Well Its now spring 2009 and and lots of things have changed over the winter, I have already had a Plaice trip out to the Skerries with Paul and the weather is really perking up now, but before I get bogging 2009 style I better finish 2008 first. Things got really busy at work at the end of the year and did not get around to my last report so here we go.

Before light Paul and I made our way to hopes nose to try our luck for Bass, we needed bait so jigged for baby pollock & Pouting, we managed enough for a couple of casts each

Second cast I hooked up with a beauty of 7lb 6 oz  a personal best,Thanks to Paul for netting what an end to 2008

I don’t get many opportunities to fish on a Sundays but one came up this week to fish our local club comp The Ansells.

I made my way out to Brixham breakwater to meet up with Paul Mark & Marks friend Paul around about sunrise.

It was a very misty morning that made fishing difficult due to visibility, we were float fishing light tackle with live Prawn hoping for a nice early morning Bass, It did not take Paul long to hook up with our first of the day, mark and myself followed closely behind, not big fish around the 2lb mark.

As the tide started to move out so did the fish with no more Bass that morning, Paul and co had packed up and ready to Call it a day, I said to Paul just want a couple of casts and I would join them.

It was a good choice, my float shot under and I connected with a big fish that took me into a reef this was no Bass I knew that the fish I had on was A big Wrasse.

I could see the fish tangled around kelp I really thought I was going to lose this battle due to the light tackle, I had to take a chance and give the fish some line hoping that it would not take me in deeper, It worked the fish made a move and it came free from the kelp, Mark went down to net it for me (thanks Mark) what a beauty it went 6-7-0 and took second place in our local club comp. Click here & here

You don’t mind second place when a fish like this wins what a

fantastic Bass 14-8, well done Fred

Time off work will always equal a fishing trip.

Set off for Start Bay at 5 am to give me plenty of time to see the sunrise at my mark, and what a fantastic one it was the best of 08 so far.

I had a really good days fishing with five Bass in total up to 3 lb really good sport all Bass were returned to fight another day.

Due to work commitments fishing has been a little sparse lately so when the opportunity came up this morning it was taken with no hesitation

With the wind in the west Brixham Breakwater was the Ideal place to fish 

I collected Live prawn the night before and set off at 6 am, a little early really but that was my eagarness to get fishing, started fishing about 7 am high tide was 7:33 and a nice big 4.8 meter rise. Three drifts later I was into my first Bass for a while, only a small fish but just felt good.

About an hour went by before my float shot under with some vigor my line tightened up and I lent into a good size fish, a 3 lb plus Bass was landed five minutes later. I had one smaller Bass  but I ran out of bait so packed up about 10 am, very happy with this mornings fishing : ) roll on next trip.

Last Thursday Mark enterd a local comp on the Brixham Breakwater AND WON IT well done Mark, Here is the report.

Thursday 24th July – RNLI LIfeboat Competition – Brixham Breakwater – Wednesday 23rd July 2008 – Results

Just back from this open comp held on the Breakwater this evening with funds raised to go to the Lifeboat.

 

Conditions were warm and pleasant but a  stiff south easterly wind made things less than easy.  Before the competition the Red Devils parachuted in to a landing spot at the edge of the Inner harbour watched by large crowds.

 

We had a good entry with lots of anglers from local clubs represented.  There were 21 juniors and 55 seniors fishing and in total £206-50 was raised for this good cause.

 

Fish were quite scarce for most but lots of anglers took one or two fish.  We were fishing to NFSA rules and percentages with only one prize to be allocated to each competitor.  There was an outstanding prize table co-ordinated by Graham Dryer from Brixham Bait and Tackle with the main tackle manufacturers all generously sponsoring this good cause including many reels and rods.

 

The winning fish was a quite exceptional Ballan Wrasse of 5lb 1oz 14drms 102.3% of specimen.  This was taken by Mark Chinnock who took the senior prize and he immediately returned the fish alive after it was weighed. Caught on live prawn ( float )

Prize taken Abu 550 C3 .

 

Best junior was Harvey Bevan Jones with a Mackerel of 0-15-6.

 

Adam Slack came second best in the adult section on percentages with a Mackerel of 1-9-6.

 

As well as Mackerel, Garfish, Scad and Ballan wWasse all featured in the prize list, including a Cuckoo Wrasse.  The Wrasse were all returned alive to grow bigger!

 

Altogether 28 prizes were given to the anglers present, these being presented by Mark Criddle, Coxswain of the RNLI Torbay Lifeboat, who is also a member of Brixham SAC.

Thank you for your publicity for this event, which I am sure helped to ensure a good turn out.

 

 

Just off the back of seven days of hard graft at work I needed to get out fishing, conditions could not of been better. What a fantastic day,of course the icing on the cake would be Bass !!!

The alarm went off at 4am a bit early but so keen to get out and see the sunrise and catch fish, got to Pauls just after 4:30 to find him ready to go.

We headed to a local mark that had produced very well last year in the hope that all the fish we had released  would be back for us this year ( mmm probably in a commercial net more like )

We arrived just after 5 with a bucket full of medium sized prawns not up to the massive ones we fished with late into october last year but big enough to catch.

BASS ! it did not take long to entice the first of eight fish we had this morning, felt so good to be fishing again, about an hour later Paul hooked into a small fish but not long after he felt the knock of a 3 pounder in prime condition this was turning into a good session.

It ended up 4 fish each that ranged from 2 to 3lb fish, fantastic sport we wanted to return all the fish but due to one fish hooking through the gills and one fish getting hooked deep from past experience we decided to keep them, there is nothing worse than returning a fish to the sea to find it has not survived, but six fish returned to fight another day.

After a disaster at the weekend ( British Kayak Comp ) we needed a pick me up and we got one with a fantastic days fishing in  Start Bay just off Hallsands & Beesands.

Paul arrived at mine nice and early loaded up the yaks and set off about 5:30. On the way we stopped off at Slapton to check out the sea state, after the weekends wind it looked like a millpond. We arrived at North Hallsands in good time and started to set up the yaks, It felt so good to actually get on the water, seemed like months since our last trip out.

The morning forecast was good but the wind was predicted to build up to 25 + mph at 1pm so the plan was to paddle out to one of the banks and drift for Plaice then take a break at 1 when the wind came along ( you don’t want to get caught out on the Skerries in wind & tide, very unwise )

We caught the usual suspects Mac and Lsd’s but got a nice little Plaice, what a bonus!

The wind did build but no where near the predicted 20’s, so we had a coffee and snack and set off  to see what other specie we could find.

We ended up with 5 that were… coley, Plaice, Mac, LSD’s, & a personal best Gar of 1-10, we had a fantastic day and want to plan a return trip soon. I know of a couches bream mark nearby never had one of them little blighters : ) 

 

Video Footage

 

 

 

WWC Announce the First British Open Kayak Fishing Championship. To be held on 21/22 June from South Beach, Tenby, South Pembrokeshire.

 

Download Entry form / rules available in PDF form

PDF Entry form

Paul, Mark, & myself attended the Exmouth meet over last weekend organised by Anglers Afloat & John and Helen. Kayakdiver organised the fishing comp on Sunday. What a fantastic weekend with a superb turn out. It was really nice to see so many friendly Kayak Anglers.

The weekend went like this.

Saturday: trade stalls by Ocean Kayak range along with Hobie’s Mirage Drive Kayaks and Wilderness Systems, Demo fleet were available for trial. Awareness for both the RNLI and kayak fishermen, with rescue demos throughout the day. Raffle tickets were on sale during the event with all proceeds going to the RNLI, amongst the prizes, is a top prize of an Ocean Kayak Caper sit-on-top, complete with PFD and paddle. Beer & B-B-Q at the camp site P.M.

Sunday: Early start for the Kayak Fishing Comp that was well organised by Kayakdiver, unfortunately the weather hamperd the fishing so due to safety reasons the fishing comp was called off. Prize giving back at the camp site.

We want to thank all that were involved in the organising of this event it was a total sucsess and hope that this wil take place again in 2009.

Rob, Mark & Paul

 

 

 

A few of us got together for a Kayak Fish over the Bank Holiday Sunday ,  we intended to fish the Torquay area but due to wind conditions we changed to Brixham at the last moment to tuck in out of it.

Mark, Paul Dave & Myself met up at the Breakwater car park followed a little later by Graham and his brother Alan who travelled down from Western Super-mare.

We launched from Breakwater beach Fished for 4 hours with only Mark landing a couple of reasonable wrasse, I came close with a good sized Bass that followed my lure in but turned at the last moment, very frustrating when that happens, Graham Dave, Mark & Alan fished on with some luck but again just bits & bobs, we all had a good day and a good laugh (sorry Mark but I could not help but laugh I am sure you will get me back one day)

Mark had a disaster launch, he miss judged the waves and before you know it he had a dunk (when we said it was a rollover weekend we did not mean it like that  : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in 2007 I signed a petition to up the Bass MLS (minimum landing size) to 45cm This would allow every fish to spawn at least once and allow us to move to a more sustainable Bass stock. We also urge the government to lobby the EU to introduce the MLS in all member states.”

Here is the response (not good enough)

The Government announced on 25 October that the minimum landing size (MLS) for bass would remain at 36cm. In reaching this decision, the Government considered all the available science and evidence and listened carefully to representations from sea anglers and commercial fishermen.

Bass is a particularly important stock for the inshore fishing fleet, which would have borne the brunt of the cost of increasing the MLS. The Government cannot justify introducing a measure which would have such an impact on those fishermen given the current pressures they face and the healthy state of the stock at present.

However, a package of new measures has been announced that will provide benefits for stocks of bass and more widely for anglers. This includes plans for a review of Bass Nursery Areas (designated for the protection of juvenile bass) and inshore netting restrictions.

Late on Saturday my text message sounded out, It was Paul wanting to fish from shore for a couple of hours In the morning, I gladly accepted his offer and popped out to the garage to sort out my gear.

His Idea was to try a local beach In Brixham, the same Beach that produced bass early last year.

Paul had some frozen peeler crab, rag & Lug worm to use up so we set about tackling up and in no time we were fishing, It was very slow I Had one bite that i missed but Paul managed a school Bass, It’s always nice to see the fist one of the season turn up. Yes The silver bar was back.

We had a quick coffee and made our way home, for me it was back to the decorating but they do say there is no pleasure without Pain : ) I don’t know what Paul got up to ? He did say he was cutting the grass but I bet he didn’t : )

Paul’s small Bass was returned

Had to work this morning it was supposed to be a day off, but the needs of the business and all that rubbish, this affected my Kayak fishing plans. I wanted to fish the Slapton sands area for Couches Bream but did not have enough time to get that far over so decided for the easy option Torquay, by the time I got set up and on the water it was about 11 am. Fished and Paddled for two hours (see picture of paddle route) I used Peeler crab for bait with a normal running ledger rig hoping to pick up a Pollock or wrasse but no such luck, not a sniff not even a bite!

But the weather was very nice which made for a pleasant Paddle.

Not many fish but a good day had by all ; )

Very early start !!! Mark and Chinny Were knocking on my door at 4:45,
we loaded the 3 yaks on to marks galaxy and set off to meet jonsok.

Made our way to North sands in Salcombe Just across the Estuary from
East Portlemouth, arrived about 5:30, it seemed an age before we had unpacked
the gear and ready for the water, it might of had something to do with Chinny cooking
sausage and bacon butties for breakfast ; ) Also the immaculate bate preparation
and distribution by mark !!! What a star, and don’t stop eating Chinese food mark the
containers were spot on.

The North sands car park cost for the day was £4 so not too bad, I think it was about

6:30 by the time we were heading down the ramp to the beach, by this time the wind had

built up to a steady southerly (the forecast was s/w) ? right in our face for a tricky launch.

We had no issues on launch apart from a full cockpit of water. We then headed towards

the sand bars close to the mouth, the Idea was to paddle out and let the wind blow us

across the fishing ground, we managed to do this for a while and jonsok hooked a small

pollack, and mark a whiting.
The swell got a little big so we headed into the estuary where things were a little better

for a while.
Jonsok tried his luck deeper into the Estuary and we stopped for a cuppa and a chat

about tactics, we decided to give the area close to the beach a try as Chinny hooked

up with a whiting on the way in, this is where the fun and games started.

We spread out to give ourselves enough room to fish and conditions seemed to be a

little better so we decided to anchor up, this turned out to be the wrong thing to do for

me ! I did not have enough line out on my anchor and the swell picked up again before

I could react, I had capsized.
I up righted my kayak on the second attempt and mounted it on the first, everything

went well apart from the loss of one VHF Radio but that will be replaced.

We headed back to the beach to sort my yak and put some dry clothes on, after a nice warm cuppa I was ready
to fish again,  we headed back out to meet up with Jonsok on the south sands beach to

find out how he got on. Jonsok decided to land on South sands due to the heavy waves crashing on North sands, it was much calmer over that side so we decided to fish that

area,  Jonsok1 called it a day, ( loved your new yak BTW Jon, see pic )the fishing was

very slow I hooked up with a coley and mark had a reasonable wrasse.we fished on until about 4:30 then headed back to Northsands ( Thought about landing at South Sands but Chinny talked us out of it, but I have got a feeling he wished he did not : )

The waves looked fine from a distance but as we approached them we realised caution was needed. I went first and
mark followed with no issues, chinny next !!!! whoops a wave turned him sideways and over he went we rushed to his
aid but he was fine ( let the laughter begin) he had one of the self inflating life jackets on and it worked fine (see pic )
he lost an anchor and a pair of sunglasses so not too bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could not get out on the yak this morning, the misses needed the car with the roof rack, and my handy rack is broken.So sat there last night pondering what to do and where to

go, weather report was good so decided to go…. yes you guest it “Basing” but from shore! yes back to rock hopping for the day.

Got there for sunrise and it was well worth it another beauty, I have been so lucky

with the weather on Tuesdays its got to be bad next week.

Anyway got down to fishing at about 7 ish, bit slow at first but luckily enough I hooked up with a fish that felt pretty good with deep slow knocks to indicate a good size,

played it for about five minutes but she spat the hook! GRRRR, thought to myself have I become a rusty shore Angler.

Put it out of my mind, well tried to but every now and again it crept back into my line of thought and felt like kicking myself for loosing a good fish.

still very slow fishing until one hour before high water, then all hell broke loose, I had a manic two hours fishing
with bites every cast I could not believe it.

Ended up with 7 Bass best aprox 4.5lb but they all were around the 3lb mark brilliant day roll on next Tuesday.

All seven fish returned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s that time of year, unhook the Kayak from the garage wall and get it wet.

last weekend myself Paul & Mark Joined an organised Camp/paddle at prawle point South Devon, It was part of mark Rainsleys Book Launch , we set up camp Saturday afternoon in very windy conditions, and headed to the pigs nose pub for a pint and a slide show about marks book, this went down very well and inspired us all for our paddle in the morning.

Unfortunately the wind was still a little strong for a safe paddle on the open sea so Mark decided to have a sheltered paddle on the River Dart.

We set off from the Totnes Rowing Club Slipway The tide was in our favour and made good time to our first rest stop at dittisham a quick drink and stretch of legs and we were heading towards the mouth of the dart

Myself Paul and mark then left the group to land at kingswear to collect the car, started to pack up and load the car only to realise I had left my keys in our other vehicle in Totnes !!! Good job I have an understanding wife who brought the spare set out to us, Thanks Elaine. The distance was about 10 miles and lasted about 3 hours, we had a really good time and met some really nice people on this paddle.

GPS Paddle data

 

 

More pictures to follow