lazy hooker

no insurance required to launch at oxwich that i know of. You do however need to pay the carpark which is £2.50 a day. I fish oxwich and it is a lovely place, good wreck too about halfway to the point which holds, wrasse, pollack, pout, and dogs..sheltered on any winds without easterly in them and can be flat calm on howling south westerlies and westerlies . some other good spots too just off the point if the sea is calm enough. port eynon is another good spot worth considering too. where are you staying? i'm taking some time off work and will be down that way from the 18th till after the bank holiday john

should be ok if you want something on a budget which you may consider chopping the arms off. their 3mm which is fine for britsh summer time, the seams won't be blind stitched, taped and glued but will keep you warm and stop the chill from water being absorbed on the legs and splashes on you top half, and if you do go for a dunk will do what they say on the tin.. john

for £25 i'd get the long version and you can always chop the arms off at the shoulder for more manouvreability .... neoprene is pretty good for cutting down. john

nice one lloydus after the paddle nothing to stop you getting out there. look forward to catching up with you john

Thanks for responses guys. plan changed from fishing inside the estuary mainly cos of the currents and mostly the legalities the legalities. will try the outside bars john

i fitted my fishfinder recently and am happy with it in a great big blob of silicon....took 48hrs to dry mind as i was a bit over the top. the battery box i got some sticky velcro (one side adhesive the other side velcro material) put some on the under side of the box and some on the yak....not moving anywhere!!!! also put a some on the base of the battery too so it doesn't move around in the box.. john

sorry if i'm being a pain with asking about spots and cheers for advice on the teignmouth thread. i've been looking at the wind on the weekend and with a NE wind may have a look at torquay for a bit of shelter, can anyone give any advice on the area and what can be caught at the moment cheers john

hi pav i have no experience of trolleys that fit into the scuppers but i bought a c-tug which you lift the yak onto and fix a strap over the body of the yak. i thought this an easier option than try and get the poles up through the scupper holes. Also i'm confident about the strength in my scupper holes but if your pulling a yak over pebbles/broken ground then there must be some movement/force exerted on the posts but again this is just my thought and one that led me to the c-tug which i'm really happy with..plus it all comes apart john

hi guys i'm going down to teignmouth this weekend, will be staying on a campsite just up from the bridge on the Shaldon side of the estuary. Me and my mate will be taking our kayaks down for a bit of fishing hopefully launching at the campsite. Can anyone give any advice on fishing the estuary re what state of the tides to fish what areas to stay away from for danger reasons and what can be caught. will probably be trying live sandeel due to ease, as i see they are netted and sold on the beach but await your advice any spots you could advise would be most appreciated and reciprocated if you come up to the gower. i can understand not wanting to post on an open forum so you can pm me instead which if you do then the information won't be passed on again cheers john

bit confused with trailing wires etc but i'll do my best. where my fishfinder is, the cables come out through the drinks holder for about 5 inches which like you i cover with a plastic bag after giving the terminal a spray of wd40. Inside the transducer is bunched together, tied with a cable tie with a bit of velcro wrapped around it and stock to the other side of the velcro on the base of the Kayak. this stops the cable hitting the transducer and dislodging it, which insidently is mounted in a big blob of silicon sealant. john

good glasses are so nice. your eyes don't feel as if there on stalks by the end of the day either. i should imagine you will get a good set of polariods for £50 which have all the protective needs the you'll require. i recon polariods are excellent for spotting fish and you should get a good deal if you check all the online fly fishing shops. john

cheers for the responses guys...mission accomplished. fitted the finder in the front drink holder after first chopping 4 circles out of the wifes chopping board, not a happy bunny maybe i should have asked her first as the first she knew about it was when she had nothing to chop the onions on for a spag bol. Drilled through the back of the holder for the cables.A flora margarine tub for the battery, held in place by sticky backed velcro...can turn the yak over and the battery and box stay firmly in place. then the bit i'm not too sure about even though you have gone a long way to elieviate my fears chris i'm not sure about the focus waterproof silicon sealant....big blob no air bubbles but....... find out tomorrow... as it was a rush job i stil have some work to do sealing the hole which the wires come through as i've sealed them with blue tack to keep it watertight at the mo so i can get out tomorrow... hopefully get some prawns for the bait and the bass and wrasse play ball john

Hi just about to go down to the chandlers and pick up an eagle cuda 128 for £60 they advised that it would need a 12v battery...no problem there until i look on maplins site and not only are they rated by voltage but by a.h (presume this is amps/hour) any advice on what amps per hour 12v battery i would need???????? also i forgot to ask the shop do they normally come with the power leads to attach to the battery???? going for a quick and dirty installation if i can get all the bits so i can use it tomorrow......am i alright to put a nice big blob of silicon on the inside of the hull and push the transducer in???? your assistance on this would be most appreciated. john

I think this is going to go know where.... The BCU have issued intent to lobby to get greater access to the rivers, not entirely 100 % behind this (see prev post for reason on page 2) but i think that the angling bodies should stand up without being militant and open talks with the BCU about a memorandum of understanding, get them to see the anglers point of view and why you take it, instead of being percieved as bunch of "grumpy sods who shout at people with paddles". This way you may be able to get your points accross about access to the waterways which they didn't understand or hadn't considered. and at the end of the day the bcu might be approaching this by going for complete access and get some degree of that when this is all finalised but come on a petition with 120 odd signatures is not going to do anything..... john

As a kayaker i don't think the BCU attempt to gain access to all stretches of waterway is on. I think that they have entered into the discussions with a blue sky approach and hopefully will be happy to attain something 50% towards their goal. As anglers we are sympathetic to alot of the bankside wildlife and the ecosystems that exist within the rivers. shallow gravel areas for instatance are signposted spawning spots for some fish. This would not be considered by the majority of canoeists and these areas may be damaged. Reed beds which shelter nesting wild fowl and of course otter populations all need to be given consideration. I do however think that canoeists should be granted more access to stretches of river but this should be agreed between the EA and BCU to establish low impact to banksides, wildlife, safety and of course other recreational users of the rivers anglers included who in truth contribute the biggest amount of funding to the EA from a recreational past time. john

what the ell is eel grass...and more importantly am i at risk of loosing tackle in it or does it pull out of the seabed when your gear gets caught in it!!!!!!.... only joking we don't have any of that around this section of coastline as far as i'm aware....but really will a milk carton or a closed anchor cause that much damage, there not carving up the bottom and would proably part the grass rather than plough it, and any damage if any would in my mind be sustainable unlike the damage caused by scallop dredgers or the like. dunno happy to find out mind probably more at risk from jon boy lobbing his rods over the side and them landing on em!!! john

No wonder there's talk of support boats etc....lol mind you i am managing to fill the boot of the car on most trips to the beach.... john

When trolling how far behind the kayak do you aim to fish the lure, Just asking as it seems like i have an awfull lot of line out when fishing lures designed to be trolled at depths of 6 foot and when you do get to an obstruction it will be hard to judge where the lure is to slow down slightly and let the lure rise over the obstruction avaoiding getting caught up but also looking its best to be ambushed. john

Cheers Bill...John boy get off the lawn you fool!!!!(BA baracas Stylee) martin how do you manage to get your live bait to paddle for you?..lol cute picture john

you don't need a lawn to do that...come to think of it you don't need the instructions either..... anyway i was trying to keep my feet dry ....it just didn't work anyway off for a walk down the beach...could do with a new rod john

Chuckcfc excellent discussion mate, well done for bringing it up i'd never thought about it before. i know that surfers at towan beach newquay cornwall had to prove third party liability by having a sticker on their boards but that was a couple of years ago and i don't know the logistics of policing it. Incidently i fish at oxwich and am interested in what youv'e heard about the third party stuff for kayaks. I know that trailered boats using the slip way have to provide TP liability. Can you pm me where you heard about it or where i can get any info. john

simon also didn't mention that john boys stoke is dangerous to the stability of following kayaks too....well i almost fell of laughing anyway!! john seriously though simon cheers for the advice i'll have a good read through, digest and try to put in practice.

completly right Bill but i cant get over coming off and putting my foot or hand through the prop...ouch or tipping over and ruining an engine...not that i'm tight or anything...well yeah i am horses for courses though if its thought through and all the risks either mitigated or lived with then i can't see too much of a problem..haven't got a clue how you would go about attaching or ensuring tracking would be true...what size battery would you need and where would you keep it....i'm going for a lie down i'm far too confused....i can just about paddle let alone think of complicated things like this.. john

i wasn't going to mention that to save your blushes.....HAHAHAHA bet you won't do it again john

with the westerly winds decided to fish knab rock at mumbles - gateway of the gower . Its not the best location for specimens of any description at this time of year but it holds some shelter from the 20mph westerly wind that greated us . my mate johnboy joined me on his firts fishing outing with his prowler. spent an hour trolling lures around and upto the pier but no takers from the bass which have supposedly been showing up but not today. made the decision to go after dabs so anchored up 3-400 yards off the rnli slipway , had a bit of a learning curve about anchoring in strong wind. Couldn't get the yak to sit in the current with the anchor trolley at the rear of the yak without the kayak turning sindeways into the wind...ended up with the trolley at the front sat facing into the wind and current which wasn't the most comforatable. the dabs didn't know we were there and ready to feed them their favourite snacks but we had a steady steam of chinese fish - whi'ting which kept the rods rattling..best of the day was one of about 16" inches to johnboy. good day and a little further into the learning curve john