Prowler

Thank you for this topic FishFinger, a real pleasure to read.

"no comment needs to be made just because it was seen in Las Vegas either." Uh Huh

Martin, I know where your coming from but 2-2.5 lb is the prefered eating size, the resturants generally like that size for portions, over here anyway plus the meat has a slightly sweeter taste to it.

Hi fishtr8, welcome aboard mate. That's a great first outing, your not going far wrong there a single yann/lure will bag them if you get the right spot. I've tried plugging for them without much success so far but I got a nice Rapalla collection LOL, the killer bait for me is live sandeel, if you can get them around your area your onto a winner. Some of the guy's here have tankwells to keep thier bait alive but I have found that they keep perfectly fine in the footwells of my yak with fresh seawater running in and out of the scuppers, it all depends on how much you want to pimp your ride but I like to keep things simple and uncluttered. Best way to catch Sandeel is a set of small white feathers wieghted with either a Yann or a 3oz weight bounced off the bottom or about six foot off. Once you have enough for your session slap on a 3/0 a small bead lead/shot and freeline the eel, put the hook through either the top or bottom lip thread it though till about two thirds down the body of the sand eel and nick the hook into the skin of the eel and your ready to go. Obviously a lot depends on the ground and depth your fishing in but I find about 15-20 foot of line gives the bait enough freedom as it swims to the bottom, brakes off and wait, you will know when you have a big Bass, they are simply amazing.

Hi Mark, thats the perfect maiden voyage, especially the pint .

Strewth good find mate, while were on the subject of Sharks, is it me or does that Trish further down the page look like Jaws from the bond films , I wondered what he'd been up to.

Working fine here Martin.

Hi Mark How is your roof rack attached to your car i.e is it a gutter mount?? or clamped to the roof of the car by some other means, sorry not familiar with the Astra. I use Kayak carrier system for my yaks they are J bars which (touchwood work perfectly well, the Thule J bars are supposed to be excellent although a tad pricey. Is the roof wide enough to take two yaks side by side laying flat? You could use two sets of J bars, or one set and cradles or if the roof is wide enough two sets of cradles or some pipe insultation on the roof rack bars and tie them down to the rack. I know it sounds obvious but make sure your roof rack is firmly attached to the car, if it is attached by the gutters look for an alternitive solution there is a fair bit of weight there let alone drag/wind resistance, you dont want to see your yaks,roof rack and a couple of rusty gutters flying through the air. Here's a link to give you some ideas, but dont forget to shop around. http://www.kayak.co.uk/equipment/carriers.htm

Yes, hurry up , I hope it all went well on the day.

For me no more than 15lb-20lb, because there are a lot of lobster pots in the areas I tend to fish I need something I can breakaway if I get stuck on a submerged marker, line or net, esspecially with our tidal runs, it doesn't take long to pull you out of your yak if you get stuck sideways on to a rip while trying to save your gear I can tell you.

Close, petit Grev'e

Here's my tuppence, A lot of people seem to prefer the Baitrunner reels, because the ease of maintaining these reels and with the close proximity of salt water at all times on a yak you want a reel thats going to take a pasting, you could of course go for some cheaper options but no matter how well you look after them they will give in time and are pretty much disposable. My prefered rods are Shimano Beastmater AX for spinning and plugging and I use my old tried and trusted ugly stick coupled with a Abu 7000c3 for bottom, feathering etc. So your kit is perfectly fine.

Carefull guys, it's addictive, very addictive, welcome to the madhouse btw They are a great bunch here and you cant go far wrong for sure. No beginers luck this time around but next time youl see, and that will be you........hooked.......LOL. Good luck guys

LOL i'll have to ask your good lady if youv'e been a bad boy or not C'mon eh give us a hint when you thinking about coming back ??? Look at what your missing.stir stir (puts wooden spoon back in drawer)

Blimey thats the Roleez Royce of kayak trollies, nice price too Eeeek

Mmmm those Eels are really nice smoked, they are a bit of a bugger to light though. Great report Zzippy, glad you had the sense to stay safe.

Well you cant beat live bait for Tope but that's a bit extreme Good luck with the Yak and the fishing.

"Mmmm... Scupper bungs, vastly over rated in my view. On all but the calmest of seas your gonna get water in the yak and you'll find yourself sitting in more water with them in than if you just let the scuppers do their job and drain" Agreed, plus the fresh seawater running in and out of the scupper holes keeps my Sandeels alive in the footwells

Blimey, about time they stocked some new kit, thanks for the heads up i'm going to see what these look like in the flesh.

for me the No1 all rounder is..... The Yann, a simple spinning silver lure it comes in various weights and sizes and can be used in all conditions, either as a stand alone lure or combined with feathers. It can be cast and trolled, bounced off the bottom or bumped midwater, so far this year on yann and feathers I have had Mackeral, Snipe (Garfish), Sandeel, Pollack, Black Bream and Bass. Simple but effective, a bit like me really The Flashmer ones work just aswell if not better. Trev, 30-50 like Grant says is just fine.

I have to agree with Starvin, the Surftosummit high backed seat offers excellent support for the back and the quality is second to none, my only niggle and it's a small one is that it could do with a bit more padding for the bum, but thats nothing a couple of kneely sponge pads from your local garden center wont sort out. I also have the grey Ocean kayak seat but I find it doesnt offer enough support for me. The rolls royce of Kayak seats has to be the surftosummit GTS, but they're pricey and I dont know if anyone in the UK sells them, would be interesting to know. http://www.surftosummit.com/product/62.aspx

I know I'm terrible with stating the obvious and kinda crazy but........Unfortunatly the Law and Justice are two seperate things, I think the person or persons responsible for this hideos act should be hanged over the side of the boat and used as rubbydubby, preferably off capetown.

"Next wek i hear the sea cadets are on manouvers with the girl guides." Gang bang goolie goolie goolie goolie wotsit.

Greve and petite greve was off limits for most of the day today due to the Royal Marine/Commandos on a jolly using the rifle range at Crabb'e so if anyones planning on going there in the next few days be warned it sounds like WW3 up there with the thousands of rounds being fired, I counted through the course of the last three days at least 200 shots that went astray due to ricochets most of which I heard clearly cutting through the air above me, it wasnt until this afternoon that some bush on the cliffs above me with a voice shouted out "get out of the bay now Sir" which I have to admit has Pi$$ed me off somewhat, I know it's for my own safety but for crying out loud this aint Iraq. Anyway just to let you know guys.

A couple of the fishermen are hitting them off the Paternosters, plenty of mackeral for bait too, but not as far as I know from a Yak .....yet, I might give it a go just to get a photo or two. While i'm ere, Good luck with the wedding and all the best for the future.