Looking Back - Shore and Kayak Fishing from 2015

2015 was a pretty good fishing year for me with a variety of species caught at different times of the year and plenty of fish for the dinner table.

 

 

With 2016 just around the corner, I thought I would look back at some of that fishing in anticipation of some good fishing to come next year that is; if the seemingly never ending bad weather at the moment allows it! The video below shows some of that fishing and I wish you all successful fishing next year. Tight lines.

 





A Guide to UK Kayak Fishing Clothing

In general, the UK is not the warmest of climates and overall the average sea temperatures range from about 6-10 degrees in the winter to about 15-18 degrees in the summer depending on the location and yearly variations. Getting wet and cold can quickly ruin a trip, and for the kayak angler who wants to fish all year round or most of the year, the right clothing is very important for comfort and safety.

I went to meet Andrew the manager from Cornwall Canoes who are part of the Canoe Shops Group, retailers of kayaks, canoes, and equipment with outlets around the country. Andrew has far more knowledge and experience of what clothing is available than I do and agreed to guide us through the options available as shown in the video below.

Fishing for Sea Bass with Soft Plastics - Tips for Beginners

There are some great soft plastic lures on the market these days that imitate baitfish so well they are almost as good as the real thing.

 
I set out for a very early morning session targeting Sea Bass with a great soft plastic that imitates a Sandeel and it turned out to be a great session with six Bass caught. The video below shows the session with tips and advice for those new to Bass fishing with soft plastics.

Ooh, Is That a Bass - NO, THIS IS A MULLET!

When plying a decent fish from a harbour wall it usually attracts the attention of passersby. I was playing a Grey Mullet when a small group of ladies came over to observe.

 The video below shows the resulting conversation proved to be amusing.

Harbour Wall Fishing for Grey Mullet

Harbour walls offer convenient fishing for a variety of species. One of those species, the Thick Lipped Grey Mullet is considered by many as the most difficult to catch and they are definitely the most difficult fish to catch I have ever fished for. Although I am by no means a dedicated Mullet angler, I do enjoy a few trips each year purely for the challenge and satisfaction of catching one.

It was October and late in the year for my first Mullet fishing session, but I headed to a harbour wall I have successfully fished in previous years to see if I could catch one and below is the video of the trip.

Fishing Kayak Rigging - Wilderness Thresher 140 (Part 3) Fitting a Fish Finder and GPS

Part 3 of the rigging of the Thresher 140 for fishing includes the fitting of a fish finder and GPS. A Garmin Echo 550c is fitted to the Flex Pod OS Removable Console and a Garmin GPS Map 78 to a track.

The video below shows the fitting process involved including fitting the transducer to the base of the console, the fish finder to the top, the running of the cables through cable glands, and the fitting of the battery inside the console along with securing the GPS to the track.

Watch other Thresher 140 Videos.

Thresher 140 Overview: 

Fitting an Anchor Trolley:

Fitting Rod Holders:

Fishing Kayak Rigging - Wilderness Thresher 140 (Part 2) Fitting Rod Holders

Part 2 of the rigging of the Thresher 140 for fishing is the fitting of rod holders. The fitting includes two Scotty Rod Holders and two Ram Tubes using Scotty Gear Head Track Adaptors and Ram Track Ball Mounts.

The video below shows the fitting of the rod holders and looks at the reasons for fitting the holders in the positions, along with there different uses such as trolling and fishing with bait at anchor. 

Watch Other Thresher 140 Videos:
Overview of the Kayak
Fitting and Anchor Trolley
Fitting a Fish Finder and GPS



Fishing Kayak Rigging - Wilderness Thresher 140 (Part 1) Fitting an Anchor Trolley

Following on from the overview of the Wilderness Systems Thresher 140 the rigging of the kayak for fishing starts with the fitting of an anchor trolley.

The video below shows how to fit a no drill anchor trolley using existing fitments on the kayak along with the parts needed. The video also looks at the reasons for having an anchor trolley for those new to anchoring a kayak.

View Other Thresher 140 Videos

Overview of the Kayak
Fitting Rod Holders
Fitting a Fish Finder and GPS

Fishing Kayak Overview - The Wilderness Systems Thresher 140

I recently purchased from Cornwall Canoes another fishing kayak the Wilderness Systems Thresher 140 as an additional kayak to my Prowler Big Game. This will be used for certain fishing situations whereby, the extra speed and ease of movement through the water compared to my Big Game would be very useful.

The video below is an overview of the kayak for those thinking of taking up kayak fishing or purchasing another kayak.

View Other Thresher 140 Videos

Fitting an Anchor Trolley
Fitting Rod Holders
Fitting a Fish Finder and GPS

Kayak Fishing - Trolling for Sea Bass

Trolling for Bass commercially known as ‘whiffing’ in Cornwall is an enjoyable way to target them from the kayak. Although it involves a lot paddling and can be hard work, it is good exercise trolling along the beautiful Cornish coastline admiring the scenery and wildlife with anticipation of the rod tip bending over severely as the Bass takes the lure.

The video below is about a trolling session with tips on the tackle and techniques used.

Float Fishing for Mackerel - Tips for Beginners

I am sure many of us that have taken up sea fishing have at some point float fished for Mackerel and other species such as Garfish and Pollack from harbour walls, deep shelving beaches, or rocky outcrops. No matter how experienced you become at sea fishing or how many species of fish you target the basic technique of float fishing for the humble Mackerel is for me still great fun and something I like to do a few times each summer and autumn when the Mackerel come close to shore to feed on baitfish.

The video below is one of those occasions with tips, pointers, and advice for those new to float fishing for Mackerel.

 



Bait Fishing for Sea Bass from the Rocks

Most times when I go shore Bass fishing in the summer I lure fish over shallow rough ground and wait until the autumn (Sept-Nov) and early winter months (Dec-Jan) before I bait fish on the surf beaches. However, occasionally I like to bait fish in the summer and rather than fishing on the sandy beaches fish off the rocks particularly, during the day when it is relatively calm with no surf on the beach. Under bright and calm conditions, I feel by fishing close to rocky weedy ground I have more chance of picking up a Bass.

The video below is one of those occasions and although the fishing proved difficult managed to catch a Bass albeit small.

Kayak Fishing - Drifting for Sea Bass in Shallow Water Using Lures

Sea Bass are a great fish to fish for and a great fish to catch and drifting with lures over shallow rough ground can be an effective way of targeting them.

 
Below is a video is about casting and jigging weedless soft plastics whilst drifting over kelp and rocks in water up to about 25 feet.

Sea Bass Filmed Underwater in Cornwall

It is always great to see the fish we fish for swimming in their natural environment. I was lucky to have the unexpected opportunity to film a shoal of Bass (School Bass) underwater swimming in a strong current, which they love, in only about six feet of water and felt it was worth sharing.

Below is the video.

Kayak Fishing - Fishing Shallow Reefs with Lures - Combine Cast and Retrieve with Trolling

When fishing from a kayak with lures, casting and jigging or casting and retrieving combined with trolling can be a productive way of fishing particularly over shallow ground where the water is a bit too shallow to vertical jig below the kayak.

The video below is about a trip using this method, fishing over a kelp jungle in water up to about 25 feet using weedless lures and plugs with tips, pointers, and advice.

Video Short - Summer Pike Fishing - The One That Got Away

Most anglers have experienced the frustration of the one that got away. I was up in north Buckinghamshire visiting family, which is just about as far from the sea as you can get. I decided to do some summer Pike fishing with lures and noticed a Pike sitting in the margin in about a foot and a half of water and tried to catch it. This resulted in capturing some great footage of the Pike taking the plug and the fight with the Pike, which I unfortunately lost.

The short video below shows what happened.

Kayak Fishing - Catching Cornish Cod - A Change from Pollack

When I think of inshore shallow water fishing in Cornwall for members of the Cod family in water up to about 60 feet, I tend to think of Pollack with the occasional bonus catch of Cod.  A few years ago, Cornwall saw an influx of Cod well within a mile from shore.  That influx was so great, the commercial fleet had their quota increased because they were catching so many Cod and due to quota restrictions, were having to dump them overboard.

From my experience, the past year has once again seen that influx and although I love to fish for Pollack, catching Cod in numbers makes a pleasant change.

I set out at dawn to drift fish with lures over a rough ground mark in the hope of picking up some of those Cod and below is a video of the trip.

Preparing Sea Bass Lures (Replacing Trebles with Plugging Singles on Plugs and Making up Soft Plastics)

Sea Bass are a great fish to fish for and it will soon be the time of year for me to target them with lures in a variety of different ways. My lures have been idle since December last year sitting in the garage with hooks rusted and in need of replacing. Last year I experimented with replacing the trebles on plugs with Decoy plugging single hooks and I intend to continue with the single hooks this season. In addition to replacing the hooks on my plugs, I need to make up some soft plastics weedless and non-weedless.

Below is a video going through choosing the correct size of plugging singles depending on the size of plug and making up the soft plastics, which include the Fish Arrow J 5" SW, Slug-Go's, Savage Sandeels, and Savage Sandeel Slugs. The plugs used are the Tackle House Feed Shallow 128 and 105, the IMA Komono SF 125, and the IMA Salt Skimmer.

Kayak Fishing - Fishing a New Mark - Navigating using GPS

A GPS with marine navigation charts are great assets when navigating to fishing marks or choosing new marks to fish.  In addition, they are a great safety asset to have on board.

The video below is about navigating to a new fishing mark using a handheld Garmin GPS Map78 with Garmin Blue Charts g2, and Garmin HomePort software to set a waypoint to the mark thus finding it with ease.  Once at the rough ground mark known as Lath Rock, the fishing is drift fishing and vertical jigging using lures such as Sidewinder Weedless Minnows, Savage Sandeel Slugs, and Slug-Go’s rigged as a drop shot rig for decent sized inshore reef Pollack.

Kayak Fishing - How to Keep Your Catch Fresh

For me, part of the enjoyment of kayak fishing and sea fishing in general is a meal from something you have sourced yourself and the freshest fish you can get.  Keeping your catch fresh on a kayak poses a few more problems than if fishing from a boat.  However, there are several ways to achieve this.  One is to keep the fish on ice inside or on the kayak and the other is to keep the fish in the water.

Below is a video going through ways I have found since taking up kayak fishing of doing just that, keeping the catch fresh.

Kayak Fishing - Jigging for Winter Mackerel

The great fighting Mackerel are generally considered by the rod and line angler to be a spring, summer, and autumn fish however; in Cornwall, they can be caught in the winter. The average size of the winter Mackerel tend to be bigger than in the summer and are great eating full of tasty omega 3 fatty acids.

  Below is video about targeting winter Mackerel by vertical jigging in deep water.

Collecting Razorfish - How to Find the Burrows

Razorfish are great bait for Bass, Gilthead Bream, and Cod and in addition, they are good eating particularly if like me, you like eating shellfish.  I collect my own Razorfish and if you have never tried it before, it is a lot of fun.

The top of Razorfish burrows show in different ways and knowing how to recognise a burrow is one of the secrets of how to be successful at collecting them. The video below goes through the different ways the burrows display along with tips on the types of beaches to try and the best tides.