Road Trip - Wales & Cornwall (Part 1)

Last year's big road trip had been hugely successful and I'd planned a similar trip for this summer. This year I was to show Ronald Traas( aka 'The Dutchie') some of my favourite marks and to hopefully land some big fish onto our kayaks.

Sadly this year wasn't to be a repeat of last year. I do have huge reservations about booking such fishing expeditions so far in advance, as whether you like it or not, you're at the mercy of the weather. As a saltwater kayak fisherman I'm all to aware just how much a trip can be dependent upon the weather, something that's often far less of a concern to the majority of freshwater kayak fisherman.

In the week running up to the trip it wasn't looking too hopeful, but we all know how unpredictable the weather can be and that forecasts are changeable at best!. Sadly this wasn't to be the case and the wind to cause havoc with the planned fishing. Virtually all of my chosen marks were made unfishable, or quite unpleasant for the whole trip. We found ourselves having to fish marks that I had little or no experience on, something that also affects one's confidence when fishing.

We traveled to Cornwall first, purely as no other of my chosen locations were fishable at that time. With the wind averaging 20mph or more the first fishing trip saw us head up into the tidal waterways in the hunt of Gilthead Bream. During my previous trip I'd been warned that the numbers had declined sharply due to commercial netting, though I still caught several fish. What did concern me though was the effect that the stiff westerly wind could have on the fishing.

Fishing was my usual setup for Giltheads, a light running ledger, 1oz with a 3' 20lb flurocarbon trace. The hook is all important here, with a strong sharp hook being a must with the 1-1/0 Sakuma Chinu being a favourite of mine. What there are at this venue is plenty of 'school bass' and as much as they're fun they get to a fresh bait intended for something else all too quickly!

I lost count of how many of these fish were caught and returned, but they weren't the target fish and the Giltheads had yet to make a show. I knew from previous experience that I'd enjoyed my best sessions from the mid-flood tide and that time had yet to arrive.

There's rarely mistaking a Gilthead Bream bite and when my rod tip pulled over hard and line was being ripped from the reel I was in no doubt as to what I'd hooked in to!. It was actually the best run I'd had off any Bream to date and it gave a great account of itself. The surprise was when it came to the net, it was considerably smaller than I'd expected. There's no doubt about it, they fight exceptionally well. Not the PB Gilthead Bream that it initially felt like!

Though I can hardly complain, many people fish long and hard in the hope of catching a Gilthead, so I consider every one that comes aboard a special fish. Disappointingly it was to be the only fish to be caught, Whether that was down to netting, the weather or just bad luck on that particular day, who knows.

The weather continued to be against us and the chosen Pollack grounds were unfishable, I'd also wanted to fish Sennen Cove, but again the weather made that venue impossible. I decided to launch from Porthoustock in the hope of finding some mixed species. Again the fishing proved very tough with only a few small Pollack and Wrasse being caught.

The next day saw us launch from around the corner at Porthallow. The venue looked promising but again it was proving to be difficult. I resorted to drifting with baited feathers, allowing the wind to push me across the bay. After a couple of quiet drifts I found a few mixed species. Nothing exciting, though a pretty Ballan Wrasse was worthy of a photo.

As much as it was enjoyable, it was also terribly frustrating. Yes we were fishing, but not where I wanted to fish, not on grounds where I really knew exactly where and how to fish. But it was a case of fish where the weather permitted, or don't fish at all.

We left Cornwall and heading towards Pembroke, driving past marks around Lynmouth and Watchet that I'd really wanted to fish, again, the weather was wreaking havoc with the plans. I've fished off Southwest Wales before for Tope and enjoyed some great success and I was truly hoping that this trip would produce the goods once again. The weather wasn't ideal with a stiff offshore wind being present for the majority of our time there.

The first day was really tough with me only having a run from one fish which I failed to hook into. The next day was somewhat better, for me at least, with three Tope being caught with another three being lost. Ronald was sadly not so fortunate.

They were all smaller males, but good fun nevertheless on light tackle. I take two rods with me for Tope, though I only fish with one at a time. Fishing for Tope with two rods is asking for a disaster, whether it be a nightmare tangle or a double hookup, neither bodes well.

I use a lighter 6-8lb Shimano Beastmaster with an ABU 6500 when fishing with weights up to 5oz. If the tides dictate the use of a heavier weight I switch over to my 10-15lb Shimano Beastmaster with a Shimano Charter 1000LD. The rig is a simple running ledger, with the trace being 4' long, made up of 3' of 80lb monofilament with around a foot of 80lb wire with an 8/0 bronze hook crimped to the end.

Note the bag lying in the water night to the kayak. It's a military laundry bag that's actually perfect for keeping mackerel and other bait fresh in whilst fish, alive for several hours at time in fact. It does produce quite a big of drag at times, something to be mindful of when anchoring in a strong tide. It could well be enough to cause you to pull/drag anchor. Though it's useful for this type of fishing.

Yes I caught fish, but it was hard work. As mentioned I also lost fish so it had been a great improvement over the previous day. Below is a Mackerel bait that had been dropped by a Tope, note the teeth marks, there's no mistaking what had been holding the bait!

To be continued in Part 2...

First Smoothound of 2013

It was after 5pm when my phone rang and Jim was on the other ending letting me know he was heading out now. I wondered why he felt the need to tell me this, though it became immediately clear when he reminded me that we’d arranged to fish that evening!.

I’m not one to panic, though I was a few miles from home, dropping my daughter off at her dance class. That game me an hour to get home, feed and shower my son, sort my gear, load the car and be on the road. Timeframes were tight, but doable.

An hour later I started the car and hit the road, talk about recovering the situation!. I’d grabbed a bag of unwashed squid from the freezer, and along with the fresh hardback crabs that Jim had collected, there’d be sufficient bait for the session.

Target fish were Smoothound, though Thornbacks rays, Dogfish and the odd school Bass were also likely to be caught. I’d expected Jim to be afloat when I arrived, though he was there rigging up and we ended up launching together shortly after 7pm. High water was just after 10pm, the plan being to fish until midnight at the latest.

As you can see in the above photo Jim has recently treated him self to a Hobie Outback, he’s spent a couple of weeks getting it rigged ready to fish, hopefully this session would get some slime over his kayak!.

It was only a half mile or so to the mark, about 5m of water which would push to over six at high tide. The tide was fairly weak, typical for this mark as slack water occurs well before high water itself. Rigs were simple running ledgers, one baited with half a squid, split down the middle, the other with a hardback crab. I’m not accustomed to using hardback crabs, all my previous experience has been with peelers or soft backs. I stripped the legs off and hooked them through the leg sockets.

The breeze was quite strong, and with little tide, we were initially anchored side on to the choppy water. It was a tad uncomfortable, though once the tide flow picked up we were swung into the tide making for a better fishing experience. I did learn something interesting about the Mirage Drive, with the pedals centralised (fins down) it really grabs the tide and pulls you inline with the tide in a matter of seconds. A cross wind will swing the kayak across the tide, previously I’ve used a drogue to overcome this with good effect, though the Mirage Drive actually proved more effective at counteracting this. I most impressed at this, fins up against the hull, kayak swings across the tide… fins down, kayak immediately swing back into the tide. Yup, I was also bored due to the lack of fish activity, things were slow!

Apart from a couple of small knocks, it was two hours before I had the first proper bite and found myself hooked up. I have to admit it felt a little feisty, with a bit of head shaking thrown in for good measure. I was thinking school bass, so I was rather surprised when a dogfish broke the surface. I’d forgotten how much fun my Shimano Beastmaster 6-8lb rods were. It needed measuring to qualify for the Kayak Wars competition, measuring Dogfish isn’t the easiest task, however, it was accomplished and the fish returned.

The next half hour was again rather slow, though the squid eventually tempted another fish. This one was not so lively and I was in little doubt as to what it actually was. Sure enough another Dogfish appeared on the surface and after a couple of photographs it was soon back in the water.

By this time the sun had set and the wind was beginning to freshen. It seemed highly unlikely that any fish of note was going to be caught this particular evening. With the wind blowing fairly hard and a few white caps appearing across swell, I raised the hood of my Typhoon PS220 drysuit and sat tight, ever hopeful!

 

The crab-baited rod was hit quite hard, a couple of aggressive tugs being registered at the rod tip. I picked the rod straight up and waited. I pulled into another hit and briefly felt the weight of a fish, then nothing. Had I been too eager?, the rod was replaced and I waited. A minute later the fish was back, and after waiting a few moments, I tightened up and felt the weight of a good fish. A second later the fish ran hard, stripping 15-20 yards of line from the reel. It ran straight across my other line on its next run and I found myself swapping the rods over whilst it continued to strip line from the reel.

With the drag tightened up a little the fish came under control and I started to bring it back to the kayak. It stayed deep and proved extremely lively, making several shorter runs over the next couple of minutes. The rod was bent over hard, the fish hugging the bottom below the kayak. The first time it surfaced its tail slapped the water hard as it surged for the bottom once more. I saw that it was no monster, though it was going like stink and I was grinning from ear to ear!

With Jim shouting words of encouragement (such as ‘stop messing about with it!’), I finally bought it to the surface and tailed it aboard the Outback. It was a good sized Starry Smoothound,  a nice double I reckon.

After I’d managed to snap a couple of ‘safe photos’ I decided to lie it over the kayak to achieve a better picture. I manoeuvred it in a cracking position and grabbed the camera, focus, click…… apparently a split second too late!!

With the Smoothound swimming away I baited both rods up with hardback crab, hopeful of another fish before the end of the night. However, it wasn’t to be, in fact I failed to register another bite. The crab was clearly proving attractive to other sea creatures though, namely the whelks!. It’s not unusual to retrieve a bait to find one or two whelks attached to it. They can be pulled straight off or often drop straight off, making off at a good speed. Though this was quite different, I’ve never seen so many whelks on one bait, the bait was completely obscured from view. The crab was clearly the favoured meal of these over-sized snails, though they didn’t exactly turn their noses up at the squid neither.

I think we hit the beach before 11pm so it was another relatively short session. Jim didn’t find any fish, but in all fairness, the fishing is particularly hard compared to previous years. I looked back to some photos from this venue in early May 2008. The water temperature back then were almost 16 Celsius, last night it was just over 12 Celsius, that’s quite a difference.

I feel the need for a change of scenery so the next trip will be a road trip/overnighter at a location that’s yet to be decided.

Fishing, friendship & nudity!

The two previous days had provided me with some decent sport and with the weather window due to hold for another day, it seemed rude not fish for a third consecutive day. The morning was a slow start as I needed to have the car exhaust replaced as a matter of some urgency. I chatted to a kayak fishing friend, Dizzyfish, and he was looking to fish Lynmouth. It’s a great venue so I was more than happy to fish it for a second day on the trot.

I arrived around lunchtime, having collected some bait en-route from ‘West Coast Tackle’ in Minehead. I’d stocked up on mackerel, a packet of squid and some sandeel. As per the previous day the tide was out so I let the kayak drift down the river towards to sea with me stumbling along behind. I was quite surprised at how windy it was, the forecast had been for 3-5mph wind, this was more like 15-20mph, at times gusting more. There was no sign of Dizzyfish as I paddled through the chop towards the eastern headland. To be honest I was seriously doubting as to whether I should be out there fishing!. I paddled towards the cliffs in attempt to catch a little shelter.

The cliffs here are high, they rise almost 1000’ above sea level. I looked towards three small secluded beaches and I saw what at first looked like a flamingo at the waterline!. Intrigued I paddled in closer and noticed it moving along the waters edge. The boulders along the beach are actually very large, allied with the height of the cliffs, judging size can be difficult. About 1/4 mile out I decided is wasn’t a flamingo at all, merely a person wandering along the beach. The odd thing was this beach was cut off at either end, was this person stranded??.

Before I got much closer the person climbed some rocks at one end and disappeared from sight, I could see little detail, being some distance out they looked like a matchstick person. I surfed some small waves onto the beach, threw out the anchor and tucked into some lunch. What a stunning spot, secluded with fantastic views. I sat on the beach looking out to sea, munching away quietly on a sandwich.

Needless to say I was rather surprised when a voice spoke directly behind me, passing the time of day. Though I was somewhat more surprised at what greeted me when I turned around. A man in his 50’s, a naked man!. Here I am sat layered up, wearing a drysuit and PFD in weather that to be honest, wasn’t particularly pleasant!. Oddly enough I didn’t have too much to say, so he disappeared along the beach taking up residence on a rocky outcrop.

The wind had eased off considerably so I decided to get afloat and do some fishing. I was quite surprised to see Dizzyfish a a couple of hundred metres further offshore, he certainly hadn’t been there fifteen minutes earlier!. After chatting on the radio it transpired that he’s been taking a break on the next beach along, just out of sight.

I paddled over and dropped anchor, Dizzyfish had already been out several hours though the fishing by all accounts hadn’t been too hot. The wind was gusting pushing the kayak left to right, the kayak pulling back into the weak tide as the wind eased off. Fishing within the headlands provides much shelter from the fierce tides of the Bristol Channel. If we’d been fishing 300-400 yards further out we’d probably have been sat in four or more knots of tide, as it was we were anchored up in a more pedestrian 1.5 knots.

I was still hopeful of catching a tope so I rigged one rod up with a whole mackerel mounted onto a  running ledger rig, 8/0 Sakuma hook, short wire trace, 3’ of 80lb nylon, etc. The other rod was also rigged with a running ledger, though this time with 4’ of 30lb nylon with a 3/0 Kamasan uptide hook. I decided to use whole sandeel on this rig in the hope of tempting some bass and rays.

Things were a little slow to begin with, though as the tide increased the fish came onto the feed. First up was a small Spotted Ray which took a fancy to the sandeel. These really are a pretty ray and despite their relatively small size give a good account of themselves.

 

I then had a good run of Small Eyed Rays varying in weight from 3lb towards double figures. The smaller fish were generally coming to the sandeel, the larger fish taking a chunky mackerel bait. I had been fishing whole mackerel, though as the session progressed I was removing the tail, cutting it clean off two thirds of the way from the head. So it was still a particularly large bait, mounted onto an 8/0 hook. Despite this, the larger Small Eyed rays had no problems in taking a bait of this size.

 

 

These larger rays were really great sport, at times making some aggressive runs. If they weren’t taking line they were ‘kiting’ in the tide, great fun!

 

Looking through the various photos I took throughout the session I’d managed to catch two spotted ray and eight small eyed rays, more than I’d thought.

The wind came and went throughout the session, at times gusting guide hard. During the last couple of hours the heavens opened and it rained. Thankfully the PS200 drysuit has a decent hood, it’s not often it gets used, though it’s certainly a handy feature!.  As the tide eased the fishing pretty much died off, though at around high water I picked up a couple of good sized Bullhuss in quick succession.

With the weather deteriorating and the fishing having gone off the boil, we decided to call it a day and had back into Lynmouth harbour. It bought to an end three consecutive days of fishing, the last day without a doubt being the most productive and enjoyable. A quick pint, a bowl of chips and some chatter in the local pub finished the day off very nicely!

1st Tope trip of the year

I can’t remember such a run a bad weather, the whole of April has basically been a write off. Sure, there was the odd short weather window, often measured in hours, though work and family commitments failed to coincide with these rare opportunities.

It was pleasantly surprising when an improvement in the weather was forecast over the forthcoming weekend. Plans were hatched to travel to Wales in the hope of catching a Tope. I’d considered travelling up late on Friday evening, though it would have been a rush job, so the decision was made to leave early on Saturday morning. I’m not sure if I’d been off the water for too long (more than 2 weeks is an eternity) though I seemed to have lost quite some motivation. When the alarm sounded at 4am I hit ‘snooze’ several times as thirty minutes rolled by. I cursed myself and jumped out of bed, gathering together a few items before heading out to a pre-packed car.

It was drizzling, a tad windy, I asked myself what on earth was I doing!. It was a long way to drive (250 miles) for the weather to prevent a launch. I lost heart a little and made a cuppa before checking the weather forecast. Despite the weather outside my front door, the forecast for west Wales was quite good, certainly fishable. Doubts were cast aside, the kayak was loaded and I was soon on the road, albeit, an hour later than planned!

 

It was around 5am and the roads were clear, progress was brisk!. Despite some heavy rain early on, the low cloud base gradually broke up and glorious sunshine illuminated the landscape, things were looking up!

I really enjoy the last hour of this drive, the scenery is stunning, to think I’d very nearly cancelled the trip twice that morning. The local tackle shop in Tywyn had opened a few minutes early, so stocked with several packets of frozen mackerel I headed off to the launch site. On arrival there were already 2-3 kayaks rigged and up ready to go, for a change I’d have some company whilst afloat.

It was somewhat overcast, a little blustery at times, though it was very fishable. I was last to launch and paddled out to where the group had loosely assembled. It was about a quarter of a mile further out than my preferred mark, but it was all good.

As I neared the group, one of the guys was playing a Tope which was a good sign. I was soon anchored up and fishing, it felt great to be out there, I was buzzing with anticipation. I didn’t have to wait too long to land my first fish of the day. It was a good sized Bullhuss, the first of several taken throughout that session. Ok, they’re not the most pleasant fish, though I certainly prefer catching them to Dogfish. As the ebb tide slackened the fishing pretty much died off. A few of the other kayak anglers headed in for the day. Half an hour later I pulled anchor and paddled landward with a view to finishing for the day also, however, I paddled over my old fishing mark and could resist dropping anchor once more!

The Tope rig was a simple running ledger, an 8/0 bronzed hook attached to a 12” length of 80lb wire. This in turn was attached, via a swivel, to 3’ of 80lb nylon. A swivel at the top finished of the trace. Baits were mackerel, generally frozen, though I later caught some fresh which were quickly dropped down as live bait.

 

                    Rigged dead bait                              Rigged live bait

I’d only been there for twenty minutes when I had a steady run, there was no doubting, it was a Tope!. I tightened up, setting the hook, things went tight for a second then the fish screamed off!. I’ve never experienced such a long run from the kayak, probably 80-90 yards, then it went again!. Whilst this was happening I reeled in my feathering rod and stowed it aft.

It was a great fight, the fish approached and departed from the kayak several times, often requiring quite some pressure to bring it up from its continual deep dives. I knew it was a good size, though I was still very surprised when I set eyes on the fish for the first time!. I had slight concerns about what to do with it once alongside, though as it turned out that was to be quite some time away!

Below are a couple of frames taken from some video footage taken with a GoPro HD cam mounted in YakAttack’s DogBone camera mount.

It seemed to be caught under the kayak at one point and I had a few tense moments before I manoeuvred it alongside the kayak. In the end, once I managed to grab a pelvic fin, it pulled aboard without an issue.

I had another GoPro cam mounted up front on a PanFish Portrait camera mount, again courtesy of YakAttack. The camera was set to take photos every second, though shortly after the Tope came aboard, the camera took a hit from the shark’s tail. I re-positioned the camera, though the following photos were badly over-exposed. I’m not sure why, perhaps I’d inadvertently pointed it directly at the sun. Typically it worked just fine once the Tope was returned!!

The Tope was quickly unhooked and released to fight another day. Was a buzz!!!

Fifteen minutes later another Tope took the bait and started to run, sadly it was only on for a few moments. Another run took place sometime later, though I failed to connect at all. The weather was deteriorating quite quickly and I’d noticed the remaining kayak anglers return ashore sometime earlier. I’d had a great day and there was little to be gained by staying out any longer.

I’d planned to pitch my tent that night, though after a few beverages whilst chatting with the other kayak fisherman I resorted to Plan B. The decision was made to sleep in the car overnight, not as uncomfortable as it might sound. With the rear seats down I can happily lie flat, with a self inflating mattress it actually promised to be quite comfortable. However, it was about 2am when I realised the impact of not bringing my Artic sleeping bag!!!. The outside temperature had plummeted towards freezing, I was rather cold to say the least. Putting on an extra layer of clothing improved things somewhat, though it was still a long way from being pleasant.

The morning provided us with lights winds and glorious sunshine, what more can you ask for!. I was almost last to launch again, it was actually quite comfortable in the car once I’d warmed up a little, I’d not been in a rush to vacate my sleeping bag.

Despite perfect conditions, the second day of fishing was proving to be very slow indeed. I think there were six kayak fisherman out there with only a couple of Tope being taken. Even the Bullhuss were thin on the ground, for me at least. I resorted to deploying some baited feathers and managed to pick up some mackerel, a Dab and a Garfish.

 

I took the opportunity to try out my new Extendable Cam Mount. It works extremely well, capturing some great angles. GoPro are soon to release a wireless remote control and I’ll certainly be investing in them as it’ll make filming aboard the kayak with multiple cameras so much easier.

 

I fished until mid-afternoon before calling it a day. I paddled around a large seal for a while, trying to get up close, though he was having absolutely none of it!. There’s a short stretch of river to drag the kayak up prior to recovering back to the launch site. I hear a lot of folk complain about this, sure it’s a little arduous, though it’s all part of the experience!

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The fishing was good, I’d bagged a new personal best Tope, enjoyed some good company with fellow kayak fishermen… all in all, a great weekend!. I’ve just finished compiling a video clip from the weekend. It’s best viewed full screen at 720HD resolution. Hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you thought.

Tope fishing in west Wales