Smoothounds of a kayak

Mid May saw the arrival of the Smoothounds, though not large they provided some good sport on light tackle. It's at this time of year that the Solent begins to come into its own, for the next 2-3 months the fishing, in my opinion, is some of the best the UK has to offer.

Tackle for me is simple, a 6lb class Shimano boat road mate with a ABU 6500 loaded with 30lb braid. I think people tend to fish far too heavy which reduces the enjoyment factor tremendously. It may mean losing the odd fish, though it's worth the occasional loss for the extra enjoyment that it provides.

The mackerel also began to make an appearance, if only I'd known they were to prove much scarcer later in the year I'd have taken the opportunity to stock up early... a costly mistake I wont repeat next year!

Please feel free to comment.

Review - Yakmate 3

Well I've been looking around for something better than my Imax bag for tankwell storage. The metalwork rusted at light speed and I found organising the box a disaster - and I do like to be organised!. I considered a cool box, but knew I'd just be trying to bolt pockets to the sides, etc, in order to improve storage and ultimately organisation.After spending too long surfing and researching I decided to by the yakmate 3 manufactured by Precision Pak.

These come in 3 colours and 2 length options. I went for the 'long' version at 16.5"x11.5"x14", I believe the shorter version is 13" long. The main difference being an extra tackle box for the long version, and a 2 flap lid setup apposed to a single flap lid for the shorter version (velcro fastening).The 4 sides have stiffeners that are inserted within the lining and velcro'd shut. The material is a denier nylon weave, thick and durable.

There are a multitude of pockets (velcro fastening) and D-Rings, 2 rod tubes with an option of fitting a third plus adjustable straps at the rear for attaching a stern light.The main storage area and all pockets have stainless steel drainage holes to aid fast drainage.Internally there are 2 large sectioned tackle boxes with velcro'd removable partitions plus a 'black ice' cool bag. This also has a front pocket in which are fitted several clear rig sleeves.

The two top flaps can be opened individually to allow access as required, they can also be opened as 'one'. The flaps have clear pockets on the top for housing fishing licences, maps, etc. On the inner side of the flaps are mesh nets for line storage, etc which velcro shut.

It is fitted with simple carry straps with a detachable shoulder strap if required. Fitting to the yak is simplicity in itself with 4 small stainless steel carbine hooks and 8mm bungee - attached to the existing yak bungee clips. Removal and attachment takes seconds.

The photo below shows the gear carried in the Yakmate for a 7 day expedition of mixed fishing.

So initial impressions are excellent with the workmanship being top notch. All of this comes at a price though.. shipped from the States with duty & VAT charges will set you back £90 (A fellow yak angler purchased one at the same time, saved a few quid with combined shipping). Though after saying that it should last a heck of a long time, my storage problems are sorted..... Oh, and it's orange, matching my yak.

Follow on comment:
As a follow up to this article, the earlier versions of the yakmate had stainless drain holes, however if you're unlucky as I was, you might get a non-stainless version!. Needless to say it corroded badly, though lots of complaining resulted in a replacement bag. I received an updated version with plastic drain holes, something I'd strongly suggest going for.

Follow on comment:
I've used the Yakmate for over two years now and it's giving me pretty good service. The one thing that I do not like about the bag is that the base gets wet, internally and externally when out fishing. It’ll also let in rain as the front and rear sides tend to bow with use. No great deal, though it means emptying the bag at the end of each trip, washing it, drying it, followed by replacing all your gear ready for the next trip. It can be tedious at times. I really wanted a dry box that would enable me to just rinse it off at the end of a trip and that'd be it. I also wanted a live well, so I decided to combine both requirements in one box. See the link below for more details.

Dry Box and Livewell Project

The Yakmate has effectively taken a back seat now, and in all honestly it's unlikely to see service again. This isn’t to say that it’s not a good piece of kit, it is. However, I feel that what I’ve now produced is a far better product, and it more suited to my long term needs. It also represents better value for money.

Please feel free to comment.