Volusian

This is too true Mike ... I know of 2 people who have bought fishing kayaks recently and have little or no experience with them. I personally have kayaked for over 5 years now and have only recently bought a fishing kayak. I am at grade 3 level with the BCU but am still on a learning curve with my fishing kayaks. As we all know this is a fast growing sport and can and will be enjoyed by many people over the coming years... however a lot of these people will never have used a kayak. They will venture out into deep water looking for those elusive fish they are all hearing about. Problem is if they are out there alone and get into trouble who is there too help them. ? probably no one !. Again as mike says get your experience first preferebly in the shallows on the beach or on a still river system until you feel comfortable with this new kayak you have just purchased. Once you have the paddling experience and the feel for the kayak and how it handles in all situations then you are ready to go fishing ... but prefereably not alone. As you may have read i also got into difficulites recently off the North East Coast but due to the expereience we all had including my son we all kept our calm and sorted the situation with relative ease. However if i had been alone out there it may have been a very different matter indeed. .. just a thought .. Other than that enjoy your sport as im sure you will !!

Good choice is the Big Game .... i know a few who have opted for this kayak and they love em' ... A popular choice of Fishfinder is the Eagle Cuda range .... not too expensive too. Try the 128 model .... all the best and hope you get sorted soon ..! keith

Well done Robq ..... some nice cod there .... i too live in Hull and kayak fish these areas and productive they are too. You did well for first time out on a kayak. keep it up and well done .... keith

Not seen that one .... i use this one .. http://www.boatlaunch.co.uk/

If i were you i would use the Klamptite rivets which are best suited and designed for attaching things to polyethylene - which i what the kayaks are made from. Screws can easily work their way loose from the kayaks as they really cant get much of a decent grip due to the thickness and the softness of polyethylene. either use the Klamptite rivets a shown which can be bought from most main kayak dealers or if you can get access inside the kayak use stainless steel nuts and bolts with suitable washers from your local chandlery ...

If you find em and hopefully the P13 too strap the B******s onto the damn thing - hands tied - and launch em into the surf ...

Not sure about Upgang access ... but the access at Sandsend is good. Car parking is plentiful and close to the beach. The North Car park is next to the slipway too. One thing to remember about Sandsend is that it is prone to some good and at times big surf... as i found out recently. However once out you can get to deepish water quite quickly .. Another thing to watch is the surf that can develop around some of the undersea shelves that are there just offshore... they can whip up pretty quickly. However away and towards Whitby it is fine. Here is an aerial view of the North car park and slipway at Sandsend ..... http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...0&encType=1

Thinking of possibly trading for a Prowler Elite 4.5 but having not tried one would like some info off owners. I am just short of 17st ... is the Elite capable of handling my weight safely .. ? Would this weight make the Elite somewhat unstable or not ?.. ? Can it handle a reasonable amount of sea swell safely .. ? Also is it good at tracking and speed .. ? thanks....

Hi .. if your planning a trip out off Sandsend or Whitby in late May or early June keep us advised and we can merge it into a forum trip .... the more the merrier for safety reasons ... Keith

yerr ... some nice pics there drumgerry ... looks a nice piece of kit. Bet you cant wait to get out on it ...

Hi chris ..... As for the fishing in the area ... ask the experts .. http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/forum/no...oast-fishing/0/ you can launch from the harbour marina area on the north side i believe with parking there too. Also on the south side of the harbour there is a public car park with a nearby slipway from which you should be able to launch ... check first though. about 2 miles nort of whitby there is sandsend with plenty of places to lacnch. You may encounter a little surf there though so beware. The water there is quite clear and the use of hokkies and luring for cod works fine ... some nice ones too. About 400yds out the depth is about 40ft + and often the bottom is rocky. Plenty of cod are there and i believe some mackies too .. great on light spinning tackle ..

I have a couple of N12 touring carbon paddles from lendal and they are worth every penny. Also lendal is a great company to deal with and offer a top after sales service.

thanks for the infio lads ... much appreciated. Going down there in september and hope to do some yakking off hopes nose.

Anyone know the depth of water between the hopes nose headland and the island 300yds offshore in this pic .. ? anyone fished around these islands .. ?? any good catches ... ? http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...2&encType=1

Hi Greywulff .... Hope your Irish kayak promotion gets off the ground ok ... Not been to Ireland as yet but looking forward to the time when i can visit your lovely country .... Up the yakkers ...........

Glad to hear everything turned out o.k for you and your lad. Thanks for the advice .... wether i purchase an electric one or a manual one ( plenty of manual ones on ebay for about a tenner ) i will definitely not venture out without one on board from now .! may even go out again in the shallows with friends and force the same situation i was in to fully try a bilge pump and get used to using one ... after all practice makes perfect .!

The reason i feel i need a bilge pump is that i had a near disaster at the weekend. I wasn't really going to mention it but i feel fellow kayakers should be aware how quickly things can change while out there yakking. The mention of a fitted bilge pump may be a slight over reaction to what happened but the theory is valid. I recently purchased a used but mint Ocean Kayak Mailbu 2 kayak which i got to take my son out to enjoy the fishing scene on a kayak. Both myself and luckily too my 12yr old son are both competent kayakers attending kayak club every week. I understand the need to be fully kitted out in safety gear just in case. We are both strong swimmers too. I have fished the Malibu 2 solo twice now and fully enjoyed both occasions with no problems However while out at the weekend 300 yds off our Yorkshire Coast in a slight swell to about 1ft with calm winds we had been out for about 30 minutes when i noticed the kayak was getting a tad heavy to paddle. I was paddling at the rear with my son at the front. This was the first paddle 2 up. I weigh approx 100kg and my son is a 30kg clothed. Again we were fully kitted out in safety gear. When I paddled the Malibu single the water didn’t quite come up to the top of the scupper bungs so is an excellent dry and stable kayak. However when sat at the rear and son at front the kayak water level came up an inch short of the footwell ribs top. Again well well short of the Gaspachi hatches fitted. So again I was more than happy with this slight take on of water. However after 30 mins on the water I noticed I was getting a little lower in the water. I knew then that we had taken on water somehow but not through the high hatches. The Gaspachi hatches are quite tight and I would say very water tight. Before I had time to react to this quite sudden take on of water the slight swell caused the water in the kayak to move and caused the kayak lean sharpish to the right. I tried my hardest to offer stability to the kayak with the paddle but had no chance. The kayak tipped over quickly and we were out. My obvious first reaction was to ensure my son was safe .. he was. My leg was trapped round the paddle leash but was quickly released. As we never go paddling alone we were in the company of another kayaker who quickly came over to us. We quickly righted the kayak and got my son back in his seat. He was visibly shaken and shivering … an obvious sign of shock. As the kayak had taken on about I would say 30% water the kayak was still slightly unstable but as I was still in the water it was ok. The hatches were still on and tightly down so it had not got in this way. Once we had recomposed ourselves we had no alternative but to leash the other Big Game kayak to the front of mine and paddle back to shore in a fashion. I was holding the rear of my Malibu while still in the water to keep it stable. This offered more than sufficient stability while we got back to shore. Took us a while to get back but we managed ok. Since then I have done a couple of tests on the kayak by filling it water while chocked and while sat flat on our patio. I filled it up to the hatch level and noticed only one leak which was near the rear footwell. While paddling solo this flaw is above any water level however while 2 up it is about 1.5 inches under due to the extra weight at the rear. This leak point is an obvious flaw in the build of the kayak as one can feel a slight hole from inside the kayak at this point. This flaw is not noticeable from outside. 2 Pad eyes I fitted for the gaspachi hatches were nice and dry under the test conditions. This is the only leak i detected but im not saying there isnt another one not detected under the test ... there may be. So … is a hole which is quite tiny the cause of the kayak to take sufficiently water in after about 30 minutes to cause this accident.. ?? . The hatches were well clear of the outside water levels so were not the cause of this water take on. Our combined weights with tackle and a dry bag were well within the limits of the Malibu 2. As mentioned to JOH recently is the test of filling the kayak with water the same as having it empty with the pressure coming from the outside water .. ? … im not sure. What ever the eventual findings are I was quite shocked to see how easy it can be for these kayaks to take on water and how unstable they become. If this small leak isnt the cuase then im at a total loss to understand what happended but i feel sure it is the cuase. Again a BIG thank you goes out to my fellow kayaker who was with us to which we owe him a great debt. I never have and never will venture out alone and for the foreseeable future it will be solo paddling only. I have contacted Johnson outdoors about this and have to say they have been very sympathetic and quick to respond. This is why I pose the question of the use of a Bilge pump in a kayak …

will explain shortly why i feel i need one. However still pondering as to where the outflow pipe could be suitably situated so that if i use an automatic pump is used it can start and clear any sudden take on of water instantly. The outflow pipe would have to be high on the kayak and fixed and sealed to avoid any ingress of seawater down the pipe itself .. i will sit and ponder where i feel it should go but if you have any thoughts i would appreciate it .. cheers ... keith

Hi all .... anyone successfully fitted a 12v bilge pump inside their kayak... thinking of getting one but not sure if a manual switched type or automatic sensored type are best ... theres not a lot in the price to be honest .. anyone ....

Sundridge Leaftex Mohican 2 piece suit with detachable hood .. Size L / XL ... Full quality 2 piece leaftex suit ... Cost me £150 and worn once so immaculate condition. Once of the best fishing suits available ... £80 posted ( UK only ) thanks keith

so was any additonal cost mentioned upon purchase .. ? i ve just got 2 Gaspachi hatches and a Digital Camera from US ... not had any demands for any extra as yet .!

try these for your 10" percetion hatch .... its listed here .. £25 http://www.kayaksandpaddles.co.uk/canoe/ka...pmnt/spares.htm

Hi ... try the Wetsuit Outlet .... they have an excellent range and offer the best value too ... http://www.wetsuitoutlet.co.uk/index.php?cPath=30_79 This is the one i purchased from there and it represents top value for money at £39 .. http://www.wetsuitoutlet.co.uk/product_inf...products_id=580

Hi ... cant see a problem fitting flush mount holders to a frenzy .... see this diagram showing in black where you could fit them ... just behind the seats or on the gunwhale ... theres plenty of depth there to do this from what ive seen ... thanks

heres the new Ocean Kayak Noodle XL ( angler version ) .... due to launch this summer .....