Getting taught a lesson from a rainbow trout

Hi everyone, hope your all still catching as the weather gets colder and wetter.
I have been giving it a go when I can and my first winter session of the year at the Oaks Fishery in the maiden city happened the other week.
It was a lovely mild clear morning with a coolness in the air that screams fishing the minute you walk out the door. You know the type, it's normally when ye have to go to work lol.

What a sight,
I landed at the Oaks and got my kayak ready for wheeling down to the waters edge already rigged in the car park and all I would have to do is slide it in to the lake.

As per usual I have a cast on my rods ready to go but, as ever conditions where different and I decided a change of flies where needed. As there was a nice slow hatch of olives on the water and there where some fine trout showing.
As I re-tied my cast it was a fantastic sight hardly a ripple on the water bar the trout hitting buzzers and olives.
But as I stood there I could see what looked like a massive fish cruising up and down just under the water, I was now tying my trace at break neck speed at the sight of him. But as he slowed on one pass a bright orange bubble float appeared,
It was actually a good trout towing an orange bubble float around the place.

Out I went
Flies tied and as I was about to launch the fishery manager [ Ian] landed for a chat and was telling me that, that trout had the float on him for a day or so and asked me to try and snag the float if the chance arose.
[Note] Ian is a top class fly casting instructor so if you need help or even a brush up on your casting he's your man. Contact details below.
So out I went hopes where I had 2 rod set, one sinking line and 1 intermediate. As it had been a tad cold for a while and it being November I didn't bring the floating line BIG mistake.
There was lots of action on the surface and I had sod all to tempt them in the floating department.

So I tried various lures and nymphs to no avail. A few pike men had landed by now and I went over for a chat as I was catching nothing not even a pull. I paddled over and as I was saying I was having no luck, BANG a nice 2lb trout nailed my fly.
I had cast behind myself away from the pike mens gear and picture it a trout nailing my fly in the most uncomfortable position lol. It went mad and the lads had a good laugh at me trying to play the fish over my shoulder lol.
Fish in and I was a happy lad, a cracking full finned fish.

Here comes old bubbly
As I ventured back out and casting on any thing that moved, what do you know here comes the old bright orange bubble waddling across the surface like jaws towing a yellow barrel.
I thought no bother I'll cast across it and hook the float off him.
Well not a chance, I cast well a head of him so the line would sink and the hook could catch the line.
But not he turned and dodge the fly line.
I was quite surprised as my line had settled on the water before he got to it so it was purely the line above him that spooked him. I was quiet surprised as I had assumed that they where quiet dopy and would swim under a line no bother.
I had many failed attempts to hook the float to no avail. But as I fished I thought this was quiet a unique opportunity to test a few theories, Like how close could I get to the trout, as the bright bubble float was an excellent marker. Now this is a coloured lake and visibility that day was about 6ft. So I expected to get quiet close. On a few attempts the closest I got was about 10yards paddling to it, and about 5 yards if I sat still as he swam to me.
So that was lesson number 1.
For me was how close I could get to a nervous trout.
I didn't for a second think that rainbows could be that whiley, So anytime I was near it I would cast at various distances before and past the fish to see it's reaction.
It seems that he wouldn't swim under a fly line at all. He had about 5ft of line off the float and even when he had it just under the water he could still avoid the fly line above him. So over casting seems to be far more of an issue than I had first thought.
So that was lesson number 2
The lessons went on.
Well by now I had nearly forgot I was there to fish lol.
Any time I would cast in a way that put the fish with the bubble float down he would stay down for at least 30 mins. The float he was towing was mostly full of water so it wasn't the float that was bring the trout up, it was actually still feeding and I saw it take a few flies from the surface.

Back to the fishing,
Ye the trout where still rising and I was still flogging the intermediate line at them and letting it sink slowly through them to no avail, My line was sinking to quickly, I was fishing away with 2 sparse tied buzzers and a nymph on the bottom .
Then I covered a fish, and as soon as my line hit the water the fish rose again in the middle of my cast. I thought sod ye, pity he didn't hit my fly and with that bang a lively 1.25lb trout tore off giving me the run around. A great little scrapper and I was a happy lad trout 2 on such a tough day.

Off  the hook
By now the pike lads had a few long casts out into the lake and wouldn't ye know it the trout with the bubble float appeared and swam into there line. Pike alarms squealing and one of the lads ran up to the rod and struck but nothing. He was just walking away and the alarm squealed again lol, another big strike and nothing I think he thought I was messing lol. A minute later a lone bubble float came across the lake lol. Thankfully the float was off the trout and he was free to go where ever he wanted.

Time for home
It was one those evenings you could have stayed there all night it was idyllic in the fantastic setting surrounding of the oaks. But it was getting dark and I was getting cold. So home I went with a bit more appreciation for how cute rainbows can be when they want to be.
I had a great day as usual and it won't be long until I get back there.

So until next time all tight lines and stay safe by the water.
Here are the oaks fishery details,

14 judges road

Derry, Northern Ireland

+44 28 7186 0916

Open 24 Hours

http://www.foylefishingtackle.com/

Stealth profisha 525 has landed, tried and tested in a big swell.

Hi everyone,
You guessed it, the new kayak landed thanks to Eric Devos and Stealth kayaks Ireland. What can I say it's a beauty.
At 17ft long in grey and lime green, 4 flush rod holders, 1 large hatch behind the seat that It looks the business, It is a lot bigger than the opening, also huge center hatch. The 525 has an excellent rudder as well.
It also has 2 bunges one for the center hatch and 1 for the main hull.

The centre hatch
At first glance you do have to wonder where would all your gear go.
But that question is soon answered when you open the center hatch.
To say it's massive is an under statement.
I had to see what would go in the hatch and the hatch will take two 10L barrels and a Flambauge water proof box, and still have room for some rods too. I was amazed.
The centre hatch is a separate compartment to the rest of the kayak and has a bung at the bow for draining afterwards.
The hatch lid itself is held closed by 2 quick release straps that can be opened with one hand, so it is handy if you have the fishing rod in the other hand and you need your pliers or net.

The hatch behind the seat
This hatch also looks small from the out side but it's like Mary Poppins hand bag inside. I emptied my full dry box into it and it didn't even half fill it. It's an excellent hatch for electrics and any thing else you want kept dry.

The rod holders
On this model there are 4 flush rod holders. The 2 nearest the paddler are angled and are in a very handy position for trolling and for keeping the rods separated as the 2 behind them are near straight up and also a are clear of each other when rigged.

The rudder system
The rudder system is a serious bit of kit. It is worked by 2 adjustable pedals to suit any paddler. Again to look at the rudder it seems a modest size but turn it full to one side when paddling at a good pace and you will near do a donut. It turns very quickly. It was a bit of a surprise the first time I tried it lol.

The seating position.
The seat is an interesting bit of  craftsmanship, You are in a position with you legs a small bit bent with your legs fully supported. The seat is also moulded in such away that an added seat is not needed. I was out for 6.5hrs today and at no stage did I feel I needed the extra seat.

Stability
Well coming from paddling my old kayak that was very stable this kayak did feel less stable at first.
I was not keen to go out off shore on a kayak that I hadn't paddled before so I went for a run up and down the shore while Eric got ready. Yes at first it did feel tippy at first but with in 10 mins paddling about I was feeling a lot more confident and really getting the feel for this kayak. The initial unsteadiness soon faded and I was really getting to like this kayak. It was far from a calm day with a large lazy swell running. The swell was to big to anchor up but I felt at ease 1.5miles off shore on my own. As well all know when you try to get a pic of a big swell it always looks tiny. This was the only pic I got. This was the top of a large swell passing under me.

Speed and effort.
With this kayak speed and effort go hand in hand, It is definitely the fastest kayak I have ever sat in. I am bringing effort into the speed category as once your doing your normal pace the amount of effort needed to do your normal speed is considerably less. It really is effortless to push on out to sea. At an easy pace I was doing 6.5km against a 1.5km tide and a wicked swell.

Fish ability.
Most importantly for me is it suitable for fishing.
With this kayak being a long kayak it is tricky to get the rods around the bow but you can move yourself up a bit and a 7ft will pass around the bow. But what I found even better when fishing 2 rods was there is ample room to fish 2 rods on the same side. Simply lye the rod on the forward deck and it sits perfectly. I would say it would be no problem to fish for tope like this.
This was my first time out on this kayak and I didn't hit any whoppers but I did snag the bottom with 30lb line and broke the 30lb mono 4 times with out feeling as though I would fall out the other side so I was impressed and I am busting to get out again.

Loading.
Another great feature of the Pro fisha 525 is it's weight, at only 54lbs it really is easy to carry and load onto the roof of the car. We had a kayak trolley with us on Sunday and we didn't even bother to take it out of the car, I just put the kayak on my shoulder and walked down the beach. I did the same when I got back in.

 

 

This is the slimmest in the Stealth kayaks profisha stable range, There are many other models to choose from to suit your needs. I went for this one as I intend to do distance when possible to further deeper  marks. Here are some links below to help you choose the kayak that is right for you.
http://stealthkayaksireland.com/choosing-your-kayak-stealth-kayaks-the-ride-of-your-life/

http://stealthkayaksireland.com/stealth-range-of-kayaks/


What I really liked.
Very fast,
Effortless to paddle,
2 excellent hatches,
Very comfortable seating position,
The rudder is excellent,
Very easy lockable hatches.
Easily adjustable foot pedals.

What I didn't like.
The only thing I didn't like was that I didn't have one years ago lol.

There is a Stealth kayaks demo day on the 6th of December 2014
It will be great to see you all there and see what you think of this phenomenal range of kayaks.

So thanks for reading and I am looking forward to snagging some beauties in the very near future.
Until then, tight lines every one.