Tope on the fly rod a weekend of firsts for the lads and myself part 2

Hi all,
Before you say it, no that's not a type O.
Yes tope on the fly rod.
With Mike and Brian home with an epic weekend under there belts and Sunday was a blow out,
Monday was the only slightly doable day for the next 10 days according to the weather, So to hell with it after work I was going.
It was giving 15mph westerly, and although the Foyle would not get dangerously rough in that direction of wind it could be a fierce paddle home. But there where tope to be caught and I can put up with a tough paddle for a bash at those power full fish.

Breezy and some tide.
Yes it was breezy and the tide was not as fierce as it was on Saturday so I was pleased with that.
But it was very cold in the breeze, it was like winter.
Thankfully the typhoon ps220 has a nice hood so that saved my neck from frost bite lol.
But like Saturday it was again very quiet. I had a few doggies, a flonder and a couple of whiting.
But not a sniff of a tope.

Frozen and time for home.
I was frozen and it was time for home, I had the 2 bait rods down and I used the last of my fish chunks up. And all I had was 1 small whiting and a half fillet of old mackerel.
As I was sitting there about 8 gannets came up the sand banks and hammered the banks for about 20 mins, I had a glimmer of hope for a moment but with my poor bait situation and the cold. The hope  of any action soon passed.
So I started to stick a post up on facebook to tell the lads I blanked when one rod took off. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I struck and nothing, dropped run. I could have cried.
 That fish didn't return. So I reeled in the camera rod and got the fly rod out armed with the small whiting which I had made into a mini flapper bait.

My ambition this year was to get a tope on the fly, last year I did try but my line was to light and rose to quickly trough the water.

I have been talking to Mike and he has recommended a line that stays very deep so that seems the way to go.

 



Back to the fly rod.

Ye I had one burning question, its one thing getting a tope to hit a fly but could I and my gear handle a tope. My budget was nearly spent on this project so before I invested in a new line I wanted one on the gear I had.

To do this I was going to try the fly rod set up with bait.

It wasn't a route in the tackle box and drag out a trace. I had planned to use the lynx de-tatch 100lb wire trace with 7/0 hook. It is a strong hook, with a needle point tip on the hook. Ideal for trying to set with a flimsy soft rod.

 

The flick,

I pulled out about 40ft of line and with one flick the small whiting flapper shot trough the air, aided by a stiff breeze.

I flicked it up the tide so it would sink, roll along the bottom and I could retrieve it as it rose up in the tide.

I was on my third flick and as my fly rod bait sank deep my bait rod then got a take. I lifted and struck, FISH ON, and off just as quick.

Oh I was near heart broken, 2 missed none landed in one session, not good at all.

Again I was ready for home and the cold was really setting in.

My last bait was now being slaughtered by crabs and it was getting late.

 

It's not over until your home

Yes again I was ready for home. Oh yes again the tope where not finished with me.

Suddenly the bait rod and the fly rod started to go.

I made my choice and grabbed the fly rod, stripped the line and struck hard.

With that the bait rod lunged forward.

But thankfully it was the same fish. It had just run one line into the other.

Thankfully it was on the fly rod.

Bait rod cleared and I had the scrap of my life.

The tope went bonkers. He didn't run a huge amount of line off, but he went mad all around me.

Dragging the kayak all over the place twice he nearly got to the anchor.

He did do a few runs and the reel screamed like something you would expect from a tarpon in Florida. Thankfully my fly reel has an excellent drag and that saved my hand from a good burning.

 

Some pictures I think.

Yes its time for a few pictures by now.

So here is the beauty of a tope about 23lb to 25lb and an epic fighter. Yes there is a vid that will be up very soon.

 

Happy was an understatement. My modest budget gear can handle a tope. So the new super sink line is ordered and I will be doing a lot more of that. The fight was epic and the tope went back good and strong, no dragged out fight and the tope will be back for more in no time.

 So back he went and hope fully he will be meaner and bigger the next day

When the new line comes this work of art from Chasing silver bespoke flies will be plumbing the depths looking to be engulfed by a tope.

 

So tight lines to all and here's hoping for some more screaming runs.

 

An epic weekend of tope firsts.

Hi all,
I am writing this just getting over the buzz of an excellent weekend on the water.
I had Mike and Brian up for the weekend looking to bag there first tope from a kayak.
I was as usual after something a little different.
It started with me bagging 4 tope in 2 short trips over the last week.
So the call was made, if you want one get yourselves up here.

Dodgy weather.
The lads where game for anything that Donegal could throw at them and they arrived in Donegal Friday night. So general fishy stories and the usual yarns where flying as we all tied various tope rigs that where so good, after a beers we where mystified why the tope where not knocking on the door for them lol.
But as per usual the weather was being not so kind to us and the only real weather  window of the weekend was from first light, 4am until about 1pm.
The lads where advised to get out for first light as it was close to the prime time for a tope and with the weather it may be there only chance.
So no bother to Brian and Mike, they where up and away before I was out of the bed for work.

A long day in work.
Oh I had a long day in work the lads where anchored on my favourite mark in perfect conditions and I was in work, yes it was torture lol.
I couldn't bare the wait any longer and I had to give them a ring when I was on a break.
Well it was the news I had hoped for. The lads already had a tope a piece and they where buzzing.
The 2 of them where delighted with there fine catches.
But there was more good news when we met up, Mike had gotten another.
Thankfully my day came to and end and I was busting to get out, but it was not a great stage of the tide to hit them. So I had to wait until 4pm and watch the poor weather and the strong tide roll in.

Would I get out at all.
I was busting for a go at the tope and the breeze had gotten up and the tide was running at a serious rate.
The 3 of us set off together at a fierce pace and headed across the foyle. We where busting a gut to get past the light in the river.
Thankfully it was a bit easier as we got half way across.

Anchors away, away, STOP lol.
We lined up and dropped anchor and thankfully Mike's anchor and mine held first drop, but unfortunately Brian's slowly carried on past us.
With the tide flying Brian had 2 more attempts and had to abort the third time and head for the shelter of the shore.
We sat tight in the tide and braced ourselves for some action.
But it was very quiet for a long time.
The prime time in the tide had come and nearly gone when Mike got a half hearted run that ended in a dropped bait. 20 mins later the same again.
I on the other hand had not gotten a tap.
I soon saw why, Mike had a chum bag like Quint out of the JAWS film lol.
Hopes where fading and with nothing but poor quality bait left we where about to give up when I could see Mike dive for his rod, then ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ went his reel.
Mike roared those fantastic words.

FISH ON.
Yes Quint I mean Mike was in to a steam train of a tope, it went berserk.
It run all over the place and click of the drag Mikes smile got bigger.
In no time he had the beaut subdued and on his lap for a classic trophy pic.
Well done that man.

  A cracker of a male tope of about 28lb to 30lb. The smile says it all.
Well that was the last we run we had,
So home we went and even though I blanked it was great to see the lads get what they came for and put a decent effort in to catch them.
The forecast was a shocker for Sunday so the lads more than happy with there epic days fishing headed back home with a fine days fishing under there belt, again well done lads.
No doubt they will be back soon.

Mondays bash coming soon with a vid you may like.
Thanks for reading, and tight lines.

Home made rudder for Trident 13 and prowler 13

Hi all,
As the strong tides would coincide with the start of the tope season, the trident would be brought out of retirement.
But the trident really needs a rudder for the strong tide and cross winds that are a far to common occurrence at this time of year in Donegal.

So as per usual it was out to the shed for some tinkering.
I had an old template from the last time I made a rudder, but it needed some refinement this time around.

What I used for this build. The majority of the rudder was made of stainless steel picked up from a scrap yard. Also some 15mm nylon cutting board to make the side wheels for making the lifting mechanism on the rudder blade.

Below is the measurements for making the rudder.
I have welded the side cheeks and rudder pin. You can bolt them on if you don't have a welder.
Here are the full measurements/dimensions. And a step by step guide how I made it.

Here is the rough template, it was just a rough guide. Obviously the rudder blade.

 

Above is the base plate.

The bend at the top is for the rudder keeper and for holding the blade in place while in use.

Here is the first cutting of the rudder.

I say first cutting as when using an angle grinder you are better to cut in straight in straight lines rather than trying to cut a curve as you will just end up smashing cutting discs.

To get the shape you want just cut your straight lines as tight to the shape as possible. Then finish it with a sanding disc on a grinder.

 

Working out the wright size of centre wheel for the rudder lift.

The rudder blade and base plate cut and cleaned up, also the lift pulley wheels cut out.

Measuring up for making the side plates. Lucky enough the piece of scrap I got has a bend down the side, So I just have to cut and drill the side plates.

                                                MIND YOUR FINGERS
Once you cut out the 2 pieces using a whole cutting saw, you need to cut even grooves around the 2 pieces. I done this by closing the vice with a pin trough the centre of the piece so it can spin freely.
Then I put a thick grinding disc in the grinder. Simply place the disc against the piece of nylon. The piece of nylon will spin very fast once the disc touches it. All you do then is slow the piece down by gently pressing a piece of wood against it and it will then start to cut an even groove as it spins.

If you have not taken the fingers off yourself you should have 2 nice pieces like this.

 The 2 lift pieces are ready to fit. They need some fixings to stop them spinning when you are trying to lift the rudder. I used 2 SS screws. I counter sunk the screws.

 Simply place the 2 circular pieces either side of the blade and bolt together and then screw trough both pieces. You are now ready to add the side cheeks.

 

Tope, there in.

Hi all,
I am Just in from a cracking short session after tope in Inishowen co.Donegal.
Todays forecast was for a settled spell from about 3am until 3pm.
So I had a look at the tides and saw low water was close to 11am.
With that I planned to paddled out mid ebb tide and anchor up in time for the tide easing, as this area has a strong tides.

Looked great from the pier.
It looked great from the pier even if there was a light easterly breeze blowing. So with no time to spare I was rigged and ready to head across to my mark.
I was on the trident today as the Stealth although a fantastic kayak doesn't sit well stern on to a strong tidal flow at anchor.
I headed across and gave a few marks of fish a jig , that showed on the fish finder but with no joy and as the tide was flowing quiet quickly, I didn't persevere and carried on over to get anchored up in my spot.

Baits in.
Baits to day where frozen mackerel from last year. They where in good condition as they all get a wash and wrapped individually before freezing.
The 2 rods had pulley rigs on with a mackerel fillet on.

 

The same as the pic above.

While they where down I had a chum bag out plus some scrap fish chunked up and threw them in intermittently.

I was not anchored up to long when the rod that normally has the camera on got 2 or 3 good bounces and away it went zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. YYYEEEEHHHAAWW

 

Oh yes we have a fish on and it has to be a tope.

Oh yes he was away like a steam train going mad, he charged all around me and knew how to fight dirty.

He ran away at the start and then turned and ran at me and under the kayak. The bugger nearly gave me a heart attack as I thought I lost him for a second.

Yes so under the kayak and up the other side the bugger he was back and forward several times, a very lively and tricky fish to keep on top of.

And although he was testing me to the full he gave a great fight.

Also as per usual the fight didn't stop when he came out of the water. He was like a coiled spring.

 

First tope of the year, GET IT IN.

As always my heart does be in my mouth every second of the first tope fight of the year.

So as soon as he was ready I got him along side.

 

As you can imagine the adrenaline is just pumping here the first of the year and they always look big when there 2ft under the water. This one looked a cracker.

As you can see it was still full of fight but the fear of loosing the first of the year he was coming in regardless. As long as it was not going to harm the tope it was worth me getting shook all over the place lol.



 He was ready for a return to the water and I had a smile on my face like a Cheshire cat.

Brilliant my first of the year. But not the first in the area. Bertie from Boat angling Ireland had one about 10 days ago.

This was also a tope christening for my new dry suit the Typhoon PS220, kindly sponsored by Typhoon.

As I had guessed I had no issues with movement or any restriction. It is a great for reaching around and doing what you want with no restriction.

 

Was he on his own.

Well the answer to that came about 20 minutes later in the form of more BOB, BOB, BOB, ZZZZZZZZZZ.

Oh yes tope 2 had appeared. But f###k he was off in 2 seconds. I let the bait sit for a minute but there was no return. I pulled the other baited rod near to see would that get a hit but nothing.

So I reeled the first bait in and checked it. The bait was still there but it was battered.

I put a fresh  fillet on and put it in the same spot and with in 2 or 3 mins he was back and he hit the fresh bait and this time the hook was set.

By now the tide was slack and this crafty sod fought much closer to the kayak. He also run all around the kayak but much closer and this tope was a show off. Coming up to the top about 30ft away throwing his head about and shaking his mouth at me .

Again a brilliant heart stopping fight.

This fish was a few pound lighter at around 23 to 24lb.

 



So to say I was happy was an under statement. I was delighted.

Tope no.2 returned and by now the tide was starting to turn and pick up pace.

I sat there for about 20 minutes more and all of a sudden the tide went form a gentle to a very strong flow as the tide line passed me, it was flying by now.

I fished on and nothing happened for an hour and as I was about to give up the rod started to BOB, BOB, BOB but no run and continued to bob until I struck and what was it, but a doggie. Think he just took it to wind me up lol.

So believe it or not my first doggie of the year as well.

With that the tide was roaring in and the wind that was forecast was starting to get up.

So it was time for home and I paddled back with a dirty big grin all the way home.

 

You all know what this means. Get in those cars and head to Donegal for some of Irelands finest fishing.

I hope to see you all very soon.

 

Tight lines and thanks for reading.

 

 



Quick run out and quicker run back.

Hi all,
With the forecast being absolutely all over the place I decided to give today a miss.
But while heading down the road from the cinema with the kids the foyle was flat calm,
So home like a shot and out I went.
The tide was near low water and I had missed the best part of the tide but I was keen to try.
So I was away  like a shot and anchored in no time. It was very nice out there.

Nice but for how long.
The tide was near enough on the slack as I anchored up so the chum was deployed and the 2 tope rods where deployed. Plus a rod for the small stuff.
All was looking good rods where nicely sitting there I was sitting back waiting for the zzzzzzzzzzz.

 

First up was a flounder a fine bait size, so that fella was on straight away.

 

That unfortunate fella was lowered to the bottom to see what would take a fancy to him.

But it was dam quiet and after an hour there was no sign of any tope.

So all was quiet and some very dark dodgy looking clouds appeared in the back ground and heading my way.

 

I have seen those before, and I wasn't waiting for them to get to me. There was no bites at this time so to hell with it I was making a run for it.

But before I could get my anchor line wound up the first blast of lightning bounced on the far side of the Foyle.

 

With that I was away, and paddling at a decent rate. I was hoping to get to shore before it hit Moville.

But no the heavy rain started, and it was time to get the rods lay flat.

Rods in lightning mode  lol.

I was paddling as hard as I could at this stage, but it wasn't fast enough.

The sky just opened above me and it was like a monsoon.

 

 



It was a serious bit of weather, and to top it of there was a big clap of lightning not far away and yes after a pic or 2 more quick paddling.

Finally I was at the pier and the slip was like a river I could nearly have paddled up it lol.

No not a river, it is actually the slip. That was one hell of a down pour.

So that was that, a short session and only a tiddly flounder to show for it.

Theres always the next time.

 

Fingers crossed I'll see the sharp toothed fellas very soon.

Thanks for reading and tight lines until the next time.