St Just Pool Thornback Ray 08-06-13

The majority of the kayak fishing I do is drift fishing however, although a rewarding method of fishing, the constant paddling back to reset the drift can be hard work. 

Sometimes you need a more leisurely way of fishing and to me; the most leisurely way of kayak fishing is to fish with bait at anchor.  All you have to do is paddle out to the desired location, drop the anchor, lower the bait to the bottom, and wait for a bite.  Today, I decided on a leisurely days fishing and to fish with bait at anchor.

Rather than just dropping anchor anywhere, I always try to select a location.  That location is based on past successes or a location that looks like it could hold fish. 

 

The St Just Pool is one of several pools located in the main channel of the Fal Estuary.  The pool is slightly deeper than the surrounding area therefore, a potential fish holding location.  In the past, this mark has produced Bull Huss, Dogfish, Herring, Mackerel, Thornback Ray, and Whiting.

 

 

 

 

My plan was to drop anchor at low water, which was at 12:30, and fish the flooding spring tide.

 

The tackle would be a 12lb to 20lb boat rod with an Abu 6500 multiplier reel loaded with 15lb nylon and a 30lb leader.  The trace is a running ledger with 4 foot of 30lb fluorocarbon and a 5/0 Varivas big mouth hook.  The Bait on this occasion is fillet of Launce.

 

The sea and weather conditions were excellent and once I had dropped anchor and lowered the bait to the bottom it was very relaxing sitting in the sun and observing the boating activity in the river.

 

 

 

 

Although the sea condition and the weather were great, the fishing was very slow.  The wind was from the east and there is the saying "when the wind is in the east the fish bite the least".  Experience has taught me that although I do not really understand why this happens; there is definitely some truth in that saying.  I have heard it is something to do with atmospheric pressure.

 

The first fish was the inevitable Dogfish however, after about three hours into the flooding tide there was a strong pull on the rod tip indicating that this was no Dogfish but more likely to be a Bull Huss or Thornback Ray.  I was pleased to see it was a Thornback Ray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This fish was a male indicated by the pair of claspers positioned at the base of the tail.  It uses these claspers to help transfer sperm to the female.

 

 

Pair of Claspers Indicating a Male

 

As regards the fishing, it was very slow but good to catch a Ray.  As regards the day, it was what I wanted, very relaxing and the fine sunny weather was a rare pleasure.

 

I mentioned in a previous post Fal Estuary about the Bass Nursery Areas of the Estuary.  It is worth noting that in those areas fishing with Sandeels or Launce is prohibited for any fish.  The protected area is from a line drawn at 45 degrees from Weir Point to Turnaware Point.  Fortunately, the St Just Pool area falls outside of the protected zone.

 

I fished this mark again on the following day and using the same methods, managed to catch another Thornback Ray.  This Ray was caught on half a freshly caught Herring.

 

 

 

 

Update 06-08-13.

 

I mentioned above that this mark also produces Bull Huss and a recent trip produced the following Bull Huss using fresh Mackerel as bait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bull Huss otherwise known as Greater Spotted Dogfish, can grow up to about 5 feet long therefore, this was not a large fish but it makes a change from the more commonly caught Lesser Spotted Dogfish.

Kayak Drift Fishing with Bait and Lures 02-06-13

To maximise my chances of catching fish when drift fishing on the kayak a method I find useful is to combine lure fishing with bait fishing.  When working lures I can only operate one rod at a time however, under certain conditions, I can leave a bait rod in the rod holder to fish whilst continuing to work the lure rod.

Conditions that suite these methods are when drifting over clean ground or a mixture of clean and rough ground.  Over the clean ground, the bait rod is placed in the rod holder slowly dragging the bait along the bottom and whilst that rod is fishing, the lure rod is worked.  When approaching rough ground, the bait rod is wound in and the lure rod continues to be worked.
 

Today's fishing is an example of using these methods.  The ground I intended to drift over starts with a clean sandy bottom, followed by a large patch of kelpie rocky ground, followed once again by a clean sandy bottom.

After paddling out to the desired location and working out the direction of the drift, the drift chute is deployed at the bow to slow down the drift.  With the bait lowered to the bottom, which on this occasion was a fillet of Launce with beads as an added attracter, and the rod placed in the rod holder, I could then focus on the lure rod.

 

 

 

 

I like to set up two lure rods, one with a Herring Rig and a 50g jig and the other with a Savage Sandeel.  I use the Herring Rig over the clean ground, which may catch Mackerel, Herring, or Launce and the Savage Sandeel over rough ground, which may catch Pollack, Wrasse, or Cod.

 

After about 30 minutes into the first drift, the bait rod produced the first fish a Turbot. 

Turbot is rated as one of the finest eating fish and I would definitely agree with that.  The Cornwall Inshore Fishing Authority's size limit is 30cm and I am pleased to say this fish was over the limit.

 

The next fish came from the lure rod.  A nice Whiting took the 50g jig as it was jigged down the bottom over clean ground.

The next two fish were Lesser Spotted Dogfish and both came from the bait rod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the rocky kelpie ground, a Pollack took the Savage Sandeel.

 

 

Three more Lesser Spotted Dogfish were caught all with the bait rod over the clean sandy bottom.

 

The purpose of using these mixed methods is to maximise the chances of catching fish particularly when drift fishing over mixed ground.  Without the bait rod, arguably, I would have only caught a Whiting and a Pollack however, with the addition of the bait rod a Turbot and some Dogfish added to the days catch.

 

 

 

 

Using this method can be one way of adding a bit of variety to the catch and it certainly keeps the mind occupied.