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.

Scotland Visit

On the 3rd of July I took my Kayak for a holiday, well I felt it needed a break. I went to a place called Ardmair Point on the West Coast of Scotland. It was at this place 3 years ago that I decided I would like a Kayak. It was, I thought, the ideal place to use one. Having spent a couple of weeks there with a Kayak I still think it's the ideal place but there is an if, it is, if you get the right weather. I was unlucky and had gales and a lot of rain but made the best of it and still enjoyed hours of pleasure catching Pollack and Mackeral.

  Using the Kayak in Scotland

Launching at Ardmair

River Mouth

Was that a spot of rain???

Unfortunately I was unable to use the Kayak for the last couple of days. I went out one morning with great expectations after a lull in the weather. I was hoping to catch myself a nice Sea Trout but alas, it wasn't to be. After being out on the water for about 5 minutes I was aware that something didn't feel quite right. I wasn't sure whether it was the Kayak or my sense of balance. Then, when I stopped it felt worse, as if I could capsize very easily. After that I noticed more water around my feet near the mirage drive than was normal. So, I opened the hatch in the hull and found it was half full of water.
I realised I had serious problem and made for the shore as quickly and as smoothly as I possibly could. After what seemed like 15 minutes (probably more like 10) I got to the shore and capsized. Once I found my feet I tried dragging the Kayak up the beach. I didn't get far because I could barely move it as it was so heavy. It was only after I opened up the hatch at the stern and allowed gallons of water to flow out that I was able to move it any further.
It didn't take long to find the cause of this near disaster, it was a hole inside one of the scuppers. This was caused but the use of the plug in cart made by Hobie. This cart plugs into the Hobie scuppers to enable the Kayak to be pulled up the beach. This, over the course of a year, has worn a hole through the plastic.
I am now waiting to see how Hobie and Bournemouth Canoes are going to respond to this problem. What ever happens I will not be using the plug in cart again.