Overrun

Really fancied Dunster, but hey, one bit of the Bristol Channel is much like another. After an insanely early start to catch the tide and avoid the dreaded mud, arrived at Blue Anchor to find Lureman patiently waiting. A quick con-flab and we convinced ourselves the F3-4 westerly wouldn't be an issue. Sea was the usual soupy affair with occasional brown/white tops. Fishboy and Oggy soon arrived and we made our way out. Plan for day was fish seaward of the reef during the ebb, scout the reef at LW then stay put for the flood. Stuart(Oggy) disappeared offshore while Dave(Fishboy), Steve(Lureman) and myself set-up just off the reef. Tide was surprisingly weak, we'd probably missed the peak of the ebb. Steve first-up, Thornback around 5lb followed by 2 Whiting, largest knocking on 2lb. Conditions moderated a little, wind more of an annoyance than a problem. Sport slow, a few niggly bites on huge baits, LW duly arrived and we headed for the reef. Shallows required careful negotiation to avoid being clobbered by the swell. Inside the reef, there's an area of soft mud bordered by the rocks, only on the BA side. Lunch was called and we landed on the reef, then continued to fish, first bit of shore fishing in ages! The wind relented over lunch, typical! Back on the water and we headed to the Watchet side of the reef, the bottom solid according to my paddle. Only 1.5m of water, but this would be 11.5m at HW. Steve getting snagged from the off. I actually had a decent bite, followed by the fish charging off across the tide in scalded cat fashion, got be Bass, or possibly even a late Smut? No, small Codling, 3lb or so. Dave and Steve set-off for the muddy patch, good plan, I waited until the reef was nearly covered and followed (bad plan). Anchored alongside the reef and in-line with the guys, not a pleasant place as the swell pushed-up over, and dumped in the tank-well from time to time, nice. Stu appeared from off-shore with tales of Thornbacks a plenty to 7lb, while he was anchoring I connected with another small one, all of 1.5lbs: Obviously likes his food, hope to meet again in a few years time assuming he doesn't burst! Made a concerted effort to hook a Whiting and it payed off, 15:00 and the wind had given me a pain in the neck, headed in for an early bath, bad move! 5 minutes later and Dave (the old fish magnet) avoided the blank in style with a decent fish, Dave's pic: 9lb 10ozs Doh! Great to see all the guys again, looking forward to next time! Cheers James

Well done and congrats Paul, another cracking fish from that area. Lofty it's doable in a Kayak but we are a bit limited by the tides, can only fish over LW unless launching from the IOW. Neaps are a good starting point as rounding/going through the Needles can be fun. Getting to and from the Needles is easy, but the leg south, you'll see the boats requires paddling and if you leave the return too late hard work.

Superb! two fantastic fish in one session, I'm soo jealous

Always enjoy BA, great place to fish in company as seldom blanks. Met the guys at the launch, Tarpon Ben enthusiastic as only Ben does and Andyd looking forward to the action. Oggy (Stu) set off first, looked like he was heading beyond the reef into deeper water. My plan was to fish the mark we've done a few times off Watchet, the Boobies as known locally, then return to the reef for the ebb. It's a mile or so paddle, noticed a Privateer out of Watchet converging on the same place, anchored 200 yards downtide of him. Ben and Andy opted to stay closer-in on the reef at B.A. Two rods, one with Crab & Squid, the other Lug & Squid, no prizes for guessing the target. The day was overcast and practically windless, cloud and mist swirled around the hills, respectfully keeping their distance. The peace and tranquility was soon broken by the sound of Ben whooping and shouting . Called him on the VHF, Ray's and Conger, good. First-up on the Crab & Squid was a strap: Second-up on Crab and things are getting better: Small Codling, perhaps a Massivo version next? Third-up a small Thornie, followed by Conger after Conger, 8 in total, only one falling to the other rod when I (stupidly) swapped to Mackerel ! All in the the 4-10lb range. A particularly awkward eel bit onto the T bar after removing the hook and refused to let go without persuasion . More commotion from downtide , VHF conversation as to where was best, net result we all stayed put. Sport died over the top of the tide, save for something very large that picked-up a half Mackerel and swam to-wards and under the Kayak, was on for a minute, probably a decent Conger, but no teeth marks on the bait . Kept with the plan and went back to the reef as the ebb began. Ben and Andy were a little quieter on the fish front, Andy followed me into the reef and one of Dave's marks. Could see Stu heading in, hadn't been able to raise him on VHF despite

Hi Ben, don't use the iPhone on the kayak much, usually under my Drysuit. Navionics very good, used mainly for planning when away from home. Regards dry boxes etc. having been this way in the past with phones and camera's, I'd avoid any case where you can't operate the phone without opening it. Every time the case is opened, moisture laden air enters and then may condense out later, somewhere inside your phone or on the inside of the case lid and drip. Don't know if the IPhone will operate in an Aquapac, but this is what I've used to protect my 'Kayak' phone over the last 5 years, still have the same phone and it's been lost overboard in a surf landing and recovered from the beach the following day. Did notice slight condensation appearing inside the Aquapac in the early days, solved that by including a desiccant pack. Bake the desiccant pack out periodically i.e when the phone needs charging, works a treat. So now I've desiccant packs in my hook wallet and even inside the fish finder, when it stops rattling I know it's waterlogged! So if you use a case, stick a desiccant pack in with the phone and bake it out/replace regularly if opening at sea. Cheers James

Having missed Mark's Eastern meet due to work commitments, then presented with a last minute free Saturday, hastily checked around to see if any of the north Devon crew were free. Sadly not, which left me with a choice regarding venue, either stay local or venture alone to the Bristol channel. An easy decision, locally the fishing is currently pants, with the last of the summer species hanging on, (paddled 10 miles all-round the bay last week for a dozen kennel maids and a Scad) the winter Cod still well off-shore. Reports from the Bristol channel looked promising, with a few winter species appearing in catches from mid-September, together with lean and powerful autumn Tope to be expected along the north Devon coasts. Tope it was. Acting upon information received , choice of two marks within reach of Combe or Lynmouth, Combe being preferred. British shore caught record territory, activity already well underway, decided to try a daylight session near the shore marks. Launched after 09:00, perfect day, virtually flat, 8m tide with light offshore wind. Proceeded to the first mark, accompanied briefly by a Dolphin. Buoyed off and snagged the baited Hokkai rig while searching for Triggers, hooks were way too big anyway. Tope rig found something heavy, humongous Edible Crab, which promptly fell off at the surface . Couple of hours passed with no activity, had the feeling I was fishing a freshly Tope pillaged wasteland, where nothing had survived.....should have been there Friday. Watched a big, bright yellow twin hulled tourist trip boat, gradually edging it's way along the coastline.

A good idea to have personal liability cover, which I believe you'll get from either the AT or BCU, there's no legal requirement to have it. Handy if you clobber someone coming through the surf etc. and they sue. Check first with your home contents cover as personal liability insurance may already be included, although they may baulk at the Kayak. Not sure it's worth covering the Yak, unless one of the more expensive types, Dorado etc.

Doesn't get much better than that, lovely chill-out paddle guys

Nice one guys, really love that place to paddle. It was supposed to be a range weekend, hence didn't go Sunday, only to hear later on the VHF that it was clear, while sat on the somewhat less pitcturesque Christchurch Ledge

In the unlikely event the plan is to slip the buoy and sleigh ride, if large then probably cut it off, barbless hook so if I don't get it out it should fall out, a photo would be nice. Stupid really

Struggling a bit with the species list lately, a trip to the west country might get things moving. The days when Bude is a realistic kayak fishing prospect are rare, Monday appeared briefly in the plan last week and also Tuesday, fortunately having a day off coincided nicely for both. With the arrival of the weekend, Monday ruled out on grounds of wind and Tuesday firmed-up with high pressure building. I'll only attempt Bude if the wind is negligible and sea conditions <2ft swell & wave, really don't want be caught out with a big surf on the way in, or having to abort at the wrong tide state. Also, it's a big investment in both time and fuel these days! Having said that, once away from the shore, the depth rises quite quickly and swell is no-longer a problem, the tidal drift, even on a big tide is nothing compared to the Bristol channel or East Coast. On the water at 10:00 approx. half way down the ebb, new launch site and spoke to the Lifeguards about the beach, as wondered how much sand at LW,

Well done guys, great when a plan comes together!

Sounds good, will try to be there Ben.

Great read Tom!

We may go out on Sunday and try to find out ...fear I'm not going to like the answer maybe a challenge too far. Good luck!

Excellent, makes you wonder where all the mums & dads are?

Nice one guys, perfect conditions.

Stonking Plaice, well done Martin!

Loads of mini species in the bay and around the pier. We had a few Undulate Rays last year on the ground south of the FL wreck, but was end of May. Wreck stuffed with Pout. Bream along in front of the cliffs from Ballard to Old Harry at 40ft, need to watch the tides though. Good Luck!

Thanks guys, post trip inquest revealed inshore stream at the IOW turned about 2 hours before we really needed to return, sloppy planning, must do better! Cheers James

Met up with Lozz & Richie Saturday afternoon for a voyage of discovery, don't you just love the expectation of a new mark? Launched around 18:00 from Tanners, barely an hour later, after a 4nm paddle was ashore on the Isle of Wight chatting to a local fisherman and collecting Crabs. The spot looked perfect, we'd spied an interesting area of sea bed approx. 400 yards offshore and investigated that first. The seabed ranged from 20ft to 50ft in a small area, combined with the building tide resulted in surface disturbance and eddies, looked very Bassy. Unfortunately, weed made it all but unfishable, moved in shore, anchored in 5ft over a reef and a fair tide. First cast, a small Starry of 3-4lb, retained for the pot, second cast and good Common, launched itself out of the shallow water and tore off down tide. Came to the Kayak quickly, bit too quickly as put-up one hell of a fight when aboard, bent a rod ring, head butted me, lobbed it back in to calm down a bit before round 2! Nice sized fish: Had a small Bass of 2lb as sport faded into darkness. We headed closer inshore in search of our intended quarry. More shallows, FF going crazy, confused by sea bed weed fronds to the surface, paddle confirmed depth at 5ft. First cast at the new spot resulted in this fella: Looks bigger than it was, probably on the limit so returned. This followed by a succession of small Bass on the Stingray rod, one around 3lb, sadly nuisance value only. Around 23:00 and the tide appeared to be on the change, so we set-off homewards, didn't fancy visiting the Needles, although it was a perfect night conditions wise: Invaders from the East coast? Richie: Enjoyed the trip, the mark not quite living-up to expectations this time, great winter potential, or when the Solent weed subsides. Thanks for your company guys, quite a workout for me, Lozz was out earlier in the day and Richie had paddled another 2 miles to collect bait before we started, so a good distance covered all-round. Cheers James

Congrats Lofty, good fish!

Great when a plan comes together!

Thanks guys, Gilthead Bream & Mullet next targets.