It isn't just about the fishing....

We had a change of venue and launched the Kayaks a couple of miles further up the coast at Calshot. There was a fairly strong southerly breeze and it made fishing from Lepe unsafe. Calshot on the other hand, offered a bit of protection from the wind if launching from the main slipway and heading in the direction of the power station.
 We spent an hour or so staying close to the shore and fishing the deep water less than a 100 yards out.  Tim caught a nice little Whiting but that was all so we moved to the shallows looking for flounder. We didn't get any but we did catch a few small Bass. So, the fishing wasn't great.
Being so close in to the shore we were able to get very near the bird life that frequents this area. I have found that if you approach these birds from the shore they have gone before you get a good look at them, from a Kayak it is very different. They tend to look at you with curiosity but don't take flight. It is at this point that you start thinking that the camera that you are carrying is far more important than the rod. My little Pentax has been a bit disappointing of late and I have been looking at Tims photo's with envy. I now have an Olympus Tough 6020 the same as his. With the Pentax Optio I have found it very difficult to keep the lens clean as it has no lens cap or cover and that is a problem with salt water. With the Olympus you have the lens cover and the added benifit of an image stabiliser.This will hopefully improve my photos, if it doesn't I guess I'll have to blame the photographer. No photo's of bird life this time but maybe next time.

Launching from Calshot

Calshot Castle

Tim in the shallows

Calshot Castle

Outfished!

Another trip out from Lepe and this time I was out-fished. It was another nice day so Tim and I set out for a deep water mark off Lepe which, on our last outing produced a variety of fish. We were hoping for some early cod but all was quiet apart from the tide that started ripping away and making life a little uncomfortable. So, we decided to move to shallow water and where the tide was less of a problem. I struggled getting my anchor and was saved by the weak link. Tim wasn't so lucky and had to sacrifice his anchor and cut himself free. Something to remember here, if it says no anchoring on the chart it is for good reason, cables were the reason on this instance.
We headed for the shallows around Beaulieu river and anchored shallow but allowed ourselves to drift over some deeper areas. I caught three tiny Bass, Tim on the other hand not only caught more but some were a lot bigger. I had to be content with some nice photos of a beautiful sunset.

Lucky Dip

Mick Chilling

Tim with his Bass

The sun shines on the righteous!

A beautiful evening.

End of day.

Blanked

The day started well, I was pretty well organised, the sea was calm, what could go wrong? Well apart from the weather, nothing went wrong. If you believe the weather forecast you can be easily fooled. Because the conditions were good I peddled out to the North East Gurnard buoy. I has been there before and I knew the water was pretty deep so I thought I'd try my luck for some of those early Cod or Whiting that people have been talking about. After I'd been there about an hour I noticed the wind was freshening and, since I hadn't so much as a bite I decided to move closer to the shore. Soon after upping anchor and moving towards the shore the sea and wind turned nasty and I was getting a lot of water coming over the side and front of the Kayak. It was an easterly wind and the tide against me, it was very hard work but eventually I made it back to Beaulieu river. Although I felt safer being closer to the shore the sea was still very rough and I was getting a frequent bucket load of water thrown at me. I tried fishing a while but didn't feel very comfortable so I called it a day and went ashore. There I sat for a while pondered the last few hours over a cup of tea, damn the weather forecast. No fish but a bloody good workout, my legs are gonna ache!
On a positive note the Eagle Cuda350 fishfinder/GPS was really good and proved that it can withstand the wet conditions. The Kayak stayed upright, the dry suit kept me dry and the the life jacket, well, I decided against testing that again.

Kari-tek loading

Kari-tek loaded

Eagle Cuda 350 (before the sea turned nasty)

Eagle Cuda 350 (before the sea turned nasty)

Eling

Yesterday we decided to try something new, a trip from Eling. With a Spring tide and 18mph winds forecast we thought the water around Eling would be safer and more comfortable.
After setting off at around 9.30am it wasn't long before we had caught our first of many small Bass, trolling as we made our way out to deeper water. It was surprising how shallow it was initially but as we got closer to the container ships the water shelved off to about 60 feet.
The fishing wasn't great, Tim caught a Pouting and a small Whiting but that was all so, we moved off towards the railway bridge. For some reason I had it in my head that I had to give this place a try and now that I have I probably wont return. I didn't get so much as a bite . Tim got a larger Bass but nothing else was happening.
Although feeling safe, the wind was a nuisance and made paddling and peddling hard work so to end the day we tried our luck at the mouth of Eling creek. Again, lots of small Bass and, a Flounder.
Not the most successful of days but worth a try and still an enjoyable day.

Makes you feel a bit small!

Kayak Sandwich

Snap Happy

Wildlife

Chris at the railway bridge

Tims Bass

Fish Cleaning

Ben at Eling Creek

Me and my Flounder

Four Yakers in fishing frenzy....read all about it!!

ok ok,  I'm exaggerating but it was a good day.

Tim and I were joined by our sons Chris and Ben in a trip from our regular venue, Lepe. It was a perfect day, next to no wind and, for the most part a clear blue sky.

We started fishing in about 15 feet of water a couple of hundred yards out. Ben was the first to catch with a small Thornback Ray, but very little else was happening so we moved back to the mouth of Beaulieu river where Chris and I caught a couple of small bass. Apart from that it was very quiet so, another move this time just under half way to the Isle of Wight in 55 foot of water. Almost immediately the bites started and the fish, mainly dog fish were coming to the yaks. I know dog fish are looked upon as a bit of a nuisance but I think they are nice looking fish and I still appreciate catching them.
Then came the Smooth Hound, a fish in a different class in it's ability to fight. It wasn't the biggest smooth hound I've caught but it was the first from a Kayak, great fun. Next it was a Bream, small but another species to add. Finally I managed a Thornback Ray, a bit small but another first from the Kayak.

Eventually the tide got the better of us and we were dragging anchor so we moved closer to the shore for safer fishing. However, getting in proved a challenge as suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of a Yacht race. Even when anchored the yachts were coming a bit close for comfort and, with the breeze freshening we decided to call it a day.
Tim and Chris did ok with Bream, Bass, Dogfish and a Mackerel. Between us we managed six different species in a day, I'm already looking forward to the next trip.

Boys like their toys.

Ready to go

Ben with his Thornback Ray

Me and my Dogfish

Tims Dogfish

Tim in action

Tim with his Dogfish

A perfect day for Kayaking

 Dogfish

Me and my Smooth Hound

Thornback Ray

Smooth Hound

A boat full of Kayak watchers.

A bit close for comfort!

On target?

Between us we got some nice photos. Thanks again to Tims for his, better than mine I think , hmmm, does he take better photos than me or does he have a better camera?? mutter mutter.  I still have not mastered the head cam but hopefully next time I'll have something worth looking at

The one that got away.

Yesterday Ben was introduced to Kayak fishing and he loved it, it was no surprise, it is a great pastime. He didn't catch much but he seemed reluctant to give up. Pictured below is Ben with a small Bream. I did a bit better with a larger Bream and a story about the one that got away.
I  had left the rod in the holder whilst I smothered myself in suntan lotion to prevent getting the Lobster look that I achieved a while back when I notice movement on the rod tip. On picking up the rod the fish took off like a rocket, it was obviously something big, so I got the net ready. After playing the fish for a while and tiring it out I got the fish to the side of the yak ready to net but, it thrashed, the line broke and the fish, a BIG Smooth Hound, was gone. Unfortunately  I wasn't wearing my headcam so there is no video but I did have a witness.
I am beginning to lose faith in the braided line I was using as this has happened before, am I doing something wrong I wonder or does this stuff break easily?

Ben and his Bream

Back on the Outback

Today I took my new Outback out for a spot of fishing. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, well it's true, I missed the Outback enormously and I much prefer it to the Prowler. That is not saying the Prowler is a bad Kayak, the Prowler is very good but for me, I feel safer on the Outback. I don't know whether it was my imagination but the steering seemed a lot more sensitive than my last Outback, it took a bit of getting used to. Have Hobie made some subtle change I wonder?

I have no photos of this trip as I forgot my camera in all the excitement but I'll paint a picture for your imagination.
The rain was dripping off the end of my nose, there was no need for sunglasses and I went home stinking of fish.

 A good day, I caught a lot of Bass, one a keeper and, three very nice Mackerel.

The Reincarnation of my Hobie Outback

If anyone has been following this Blog they will know that I met with near disaster when I last ventured out on my Hobie Outback Kayak whilst on holiday in Scotland. The cause of this near disaster was a hole in the scupper hole in the Kayak which resulted in the kayak filling with water. I cannot be certain but I believe that the hole was made by the purpose made cart that is inserted into the scupper holes to enable  the user to move the Kayak around when out of the water. Over the course of a year, this has worn the inside of the scuppers and made a hole.

Hobie have been excellent in dealing with this problem and have now replaced my Kayak. I consider myself very lucky as I have read reports where Hobie have not been so sympathetic in similar cases and have blamed misuse of the plug in cart as the cause of the damage. I firmly believe there is a problem with this particular cart or there was a weakness inside the scuppers of that particular Kayak. Either way it renders the plug in cart unfit for purpose. There are now cart dome caps available which I believe will go a long way to resolving the problem.

So, if anyone from Hobie is reading this, thank you for being so understanding in my case but please do not dismiss this kind of damage as misuse of the cart, there is definitely an issue with the old type cart.

Moss Green Hobie Outback with C-Tug Cart.

Another outing from Lepe........

 ....but nothing but tiddlers this time. The day started well, a beautiful calm sea and lots of fresh ragworm for bait. Lots of bites but mainly small Bream and a few small Bass. Then the wind freshened and it got a bit uncomfortable so I called it a day. It has to be said, a bad days fishing is still SO much more fun than a good day at work.

Flat calm at Lepe

The best tiddler of the day.

New boat = Big Fish?

Ocean Prowler

I went fishing yesterday, in a new Kayak. It was an Ocean Prowler Trident 15 purchased from Brookbank Canoes. I had been thinking about getting another Kayak so that I could invite my kids or a friend to share this hobby. The problem with the Hobie has hastened that decision. The thought of missing weeks of the valuable English summer whilst Hobie offered a solution to my problem was too much to bear.
After digging some ragworm at Lepe, Tim and I set off to catch some fish. We were a bit limited as I hadn't set the new Kayak up for fishing and I had no means of anchoring, I had to tie on to Tims Kayak. We tried the mouth of Beaulieu river but holding anchor with the strong tide and increasing wind made this uncomfortable. We ended up a few hundred yards out from the Lepe Cafe in about 10 feet of water.
I landed my best ever Bass. Ok, it was 5lb 5oz but for me it was BIG. The day had started a little slow, Tim and I had a few small bass and lots of little bites that turned out to be Black Bream. Then it started to rain and I was feeling a bit cold. Tim, forever the optimist, said that it was good that it was raining and that the fish will bite when it rains. How the hell does a fish know when it's raining? Well, it appears the BIG Bass I caught knew as my line when screaming away. More larger Bream followed, ideal for the barbie.
The Prowler is a nice boat but it did make me appreciate the Hobie more than ever. The Hobie Outback is definitely a more solid and stable craft and the mirage drive was sorely missed. It would appear however, that you catch bigger fish from the Prowler
All in all a successful and very pleasant days fishing..
Oh, and by the way, I fell in again, got my feet tangled with the landing net getting off the Kayak, hence the wet shirt in fish photo.

A small but Beautiful Bass.

My best to date at 5lb 5oz

Tim in action

Kayakers view of Lepe

The FISH

The Prowler

Tims Bream and some cool Kayak dude in the background.

Thanks again to Tim for the photos.