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!

Cornwall – Hitting the Pollack

Yesterday had been a rather long and somewhat tiring day, I didn’t get up until 10am today. The plan was to fish late afternoon into evening with Sam & Ian, so I burned a few hours sorting out some gear in anticipation of the session.

We rigged up and launched from the small fishing hamlet of Cadgwith, as for the intended fishing grounds, well I was being guided by Sam so I’ll keep that information to myself. Pollack were the target species so that was going to mean fishing rough ground, perhaps some deep water marks. The method was to be jigging and due to the potential depths allied with the tide and wind, 4oz or more would be required to be able to fish effectively. I was fishing with a Daiwa 3000 sized reel spooled with Daiwa’s own 30lb Tournament PE braid. This was terminated with a length of 25lb fluorocarbon line. The rod was my new Savage Gear vertical jigging rod that’ll handle jigs just over 5oz (150g). The jig head was fitted with a large white shad, though I carried a selection of soft lures that could be called upon as required.

Once rigged up the three of us peddled out, yup, we were all on Hobie kayaks. Myself and Sam on an Outback, with Ian on a Revolution 13. Sam isn’t making a call in the photo below, he’s navigating with the Navionics charts on his phone!

After a reasonable peddle we’d reached the first mark and proceeded to drift over it several times. It was fairly quiet, with just a few plucks to the lures. After a few knocks I found myself hooked up and a minute later I pulled a colourful Ballan Wrasse onto the kayak. Despite the size of the lure, it had no issues whatsoever in hitting it hard!

The mark didn’t produce much action so we moved off to another mark close by. Having a GPS with charts really does make a huge difference when trying to put yourself over potential fish holding marks. I could happily do without the fish finder, though I’d hate to be without the GPS, especially when fishing such varied ground.

As I peddled past Ian he hooked up into a fish. It turned out to be a nice sized Pollack and it clearly gave a good account of itself.

I had to chuckle when I saw Ian’s huge Alvey side cast reel, I’ve not seen one of those since I was a kid. They used to be all the rage with the shore fisherman in the 60’s & 70’s. That said, Ian was quick to point out that it’s ideal for this sort of terrain due to it’s high rate of retrieve… makes sense!.

I’d noticed that Sam was heading north so I left Ian to fish the mark whilst made chase after the yellow Outback in the distance. I caught him up whilst he was drifting and I was quick to get my lure down and join the drift. Fish finders, I never use them for finding fish, purely for checking out the depth and the structure. However, I could clearly see large fishing not only close to the rough ground, but also hanging 3-5 metres from the bottom. It was great to see and it resulted in some hard takes and ultimately in some hook-ups!. Sam does seem to be a fish magnet and he was soon into a good sized fish. After several hard dives a  large Pollack of around 10lb was dragged onto his kayak, cracking fish!

I also hooked up and it gave a good account of itself. A nice sized Pollack was the culprit and after a couple of photos it was released to fight another day.

 

We continued to drift over this mark as it was clearly holding many good fish. I missed a few hits which is exciting and frustrating at the same time. I found myself hooked into a big Pollack and it dived hard for the sea floor. On the second dive I decided to add a little extra pressure to the spool with a finger and the line broke. I was totally gutted and to be honest I’d acted on instinct. When I’ve previously fished for Pollack, it’s been over large kelp beds and if the fish gets in there it’s usually lost. Sam was to later point out that often when they reach the bottom here they just swim about until you pull them back up. A painful lesson was learned that’s for sure!

Whilst I was feeling sorry for myself Sam hooked up again. It was clearly another good fish and after a few minutes he pulled another big Pollack aboard. It’s not everyday that the kayak fisherman next to you lands two 10lb Pollack in a short space of time!. I missed a couple more fish then the fish just seemed to go off the feed. The light was beginning to fade and after a couple of fruitless drifts we decided to call it a night. The wind had dropped off and it’d turned into a perfect evening.

It’d been an exciting session. Ian had departed earlier in the evening, we learned later that his perseverance over a particular mark had produce a large Pollack of around 12lb. It’d been an exciting session as well as being a steep learning curve. I’d lost a few jig heads and associated lures as well as being broken off by a good fish due to being a little impatient and inexperienced with regards to the techniques and ground we were fishing over. Sam had two large Pollack in his tankwell, a cracking result.

A couple of pints of cold cider served up from the pub that’s only yards from the launch site provided a perfect end to a memorable session afloat. The forecast for tomorrow is ok, though rather breezy, with wind forecast at around 15mph, gusting to 20mph. I’ll be looking for a little shelter as well as some more fish… watch this space!