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I got a cheap 2nd hand kayak yesterday so took the day off today to try christen it. The weather was forecast to be ok in the morning but getting better with the winds easing and the swells dieing, so i took a gamble on taking the yak on her maiden voyage at st abbs.
Along way down to the launch spot
It's been 15 years since i've been on a yak in the sea, so decided only to take one rod to minimize clutter and allow me to concentrate on learning to paddle and not fall in, but thankfully what little experience i had came flooding back and i found the yak to be really stable compared to the "proper" kayaks i'd paddled before,
My plan was to fish the deap water close to the cliffs so first i headed east to the north east tip of St Abbs head itself and the edge of the main tidal stream, which was charging past and with 3ft rollers, so there was no way i was going to attempt it alone. I started to fish and drifted back to where i started at petwicko without a sniff.
I paddled north to try and find good fishing below the monster cliffs up that way with out the tide being a worry..
A bay with with loads of birds and a waterfall drew my attention so decided to head up to it and see if i could get a fish.
I cast towards the cliffs and started to get coley from the first cast with the trusty zen. After getting a couple to tried to fish as close to the bottom as i could in the hop of getting a pollock. After getting snagged a couple of times i learnt where the bottom was (no fishfinder) and on a slow retrieve my lure got smashed and my 7ft bushy bent double. At first i thought it was another snag but the heads shakes and deep dives told me it was a pollock and a good one. I put some pressure on it to stop it going to the kelp but it spat the hook-the 28g zeniith are brilliant but the trebles are too small. I tried again and i the same thing happened. Eventually i managed to land one of around a 1 1/2 -2lb.
After that fish and a couple more coleys i decided to head home after 4 hours on the water without falling in.
Cheers
Nat
Along way down to the launch spot
It's been 15 years since i've been on a yak in the sea, so decided only to take one rod to minimize clutter and allow me to concentrate on learning to paddle and not fall in, but thankfully what little experience i had came flooding back and i found the yak to be really stable compared to the "proper" kayaks i'd paddled before,
My plan was to fish the deap water close to the cliffs so first i headed east to the north east tip of St Abbs head itself and the edge of the main tidal stream, which was charging past and with 3ft rollers, so there was no way i was going to attempt it alone. I started to fish and drifted back to where i started at petwicko without a sniff.
I paddled north to try and find good fishing below the monster cliffs up that way with out the tide being a worry..
A bay with with loads of birds and a waterfall drew my attention so decided to head up to it and see if i could get a fish.
I cast towards the cliffs and started to get coley from the first cast with the trusty zen. After getting a couple to tried to fish as close to the bottom as i could in the hop of getting a pollock. After getting snagged a couple of times i learnt where the bottom was (no fishfinder) and on a slow retrieve my lure got smashed and my 7ft bushy bent double. At first i thought it was another snag but the heads shakes and deep dives told me it was a pollock and a good one. I put some pressure on it to stop it going to the kelp but it spat the hook-the 28g zeniith are brilliant but the trebles are too small. I tried again and i the same thing happened. Eventually i managed to land one of around a 1 1/2 -2lb.
After that fish and a couple more coleys i decided to head home after 4 hours on the water without falling in.
Cheers
Nat
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