Kayak Fishing Blog

Kayak Reef Lure Fishing Video

28/11/2015

Kayak Fishing, Reef Fishing and Lure Fishing - put the three together and you can have some great fun! I've put together a video of some of the Kayak Reef Lure fishing action i've had over the last couple of trips, featuring Pollack, Wrasse and Ling. Check it out in this blog post.....

A Narrow Window - 23rd November 2015

28/11/2015

Wind, Wind, Swell, more Wind, Rain, more Swell and even more Wind. The last month's weather has been terrible with not even the hint of a break. Finally a narrow window showed itself and by a stroke of luck it coincided with a day off. Time to go kayak fishing! The tide was good for fishing the reefs for Pollack and with a shed load of homemade lures in the tackle box, things were falling into place....

RTM Abaco 4.20 - Review

7/11/2015

I was recently asked by the Canoe Shops Group to write a review of the RTM Abaco 4.20 for their fishing kayak review website. I have been paddling and kayak fishing from an Abaco 4.20 for almost 2 years now and have fished from it in all sorts of conditions around the Cornish coastline. I feel i can give a comprehensive review on the pros and cons of this kayak. Despite being sponsored by RTM, I hope you will find this a fair and balanced review and I have highlighted the reasons why i like this kayak, as well as the areas that could be improved on in future designs. This review is not based solely on my experiences but also includes the comments from those who have paddled my Abaco along with others who also own and fish from one.

Ram Mount Rod Rest for Kayak Fishing

27/10/2015

Most kayaks come with rear facing flush mount rod holders and these are great for trolling a lure or storing the rods whilst paddling. Some kayaks come with forward facing flush mount rod holders and these are useful for when fishing at anchor or on the drift, however they position the rods at quite a steep angle. I find this annoying when bait fishing in chop or swell where the sharp angle tends to bounce the weight on the bottom instead of gently dragging it across the bottom. I needed a rod holding solution that positioned the rods at a lower angle. The use of a rod rest has recently become popular so i decided to make a fully adjustable rod rest system that i could easily transfer between any of my fishing kayaks. This is how i done it.....

Making Soft Plastic Lures: Part 1 - Split Belly Shad Bodies

25/10/2015

Lure fishing has brought me great results this year. It is a fantastic way of fishing but there is one problem..... lures are expensive! I have been aware that the moulds and kits are available to pour your own soft plastic lures for some time so I took the plunge and brought everything i needed to pour my own lure bodies. It is surprisingly easy to do and it will save a lot of money replacing lures that have torn or have been chewed to a rubbery death. Here is a run through of how to make them....

Lure Fishing Fun! - 14th October 2015

14/10/2015

The forecast was much calmer than last week and i fancied my chances at getting Andrew hooked into some hard fighting Pollack. We had struggled to even get a rod in the water last week with the rough conditions but things were looking much better. Little wind forecast and only a drop of swell. The sun was out too!

Rough Water Paddling - 7th October 2015

7/10/2015

It had been weeks since i had been on the water. Conditions were touch and go for a fishing session with a brisk breeze and 6ft swell forecast. It didn't matter, i wanted to get out on the water and Andrew was keen to join and have a go the Abaco. We would take a lure rod each to have a few casts but we would mainly be battling the sea conditions..... sounds like fun to me!

Kayak Anglers Choice Awards

28/9/2015

My blog has been nominated for 'Blog of the Year' in the Kayak Anglers Choice Awards. The first round of voting is over and my blog has advanced to Round 2 after placing in the top 50% of nominees. Any votes in this round would be great and may see me get through to the final round of voting! Voting in Round 2 is open until midnight on Sunday 4th October.

So if you like my blog then place your votes here: Kayak Anglers Choice Awards

RTM Ocean Duo Angler - Initial Overview

18/9/2015

I decided to get a new tandem kayak - the RTM Ocean Duo Angler in Grey Storm. As with most tandem kayaks the Ocean Duo is fairly simple in terms of features for kayak fishing. I have made a few easy modifications to make the kayak more suited for two to fish from. Here is an initial overview of the kayak and a run-through of the modifications i have made.

Deepwater Lure Fishing Fun! - 6th September 2015

6/9/2015

With the success of fishing lures in deep water during the Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet i wanted to give it another go! This time Holly was coming along on the tandem. I had been to Seaview Angling at Plymouth to top up with some new lures - Fiiish Minnows and the new HTO Arctic Eel. The forecast was looking good with light winds and sun. On arrival at the launch it soon became apparent that the wind forecast was wrong!

Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet 2015

1/9/2015

The weather has been notoriously unpredictable and unsettled this summer however in the weeks leading up to the Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet the weekends had been reasonably settled. Fingers were firmly crossed the weather would be good after last years disappointing weather. At the start of the week the forecasts were looking awful and I could see the meet not going to plan once again. Wednesday brought a much-welcomed change in forecast. A drop of swell would be around but light winds were forecast…..would the promising forecast hold out?

Tope Feeding Frenzy!

18/8/2015

It was time for another Tope session. The weather was calm and swell was low so a launch on the north coast would be possible. It would be an early start but Rob was keen. It was a beautiful sunny morning as we set up our kayaks. Everything was looking good but we have found the Tope fishing to be hit or miss. Sometimes they just don't seem to be there. Fingers were firmly crossed they would be today!

Tandem Pollacking - 16th August 2015

16/8/2015

Pollack caught Kayak Fishing in Cornwall

I decided to get a new tandem kayak - the RTM Ocean Duo Angler in Grey Storm. Despite wanting to get out on it for several weeks then weather had other plans, but this gave me chance to rig it ready for fishing. Finally a weather window on a Sunday arrived which would give me and Holly a chance to try it out. The plan was to fish Sennen - the venue where the Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet would be taking place in two weeks time in similar tidal conditions.

Dream Bream - 31st July 2015

2/8/2015

I had been waiting weeks and weeks for a calm settled day. Richard and Steve were down in Cornwall and were keen for a session. Elliot was desperate to get his first session of the year in too. We would be fishing the Spring tide on the day of the July blue moon and i fancied a day drift fishing so a plan was hatched. Early on Friday morning we met at a secluded launch venue in West Cornwall. Little did i know that i was in for a treat!

Oxwich Bay Kayak Fishing Competition 2015

21/7/2015

Its the big one.... The Oxwich Bay Kayak Fishing European Championships held by South Wales Kayak Anglers (SWKA). One problem - i could only be there for competition day so no practice sessions at a new venue. It didn't matter i would still give it a go!

Installing a Lowrance Elite 4x-DSI Fishfinder

10/7/2015

My Lowrance Elite 4x-DSI was installed on my Abaco until i replaced it with the Raymarine Dragonfly so i decided to install the Lowrance unit on the Tempo. Here's a run through of how i installed it including:

Making a waterproof battery box
Making a battery box holder
Mounting the head unit
Installing the transducer in-hull

As with the Raymarine Install the process can be applied to virtually any kayak and fish finder where the transducer needs to be mounted inside the hull.

First Light Lure Fishing

2/7/2015

Ballan Wrasse caught kayak fishing at Plymouth

Theres only one reason i get up at 4am.... fishing! I was meeting Kevin at the launch venue at 5:15am for a first light launch into Plymouth Sound in the search of Bass - not a fish i usually target. I had my fingers crossed that the early morning would be worthwhile....

New Ground - 22nd June 2015

30/6/2015

Bull Huss caught kayak fishing in Cornwall

Bit of a late report but have been busy over the last week. Weather windows seem to be very narrow of late whenever i have free time so chanced it last minute and took Holly out for a quick morning paddle and fish. We tried some new ground on the North Coast and wasn't too sure what to expect so stuck out whole mackerel flappers on 8/0's to see if anything big was hungry.......

Installing the Raymarine Dragonfly 5-Pro

23/6/2015

Raymarine Dragonfly 5-Pro kayak installation

I won the Raymarine Dragonfly 5-Pro fishfinder/GPS and Navionics+ charts as 2nd prize in the Swanage Classic competition last month. I have spent the last few weeks thinking about how best to install the Dragonfly on my RTM Abaco and then sourcing all the components i would need. Here is a run through of how i installed it including:

Making a waterproof battery box,
Making a battery box holder,
Mounting the head unit
Installing the transducer in-hull

The process is applicable to virtually any kayak and fish finder unit where the transducer needs to be installed in the hull.

Tempo Self-Rescue Practice

20/6/2015

I went for a paddle trip up the River Plym the other evening and finished it off by having some fun with my RTM Tempo and practising an essential skill for safe kayak fishing - self rescues.