nifty

Cheers Aidy, I know what you mean about having a fat chance with those flies and somebody more adept at fly tying would have created a better looking fly but on yesterdays showing the fish didn't seem to care and if I could have worked out how to strike them when they kept mouthing it I could have had a load more The trouble is, one second the fly is there and the next it's gone without any sign of a take on the line and a quick strip of the line to set the hook managed to find a hold on about 1 in 20 takes. It's great fishing and keeps you concentrating all the while and I can't wait to have another go if the weather stays good and the fish stay close. You've probably seen this before but if not, this is the place I copied my flies from and well worth a look http://www.fishnet.com.au/flyswap/articles/mullet.html. Stuart

Well I went through the whole box of flies virtually and then decided I knew somewhere much easier to catch some mullet, so packed up and headed south. Before I got around to trying for the Mullet at the new spot, I thought that as the weather was so good on Saturday it would be a shame not to get out on the yak so went to a place that has produced a few Porgies in years gone by. After scrounging a stone or so of two day old mackerel I mixed up a sackful of dubby with plenty of Pilchard oil and bran thrown in for good measure and headed a mile and a half or so out to see if anything would show up. The sack was put over the side at the beginning of the ebb and I trotted a bait 30yds astern as I sat at anchor. As I sat there I notice a big bank of fog creeping along the coast so quickly took a bearing of the launch spot before everything disappeared from view. It was really eary sitting there watching the balloon bobbing about on the oily calm sea and I kept looking at the compass to try and reassure myself that I knew where I was It would be good to say that something showed an interest but after 6 hrs the only thing to appear in the slick was a seal that made me jump as he came up and exhaled . Luckily the fog began to lift after a few hours and I could make out the bottom of the cliffs so at around 7pm with the dubby sack washed out I headed in. Today I gave the yak a day off and went shore fishing, taking the flyrod and a spinning rod and managed to get some mullet to take the fly, and what a scrap they gave tearing all the fly line off and a yard or two backing. I suppose it wasn't fly fishing in the true sense as a few handfuls of mashed bread got them going but the fly was pure deer hair and nowt else so there wasn't any bait on the hook. Saturdays attempt in the fog with the dubby bag tied to a 5 gallon drum away from the yak in case of attack A mullet on the fly luckily when someone was walking by to take the pics. nifty

Sarn Y Bwch, Tywyn?

Noooo, That's the "Imperial Leather" Rooms

Good Luck Mike in your new venture, hope everything goes well for you and your family over there and you'll keep us informed of all the fun you have along the way. All the very best mate, Stuart

Starvin, Is that the clinic for "Scary Tope Disorder", STD for short or am I getting confused with the place next door where they make you drop your KECKS

No need to thank me Richi, you were the one who drove hundreds of miles to get one. Looks like you enjoyed it though I'll e mail you the rest. Well done and thanks a lot for the thrashing Stuart.

After I've got my bait from Barrys, HW is at 08-00 so we'll be out in time to fish the main part of the ebb. Sounds as though you might be coming up? Stu.

I shall be going up tomorrow if anyone is interested. nifty.

Nice one JT, Just ordered a set Stuart.

Hi Oz, It was a week after the meet when Phooey, Martin and I went back. As an aside, I picked up a copy of "Sea Angler" today, and there is a picture of the 72lber caught on the Friday of the meet when we were anchored close by, and it's well worth a look. It looks bloody HUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stu.

As Starvin & Phooey said, Greys GRX 8/9 (£48-00 in Sportfish today but last one i think), Okuma Airframe (£29-99) and cortland 444sl ( around £40-00) and you've got a perfectly serviceable kit. As for cheaper lines, then the Shakespeare Professional floater and intermediates are good value and do the job quite well. nifty.

Nice one Spanner, Glad you managed to get your Bass and survive the surf . I'm sorry you didn't get your Tope as I would have put money on us getting at least one at this time of year and to travel all that way for nought is a real bummer and that goes for all the others who came a long way. You watch, there;ll be loads there this weekend Maybe when they are in we can organise an impromptu meet for those that really want to get one Stuart.

Cheers Zzippy, I owe you one

View My Video This time hopefully

Obviously not working and I give up. Any ideas how to post a video?

I don't know if this will work and you may have to wait for the good bits if it does but I think Phooey did well to get any shots whilst he was having to paddle against the tide as well.

Hi All, First of all I would like to say a Big Thanks to everyone for coming over to Wales and making the weekend a memorable one for me anyway. The wind out at sea and by the camp fire ( Zzippy) was a little on the fresh side and didn't help the cause as far as catching Tope are concerned but everyone seemed to get their string pulled by a variety of species, with a few PB's and new species for some. Friday for me was spent trying for Tope and after what seemed like a kennel full of Dogs and Huss had come aboard I think it was apparent that the Tope had deserted us and the freshening breeze sent us scurrying for the nearest beach to stretch our legs with plans needing to be made for something else. Back on the water an hour with the shrimp rig got me a few Mackerel for the BBQ and after the strenuous paddle back to the launch spot I was looking forward to a few ciders and meeting up with all the others who had arrived during the afternoon. A very enjoyable evening around the fire made up for the poor fishing and by midnight I was well ready for bed. A couple of hours later though I think most of us were wide awake as the wind was doing it's best to turn the tents into kites and the next morning there were some tired looking campers cooking breakfast. The wind was still blowing so as the others have said, it was two groups that headed to the sea at different places and after a quick drive down to the beach with Spanner and Phooey we decided to try the usual place and I took the fly rod after seeing a nice looking rip the previous day just a hundred yards or so offshore that just screamed Bass. For the first couple of hours it was quiet but as the tide picked up the fish started to come on and I started to get a steady run of hard fighting fish around the 2lb mark with the odd one slightly bigger hitting my hometied blue/green and white deceiver with some hitting the lure as it just dead drifted and taking line for a yard or two. I was having a cracking days sport until a speedboat came over and went straight through where I was catching and that was it but I'd had 13 by then with a couple more coming adrift so I wasn't too dissapointed. Everyone else had got into a few again so as we headed in I think we were all happy but knackered. More sausage and cider supper was gleefully walloped down and plans made for an attempt at the Tope on Sunday as the forecast was looking calmer. Sunday did dawn bright and CALM even though it dawned a bit earlier than planned for me with some loony kicking the side of my tent at 4-45am and with the crows squawking their heads off in the trees close by the idea of getting some more ZZZZ's was optimistic. The early crew were just coming ashore at about 9-30 when the rest of us headed out to be met by a nice calm sea although a slight groundswell had sprung up from somewhere offshore and put a slight surf on the beach. After paddling out to drop some hooks off for Phooey and to see Ian who had joined us on Simons spare SPTW for his first go at yak fishing, Richi and I headed over the reef to where SpeciMan and Zzippy were anchored up. It was quite pleasant after the previous two days and hopes were high with plenty of old bait being chopped up and dropped into the tide to try and attract the Tope. As the day wore on we were joined by Spanner and Aidy but even with all that bait in the water the only things to be attracted to our baits were the dreaded dogs. The swell was also beginning to build into something a little more uncomfortable with one minute everyone in sight and the next all hidden by 5 or 6 ft of water so with thoughts of conditions inshore for landing and plenty of surf visible on the beaches in the distance we called it a day at about 2pm and headed in. With everything lashed down it was with bated breath that we approached some reasonable looking breakers and after watching Zzippy and Speciman have a quick ride in Richi and I followed and halfway through I thought it was going to be a non event until one caught me and launched the yak at what felt like 50mph at the sand. With Zzippy standing on dry sand in front of me with his camera pointing in my direction it was with more determination than ever to keep her upright and with plenty of digging in with the paddle I managed to avoid the embarassment again of swimming ashore . Richi showed us how to time it and was dissapointed I think that he didn't catch a wave and I thought he was going to go back and wait for a bigger one just for a laugh So thanks again for a brilliant weekend and I can't wait for the next one. Here's Richi with his new hat about to go from view, And a sample of the Bass taken on the flyrod. nifty

Darnsarf, You know that nervous feeling you get when you sit in the dentists chair, well it's just the same as waiting for the Tope to hit you, so I guess we'll be enduring the same feeling only I'll be sitting out in the sunshine and not looking up at the ceiling tiles Zzippy, The balloons might come in handy on Saturday, along with a bit of bunting with the cross of St George for when the boys come good in Germany nifty.

Sorry you can't make it Paul. I'd just sorted some floats out for trying for the Tope, just for something different. I thought we may have had a bit of a comp to see who could get the first. I hope you get sorted and maybe you can make it up in the next few weeks Stuart.

Hi Zzippy, This weekend is looking good if you can get here. I think, as with anything weather dependant, you need to just go when the chance is there. In fact it's looking so good for the next few days, there's going to be a couple of us going Wednesday/Thu/Fri and probably Sat/Sun and to hell with work till the weather goes back to normal Anyone who can make it are welcome to join us. Stuart.

Zzippy, sorry for being a bit slow on the reply, I don't know if they sell maggots in the shop in Tywyn but I doubt it. I can bring some with me if you want to try them, just make sure your not about when the fisheries inspector turns up (Sewin and Salmon river) There's usually half a pint or so of fresh in the boot of the car anyway With a bit of luck and no urgent work to see to, then a couple or three of us are thinking of having a warm up later this week if the forecast is to be believed. Nothing set in stone yet but probable if anyone else fancies it. Stuart.

Hi Vidcon, I have the Garmin 80 which is basically the same finder just the older model, and I also didn't fancy drilling such a big hole for the cable. The more I thought about it I realised that it would suit me not to have the unit fixed permanently so the display is mounted on a base made to fit the forward cup holder on the P13 and the cables are then just run forward and under the front hatch cover and neoprene. The cover still retains a tight seal and everything can be removed at the end of the day and kept seperate from the yak. I have got a soap dish with a lid like you'd have for your wash bag and cut a hole in the bottom slightly larger than the transducer and stuck this in the hull with silicon. This is filled with water and the transducer is placed inside and the lid placed on top with a small slit in the edge for the cable to come through and more water can then be added via a syringe to top it up if need be but not usually neccessary. So far it has worked ok and all that's left in the kayak is the fixed soap dish base so if the kids or me want to go surfing/playing about there's nothing rattling about in the hull. Hope you can get my drift nifty.

Zzippy, I can't wait either, I just hope the surf dies down a bit. This was the launch spot today and the sea was flat calm. I would have been swimming if I'd took the yak The picture doesn't do it justice either

Darnsarf, Tope on the float has a certain appeal as an alternative method. I've yet to see a Mullet caught there, apart from a few pictures in the tackle shop and in Paul Morgans book, Saltwater flyfishing in the UK, though I've seen hundreds trying and failing Stuart.