Hake

Thanks for the info Snatcher. When I mentioned that I met a mate from Bangor I should have mentioned that I'm from Bangor also (but living in England), so the Mrs has already been to all the NI places you mentioned....and more. I will be working on her over the winter, hoping to get a week up there around May time. She does like gardens. Thing is, she also likes sun and warmth, both of which are impossible to predict in the UK !!

Hi Snatcher, I have tried it. Me and a mate from Bangor N.I. met at Stranraer in Sep 06 and drove down the Mull. Stayed three nights at the Clash. Fished Luce Bay from the Clash slipway on Thursday and caught stacks of doggies. Fished from Port Logan on Fri, round the back of the pier and had pollack, wrasse and mackerel. Also fished there on the Sat, but it was less productive. It blew a hoolie for the three days, but we got out each day, albeit our range was limited by the sea state. As you say, very easy launches. I would love to go back and spend a week there, but convincing the women in the family might be tricky - the wee lad yak fishes with me, so he'd be up for it. You said there's lots to do for the family. What is there on the Mull for the female of the species ? If there's enough to interest them, I might be able to swing a trip next May. Thanks.

Les, A dry cag will almost certainly have latex wrist and neck seals. These will prevent water entering the cag via wrists and neck. A semi-dry cag should have latex wrists and a "baggy" neck as YakDiver says, which you can close farily tight with the velcro seal. This won't be watertight in the same way as a latex seal, but is much more comfortable. A semi-dry cag is what I went for....didn't like the latex neck seal. I have yet to put it to the test properly, but I would expect that in the event of a dunking the time that your head/neck is under water will be very brief (assuming you're wearing a PFD of course), so a closed up neck seal on a semi-dry cag should allow virtually no water ingress..at least not enough to cause a issue. The one I've got is a Yak ????.....can't remember the name, but it's breathable, well made and I like it (was also a bargain at last year's Outdoors show ) Of course no cag, whether dry or semi-dry, will keep water out around your waist unless paired with matching dry trousers. Palm Cobra pants are good (stepson has some), but they won't keep the water out if you go for a swim. If you're going to fish through the winter I'd recommend that you go for a full drysuit or 2 piece dry outfit (I've got the Palm sidewinder bib and brace matched to the Yak Cag, and it works very well as a virtual 2 piece dry suit). Hope this helps.

If the holes are moulded into the kayak in a similar way to those on the Scrambler XT, then hopefully 6mm should pass through. The hole could always be enlarged slightly if necessary, without compromising the moulding.

I'm putting an anchor trolley on a Scrambler XT. As part of this I to remove the rear toggle, fit a stainless D-shackle and then re-attach the toggle to the shackle. On a Scrambler, the rope part of the toggle passes through a hole moulded into the hull....not through a pad-eye as on a Prowler. So, I need to separate the component part of the toggle handle to remove it....without knackering it so that I can re-assesmble it later. Does anyone know how to do this ? Thanks guys.

I believe you do Marty.....in the real world I'm Mike Dodds, formerly of Bangor SAC. Still lving with your folks then, on the Seacliff Road ? Didn't you take up crap (sorry, carp) fishing ? Have you joined the yak brigade yet ? If not, I can highly recommend it, except for the fact that all to soon you'll have loads more stuff and empty pockets !! Mike

I too have never heard of bass being caught anywhere in NI other than Benone and Downhill. Still, the ground off much of the Ards Peninusla looks good for them and, since there are bass all the way up the opposite coast (Scottish side), I don't see why there shouldn't be some on the Irish side. Likely it would require some dedication and lots of effort, particularly in the summer months. I'd love to be there giving it a go !! I'm from Bagor and years ago we used to use rowing boats to catch thornbacks just outside the harbour (pre Marina days) and off the back of the Long Hole. Imagine if we'd had fishing yaks back then...great craic !

Hi, I'm from NI and use a yak for fishing....but I live in England ! Since I took up the yak fishing a couple of years ago I often thought how much scope there'd be back home. You're very lucky to be there. Much of the east coast from Millisle down to the end of the Ards Peninsula looks like good bass ground....very rocky, plenty of crabs, blennies, etc. As bass are caught all the way up the UK mainland coast as far as (and beyond ?) the Mull of Galloway, I don't see any reason why there shouldn't also be bass on the Irish side. You mentioned Red Bay. I used to shore fish there many years ago. From memory there are plenty of spots to launch a yak, and some good fishing potential. Then there's Portstewart bay...launch from the harbour. What about Portrush...harbour launch and fish out the back of Ramore Head. Or launch from Portballintrae and fish the Giants Causeway area. Depending on where you live you could find somewhere to launch within a fairly short drive, regardless of wind direction. Where do you live. So many places in NI to yak fish......and I'm right in the middle of England, 2 hrs drive from the nearest piece of sea And don't forget the Erne system for pike, etc. And then there's Donegal...Culdaff, etc. Not that I'm jealous of course !! Good luck with your endaevours and keep us updated as to how you get on.....I'd like to know what I'm missing !!

As it happens, I lost my buoy at the weekend, and I have a spare dry bag ! Great idea Simon, thanks for sharing it.

Its many yars ago now, but there used to be a good run of blue sharks off Horn Head in Donegal each year, around Sep time. Last time I fished it was 1991 (before I moved to England) and we had 14 blues in two days....all within 1.5 - 2 miles of the shore. The common problem with North Donegal (well all of Donegal really) is the weather ....generally wet and WINDY. Still, with the right conditions, its got some potential...if the sharks are still there.

Thanks all for the help; much appreciated.

To those that curently use drogues......what size are you using ? Wychwood drogues (found via Google) are 5' x 5', which seems a helluva size (albeit this is opened out flat). These are designed, I believe, for troutfisher rowing boats, so maybe overkill for a yak. I'm keen to get one but mot sure of the size to go for.

Thanks for the info Robg. I didn't know about the site. I have now registered and will make some time over the weekend to read through the posts. If the weather remains as c$%p as its been these past two days in Sheffield, I'm staying in all weekend !

Thanks for all the info. I've been to Runswick Bay once before, just for a walk. I remember parking at the top of the hill and it was a steep walk down. I seem to recall a car park at the bottom of the hill, but I thought it was for boat club members only...or something like that. Guess I was wrong and its public access. It looked like a nice spot. Nicepix....I'm based in Dronfield, between Sheffield and Chesterfield. Jn 33 would be my nearest going north. I used to be in a club (Charter fishing) based in Barnsley (Barugh Green), not far from Jns 37 and 38. Mike

Thanks Keith. Its many years since I've passed through Flamborough....my recollections are vague. What are the cod being taken on ?

Hi All, To date all of my yak fishing has been done in Wales, but living near Sheffield I'm fairly centrally placed, so the East coast is fairly handy. Just looking at the forecast for the weekend, it looks like lightish westerlies, so might give the east coast a try. Access is usually the issue there...very steep access down to the water in many spots. The walk up from Robin Hood's Bay to the carpark is bad without any baggage, never mind with a yak Odes anyone have any recommended spots from an access perspective ?...nearby parking and easy access to the water ? Thanks. Mike

Yeah, forecast's a bit pants...just hoping it might improve thru the week. If not, plan B will be Anglesey....you can always find somewhere sheltered from the wind there.

Got the week off work and planning a few days yak fishing with my stepson. I fancy a crack at some bream and bass, so if the weather's ok we'll likely head to Tywyn for 2 or 3 days. Maybe we'll some other yakkers there Mike

I connected the wires on mine using connector blocks, then taped over them, but just taping the wires together should be ok. You shouldn't need to do any soldering. Good luck. Mike

Hi Gerry, I'm no expert, but I fitted mine and it works so here goes.... Your wires are red and blue. Each wire must attach to the appropriate equivalent on the battery. The battery connection points are most likely red and black, in which case you need to attach red to red and blue to black. So long as red goes to red you can't go wrong with the other wire ! For the red (live) connection you need to add the inline fuse holder. My Ff (Eagle Cuda) came with one, but it seems yours didn't. Its just a plastic holder that contains a fuse. You just connect the red FF wire to one end of the fuse holder and then connect the other end of the fuse holder to a piece of wire, which in turn connects to the red terminal of the battery. The fuse holder will probably come with this second piece of wire attached. As for the kind of battery connectors required, that will depend on the kind of connection points that the battery has. Mine has spade type connectors, but yours may be different. Ultimately all you're looking for is a metal conneciton to connect wire to battery...must be metal as this completes the circuit. So long as the connection is sufficiently robust it doesn't matter, technically, what kind of connector it is. Remember though, that you will also most likely need to be able to regularly disconnect the battery to remove it from the yak for charging....so don't make the connections to the battery permanent !! Finally, think carefully about how you fit the transducer. I was going to use the AA method of noodle and vaseline, but decided that, as my yak gets transported upside down and gets stored on its side, that this may cause issues with the vaseline. So, I went for the silicon method, using this to stick the TX to the inside of the hull. Others have had some signal issues with this method, but mine has worked fine from day one. You just need to make sure that there are no air bubbles in the silicon. I don't know if this explanation is clear. If not I'd be happy to talk you through it. Let me know and I'll pm you my number. Cheers. Mike

I was new to the yakking last year and bought a Prowler 13. I got a "free" Simply Magic Carlisle paddle with the yak; I think they retail at about £50 - £60 for the one piece version with the fibreglass-type shaft, which is what I got...length 210cm. I had no previous experience but it seemed fine to me. Certainly much better than the £30 cheapo that my mate got as a freebie...don't know what it is, but it weighs a tonne by comparison. When I bought a Scrambler XT a few months ago for my stepson I was offered another free paddle, but chose to upgrade to a 2 piece Originz Northwest Passage; length 215 - 223 cm. This is also quite light and I prefer it to the Carlisle one because I can adjust the length and feather. This paddle retails for about £100 (maybe less). I tend to do about 2 - 3 miles on an average trip and would recommend both of these "budget" paddles as suitable for such purposes. I do favour the Originz one as I can customise it to my requirements. I guess the expensvie paddles come into their own for longer distance paddling. I'll defer to afficionados such as Richi on this point. Unless your going for long distance paddling I'd say you'd be fine with a paddle such as the ones I've mentioned. In my view the important thing is to get a paddle that's the right length for you. This is what I've found. Hope this helps.

Jamie, If you buy from Brookbank, be sure to get a quote for the entire package that you buy from them. They'll usually charge full whack for the yak but give you a free paddle. Check what the free one is. Last year I bought a Prowler 13 from them and the free paddle was a Carlisle Simply Magic with fibre glass shaft....about £60 worth and adequate for a beginner. I've just bought my stepson a Scrambler XT and the free paddle was just a £30 cheapo, with heavy alloy shaft.....so I just paid the difference to upgrade to a better paddle....so basically, I got £30 off. If you're getting an elite, ie a more expensive yak, I think you should expect to get a slightly better quality paddle. If you are also buying other kit such as pfd, cag, pants etc they'll give you a reduction on those as well...generally about 10%. Deva Marine are based in Conwy and Anglesey (nr Benllech). They sell yaks and yakking gear (although don't specialise as Brookbank do). It might be worth getting prices from them as well. Good luck.

Hi Jamie, Where are you based ? I note that you fish in N Wales area and went to Brookbank....I fish and shop on those places respectively. I'm based between Sheffield and Chesterfield. By the way, Richi has a P13 and puts it on a Peugeot 206...or something like that anyway...similar in size to a Fiesta. Mike

Jonnyboy, Check out the specs on the Garmin GPS12. If you like the sound of it PM me...I have one, like new, looking to move it to a good home as Santa brought me a Lowrance iFinder h20. Will happily re-locate Garmin to a fellow yakker for a good price. Mike

Try www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk You should find what you're looking for under "accessories"