Kayakfishing Chat - continues

[Simon Everett]

Ken,

if you are thnking of going to those lengths you might as well buy a boat - it would probably be cheaper in the log run!

The beauty of the kayak is its simplicity - heft it on the roof, tie it down and off you jolly well go! The Kayak can be transported to places where you just can't get a boat. The whle idea is if you can walk there you can get your kayak there - and then launch it into the briney (or freshy) and paddle round the corner away from the crowd to the reefthat the rockhoppers can't get to, and the boats can't get to because they are boats. Ther you have it. Less IS more!

Simon

PS. Plenty of cheap boats about on the used market.

[Jaffa]

Pretty much agree with that Simon.

 

Ken, a lot of the smaller and lighter yaks will do what your looking for, and the US yak forums are full of people who bought the huge yaks like the Fish and Dive because they thought stability was everything then found they had to change yak. Believe me stability is not that big a deal; after just a few hours all the yaks you have seen talked about here are more than stable enough for what a fisherman wants to do.

 

50lbs I can throw on the car roof by myself, get much beyond that and it ceases to be fun to load or carry; might as well get a boat.....

 

Just my opinion.

[Prowler]

Hi Ken, I have a 15" Prowler which I have used on a couple of occasions to dive from, It carries me, my 15ltr Faber, 25 lb of lead and kit quite comfortably, you can add a motor and rudder to it although I cant see the point, like Simon say's (no pun intended) you might aswell buy a boat.

I'ts easy to tow as there is virtualy no draft and of course weight, you could try to kit up in the Yak but to be honest it's easier to just jump in and kit up in the water.

Getting yourself, your catch and your gear back in is easy i'ts a nice stable platform the tank and BC sit in the rear well comfortably with room left over I put my weight belt where my feet go which helps balance the yak out and leaving my fins on launch my self into the boat easy peasy.

Of course a lot depends on your body weight and ammount of kit, i might give the caper a try this year to see how it copes as its wider than the prowler and only weighs in at 11 foot long.

 

[ 13. March 2005, 08:46 AM: Message edited by: Prowler ]

[Jaffa]

Did you use the yak as a SMB then Prowler? I bought mine with the intention of fishing and diving but just done the odd bit of snorkelling fron it so far.

[Prowler]

"Did you use the yak as a SMB then Prowler"

 

Yes just put that hole to good use where the rudder would go and perch your divers flag there just in case someone spots the empty kayak and panics.

 

I havent tried kitting up for fishing and diving at the same time I either do one or the other but it could be done with some rod clips, a couple of coat hangers and some sticky back plastic .

 

[ 13. March 2005, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: Prowler ]

[Jaffa]

Cheers prowler,

 

But Coat hangers and sticky back? you need to get into the 21st century m8; its all cable ties and velcro now

 

Sorry, did'nt mean I wanted to do both at the same time - I get confused enough as it is

 

You say the drag was OK, how deep was that at?

[Prowler]

"But Coat hangers and sticky back?"

 

Sorry I guess Blue Peter deeply affected me as a child

 

"You say the drag was OK, how deep was that at?"

 

Not very deep Approx 20-30 feet, over here it's finding a decent stretch of coast that isn't netted thats the problem hence the only reason i've only tried it a couple of times.

Off the North coast some of the beaches shelve off quite steeply so you dont have to paddle out to far to get to that kinda depth plus your still within the relative safety of the bays which keeps me out of the tidal run therefore keeping drag to a minimum, most of the time you hardly know it's there if your on the move, now and again if you've stopped for a while to explore then ya might need to give it a good yank (sorry Newt ) to get it on it's way.

 

[ 13. March 2005, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Prowler ]

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Nothing wrong with Blue Peter

Its been a few years since I did any Diving or snorkling, but last year , I could feel the gills itching.

May get some in this season........and the diving

Will just snorkle I think , try and pick up a couple of crabs for supper.

Had some very good vis here last season.

 

Come on you Sun.

 

YY

[Prowler]

"try and pick up a couple of crabs for supper"

 

Oh yes mmm mmm, do you get Spider crabs up your way? (no that's not a personal question ) or just Chancre's (brown crab).

 

[ 13. March 2005, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: Prowler ]

[SpeciMan]

Prowler how do spider crabs taste? Are they as good as edibles? We get loads along the Hampshire & Dorset coastline but most anglers dont regard them as food!

 

Do you have any recipes or preparation tips?