 The RTM Abaco 4.20 comes with 2 rear facing flush mount rod holders as standard and these are fine for holding the rods whilst on the move or for holding a trolling rod. Rod holders can also be attached to Abaco on the slide rails beside the foot wells but after using them i found that they were too low to support the rod properly and would require extenders to be used properly for fishing at anchor or whilst drifting. I searched online for alternative solutions such as rocket launcher/tube style rod holders and looked at various reviews on blogs and forums but it appeared that many people had problems with the stability of the rod holder, especially in choppy seas, and they seemed pretty expensive too. Shortly after purchasing my first kayak, a Teksport 330 Xplore, i installed 2 forward facing flush mount rod holders either side of the seating area within arms reach and found these to be perfect for practically all of my fishing. I wanted to replicate the same on the Abaco but space for installing flush mounts on the sides of the seating area is very limited - limited but not impossible! Here's how i installed them:
 Slide tracks can be fitted to many kayaks for mounting various accessories onto. The RTM Abaco 4.20 luxe comes with slide rails factory fitted either side of the footwell. Some accessories such as the Yak Attack screw balls or purpose made Ram ball slide track mounts will fit directly to the rails. I was planning to mount a scotty base onto the slide track but wanted a solid board on which to attach it to. Slide track mounting boards can be purchased but seem very expensive for what looks like a simple strip of plastic so i planned on making my own.
 The RTM Abaco comes with plenty of storage space. There is a large front hatch with removable basin, a sealed centre storage area with rod tube and a huge rear tank well. The front hatch is perfect for storing a C-Tug whilst out on the water with the basin removed, with the basin in place it makes a great space to store clothing or other smaller items. The sealed centre storage area is great for storing tackle and a spare lure rod. The rear tank well provides the largest storage space and is the perfect width to take a storage crate......
 Conditions were spot on for a launch at one of my favourite fishing spots. Kieren was keen but i had a limited time window to fish, so with a late afternoon tide we planned to fish the final 3 hours of the flooding tide to be in with the best chance of finding any fish. It was a decent sized tide and we would be fishing an exposed area of coastline so was looking forward to see how the Abaco handled.
 Finally a spell of settled weather! A plan was forged to target pollack from the reefs with Sam and Matt, and the forecast was looking great. Sam went to the launch mark early on sunday morning to check the conditions and gave me and matt the nod to meet there mid morning. I fitted my fish finder the day before so it was all ready to locate the reefs in the hope of finding a fish or two. It was the maiden voyage on the RTM Abaco so was hoping for a nice easy launch so i could get used to the feel of the kayak..... not today!....
 At the start of the year i was lucky enough to be offered a place on the 4-man RTM UK fishing team. I happily accepted the offer and will be sponsored/supported by the company over the next year. RTM are based in France and are Europe's largest kayak manufacturer. I very much look forward to using and testing their products over the year. After browsing through their catalogue i settled on getting a RTM Abaco 4.20 luxe, as it looks most suited for what i will be using it for. An order was placed with RTM and on friday i received my brand new kayak! Here's the initial overview with lots of photos.....
 With a very brief break in the persistent strong winds of late i decided it was time to get out on the kayak. Kieren was keen and the wind forecast looked perfect with very light westerlies throughout the day ....but the swell was still lingering after the weekends storm. I had a couple of launch marks lined up and it was a case of seeing how they were on the day as to whether the kayak would get on the water or not.
 It has been a long winter of persistent storms. The Atlantic has been firing one after another straight at the UK with Cornwall bearing the worst of it. I always keep an eye on the sea conditions on Magic Seaweed and week after week huge patches of swell are arriving at the cornish coast - its not often you see Oranges, Reds and Blacks on the swell chart - these mean 20ft+ swells with the black patches reaching 50ft.... not kayaking weather and to even contemplate putting a kayak in that sort of swell is pure stupidity!
 With the weather still not playing ball for a decent session out on the kayaks (i want to test my fish finder!!) i went out in search of Flounder in a local estuary. It was my angling clubs Christmas Competition so signed on and went to the mark in the hope of catching a plump winter flounder. The rods were already set up so to pass the time whilst waiting for the tide to push i went and dug a few rag worm in the mud; always fun..... if you like mud! Fresh dug harbour rag worm are lethal for the Flounder and i have learnt over the years that the shop brought farmed stuff is no where near as effective. Anyhow i had brought some rag worm incase i didn't have enough time to dig enough bait for the whole session.....
 The 2013 Kayak Wars competition started on the 1st of February and ended on the 14th of December. It was the first year that European kayak anglers could submit teams and compete in the Kayak Wars. I formed a team comprising of Elliot, Kieren and myself under the name of West Cornwall Kayakers!
 Ram Mounts can be used for a wide range of applications and are particularly useful on kayaks for positioning fish finders, rod holders, transducer mounts and just about anything else which you can attach a ram ball mount too.
 Ive been using a fairly crude makeshift pole on which to mount my Go Pro HD Hero 2 for the last year but have finally got round to making a more suitable and versatile pole for the job. The idea isn't new with a few kayak fisherman having made their own so thought i would have a crack at making one suited to my needs - for use on the kayak and for use when snorkelling.....
 Ive seen many different methods of storing anchor line on the kayak ranging from expensive divers reels to line being wrapped around a plank of wood! I decided to have a go at making my own anchor reel that would allow me to easily wind on anchor line when needed. I decided on a reel mounted onto a plastic pipe that would fit into the scupper holes on my Teksport 330 - it will also fit in most flush mounted rod holders too so could potentially be used on any kayak.....
 Leashes are a fairly important piece of kit if you don't want your gear plummeting to the depths should it go overboard! Here's an easy way to make leashes for keeping rods/reels, cameras, paddles, fish finders e.t.c. attached to the kayak.
 With a storm battering the cornish coast, gusting at over 60mph, the kayak was staying firmly on dry land. Even with the howling wind i decided to find a nice sheltered creek on a local river to target one of my favourite fish - Flounder! When they are feeding they can be great fun to catch and give a great fight on light gear....
 The anchor trolley is a fairly essential part of anchoring up whilst fishing. In a nutshell it allows you to position the point along the kayak at which your anchor line will enter the water. This allows you to position the kayak in a comfortable and, more importantly, a safe position relative to the wind, swell and tide.....
 I like using flush mount rod holders for most of my fishing but on the Hobie Outfitter the built in rod holders don't seem deep enough to fully hold the rod with enough support to prevent them being potentially pulled out by a running fish or a snag.
 Most kayak anglers have some sort of crate/box in which to store tackle and bait. There are many ways in which a basic collapsible storage crate from the local supermarket can be modified into the perfect tackle storage solution.....
 The first catch report of the blog - enjoy!
I spend the majority of my time in Plymouth at university but every so often i get the odd weekend when i can get back home to Hayle. I watch the weather forecast eagerly when i know im going back in the hope that the weather will allow me to get out on the kayak. Last weekend one such weather window opened up so a quick message to my brother to tell him to get his gear ready and all was sorted. We were going after the Ray!  Over the 7 years i have been fishing i have caught many species both in freshwater and saltwater.
Below are lists of species caught by myself.... |
AuthorLiam Faisey 
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© 2023 Liam Faisey
© 2023 Liam Faisey