Barto

I thought that I would just add a little more detail. There are definitely 3 of us doing the trip. Mark Harding has been recruited as he is officially barking too. Arran from Absolute Aqua is providing the safety boat and is sorting the AIS etc. Mike Fox has been a great help with navigational advice. So much so, that I have asked Arran about a day skipper course which I will be attending in the new year. With regard to the tides, we have picked 5 potential windows of opportunity based on the neaps in June, July and 1 in August. Mark will be invaluable when it comes to local knowledge. We are trying very hard to get sponsorship from local companies. Most have been very helpful. We understand that times are hard. Mark has also done a fantastic job with publicity on the Chanel Islands and even the chief executive has emailed us. I think Mark also eluded to having a dinner/ auction on the island after the event itself. We have also had an endorsement by Dr Sir Mike Stroud. He is a world renowned expert in human endurance. He is a good friend of Sir Ranulph Fiennes and has accompanied him on a few Sunday afternoon walks across the Antarctic etc. Dr Stroud is prepared to do a sort of after dinner type speech (for a ticket fee to help us raise money) to talk about some of his exploits etc. That in itself will be incredibly entertaining. Please have a look at the blog. It is being added to as and when time allows. Thanks again, to everyone, for the club's support.

I am selling my Humminbird 597 HD DI Fishfinder combo. This was a brand new unit and is approximately 9 months old. This unit has been very well looked after. It has been washed in clean water after every trip and the contacts have then been sprayed with ACF 50. It comes in its original packaging with all instructions and a dvd. It comes with a spare mount and power cable. The card is on SD. It is the complete UK and Ireland. I believe there is still a month or so of free up dates left on it. There is in excess of £850 here without the spare mount and leads.( cost over £100 extra). I also had to pay for the thru hull transducer as it only comes with a transom mounted one as standard. I would like £600 OVNO. I can bring it to the next club meeting if anyone wants to look at it.

Be a tight git like me. Buy a pair of arm bands. Stuff the dog inside and blow it up. You even get a spare !!

Thanks Everyone. Not being rude by not replying earlier but I have not been home for 3 1/2 weeks. been working 7 days a week to get the job finished. Now I am back home, I will open my cards and have a bit of a bash with the kids. Thanks again everyone.

I first went to the Shetlands some 3 years ago. I used to crew for John Keggie on Oberon and when he moved up to Cullavoe, I had an invite to go up and try it out. The fishing was, to put it simply, awesome. Moving forward to almost present day, I was reminiscing at the kent cod meet and an idea was born. There were many factors to consider around the trip planning. I had personal reasons as to when I could personally go but all things considered, a planned date of departure was formulated. As the year wore on towards the date, I became increasingly excited. There were many last minute changes, which saw the costs soar. Looking back, this could have been reduced. There were many phone calls between us concerning rigs and kit. On the day before departure, I headed up to Steve's (Luremans) house. The plan was to stay there and head off early. When I got there, I was amazed at just how much gear Steve had packed. What we had to appreciate was that we would be miles away from anywhere and if anyone had forgotten something or something had broken, we would need to be almost self sufficient. We went through all the kit checking and double checking. All the while there was the wonderful smell of dinner wafting around the house. That night, I could hardly sleep. I managed to beat the alarm clock and had all the bedding packed by about 4am. Steve put the kettle on and it was a hurried brew before we set off. We made great time on the motorway and I don't think we had to drop below 70mph at any stage. We had arranged to meet Lozz and Ben and some services near Aberdeen. We completed the last 40 miles in convoy. We arrived at the ferry terminal some 2 hours early. We parked the vans and walked over the road to a large shopping centre for some last minute bits. There was also a conveniently placed pub right across the road. We boarded the ferry on time and checked into our cabin. We then headed for the bar (as you do). We then went up on deck to say good bye to the mainland. The next morning we arrived in Lerwick. It was a shock to discover that we had left in high 20's and it was only 13 degrees here and windy. We stopped in a tackle shop and then headed further north. We caught the other 2 ferries to take us to Unst. The first thing that struck me when we arrived on Unst was the lack of traffic. There was nothing ! Any cars we did meet though, would all wave at us. The people were so friendly and nothing was too much trouble. When we got to the house we unpacked and decided to have a bit of a scout around. We headed to a launch spot that John Keggie had mentioned called Burra Firth. After sussing that out, we agreed to try a small stream that fed into the bay. Steve and Ben managed a small trout each on spinners. The next day, we launched from Norwick. The fishing initially, was very slow and we only managed a few very small fish. We gradually pressed on out into deeper water (230ft) and into the rips. This was where things really took off. The cod gradually increased in size. The greedy so and so's would eat anything that was dropped down. I managed to catch everything on a 6" red gill shad. Here is a picture of one of the fish. It was that big, it wouldn't fit in the tankwell !! The only fish we kept were the ones that were deeply hooked or had blown swim bladders. This was minimised because on the yaks, we were bringing them up slowly on lightish gear. The vast majority of the fish were returned fit and well. I kept a couple of the smaller ones for the ice box (yes really) !! To give you an idea of the size of the fish, we managed to get Ben to lie down next to them to give you an idea of the size. The smallest was 19lb. We asked a family who were in a caravan, on the beach if they wanted some fish. The bloke was an ex trawlerman. I said to him that obviously he would know how to fillet the fish properly. He gave me a wry grin and said "aye, I'll work for my supper". He then proceeded to fillet all of the fish for us. Clive, you are a star. There is a video of some of the fish that we caught and released which, when I have asked permission to use, I will post up. This is a photo of the average conditions. Force 5/6, 12 degrees and against a 3kt rip - snotty, especially on a yak. When I get a minute, I will post up some other photos just to wet your appetite, but what a hell of a trip !!

Yes Graham, the little man is on the mend. They don't want to take their tonsils out any more. How did the club do on the Bream comp today ?

Over the past few days, I have been down, really down. My dissapointment at not being able to go to Tywyn had got to me. I had to do a huge amount of work in a new leisure centre in a very short space of time. Ended up working to about 10pm every day and to top it all, my youngest had a temperature of 39.5 degrees for about 3 days. My wife spent most of the tail end of the week in hospital with him. I needed cheering up. I woke up at 5:30am as I had forgotten to disable my alarm. I decided to leave her with the kids and make a break for the door. The boat was loaded from yesterday and I had some bait left so it was a local launch for a quick session. I got down to Southbourne and it looked lovely. There was a slight ripple as the wind was westerly and with the tide. There were a few boats about as it was the local bream comp. I launched and headed out to the spot off the coast guards tower. Richi had said there were a few mackies about so I set up some feathers. I managed to get a couple. They were very few and far between and were small. I had gone out to try for a Plaice as I have yet to get one this year. I was also hoping for an early ray but without fresh bait, I knew it would be a big ask. The couple of mackies I had were filleted and dropped to the bottom. I was getting plagued by doggies, which is inevitable when using fish baits. They were coming thick and fast and I was starting to get frustrated. Every few minutes the tip would rattle and dog on. I watched the tip rattle and picked the rod up. I lifted into the fish and felt the weight but this was no doggie, it was fighting back. I slowly wound up and was amazed and delighted to see this little fella. A rarity here. It was a cracking little Turbot. Not huge by Shambles standards but welcome none the less. It had swallowed the hook deeply. I couldn't even see it down its cavernous throat. I was made up. I had never caught a Turbo here before but better was to come. Just as the tide slowed, so did the bites. I decided to wait until it had started to turn, then head in. Out the corner of my eye, I saw my rod start to bend and bend and bend. Damn, bottom I thought. No, this snag was moving and staying deep. I tightened my drag slightly and began to gently pump the rod. I must have gained 10 feet or so and this fish dived again. This was repeated at least 4 times before I felt I was making head way. I knew that what ever it was, it was going to be a sizable specimen. I readied the camera just in case and continued the fight and then this was my view of what came up. I have had some very big rays in the past and this was also one of the biggies. I had to get this in for a photo but she would not give in. Normally when they are on their backs, they tend to give up. This one righted herself and dived again. Eventually Imanaged to get the ray on board. I had no scales but I would guesstimate a good mid double. I could see she was only lightly hooked so it was easy to free her. That was it for me. I had accomplished what I had come to do. A few more points for the team and a chance to get out over the weekend.

Good to see you are getting out in it, Graham. When are we going to see the catch photos ?

Adam, We launched at Lulworth so that the tides and wind would help us. If we had launched further west, we would have been fighting the wind until early afternoon and the ebbing tide until late morning. It is easier to paddle 16 and sail 6 as opposed to paddling 10 or so into a wind and tide.

We are sometimes known as nutters, but this must take the biscuit. We did this trip last Saturday. Richi has already mentioned about the conversation that led to this trip. Unbeknown to me, at the time, Richi had already been looking at the viability of fishing the Shambles from a kayak. I believe the conversation provided the stimulus and a like minded partner, that was needed to take the idea to the next level. I would like to mention at this point that many people had considered this trip "un doable". Richi has a reputation for being, to put it lightly, a bit of a wild card when it comes to kayak fishing. The distances he regularly travels afloat is extreme by most people's standards. I can confirm that he is not "a nutter with no regard for safety" but an astute planner of the trips. Every finite detail is looked at and discussed. Safety is always paramount. For this trip, he even gave Steve and I a printed route planner which he had drawn on tidal, current and wind information. The next thing I knew was that Richi had found a window and at the last minute, the trip was given the green light as the wind was forecast to remain unchanged. Steve (lureman) was also going to join the party. What made this unique was that it was also his birthday. Steve came down to my house the night before as it was going to be an early start. I didn't sleep well. I was suffering with a head cold and, to be honest, was very excited. I had never taken part in such a Christopher Columbus type trip. To heighten the apprehension further, I have only been out in the Hobie about half a dozen times and never sailed anything but in for a penny and all that. I was not worried about taking a dunking. I was more worried about the photos that would follow of me trying to right the hobie whilst Steve and Richi were wetting themselves. I went downstairs and woke Steve at 02:45 and after the obligatory cuppa we left for Lulworth. After dodging all the Deer on the back roads, we arrived at the car park at 03:45. It was pitch black and we could hear the murmur of the waves on the shore. Richi arrived shortly after us and we all got ready. We trollyed the kayaks some 400 yards down the road to the shore and after a check of each other's kit and the call to the coast guard, we launched. We headed due south as part of the paddle plan. We were heading for a mark some 4 miles offshore before we were to make our turn due west. At this point we were reliant on paddle/ peddle power as the wind was easterly and very light. We had plenty of time so the pace was leisurely. The view of the rising sun beyond the eastern cliffs was spectacular and we stopped and just looked. We continued to our turn and then lofted the sails. It was at this stage that I became most concerned. As I said before, I had never sailed anything and I had flashes of V8Rob's thread of his outback with stabilisers. If he needs them in the harbour, I really was in the sh1t. I lofted the sail and off I went. We were heading west at a steady 3.5 mph towards the adamant shoal. When we reached our first fishing spot, Steve managed to get a signal so the live report could begin. Richi and Steve got the picks down while I tried another mark some 500 yds away. After a couple of biteless drifts I caught up the Steve and Richi. It was here that I realised I had made my first over sight. I say over sight as I feel that a mistake is perhaps too strong. I left my anchor behind as one of the benefits of the Hobie is that you can slow your drift by peddling gently and by increasing the pace you can stay still or go against the tide. Here though it was fast. Even on a neap it was a steady pace to hold station. I covered a lot of ground and only managed a couple of doggies. Steve was having a blinder. He had already had 4 species including an early smut. I reckon that was god's way of giving him a birthday present as we hadn't even got him a cake !! Nearing the end of our window on the shoal, a trawler decided to have a game of chicken. The guys had to up the picks otherwise the idiot would have pulled them under. He wasn't stopping. It was here that the wind increased dramatically from the east. I would say that it was up to about a four. This increase forced us to do a bit of off the cuff planning. It slowed our progress dramatically to the banks. We would only get a narrow window there so we hoped the wind would ease and swing to the forecasted southerly direction. We continued west with the rising sea state. To give you an idea, I had a wave rise up and break over me completely covering me. I was sat there spitting water whilst Richi laughed. We reached the northern edge of the banks. We could see the flotilla on the southern edge. They were about a half mile to the south west. It would have been great to drift by them but due to the easterly wind, time had beaten us. We drifted west until the swinging wind and flooding tide forced us to start our trip back. We raised the sails and headed north with the flood. On the way back we talked about what we had learned, what we would have changed and what to do differently next time, yes next time. With about 2.5 miles to go, the wind had dropped to such an extent that they were not worth using so it was back to peddling for me. My back was killing me - not as fit as I used to be. The approach to the cove was lumpy. The fossil forest causes a confused sea at all tide states but this was easily negotiated. When we entered the cove there were lots of people about. There were a fair few that saw us coming. There were a barrage of questions as we started to haul the boats from the water. One bloke, who was the owner of a rigged prowler on the beach, asked Richi where we had been. You should have seen his face when Richi told him. "you're joking" he replied "It's miles and it's dangerous, you couldn't have done that". "22 miles exactly" said Richi "and yeah, It couldn't be done"

You may see one of us on the adamant or Shambles soon though As soon as the wind and tides are good, we will be launching from lulworth and going for it. I have a genuine discharge certificate from St. Annes, so therefore I am not bonkers any more

Looking good Graham. Whenever you want some company in the harbour, just give Lofty or me a shout. Again, any help with rigging etc let us know. Great colour too.

Two chinese gangsters are planning to break into a Scottish distillery. One says to the other "Is it whiskey ?". "Yes" replies the other "but not as whiskey as a bank wobbewy". I thought it was funny !!!!

sorry for my naivity, The unit I was thinking of going for was the lowrance elite 5 dsi. All it says is that it is navionics gold compatable.

Neal, Please can you take my name off for the species comp as its my son's 4th birthday party on 6th. I cant afford a divorce !!!!

Hi All, Does anyone have a relatively recent card for our local area they want to part with as I am buying my new Fishfinder / plotter in the near future. Cash waiting. Barto

It is better than me. The sounder is IPX7. I wouldn't last half an hour underwater.

I am shattered. I have just spent the last 2 hours defrosting the fridge. or "foreplay" as she likes to call it !!

Dave, Us yakkers need to have some good kit. Seeing as we dont have an engine, it takes us so long to get anywhere, and then we're knackered by then. We have to make the most of whats below us !!!

Jw2000uk, You have a pm mate.

Hi All, Does anyone have a reasonable waterproof handheld for sale. Needs to be able to take a dunking as I am a nutter yakker !!!

Hi All, I am taking delivery of my new kayak on Wednesday and am looking for advice on the above ff/ plotter. Does anyone own one of these and can anyone give me their opinion on this unit. Many Thanks Barry (Barto)

Hi all, Thought I would put a post up as I have recently joined the club and have been asked to fish the species comp next Sunday. Being a kayaker and new member, I am unsure of the rules such as number of rods and number of hooks etc. Can someone please give me a general overview of the rules. Many Thanks Barto (Barry)