SpeciMan

Yikes!

Excellent report Mark. Well done with the first doggie.

Jolly, there are a number of yak fisherman in your area who post here: http://anglersafloat.proboards107.com You'll need to register first to view the boards.

Yes, quite a few made it over. http://anglersafloat.proboards107.com/inde...amp;thread=2627 You'll need to register to view the forum.

Ouch - thanks for sharing David - will make doubly sure I don't leave rigs lying around now.

Marko, marine charts for your area should give you an indication of tide strength and direction. There may also be publications for your area with more comprehensive inshore tidal data than shown on the charts. Generally speaking currents will be much stronger around headlands and in areas where water is funnelled (eg entrance to estuaries). In my area (Dorset) we have a double low tide west of Swanage and a double high tide east of Swanage. This is due to geographical features of the area. The strength of the tide will also change throughout the tide cycle - in general the mid tide cycle is the strongest part. However in some cases it may be the last hour or two of the ebb or flood where the tide is at its strongest. Spring tides will give currents around double the speed of neaps. Which area do you plan to paddle? I use electronic charts which contains tide times and current data - plus I have Peter Bruce's tidal info books for my area (Solent and Portland - St Albans Head). http://www.memory-map.co.uk/acatalog/maps_uk_atsea.html

Glad you made it back safely Cannonfodder. For general fishing I wouldn't recommend anchoring in much more than a 2knot tide; 3knot tides are the maximum for me. Small pot buoys will be dragged under in a 5 knot tide - it's a shame the dry bag started to fill although it could act as an indicatior that its time to move. I put a nick in the mini cable tie I use on the anchor making it much easier to break out if its stuck. When retrieving the anchor I sometimes keep the quick release line in the cleat, pull the kayak up to the buoy & pull on the main anchor line to see if she's stuck. If I think the anchor is stuck/hard work to break out I'll paddle up tide and then try again. A 5 knot tide is very hard to paddle against (slower yaks won't be able to make progress). Some of the guys are now using modifiied cleats near the front of the yak to wrap the anchor line around whilst pulling. I may fit something similar to mine.

+1 What Jeff said

I no longer use plastic carabiners - they have a tendancy to unclip themselves.

Chesil Cove isn't the safest venue to fish. If conditions change you can get into trouble heading back in down there, and you have to drag the kayak back up the shingle. Best to launch the other side and fish around Portland Harbour if you are a newcomer.

Ackomeister is a windup merchant.

Hi Dizzy I've replaced wrist and neck seals on my drysuit. They can be repaired by yourself providing you take your time over it. Neck seals are harder to replace than wrist seals. For wrist seals if its the first or second replacement: Cut back existing seal but don't cut into drysuit material - a ring of latex about an .5-1inch thick should be left. Some instructions here: http://www.kokatat.com/documents/cserv/KokatatAnkleWrist.pdf Save yourself hassle and buy a kit - it comes with the glue which can be expensive/hard to get hold of on its own http://www.sailboats.co.uk/Catalogue~Latex...4020~c4704.html - that kit also comes with instructions.

I hope the book is a great success & look forward to reading it.

Thats good news if the 797 supports both transducers - you're getting me interested in buying one now - if they work as advertised the potential of such a unit is huge Cheapest (UK) I've seen is around £900 without charts.

I saw the demo clip where they created a waypoint as you mention. It looked very impressive. I wonder how accurate the coordinates are in practice? If they're spot on then this is a leap forward in fishfinder/plotter technology. Finally found the link: http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/v...?t=73286#664486 It would be worth contacting Johnson Outdoors UK (http://www.johnsonoutdoors.co.uk/contactus.htm) to find out if the transducer fits the scupper recess - however as Richi mentions above (he has a 700 series unit) he wanted his to fit in the scupper hole and didn't get the side scan unit (he has a Trident).

Dizzyfish you sound like me when I looked into this but have gone one stage further! The difference you mention between the US and UK models is important - would be good to save your scans for onland analysis and its a shame they don't offer a UK version preloaded with Navionics - if the UK version is really the EU version there may not be enough memory to hold the charts. I think the 997 has the ability to take two tranducers. If funds were unlimited I'd get the 977 and mount a standard transducer inside the hull and the side scan on a pipe as I have suggested. When side scan is needed just set the finder to that transducer and twist the pipe so its in the water. Shame about the price, we can buy a mid to high end laptop for similar money and have enough change to buy a kayak! As you mention the 797si still looks like a good option. I don't have conventional scupper holes on my kayak, so it would be dunked over the side and lifted out when not in use. Not a big deal as when I've found interesting features I'd mark them on the plotter. Be good to see one in action. Perhaps you will be first I know of to fit a side scan finder on their kayak

After seeing the demos and contacting a few people who had them (on boats) I also wanted a 900 series side imaging sonar. But, the price was just too much & I questioned how practical it would be on a kayak given its size. For a UK spec top of the range 900 series you're looking at around £1800 once you've bought the Navionics charts for it. Shame you can't hire them out - I'd use it to recce my local fishing grounds & put the co-ords on my chartplotter. With technology you get more features/higher specs for the money over time. Side imaging is trickling down to the mid range units (be interested to see how 700 compare to the 900 series). Bear in mind the amount of power these units will draw - I'd imagine the you'd need a minimum of 12amp for something like the 900 series & perhaps quite a bit more for a weekends fishing. If I can find the pic I'll post it up of a kayak in the states with a plastic pipe and bends to mount the tranducer outside the kayak. One end of the pipe was placed in a rear flushmount holder with the transducer on the other end angled over the side in the water. Looked like a neat solution and he could easily lift the transducer out of the water when he didn't want the drag whilst paddling.

Hi Jon A member (Paul) registered at the Anglersafloat forum is using the Malibu 2 XL fishing two up with success Worth asking & searching the forum there - there are some recent rigging shots too. Simon

You'd have to rig something up which holds the transducer over the side of the kayak or attach it to the bottom of the hull (which is asking for it to be snapped off & suction cups don't stick that well to plastic). I think with the 900 series you can connect two transducers. In theory you could have one mounted in the hull and one dropped over the side when you need the side imaging. As you mention though the 900 series is a lot of money. The new Humminbird portable fishing buddy also features side imaging http://store.humminbird.com/sonar/fishin-b...od407180-1.html - hasn't been launched over here but it will be much cheaper option. Works on the same principle with the transducer mounted outside the craft. Be interested to see how good the side imaging is. If its any good I'll consider buying one - I don't need a permanent installed fish finder and the side imaging would be useful.

It's very good Mike and well presented. Aimed more at sit in paddlers there is a lot of info relevant to the sit on paddler.

Yes there should be interesting talks on kayak fishing and sea kayaking. Ocean Kayak will have a stand there along with Kaskazi. North Wales Kayak Fishing have a stand and will give talks on kayak fishing. If the venue was a bit closer to me I'd be going.

Yes, although a side imaging transducer won't. If you need advice on how to mount a transducer inside the hull worth using the search feature to find this info. Many different methods can be used.

Hi Nigel I sometimes use a shimano exage telespin rod which stows away nicely in my center hatch - was about £50 I think so out of el cheapo price bracket. No signs of corrosion or damage yet - ideal for spinning or flattie bashing from the yak.I understand where Nanook is coming from with regards to spending extra on decent tackle - unfortunately regular kayak fishing can be very hard on gear - hence some of us may go for the cheaper stuff. Simon edit: If you are looking at reels but don't wish to spend too much I recommend the fladen maxximus ones - many of their components are ABU. Mine have had numerous dunkings, minimal maintenance and they're still in good working condition with no signs of corrosion (fladens solid c rods are a different matter though).

Neoprene waders add buoyancy making reentrys easier when flooded. If you use the search function there is a thread with a link to a video of a yakker reentering a Scupper Pro wearing waders. Agree with Yakdiver, for the cost of the waders and dry top you could get a dry suit instead.