Fal Estuary Kayak Fishing 23-11-13

A video of a cold but very sunny November day spent kayak fishing in the Fal Estuary, Cornwall for a variety of species.  Recommended to be viewed in HD.

 

 

Cornish Autumn Whiting 16-11-13

I live near the Fal Estuary and in the autumn and winter months, Whiting migrate into the estuary in good numbers.  They stay through to the spring however, November to January produces the better quality fish therefore, this is a good time for me to target them.  Whiting are a member of the Cod family and in the summer months, they tend to populate sandy areas near structure such as wrecks and reefs.  In the autumn when the water temperature starts to drop, they migrate closer to the shore looking for any available food sources such as crabs, prawns, and worms. The Fal Estuary is abundant with small crabs and shellfish and the main channel has the clean muddy bottom, which is a typical habitat to find Whiting.

As Whiting are a shoal fish, the rig I use is an Island Whiting Rig baited with strips of Squid.  This is a multi hook rig fished as a running ledger and will often catch more than one fish at a time.  The hooks are 1/0 Eagle Claw Sproat Worm hooks which have a couple of claws near the eye that help to keep the squid strips on the hook nice and straight.  The teeth of Whiting are sharp, it is important to fish with snoods that will cope with those sharp teeth, and a minimum of 30lb is recommended.  Readymade Island Whiting Rigs or the hooks and components can be purchased from UK Hooks.

I had the whole day to fish and rather than just target Whiting for the whole period, my plan was to try for a mixed bag of fish and spend the first couple of hours drifting for Mackerel or Herring and then drop anchor at low water and fish the flooding tide using bait for Whiting.

After launch, and a paddle out to the area I wanted to drift, the fishing began by jigging the Herring Rig weighted with a 50g metal jig, which is a method I have highlighted in previous posts.

The autumn and winter is also a great time for Herring as is was not long before I started catching them along with a few Mackerel.

One exiting thing about fishing is the unexpected.  You can make plans for what you expect or hope to catch but on occasions, the surprise element happens as it did this day with a John Dory otherwise known as St Peters Fish, tempted by the jig on the end of the Herring Rig.

John Dory are not usually targeted by rod and line anglers however, I have caught them unexpectedly using lures for other species.  They do feed on other fish hence the fact that I have caught some on lures jigged down near the bottom.

Another bonus fish landed and taken on the jig was a Gurnard and I cannot recommend enough replacing lead weights on the end of a string of feathers with a metal jig.  A lead weight will not catch anything but the jig will.

With a few fish packed away on ice inside the kayak, it was time to drop anchor and target the Whiting.  Rather than drop anchor anywhere my chosen mark was close the one of the many pools along the main deep channel of the Estuary.  The recent purchase of a Garmin GPSMap 78 loaded with marine BlueChart g2 has proved to be a great asset when it comes to selecting marks to fish.

 

With the anchor deployed, two rods were baited up with the strips of squid and lowered to the bottom.

While waiting for a bite on the bait rods, and to maximise my chances of a good mixed bag of fish, I monitored the fish finder for any passing shoals of Herring or Mackerel.  If they show, I can capitalise by lowering the Herring Rig amongst them.

The Whiting were there and it did not take them long to find my strips of squid and some decent sized fish were landed along with the inevitable Dogfish, another Gurnard, and a few more Herring.  Although Whiting can grow to about 7lb, the majority of the inshore fish caught are 1lb or less and a 2lb fish is considered a specimen.

Whiting are a good eating fish and I was getting short of white fish in the freezer therefore, it was pleasing to stock up and even more pleasing to get a good mixed bag of fish.  The John Dory will be a rare treat.

I once heard a commercial day fisherman say "we harvest what passes by our door" and I would certainly agree with that statement.  I hope that the weather will allow me to get out and harvest some more Whiting before they head back to their offshore habitat.

Autumn Beach Fishing for Sea Bass 07-11-13

The autumn storms have arrived and over the recent weeks, it has been impossible to get out on the kayak.  Winds of between 25mph and 45mph along with rough seas and big swells means the kayak has remained firmly locked away in the garage! 

This is the time of year for me to dig out the 12ft 2oz to 4oz Bass rod, oil the Abu 6500c reel, make up some rigs, and head off to the beach armed with a bucket of bait for some surf fishing.

I have fished this beach for 30 years and it produces Bass three hours either side of low water.  At high water, I have caught Bass but never as consistently as low water.  For the last two days, the sea has been rough and the biggest problem is loose weed, which can make it un-fishable.  Today, the wind had dropped leaving a nice steady surf and looking at the breakers it appeared reasonably clean although weed left by the previous tide could cause a problem later as the tide floods.

The tackle is a 12ft 2oz-4oz Bass rod, and an Abu 6500 reel loaded with 15lb mono and a 40lb leader.  Leads of more than 4oz are not needed at this beach hence only a 40lb leader.  The rig is a straightforward fixed paternoster with a short snood.  Distance casting is not required.  If the Bass are here, they are usually between 20 yards and 80 yards from the shore therefore, there is no need for a distance-casting clipped down rig.

These days I always use razor fish as bait, which I gather myself and freeze for later use.  This makes it very convenient when needed for a fishing trip.  It has a fantastic scent and a bright attracting colour.  The only problem is its softness, which can be difficult to work with however; the use of bait elastic to bind the bait solves that problem.

Of course, lugworm, ragworm, and peeler crab are also great baits however, lugworm and ragworm need to be kept alive, and unless you gather peeler crab yourself, it is very expensive.  I have caught just as many Bass on frozen razor fish than I ever did when I used fresh worms or peeler crab.

I started fishing about two hours before low water.  The fishing was slow however, about half an hour before low water there was a strong pull on the rod tip followed by slack line, and a Bass was landed.

When hooked on a beach, rather than pull against you, Bass tend to run towards you which means having to reel like mad to keep up with the fish otherwise the slack line could result in a lost fish.  Because the fish run so fast towards you, sometimes you cannot be sure it is still hooked until you catch up with it close to the shoreline.  This can be a bit unnerving and a relief when you eventually feel the thump of the fish shaking its head.

This fish measured 39cm, which is over the landing size limit of 37.5cm however, I have a personal size limit of 40cm therefore, this fish was returned.  It was also the only fish of the day.  I fished on for the first three hours of the flooding tide and although I had a couple of bites they did not materialise however, one fish is better than none particularly when shore fishing and it was pleasing to catch something.

There is no doubt in my mind that kayak fishing for Bass is far more productive.  Trolling a lure or casting lures on the drift over shallow rough ground is more likely to produce better quality fish than fishing sandy beaches from the shore.  However, standing on a nice beach with great surf coming in is very enjoyable and therapeutic.  I have done it now for 30 years and will continue as long as I can particularly, in the autumn when the sea dictates that it is not possible to get out on the kayak.