Mid wales tope

[barry luxton]

I came back last night, even though I had today off to go out - been to the quack as I have knackered my shoulder. The paddle in was excrutiating - no dolphins to ease the pain. Can't lift my hand to head level, have no idea how I did it either. Physio/sports injury chappie on Tuesday, so I'll find out then. Meantime I am laid up unable to ride the bike (Anna needs the car) and chewing on pain killers!! I think I'll try the whisky mix treatment - it is supposed to work and makes the ceiling go pretty colours!!! Brilliant time up there though - oh, and the heavy mono thing has been thrown out - Nifty got bitten off a couple of times (200lb mono) and Phooey the same - and Richi too. So it is back to wire biting lengths on heavy mono rubbing lengths from now on.

 

Wonder if you have a frozen shoulder joint. I could not lift a paper bag past horizontal without tears in me eyes.

[Martin Hurst]

Didnt blank today!!

[richi]

What a trip!

 

 

 

 

 

4 new species for the year

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loads of TOPE!!!

 

 

with a great bunch of blokes in a great place! see you all for round 4

[GB]

Round 4. Come on lets AVE IT!!

[Martin Hurst]

Round 4. Come on lets AVE IT!!

Seconded!!

 

Top trip (in the end) thanks for the photos richi!!

 

 

 

[Greywulff]

Hi all,

 

Just a question tope fishing from a yak, First of all I have 12lb class rods, big multipliers, 15lb main line, 80lb rubbing trace (5') and 18 inches 40lb wire trace with a 6/0 hook all ready and waiting to have a go. But!

 

And here's the question " What can I expect to happen once hooked up "

I'll be at anchor so will have to release this to be picked up after, but what is the fight like and how long does it normally last and how far will I be towed .

 

Greywulff

[richi]

Hi all,

 

Just a question tope fishing from a yak, First of all I have 12lb class rods, big multipliers, 15lb main line, 80lb rubbing trace (5') and 18 inches 40lb wire trace with a 6/0 hook all ready and waiting to have a go. But!

 

And here's the question " What can I expect to happen once hooked up "

I'll be at anchor so will have to release this to be picked up after, but what is the fight like and how long does it normally last and how far will I be towed .

 

Greywulff

 

Expect the thrill of a lifetime,we all set the drag with the clicker on and it screams when they take off!We stay at anchor but expect to be pulled around in various directions.One of the lads let go of his anchor last year and was towed over a mile.The fight can last around 10 minutes,and they will make continual runs during this period.Not one for beginners!

[GB]

Heres some more pics.

 

Phooey launching.

 

 

Group hug.

 

 

Phooey's in.

 

 

Now thats a bend.

 

 

Here it comes.

 

 

Who's got the biggest grin.

 

 

One of Nifty's

 

Edited May 28, 2007 by GB

[GB]

And some more.

 

Heavy fish for Nifty.

 

 

One for me.

 

[nifty]

Hi all,

 

Just a question tope fishing from a yak, First of all I have 12lb class rods, big multipliers, 15lb main line, 80lb rubbing trace (5') and 18 inches 40lb wire trace with a 6/0 hook all ready and waiting to have a go. But!

 

And here's the question " What can I expect to happen once hooked up "

I'll be at anchor so will have to release this to be picked up after, but what is the fight like and how long does it normally last and how far will I be towed .

 

Greywulff

 

Richi's pretty much hit the nail on the head with his reply. I think we all do things slightly differently and learn a bit more each trip.

Your set up sounds about right to me though I would add a leader to your mainline. A 5ft trace even with the 18inch biter on 15lb line is going to get bust, sooner rather than later. Tope have a habit of rolling in the line and just one turn will have the abrasive skin cutting through the 15lb line like cotton.

This season I have been using a Daiwa tapered leader uni knotted to my mainline. This gives you over 20ft of 60lb line above the trace and so far it has worked well. You could just use 20ft of 50-60 lb mono tied to your 15lb with any of the knots the beachfishers use but they are bulky knots and liable to pick up weed which isn't good when a big fish is on the end and you have to pick it off when it gets jammed in the tip ring. The tapered leader keeps the knot nice and small as you are only tying 15lb to 15lb(approx) and the double uni is a good strong knot.

I also tend to hold the rod all the time with the reel out of gear and just my thumb on the spool. It may sound tedious but you get more idea of what's going on below and if a doggy is munching your bait you can wind up a few feet and check instead of leaving the bait fishing idly inside a greedy pest. Quite a few Tope will also pick up a bait without the classic tearaway run and if you are holding the rod it is possible to hit them when they move just a yard or two. This happened a few times on our last trip.

I think the reason is, although there were a few fish about, there weren't packs of them and they were picking up the bait to eat at their leisure rather than tearing off with their meal to avoid the other fish.

With our Tywyn fish, the majority of them now are females and hunting singly as opposed to in packs which are normally made up of male fish.

If you get a real tearaway 100mph run then you can be pretty sure you have a male fish. If you get a nice steady run that just keeps going slowly then be prepared for a big female. A fit start affair I have noticed is usually a small to middleweight female. Whichever, let them go for only a few seconds, 4 or 5 then clamp your thumb on the spool and just let it tighten up. Don't go striking and whacking the rod up, the weight of the fish will set the hook if it is in it's mouth. If after a few seconds or even after a minute or two everything goes slack and the fish is obviously off, not just running towards you, knock the reel back out of gear and leave it there. If it hasn't nicked off with the bait you can be pretty sure that within a minute or two you will get another chance.

If you get one of the big females then you will know pretty quickly as they just keep plodding on downtide and there is nothing you can do but let them go against steady pressure. A 200 yrd first run is normal ( in the shallow water we are fishing)and then they will just hang in the tide and it becomes a battle to retrieve every single inch of line. Once you start gaining line then they will move uptide and usually well away from the side of the kayak, so if you have company and they are anchored within a 100 yds be ready to ask them to lift their anchors and shift. A good reason to spread yourself well apart at the beginning.

The sub 40lb fish don't usually go as far and are more nimble on their fins tearing off downtide quickly before steaming back at you and usually trying to tie you up in the anchor, which I would advise to leave down, at least for the first few.

If they do go for the rope then swing the rod tip around the bow and you should get away with it. They are clever enough to go for the anchor but not clever enough to go around it.

After all this and you have your fish beat then I would advise trying to unhook it in the water before lifting aboard. This is my opinion and I know others disagree but if anything goes wrong then you can just dump the fish overboard and not be hooked up to it still.

As for your trace, 40lb wire will probably be ok though I would up it myself to 60lb. I tried 200lb mono last trip and it cost me a nice fish when I was lifting it aboard though I had had 9 others on it beforehand(not the same trace). You do seem to get more runs on it but if they cut off then it's not really on for me. Gareths strimmer cable is maybe the way to go. I had a chat to the local charter skipper in Aberdyfi on the way home last week and was bemoaning the fact of the lost fish on mono as I thought that's what he had recommended and he said Black and decker strimmer cable was what he used.Doh

Another interesting point was something I had thought myself and why I havn't bothered with it for the Tope, Rubby Dubby. All it does is attract millions of doggies into the area.

Are you bored yet?

Stu