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Keep out of the Water.


Zzippy

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Nice to see the mackerel back in. That is the start of the season then...!

 

Bream too. I don't think ours arrive for another few weeks - end May before we see many off est Wales.

 

Nice morning out Richi by the look of your launching photo. You lot don't know how lucky you are living within reach of the sea. Some of us have to plan extensively in advance to make the expedition to the briney.

We do know how lucky we are mate I'm only 40 minutes away from the reef! :sun: I love it here :thumbs:

Team Ocean Kayaks U.K.

 

Kayaks: Necky vector,Flame SPTW

previous Kayaks:Yellow Ocean Kayaks Caper,Flame Prowler 13,Sunrise Ocean Kayaks Prowler 15 Trident, Perception Dancer XT

 

assisted rescues---5

longest paddle:65 miles

top speed under sail 11.1mph

 

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:P Any consolation Id have to plan for Denmark, South Africa, Venice. You sure have it tough Simon. :lol:

 

How was the SKate by the way.

 

How could you forget Sardinia Darnsarf?This Skate trip has got me wondering too :secret::thumbdown: or was it :1a::marinheiro:

Team Ocean Kayaks U.K.

 

Kayaks: Necky vector,Flame SPTW

previous Kayaks:Yellow Ocean Kayaks Caper,Flame Prowler 13,Sunrise Ocean Kayaks Prowler 15 Trident, Perception Dancer XT

 

assisted rescues---5

longest paddle:65 miles

top speed under sail 11.1mph

 

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Sad to say the former Richi! We got out on the first day and sat there for most of it - but in over 400 feet of water (that is 70 odd fathoms by the way - or 142 metres for those of a Gallic persuasion) with a couple of knots of tide running I had trouble holding bottom with my 3 mackerel fillets on the hook. 12 ozs just kited straight up.

 

Specimen fared better with his heavier and lovely new 30lb Longboat - he had 2lbs of lead on and managed to keep his bait hard on the bottom - but after 3 or 4 hours had not even had a doggie bite - bait came up clean and untouched?

 

So when the wind got up to make it unpleasant sitting in the chop with waves breaking over the kayak every so ofetn and the rain coming horizontal Specimen and I would up and then tried to weigh anchor.....mine was fast. I paddled upwind as far as I could until it pulled me up, dead. I tried lifting on the drift back using the buoyancy of the kayak to break it out - it didn't, and I nearly turned myself over in the swells hanging on for dear life to the anchor - there was some strain on it. So I paddled upwind again, this time on an angle to it and I felt the trip work so kept paddling for another 50m or so to lift the anchor off the botttom - then started to wind up. The frame started to buckle under the strain! So I hand balled it up, hand over hand and just payed the recovered line over the side, then with the anchor in my lap I wound in the loose bight without any strain on it. Phwew - it was bloody hard work i can tell you and my shoulders ached all day from that - lifting the anchor at arms length out over the side of the kayak.

Specimen got his out of the bottom first go, but again he took nearly 20 minutes to lift the anchor up - we drifted about 3/4 mile in the time with wind over tide. Then we paddled back to Spanner to see how he was getting on - he was staying put! We went in to get some more to eat and dry off. The tide was ripping through the harbour entrance and I got caught in the main flow, Specimen saw me in the stream and stayed right in close to the rocks and slipped past it - I went in out of it and did the same. Spanner said there was no way he would get the prowler in against the tide so sat out at anchor for another couple of hours - his bait was found by a few doggies and a nice little thornback of about 3lbs - bloody long way to haul a thornback or a doggie! He was using braid and 18 ozs of lead too.

 

Later we tried the loch itself because the wind had increased further and the shipping forecast was not good for the next couple of days - severe gale 9!

We caught a few bits of nonsense in the loch but that was it. The rain stopped and it came out fine in the evening. I wanted to try for a pollock off the rocks but we were saving ourselves for the next day - it was howling a full gale and throwing rain like someone with a hose playing on us the next morning - we went to seek a spot to fish in the lee of a mountain, but everywhere was being blown to kingdom come - saw a pair of black throated divers though and watched them for 1/2 hour - only about 80 pairs in the country you know, so a rare sighting.

 

That was the end of my kayaking - I packed up and came home to get some work done because the following day was to be the same - and so it proved. The lads didn't get back out on the skate mark, but they did drive up to Sunart and try - got more doggies and whiting. Long way to travel for doggies and small stuff....lovely scenery though and clean air and clean, clear water.

 

next time...next time..!

 

Spanner did us proud with the organisation, the scout hut is well equipped and could easily sleep 10 or 12 if some don't mind bunking on the floor - I slept on the sofa despite there being a spare room. 4 bunk rooms, showers with lovely hot water and good pressure, 2 loos, galley diner. 2 minutes trolley to launch - down the road. Excellent base for another attempt - or just for good pollock, ling and conger fishing.

 

Thanks Spanner - you have done the hard bit getting everything into place, now we just have to get ourselves back up there and do the same again. The weather was, of course, entirely your fault and we will make you do some penance or other for it...!

Simon Everett

Staffordshire.

Fishing kayaks:

White& Orange Dorado

Olive Scupper Pro

Yellow Prowler Elite

 

Touring kayaks

Red White Skua

White & Orange Duo

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Unlucky Simon & SpeciMan & champ your dedication deserves recognition :clap::clap: :clap:congrats on your first Plaice tho Simon :thumbs:

Team Ocean Kayaks U.K.

 

Kayaks: Necky vector,Flame SPTW

previous Kayaks:Yellow Ocean Kayaks Caper,Flame Prowler 13,Sunrise Ocean Kayaks Prowler 15 Trident, Perception Dancer XT

 

assisted rescues---5

longest paddle:65 miles

top speed under sail 11.1mph

 

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The trip was worthwhile - just a shame the weather was not good enough to have our skate baits down in the water long enough. I stayed up there till Thursday before heading back to Glasgow. The weather had been unsettled during the time I was there -calm one minute, windy the next. Playing and hooking a treble figure fish when there is chop is not a good idea - I hope we can have another meet another time (perhaps mid/late summer time when there is an extended period of high pressure?)

 

The 400ft+ anchor haul was something else particulary the first time round when I didn't use any technique and just wound the line direct onto the winder ... doh! 2nd time round was not so bad but in that depth of water its a case of dropping anchor and staying put for the session!

 

Kayak fishing in Scotland seemed quite tough - in many ways us southerners have got it easy what with shallow depths, warmer water temperatures (bringing more species?) and less variable weather.

 

Next time I/we will set up a more efficient winder and I will look into adding some outriggers to aid stablity when handling the fish - I have the RAM tubes in the right place for outriggers.

 

Big thanks to Spanner for organising this trip -was a pleasure to fish alongside him.

 

 

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Zzippy congratulations on hooking up with this fish... my moneys on the blue shark. After our quick chat last night its good to hear you are keen to go back after them. I left 6.5kilos of rotten frozen mackeral in Glasgow which we could have used as chum (arrrrrghghghghgh!).

Kaskazi Dorado - Yellow

Location: East Dorset
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Forgot to add big thanks to Simon for giving me a demonstration on how far he can lean his kayak. I now know just how far you can lean a Dorado and also how long it takes Simons clothing to dry out afterwards!!! :D :D

Kaskazi Dorado - Yellow

Location: East Dorset
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Bloody good write up, certainly an 'entertaining' time :)

 

Good luck on the next trip :thumbs

 

 

 

Update for the end of the skate week....

 

Thursday afternoon was out in the loch again as it was the only shelter.... more dogs. In the evening it was still calm so I went back out after pollack over on the Ardtornish side of the channel, and true to form the weather changed once I was a mile out for the slip ... a massive thunder storm came howling across from Mull. I headed back in but it beat me so I pulled up on the shore and laid down the carbon rods and carbon paddle and sat on the beach as lightning fizzed all around.... can't beat the smell of ozone :)

 

Friday dawned clear and sunny, not a breath of wind and flat calm ...... I was sooooo tempted to anchor up and drop a big bait down but handling a skate on my own despite the perfect weather would not be very safe.... after all who would take the photo? :D

 

I chose to head for the rocks and drift for ling and pollack in the shallows instead, thats 80-100ft shallow :D .... caught several pollack to 3lb, including one double header that made me think I had a biggie, and a loveley cuckoo wrasse about 1lb.

 

Then midday the wind blew up, the white horses started running and I headed back in.

 

So over the whole week I only managed to get a skate bait in the water on 2 days for a total of 8hrs .... and that wasn't enough to get lucky. But I'll be back in the summer, probably on a weekend and buddy up with one of the boats... unless any of you lot are daft enough to come on another yak meet :)

 

Biggest thing I learnt was that my alderny ring method doesn't work .... I don't think the anchor+chain is heavy enough to pull the buoy down enough to get enough drag..... it lifts the anchor fine but then the buoy just skips across the surface. And I'll be bu@@ered if I'm going to a heavier anchor as the 1.4kg takes enough lifting in 400ft as it is.

 

 

Great to meet you Simon and Simon, I haven't fished with any other yakkers up here before, haven't even seen any others for that matter, so that was good and worth the trip for me.

 

Sorry about the weather though..... I fully expect you guys to show up my lack of orgainising skills on the weather front by providing excelent weather on any trips I make down your way :D

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Get your paddles out guys........

 

Have a look at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=62670

 

Catch yourself a nice fish and probably break the World Kayak record :blink::blink::blink:

"My imaginary friend doesn't like your imaginary friend is no basis for armed conflict...."

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Get your paddles out guys........

 

Have a look at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=62670

 

Catch yourself a nice fish and probably break the World Kayak record :blink::blink::blink:

I saw the photos of it in the paper yesterday.

Now that is what you call a shark.Hopefully Speciman and I will be out again on Thursday/Friday this week seeing If We can get a better photo than my last attempt.(Just for the guys on TSF :thumbdown::bleh: )

 

zzippy2.gif

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If its under 66lbs I should be able to christen my scales and weigh sling - I will bring some tags along too :) A photo of a bluey caught from a kayak would be awesome.

Kaskazi Dorado - Yellow

Location: East Dorset
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