Tope are coming.

Hi all,
Well it's getting close to that time of year when those hard fighting sharp toothed torpedo's will be hitting our coast line. Yes those feisty rope will be coming very soon to devour what ever swims and fits in there mouth and at times things that won't fit in there mouth. I had one try and eat a spurdog I was reeling in one day, and another day one tried to eat a string of 3 large coalies that one lad had along side the angling boat.
Well it won't be long now until they are in range again and I'll be waiting for them.
Here's a little piece on what I like to use and where I find the tope in my area. Not all areas are the same and there favoured food will determine where they are.

When should we be seeing them.
We should be seeing them at the end of April or the beginning of may. Weather dependant, very heavy rain and cold weather can hold them back by a few weeks but they should be well on there way by mid may. But for the larger tope on open ground at sea they can be as late as mid July.
The last few years have been quiet good for tope and they have been the highlight of my season the last few years.

Where to find them.
Loughs and some large estuaries,
Early in the year tope generally turn up in loughs and large estuaries, generally mud and sandy areas.
I like to try for them along the edges of shelves where channels rise quickly on to shallower sand beds/bars.
Tope will easily enter water less then 15ft but seem to be more nervous the shallower they go.
But I generally fish a spot that is 30ft deep and they have no problem snatching a bait from directly underneath me.
I have even had a double hook up at times like this.
Later in the year from mid to late june the tope will be on the more open ground. Depth really isn't an issue once they are out there they can turn up almost any where from 30ft and more. Also later in the year they can be found on almost any type of ground, from rock to sand. But all areas that hold tope have there hot spots, be it a feature the holds small fish, a ledge or even a head land and at times even near strings of crab pots can hold tope. It can take a lot of effort to find them but when you do it will be well worth it.

What they are eating.
For years  believed tope came in after the standard bait fish. Mackerel, herring and sandeel.
But the last good few years the tope where around long before the bait fish show up in any number and they are really on the feed.
So what is there at that time of year?
Well, Whiting and dabs. They just love them.

Here's one a tope devoured earlier.

 

Dab are not my favourite bait to use to be honest but if there's nothing else they will catch.

I am not mad about them as the tope can be hard to hook using them.

The one in the pic above I find a good size to use, any bigger my hook up rate goes down badly and any smaller the take rate goes down also.

This size dab I simply hook the dab trough the head just behind the eyes.

 

Baits, fresh and frozen.

As above whiting and dabs are top of the early topes menu.

But with the lower hook up rate I find using flat fish I like to use whiting a lot more. But I also use mackerel fresh or frozen. As they give off a strong scent. Even if they are not the best put at least one down and a couple of fresh whiting near by will be the ideal set up.

With tope the fresher the better so much so I stopped taking the baits out of the freezer the night before to defrost them.

Your mackerel will defrost in a short time in a small amount of sea water so no worries there.

Also most white fish will take tope, even coalies have worked for me in the past.

Saying that I have yet to catch a tope on Pollock.

 

Baits, whole, fillet and flapper.

As above with whiting and dabs I generally fish them whole, but bigger whiting half flappered can be very good.

Mackerel I generally like to fish them as a fillet bait. I find a filet bait has an excellent hook up rate, and you get between 2 and 3 baits per mackerel. As when bait is short keep the head as it can also be used as well.

But when dog fish, large gurnard and whiting are about you may have to change to a half mackerel or whole mackerel. As dogfish can be a real pain when your low on bait.

Flapper baits can be excellent for getting a good scent going, but where I fish I get tortured with dogfish and a decent gurnard will tear the side off a flapper bait.

Here is a video on how to hook each bait.

 

Rigs,

Pulley rig,

For me I find the pulley rig the ultimate rig. It has great action in the water and superb hook up rate and I very rarely get a deep hooked tope.

My rig consists of 5ft of 150lb mono onto 18" of 100lb wire with a 7/0 O'shaugassey hook. Here is the rig I like to have it so the hook is off the bottom as the tide slackens.

Here is the way I tie the swivel to the wire. I like to use a stopper knot to stop the trace spinning around the main line. I also use a wind on leader which the pulley rig is attached to. My wind on leader is 15ft of 100lb to 150lb mono. This ideal for a tough day at the tope. I have used 65lb mono before but it needs to be changed as the tope are very sore on it.

 

Flowing trace.

Personally I am not a fan of the flowing trace, I know a lot of lads on the east coast use the flowing trace to great effect, but between the huge numbers of dogfish and rocky ground it is not worth the hassle here in the area I fish in Donegal.

But again your flowing trace can be made the same way as your pulley rig but with out the running swivel. So you will have an over all length of 7ft. this is to stop the tope rubbing trough the trace.

 

Float fishing/ballooning.

Last year was the first time I deliberately tried this method and dam it was exciting but I found it difficult to connect with the tope on the end but I will be trying it again this year.

There are lads Like Alain Storey whole sell float rigs for tope and I hear of good reports about this method and I can see it being done more often in the future.

 

Jigs

Yes jigs, last year I was hoping to give them a go. But it is hard to change from what is working.

But I put a small whiting on a jig head as a flapper gave it 2 turns of the handle off the bottom and let it sit as I fished.

I was hooked into one tope when the jig head got slammed. The fight was epic. A light rod and fixed spool reel, It was that good I will definitely be doing it again this year.

Here is a vid of it below.

The fly.

I am not aware of any tope being caught on the fly in Ireland but I am more than confident there will be some caught this year on the fly. I gave it a try last year but my line just didn't get down and stay down deep enough. If you want tope flies http://www.chasingsilver.org/ tie some amazing patterns for tope and shark.

I will be trying a 10wt salt fly rod and a 10wt reel and super sink 10wt fly line.

 

Set up,

Rods, reels and main line.

Unless you are after monster tope say 50lb plus, a 12lb to 20lb class rod will do nicely. I have had tope to over 40lb on 12lb class rod, It was a battle and a half but great fun. I do quiet regularly fish a 12lb to20lb rod with bigger baits in hope of a bigger tope but bigger baits don't mean bigger tope unfortunately.

My normal rods at the tope is a 12lb to 20lb SK3 7'6. This rod is very nice and can comfortably handle the bigger tope in my area.

My other rod is a 12lb Abu Garcia. I also use an Alcedo 180-200g rod with a fixed spool reel for maximum fun in the deeper water.

 

Reels

Again reels don't have to be huge but tope can destroy cheaper reels, I have a Shimano tld15 multiplier  an ideal size for tope it may even be a bit big but a lovely reel for the job and the lever drag is excellent to keep up with fast moving tope, and I have an Okuma multiplier reel on the other.

The fixed spool reel I use for the tope is a Fin-Nor fs60. It is meant to be salt proof and I have mine about 4 years and apart from it need cleaning twice a year it is well up to the job.

 

Main lines.

Braids or mono.

Braid

I only use braid for all my fishing and I find it a lot better in the strong tide. The braid catches less tide so I can use less lead which is a big bonus with the tope as you don't want them felling any resistant's when they lift your bait.

I generally use 30lb and 50lb braid. 50lb braid seems a lot but when your in the shallows it is nerve racking to hear the 30lb braid coming out of the top eye on under big pressure.

I like to have at the very least 200yards of line on the reel as they can run a lot of line off in the shallows. Not so much in the deeper water.

 

Mono

Mono can be used and you generally can get away with 30lb or 40lb mono.

You will need more lead to get you down in a tide but with the mono being less prone to abrasion a wind on leader is no really needed.

Also I would stick as much mono on the reel as you can get on it.

 

 

Good luck

So good luck to all and I hope this piece you get into your first tope and I would be delighted to see a pic of your catch should this piece help you catch one.

So tight lines until the next time and be safe out there.

                                                                                           

 

 

 

Getting into kayak angling part 2, you have your kayak what next.

Hi all,
Following on from how to make a start in kayak angling.
Here's some pointers to get you on the water safely and what you should have before heading out.

So you got your kayak,
So you have gone out and bought a kayak, hopefully you have given it a paddle and are happy with your choice before handing over your cash.
You should be on some sort of kayak angling forum by now and having a chat with the lads there and checking out is there many lads in your area.
So hopefully you have gotten a lot of info and also info on your local area.
If you are unlucky and you find out you are on your own you can still get the basics in.

Before heading out.
Before heading you should have these basic items of safety equipment. This list is the bare essentials.

1. Very importantly you need a dry suit,
Get one from ebay or a shop or off a forum but try and buy one as wet suits are not ideal. As dry suits are a real life saver.
Cost; second hand E100.00 up, New E300.00 up

2. A decent PFD [personal flotation device]
Self inflating ones are not ideal as they can hinder you getting back on your kayak if you end up in the water.
Cost; New E60.00 and up, try and buy new.

3. Magnetic compass NOT electronic,
As long as they are kept away from radio's and steel they will be fine and rarely develop faults. You keep them away from metal and radio's as the magnetic field from them interferes with the magnetic compass.
Cost; New E10.00 up

 4. Now your into electrics,
As I am talking about essentials I'll keep it short.
Vhf, water proof or in a water proof case,
Phone same as above,
Cost; New Vhf E130.00 up

5. Paddle leash and a sharp safety knife.
Cost for both; New E30.00 up

6.  Last but not least a drogue or anchor.
You need at least one of these as if you get tired or hurt while afloat you can slow you drift and stay away from dangers while some one comes to your aid if needed.
Anchors are great but if you are new a float they are the trickiest part of kayak angling. So a drogue is excellent while you get use to anchoring.
Cost; Anchor and reel with anchor line about E60.00 but just the anchor and line about E20.00 you could make your own reel.

If you still have a few pound left.
Flares are an excellent item, but they are expensive and can be hard to keep in useable condition on a kayak. I double vacuum pack mine with some kitchen roll around them  to keep them in top condition.
Hand held flares, about new E9.00 up depending what you want. A minimum  of 7 of these is recommended.

PLB,
Personal locator beacons. I do have one of these and I find it ideal for where I fish.
As the average hand held vhf only has a range of 5miles and less if close to cliff faces. The PLB works from the satellites and sends a signal trough the satellites when activated. So in my view if you only have the money for a vhf or PLB I'd get the PLB. This is my personal choice, check out your area and circumstances before you decide what you want.
Mine one was E220.00

Handheld gps
These are an excellent item but only if you can us it. You can practice at home and have a good mess around with it until you know it inside out.
You can get a Garmin etrex from about E60.00 second hand. I have a garmin 60csx and cost about E120.00 second hand, a very nice unit.

After that it's pure personal choice.
You have fish finders, tackle boxes and a multitude of cameras all have there place and enhance your time afloat but try hold back and get the essentials first.

Forecasts,
These are essential, get use to watching them and compare them to what the weather is like in your area, as some forecasts are more accurate in certain areas.
I use xc weather and magic seaweed. I find xc weather not very accurate in the winter months but much better in the summer for some reason.
Magic seaweed is excellent for exposed coasts as they give a very good swell height forecast also.
Always, always, always check your fore cast before going out. Check the night before and the morning before you go out as they can change quickly. Also so never go out in a decent off shore breeze as it may strengthen and make it difficult to get back ashore.

You have your essentials.
You have what you need now and it's time to wet the kayak.
Hopefully you have some company to do this the first few times out.
If you can get yourself down to a nice shallow beach preferably with an onshore breeze so if things go pear shaped your kayak will wash ashore.
these beaches are excellent for getting use to the stability of your kayak you can have a go at surfing in small waves and get use to hoping back backing on your kayak.
You do not need to be out of your depth at this point. Get use to your kayak and have a bit of fun at the same time.
I do this with my kids every year and just go for a play in the shallow surf and they just find it a bit of fun. But they are learning how to do a re-entry with out even knowing it. They are like penguins now on and off like a shot. Its great for snorkelling to.

When your feeling confident.
You have had a few plays in the surf now and your confident in your ability to stay up wright.
It's time for your re-entry drill out of your depth.
Now don't be heading out to sea or the middle of a bay or in strong tidal flow.
Find a spot that's deep enough and close to shore [WITH IN  FEW YARDS OF THE SHORE] with someone with you. Either in  a kayak, boat or a friend on shore.

Re-entry drill.
Instead of a long wind bit of waffle here's a video of mine on how it's done.
You don't need to go in head first, just slip in over the side of the kayak and get use to doing it before you start diving in head first lol.

So when your in the water compose yourself, Don't be getting over excited. Your floating your safe do it wright the first time not 3 or 4 frantic attempts that really tire you out.

You have your re-entry off to a tee.
You have your re-entry down to a fine art now and you can hop on and off at your ease.
Don't venture to sea unless you can do it easily. As at sea or muddy lakes make it a lot hard with wind and chop adding to the difficulty.
Also you should practice a capsize drill, meaning flipping your kayak over and get use to flipping it back over again and getting back onto it.

After dark.
To be honest give this a miss for a good while the darkness can be very disorientating and you need to be very confident to fish in the dark from your kayak. A night time re-entry can test the nerves of the best kayakers.

What next.
Well this is the best part after you got over the initial fear of falling in you should be having a good laugh with your kayak.
So just add water, get out to where you want to go, find the fish of a life time and be prepared to sell you beach gear lol.
The vast majority of people that try kayak angling truly love kayak angling. The freedom and ability to fish nearly anywhere at anytime is second to none.
You can fly fish, lure fish, bait fish what ever you like.
So try meet up with other kayakers and enjoy yourself and some day I hope to meet you on the water some where around Ireland.

Thanks for reading and until next time paddle safe.

Home made lures and jig heads

Hi all,
As per title this is about how to make your favourite lures and save yourself a lot of money.
In this bit I will be showing how to do a floating lure and how to make an articulated wobbling jig head.
The jig head is considerably easier to make and works very well. The jig head bit is at the bottom so you can skip to the bottom if you don't want to read a pile of stuff about lures.

Where to start.
To make the lure you need a few things, Obviously pic your favourite lure. But I would pick an expensive one as there's not much point making cheap lures as the effort and materials will out way the cost.
So I dug out a top notch lure that catches bass very well, it has a great action hasn't let me down yet.
Wright you got your lure now you need some thing to make a mould.
I got some bricoleurre mould paste. [I have no connection or received any discount for mentioning them]

But this stuff is really excellent but is far from cheap. It is E30.00 per kilo. But you get a good few moulds from it depending on the size of the lure.

 

What is it.

Well the lads that sell it tell me it is a type of heat proof silicone/cement.

It doesn't go hard until you mix the activator trough it.

But once you do you need to work fast as it goes off very quickly. After 15 mins it is solid.

 

So where to start.

First off is to either get a small box or make one.

So you got your tub you fill the tub minus the activator so you know how much paste to mix so you don't waste anything. Then you mix it with the activator fully. So quickly get it in the mould case and press the lure half way into the paste as you are making 2 halves. Once it has hardened tidy the mould surface and cut 2 decent notches out of each side, so they are easy lined up when finished.

 Then simply once the paste has hardened take the first half out of the mould case and refill it with more paste.

Before you make up the second half you must lightly grease the face of the first half so they 2 halves don't stick together.

Again simply press the first half onto the soft paste mixed with activator, and allow to set.

 

If all goes well.

If all goes well you should end up with something like this.

As you can see my effort wasn't perfect but it worked well.

 

What next.

Well you hopefully have you mould now and the next item you need is a 2 part plastic resin.

You cam get this from most lure making sites. It is also about E26.00 for the 2 bottles. You get a lot of lures from the 2 bottles.

First you need to very accurately bend the wire frame to match the hook mounting points. I used a

good galvanised wire. It was roughly 1.5g heavier than the wire used in the original lure.

Plus this lure has a counter weight ball bearing inside of close to 3g so I added about 2g of weight to the end of the wire above the forward hook position.

To try and get it as close as possible to the original I weighted it minus the trebles and it weighted 17g. So that was handy I weight out the 2 parts of the mix and weighted out 19g of plastic resin as I was assuming it would be very difficult to get the same even layer to the body.

With that the mix was poured into the mould.

At this point I realised I should have worn gloves.

I am an impatient sod so I just held the mould and poured the 19g of resin into the mould and about 15g poured out the bottom all over my hands lol.

 

I quickly mixed more and as the first mix had just about blocked the leaky spots I poured it in again and began the process of moving the mould about to spread the resin evenly about the mould.

It will take about 30mins for it to cure and another hour to be fully hardened.

This was the first attempt, I was quiet pleased.

The copy and original side by side. A slight trim and it was done.

I did this a few more times and I ended with 3 lures. But I wore gloves and wrapped the mould in duck tape and I had no leaks or spills.

I gave them a basic spraying and down I went to test them. The results one was perfect, one run to the side and one the counter weight came loose and was in the back of the lure. They where easy enough sorted and I expect them to do well.

 

Articulated jig head.

Recently I was at an angling show in France and there where numerous lures being drown all around the place, but there was one lure that caught my attention was a jig head that had a fantastic action.

It not only had great swimming action it also wobbled brilliantly as well.

But they where terrible money. 2 jig heads where near E5.00 and the soft bodies where E9.00 for 3.

For me that was way over the top and where I fish I could go trough at least 3 bodies a day with Pollock and other fish smashing them.

So I just bought 2 packs one of each size and as above I made a mould.

 

 

Not as good as I hoped.

I made a dozen of them and they looked very well. I then tried them out down the pier with a standard shad and they had very little action. I got the original out and tried that and it was the same.

It seems they need the shad body that is made for them. They still do the job but don't have the action that hooked me at the show.

 

Not giving up yet.

I was mulling over in my head about trying the head of the lure above for a jig head to get some more action in the lures but I doubted it would work as I believed the buoyancy  of the lures body was partly responsible for the lures action.

But later while on face book chatting, John Griffin asked me to try the lures head as a jig head. So I thought to hell with it and gave it a try.

 

How to start.

It is a lot easier to make the jig head mould. I just made a top section of the lure so I could make a mould of the head. So 12g of resin was poured into the mould and left on its head to get a solid head.

You do the same process to make the mould of the head as you did with the lure mould.

So here is the head and that's the mould in the back ground I made from it.

I was quiet pleased with it and ready for the lead.

 

 

So this mould that took 12g of plastic to make now makes a 66g lead head.

I like to fish as light as possible so I cut the plastic head tight behind the gills and made another mould to make a lighter jig head mould.

 

It also came out well and the new smaller jig head when made weighted 43g.

I would like another lighter one but I was afraid I would loose any action if there was any.

 

The trial.

So again down to the pier to try the out and I was doubtful they would work but it was worth a shot.

I used the same shad I tried on the other jig heads.

I tried the heavy one first and to say they worked well was an under statement. They had superb action and I was delighted.

Again the lighter one was tried with the same shad and again the action was superb. The heavy ones I have them ready for the tope, cod, ling and deep Pollock.

The lighter ones will be used for bass, Pollock, sea trout and I will trial them with mackerel strip for turbot and rays.

 

Safety note.

Be careful with these moulds when opening the mould. As the lead does not set as quick as it does in metal moulds. Also they need to cool a bit after about 5 or 6 jigs as they get very hot and damage easier.

 

To recap.

So that's what I was at for a few evenings. I hope it helps you make your mind up whether to try yourself or save your money and buy the originals.

I will say the lure is difficult but its fun to try them and if they catch as they should it would be well worth it.

The jig heads look fantastic in the water and I think they will be the star of the lure fishing this year.

Thanks for reading

Cracking day afloat off Inishowen co.Donegal

Hi all.
Thankfully the old weather gods where kind to us and myself and 3 lads from Belfast Brian, Mike and Brendan.
I woke up to a bitter frosty morning but it the sun was shining and there was hardly a breeze out.
So the warm layers where grabbed and out the road I went to meet the lads along the way.

Mike was having car trouble so I brought the trident along. Here they are side by side. Stealth profisha 525 and a trident 13.

 

Thankfully we landed to a fine flat sea and a glorious sun burning off the frost.
There was no need for the warm gear at this stage it was like a summers day.
 With out any fuss out we went in search of coalies for bait.

The coalies where no where to be found, So we cracked on to our mark with what frozen bait we had.
No pic of Brendan as he was still retrieving his line he ran off lol.
It was fantastic out there and it was one of the few times it was proper warm out there.

What a day even with very little fishy action it was great to be out.
But we gave the big flat lads a try even though we where on a different mark, and this was my weapon of choice. One of a few brutes of mackerel I got at the end of last year.

 

Thankfully after the rod got a decent rattle and this small ling made a very welcome appearance.

But that was it for a long while for me Brian managed a single string of 4 fine coalies and that was it for about 2hrs. Until this lad devoured my baits. A fine rockling and again I was glad to see him.

So with that the glorious day a float came to and end, and although the fishing was quiet it was great to be out.

 

Sea symposium promo vid run out.

Hi all,
Well today was our second attempt at getting some video for a promotional video for the Inishowen sea symposium.
We had planed to launch on Monday but with winds reaching 60mph and 16ft swells it had to be cancelled.
So with the winds to drop to 25mph and the swells still at 14 to 16ft on Tuesday we decided to give it a go.
So we launched in the supposed  shelter of Kinageo bay.

So everyone got ready, cameras set kayaks rigged.

Brian was down to see us go out so Adrian , John, Simon [camera man]

and myself headed out.

 

 

Not as sheltered as we had hoped but with some encouragement from Adrain and John out we went.
The swell was massive at the outer edge of the bay. It is the biggest swell I have willingly gone out in. Adrian reckoned the swell was 4.5M a brute of a swell.

This was my first launch between rocks into a surf. Thankfully they where far enough apart that I didn't have to bust trough any small breakers and I got out with out to much fuss.
So out we went and the swell was a lot bigger than I hoped, and with that the majority of the Pollock marks where out of bounds.
Especially this one, one on my favourite marks in this bay.

This swell didn't phase the sea kayakers, but I was shitting it when ones like this rolled past lol.
I am not use to swells of this size. A good few of these swells you where paddling up the front of them as they came past.
We did fish for 3hrs and it was tough, I tried a few things, from jelly worms to rag and even lug on the sand. But dam it was tough going. Paddling trough the swells wasn't to bad but changing rigs and routing for your gear while trying to watch for these big rollers was another matter entirely.
It was fun and with experienced sea kayakers paddling about it was a new and between the odd hairy moment it was good fun.
So with that we headed back in to shore, our launch spot was trough a gap between the rocks. The thoughts of making a surf landing between a rocky gulley filled me with dread to be honest.

But I watched Adrian do with ease and John said just pick lull in the waves and paddle in on the back of one. So it was my turn and 3 people on cameras watching our landing for some added pressure lol.
I saw a lull in the waves and went like a shot trough the gulley, it worked out nicely and I got in also with out much fuss thankfully.

So all hands in and it was now down to Brian to cook some nice fresh fish.
With that we headed for Moville for some freshly bbq fish.

So with out delay Brian got cracking and got the fish filleted and on the bbq.

Its not very often you see fish being cooked on a bbq on the sea front in march in Donegal,

But no bother to Brian knock up in no time and we had a nice bit of fresh fish with a freshly made salsa.

 

So all in all it was an enjoyable day. Big thanks to Inish Adventures and Brian The no salt chef.

Thanks for reading everyone I hope you enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

Kayak angling and how to get started.

Hi everyone,
This is a few helpful hints and info on how to make a start in the world of kayak angling.
At first it may seem over whelming with so many types of kayaks available and endless safety gear coupled with the idea of maybe having to change all your normal fishing gear.
But it doesn't have to be that way and you can get afloat quiet easily and it can be done on a tight budget.

Where do you start.
Well the first thing to do is not to run out and buy the first kayak you see going cheap.
Get online and check out the various kayak angling forums.
There are quiet a few about now and you do not need a kayak to join any of the forums.
A quick search will bring up, Irish kayak angling, Anglers afloat, Stealth kayaks and SWKA.
All are great forums and will help you no end.
These forums will answer pretty much any questions you may have.

Still don't run out and buy a kayak,
All of these forums have regular meets, where the members meet up and get out and fish.
Although you haven't got your kayak yet you should pop along and get a look at the kayaks the members are using and see the different set ups that are available.
You may get lucky and someone may have a spare kayak and may get you out for a short try on the water.
Alternatively you could even attend a sea symposium. There is one being held in Moville co.Donegal this  April 24th and 26th

 

 

You can book into this event with absolutely no experience. You can have a go at the fishing, cave exploring and much more.

They have a few models of sit on top kayaks for angling so you can have ago of a kayak that some day you may want to buy. 

Getting your hands on a kayak.
Picking a kayak can be a mine field. with a huge choice to choose from.
My advice would be don't let your kayak choice be down to the size of your garden shed or car.
So unless your going to be fishing tiny ponds get yourself at the shortest a 13ft kayak for a number of reasons.
Not all the reasons will make sense at first but you will learn very quickly in poor weather or a long paddle.

My choice on a tight budget
E850.00 to E950.00
From my experience if I knew what I know now I would have started off with a Ocean kayak prowler 13, they do turn up on sale from E600.00 new, but normally they are around E850.00 to E950.00
 A fine kayak that tracks well and is not expensive for what you get.
It's stable, one of the faster plastic kayaks, not hard to do a re-entry and tracks well [paddle in a straight line] Also it is not to bad to paddle against the wind.

A bit more cash,
E950.00 to E1150
I would be getting an Ocean kayak trident 13, around E950.00 to E1150. It is a bit more stable than the prowler 13 and has a very handy centre hatch. You can modify it to take a tackle box of fibre glass one from scratch. This kayak also tracks well but I find it a bit slower to paddle than the prowler 13. This kayak takes a bit more effort to paddle against the wind.

 

Then you have fibre glass/carbon kayaks.
Stealth kayaks
Stating price E1,300 up to E2,300 for a profisha 525
These kayaks are the business, they ooze speed, class and a dream to paddle.
They are not in the same class as plastic kayaks. They are a lot easier to paddle and the rudder systems in them are excellent.
I am paddling the profisha 525 and she is a dream to paddle, fast light and very easy to do a re-entry.

 

 

This Kayak is 17ft long, I know. That sounds massive. But you would love it. It can turn very quickly and is no problem on small lakes and fishing tight to rocks for Pollock. A kayak like this opens a new world of kayak angling.

So you have got your kayak,
What now.
Well despite what most of us thought at the time and go look for the calmest little puddle to try her out STOP.
Trying a kayak in a flat calm little pond or lake is not the best plan. It makes the kayak feel totally unstable and can put you off. My advice is to find a nice shallow beach with a small swell running on to the shore.
So small waves of no more than 2ft or 3ft is ideal. Enough to get you over the fact the every little wobble doesn't mean your going to fall in and hopefully you'll will have an odd tumble so you can get use to getting back on your kayak.
There is no need to go out of your depth at this stage. Stay in about 4ft of water and that will give you a feel for getting back on your kayak before you head for the deep blue sea.
If at all possible bring someone with you even if there just sitting on the beach watching you having a play in the surf.
Also you will have a good laugh playing in the surf, and in no time you will have no concerns about a boat passing close to you or taking a wobble when you cast to hard to miss a stroke while paddling.

Safety gear.
I am not going to harp on about this and I am just going to put the essentials on here.
Meaning essentials I mean what I would never leave the shore with out.
Compass, Vhf, Water proof phone or a phone in a water proof case, dry suit, PFD [personal floatation device] paddle leash, drogue or anchor and a warm hat [even in the summer]
The items above to me are not optional, if you don't have them even if fishing the lakes you are not ready for the water.
Also tell some one where you are going and when you will be back.

I hope that helps, I will get some more info up as soon as possible.
If the weather suddenly improves you will find me on the water some where.

So until next time tight lines and if you have any questions fire away and thanks for reading.