What gets me out on the water. And how I do it.

Hi all,
Your very welcome to this page this is just a quick run down to what on, what for, where, how and who I fish with.
I have been angling since I was 5 years of age and an eel was my first catch, that was interesting lol.
I have fished from boats and shore.
But now it's kayak, kayak and more kayak angling as it seems to be by far the most effective way to fish from our fine coast line for me.

The What On,
Well the for me it has been a progression from a small 8ft sot , then a teksport 330, then a prowler 13 and I knew from my first trip that it was the kayak for me, but there was only 1 thing missing. And I found that in my prowler trident 13.
The centre hatch is what I needed for rough landings on bad slips and beaches.
The prowler 13 and trident 13 are both lovely kayaks, the standard prowler 13 is a tad faster but what you loose on speed on the trident you gain in a very handy centre hatch,

Here she is ready for the off, with the centre hatch Home made tackle box that is very handy.
You can see the forward rod holder which is a cannon rod holder and I find it very good.

The What For,
Well pretty much anything, and I have a big preference for the toothed species. Such as tope, spurdogs and some day a good shark.
But I am easy pleased I fish for anything and everything and I have had 31 species from the salt this year. For me its great to be able to go target a species big or small and catch them.
But tope and spurdogs are immense sport from the kayak , This season 13 tope in one session was my best to date but a session of 5 from the shallow waters of lough Foyle has to be one of  the best sessions. They really run well in the shallows.

 

The where,
Well I fish mostly off the Donegal coast and it has to be one of the most scenic coastlines around.
But on a good day here you wouldn't get a chance to lift your head to take it all in.
It is exposed to the weather and we get a lot of swell, but I can normally work around it.
One feature on one of the venues I fish is a huge lump of rock that stands alone about 30yards off the shore and is several hundred feet high. It looks spectacular on a nice sunny day with all the gannets circling around it, It looks a bit like something out of star wars with them all whirling around it.
There are to many spots to mention but all are fantastic on the wright day.
Some day you may be in Donegal and there is no better way to see it than from a kayak, and I'm not just saying that have a go you won't ever forget it.

                                               Rocks town harbour on a flat calm day.

A rare visit for me a trip to lake Ramor cavan

Port Ronan, Malin head on a rough day

The how I fish.
Well I am a very keen bait angler and dabble an odd time with soft plastics.
For me bait fishing is great fun and offers a lot more species, granted you can go the LRF way but the depths I normally fish don't really help.
My favourite rigs are pulley rigs for tope and spurdogs and for hard ground fishing for spurs, gurnard, whiting the mickey fish rig is hard to beat from shamrock tackle along with there other rigs are always worth ago. The hernebay spreader is fast featuring in my top few rigs and it has been catching very well for me over the last year.
As for rods I have my old favourite the Abu Garcia ambassador elite 12lb class and just over 7ft, for me it is a fantastic rod. Light strong and sensitive for even small species. My second rod has been changing back and forward for a while I use the Rovex gold 20lb class or the Fladen maximus solid 20lb class. They have both good and bad points. The fladen is a tad short and the Rovex is to flexible for me. But they work and catch fish.
                                  
                               A spurdog on the mickeyfish rig, this one was a specimen.


Very importantly the Who With.
Well that's the easy answer, anyone that wants to get out, I have met many fine anglers from all over the country and every day afloat is always enhanced by good company on the water. Nearly always the craic is 90.
With banter and slagging flying around the whole time. Heres just a few pics of the lads that have come to fish my area and I have gone to there areas at times and its always a great laugh. Heres a few mugs below see if you recognise any of them.

 

This was a last minute trip to Killybegs, the heads in the pic are From the left. Mark, Tony, Andrew, David and myself on the end

 

Heres my kids Orla and Eoin with there fine catch.

And John on the left and James with a nice tope each.

 

I fished with lots more lads but I can never track down all the pics, but no doubt they will be back and the fun will continue.
Well that's me in a nut shell, if ever I can help you in getting on the water let me know weather I know you or not I will do my best for you.
Untill next time Good luck, tight lines and be safe on the water.

G.Smith