Underwater video

Underwater video is not really something that I've tried as such, though I do enjoying watching some of the video clips that have been produced over the past year or so. Daniel van der Post has produced some excellent freshwater lure fishing video clips and Graham Smith has produced some really interesting saltwater footage covering several methods.

Here's his latest clip of a Thornback Ray taking a bait. Just superb!

First fishing trip on the Adventure Island

It’s been a while since I rigged the Adventure Island for fishing. Well to be honest it’s not quite finished, which is why I’ve not posted a rigging article on it yet. Almost there!

I’ve a 10 day road coming up later this month and I really want to take as much frozen mackerel as possible with me. The freezer is currently empty so I had only mackerel in mind when I launched at the weekend. Obviously the AI isn’t as convenient as the Outback when it comes to launching, plus I would be taking the trailer, hence planning requires a little extra consideration!.

I decided to launch into the mouth of Langstone Harbour from the Hayling Island side after a little advice from my friend Jamie. Parking was easy enough early in the morning, though it’d clearly be a real pain later in the day on these summer days. Launching towards high water could be achieved by dragging the AI over a bit of a hump and straight down to the water, though the wet sand was softer than I'd have liked!

Another consideration with the AI is of course wind. The forecast was for very light winds of 4-6mph, though this would potentially push me along at pedalling speed. That said, experience has shown that the wind in the Solent is often stronger than predicated.

I deployed the trampolines as I wanted to see how effective they’d be to fish from, otherwise it was my standard fishing setup, combo fish finder was fitted, with almost everything else contained within my dry box. I also planned to do a little trolling so I fitted a pair of Scotty rod holders on extenders ahead of me.

There wasn’t enough wind to sail to begin with so I pedalled out of the Harbour on the ebbing tide and out into the open sea. I trolled as I went, though there was no activity to report.

I’d arranged to meet up with Jamie and after a brief radio call I headed off to his general location a mile offshore. He was with a couple of other kayak anglers and they’d managed to bag a few mackerel, though not the hoards that I'd hoped for. I decided to head off to the Solent forts, into deeper water where I hope there’d be a few shoals moving about.

The Solent Forts were built as part of the British sea defences designed to protect the port of Portsmouth against seaborne attack. They are popular marks for mackerel as well as attracting bass. The plan was to circumnavigate the three forts, Spitbank, No Man’s Land and Horse Sand.

Fortunately the breeze picked up very early on, and despite being light I was pushing out directly towards Horse Sand fort at around 5.5mph, quite respectable considering the conditions!.

It was too fast for trolling, though I could have furled the sail to sloe things down. Instead I just chilled out whilst tweaking the rudder to maintain a steady course. Despite being 2.5 miles away I was there in 30 minutes, it certainly beats pedalling or paddling!

I circled Horse Sand fort a couple of times though I was unable to locate any definite shoals of mackerel, despite having sailed over a couple of small shoals on the way out. After 20 minutes of feathering I was getting a little frustrated so I decided to move further out to No Mans Land. I could see that there were a couple of boats already fishing the fort close in, so I was hopeful that there were mackerel in the vicinity.

It was only a mile or so to the next fort and the breeze had freshened a little more, so I was making over 6mph, not bad for such calm conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I eventually found the odd mackerel here and there. No shoals on the finder to speak of, just feathering in likely areas with the odd fish to show for it. It became clear all too quickly that I was unlikely to be catching the numbers that I’d hoped for.

Despite the lack of mackerel around No Mans Land Fort, the presence of two or three boats attracted more like flies. Within 15 minutes there were about a dozen boats drifting around in close proximity!. I saw one mackerel caught during this time, it was time to move on.

I headed in the direct of Spitbank Fort and as I passed over the far side of the main channel, the drop off was holding a few fish. The feathers went down and I was soon into a multitude of small mackerel. Big enough for bait, so they were kept for the freezer.

Spitbank Fort was equally as fishless as the others so I headed back towards Hayling Island after a short time. I managed a somewhat disappointing 21 mackerel for the session, I’d been wanting 50+. I’ve since heard that they were there in numbers a couple of days later, typical.

That said it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip on the water. It’s the first time that I’ve seen all three forts close up, the weather was good and I had a small bag of fish to show for my efforts. I hope to repeat the trip this weekend in the hope of completing the re-stock of the freezer.

The trampolines are a great addition to the AI, though as much as they happily support my 92kg weight, I didn’t find them ideal to fish from, I want a hard platform to sit out from the cockpit. I’ve always planned to build a set of bench seats (Hakas) for the kids to sit on as well as other plans that I have. That project is now top of my list as I can really picture myself sitting on and fishing from them. Watch this space.

Hobie Worlds 2014 – video releases

Check out these two excellent videos released from Hobie USA, covering the Hobie World Kayak Fishing Championships that took place in the Netherlands last year. I was fortunate enough to have participated whilst meeting many very friendly, like-minded anglers from around the world. If you want a break, sit back and watch them!

Cornwall – Going Cuckoo

Today saw the weather deteriorate considerably. The forecasters sadly got it right, 15-20ph winds, gusting to 25mph, far from ideal. I launched from Cadgwith and initially headed south. The sea was a little lumpy, perhaps a 3’ swell with a slight chop, perfectly doable. However, within a couple of hundred metres of passing the headland the sea lifted into 6-8’ swells. This in itself was doable, but the swells started to break so I decided to err on the side of caution and did an about turn!

I tried a multitude of marks over a couple of miles with only a few small Pollack to show for it, it was proving quite difficult. I decided on a complete change of location. My local contact had suggested a few marks further north, a good three miles from my current location. I hoisted sail and set a direct course. The wind was gusting quite hard so some concentration was required to avoid any potential of capsizing, though having the Sidekicks fitted minimises this risk dramatically.

In thirty minutes I’d sailed across the bay at an average speed of 5.5mph, not bad!. With the sail furled I started to fish and soon myself hooked up into some nice sized Pollack. Not monsters, but enough to put a bend in my rod and provide some good sport.

I hooked into one fish was didn’t put up much of a fight at all. It was all to clear as to why when it broke the surface. It was badly damaged by some discarded fish net which had embedded itself into the fish causing severe damage. It was quite a wonder that the fish was still alive, I’ve not seen anything like it before. It was in very poor condition and was quickly released.

 

I tried a few marks, discovering some interesting features on the fish finder whilst moving around. I was drifting over an area of clean ground, in between two marks, when the lure was hit hard. Or had it been?, it felt more like a snag when I pulled into it.. however, the snag was moving!. I lifted the fish 2-3m off bottom before it pulled line from the reel. It came up again before nodding hard and going back down. Seconds later it spat the hook!. I reckon it was a big cod, who knows.

At times the Pollack just pluck at the lure, other times they hit it rather half-heartedly. It can get rather frustrating when you miss one fish after another as can be seen in the short video clip below.

More frustration!

I picked up a couple of Ballan and Cuckoo wrasse, both are pretty fish, the Cuckoo’s colours are quite striking.

After much jigging I decided to take a break and started throwing some small lures into the foaming water close to the shoreline. I was hoping to find some Bass, but the Pollack thought otherwise. I was hooked up first cast before taking another two small Pollack within minutes. I’ve heard that the Bass are rather thin on the ground at the moment. I’ve managed a few school fish, hopefully I’ll manage something bigger over the next few days.

It’d been another great day afloat, sadly the bigger fish were making a mockery of my efforts to catch them. I’ve now hooked into three big fish and lost them all. However, I have faith, it’s only a matter of time before I get a run of good fortune. I’d still managed about a dozen nice sized Pollack to 6lb and some Wrasse. I didn’t take much video, though there’s a short clip below catching a little of the action.

I was still three miles from my launch site and I’d been afloat for eight hours. The wind was still in my favour so I unfurled the sail and headed back to Cadgwith.

I’d clocked up just over fourteen miles during the session, most of that under sail. I’m really enjoying the combination of sailing and fishing, it’s opening up a world of possibilities.

I’m planning a day off tomorrow, fishing everyday is rather tiring!. The combination of the fresh air, early starts, late finishes and a few ciders are slowly taking their toll. On Sunday it’s the annual fishing competition at Cadgwith, weather permitting I’ll be taking part.

Cornwall – Fish & sail

I’d fitted the sail to the Hobie Outback quite some time ago, and as much as I’ve sailed the kayak on several occasions, I’d yet to combine it with fishing. To use the sail whilst fishing was always a big attraction to me, so the time to test out this combination had arrived. The wind this day was a steady offshore breeze of 5-15mph. That was pretty much ideal as it would permit me to sail up or down the coast with maximum efficiency from the sail.

I’d chosen to launch again from Porthoustock as it’s not just a relatively easy launch site, but it also provides access to multiple fishing marks. The Manacles are located just to the south, with various marks off Porthkerris and Porthallow to the north.

Rigging the kayak to sail is a simple case of fitting the sail, clipping on the rigging and fitting the Sidekicks. This adds about five minutes to the rigging process, the question was would it be worthwhile or too much hassle whilst trying to fish?

I peddled out of Porthoustock and turned north to fish a mark towards Porthallow. I’d bumped into a friend who was diving in the area and he’d mentioned that this particular mark was holding some good sized Pollack. This is what we kayak fisherman need, send in the divers to recce some marks before we actually fish them!.

Once I was out of the bay I unfurled the sail and began sailing north. Once clear of the land the light breeze was a little stiffer than expected and I was sailing along at a steady 4.5-5.5mph.

Within fifteen minutes I was coming up on the mark so the sail was furled away. It literally take 10-15 seconds to stow the sail and the control lines. The breeze had continued to pick up so I made note of my drift before positioning myself for the first drift of the day. Again, I was jigging, using a 4oz jig head and an eel tail. Halfway through the first drift the lure was hit hard and I claimed my first Pollack of the session.

I was only getting 3-4 minutes drift time over what was a rather small mark, the fast drift wasn’t helping matters. That said, on the first four drifts I managed four nice sized Pollack, a fish a drift!. I continued to fish the mark until it eventually stopped producing hits, though it’d accounted for eight fish, all of a similar sort of size. I did hook into a good sized fish, though it was off within seconds, another frustrating moment. I really seem to be having difficulty in staying hooked up to the big fish. They’re either shaking the lure loose or I’m getting broken off. The latter it concerning me somewhat as the line has now broken twice on the mainline, not the weaker leader or the knots as you’d expect.

I didn’t even swear!

I sailed over to a couple more marks that looked as though they had some potential, though apart from a few plucks to the lure they weren’t producing any fish. There’s a Naval dive centre situated at Porthkerris and whilst sailing close by I was spotted by a friend and beckoned me over for a cup of tea… well, it’s be rude not to!. With the kayak tied off I enjoyed a hot brew and a stretch of my legs.

Once suitably refreshed I re-boarded the kayak and continued to sail south towards the Manacles. I enjoyed a couple of long drifts, though the action was rather slow. I did manage a couple of Pollack, though not the Bass that I’d been hoping for. Still, there’s no point in complaining when the scenery is stunning and the fish are biting!. It was rather choppy out there and it was important to keep a close eye for dangerous rocks throughout the drifts.

I decided to get out of the chop and move closer inshore, more for a spot of sightseeing to be honest. It really is a pretty area and I do enjoy nosing around the inlets and jagged rocks that are along this part of the coastline.

After a spot of feathering which only produced small Pollack, I decided to sail back up to Porthoustock and call it a day. I managed about a dozen nice sized Pollack whilst losing a couple of much bigger fish. I really want to bag myself a double figure Pollack, so I intend to persevere in the hope of achieving that goal.

So what my thought about combining sailing the Outback with fishing?. I’m totally sold on it, it really does transform the fishing experience. I clocked up just under ten miles during the session and 60-70% of that was under sail, maybe more. With a suitable wind I actually found myself not wanting to even peddle. Why bother when I can be under sail within ten seconds!. The Sidekicks and sail don’t get in the way at all, and it’s easy to control and re-direct your drift as required using the Mirage Drive.

The plan for tomorrow is to fish another venue in the hope of a large Bass or Pollack, surely it’s only a matter of time!

Windy and slow – but it’s all fishing!

I’d hoped to fish a local competition this weekend, though study commitments ruled that one out. The only opportunity to wet a line was Friday afternoon and the weather forecast was most favourable. Light north easterly winds between 8-10mph was going to mean an offshore breeze for the chosen location.

I collected some fresh ragworm from the local tackle shop, this complimented the squid and mackerel that came from my freezer. I was on scene and rigging up by about 1330, ready to launch thirty minutes later. Sunglasses were needed, perhaps we may have a summer after all!. I’d met up with my fishing buddy and I was soon peddling out to locate him on the water. Once a little offshore it was soon apparent that the wind was stronger than forecast, blowing a steady 15-20mph most of the time. It was still offshore so the resulting chop on the water was fairly minimal.

There was a yacht race taking place further offshore, we were well clear of the traffic, though it did provide something to look at for a time.

The rods had been rigged ashore, both with 4’ running ledgers sporting a single 3/0 Kamasan Uptide hook. I mixed the baits up throughout the session, using ragworm tipped with squid/mackerel, squid wrapped with mackerel and squid tipped with mackerel.

It’s fair the say that the fishing was particularly slow, I don’t think that either of us registered a bite for the first hour or so. Slack water occurs at this mark at around two hours before high water and I wasn’t expecting any action until the tide started to pick up. I’d also taken a small spinning rod rigged up with Sabiki’s. A week or two earlier at this location I’d seen a lot of shoaling fish moving through so I was hopeful that I may pick up an early mackerel or some herring.

I’d collected my repaired Shimano 6-8lb Beastmaster rods from my local tackle shop earlier in the day, I really do enjoy using these rods for light fishing. I’d had a total of 5 cracked rings replaced, a result of dropping both rods in a four week period, ouch!.

I finally tempted something to the bait and found myself playing my first fish of the session. It was clearly a ray and put up a good fight, though this may be also had something to do with the line being wrapped around its tail. It’s always pleasing when the first fish comes aboard, time to relax and not worry about going home with a blank score sheet.

It was no monster, measuring in just under 55cm which put it around 7-8lb. However, it was over the qualifying size for the Kayak Wars competition so that was a few points in the bag for my team, great stuff.

Trying to get a ray to lie flat on the measuring board requires a little patience at times!. With the photo evidence achieved the first was safely released. They are edible, though they’re a lot of work to prepare and not the best eating in the sea.

After a very brief lull in the wind, it picked up again, somewhat stronger than before. I rarely use the hood on the PS220 drysuit, though it does prove extremely useful at times. It’s not that pleasant being sat at anchor in blustery weather, though with the hood up all becomes quiet and calm, the transformation is quite amazing.

Despite the windy conditions it was still good being out there fishing. I tried with the Sabikis on several occasions with no success. There were signs of shoaling fish moving through close to the seabed at times, sometimes more mid-water, though I came to the conclusion that they were probably baitfish, well that’s my excuse anyway.

About 30 minutes after the first ray I found myself hooked up once more. It was clearly another ray and provided a brief spell of fun. It was a little smaller at 47cm, disappointingly under the qualifying size for the Kayak Wars competition.

Below is a short video from the day. It’s great so see the action of a light rod providing some serious fun.

A blustery day afloat

An evening in the Solent

The forecast for the weekend had been looking favourable since midweek. My daughter was keen to go fishing again so I organised our gear on Friday and she even went and purchased her own bait on Saturday morning. A couple of hours before we were due to depart it transpired that she was having a friend stopover that night. The tide was an evening tide and once it became clear that we wouldn’t be back until at least 8pm she had a decision to make!. It was clearly a tough one, though fishing lost… perhaps that’s the real difference between boys and girls?

The original plan had been to fish at Eastney in the hope of some late Plaice, though an opportunity to fish the evening at Hillhead also made itself available,… decisions, decisions. The wind had picked up to 15mph, not the 4-6mph as forecast so I decided to fish a little later in the hope that the wind would have eased off, so Hillhead it was to be.

It was surprisingly warm so I decided that a layer of thermals, thin under suit and dry suit would be fine. I was rigged up and ready to launch before 1730, though there was no sign of my fishing partner. A quick phone call showed him to be running late, needless to say I decided to launch and get fishing!.

So much for the wind easing, it was blowing a steady 15mph, white horses right across the Solent, conditions weren’t exactly ideal. Once I was a couple of hundred metres offshore it became particularly choppy with every wave breaking over the hatch, giving me a face full of salt spray all too often. I was still hopeful that conditions would ease so I headed out just under half a mile and dropped anchor. Once anchored and lying with the tide there were a lot of waves coming over the back of the kayak, a little concerning as they were also going over the 8” hatch that’s located at the rear. If nothing else it was going to be a good test of the watertight integrity of the hull!. If the hatch seal wasn’t up to the job I always had my bilge pump!

I fished one rod with a running ledger, baited up with a strip of mackerel, the other rod with a Plaice rig and ragworm. This is basically a two hook wishbone with lots of beads as shown below (this is an old photo from 4 years ago)

I didn’t have to wait too long before the mackerel bait attracted some interest. Despite the lumpy sea, a couple of hard nods on the rod tip showed an unmistakeable bite. I tightened up into what felt like a decent fish. I was surprised when a Thornback Ray of 5-6lb came alongside, it felt somewhat larger than that. It was then I remembered that I was fishing with a 6-8lb rod as opposed to my usual 10-15lb outfit that’s required for fishing the strong tidal waters of the Bristol Channel.

All was quiet for about thirty minutes until the mackerel bait proved just too tempting. After a spirited tussle another Thornback of a similar size came to the kayak.

As I released the fish my fishing buddy appeared and anchored up close by. The weather conditions had improved quite dramatically by this time, the wind having eased off considerably whilst the white horses had disappeared making fishing rather more comfortable.

After another half hour or so the mackerel bait claimed another fish, no real surprise when another Thornback came onto the kayak to be unhooked, photographed and returned. The fish was a similar size to the first two, though still good fun on the lighter tackle.

With the sun below the horizon and the wind beginning to freshen once more, the temperatures began to plummet. I’d dressed quite lightly, a decision that I was definitely beginning to regret. I was warm below the waist, though my upper body and hands were cooling rather rapidly and the enjoyment of being out there fishing was starting to evaporate.

The ragworm finally tempted some interest and after a few aggressive bites a very small bass landed on my lap. Small it was, but it was also perfectly formed.. always nice to look at.

I lasted another twenty minutes after this last fish before hauling anchor and heading back in. I cant really complain, the water is cold and the fishing is particularly slow for this time of year. I’d only been fishing for just over three hours, so catching four fish wasn’t too bad a result. Once back in the car the temperature was registering six degrees Celsius, it certainly explained why I’d been feeling the cold out there.

Below is my favourite photo from the day, another great sunset afloat.

Here’s a video clip from the evening. I only took the one video camera so there’s only a front angle. I also forgot to swap it to a wider angle so it’s a bit close, top of my head missing, etc!.. some would say that’s a good thing!. Anyway, it’s all fishing so it can only be good.

Catching a few Thornback Rays in the Solent

More sailing trials

I really needed to get to grips with using the sail if it’s to become a serious fishing tool over the summer months. The forecast looked good yesterday with winds of 10-15mph predicted. I packed what was needed (not a lot compared to a fishing trip!) and drove the short distance to the beach. I couldn’t believe it when I arrived, it was flat calm with barely a breathe of wind. I drove straight home, somewhat disappointed, hoping that the wind would pick up as the day progressed.

I drove down again late in the afternoon and things we ‘marginally’ better. To be honest it was still very flat, though the low clouds were moving along at a good pace which gave me a little hope. I decided an hour on the water was better than doing nothing, so I rigged up and headed down to the waterline.

The outriggers were fitted as I was hopeful that the wind would pick up, plus when I do go fishing with the sail for a day long or overnight trip, I’d be fitting them for sure. Once on the water I made sail and was immediately pushing along at a steady 3mph, surprising considering the apparent lack of wind. I messed around for a while, sailing with, against and across the wind.

The wind began to increase, that bought higher speeds and the fun factor increased no end!. I found myself sailing along at a steady 4-5mph, occasionally pushing a little faster. Even against the wind, close hauled, I was maintaining 2-3mph, better than I’d expected.

I sailed well over 6 miles in 2.5 hours, some of that time was spent on the drift messing around with my new Lowrance 4x DSI fish finder, getting to grips with that. I had a play furling and unfurling the sail in the higher wind, again, just to get a feel how it felt in different conditions. It proved quick and easy regardless, turning the kayak into the stronger wind minimised any potential of things going wrong.

I did notice towards the end of the trip that the insert on one of the Sidekicks was showing signs of coming loose. It’s apparently quite a common fault and is apparently easily remedied with some better glue, or a self tapping screw to keep it locked in place. I’ll have a look today and decide how best to address the issue. It’s minor stuff, keeps me busy!

Right at the end of the trip, as I approached the slipway, I was keeping a close eye on the depth to avoid grounding out the Mirage Drive fins. I was still in a comfortable one metre of water, when about 50m from the beach when I suddenly grounded out!. The depth has dropped to 20cm and the drive was hung up. I managed to free it and pull it out, not cursing… not much anyway. It turns out that the slips runs flat for a good 60-70m underwater, something I then recalled from a trip there 3 years ago. Oh well, a slightly frustrating moment right at the end of the trip, nothing is ever perfect!

Below is a short video, a little slow to begin with due to the light winds, though as the wind picked up so did the fun.