UKs First Kayakfishing Tournament.

[nolan]

Prowler should be arriving in the next couple of weeks, however i really want a rudder, and apparently the OK one isn't that good from all accounts so I'm gonna order the rudder kit from Kayakfishingstuff in the US, Recon that'll take a month or so to arrive. So i might wait and get it all to coincide nicely.

Am having some instruction from a company called kayakojacko in April if anyones interested. Course is all day and designed as an introduction to the whitewater stuff, but an awfull lot of the skills taught will carry across into sea work. As I said course is all day and based in Shepperton. Cost is £80 and the group size is very small.

 

Below is a bit of the email they sent me:

 

"The course starts at Whitewater the Canoe Centre in Shepperton and then

moves onto a trip on the Thames. In the early evening we move to Acton

in West London and do the wet bits.

 

I'll forward more details a bout closer to the course.

 

Kind regards

Jacko

www.kayakojacko.com - All ages - All levels - All around the world"

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Hi Nolan,

 

Good luck with the course, should be a lot of fun by the sounds of it.

I read the same as you re the rudder.

Hope it all goes well.

[Simon Everett]

Yakity Yak,

I would like to come to the Kayak do too - I live in Staffordshire - bloody miles from the sea - but have a Prowler 13 Angler now. Used to live at East Budleigh, so it would bring back happy memories for me. I am actally from Cornwall, then moved to Plymouth area, then East Devon and now the pits! N. Wales is my main stamping ground - so I could organise a Kayak get together up here if anyone is interested.

I do a bit of reporting for Boat Fishing - their boat tests mainly (I am a professional photographer/writer) so would like to cover the event for the mag. Is that OK with you?

Been fishing from small boats since I was 6 - it was moored at the bottom of the gadrden at Mylor Bridge then similar at Newton Ferrers. Brilliant for baited spooning for flounders. Next year we run a flounder competition in one of the rvers! I'm no Southern Softie, I'll go out in the winter!

TTFN,

Simon Everett

[nolan]

Cool, get our ARMADA featured in a mag...

[SpeciMan]

Hi Simon nice to meet you. Thats quite a 'CV' you've presented here sounds like you have lots of small boating experience.

 

Have you been out kayak fishing this winter at all? What sort of fish are you after and what type of protective clothing do you wear?

[Simon Everett]

Hello Tony not Simon - that's my name, you use your own!

I used to go Kayak fishing back in the early 70s, it was a closed canoe, typical pointy Eskimo kayak that was properly boat built out of ash and canvass -light as feather and incredibly fast. I used to use it for bass fishing in the mouth of the Yealm and flounder spooning in the winter. The beauty of a kayak over the small boat (other than the motive power bit) is that they are so quiet in the water, so shallow water work spooks the fish less - boat scare is why uptiding had to be invented! My wooden kayak was 14' long and only 24" beam at the cockpit. It wasn't as stable as these modern ones, but it was so light that even at 12 I could pick it up and carry it up the steps.

Winter is not that difficult to combat. Fleece leggings, trousers, t-shirt or silk long sleeved vest (like I use for motorcycling) shirt, sweatshirt fleece then neoprene STOCKING FOOT waders, that is important. You then just have a pair of rubber booties, or old trainers to put on for launching/recovery. Take them off in the boat, your feet have more air around them and stay warmer! A DOUGLAS GILL sailing jacket - their Coast jacket is excellent, with an inflateable lifejacket over the top. These are not cumbersome at all, but will do the job if required. I use the MANUAL version, because if you have a spill you don't want the damn thing going off every time making it impossible to climb back aboard. You are unlikely to need an automatic inflation from a Kayak and the ability to get back aboard is more important. Neoprene gloves are good - I tried those Sealskinz, thinking they would be the business. They're not, they are crap. You get cold, wet and they stink to high heaven after two or three wearings. They are about £30 too - save your money and buy some neoprene gloves. The Ron Thompson ones are £9 from Sportfish, they have fold back finger tips. They are thin, only 1.5mm, and will wear out quickly, but how often are you going to use them? They should be good for two seasons - £5 per year is a small price to pay for flexible pinkies! DON@T buy fleece gloves, they soak up water and so your hands are wet constantly, then if you take them off they are impossible to get back on. The Barbour neorenes look good, but questions need to be asked - they don't say how thick the neoprene is for one.

The other things I take with me - every time regardless of how close in I am going: a compass - they don't fail. GPS is unecessary to get you home and Kayak fishing marks are not THAT defined most of the time. I have a handheld (Garmin 12) but a compass is the real navigators tool. A chart of the area is also a good investment - shows loads of features. You can spend hours pouring over them looking at places to go, writing notes and bearings to steer etc. You can even plot GPS coordinates if you must. FLARES: a couple of red rocket flares in their own sealed polythene packing. From my powerboat racing I also have personal flares - a pack which goes in your pocket is about £20 there are 8 in the rubber housing - it also has a lanyard hole to attach it to your boat. Out of interest the race boat is up for sale - I won the RMYC Cancer Charities Race last year and was joint 1st in Class 2 offshore with her - but at 65hp on a 14' boat I was a bit handicapped against the 18' & 19' 200hp boys! Shame they can't steer a straight course though isn't it!

I have seen that you can now get handheld fish finders. No need to rig loads of gear on your Kayak, it will transpond through the hull. I might see if I can get one, less weight, less bulk and less bother. For me though, the whole essence of Kayak fishing is the simplicity. I don't want a small version of a charter boat! I just want to go do it naturally. Use shore marks to line you up, like we used to before the days of GPS and ultra sensitive echo sounders (now called fish finders). Dad ran a charter boat frm Plymouth, we had an old Kelvin Hughes sounder and in the latter days the rented Decca - very useful for finding wrecks, but for inshore and reef fishing a complete waste of time. You just don't need it.

I've gone on for long enough.

See ya,

Simon.

[Jaffa]

Hi Simon E and welcome to AN . Great to have someone with your experience here and I look forward to picking your brains

 

I'd start now but I guess it might not be good to drag this particular thread off topic.

 

Getting to be so many of us now that good stuff like your clothing recommendations are going to get buried. Are we going to have to start sensible threads ? omg that'll be new

 

Cheers, Chris.

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Hi Simon E,

 

Welcome to A.N.

Welcome also to the Kayak clan.

As Jaffa has already said, its great to have someone with your experience amounst us.

You are very welcome to join in with the Tournament, will be a pleasure to have you there.

PLEASE, e-mail your full name and address to me Simon, need it for the paperwork, thanks.

Will send you the Tourny details and safety requirements,nearer the time.

 

Power boating, dont know Miles Jennings by chance ??

Smart Cast do a nifty fishfinder range, one that clips to the rod is good, my fishing buddy Millsey, has one, loves it.

There is also a wrist watch option, and a portable base model.

 

Re your offer to cover the Tournament with a report.

That would be cool.

It would be nice to see Kayakfishing take hold in the u.k.

The more we do to get the sport out there the better.

Norm B has kindly offered to publish an article too, in Sea Angling News.

I have written a bit about Kayakfishing and the Tournament, which he is going to print before the event, hopefully will stir more interest.

Might have some prizes from the importers too.

They have already offered a Banner for us.

 

How do you find the Prowler, its had some cracking write ups, apart from the neoprene hatch cover.

They are over that problem now, a gasket has been made to replace it.

I have the old Scrambler XT, and am very happy with her.

 

A Tournament in Wales sounds good, are you up for organiseing one ?

Just dont make it in JUNE, Im in Cyprus for a fortnight .

 

Although the Touraments are going to be a lot of fun, we must have a safety code in place and be organised in what we do.

This being the first in the U.K. with others to follow, I have put together a starter pack so to speak.

I hope everyone will follow,promote, and support it for what it is.

The details will come with the Tournament details to all takeing part.

 

Well, my fingers are bleeding, so Im off.

Dont forget your address Simon.

 

Yakity.

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Sensible threads ......fancy spoiling it Jaffa

[Starvinmarvin]

Welcome to AN Simon, have been enjoying Boat Fishing Monthly since I first discovered it about 5 months ago, always something a little different to read about and useful for all us kayak folk.

 

Just put my order in for a Prowler 13 and yes Yakity I've asked for the Gasket version, although not sure that option is available in the UK yet.

 

SM