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.