me was its weight, it was considerably heavier than my Kokatat. I was a little concerned that this additional weight may prove a hindrance when re-entering the kayak, though a few re-entry drills in my local pool immediately laid this concern to rest. The extra weight isn't noticeable neither whilst wearing the suit.

The suit is yellow and black, mainly yellow above the waistline which will aid visibility should you be on the kayak or in the water. The suit is constructed from a 4 ply breathable material with generous amounts of Cordura reinforcing all the high wear points. Another potential area of concern was the zip arrangement, the PS220 is fitted with a rear entry zip, not something I’d experienced before. I’d really wanted to avoid a latex neck seal, the PS220 is fitted with ‘Glide Skin’ neck and wrist seals, what is that exactly??, well more on that a little later.

Anyway, onto the initial review, here’s a couple of stock images.

When unpacked I rolled it out and gave it a good inspection. Surprisingly the zips were closed, I was always under the impression the zips should be left in the open (relaxed) position. As already mentioned the suit is heavier than what I’ve experienced before, though there’s also lot of material, hood, pockets, lower leg covers, etc.

Looking at the top of the suit there are pockets, and as well as the neck seal there is a concealed hood and a zippered neck to provide excellent storm protection.

The two upper pockets are labelled with a whistle and an IPod. The whistle pocket actually contains an orange emergency whistle, a nice touch. The other pocket, as the picture suggests, is intended designed to house a suitably waterproofed IPod. There’s actually a hole from the IPod pocket into the hood itself to allow the headphones to be suitably routed. I’m not too sure if I’ll ever take an IPod afloat with me, though it’s also ideal for the storage of mini flares, etc. These pockets are not watertight, I’d probably rate them as splash proof. Should you go into the water they would certainly flood, though they should self drain without any real problem.

A nice feature of the PS220 is the hood. Under normal use the hood is rolled down behind the head, though with the release of two studs it’s ready for use!. There are elastic drawstrings to adjust the hood as required. The neck can then be fully zipped up for maximum protection. There’s a lip on the front edge of the hood to help keep the rain off your face. Some Solas patches are fitted to the hood to aid visibility.

Situated on the front of the suit, above the waist, is a large multi-access pocket. The main feature is a fleece lined hand warmer pocket which is accessible via a zip from either side. A point of note is that with a PFD fitted it’s unlikely to be useable. However, whilst off the kayak for prolonged periods it would no doubt prove useful.

With the upper flap raised you have access to a full width, full depth zippered pocket. There’s also a small zippered pocket that gives access to two tall/thin storage pockets, probably suited to larger flares, etc.

The upper part of the suit is designed to fit over a kayak spray deck and can be pulled tight with the aid of a drawstring. It has no detrimental effect for use on a SOT kayak. It’s drawn down for a comfortable fit. Should you find yourself in the water, the area drains instantly when pulling yourself back onto the kayak.

The wrist and neck seals are constructed from Typhoon’s ‘Glide Skin’ which produces a low friction seal. It looks like 3mm neoprene with a smooth rubberised inner surface. It works extremely well, the neck seal being easy to pop into and out of. Only time will tell how well they will perform in long term use. That said initial impressions are very pleasing!

Moving on to the main zips themselves. The suit comes with a convenience zip fitted as standard. I couldn’t imagine having a suit without one, getting one retro-fitted is particularly expensive!. The zip is protected with a flap, so it’s now one less thing to snag yourself on.

The rear entry zip is of Typhoon’s ‘Hypercurve’ design. Basically it’s sewn into the suit in a curved position so it sits more naturally when worn and provides improved comfort. I was concerned about the difficulty of closing the rear zip once into the suit. However, the zip is easy enough to close and open, a little technique is all that’s required. As with the convenience zip there’s a protective flap that covers the rear zip once closed. However, it’s not that easy to put this flap into place, not that it’s of any real concern.

Finally, looking at the legs. The socks are an extension of the lower inner leg and are a generous size to allow for two pairs of thick socks. There are lower legs covers that to allow the suit to work better with full height boots such as my Chota Mukluks. Once into the suit you can roll these leg covers up, fit your boot, before rolling the covers back down and securing with the Velcro strap. Again, it’s a neat solution that prevents fewer snagging hazards, whilst keeping the heavier Cordura material outside the boot.

Getting the suit on is easy enough. It’s a case of stepping into the suit through the rear zip. Once your legs are fully into the suit there are internal braces that are then positioned onto the shoulders. These are adjustable and enable positioning of the suit for the most comfortable fit. It also allow the suit to be partially removed when off the water if required.

That’s pretty much covered the suit. I’ll post a follow up review after a few weeks providing some feedback on how it performs in the longer term.

Facebook Group

2011-12-20T17:02:00.001Z

After an initial glitch I’ve opened up a group on Facebook purely for saltwater kayak fishing enthusiasts. Somewhere to chat, ask questions, share ideas, post photos, videos and interesting links. It’ll make life easier to follow kayak fishing stuff whilst on Facebook. Please feel free to join the group and let’s see where it goes!

Here’s the link –----> Facebook Saltwater Kayak Fishing Group

PanFish & DogBone Mounts from YakAttack

2011-12-19T20:52:00.002Z

I’ve spent the last three days re-rigging my kayak, incorporating some GearTrac along the way. The positioning on the GearTrac was dependent on several factors. One of those was where to position my PanFish camera/video mounts.

The PanFish comes in two models, the standard PanFish and the PanFish Portrait. The biggest difference between the two mounts is the height, the PanFish coming in at 28” whilst the Portrait is considerably smaller at 6”.

The PanFish was specifically designed for ‘over the shoulder’ video with lightweight cameras. This basically covers most point and shoot cameras up to a maximum weight of 1lb. The PanFish is basically a split mast with the top half able to rotate. The amount of friction experienced at this joint is adjustable, something that will no doubt prove useful after prolonged use and the associated wear and tear. It’s marketed for use with Scotty mounts, MightyMount and track systems, specifically the Wilderness SlideTrax and the GearTrac, though it’s also compatible with other track systems. Whilst looking over the PanFish I noticed that the MightyBolt (T-bolt) can be removed and replaced with a threaded RAM ball. Out of interest it’s also is a snug fit into most flush mounted rod holders. Clearly it has many mounting possibilities!

At the top of the PanFish is a 1” RAM ball and for a few extra dollars it comes ready equipped with a RAM camera mount, clearly this is the way to go. As much as it’s marketed as an ‘over the shoulder’ camera mount there’s no reason it can’t be mounted ahead of you. I took things one stage further and repositioned a flush mount rod holder (I never use them) so it was effectively positioned 90 degrees to the kayak. The PanFish is a perfect fit into the flush mount, in fact it makes a pleasing ‘popping’ sound when pulled out. So what’s so great about mounting it in that position?. Well it provides yet another camera angle, perhaps a more interesting one in my opinion.

Of course it can be mounted directly into the GearTrac, MightyMount, etc. Fitment to either is quick and easy, taking only a few seconds.

The PanFish has comfortable foam grips to rotate the mount when required. The foam adds buoyancy which enables the PanFish to float. I’ve not tried it with a camera attached, though I’d imagine that it’s still likely to float. The RAM camera mount makes for easy positioning of the camera helping you achieve the best angle for a photo or film.

That pretty much covers the PanFish, which takes me straight on to the PanFish Portrait. This is basically a miniature version of the PanFish and is ideally suited for positioning ahead of the angler/paddler. The camera mount itself is a RAM item, hence positioning and locking the camera into the best position is quick and simple. The whole mount swivels even when fully locked into position (friction can be adjusted), this provides a couple of useful facilities. A mounted camera can be turned around allowing easy access to rear mounted controls, self timer controls, etc. The camera can then be rotated back ready for that ‘Hero’ photo!.

The PanFish Portrait is able to support heavier cameras of up to 2lb in weight. My photos show it mounted in some GearTrac, however, as per the PanFish it has multiple mounting options.. Scotty, SlideTrax, MightyMount, etc. It’s easily swapped from one GearTrac or MightyMount to another so its position can be quickly changed as required.

So, is that the end of YakAttack’s camera mounting options?…. nope!. They sell an item called the ‘Dog Bone’. It’s a foam covered tubular mount with a 1” RAM ball at either end (hence the ‘DogBone’ name!). At a glance it doesn’t appear to be much, but with a little thought it’s an incredibly versatile piece of kit. I swapped the 1” ball for a 1.5” ball at one end, purely as I’d run out of 1” RAM double sockets. I also felt this would potentially increase its rigidity when mounted in certain positions. As much as I used a RAM ball mount, it’s possible to swap the mount to make it compatible with the GearTrac, MightyMount, etc. I know, I said that for the PanFish range as well, ingenious or what!

I decided to have a play using a MightyMount with a 1.5” ScrewBall installed.

The DogBone was attached to this with the aid of a 1.5” RAM double socket. So how did this all work out?. Great!, hopefully the photos below should explain my setup reasonably well.

I really love the underwater position shown below!. With the upper RAM mounted loosely tightened the camera is easily rotated to any chosen position, full 360 degree coverage!.

From the photos above it can be seen that with a little thought when positioning it, the DogBone can be cover many potential angles!. I’ve only experimented mounting it in a MightyMount, placing it in the GearTrac will no doubt open up yet more possibilities.

In over four years I’ve struggled to find a particularly versatile camera mount. In one day I’ve now had a play with three!!. These latest camera mounts from YakAttack are well worth a look. Like their other products they are top quality and innovative, keep them coming!

Rigging with GearTrac

2011-12-19T12:21:00.003Z

I recently received some GearTrac from YakAttack and I was keen to see how best to utilise it on my kayak. However, nothing in life is easy!. The rigging on my kayak has evolved over the past few years, a fish finder, GPS and GoPro video camera have appeared over time. The GPS and fish finder are powered from an SLA battery mounted with the kayak. One of my GoPro video cameras was mounted to the rear of the fish finder.

The GearTrac provided some interesting options, though to be honest I decided it was better to start with a clean slate. Sure, adding a length of GearTrac here and there would have been quick and easy, though I wanted to make the best use of them. The Big Game has a flat ‘dashboard’ area ahead on the foot wells yet I’ve never made any real use of this area. There are reasons for this, though by far the biggest is that I load the kayak upside down on the car so any fixed fitting would eventually get damaged. When I originally mounted the fish finder I took this into account and made it a fold down affair.

The GPS was added later and this meant another mounting point (centre cover) and an electrical feed. Then the GoPro made an appearance!. It was functional though it could definitely be far better!

The GearTrac provided an opportunity to tidy up the current arrangement whilst providing some additional flexibility and space. That said, the current kayak rigging was going to require a bit of a re-work!. The GPS power feed and cam cleat were removed, this left a few holes that were plastic welded closed using a soldering iron and trimmings of plastic offcuts leftover from fitting hatches, etc.

The GearTrac comes supplied with quality stainless screws to enable rapid fitment, it even comes with a drill bit!. However, after some thought I decided to mount the GearTrac using stainless steel nuts, bolts and ‘penny’ washers. This is my own preference, rigging is very much a personal thing. Rather conveniently the 16” length of GearTrac fitted neatly across the ‘dashboard’ area of the Big Game. Holes were drilled and it was ready to mount.

It’s always worth applying some sealant to the drilled holes, washers, etc, to ensure a watertight seal. Having to apply some at a later time post a leak is hassle best avoided.

Within a couple of minutes the GearTrac was bolted into place. It was clear that its low profile was not going to be intrusive whilst loading/unloading the kayak, absolutely perfect!

The main wiring loom for the front of the kayak appeared below the original fish finder mount situated in the left foot well. It had never been ideal for a couple of reasons so I decided to relocate it closer towards the GearTrac using a better quality watertight wiring gland.

So how are accessories attached to the GearTrac?. There are two main options, using either a ScrewBall (1” or 1.5”) or a Mighty Mount. These attach using T-bolts (Mighty Bolt), the Mighty Mount requiring the addition of threaded knobs if it’s to remain moveable. The Mighty Mount is a mount in its own right so I’ll cover that in a later article. The use of a Mighty Mount on the GearTrac allows attachment of Scotty rail mounts, etc. Here are a couple of stock images.

In the case of the ScrewBall it’s simply a case of sliding the ball onto the GearTrac and tightening down. With a Mighty Mount the principle is the same, though a threaded knob is used to tighten down against the T-Bolt

Below are close up photos of the base of a PanFish mount showing the MightyBolt designed for use with the GearTrac. It’s as simple as sliding the required item onto the track and tightening down a couple of turns to lock it firmly in position. The ScrewBalls work in exactly the same manner.

The re-routing of the forward wiring loom allowed me to reposition my GPS, fish finder and GoPro camera onto the GearTrac. For the GPS I used a 1” ScrewBall allied with the Garmin 60 RAM mount. The Humminbird 565 fish finder was mounted using a 1.5” ScrewBall and a double socket arm. For the GoPro I’ve used the YakAttack PanFish Portrait, though I’ll cover this particular accessory in greater depth in another article.

As can be seen in the above photo by positioning my electronics onto the GearTrac I’ve increased my working area whilst producing a far cleaner setup. The GPS, fish finder and GoPro attach in seconds. The fish finder head unit can be removed and its base mount is stowed on the ‘dummy mount’ in the left foot well. The latter ensures a clean profile when loading/unloading the kayak upside down.

I also took the opportunity to replace any remaining alloy RAM components with the equivalent composite item. The kayak looks far tidier as a result, goodbye corrosion!

After quite some head scratching I decided to mount an 8” length of GearTrac just behind the Crazy Creek seat. There was a slight issue here as the deck profile where the track was going to be positioned wasn’t flat. I used a couple of spacing washers at either end to make up the difference. Again, I went for the nut and bolt option though it was quite a stretch, access being via the centre hatch.

I currently use the VisiCarbon Pro and I was looking for an alternative mounting location for this item. I also have a PanFish camera pole which can be mounted either on GearTrac, Ram ball or Mighty mount (it even slides into a standard flush mounted rod holder!). It’s sold for a specific mounting option, however, with a couple of spare parts it can be easily swapped from one mounting option to another… neat!.

The GearTrac positioned just behind the seat will prove ideal for these items.

The GearTrac really is a great product, its finish is superb and it’s extremely strong. The cost is reasonable considering the material specification and sheers quality of this item. When you consider the initial outlay when purchasing a kayak, it’s really a relatively small price to pay for an accessory that will no doubt provide many years of faithful service. That said, it’s also ideal to upgrade, or to bring some additional flexibility, to your current setup.

My next articles will look at fixing Mighty Mounts to the kayak and I’ll soon be reviewing the PanFish and PanFish Portrait camera mounts. I also have some interesting plans for additional camera mounting options, watch this space!

GearTrac specifications:
Base Material:    6000 series aluminium
Finish:               Type III Hardcoat Anodize - Military Grade
Colour:               Gunmetal Gray
Fasteners:          #10 Stainless Steel thread forming screws
Weight:              1/2 lb per foot

Pain, grief and lots of swearing!

2011-12-17T17:50:00.003Z

I’ve spent the last couple of days de-rigging the kayak and re-rigging it with some GearTrac. I’ll post more on this later as I’m not finished yet, well my body is, so many aches, pains, cuts and scratches. I’d almost forgotten how much fun rigging can be!

The old aluminium RAM ball mounts were badly corroded ad looking extremely tatty. I took the opportunity to unbolt them and fit some new composite RAM balls in their place. That wasn’t terribly difficult, well not in theory anyway. However, I’d fitted them as far back as possible using nuts and bolts, access to the nuts is via the centre hatch. It’ s a heck of a stretch and highly uncomfortable, it didn’t seem quite so difficult when I fitted them in mid-1997. Yup, it’s official, I’m getting old!

Anyway, with that job out of the way I did some work on the rudder system. It’d been stiff to operate for some time, so it was stripped down, inspected, cleaned and re-assembled. Post that work it was far easier to operate. I took the opportunity to fit a couple of drilled plastic balls onto the operating ropes to give an improved handhold when pulling on the ropes to lower/raise the rudder.

I also moved the zig-zag cleat as I always fold my rod tubes back these days. In the early days I folded them forward so it was placed up on an edge adjacent to its new position (see the bolts). It was subject to getting knocked when loading onto the roof of the car and finally broke last year. At least in this position it should be safe from abuse!

However, all that was simple compared to how the next job turned out!. One of the flush mounts had not been watertight from new. Fill it up with water and it’d drain in down in seconds. It explained how I’d take on a few cups of water in a choppy sea. So the plan was to remove them, seal them up, then to re-fit them. Three screws, how difficult could it be?. The screws fix into well nuts, a fitting that I hate with a vengeance. The first two came out just fine, though the last one was seized and just turned. I was soon back to being a contortionist and managed to get a small pair of mole grips onto the well nut. I’d get a few turns if I was lucky then the moles grips slipped off. I’d struggle to re-attach the mole grips before getting a another turn on the screw.

It eventually came out and the old well nuts were cut out. I considered fitting nuts, bolts and washers though access was clearly a nightmare so I fitted some new well nuts. I managed to break two of them just as I was reaching the desired tightness… not impressed!!!!

I had a hell of a job removing them and once off (about 45 minutes later!) I decided to attempt to fit nuts, bolts and penny washers. It was a rather tricky job, I do believe that I might have sworn… many times. It was a good 90 minutes to finish that job. I still have one left to do, should I leave it??, I feel as though I should give it a wide berth. That said, I know myself, I’ll be swearing again tomorrow, I will win!!

The wiring loom that runs from the front to the rear of the kayak had come adrift so that was suitably secured using plastic P-clips to existing nuts/bolts passing into the hull. I’m sure I’ve tackled other minor jobs as the day progressed. There’s quite a bit of work left to do, though right now I need a hot bath and some liquid refreshment to ease the pain.

NITEStripe Install

2011-12-12T23:22:00.002Z

Check out the NITEStripe Install By Mike Guyer. It looks really neat and simple to install.

The full article can be found here

More from YakAttack

2011-12-12T21:38:00.002Z

YakAttack products - demonstration on how to install the FullBack backing plate on a Mighty Mount using the Rigging Bullet. A simple solution to a common problem!

Rigging solutions

30 Miles Out !

2011-12-11T09:44:00.001Z

Check out this website, the fishing footage is wicked to say the least.

Kayak fishing Texas style

New GearTrac from YakAttack

2011-12-09T21:26:00.003Z

Check out the GearTrac from YakAttack. It’s a track system manufactured from high quality 6000 series aluminium (alloyed with magnesium and silicon). It has an anodised finish which will no doubt give the product a very long working life whether it be in fresh or saltwater.

I took delivery of some today and I’ll be installing and reviewing this item soon. It allows multiple rigging options, too many in fact!, I’ll be spending quite some hours this weekend deciding how best to utilise this new product. Watch this space.

GearTrac from YakAttack

Winter clothing upgrade

2011-12-08T13:15:00.002Z

I seem to take a mountain of clothing with me and to date it’s proved pretty effective at allowing me to fish several hours in very cold conditions. On a very cold winters day I’ll wear thin thermal leggings with snowboarding trousers on top. Above the waist I wear two thermal tops and a cotton artic top. I’ll also wear two pairs of military artic socks. That amounts to seven items of under clothing!. See my winter clothing post.

My new Typhoon PS200 Xtreme dry suit came with a typhoon lightweight thermal fleece undersuit. It’s a decent piece of kit though I don’t consider that it’s up for those cold winter days in the UK where the temperature can be the wrong side of 0˚C.

I decided to purchase an undersuit that’s specifically designed to be worn below a drysuit whilst diving. These come in various grades to suit the water temperature. As I’ll be sitting stationary for several hours at a time with minimal time spent paddling, I know from experience that you can chill off very quickly indeed. I’m hoping that this will prove to be a good solution to staying warm on those cold days. The model I purchased is the Weezel Extreme one piece undersuit. It’s nicely padded with four layers of material designed to maintain warmth whilst wicking away moisture. There’s no requirement for additional under layers which means I’ve substituted five pieces of clothing for one!.

It looks a little bulkier in the stock photos shown above, in reality it’s not so bulky and compresses within the drysuit. There are foot loops that prevent the suit from riding up when slipping into the drysuit. There are also thumb holes in the cuffs for the same purpose. The zip is dual direction so access to the drysuit convenience zip remains unaffected.There are also two deep hip pockets which can be used to keep hands warm whilst wearing only the undersuit.

I’ve tried it on and it’s very easy to get into and comfortable to wear. Slipping into a drysuit created no issues and it’s easily accommodated beneath the drysuit, as was expected.

Cold feet have always been an issue during the very cold sessions so I also took the opportunity to purchase and test out some new socks. I ended up going for a pair of Fourth Element Xerotherm Arctic Socks. They’re lightweight and are said to have excellent thermal properties and are designed to wick moisture away from the foot whilst preventing moisture from re-entering the sock. They tuck under the Weezel undersuit whilst allowing the undersuit foot loops to slip over the socks.

Obviously the above clothing is purely for the winter months when temperatures are towards zero or below, though in the UK that can be for many weeks!

Practicing re-entry drills

2011-12-06T03:55:00.002Z

Now my new drysuit has arrived I’m itching to go fishing. Though to be honest, I really didn’t fancy launching knowing that my last re-entry attempts had failed, regardless of the circumstances. Psychologically that wasn’t a good thing for me so I decided a practice session was in order. There was a bit more to it than that, my new Typhoon PS200 Xtreme drysuit is considerably heavier than my Kokatat Super Nova. It’s perhaps 2-3 times heavier and I wanted to test the watertight integrity of of my new acquisition whilst ensuring that the heavier suit wouldn’t hinder my re-entry.

I had planned to practice my re-entry drills locally at the weekend, though on the day I wasn’t feeling to spritely due the evening of refreshments the night before, plus the weather was plain miserable. I decided to utilise the pool at work where I could play in comfort for as long as I fancied.

The Big Game is certainly a stable kayak, though it does sit high out of the water. This, allied with its width, requires quite a bit of effort to get up onto and across the kayak before rotating into the seat. I practiced for twenty minutes where I capsized a dozen times and I’m pleased to report that all re-entries were successful!. That said, I was a little tired by the end of it!.

I also took the opportunity to experiment by removing the centre hatch before capsizing. I’ve read a lot of forum posts by people who refuse to open a large hatch whilst afloat. The fear of course being that the kayak will flood rapidly should it capsize, resulting in either the loss of the kayak or the inability to right an upturned kayak. I’ve always been of the belief that the kayak would act like a diving bell, the trapped air having nowhere to go hence the kayak shouldn’t flood. It turned out that was indeed the case and two capsizes with the centre hatch open resulted in a 1-2 litres of water entering the kayak. Perhaps in a choppy sea that may be more, though I very much doubt it would be a huge amount.

My new drysuit performed extremely well without so much of a drop of water entering the suit. Its extra weight wasn’t an issue at all, early impressions are very pleasing. I’ll post more details about this suit over the next few days.

I took some video footage whilst in the pool, it’s interesting to see how much air is actually trapped beneath the kayak, a view you wouldn’t normally get to see.

Capsize & re-entry drills

Modifying the GoPro Hero2 – night lighting

2011-12-03T14:25:00.002Z

I regularly take my GoPro Hero HD and recently acquired Hero2 afloat with me. However, the majority of my fishing takes place at night which up until now has meant no video footage!. However, I decided to modify my HERO2 to allow it to be switched into a night capable mode in a few seconds.

Below is a photo of the standard Hero2 cam in its waterproof housing.

Basic materials were four '3M dual lock' pads and a six LED Lenser headlamp, total cost around £14 ($20). The headlamp was stripped of its strap and the three cable clips were fitted to the GoPro head strap.

Two small incisions were made to fit each clip. A Dual Lock pad was fitted to the rear of the GoPro head strap, onto the plastic bracket, and one fitted to the rear of the headlamp battery pack. Despite being solidly attached, it is attached or removed in a couple of seconds.

A Dual Lock pad was fitted to the side of the GoPro waterproof housing and one to the slightly modified headlamp. Again, attachment or removal takes a couple of seconds.

The headlamp, battery pack and connecting wire attach to the GoPro in around 10 seconds, it removes in the same amount of time. The wire is secured using the three clips mounted to the strap earlier, the wire just clips in with a slight push. The ‘light assembly’ weighs 90g (3 ½ oz), though the majority of the weight is in the battery pack, the light unit weighing in at 28g (1oz). As a result the addition of the light to the GoPro cam is barely noticeable.

Initially the light was too strong in the centre causing heavy saturation, though a small piece of diffuser from a old SLR flash diffuser was glued to the front of the headlamp which cured that problem. Here's a short clip covering my modification below:

Modifying the Hero2

New dry suit arrived !

2011-12-02T16:05:00.002Z

When I phoned the stockist enquiring about the Typhoon Multisport 3 I was told they had my size in stock. Less than a minute later I’d ordered it online, so imagine my surprise two days later when I received an email to say it was out of stock!. I was straight on the telephone and I was informed I may get one before Christmas, if not it’d be sometime in the New Year. Needless to say I was far from impressed!!.

It was a case of back to the drawing board and the result was increasing my budget somewhat, this resulted in me considering the Typhoon PS200 Xtreme. I really like the idea of the ‘Glide skin’ neck and wrist seals, the con zip was a standard fit, plus it had a hood. Another phone call and the lady confirmed that she not only had my size in stock, she was actually holding it this time!. an order was duly placed and it arrived today.

First impressions are excellent and I’ll post an initial review very soon. It came with a typhoon under fleece, though I’ve just ordered the Typhoon 100g under suit which should be ideal for fishing this winter.

Typhoon PS200 Xtreme Typhoon 100g Undersuit

Back in action !

2011-11-25T22:08:00.004Z

After 3 months away I’d been itching to get back onto the water. I’d missed the odd day where fishing would have been possible as I was looking for a window of 2-3 days to make travelling down to the Bristol Channel worthwhile and cost effective. Eventually the weather was looking good with 3-4 days of light south westerly winds forecast. I was up early, leaving the house not long after 4am with a drive of around 2 ½ hours ahead of me. I’d booked my fresh worm a few days earlier and it was left in a hidden location by the tackle shop owner the night before. That was duly collected and I was soon rigging up, hopes were high!

There was a light surf and once a few hundred metres out I paddled east and anchored up about a mile offshore. The tides were at the bottom of the neaps with around 9m of water movement at the most. Because of the lack of tide flow for this area I wasn’t expecting too much action to be honest.

That said I was into my first fish within a couple of minutes, a small codling of about 2lb. The Conger were present in large numbers and by the end of session I’d bagged up seventeen fish between 7-25lb, though the average weight was perhaps 10-12lb. A handful of Bullhuss, a small thornback ray and plenty of Dogfish were also caught.

Baits were a double squid topped off with fresh lugworm mounted onto a 6/0 pennel rig on one rod, the other rod being baited with a fillet of mackerel. I fished for around eight hours and despite the lack of Cod I’d still managed a good amount of fish throughout the session.

I’d taken the opportunity to try out my new Hero 2 headcam, whilst mounting my Hero HD onto my fish finder, a temporary measure until a YakAttack Panfish Portrait arrives.

The following day saw me launch around 9am and I decided to fish closer into the reef into the reef in the hope of some Cod. Fresh lugworm isn’t cheap to buy and I was wanting something in the freezer to show for my efforts.

The fishing was an awful lot slower than the day before though I was soon into my first codling of the winter, a nicely conditioned fish of around 5lb.

A few small conger and several dogfish were caught and as the tide slackened off the Whiting were relentlessly attacking the baits. I picked the odd one up by accident, though to target them I’d of had to reduce my hook size dramatically. I wasn’t after them so I persevered with my usual setup. As the session progressed I dropped a few fish though managed to catch a couple more Cod to bring the tally for the day to three.

The evening closed in and the sunset was quite wonderful, it really finishes the session off perfectly. I’d considered sleeping in the car, though I was that exhausted I drove the hour back to my weekday work accommodation to enjoy a hot shower and a good nights sleep.

I’d decided to empty to GoPro cam SD cards, so I popped them into the laptop and transferred the files from the first card onto the hard drive. The second card saw me select all the files and hit delete… gone. Not impressed in the slightest. My data recovery software didn’t detect anything on the SD cards so all was lost. I’ve since found another piece of software that does work well on SD cards so hopefully I wont have such problems in the future should I mess up. Lesson learned, don’t mess with stuff when you’re knackered and need sleep!

The third and final day saw me fish the same location and the weather conditions were poorer with a steady swell sweeping down the channel. Still, it was very fishable and I’d soon bought several Conger eel to the kayak. I’d not managed any Cod by high water and it was shortly into the ebb that I capsized which marked the end of that days session!

So despite the disappointing end to the three day session, the fishing had quite prolific and I had no real complaints. The water temperature is unseasonably high for this time of year which I personally believe is holding the main cod run back so I expect it’ll be a late Cod season this year. However, it’s keeping the Conger in the shallower water which provides some great sport.

I’ve ordered a new dry suit which will hopefully be hear in the next 48 hours. I’d been unable to re-enter the kayak due to a flooded dry suit, though I don’t wish to launch again knowing that my last self recovery was unsuccessful regardless of the circumstances. To that end I’ll have a morning testing out my new suit whilst doing some self rescues before I fish again, hopefully that will be this weekend!.

Below is video clip taken over the first two days. I’ve included a short piece of footage on setting the anchor as I was recently asked about that. I forgot to film recovering the anchor though I’ll be sure to do that during my next daylight trip.

A weekend on the water

A tale of woe !

2011-11-22T20:05:00.003Z

I'd been out fishing at the Bristol Channel for about three hours, anchored up off a reef. The wind freshened up into a easterly with a steady swell rolling down the Channel, nothing of interest. I'd noticed a couple of rogue waves come down from the north, hitting the kayak side on and filling a foot well. Again, nothing of interest nor concern.

During slack water I was a bit bored and started nosing around. I went to open the front hatch and to my horror noticed a 2" split along a seam on the inside thigh of my dry suit. On close inspection it was running along a line where there was a taped seam underneath. It was a straight tear, slightly frayed, so not a cut. It almost looked like a fatigue crack. I inspect my suit every other trip so it really took me by surprise. I actually took a photo which is further down this post..

So, I'd already been out three hours, the kayak was stable in the tide, lying with the swell, things couldn't have been better. I decided to fish another hour or so as planned then head back in. I was taking a few photos and leaned slight to the left with the camera down the side of the kayak. Whilst taking a few photos the whole kayak tipped up, I was already slightly to one side and the sudden change of angle was enough to put me off balance. Before I could react it continued to roll and I capsized... no doubt one of those rogue waves from the north. No biggie, it happens to us all eventually and we prepare for this. My first capsize in over 200 trips, I couldn't complain!.

The kayak had flipped but it was quickly turned right side up at the second attempt. Though with the kayak anchored and the tide beginning to ebb, and with a running sea, I was getting pushed down the kayak as I tried to re-enter. No big deal, I went around the kayak and disconnected the anchor and drifted. That changed everything and I went to re-enter. I was lying over the kayak and was just about to turn into the seat when a swell hit the kayak and I slid off. Oh well, so I went to get back on again though I failed to get quite as far. Each attempt saw me struggle that little bit more. Odd, I wasn't tired.... that's when I remembered the rip in my dry suit, my suit was full from the waist down.

I tried a few more times though I was just wasting energy and flipped the kayak a couple of times. There was a charter boat a mile west of me so I called him up on the radio, no response. I was about 500m offshore, I briefly considered kicking for the shore, but I'm also aware that the tide runs away from the shore on the ebb heading directly to a headland 2-3 miles away. By this time I'd been in the water around 15 minutes and was steadily drifting east. Water temp was 12 degrees centigrade.

Leaving the kayak would have been stupid , it's a huge life raft after all, so I decided to give the coastguard a shout. We chatted and I explained my position, gave him my GPS co-ords and waited. I watched a coastguard wagon come along the cliff top and he was struggling to see me, so I directed him verbally to my area, switching on the navigation light helped no end ;D

The coastguard called up and told me it'd be 15 minutes until the lifeboat was on scene, no biggie, I was very warm. They turned up and at first suggested they'd help me back onto the kayak, though with a full dry suit it wasn't happening. With two guys helping, and me pulling, I was hauled aboard the lifeboat. Standing up was amusing, my legs were like the Michelin man with water gushing out of the tear. Slightly worrying was the presence of three small pinholes in the other leg with small jets of water squirting out. The later a put down to being pricked with hooks over the past 4 years (that turned out no to be the case - more later).

They were extremely impressed with the array of safety gear and that all precautions had been taken. I had been asked to let of smoke/flare if they'd asked. Though with a visual from the shore and my GPS position they came straight to me without any drama.

With a dry suit full of water making a successful re-entry would have been quite a feat for anybody, I certainly found it impossible once my suit had filled up. After 35 minutes in the water I was still wonderfully warm and could have stayed in there for rather a long time if required. I still had a mobile phone in a dry box which I could have used if a radio call had been unsuccessful.

As much as we prepare for the worst day, what with capsize drills and carrying an assortment of safety gear, we cannot prepare for every eventuality. Ultimately we carry a radio to make that call when all else fails. Despite my best preparations, I was forced into making that call today.

Yes, I could have deserted the kayak, made for shore and perhaps saved the call. Though I could also have got into difficulties and finding me would have been made much more difficult. Sure, it's a little embarrassing, though I'm happy that I was suitably prepared, on the day I was just plain unlucky. Spotting the rip in my dry suit was one nasty surprise, falling off on that very same trip (after 200+ dry trips) was another!

Many thanks to the RNLI and the Coastguard who have been suitably thanked and rewarded by myself. Oh, and what did a lose?. A bottle of coke (well 1/2 a bottle) and one glove.

Here's a follow up to this initial report:

As I'd mentioned earlier I noticed the tear in my dry suit well into the trip, I was that amazed I took a photo!

On closer inspection with the suit washed and dried this is what I saw. I've lifted the torn portion so it's more visible.

The suit material had weakened along the taped seam, probably by chafing whilst walking or general movement on the kayak. As it had flexed along the length of the seam it had weakened through fatigue, some areas saw signs of external wear.

Looking at the same area on the opposite leg exactly the same problem was present. It's not something you'd notice because as the suit has aged the taped seams have become more visible. Hence an area of wear along a line is in fact very difficult to spot.

The other leg had already holed in the same area, the hole was less than 1mm, though the fabric was weakened along the line close to it. I've macro'd in close, unless your inches from the damage you'd never notice it.

I went over the suit with a VERY close eye and more areas of damage became apparent. A very small hole was present along an area of slight wear, the wear line was an inch at most.

Again on the inside of the leg, a fussy join exists and the material is slightly rucked my the stitching. The whole length of this is around 1cm. A small hole around 1mm had formed where the material was raised by some stitching and had worn through.

The same area on the opposite leg was showing similar wear though had not worn through.

One final hole was found in the crotch area, again a very small length of wear, under an inch, though a tiny hole had formed.

So there were four pinholes in my suit due to wear. They were all in areas you'd never notice and probably not really think to look. The worst area of wear had of course ripped. I'd not noticed it the previous 2 days, and with is close proximity to the centre hatch it was something that was easily spotted, so it's fair to assume the suit ripped on the day I noticed it.

So, there I was sitting comfy in a steady rolling swell getting soaked in the rain. The camera is low here though the swell was at most 3'

Looking at the camera memory card I'd taken several photos in the minute before I was tipped over. I was holding the camera when I capsized and apparently hit the shutter release a split second before I actually went under!. The kayak is at a 90 degree angle here, the rod holder is almost horizontal.

Never let a bad situation stop you taking an interesting photo

I capsized at 1428, the time was recorded on the photo. According the GPS I unclipped the anchor at 1430 and began to drift at an average on 1.1mph, bearing 285 degrees.

The RNLI picked me out at 1458 after a drift of just over 0.5 miles, they then headed for the Blue Anchor slipway. I'd been in the water 30 minutes, not the 35 minutes I'd thought. The black is my track out, the blue my drift post capsize and the yellow is the RNLI track to the slipway.

I was warm throughout, surprisingly warm and could have stayed in the water for a long time. Despite the damage to my suit my multiple layers of thermal clothing served me well. They did waterlog heavily and weighed a LOT once removed. However, the plan is not to get them wet in the first place !

The suit was 4 years old and had covered 200+ trips on the water. On inspection the suit was good condition and well maintained with new seals (talc'd after each trip), lube'd zippers, etc. However, if you looked VERY closely in areas that don't jump out, i.e high up on the inner thighs, crotch, etc, damaged had occurred, sufficient enough the cause the fabric to rip with little effort. You could lay that suit on the floor and check out the front, flip it, and check out the back, no damage whatsoever is visible. Yet it is worn and damaged, though it takes a VERY close and purposeful look to spot it.

So the lesson is don't just give your suit a cursory glance over post every trip, get up close and personal and give your suit a VERY close check-up, you may get a nasty shock!

Here's a link the the RNLI report, not totally correct, though close enough.
RNLI Report

GoPro HD Hero 2

2011-11-11T13:38:00.002Z

Well I’ve just had a mad moment and purchased a GoPro Hero 2 video camera. After checking out the specifications and reading lots of reviews and watching lots of footage, I decided to take the plunge. It’s over twice the resolution of the standard HD at 11 mega pixels. Its optics are superior to the HD and should also prove far more effective in lower light levels. I’ll review it in due course, though more importantly I’m eager to put together some new video clips!

Winter clothing

2011-11-10T13:10:00.002Z

I was asked the other day what clothing keep me warm whilst fishing during the winter months. I’ll cover what I’ve found works best for me, though everyone will have their opinions on this. My winter fishing sessions often see me fishing though the night in temperatures below freezing. My biggest areas of concern are my feet and hands, once these are suitably frozen that’s my trip over. It’s not just the end of the trip neither, I know at some point they’ll warm up again and that at times can be a rather painful experience. Ultimately, it’s something to be avoided, so being suitably clothed is in my opinion extremely important. It’s not just exposure to the elements whilst fishing, there’s always the risk of a capsize and I want to remain functional for long enough to make a successful re-entry should the worst happen.

Ok, so starting with my hands. I suffered quite a bit in the early days, though I’ve pretty much got this problem area sussed. For general fishing in dry weather I’ll always wear a pair of thermal fingerless gloves. Mine are made by Sundridge and do a decent job at keeping my hands warm. However, once wet they are pretty useless to be honest. To that end I always remove them whilst re-baiting or handling fish (tucked into the top of my PFD), drying my hands before donning them once again. It may seem like a bit of hassle, but dry gloves are far more pleasant than the wet variety!

So what about neoprene?. Well I’ve used 3mm divers ‘gauntlet gloves’ in the past and they were ok. I found them quite restrictive for general duties so I only used them for paddling. The trouble was they would of course get wet, no problem, well until I put them back on at the end of the session. They’d be freezing until they warmed through, they didn’t always, not pleasant. For me at least, they didn’t work. What I ended up buying was a pair of waterproof skiing gloves. Now these really are a top piece of kit. I wear them for paddling where they are comfortable and very warm. Being waterproof means they can get soaked yet remain dry and warm internally, perfect!. When it rains whilst fishing I’ll remove my fingerless gloves and wear my ski gloves instead. Again, removing them to bait up and handle fish, drying my hands once more before wearing them again.

It might sound rather fiddly, but keeping my hands and gloves dry whenever possible makes a HUGE difference and I can fish for many hours in cold and wet weather.

As for headwear, well I’ve tried woolly ‘beanie’ hats, etc. I only wear one hat these days, and that’s the SealSkinz Hat I purchased over three years ago. It’s fully waterproof and windproof, though despite its light construction it’s extremely warm. It’s crushes into a small size and lives in my dry box where it’s accessible in seconds.

Next I’ll cover is my basic clothing. Basically it’s all about layers, trapping heat and wicking sweat away from the body. For legwear I wear a fairly thin pair of Sundridge thermal leggings underneath with a pair of snowboarding pants on top. The latter are heavily padded/insulated and are comfortable to wear and easy to put on. The thermal leggings breathe well and any sweat is absorbed by the snowboarding pants. These sometimes feel a little damp inside after a long trip, though the thermal legging and my legs themselves are always dry. It’s a very warm combination and it works well.

For my upper body I generally wear three layers. The first to go on is extreme cold weather military shirt (bottom of the pile in the photo). It’s of cotton/fleece construction with a looped inner surface. It’s extremely effective at wicking sweat away from the body and is a warm top in its own right. Second layer to go on is a Sundridge thermal top, nothing too special, it’s not very thick, though it provides an extra layer for trapping the heat. Lastly is an artic fleece jacket, it’s fairly thick and elasticated around the base (if required). I wear the same tops all year round, in the summer I’ll just wear the first layer, perhaps adding the second layer for night fishing. Though for winter fishing all three layers go on, no questions asked!

Feet, now that has always been by far my biggest problem area. I originally started off with a pair of wetsuit boots that I wore over my dry suit socks, socks being worn within my dry suit. It was fine for summer fishing, though once the temperature plummeted I quickly began to suffer. As they were ankle height they’d fill up with water during a launch. They had no real thermal properties to begin with and being sat there with water drawing heat from your feet throughout a fishing session was always going to be bad news. I was often limited to 3-4 hours fishing during freezing weather, not really ideal.

A year ago I purchased the latest version of the Chota Mukluks kayaking boots. They’re made from 3mm neoprene, fleece lined with a rigid soles. The thermal properties of the boot are pretty good and with it being a tall boot it does a good job of the water outside the boot, this is aided by the presence of a splash proof seal positioned at the top of the boot. Within my dry suit I wear two pair of military issue artic socks which are very effective at fending off the cold.

Keeping your legs and feet stationary during cold weather causes your feet to chill off quite quickly. I often move around, or just wiggle my toes and feet. The tall boots allow me to sit side saddle with my legs in the water without water entering the boot itself. Continued movement, allied with dry boots, seems to make a huge difference and I can now happily fish for 6-7 hours before freezing weather will force me ashore.

Lastly is of course a dry suit, something I never go to sea without, even during the summer months. Should I capsize I want to give myself the best possible chance to make a successful re-entry onto the kayak. With winter water temperatures often down to five degrees or less, preventing my body succumbing to the cold within minutes is top of the list.

Lastly is my PFD, it does provide an extra layer of sorts and does a decent job of keeping the wind at bay. What my particular model provides is a pair of fleece lined hand warmer pockets. These really are fantastic are as long as they are kept dry they are very effective. In extreme cold I have been known to put a solid fuel hand warmer in each pocket, luxury indeed!

This is certainly not an exhaustive guide to winter clothing, it’s purely what works well for me. One thing is for sure, it’s vitally important to keep warm whilst fishing afloat during the winter months, ultimately your life could depend on it !

Bristol Channel – Porlock Bay

2011-11-10T10:36:00.002Z

Below is a short video clip taken during the summer (The original report was posted in July) whilst fishing Porlock Bay in the Bristol Channel. The tides are strong during peak flow and it’s not a venue I’d recommend for the faint hearted. The fishing was pretty much non stop with smoothound, dogfish, bass, conger eel and thornback ray making up the days catch. I hadn’t planned on uploading the video as I’d missed a few of the better opportunities, it’s viewable full screen at 720 resolution by clicking on the image and going into YouTube.

Mixed bag of fish

YakAttack Pro Staff

2011-11-09T19:10:00.002Z

I consider myself very fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to become a member of the recently formed YakAttack Pro Staff program. I’ll be able to benefit the kayak community by providing in depth product reviews and rigging suggestions for the YakAttack product range. I’m very excited about getting started, watch this space!

The YakAttack Pro Staff team will run a blog at http://yakattackblog.wordpress.com/ in order to demonstrate the various products and rigging options. It’s currently in its early stages, though it will become populated in due course.

Overdue repairs

2011-11-08T16:01:00.002Z

For the previous couple of dozen fishing trips I’ve endured a minor electrical problem. The marine two pin plug and socket that connect the battery to my main electrical loom had seen better days. I first installed this setup around 4 years ago, basically my battery is sealed in a ‘food container’. The container itself has been dropped once or twice and sported a couple of hairline cracks as a result, nothing a little glue didn’t cure. However, the brass pins started to turn green with verdigris between trips, though it’s easily been removed with a nylon scouring pad.

I regularly applied small amounts of dielectric grease to the connections, though I have to admit I’ve slacked somewhat with this over the last year or two. No doubt when cleaning the pins microscopic amounts of metal are removed each time. After many cleaning sessions they’ve lost sufficient metal to become a slightly loose fit in the socket. This has been my problem, nice clean pins and sockets, though I’ve really had to wiggle the connection to make the circuit. My biggest concern was the connection failing whilst night fishing.

Anyway, I’ve just returned from three months abroad and as much as I’m itching to hit the water within the next few days, I’m taking some time to tidy up some minor niggles. The battery connection was top of the list!

Below are some pictures of the plug and socket connectors. They’ve been sat for three months in the garage, so look rather worse than they normally would in between weekly fishing trips.

A new marine plug and socket was sent via mail order for around £12. I popped into the local store and picked up a new ‘battery container’ for around £3, nothing particularly specialised.

The old socket was simple snipped off, wire stripped back and connected to the new item. A few smears of sealant ensuring no water can track up into the connector. The new container was drilled to suit the shiny new socket, again with the aid of some sealant it was back together in minutes.

I’m sure I could have struggled on for a few more weeks, though with the temperature plummeting the the nights become longer it just wasn’t worth the hassle nor the associated risks. The previous setup lasted approximately four years and over two hundred saltwater fishing trips, so I can hardly complain. I’ll try and be a little more vigilant with regards to keeping the pins greased up, hopefully it will last another four years or more!

Back at last !

2011-11-06T21:01:00.002Z

After almost 3 months in Afghanistan I’m finally back in the UK. As much as the first few days are seeing me catch up with my family, I’m quietly gathering together a few bits and pieces as I ready myself for the winter season.

I’d been having issues with the main battery connector for weeks prior to me deploying, though it was nothing more than fair wear and tear. The two main pins in the plug turn green over time (brass pins) and they’re cleaned prior to every trip. Miniscule amounts of metal are removed each time, though after a couple of hundred trips that amounts to quite a bit and the pins are no longer a snug fit in the socket. I often find myself wiggling the plug trying to make the circuit, not ideal. Anyway, a replacement was delivered last week and it’ll be getting fitted tomorrow.

I also had some rig making bits delivered whilst I was away. My good wife was emailing regularly enquiring as to what the latest delivery contained !

All my heavy nylon (60lb+) and wire traces are crimped, so a delivery of crimps and wire will soon be transformed into a wallet packed with traces to see me through the winter. Weather permitting I’ll be back on the water within the week, I truly cannot wait!

As can be seen, all my crimps and wire are sourced from Leadertec, the service is always good and the prices very reasonable.

New track system from YakAttack

2011-08-09T12:37:00.002+01:00

Check out the new Track System from YakAttack, it looks to be very versatile indeed. It’ll make for quick and simple rigging whilst allowing the kayak to be easily stripped for transport and storage. I’ll hopefully be reviewing them later this year, watch this space !

Track System from YakAttack

Taking a break…

2011-08-08T21:02:00.001+01:00

Well it’s not by choice that’s for sure, it’ll be late November at best before I launch the kayak again. On a positive note, it’ll be nicely into the Cod season when I return to the UK and that really is something to look forward too !

Sadly there’s no kayak fishing, or any fishing for that matter, where I’m going. Thankfully I will have internet so keeping up with what’s happening shouldn’t be a real problem. Judging by the photo below I’m not the only fisherman who will be having some downtime, clearly some folks just can’t let it go altogether… fishing, it’s all in the mind.

Stocking up on some bait

2011-08-03T18:31:00.002+01:00

I managed a short session on the water today, a bit of a lastminute.com to be honest. Met up with a mate I’ve not seen in a while which was good and we drifted around for about three hours picking up some mackerel. I was fishing fairly deeper water, perhaps up to to 20m, fishing mid-water to the bottom.

In the first hour I caught one mackerel and managed to drop that over the side. Andy was doing better with several fish, all caught just under the kayak!. A quick change of depth saw me taking a few fish here and there.

I had a visitor on the kayak, a good sized grasshopper!. He stayed aboard, moving towards the front hatch where he remained until I came ashore later.

The wind picked up after an hour and it was white caps right down the Solent, though as we were drifting it was easy going. The fish were very hit and miss though they were steadily adding up.

I think we spent about three hours drifting around on the last of the flood and the beginning of the ebb. We managed about 30 mackerel between us with plenty lost. Ok, they’re not huge numbers, though it all adds up and it’s less bait to purchase during the winter months.

Dorset - Mudeford Quay

2011-07-24T15:18:00.002+01:00

There was a kayak demo event at Mudeford Quay this weekend supported by Ocean Kayak and Crazywater. There were plans to fish for Conger on the Saturday evening, so as a day out it seemed quite appealing. I’d also not fished that area before hence it was a new mark, always interesting!

It was good to look closely at some of the kayaks, getting up close and personal really does allow you to suss out the various pros and cons that you’d never gain from viewing photographs, etc.

I was on the water for 7pm and found myself drifting for thirty minutes whilst waiting for the other kayakers to appear. We were soon paddling west with the tide towards the chosen mark. The wind was at times rather brisk, though it was an offshore blow so it wasn’t too concerning. Once around the headland the chop picked up a little, an underlying swell was also present, though it was very fishable. I anchored up in 10m of water and found myself facing The Needles, quite a pretty site with the setting sun proving some extra colour.

I’d decided I was going to concentrate on catching a Conger Eel so a whole mackerel was mounted on one 6/0 pennel rig, with another bloody mackerel (less one fillet) mounted on the same rig on the other rod. After weeks of fishing the Bristol Channel it was quite pleasant to be using 3oz weights as opposed to weights between 8oz and 2lb!. The fishing was quiet, though small Bream were present in large numbers and they were terribly effective at stripping large fillets clean off the trace.

It’s not common for me to drop a large fillet over the side to retrieve two bare hooks 20 minutes later. I only ever take two rods afloat, though I decided to take a third rigged with small feathers to hopefully catch some fresh bait. Small strips of mackerel on the feathers produced and endless stream of pouting and small bream, though a few mackerel were also caught.

It was these fresh mackerel that I was after and they were soon hooked up as live bait and dropped back down to the depths. At one stage I was fishing two live baits, one pout and one mackerel.

It was whilst I was unhooking a Bream that the rod with the live baited mackerel literally slammed over and line started stripping from the reel, the rod tip was bouncing violently though by the time I’d dumped the feathering rod it was gone, all over in 4-5 seconds. I knew there was a reason that using more than two rods was a really crappy idea!. What was it?, probably a bass, perhaps a Tope.. I’ll never know!

So I was back to being sensible and fishing two rods. With slack water approaching fast (the better time to hook into the larger Conger) fresh baits were lowered down to the sea bed. At approximately slack water one rod started to nod a little and line was slowly being stripped from the reel, classic conger stuff!. I waited for a short while before picking up the rod and tightening up to the bait. Sure enough there was the odd hard knock at the bait. Striking lightly I felt the weight of a good fish though after a few seconds of head shaking it was gone. I quickly lowered the bait the 3-4’ back onto the sea bed and within ten seconds it was back. Again, I waited for 15-20 seconds before lifting into the fish, though the result was the same.. fish on for a few seconds then off. It didn’t return after that so I reeled in and found the end of my 80lb trace had been bitten off.

Sometime after 11pm the other anglers headed in, though I wanted to fished for a little longer. On a few occasions I’ve seen Bass swim very close to the surface and under the kayak at night, no doubt attracted by the stern light. However, I saw something a little surprising, a Smoothound swam only inches below the surface and under the kayak, not once, but twice. The second time I managed to get my headlamp onto it so there was no doubting what it was. Fifteen minutes later I had another visitor, a Dogfish this time. I found it quite amazing and it finished off the evening quite nicely!

The paddle back was just over 1.5 mile and it was a very pleasant one, I really do enjoy paddling at night. Ok, so I missed a couple of good fish, though that’s just fishing. A few small species on the light rod provided some entertainment and bait. The sunset and scenery were great, so no complaints. It was a great venue, somewhere I’ll no doubt visit again in the near future.

PanFish mounts from YakAttack

2011-07-21T14:50:00.003+01:00

I really enjoy my photography whilst afloat so I’m always interested when new photography/movie products come onto the market. Check out the new PanFish and PanFish Portrait models from YakAttack

The products, as expected from YakAttack, are very innovative and the quality would appear to be top notch. I’m hoping to review these new products sometime soon, keep an eye out for regular updates.

Another day afloat

2011-07-05T13:50:00.002+01:00

As much as I enjoy trying new marks, there’s always that fear of blanking, knowing full well that you can pretty much guarantee a catch at another mark. I’d kind of got myself in a rut this past year so it’s been good to venture further afield, testing out some new venues. The previous day had proved quite fruitful so I decided to try another spot in the Bristol Channel. As expected the water was very muddy, a combination of spring tides and being further up the Channel itself.

I took along a good selection of bait, hermit crab, mackerel and unwashed squid. I keep my bait frozen, only taking out what I need. This usually means that there’s a handful of squid, a single mackerel, etc, in my bait box at any one time. I can happily keep bait frozen for several hours, taking home and re-freezing what I haven’t used.

Below is a photo of my ‘working box’ which is situated between my legs at all times. It contains a selection of baits, bait elastic, knife, baiting needle and an assortment of weights to cater for the every varying tidal flow.

The fishing was quite slow to begin with, though eventually a couple of smaller sized Thornback rays came to the kayak. The tide flow was strong hence retrieving even the smaller dogfish was quite hard work.

As per the previous trip there were some very small Tope caught, pretty to look at, though not the big adults I was hoping for.

The Dogfish were once again being a real nuisance, it really does amaze me what they manage to ram into their mouths. I can’t possibly believe that they can actually chew what they attempt to eat, surely the chance of succumbing to a slow death as a result of trying to eat these baits must be a real possibility. Here’s what I mean………

There were some small but firm taps on one rod. I knocked it into free spool and let the fish take some line before tightening up and setting the hook. Whatever is was stripped line from the reel at a steady pace. Every time I managed to recover a metre of two of line a few hard runs saw several times that taken from the reel. The tide was still running hard and from the strong head shaking I was fairly sure it was a Conger eel on the hook. My concern was that i was only using 80lb monofilament and the longer this fight went on the higher the chance the line would part. After ten minutes the fish was under the kayak, well 20 metres under the kayak.

It eventually appeared on the surface and it was a really good size. It still had plenty of life in it and went under the surface a few more time before I finally got it alongside. Despite being a somewhat ugly fish, it was a beauty!… very pleased

I lost a few fish during the session including a couple more decent eels during the slack water period, no complaints though. I watched the sun go down and waited for the tide to turn onto the ebb before paddling the half mile back to the beach.

Another enjoyable session, I didn’t catch the large Tope I’d been looking for though I wasn’t in a position, nor mood, to complain about it !

Bristol Channel – something different

2011-07-04T15:11:00.002+01:00

I’ve spent many months reading old books and fishing guides and I’ve slowly been adding new marks to my GPS. I’ve literally dozens of new marks that I want to try out over the next couple of seasons and there seemed no time like the present. This mark didn’t look very fishable due to the rocky beach. Apparently there’d been a slipway here in the 1950’s though it’d long gone.

I walked the beach and decided that it was probably manageable. I loaded the kayak onto the BB trolley and I hoped that its over-sized wheels and great stability would allow me to work my way down to the waterline. It was rather difficult going and a few large rocks had to be moved to allow progress to continue, though after about 20 minutes I was at the waters edge.

The weather was stunning with the temperature in the low 20’s. The wind was but a breeze and the paddle out was a pleasure. I pushed out about ¾ of a mile into 17m of water. It was just before mid-tide so I expected the high water depth to be about 22m. The tide was ripping through and once the anchor touched bottom I let out another 80m of line, my spool was all but empty.

I was hoping for some smoothounds, rays, bullhuss, conger and tope, so the rigs were quite heavy with baits being varied between whole mackerel, lashes of mackerel, double squid or mackerel squid cocktails. Back to the tide, it was fierce, the float was pulled straight under and I needed 2lb of lead to hold bottom, even then I had to let out another 50m+ of line once the lead had touched bottom, otherwise it was lifting clear.

I didn’t have to wait too long before the rod tip pulled over hard and I was straight into the first of three nice sized Smoothounds. Despite the heavy tackle they were extremely spirited and caused a bit of a stir once on the kayak. I’ve caught some of the action on video, I’ll piece it together later in the week.

Rather annoyingly, the dogfish were showing in plague numbers and the two hook pennel rigs often resulted in two dogfish coming up at a time. These fish are the pigs of the sea, the try and eat whatever you put on your hook, regardless of the size. They have no hope of eating some of these baits yet they come to the surface literally impaled on these over-size baits, often not even hooked !

There were some very small Tope that were also trying to gorge themselves on the large baits, not the big fish I was looking for, though quite pretty to look at all the same.

As the tide eased off the fishing followed. A handful of small Bullhuss also made a show, though I’ve seen reports of much bigger specimens from this area. The rod banged over hard towards the end of the flood tide and I was into what felt like a nice fish. I thought it was perhaps a small conger due to the amount of head shaking, so I was rather surprised when a nice Bass rolled onto the surface. I didn’t want to take the risk of weighing it afloat as I’ve lost bass in similar circumstances before!. It weighed in a shade under 7lb once gutted, perhaps 8lb overall.

That marked the end of a very enjoyable session. I pulled anchor and drifted for a while enjoying the stunning sunset, it made the whole day worthwhile, the good fishing was just a bonus.

Dry storage box for the tank well

2011-06-26T20:36:00.002+01:00

It’s been over a year since I designed and built my live well/dry box combo for the rear tank well of my kayak. To be honest I’ve only used it one so far as a live well, though that was expected.

When I originally purchased the container from R&L Pet Products in the UK I’d ordered a spare container in case of any disasters during the modification process. There were none, hence I’ve had a spare container kicking around the garage gathering dust. The original build box has performed superbly as a dry box so I decided to make a basic dry box for everyday duties. The concept was the same as the original, though any items pertaining to the live well were omitted. Build time was around two hours and the total cost around £30.

The photograph below shows the original live well combo on the left and the basic dry box on the right.

Obviously it’s a bit lighter than the original plus it’s quite ‘cleaner’ to look at, all in all it’s just the job. It allows the live well to remain on the shelf until required and as a result there’s no requirement to unpack the combo box in order to change its role from a dry box to a live well.

Below is a photo of the live well combo all plumbed in and ready to go.

Here’s the stripped down basic dry box version of the above…

Forum

2011-06-17T16:30:00.002+01:00

I’ve added a forum to this site, it’s located right at the bottom of any page, though it can be accessed directly here, Forum, or the link at the top left of the page.

It’s certainly not intended to compete with other kayak fishing forums, I’d prefer to see it grow into a resource of sorts. These are the type of things I’d like to see people posting in there:

Photos of rigged kayaks (a brief description would be nice)
Photos of your best fish
Catch reports
Tackle and rigging articles
Gear reviews

If there’s sufficient input over time I’ll categorise it a little more. I'm open to any suggestions as to what folk would like to see in there, or potential changes to it.

Anyone can view, though you’ll need to register first if you wish to post. The only issue I can see that is if you utilise a photo from your Photobucket account you need to use the ‘http’ (direct) image link as opposed to the usual ‘img’ link. If there are any issues with the forum ,posting, registering, etc, please drop me an email so I can iron out any teething issues quickly.

So come on, please get registered and start posting some stuff

Tying knots

2011-06-17T11:15:00.002+01:00

There’s a large variety of knots to allow you to connect terminal tackle to your line, or to join lines together, etc. I learned to tie basic knots from a very young age and I’ve only had a 3-4 knots fail due to being incorrectly tied over the years, no doubt through carelessness. It’s worthwhile having several basic knots mastered to allow you to tackle the basics required whilst fishing.

Years ago you had to sit with a book with poorly animated sketches of how to tie various knots. It was often trial and error until you got the technique right. Below are a couple examples of early instructions, not the best.

There are a couple of good websites out there that provide some excellent animation to enabling you to quickly learn new knots.

My favourite sites are Netknots and Animated Knots by Grog, well worth checking out.

What do I take afloat ?

2011-06-16T14:46:00.002+01:00

I’ve been asked on many occasions as to what gear do I take afloat with me. Well I’m certainly not a minimalist, I do tend to cater for the unexpected. Many of my trips are alone and for several hours at a time, the last thing I need is for a trip to be cut short due to the lack of having spare equipment to see me through the session.

My terminal tackle is fairly simple, a box of assorted lead weights plus a box of pre-tied traces which includes an assortments of line, hooks, beads, swivels, etc.

My ‘working’ box has a piece of chopping board bolted to the lid and is strapped to the kayak in between my legs. Here I keep a certain amount of bait, two knifes (one for filleting the other for crunching through crabs, etc), a hook stone, bait elastic, baiting needle plus the odd lead weight.

If I take frozen bait I’ll keep it separately in a collapsible cool bag or Marine Box with ice blocks, only removing bait a few minutes before it’s needed. Keeping it tightly wrapped in newspaper helps tremendously. That way whatever isn’t used is still frozen and can be returned to the freezer once back home. I also prefer to keep my bait as fresh as possible, defrosted bait can turn quite quickly in the warmer months becoming very poor in quality within a couple of hours.

The Flambeau Marine Box is the green box pictured in the kayak, the bag located behind is the Yakmate 3. It’s a good bag, though I now much prefer my dry box featured later in this article.

I also take an ‘emergency’ box that contains an assortment of first aid items which includes bandages, plasters, disinfectant, etc. There’s also batteries, , braid scissors, spare bulb, super glue, bungee cord & fittings, shock cord, small carbines, spare bait elastic, spare headlamp, tip lights, hand warmer sticks, ty-wraps, headache tablet, lighter, multi-tool, etc. There are also other minor items in there. All items that will allow me to continue fishing should I sustain a minor injury or an important item be lost or broken.

I almost always carry my dry box/livewell when afloat. I don’t carry a huge amount in there, well at least that’s what I think . There’s a buoy leash, cyalumes, gloves/hat, ‘pee’ bottle, small Peli case for valuables, headlamp, scales, sunblock, mosquito spray, VISICarbon Pro light, fish bag, spare baiting needles/knife and the ‘emergency box’ as mentioned earlier. That leaves room for a flask of hot coffee and some food.

The only additional items that I take (bar rods, leashes, anchor and paddle) are the main battery, fish finder, GPS, drogue and an additional navigation light and anchor if deemed necessary.

To me it’s not a lot, after four years afloat it’s what I’ve worked out will be sufficient to allow me to have a successful fishing trip for several hours when operating well away from home.

New products from YakAttack

2011-06-16T10:07:00.004+01:00

I recently reviewed the VISICarbon Pro kayak light and I really liked its high quality and innovation. I received an email from YakAttack last week with regards to some new and upcoming products.

Take a look at the video and check these products out, I really do like the look of the camera pole, it’s far more advanced that anything else that’s currently on the market.

Latest products due out soon from YakAttack

Kayak Fishing Radio

2011-06-15T23:19:00.001+01:00

Check this link out!…

KayakFishingRadio.com is a gathering of kayak fishing enthusiasts from around the country, that support different kayak fishing forums and kayak fishing guides.

Video - Shark from a kayak

2011-06-15T23:00:00.000+01:00

If you’ve not read my reports from Wales click here to catch up ---> Wales 2011

Here’s my latest video clip taken whilst fishing for small shark (Tope) in Wales. It’s over ten minutes long so you may wish to make a cuppa or crack open a beer first!

Shark fishing from a kayak

Photo Album – Updated

2011-06-12T15:55:00.002+01:00

I hadn’t noticed that my photo album hosted by Flickr had a 200 photograph limit, so I’ve opened a new account with Photobucket. I’ve commenced the task of uploading various photos from the past four years, it’s going to take some time.

I’ve created some basic categories which will hopefully make navigation much easier. The album can be accessed by clicking on the Photo Album picture on the left hand side of the blog, or the link ‘Photos’ located at the top. Once clicked on it should appear as shown below.

I’ll keep it regularly updated with new photos from fishing trips, projects, etc.

Welsh Tope – Day 3

2011-06-06T22:58:00.004+01:00

Click here for Day 1 and Day 2 reports.

The crows were somewhat kinder to me on the third day, it was nearer six o’clock before the dawn chorus wrenched me from my deep sleep. I’d woken once or twice during the night due to high winds and sporadic showers buffeting and lashing into the tent… that’d be the predicted weather front moving through !

I crawled out from my tent at around 8am and the wind was blowing hard, it seemed that we’d be departing Wales earlier than planned. We headed down to the launch site and wandered over the dunes to view the sea. There were a few white horses, it was actually far better than I’d expected. That said, I wasn’t too happy due to the wind so we retired back to the car and fried up several bacon buns, that part of the day went down a treat.

Bizarrely enough, once breakfast was finished the wind had almost collapsed to a mere breeze. With raised spirits we rigged and headed out sometime around 11am. We were soon anchored and fishing, the weather was great and hopes were high.

However, the now increasing offshore breeze seemed to be having a detrimental effect on the fishing. There was a distinct lack of fish, in the first couple of hours I’d only registered a couple of knocks and one dropped Bullhuss. I then hooked into what at fist seemed like a snag, though with a firm pull it came free. There was quite some weight on the end of the line, though it was dead weight. I was thinking large piece of weed or rock, etc. I was quite surprised when a very large spider crab came to the surface. I’d picked one up a couple of years ago when fishing at Tywyn, though this one was quite the specimen!

Things were slow, very in fact. I spent most of the time horizontal managing a few moment of sleep here and there.

Sometime after midday the reel clicker sprung to life followed by me a second later. There were a few tugs on the bait followed by a long steady run, not a screamer but it kept going. I flicked the lever drag into gear and the rod bent over into what felt like a good sized with. The fish made a few good runs before settling deep under the kayak. It suddenly felt quite different as I pumped the fish towards the surface. When it appeared it was immediately obvious as to why it felt different, it was hooked close to the tail!. I reckon it might have spat the bait during the fight, catching its tail as it swam off. It’s certainly not the way you want to catch a fish, though it took my tope tally to four.

I managed a couple more Bullhuss during the remainder of the afternoon though it was extremely slow, rather disappointing to be honest.

We called it a day around 5pm and dragged the kayaks upstream towards the launch site for the final time. Once all de-rigged and packed away we started the 4½ hour journey back to Somerset. The Welsh roads are incredibly slow to drive along, the first 100 miles took 2½ hours, and that was with virtually no traffic whatsoever.

It’d been a busy three days. We clocked up over 20 hours on the water and I managed four Tope and over twenty Bullhuss. It would have been great to have caught more Tope, though it could have also been a lot worse. It’d be nice to manage another trip later this month, though it all depends on the weather and my powers of persuasion over my good wife!

Click here for video of the trip ----> Video

Welsh Tope – Day 2

2011-06-06T22:51:00.003+01:00

For the Day 1 report click here

Day 2 commenced at around 0500 when the dozens of rooks in the trees overlooking the tents burst into cackling, what a racket!. I’d forgotten my pillow so a pair of rolled up jeans were making a very poor substitute. Though to be honest I was too tired to complain much and dozen off for another hour.. or two. Anyway, once up we picked up some sandwiches from the local shop and collected some frozen mackerel from Barry’s Tackle in Tywyn. Once again we were soon anchored up and fishing.

I think we were on the water around ten o’clock and fished the remainder of the flood, the tide finally turning around midday. Three or four other kayak anglers joined us and from what I could see, there was a steady stream of Bullhuss coming to the kayaks.

I’d kept one rod rigged with mackerel feathers, with the lower two baited, bouncing over the side of the kayak in the hope of collecting some fresh bait. The previous day saw me pick up two Dogfish, far from useful as bait. I’d heard that the mackerel were six miles offshore and that did indeed seem to be the case. I did eventually pick up a single mackerel which was promptly lip-hooked and sent to the depths. It swam around quite happily for 20-25 minutes and despite getting agitated at times it failed to produce the goods. At this point is was clearly embarrassed at its own lack of success and promptly died on me. I re-hooked it and sent it down for a decent sea burial. Well what it couldn’t manage in life it managed in death. Within moments of hitting the sea floor line was screaming off the reel. I gave it 4-5 seconds before flicking the lever drag into gear.. fish on!

It turned out to be the best fight I’ve had with a Tope to date with it making several runs before I came under control. Twice it came to the kayak though it was too green on both occasions and took off again. Third time lucky and it came onto the yak. It was a nice sized female hooked tightly in the scissors. After posing for a few photos it was released to fight another day.

The previous year I’d endured several dropped runs, in fact I had 5-6 runs back to back that I failed to hook into. Despite varying the ‘strike’ time the result was always the same. I say strike as I don’t strike into the fish, merely engage the lever drag and let them hook themselves. I’d read in a couple of older fishing books that tope, etc, will pick up a fish side of and swim for a while before pausing and turning the fish to swallow it.

With that in mind I changed the way I hooked my bait. Instead of hooking through the nose, I threaded the hook through the nose and hooked into the bait halfway down the back.

The theory being that I was far more likely to hook the fish if it was indeed holding the bait side on in its mouth. My last eight runs have resulted in eight hooked tope coming aboard the kayak, which for me is a greatly improved success rate.

I bought a large Bullhuss to the kayak and it was quite deeply hooked, though it was removable. I held it next to the kayak whilst I removed the hook. I the blink of an eye a near perfect mackerel appeared on the edge of the kayak. I actually gave it a double take as I hadn’t noticed the fish regurgitate it. There was a neat semicircle of teeth marks on either flank of the fish where it had been picked up side on. Clearly it had been then been flipped and swallowed whole!.

This did indeed seem to prove exactly what I’d read previously, thus the improved hook-up rate does seem directly linked to how I rig my bait. During the un-hooking process another whole fish was spewed onto the kayak, though this one was bright red and lacking any skin. The Bullhuss must have been around 10lb in weight and it has easily swallowed two large fish whole, quite impressive.

I managed a further two Tope as the afternoon progressed, nothing sizeable, perhaps 15-20lb, though good fun all the same. The Bullhuss just kept on coming and we fished on until around 7pm.

The paddle back in was uneventful, though with the tide around low water the kayaks had to be dragged back upstream to the launch point. It’s a little tiresome, there’s certainly a lot to be said for coming back in towards the top of the tide.

It’d been a good day for me with a total of three Tope and well over a dozen decent sized Bullhuss. The weather had held well throughout the day, though there was a weather front due to pass through the area anytime. With the second days fishing concluded we headed back to base camp and conjured up a large pot of chilli. Finishing the second bottle of cider coincided with the crows quieting down for the night, after nine hours on the water I was more than ready for my bed !

Fancy reading the Wales Day 3 report??, click here ------> Wales (Day 3)

Welsh Tope – A weekend at Tywyn (Day 1)

2011-06-06T15:30:00.002+01:00

The weather has been rather crappy for the past 5-6 weeks and as a result I’ve not managed a single trip on the water. That’s been extremely frustrating to say the least, though I’ve managed to complete my kayak trailer during this time so it’s not all been bad news.

The weather was finally starting to improve with temperatures soaring into the low twenties. The forecast for the weekend was looking fairly decent wind wise, so plans were made to take a trip to Tywyn in Wales in the hope of hooking into some Tope. My fishing mate Jim joined me on Friday morning and my trailer was duly loaded up with kayaks and gear. The trip took us up through the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains before finally dropping down through the Cambrian Mountains down towards Tywyn.

There are various areas to fish around the reef, some being more productive than others. It’s really a case of moving around to find some action, though as is often the case with fishing, it’s down to the luck of the draw !

After setting camp locally we headed down to the launch site where a handful of other kayak fisherman were returning from a fishing trip. According to the reports there were Tope on the reef, though the previous day had fished far better. We launched late afternoon and took the short paddle down the river to the beach itself. The weather was pretty good, a light north easterly blow with the associated chop on the water. It was a short paddle of just over half a mile to the same mark that I’d fished the previous year.

Bait was whole mackerel mounted on an 8/0 bronzed Mustad hook. The trace was made up of 3’ of 80lb nylon with 12” of 50lb nylon coated wire leading to the hook. A couple of swivels were positioned within the rig to prevent twisting damage to the rig. The tide wasn’t particularly strong over the reef and 3oz of lead was sufficient to hold bottom during the middle of the tide.

The tope weren’t playing at all as the afternoon turned into evening, though the Bullhuss were providing plenty of action. They’re quite unmistakeable when they take the bait, short steady runs of a metre or so, not the strong long runs of a Tope. It’s worth watching the bites carefully though as sometime a tope bite can start in the same manner before it finally tears away.

The Bullhuss were generally of a good size with many fish pushing into double figures. They often come alongside the kayak not hooked, just gripping the bait hard only to release it at the last moment. That’s not always such a bad thing as they tend to do their upmost to bite you once on the kayak!

The water was alive with jellyfish, some appeared to be as large as dustbins whilst other were as small as a thumbnail. There were literally hundred of what appeared to be small Portuguese Men of War, though I was later informed that they are ‘By the Wind Sailors’. They were coming up through the scupper holes an floating around in the foot wells, I wasn’t in a hurry to find out if they were indeed stingers or not!

As the evening drew to a close I was fortunate enough to witness a truly stunning sunset. As sun touched the horizon the sea turned an inky black. The wind had eased off through the evening, though oddly the sea had lifted into a reasonably heady swell. The combination of the lighting and the sea state produced a memorable sunset.

Jim had missed a couple of Tope runs that evening, though despite the lack of the target species there’d been plenty of action throughout the session.. no complaints whatsoever. We returned around high water which made returning to the launch point a pleasure. No dragging the kayak up the river, this time it was a leisurely paddle up the flooded river and back to the launch site.

What with the long drive to Wales, followed up with several hours on the water, I was pretty exhausted. Back at the campsite a late meal was rustled up followed by a couple of drinks just for good measure!. Day one was completed, hopefully day two would see some tope come aboard the kayak.

Fancy reading the Day 2 report??.. click here ----> Wales (Day 2)

Kayak trailer – 2nd attempt ! (Part 2)

2011-05-15T22:02:00.002+01:00

If you’ve not yet read Part 1 of the trailer build, you can view it here: Part 1

I’ve been steadily busy with the trailer most weekends since my last post, managing 2-3 hours here and there. The main achievement was getting the kayak bars TIG welded into place. Cheers to Jim for finding the time to deliver the trailer to my welding contact whilst I was working away in Somerset. The guy really does do a top notch job at welding, the bars could easily be used to lift the trailer, exactly the sort of strength and quality of build that I was looking for.

I decided to cover the bars in foam lagging, secured in place with ty-wraps. Once in position two layers of heavy duty black masking tape provided a durable top layer, and an easily replaceable one at that. This was the same construction as used on my car rollers bars.
Below is a photo of how it was left in part 1

Now with the bars TIG welded into place and suitably covered…

I’d attached latches to the lids and fitted stainless R-pins. I since added small lanyards to these pins to help prevent inadvertent loss. It’s the small details that count.. honest !

When I’d extended the drawbar the 50mm steel box section was bolted below the front A-frame, whereas before it’d been mounted above the A-frame. This resulted in the trailer having a slight nose-up attitude, this would only worsen as the trailer was loaded. I decided to bolt an additional short section of 50mm box the to upper side of the drawer box effectively eliminating this problem.

I took this opportunity to fit hardened tamper proof covers to the hitch bolts for improved security. I also wanted a connection point close to the tow hitch to allow the trailer to be secured to the vehicle, or when not it use to a strong point of some description. This was achieved by fitting oversize stainless ring bolts to both the trailer and the vehicle tow hitch.

Note the slot in the trailer tow hitch, this was required to allow the hitch lock to fit correctly post the fitment of the additional section of 50mm box section to the upper side of the trailer tow bar. It was quite a tedious job to slot through the hitch and box section, though the end result was worth the effort.

The trailer has been lined out with removable 3mm rubber matting to provide a non-slip floor and ultimately to provide protection to the paintwork. The lockable cupboard was lined with the same material, as was the top surface of the cupboard to provide a convenient working surface when the trailer lid is opened.

The trailer had initially been overly nose heavy (62lb at the hitch) post the fitment of the extended drawbar. I overcome this issue by doing two things. Firstly I fitted the spare wheel internally and to the rear of the trailer. This provided security for the wheel itself whilst moving the trailer balance point further aft. This wasn’t enough by far so I decided to bolt a steel double jerry can holder within the rear of the trailer, which with a single container of water balances the trailer up nicely. The spare wheel is secured to the jerry can holder with a shortened roof strap, simple and effective!.

Being able to carry water or fuel safely within the trailer can only be a good thing. Whether is be water for camping, or merely for rinsing the kayak/equipment off post a trip. Clearly there will be kayak/fishing equipment to be loaded as required and positioning this suitably will provide a nicely balanced trailer.

I designed the trailer to be able to carry 2 large kayaks face down, side by side. However, with the use of J-bars it would be more than capable of carrying 3-4 kayaks. I’ve clocked up a few miles driving around locally with a trial on the highway and I’m more than pleased with the result.

As can be seen from the above photos the kayak can be easily and quickly secured to the roof bars. Fitting a security cable through the scupper holes and trailer lifting ring provides peace of mind against theft whilst in filling stations, camping, etc.

I still have a few further improvements in mind, though I’m planning to use the trailer for a few weeks before carrying out any further modifications. Cost to date is around £350, certainly no more than £400, which I reckon is an excellent price considering the final result.

So there we have it.. at last, I have useable kayak trailer !

Review – Prowler Big Game Kayak

2011-05-01T18:27:00.001+01:00

I've been paddling mine for almost four years and I've clocked up over 250 trips on it. I'll also cover a wee bit of my rigging with regards to how the yak has performed with these additional modifications.

I spent months trawling forums in order to read numerous review before taking the plunge and buying myself a kayak. Top of the list, it had to be a comfortable platform to fish off, I wanted plenty of storage space plus it had to be stable. Stability was a big issue as over 50% of my fishing is at night, alone, often a mile or more offshore. Sure, I'm leashed onto the yak with a long board leash, but I just didn't want to be exiting the yak if it could be helped!. For the record I'm 6'1" and around 200lb.

So anyway, here's the kayak when it turned up.

I'd never tried a Big Game prior to this and it seemed very spacious whilst seated. Once afloat it's massively stable. I took it to a local swimming pool to practice re-entry drills and I had to literally throw myself off it in order to capsize. Re-righting the yak by reaching underneath for the far carrying handle in order to pull and flip the yak was a doddle. Re-entry was easy enough, no dramas there. At one stage I left the pool and the yak was upside down for 30 minutes. After 3-4 hours of capsizing about 20 times I'd taken on 3-4 litres of water, not bad all things considered (most of this water came in through a flush mount rod holder - now sorted)

Anyway, the layout. The centre console is a bit useless in my opinion, with the cover removed the tray is very shallow and isn't particularly ideal for storing much of anything, however, there is a cup holder!. I have considering cutting the area below this cover out and fitting a re-enforcing ring from machined and anodised aluminium thus creating a 'rod pod', though to date I've not pursued it... probably wont now. I always keep my bait box on the centre console, utilising on the existing straps to secure it, for that it's perfect! :P

Here's the cup holder, you see, very useful

The front hatch is easy to access ashore and allows a C-tug or dry bags to be slipped in there with ease. I've had no problems with it sealing. In a choppy sea swells come over the hatch on a very regular basis so it's proved itself in that respect. Once afloat you can sit side saddle, it's comfortable as the seat is high so your thighs aren't digging into the sides of the yak. It makes accessing the rear tankwell a cinch.

I made do without a rudder for over a year, though once I got around to fitting one there was no looking back. Without a rudder paddling with a crosswind or cutting across a tide is a real pain in the ass. You're often paddling on one side for many strokes just to keep your heading. However, the rudder transforms the handling and makes paddling pleasure. In fact I'd say a must for this kayak if fishing offshore or in exposed areas. DIY fit is straightforward enough taking 2-3 hours at most.

The standard seat is ok for anything up to about 3-4 hours on the water, after this point your ass becomes very numb!. I soon upgraded to a Crazy Creek 3 seat to overcome this problem as I'm often afloat for 6-8 hours, I think 9 hours is my all time record. Great seat btw, only let down by its crappy securing clips that should be upgraded.

Where this kayak does excel is rigging potential. There is just so much space which presents so many options.

Additional rod holders are a must so I eventually decided on some RAM tubes. There are two circular mouldings, one ahead of either footwell, aft of the front hatch. These scream to be fitted with rod holders, though there's the slight issue of accessing them when afloat!. Why they where put there is totally beyond me. After sitting on the yak for hours (in the garage) I decided that placing the tubes just behind the seat would provide an armchair fishing experience. I've no regrets in placing them there, highly recommended, they're a very versatile piece of kit.. If you were to capsize you can fold them down or back making re-entry straightforward.

As I tend to bait fish I can take a lot of fresh & frozen bait on a trip. The tankwell area had to provide plenty of storage for all my crap and needed to offer some potential storage for frozen bait. I tried a couple of things, though I soon settled on the Yakmate 3 and a Marine storage box. The latter takes a cool bag and ice blocks plus bait whilst the yakmate took everything else.

Just ahead of the seat there's a recessed moulding for a centre hatch. When I purchased my hatch I was expecting a back toggle type affair, though when the package arrived it was grey hinged type hatch. It turned out the be OK's 'Revised' hatch which soon proved to be crap. It didn't seal well and being hinged, and positioned under your legs, it made access a pain. I lived with it for a while before ripping it out and fitting the 'original' black hatch. What a difference, well sealed and easy to access. Just tie a lanyard onto the hatch lid, it's not something you want to splash test. I hated the idea of the hatch opening into an empty void, not much use to me. The solution was to fit a washing up bowl which is clipped in place, though it can be unclipped and slid after out of the way if required.

When accessing the front hatch there's a battery tray mounted internally and just aft of the hatch opening. There also a shallow tray either side of the battery slot. I'd say it's ok for freshwater fisherman as a battery mounted there in a salt water environment will result in corroded terminals over a period of weeks and months, no matter how careful you are

The trays either side do allow your sonar cable to be coiled up and secured in those recess, makes it a tidy installation. However, the battery tray wasn't working for me after a few weeks so a dedicated watertight battery box was required. The box has proved to be the way to go and after more than 2 years it's showing few signs of wear and tear. The battery is big at 12Ah, does it need to be?. Well it powers my FF, GPS, light and live well (if required) and I can use it for several trips without having to recharge, ideal for long weekends away.

The design of the yak allows easy rigging of an anchor trolley, though an additional mounting point is really required to position the trolley far enough back. At anchor it's very stable, retrieving anchor is simple with the addition of a cleat towards the front. Even when swinging the yak across the tide when pulling anchor it rarely does more than rock a little.

A quick story... A couple of years ago I dropped anchor close to a headland, the tide was a little stronger than I'd realised!. By the time I'd let out some slack and the anchor warp tightened I'd put myself in difficulty. Oddly enough the first hint of this was a very strong vibration through the yak. turning around I couldn't see my anchor buoy :?: . After a couple of seconds I spotted it, about 3' underwater and shaking violently. The stern was pulling down, not by much though, I could have played a cracking tune on the now somewhat taught anchor trolley . So I was facing aft on my knees trying in vain to un-clip the anchor from the trolley. I was about to get the knife out when the warp snapped and the GPS clocked me drifting at at 7mph. So yup, it's stable at anchor

I've made a good few surf landings and it handles the surf well. Ok, you get soaked going out as a good wave will envelop the yak. Coming in on a big waves I've been angled right up, hatch dug in and not visible, waiting for my life to end,.. though to date I've never been flipped, never capsized once in fact (except when doing drills), again, super stable.

You hear a lot about this kayak being slow, is it really that slow?. Well I fish a lot with guys in Prowler and Trident 13's and I have no problem in keeping up, so in that respect I'd not call it slow. Without any tide I paddle along at around 4mph. Sure, paddling into a headwind or tidal stream is going to slow you down, though I always plan around the tides and pray to the weather gods so it's never really been an issue. Ok, I'm lying a wee bit there, I have paddled for long'ish period in 20-30mph winds and it's not pleasant, but would it be that much easier in another yak??, perhaps a little.

Hull slap is a bit of an issue at times, though I tend to only notice it when the fishing is terribly slow and I'm ebbing towards boredom. However, there is one thing the design does provide, an excellent sleeping platform. I've been out deep for over two hours in a stint, and what a sleep... highly recommended

People rant on about how heavy the Big Game is, is it?. The latest Prowler 4.7 is over 10% heavier. There doesn't seem to be any difference when lifting other OK models onto the roof on my 4x4. Loading itself is all about technique and position of the roof bars, I can easily load my yak onto the roof off my Land Rover, takes seconds. The addition of roller bars makes a huge difference.

What else?. Ah yes, due to it's width (34") I find that it doesn't sit well on the C-Tug trolley. With a laden yak it's prone to tipping on an uneven surface, something that is massively infuriating. I've since made my own trolley to overcome this though it's something to bear in mind. Being a wide yak at 34" and a good length paddle is required. I started off with a 220ch paddle though it was always clattering down the sides, I swapped to a 240cm item and that problem disappeared, made all the difference.

There is a flat 'dashboard' area aft of the front hatch which could be utilised for mounting a FF/GPS, etc. As I mount my yak upside down on the car I decided against using this as it'd only be a matter of time before I ripped stuff off. Though as said earlier, there a many options available when mounting accessories on this kayak. Here's a few rigging photos below to show how I went down that route.

With drogue stored.

Mounting and connection point for stern lamp (optional connection point for live well)

Drybox / Livewell combo

Ready to go, loaded onto the BB trolley

So to conclude..

As a platform to fish off it excels, it's a riggers dream and it's extremely stable. It's not the fastest, though it's not particularly slow. It really needs a rudder to make it a good all rounder. If you like to paddle several miles every time you hit the water I'd say it's not for you. sure I've clocked up quite some distance from time to time, though it's not something I'd want to be doing every trip. My average trip is 2-4 miles, though I've hit 8-10 miles on the odd occasion.

Kayak trailer – 2nd attempt ! (Part 1)

2011-04-22T17:09:00.002+01:00

Many months ago I purchased a trailer which I’d hoped would have proved suitable as a kayak trailer. It was never going to be that simple as it has to cater for other requirements such as general household duties, etc.

The trailer that I’d purchased earlier did on the face of it seem fairly suitable.

However various problems were evident at a fairly early stage. The lid was a massive one piece affair, though it was the nature of its construction that turned it into some thing rather nasty. The lid has been constructed using a steel frame made from 1” angle. This had no real strength to it and it lacked any rigidity. Two sheets of 3/4” plywood were bolted to this making the whole one piece lid extremely heavy. This was in turn covered with PVC sheeting and aluminium cappings. It was a beast!. On stripping it down it was clearly evident that it was far from watertight with both sheets of plywood suffering from severe water damage.

So the first issue was the lid. A new custom lid manufactured from heavy aluminium angle and covered with aluminium sheet was planned to replace it. This dragged on for months and my planned route of getting this manufactured on the cheap finally fell through. Parts alone for the lid were going to run to well over £100. The drawbar height was way too low so the front frame was going to require a swan neck conversion of some description. As time went by I finally decided that there was too much work involved. It didn’t help that I also work away during the week so I decided to sell the trailer and hunt for a more suitable replacement.

Trailers sell for pretty stupid money at times and finding something suitable was a slow process with many hours spent trawling Ebay.

I did eventually come across a chap selling three steel trailers. These trailers had originally been designed to power temporary traffic signals. They had a separate compartment for an engine and a large space accessible by two hinged lids. Out of the three for sale there was only one that appealed. The other two were constructed differently and lacked potential. It didn’t look too pretty, though it was clear the surface corrosion was fairly superficial and hopefully little repair action was going to be required.

On the plus side the wheels and tyres were in excellent condition with the tyres looking almost new. The seller fitted a new 50mm tow hitch prior to me collecting the trailer.

The interior of the trailer sported an array of metalwork bolted and welded to the structure. There was a large central rectangular exhaust duct plus brackets for housing lighting controls, etc. I was curious as to how the trailer has been previously rigged for its intended purpose so I surfed the internet and found a couple of complete trailers for sale from plant hire companies. A trailer in similar condition to mine complete with engine and lights was selling for £1700. Oh, I forgot to mention that I managed to pick mine up for under £130, what a bargain!

Anyway, mine came without engine, cabling and traffic lights. It was duly collected and towed the 30 miles home. It towed well despite being somewhat nose heavy, though this was something I intended to address during its overhaul. The first thing I did was to strip out what I could, this basically meant removing the exhaust duct (almost a 2 man lift!) plus the various brackets that were no longer required. The lids had a ‘full width/height ‘top hat section’ spot welded to the inside of the lids to provide improved rigidity. These were heavily corroded and had to be removed. The engine compartment was heavily insulated and this was stripped out. The sound deadening foam was soaked in diesel so I was pleased to finally get it all removed. There was a large bracket bolted to the rear of the trailer that had been used to store signs,etc. I finally decided to remove it as I didn’t really want gear stored outside the trailer. It was hellish heavy and the final result was a large pile of scrap metal outside the house, 50-60kg at a guess, perhaps more.

The next problem, and by far the biggest, was to remove the surface rust. I was going to let the local sandblaster do the work, though after a ‘special price’ of £150-200 cash I decided that a day or two of hard graft would achieve a similar result. I wont lie, it was hard and dusty work. I used a heavy gauge wire cup brush mounted into an angle grinder and made an excellent job of removing the surface rust. However, the surface itself was still going to require some suitable treatment to effectively kill the rust. After much searching I was pointed in the direction of a product called Fertan. The product has a tannic acid base and effectively neutralises the rust leaving a hard black top coating which is suitable for painting. Once this was complete a good coat of Galvaroid zinc primer was applied to the trailer lids and other areas that had suffered the worst corrosion.

Removing the corroded ‘top hat’ sections from the underside of the lids had resulted in the lids flexing far more that I would have liked. I fitted 2 full length pieces of 3mm aluminium angle to each lid which restored some rigidity to them.

The painting has been a never ending task with most surfaces getting a coat of zinc primer, two coats of red oxide primmer and two coats of blue gloss. With the trailer now stripped of the mountains of metalwork and suitably painted it’s finally starting to look like a usable trailer with plenty of storage space.

The floor area is to be covered with 3mm rubber sheeting and I may line the sides to a height of 12” with the same material, I’m currently undecided as to whether side protection is worthwhile or not.

Another issue was the length of the drawbar, it was too short. I wanted the trailer sufficiently far away from the car as to still allow the rear door to be opened with kayaks loaded. A longer drawbar would also make reversing the trailer so much easier. A 2m length of 50mm box steel was bolted into position to achieve the desired result.

Here’s a few snapshots of the trailer.

The trailer is still too nose heavy (though I have a simple solution) and there are still other modifications that I want to embody.

I’ve already addressed the kayak bars though the cross bars still need TIG welding in place, so I’ll cover these at a later date. I will be wrapping the bars in foam and covering them in tape, very similar to my car roof bars. I’ll probably incorporate a roller bar into the rear kayak bar. I envisage being able to load/unload a rigged kayak if required when moving from one venue to another. The width of the kayak bars will allow two kayaks to be loaded with ease.. If J-bars, or similar, were used then 3-4 kayaks could be carried if required.

The lids weren’t too straight so I attached latches to the corners of the lids to allow them to be fully tightened against the seals. The R-pins are to be attached to the latch with a short stainless lanyard to prevent them being lost.

I will be swapping the trailer between two vehicles so I incorporated a ‘stud’ mounting affair into the trailer board. This allows plates to be quickly removed and fitted using stainless wing nuts.

I’ve now started to modify the trailer to make it more camping/expedition friendly, watch out for part 2 to view the next stage of the build.

It was hard work…

2011-03-25T13:56:00.002Z

I was sat at work yesterday morning spending far to long checking and re-checking the weather forecast. The winds for that day were predicted to be 4-5mph, so why were they sat steady at 13-14mph!. I was flicking from website to website, checking buoy date, live weather stations and it was all doom and gloom. ENE wind, force 4 with white caps in the Bristol Channel, it was disappointing.

Around 3pm I phoned my local tackle shop at Watchet on the Bristol Channel and asked him how the sea was looking. The answer was ‘flat as a mill pond… been like that all day’. I couldn’t believe it, within five minutes I’d left work and was cycling back to my pre-packed car. After grabbing some frozen squid from the freezer I was soon on the A303 heading in the direction of Watchet. I made it to the shop in the nick of time where Steve had my lugworm wrapped and ready to go, top service!. I have to say, his fresh bait really is top notch, I’ve not seen blow lug of that quality since I used to dig it myself as a lad.

Once at the Blue Anchor I was soon rigged up. The tide was a long way out again which meant that an early launch would require crossing the reef once again. As much as my BucketBoy trolley was up for the task, I wasn’t. I chose the steaming cup of coffee with a few Oreo cookies option instead.. whilst watching the sun go down of course.

The tide was taking a little longer to flood over the mudflats than I’d hoped, still, there are worse ways to spend an evening. Armed with my camera and time to burn I messed about a bit whilst waiting for the tide.

It was well after 6pm before I finally launched into the Bristol Channel and I headed out into deeper water before turning east towards Watchet. The tide was already running hard and it took no effort to hold 5mph as I covered the two miles to my chosen mark.

There was quite a bit of mist though visibility was still about a mile. I did find myself wondering whether or not there’d be a repeat of the fog from the evening before. I was really hoping that there wouldn’t be, though it wasn’t going to change my fishing plans either way.

A charter boat was anchored about 300m from where I finally settled at anchor. It was a little surprising as I normally have the area to myself on a weekday. No big deal, though the amount of noise coming from the boat was a little disappointing. That amount of noise does travel some distance underwater and I couldn’t help but feel it was not going to help the fishing.

The first baits went down about 7pm, double squid on a 6/0 pennel rig, tipped off with lugworm. I keep my trace at around 3-4’ of 70/80lb nylon. I use the heavy nylon as conger eel are a regular catch in this area. I tend to crimp these traces as the heavy mono creates a large knot that can making threading bait onto the trace quite awkward, especially with worms.

I only had to wait about three minutes for the first catch of the day, a plump codling of about 3lb. Then it went quiet, very quiet. The laughter and shouting from the charter boat just kept on increasing and I was totally convinced that it wasn’t helping matters. I was getting a few bites, though they were incredibly gentle, barely noticeable at times. I’d occasionally hook into one and a small codling was always the result. A couple of these fish were deep hooked so I was forced to keep them.

As slack water approached I started to pick up a few conger eels, though again these were all small at around 5-8lb. I managed 5-6 over the slack water period, though it’ll be nice to see the larger eels appear as the year progresses. There were also a few thornback rays, again they were small at around 5-6lb, though some were even smaller !

The dogfish came onto the feed as the flood tide slackened off, perhaps an hour before high water. They were relentless, no sooner than you’d unhooked one and lowered a fresh bait down, the tip would start to rattle once more. I regularly had both rods rattling away at the same time. They varied in size from tiny to large, though they all has the same goal in life.. to destroy my baits within seconds of hitting the channel floor.

How many did I take?, well it was probably a couple of dozen within 90 minutes and my bait supply was all but decimated. I’d given up on loading up with fresh bait, I was either leaving on what I could salvage or picking scraps out of the foot wells and using them.

I was hoping that as the tide turned onto the ebb the dogfish would go off the feed.. I was wrong. The tide was running hard about 90 minutes after high water. Despite the mill pond conditions it sounded like a river behind me as the the flow was disrupted by the anchor buoy and the kayak itself.

Note that I have a Cyalume fitted to the anchor buoy. Should I disconnect at night for any reason it makes relocating the buoy so much easier. Even with a GPS and a decent headlamp locating your anchor buoy at night, especially in a choppy sea, can be quite difficult.

With the tide running hard I reloaded my hooks with the remainder of my squid and fresh lugworm. Within minutes it’d been destroyed by the dogfish and that left me clean out of bait. It was pushing towards midnight anyway so I was quite happy to call it a day. You have to be rather cautious recovering the anchor in an ebb tide here as it really does race through, especially on the spring tides. With the anchor recovered I sat on the kayak having a general tidy up,stowing equipment and de-rigging rods as required. I may not have been paddling, though with the ebb tide in full flood I was being pushed along at a shade under 3mph.

It’d been a cracking evening on the water with no wind, clear star filled skies and quite a few fish. There’d been a handful of meteors streaking across the night sky, though my wishes for a 30lb cod fell on deaf ears. I landed back on the beach sometime after midnight and took the opportunity to clean and fillet my catch.

I emptied the freezer at work today and bought home 40lb of cod fillets and steaks. Needless to say my wife (fishing widow) was more than pleased. It’s not often that my wife gives kayak fishing the thumbs up, though today was one of those rare occasions.

DIY Kayak Trolley

2011-03-22T18:05:00.002Z

A couple of years ago I was having serious doubts as to the suitability of the C-Tug kayak trolley to do its duty of moving my Prowler Big Game kayak from car to launch site. In the space of a couple of months the trolley had tipped over on slight inclines, or even when bumping over a stone sticking out on a sandy beach. The results were cracked rod rings and one angry and embarrassed kayak angler. The greater width of the Big Game over other kayaks mean that the Big Game, or other similar sized kayaks, do not sit well on the C-Tug trolley. I’d given some thought to making a more suitable trolley, though to be honest I just couldn’t find the time to pursue my thoughts.

On the ‘Anglers Afloat’ forum one of the users, ‘Bucket Boy’, produced a truly excellent piece of design. His trolley was based on a dingy trailer, though lighter in build and collapsible. He also own a Big Game kayak and is fully aware of the limitations on the C-Tug trolley. I was extremely intrigued and decided to go ahead and make one for myself. There were a few minor changes/enhancements which I’d decided upon, though it essence it was a straight copy.

Below is a photograph of it fully assembled and ready to go.

It breaks down into three main sections and two wheels, all of which fit into the front hatch of the Big Game kayak. You need a couple of trial runs to get the stowage correct, but basically the largest sections go in first and are pushed aft, the wheels go in last. Despite the tyres being considerably bigger than the C-Tug (4.8/4.00-8), they fit into the front hatch without a problem.

The rear axle section is basically the business end of the trolley and it’s here where the real manufacturing work takes place.

Triangular brackets are bolted to either end of the aluminium box section axle with hinged aluminium wedges to which a canvas support strap is secured. This strap is bolted to the underside of the wedges using countersunk screws. They not visible in the above photos due to a protective/gripping rubber strip being glued to the upper side of the wedges. A Thule strap was stitched and glued to the underside of the canvas strap. This is of a suitable length to allow it to pass around the kayak securing it firmly to the trolley. What’s amazing is that once strapped to the trolley, the kayak does not move at all, unlike the C-Tug.

Once required for use the hinged section is swung forward and locked in position using a ‘pip pin’.

The bracket plates were made from machined aluminium, though heavy gauge plate would also do the job just fine. I used aluminium opposed to nylon board as an elongation of the holes would prevent the pip pins from operating correctly.

The centre section is plain aluminium box with a machined locating spigot at one end. This slides onto the rear trolley section and again is locked in position with the use of a pip pin.

You can see various silver markings on the trolley, long and short painted sections, triangular marks, etc. These allow me to fit all sections correctly as all holes were drilled to suit during the manufacturing process.

The front handle section is also collapsible and is constructed from two sections of aluminium box, two brackets and a handle assembly. Again a pip pin allows the section to be extended and locked into position.

This final section is then attached to the trolley and locked in place… with a pip pin.

At any point during the assembly the wheels can be fitted. It’s perhaps better to fit them at an early stage, though it doesn’t make a huge difference to be honest.

So with it all connected and secured with pip pins the trolley is fully assembled and ready to go.

Loading the kayak takes seconds, it’s merely a case of lifting the kayak onto the rear axle followed by swinging the nose onto the trolley. There’s an angled bracket on the handle upright in which to locate the bow of the kayak. I fitted a rubber strips in various location to help keep the kayak correctly located at all times.

So what’s it like in use?. When it’s very well balanced with little weight on the handle when lifted. This can be fined tuned during the build process by ensuring the centre of gravity of the fully loaded kayak is positioned on the rear support strap. It’s a pleasure to pull the kayak along either smooth road, sandy beach or rough ground. What I really love is that you can happily traverse very uneven surfaces and steep side slopes without being concerned about the security/safety of your kayak.

The oversize wheels allow it to be taken across terrain that would see other trolleys faltering. Is it a pain to assemble/disassemble and to stow in the kayak?. It takes approximately 1 minute to strip into its component parts and another minute or so to stow within the front hatch of the kayak. It is bulkier than the C-tug when disassembled, though its advantages far outweigh this one disadvantage.

I do still use the C-Tug for short distances and on surfaces that are hard and flat, it’s just convenient. It is smaller and lighter and doe have its uses. However, should the trolley journey be long or arduous there’s only one trolley that I’d trust to undertake the task…

The ‘Bucket Boy’ kayak trolley

A foggy night afloat

2011-03-22T11:31:00.002Z

Yet again it seems like ages since I’ve been on the water. I looked at the forecast on Sunday evening and it looked great, with like winds forecast for several days. I was sat at work on Monday morning planning how best to tackle a spot of fishing... no pun intended. High water was around 8pm and the tide was over 12.1m.

I collected some squid and black lug from West Coast Tackle in Watchet and headed over to the Blue Anchor. As I drove along the cliff top road there was what I initially thought to be smoke blowing over the road, I was wrong, it was fog. I wasn’t too concerned as the skies were blue and there was a cool westerly breeze. I can’t remember what time I arrived, perhaps an hour after low water. As expected with a big spring tide the water was a long way out, further than I’d anticipated.

I rigged up and looking out to sea, it was clear I’d have to wait an hour at least to have a chance of launching. I’d made the decision earlier to take the ‘BucketBoy trolley’. This trolley was designed by an innovative chap off Anglers Afloat. I’ve tweaked the design slightly to suit my own needs, it really is a good piece of kit. What this did give me was the option of dragging the kayak across the reef, something I’d not contemplate with a C-Tug.

As I pulled the kayak east across the beach the fog thickened towards the point. I was unable to make out the sea hence it made picking a suitable route a little tricky. The Trolley bounced its way across the reef with relative ease, only struggling with the odd larger rock.

As I approached the sea I pulled the kayak off the trolley and set about stowing it. At this point the water hadn’t quite reached my feet, I was stood on dry land. It took about four minutes to stow the trolley at which point the water was just below my knees!.

I paddled out with the tide and was soon heading east as around 6mph. The fog wasn’t so bad once on the water, visibility was half a mile or so and the skies were still blue. The mark I fish is just over a mile and a half from the launch site and I was soon anchored up. The expected high water depth was 15-16m so once the anchor hit the sea floor I let out an extra 60m of anchor warp. The tide was running hard. I normally hold bottom on the flood tide with 8oz of lead, however, I was straight onto 12oz. Baits were twin squid mounted onto a 6/0 pennel rig, with one bait tipped one bait off with black lug.

I only had to wait about ten minutes before one rod nodded over with a typical cod bite. The fish wasn’t large, though with the tide running hard the sport was pretty good. I didn’t take many photos this trip as was using my GoPro HD head cam.To be honest taking photos didn’t really cross my mind, that’s unusual for me. There was a steady run of codling between 2-4lb, perhaps a dozen or more were taken during the session. Despite the fierce tide the thornbacks made a bit of a show. These were quite hard work due to the current, the best fish was perhaps 10-11lb with a total of three coming to the kayak on the latter part of the flood tide. There were a handful of conger eel, all small fish that came to the surface quickly.

As the light faded the fog started to thicken quite quickly. Visibility was still three to four hundred metres about thirty minutes before high water. However, at high water visibility had collapsed!. I could see perhaps a metre past the nose of the kayak and two to three metres either side, it wasn’t good. I fished though slack water and pulled anchor as soon as the ebb began to flow. I set the GPS to take me back to the slipway and started on the paddle back. I really was quite eerie and very disorientating and the chop on the water made it a little uncomfortable.. bar that it was all good!. Without a GPS or compass you’d soon be paddling in circles, I even put this to the test for a chuckle. You literally have no sense of direction whatsoever.

As I came within half a mile of the slipway the fog actually thickened a little more and I could no longer see past the nose of the kayak. Paddling on, albeit rather slowly, I made steady progress towards the slipway. Fortunately the there was no surf whatsoever so I ambled up towards the slip. The first thing to appear was the vertical wall 20-30m east of the slipway. The slipway finally came into view and I was quite relieved to be back on firm ground.

With the kayak back on the ‘BB’ trolley I set about cleaning the catch. The trolley made light work of the slipway, I cant lie, pulling the C-tug up the slipway at the end of a session is a struggle. The fog was a little lighter once off the sea with visibility up to 10-15m. There were two anglers opposite my car so I chatted on to them for half an hour. They’d not had any luck and were definitely taken with a rigged kayak with a sack of codling aboard.

I Took the VISICarbon kayak light afloat and it performed well. I really like having a flag on the kayak, something I didn’t expect. Perhaps it’ll prevent some of these yachts getting too close when fishing busier waters. As expected you cannot compare it to my current light with regards to light output. I fished for a while with only the VISICarbon switched one and it’s performance is more than adequate.

No complaints with the evenings fishing. The fog was unexpected and made the trip back rather interesting. Hopefully the good weather will hang around as forecast, I quite fancy another trip before the weekend.

YakAttack VISICarbon Pro – first impressions

2011-03-18T22:27:00.003Z

I’ve had my kayak for almost four years now and it’s been suitably modified from day one. One of the first modifications I fitted was a stern light powered from a 12v SLA battery mounted within the kayak. The majority of my fishing tends to either be at night or from day into night.

It’s a legal requirement for a kayak to be fitted with a fixed white light that provides 360 degree light and is visible for 2 miles whilst navigating/anchored at night. At that time there was very little available within the UK with regards to kayak lighting, little has changed to be honest. The Scotty light springs to mind, though to be honest its performance left a lot to be desired. I ended up fitting a detachable light designed for small boats and yachts with an uprated LED light.

A few weeks ago I read a couple of online articles where a new kayak light was mentioned, namely the VISICarbon Pro manufactured by YakAttack in the USA. I was unable to locate a dealer within the UK so I contacted Yak Attack in an attempt to find a European dealer. Yak Attack offered to provide one for review and long term test. Normally I’ve read any available reviews in advance of handling new tackle and equipment, though in this instance I hadn’t, hence I had no pre-conceived opinions. The unit was neatly packaged and also enclosed was a RAM mounting kit.

With the unit out of the packaging it was time to have a close look. There was the light assembly, flag, product guide/instructions and a YakAttack sticker, though what really impressed me was the presence of a credit card sized customer service card with full contact details. That wasn’t something I’d really across before, nice touch.

Construction

The light assembly is a four piece affair, the lower three sections are of a similar length with the final section being the light itself.

The lowest section is similar is design to a rod butt, foam covered and approximately 1 3/4” in diameter. The design of the lower section allows the VISICarbon Pro to be fitted to most ‘rocket’ type rod holders. At the base of this particular model (CP2) is a 1.5” ball which also allows it to be mounted to a 1.5” RAM ball (Kit RM2 required).

Standard 1.75” Rod Holder RAM Mounting Kit (RM2)

A Scotty ready model (CP1) is also available with a Tallon flush mount model soon to appear in the model line up. The lower section is also claimed to fit to many flush mount rod holders, though these tend to be angled and may not provide the best performance, though I’ll try this once I’m afloat.

Above the lowest section is an elastic lanyard that serves two purposes. It allows the unit to be secured to the kayak to prevent loss should the kayak capsize or the unit be inadvertently dropped overboard. Secondly, with the unit collapsed it can be used to bind the unit together keeping it compact, it also aids stowage.

The centre two sections of the VISICarbon Pro are of carbon construction, similar to what you’d find at the lower end of a light spinning rod. The finish is good and there are a couple of graphics to compliment the appearance. The narrow diameter will keep the drag effects of wind to a minimum. The upper section is the light itself, more on that later.

What have the four sections got in common?, well, they’re all connected with an elastic shock cord that passes from the lower ‘butt’ section to the light, passing through the two middle sections.

The cord is under tension and allows the sections to either be quickly locked into place, or to be broken down into a compact size for easy storage. The principle is the same a used on many lightweight tent poles, though applying it to the light was most intuitive. When snapped together the unit is 48” long which when mounted vertically will comfortably put the light above head height.

Stowage, this is where yet again the unit proves to be most innovative. The red flag, which measures 18” x 6”, also doubles up as a stowage pouch.

There is a opening at one end, secured with Velcro, this allows the collapsed unit to be slipped inside and secured.

In this configuration the unit is very compact (14” long) and can be stored within a rear mounted crate or large centre hatch/rod pod with ease. It also fits into my dry box which is just perfect. As a result you can take the light afloat and fit it as required. It also allows the unit to be removed and stowed prior to a potentially difficult surf landing.

Getting back to the flag, attaching the flag is simplicity itself. The VISICarbon Pro uses ‘Silent Snaps’ to allow the flag to be attached to the light in seconds, it really is that simple. The ‘Silent Snap’ system comprises of two small elastic loops with a plastic tab on each. Pulling on a tab allows one end of the flag to be inserted.

The process is repeated on the other end resulting in the flag being securely attached to the light.

It’s very secure, the flag will not blow off and it’d happily survive a capsize. That being said, I’m not going to put the last statement to the test anytime soon!

That leaves the light itself.

The light unit has been custom made for the VISICarbon Pro and sports of section of reflective SOLAS tape with high visibility orange tape positioned at either side. The tapered clear lens houses the LED module. As standard it comes with a two LED module, though additional modules can be purchased to enable this to be changed to either a one or four LED module. Clearly this will vary the light output and battery life as a result. Again, this is an option I’ve not seen made available on any other kayak light.

There’s no on/off switch, operating the light requires a simple twist of the clear lens in order to make the internal contact. It’s simplicity in itself and by removing a mechanical switch it has removed a potential point of failure.The clear lens is removed by unscrewing it from the light unit.

The lens itself contains a twisted diffuser to provide enhanced 360 degree light coverage. Two O-ring seals are present at the top of the light unit, neither of which are likely to fall off whilst changing batteries/LED modules. The LED module lifts out to expose three AA batteries housed within the unit.

These are easily removed and replaced as required.

Performance

YakAttack claim a battery life of approximately 100 hours with the 2 LED module. Clearly this would be dependent on ambient temperature as I’m assuming those figures were attained at room temperature. However, even if battery life was far less than quoted it’s still very impressive and would easily last several trips before replacement was required.

If I had a concern about the light unit itself, it would be the potential to loose the LED module whilst carrying out a battery change when afloat. That being said, knowing the potential risk, you’d no doubt be ultra careful whilst carrying out this procedure so the risk would be minimised.

The light output itself is quite impressive for a two LED system, though I’m now very keen to compare it to the 4 LED module.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare it to my current light as that utilises an 18 LED (21W equivalent) bulb, though it’s certainly very useable and will easily surpass the UK requirement of being visible for two miles. There is the facility to slide the flag over the light to reduce light output. Whilst this may not be particularly legal or advisable in open water situations, it may be prove useful when fishing close to structure to avoid spooking fish.

The light unit is claimed to be waterproof to 1000 feet. I kept it fully submerged in the sink for one hour and the initial results were encouraging with no water penetrating the light unit.

That said, it’s also claimed that the VISICarbon Pro floats, that will be tested when I’m afloat.

Alternative lighting

It’s currently not retailed within the UK, though in the USA the VISICarbon Pro with 1.5” RAM mount (CP2) retails at $89.95 with the RAM mounting kit retailing at $19.95. So is it value for money?. Well it’s certainly not cheap, though I’m a big believer that you generally get what you pay for in this world, and I believe that this light is no exception.

Clearly, an awful lot of thought has gone into its design. What with its collapsible mast, multi-purpose flag, multiple lighting/mounting options and excellent battery life it’s well ahead of the competition. Though that’s not all, it has full spares backup where virtually every part can be purchased individually direct from YakAttack.

What’s in the UK that can readily compete with the VISICarbon Pro?. The only real ‘equivalent’ is the Scotty Sea Light with pole that retails at around £45.I’ve seen one in the flesh and its light output doesn’t compare and its battery life is quoted at 8 hours. It’s also lacking a flag and isn’t collapsible, nor does it have the mounting options, etc. When you start bringing all of these factors into the equation the price of VISICarbon Pro doesn’t seem too bad at all.

Scotty Sea Light Kayak Deck Light

There is also a suction mounted unit that retails at around £30. The one I’ve seen is short and as a result would not provide 360 degree coverage with an angler aboard. It’s doubtful in my eyes as to whether or not a light of that design actually meets the legal requirement for night navigation. There’s also the potential issue of positioning such a unit as not to impede the anglers night vision. It’s certainly not as effective as a light positioned above head height and behind the angler.

Conclusion

In my opinion the VISICarbon Pro is a high quality innovative kayak light that’s well ahead of the competition. Sure it’s not cheap, though with its superb functionality and unrivalled product support it should last many years with the correct care. It comes with a twelve month warranty as standard.

Tope - A short video

2011-02-25T21:51:00.005Z

I'd totally forgotten about this footage. There were reasons for this....

Firstly, when 'videoing' the first two fish I caught that day I’d inadvertently had my head cam in camera mode, that resulted in two photos of my hand . Secondly, I thought the camera was pointing too high when I viewed the footage last Easter so I gave it a good ignoring. I came across it during the week and decided to do something with it. It's not great, but it's fishing

The original trip report can be found here

Anyway, here’s the video.

Wales 2010

A steady session…

2011-02-18T12:21:00.002Z

It’d started raining on Sunday and by Wednesday it was still raining. It wasn’t just that though, it’s also been blustery, so basically it’d been a miserable few days.

I rechecked the weather forecast on Wednesday and there was a definite weather window showing for a few hours starting around midday Thursday. I was still buzzing after my last trip so I was eager to get out again and wet a line. I arranged to take Thursday off and booked some bait from Steve at West Coast Angling in Watchet. The bait and service there is first class, I’d highly recommend dropping by.

I met up with Jim just after lunch and we were rigged and launched by around 2:30pm. High water was around 6pm, so allowing for a thirty minute paddle it still left us about three hours of the flood tide to fish. We were hoping to fish the ebb for a couple of hours, though with the tides over 11m the current would be the limiting factor. The wind was a blustery easterly and the water was quite choppy with an underlying swell, though still very fishable.

The end tackle was my normal setup for this area, a three foot 6/0 pennel rig made from 80lb monofilament. As much as it is possible to knot 80lb mono, I tend to crimp my traces as it still allows me to thread worms onto the line without bursting them. It’s also stronger and more reliable as knotted heavy mono can slip. Baits were single squid pushed up the hook, held in place with the top hook, with 2-3 lugworm slipped on below.

Initial water depth was around 9m. The water temperature was pushing towards six degrees and the tide was running hard. It was only minutes before the first bites appeared and for the next two hours a steady string of codling between 1-5lb came to the kayak.

As the tide eased off I’d managed about 12 codling as well a couple of fish dropped on the retrieve. The dogfish were making a show, no real complaints as I’ve not caught one in a while. Hopefully they won’t grow into plague proportions as the season progresses.

As the tide slackened the expected flurry of whiting activity failed to materialise, though the conger did begin to show. The first couple were small fish, though I baited up with a codling of about a pound with a single fillet removed. This proved quite successful bringing a couple of nice sized eels to the kayak.

The other rod was still baited with squid and lugworm and it was registering a gentle tap, a sure sign of a conger eel. I tightened up and the rod bent hard over, for 2-3 seconds I thought I’d snagged the bottom. Though I felt the bump of a fish and then line started stripping from the reel as a good pace. I tweaked the drag though it made no difference. Settling into my seat I applied steady pressure as the fish ran hard, perhaps for 20-30 yards… then it was gone. Reeling in resulted in a comedy moment as a small codling of around 8oz was hanging on the hook. Clearly it’d been hooked earlier and had attracted a passing conger eel. I was rather disappointed as it had clearly been a cracking fish.

Still, fresh baits on and lines down. Small eels kept me busy during the slack water period.

As the tide began to ebb the fishing went off the boil with only the odd bite here and there. I picked up a couple of small codling though it was pretty poor to be honest. The tide began to ebb hard and as expected was fairly fierce, pulling the anchor buoy under the surface. Weights were increased from 8oz to 12oz in order to hold bottom. About two hours into the flood one rod bent over, though it was a dead weight and was clearly weed. This extra drag caused my anchor to pull and I began to drift. I cleared the weed and tried to reset anchor, letting out my remaining warp in the hope of catching bottom, though it was all in vain. Jim was clearly having similar issues so we decided to call it a day.

By this time the wind had eased considerably so with a steady swell behind us, and the ebbing tide to push us along, we headed back at a steady 5mph with next to no effort. Back at the slipway the catch was cleaned, again most of the fish were packed full of small crab. Jim hadn’t faired so well, though he had managed a codling and a thornback ray.

No complaints from me, despite the initial choppy conditions the weather improved throughout the session and there was a steady stream of fish coming to the kayak. Roll on the next session.