Speciman

Hi Rich. For the style suited to fishing they go from about 11ft to 15ft. The 15ft kayaks usually take a LOT of weight and some of these can be paddled by two people.

As a 'newbie' I don't know much about whats involved with boating . When people put a post up requesting crew am I right in thinking they need an extra pair of hands with launching etc and in return the crew member gets a boat trip & contributes to costs? Is any experience needed & should the crew member bring along waders or other items which may help launching?

Hi Sam Most of your gear should be strapped down or leashed to the kayak including rods and paddle. Some of the American guys seem to take it to the extreme. I doubt I will be fishing more than 2 rods and if the fishing is good at times I will stick to just 1. The kayaks suitable for fishing can carry a fair amount of weight -- longer kayaks tend to be faster but less manoeuvrable than shorter ones but the fitness of the paddler can be the deciding factor on this... cruising speeds when paddling about 3-3.5 knots (over 7knots if your paddling with a good tide!). In stronger tides and winds the kayak may need to be slowed down somewhat to reduce drift speed. If you plan your trips to coincide with light winds, right tide and weather its not hard work at all (indeed quite the opposite). Ideally I would like a boat as well but my circumstances dont allow for it ( I do know people who have both). Catching blonde ray from fast tides over the Dolphin Banks or after Bream from marks off Harry Old Rocks is out of the question for me!

They look like mullet to me too! I think I know where one of the pictures was taken - from one of the stone bridges looking down into the water. There's usually some 'clunkers' up there from this time of year. I don't know if the owners of some of the nearby river houses realise how lucky they are -- prebaiting would be very easy for them! Was out for a paddle in my kayak in Christchurch Harbour late last month. Within 10 strokes I was 'on top' of a shoal of mullet in about 18inches of water! Busy hunting rays at the moment (from the shore) and plaice from the Poole harbour region but may have to try for mullet later this year.

Hi I have a handheld VHF although I don't have the DSC on the model I have (Icom M-87). I obviously monitor the calling channel 16, & also channels 23 & 86 for local coastguard weather reports + marina channels M1 & M2. I was wondering which channels VHF users here normally monitor, tag & scan?

Thanks Mike it would be great if you could PM with some fishing info. The style of kayak I have is a sit-on-top which is more suited to fishing compared to the sit-in-sides -- they tend to be much more stable (I can stand up on mine if I get my balance right in calm water!) and are easy to reenty should you fall in (which is rare unless you misjudge your surf entry/reentry or if have your boat parallel to a large wave! http://www.oceankayak.com/anglers.html -- I have the Caper as featured on this page and its olive green (the rest of my gear is a lot brighter making it easier for boats to spot me!). Being only 11 foot its lightweight, & easy to 'car top'. If I can walk to the sea I can launch although a trolley is another item I still have to buy/make. You're right you do have to be organised -- only now am I planning to do serious fishing from it.. so far I have mainly been out for paddles getting used to things. Each trip I make I learn what else I should bring and what I should leave behind. If you're interested check out the US kayak fishing site http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com. The pictures within the gallery show how far you can go with rigging (some like to keep it simple -- each to their own). The gallery also shows just how stable the kayaks can be (some of the fish they catch over there are huge). Kayak fishing has really taken off in the US.. its only now that the ball is starting to roll in the UK. Bournemouth Canoe Centre (Hamworthy) have taken a fair few orders for angling kayaks this year!

Thanks for the welcome + thanks for the tips Great White.. stingray from the solent is one of my target species this summer. Although I haven't had the pleasure of hooking a big enough fish to take me for a ride yet I'm hoping to a least try it out with a smoothhound this year. I'm going to try the swash channel with baited spoon next week if weather and tide is ok.. so far have fished inside the harbour but with little success -- new to this 'game' but I learn fast.. I guess the fishing is only going to get better from now on what with May just around the corner.

Hi Everyone. Been lurking around these forums for a while 'bout time I joined and said hello. Based in Bournemouth, I recently started kayak fishing having concentrated on shore fishing for a while. Have fished Poole Harbour & now that I have most of my safety gear together (VHF, flares, buoyancy aid, knife, gps, compass etc) will be looking to fish close inshore marks around here soon (tides and weather permitting). Still need to get a fish finder rigged up. Also plan to fish inshore Solent Marks near Keyhaven and Pennington Marsh area. Have been out for paddles that way but not been fishing that way yet. Nice site, lots of good info. The comps require a minimum of 2 anglers per boat -- thats me out -- I may have entered myself into one of the comps held in the more sheltered locations (ie Poole Harbour!). Speciman (Simon)