It was hard work…

I was sat at work yesterday morning spending far to long checking and re-checking the weather forecast. The winds for that day were predicted to be 4-5mph, so why were they sat steady at 13-14mph!. I was flicking from website to website, checking buoy date, live weather stations and it was all doom and gloom. ENE wind, force 4 with white caps in the Bristol Channel, it was disappointing.

Around 3pm I phoned my local tackle shop at Watchet on the Bristol Channel and asked him how the sea was looking. The answer was ‘flat as a mill pond… been like that all day’. I couldn’t believe it, within five minutes I’d left work and was cycling back to my pre-packed car. After grabbing some frozen squid from the freezer I was soon on the A303 heading in the direction of Watchet. I made it to the shop in the nick of time where Steve had my lugworm wrapped and ready to go, top service!. I have to say, his fresh bait really is top notch, I’ve not seen blow lug of that quality since I used to dig it myself as a lad.

Once at the Blue Anchor I was soon rigged up. The tide was a long way out again which meant that an early launch would require crossing the reef once again. As much as my BucketBoy trolley was up for the task, I wasn’t. I chose the steaming cup of coffee with a few Oreo cookies option instead.. whilst watching the sun go down of course.

 

The tide was taking a little longer to flood over the mudflats than I’d hoped, still, there are worse ways to spend an evening. Armed with my camera and time to burn I messed about a bit whilst waiting for the tide.

 

It was well after 6pm before I finally launched into the Bristol Channel and I headed out into deeper water before turning east towards Watchet. The tide was already running hard and it took no effort to hold 5mph as I covered the two miles to my chosen mark.

There was quite a bit of mist though visibility was still about a mile. I did find myself wondering whether or not there’d be a repeat of the fog from the evening before. I was really hoping that there wouldn’t be, though it wasn’t going to change my fishing plans either way.

A charter boat was anchored about 300m from where I finally settled at anchor. It was a little surprising as I normally have the area to myself on a weekday. No big deal, though the amount of noise coming from the boat was a little disappointing. That amount of noise does travel some distance underwater and I couldn’t help but feel it was not going to help the fishing.

The first baits went down about 7pm, double squid on a 6/0 pennel rig, tipped off with lugworm. I keep my trace at around 3-4’ of 70/80lb nylon. I use the heavy nylon as conger eel are a regular catch in this area. I tend to crimp these traces as the heavy mono creates a large knot that can making threading bait onto the trace quite awkward, especially with worms.

I only had to wait about three minutes for the first catch of the day, a plump codling of about 3lb. Then it went quiet, very quiet. The laughter and shouting from the charter boat just kept on increasing and I was totally convinced that it wasn’t helping matters. I was getting a few bites, though they were incredibly gentle, barely noticeable at times. I’d occasionally hook into one and a small codling was always the result. A couple of these fish were deep hooked so I was forced to keep them.

As slack water approached I started to pick up a few conger eels, though again these were all small at around 5-8lb. I managed 5-6 over the slack water period, though it’ll be nice to see the larger eels appear as the year progresses. There were also a few thornback rays, again they were small at around 5-6lb, though some were even smaller !

The dogfish came onto the feed as the flood tide slackened off, perhaps an hour before high water. They were relentless, no sooner than you’d unhooked one and lowered a fresh bait down, the tip would start to rattle once more. I regularly had both rods rattling away at the same time. They varied in size from tiny to large, though they all has the same goal in life.. to destroy my baits within seconds of hitting the channel floor.

How many did I take?, well it was probably a couple of dozen within 90 minutes and my bait supply was all but decimated. I’d given up on loading up with fresh bait, I was either leaving on what I could salvage or picking scraps out of the foot wells and using them.

I was hoping that as the tide turned onto the ebb the dogfish would go off the feed.. I was wrong. The tide was running hard about 90 minutes after high water. Despite the mill pond conditions it sounded like a river behind me as the the flow was disrupted by the anchor buoy and the kayak itself.

Note that I have a Cyalume fitted to the anchor buoy. Should I disconnect at night for any reason it makes relocating the buoy so much easier. Even with a GPS and a decent headlamp locating your anchor buoy at night, especially in a choppy sea, can be quite difficult.

With the tide running hard I reloaded my hooks with the remainder of my squid and fresh lugworm. Within minutes it’d been destroyed by the dogfish and that left me clean out of bait. It was pushing towards midnight anyway so I was quite happy to call it a day. You have to be rather cautious recovering the anchor in an ebb tide here as it really does race through, especially on the spring tides. With the anchor recovered I sat on the kayak having a general tidy up,stowing equipment and de-rigging rods as required. I may not have been paddling, though with the ebb tide in full flood I was being pushed along at a shade under 3mph.

It’d been a cracking evening on the water with no wind, clear star filled skies and quite a few fish. There’d been a handful of meteors streaking across the night sky, though my wishes for a 30lb cod fell on deaf ears. I landed back on the beach sometime after midnight and took the opportunity to clean and fillet my catch.

I emptied the freezer at work today and bought home 40lb of cod fillets and steaks. Needless to say my wife (fishing widow) was more than pleased. It’s not often that my wife gives kayak fishing the thumbs up, though today was one of those rare occasions.

DIY Kayak Trolley

A couple of years ago I was having serious doubts as to the suitability of the C-Tug kayak trolley to do its duty of moving my Prowler Big Game kayak from car to launch site. In the space of a couple of months the trolley had tipped over on slight inclines, or even when bumping over a stone sticking out on a sandy beach. The results were cracked rod rings and one angry and embarrassed kayak angler. The greater width of the Big Game over other kayaks mean that the Big Game, or other similar sized kayaks, do not sit well on the C-Tug trolley. I’d given some thought to making a more suitable trolley, though to be honest I just couldn’t find the time to pursue my thoughts.

On the ‘Anglers Afloat’ forum one of the users, ‘Bucket Boy’, produced a truly excellent piece of design. His trolley was based on a dingy trailer, though lighter in build and collapsible. He also own a Big Game kayak and is fully aware of the limitations on the C-Tug trolley. I was extremely intrigued and decided to go ahead and make one for myself. There were a few minor changes/enhancements which I’d decided upon, though it essence it was a straight copy.

Below is a photograph of it fully assembled and ready to go.

It breaks down into three main sections and two wheels, all of which fit into the front hatch of the Big Game kayak. You need a couple of trial runs to get the stowage correct, but basically the largest sections go in first and are pushed aft, the wheels go in last. Despite the tyres being considerably bigger than the C-Tug (4.8/4.00-8), they fit into the front hatch without a problem.

The rear axle section is basically the business end of the trolley and it’s here where the real manufacturing work takes place.

Triangular brackets are bolted to either end of the aluminium box section axle with hinged aluminium wedges to which a canvas support strap is secured. This strap is bolted to the underside of the wedges using countersunk screws. They not visible in the above photos due to a protective/gripping rubber strip being glued to the upper side of the wedges. A Thule strap was stitched and glued to the underside of the canvas strap. This is of a suitable length to allow it to pass around the kayak securing it firmly to the trolley. What’s amazing is that once strapped to the trolley, the kayak does not move at all, unlike the C-Tug.

Once required for use the hinged section is swung forward and locked in position using a ‘pip pin’.

The bracket plates were made from machined aluminium, though heavy gauge plate would also do the job just fine. I used aluminium opposed to nylon board as an elongation of the holes would prevent the pip pins from operating correctly.

The centre section is plain aluminium box with a machined locating spigot at one end. This slides onto the rear trolley section and again is locked in position with the use of a pip pin.

You can see various silver markings on the trolley, long and short painted sections, triangular marks, etc. These allow me to fit all sections correctly as all holes were drilled to suit during the manufacturing process.

The front handle section is also collapsible and is constructed from two sections of aluminium box, two brackets and a handle assembly. Again a pip pin allows the section to be extended and locked into position.

This final section is then attached to the trolley and locked in place… with a pip pin.

At any point during the assembly the wheels can be fitted. It’s perhaps better to fit them at an early stage, though it doesn’t make a huge difference to be honest.

 

So with it all connected and secured with pip pins the trolley is fully assembled and ready to go.

Loading the kayak takes seconds, it’s merely a case of lifting the kayak onto the rear axle followed by swinging the nose onto the trolley. There’s an angled bracket on the handle upright in which to locate the bow of the kayak. I fitted a rubber strips in various location to help keep the kayak correctly located at all times.

So what’s it like in use?. When it’s very well balanced with little weight on the handle when lifted. This can be fined tuned during the build process by ensuring the centre of gravity of the fully loaded kayak is positioned on the rear support strap. It’s a pleasure to pull the kayak along either smooth road, sandy beach or rough ground. What I really love is that you can happily traverse very uneven surfaces and steep side slopes without being concerned about the security/safety of your kayak.

The oversize wheels allow it to be taken across terrain that would see other trolleys faltering. Is it a pain to assemble/disassemble and to stow in the kayak?. It takes approximately 1 minute to strip into its component parts and another minute or so to stow within the front hatch of the kayak. It is bulkier than the C-tug when disassembled, though its advantages far outweigh this one disadvantage.

 

I do still use the C-Tug for short distances and on surfaces that are hard and flat, it’s just convenient. It is smaller and lighter and doe have its uses. However, should the trolley journey be long or arduous there’s only one trolley that I’d trust to undertake the task…

The ‘Bucket Boy’ kayak trolley

A foggy night afloat

Yet again it seems like ages since I’ve been on the water. I looked at the forecast on Sunday evening and it looked great, with like winds forecast for several days. I was sat at work on Monday morning planning how best to tackle a spot of fishing... no pun intended. High water was around 8pm and the tide was over 12.1m.

I collected some squid and black lug from West Coast Tackle in Watchet and headed over to the Blue Anchor. As I drove along the cliff top road there was what I initially thought to be smoke blowing over the road, I was wrong, it was fog. I wasn’t too concerned as the skies were blue and there was a cool westerly breeze. I can’t remember what time I arrived, perhaps an hour after low water. As expected with a big spring tide the water was a long way out, further than I’d anticipated.

I rigged up and looking out to sea, it was clear I’d have to wait an hour at least to have a chance of launching. I’d made the decision earlier to take the ‘BucketBoy trolley’. This trolley was designed by an innovative chap off Anglers Afloat. I’ve tweaked the design slightly to suit my own needs, it really is a good piece of kit. What this did give me was the option of dragging the kayak across the reef, something I’d not contemplate with a C-Tug.

As I pulled the kayak east across the beach the fog thickened towards the point. I was unable to make out the sea hence it made picking a suitable route a little tricky. The Trolley bounced its way across the reef with relative ease, only struggling with the odd larger rock.

As I approached the sea I pulled the kayak off the trolley and set about stowing it. At this point the water hadn’t quite reached my feet, I was stood on dry land. It took about four minutes to stow the trolley at which point the water was just below my knees!.

I paddled out with the tide and was soon heading east as around 6mph. The fog wasn’t so bad once on the water, visibility was half a mile or so and the skies were still blue. The mark I fish is just over a mile and a half from the launch site and I was soon anchored up. The expected high water depth was 15-16m so once the anchor hit the sea floor I let out an extra 60m of anchor warp. The tide was running hard. I normally hold bottom on the flood tide with 8oz of lead, however, I was straight onto 12oz. Baits were twin squid mounted onto a 6/0 pennel rig, with one bait tipped one bait off with black lug.

I only had to wait about ten minutes before one rod nodded over with a typical cod bite. The fish wasn’t large, though with the tide running hard the sport was pretty good. I didn’t take many photos this trip as was using my GoPro HD head cam.To be honest taking photos didn’t really cross my mind, that’s unusual for me. There was a steady run of codling between 2-4lb, perhaps a dozen or more were taken during the session. Despite the fierce tide the thornbacks made a bit of a show. These were quite hard work due to the current, the best fish was perhaps 10-11lb with a total of three coming to the kayak on the latter part of the flood tide. There were a handful of conger eel, all small fish that came to the surface quickly.

 

As the light faded the fog started to thicken quite quickly. Visibility was still three to four hundred metres about thirty minutes before high water. However, at high water visibility had collapsed!. I could see perhaps a metre past the nose of the kayak and two to three metres either side, it wasn’t good. I fished though slack water and pulled anchor as soon as the ebb began to flow. I set the GPS to take me back to the slipway and started on the paddle back. I really was quite eerie and very disorientating and the chop on the water made it a little uncomfortable.. bar that it was all good!. Without a GPS or compass you’d soon be paddling in circles, I even put this to the test for a chuckle. You literally have no sense of direction whatsoever.

As I came within half a mile of the slipway the fog actually thickened a little more and I could no longer see past the nose of the kayak. Paddling on, albeit rather slowly, I made steady progress towards the slipway. Fortunately the there was no surf whatsoever so I ambled up towards the slip. The first thing to appear was the vertical wall 20-30m east of the slipway. The slipway finally came into view and I was quite relieved to be back on firm ground.

 

With the kayak back on the ‘BB’ trolley I set about cleaning the catch. The trolley made light work of the slipway, I cant lie, pulling the C-tug up the slipway at the end of a session is a struggle. The fog was a little lighter once off the sea with visibility up to 10-15m. There were two anglers opposite my car so I chatted on to them for half an hour. They’d not had any luck and were definitely taken with a rigged kayak with a sack of codling aboard.

I Took the VISICarbon kayak light afloat and it performed well. I really like having a flag on the kayak, something I didn’t expect. Perhaps it’ll prevent some of these yachts getting too close when fishing busier waters. As expected you cannot compare it to my current light with regards to light output. I fished for a while with only the VISICarbon switched one and it’s performance is more than adequate.

No complaints with the evenings fishing. The fog was unexpected and made the trip back rather interesting. Hopefully the good weather will hang around as forecast, I quite fancy another trip before the weekend.

YakAttack VISICarbon Pro – first impressions

I’ve had my kayak for almost four years now and it’s been suitably modified from day one. One of the first modifications I fitted was a stern light powered from a 12v SLA battery mounted within the kayak. The majority of my fishing tends to either be at night or from day into night.

It’s a legal requirement for a kayak to be fitted with a fixed white light that provides 360 degree light and is visible for 2 miles whilst navigating/anchored at night. At that time there was very little available within the UK with regards to kayak lighting, little has changed to be honest. The Scotty light springs to mind, though to be honest its performance left a lot to be desired. I ended up fitting a detachable light designed for small boats and yachts with an uprated LED light.

A few weeks ago I read a couple of online articles where a new kayak light was mentioned, namely the VISICarbon Pro manufactured  by YakAttack in the USA. I was unable to locate a dealer within the UK so I contacted Yak Attack in an attempt to find a European dealer. Yak Attack offered to provide one for review and long term test. Normally I’ve read any available reviews in advance of handling new tackle and equipment, though in this instance I hadn’t, hence I had no pre-conceived opinions. The unit was neatly packaged and also enclosed was a RAM mounting kit.

With the unit out of the packaging it was time to have a close look. There was the light assembly, flag, product guide/instructions and a YakAttack sticker, though what really impressed me was the presence of a credit card sized customer service card with full contact details. That wasn’t something I’d really across before, nice touch.

 

Construction

The light assembly is a four piece affair, the lower three sections are of a similar length with the final section being the light itself.

The lowest section is similar is design to a rod butt, foam covered and approximately 1 3/4” in diameter. The design of the lower section allows the VISICarbon Pro to be fitted to most ‘rocket’ type rod holders. At the base of this particular model (CP2) is a 1.5” ball which also allows it to be mounted to a 1.5” RAM ball (Kit RM2 required).

 

          Standard 1.75” Rod Holder                  RAM Mounting Kit (RM2)

A Scotty ready model (CP1) is also available with a Tallon flush mount model soon to appear in the model line up. The lower section is also claimed to fit to many flush mount rod holders, though these tend to be angled and may not provide the best performance, though I’ll try this once I’m afloat.

Above the lowest section is an elastic lanyard that serves two purposes. It allows the unit to be secured to the kayak to prevent loss should the kayak capsize or the unit be inadvertently dropped overboard. Secondly, with the unit collapsed it can be used to bind the unit together keeping it compact, it also aids stowage.

The centre two sections of the VISICarbon Pro are of carbon construction, similar to what you’d find at the lower end of a light spinning rod. The finish is good and there are a couple of graphics to compliment the appearance. The narrow diameter will keep the drag effects of wind to a minimum. The upper section is the light itself, more on that later.

What have the four sections got in common?, well, they’re all connected with an elastic shock cord that passes from the lower ‘butt’ section to the light, passing through the two middle sections.

The cord is under tension and allows the sections to either be quickly locked into place, or to be broken down into a compact size for easy storage. The principle is the same a used on many lightweight tent poles, though applying it to the light was most intuitive. When snapped together the unit is 48” long which when mounted vertically will comfortably put the light above head height.

Stowage, this is where yet again the unit proves to be most innovative. The red flag, which measures 18” x 6”, also doubles up as a stowage pouch.

There is a opening at one end, secured with Velcro, this allows the collapsed unit to be slipped inside and secured.

In this configuration the unit is very compact (14” long) and can be stored within a rear mounted crate or large centre hatch/rod pod with ease. It also fits into my dry box which is just perfect. As a result you can take the light afloat and fit it as required. It also allows the unit to be removed and stowed prior to a potentially difficult surf landing.

Getting back to the flag, attaching the flag is simplicity itself. The VISICarbon Pro uses ‘Silent Snaps’ to allow the flag to be attached to the light in seconds, it really is that simple. The ‘Silent Snap’ system comprises of two small elastic loops with a plastic tab on each. Pulling on a tab allows one end of the flag to be inserted.

The process is repeated on the other end resulting in the flag being securely attached to the light.

It’s very secure, the flag will not blow off and it’d happily survive a capsize. That being said, I’m not going to put the last statement to the test anytime soon!

That leaves the light itself.

The light unit has been custom made for the VISICarbon Pro and sports of section of reflective SOLAS tape with high visibility orange tape positioned at either side. The tapered clear lens houses the LED module. As standard it comes with a two LED module, though additional modules can be purchased to enable this to be changed to either a one or four LED module. Clearly this will vary the light output and battery life as a result. Again, this is an option I’ve not seen made available on any other kayak light.

There’s no on/off switch, operating the light requires a simple twist of the clear lens in order to make the internal contact. It’s simplicity in itself and by removing a mechanical switch it has removed a potential point of failure.The clear lens is removed by unscrewing it from the light unit.

The lens itself contains a twisted diffuser to provide enhanced 360 degree light coverage. Two O-ring seals are present at the top of the light unit, neither of which are likely to fall off whilst changing batteries/LED modules. The LED module lifts out to expose three AA batteries housed within the unit.

 

These are easily removed and replaced as required.

Performance

YakAttack claim a battery life of approximately 100 hours with the 2 LED module. Clearly this would be dependent on ambient temperature as I’m assuming those figures were attained at room temperature. However, even if battery life was far less than quoted it’s still very impressive and would easily last several trips before replacement was required.

If I had a concern about the light unit itself, it would be the potential to loose the LED module whilst carrying out a battery change when afloat. That being said, knowing the potential risk, you’d no doubt be ultra careful whilst carrying out this procedure so the risk would be minimised. 

The light output itself is quite impressive for a two LED system, though I’m now very keen to compare it to the 4 LED module.

It wouldn’t be fair to compare it to my current light as that utilises an 18 LED (21W equivalent) bulb, though it’s certainly very useable and will easily surpass the UK requirement of being visible for two miles. There is the facility to slide the flag over the light to reduce light output. Whilst this may not be particularly legal or advisable in open water situations, it may be prove useful when fishing close to structure to avoid spooking fish.

  

The light unit is claimed to be waterproof to 1000 feet. I kept it fully submerged in the sink for one hour and the initial results were encouraging with no water penetrating the light unit.

That said, it’s also claimed that the VISICarbon Pro floats, that will be tested when I’m afloat.

Alternative lighting

It’s currently not retailed within the UK, though in the USA the VISICarbon Pro with 1.5” RAM mount (CP2) retails at $89.95 with the RAM mounting kit retailing at $19.95. So is it value for money?. Well it’s certainly not cheap, though I’m a big believer that you generally get what you pay for in this world, and I believe that this light is no exception.

Clearly, an awful lot of thought has gone into its design. What with its collapsible mast, multi-purpose flag, multiple lighting/mounting options and excellent battery life it’s well ahead of the competition. Though that’s not all, it has full spares backup where virtually every part can be purchased individually direct from YakAttack.

What’s in the UK that can readily compete with the VISICarbon Pro?. The only real ‘equivalent’ is the Scotty Sea Light with pole that retails at around £45.I’ve seen one in the flesh and its light output doesn’t compare and its battery life is quoted at 8 hours. It’s also lacking a flag and isn’t collapsible, nor does it have the mounting options, etc. When you start bringing all of these factors into the equation the price of VISICarbon Pro doesn’t seem too bad at all.

  

              Scotty Sea Light                                 Kayak Deck Light

There is also a suction mounted unit that retails at around £30. The one I’ve seen is short and as a result would not provide 360 degree coverage with an angler aboard. It’s doubtful in my eyes as to whether or not a light of that design actually meets the legal requirement for night navigation. There’s also the potential issue of positioning such a unit as not to impede the anglers night vision. It’s certainly not as effective as a light positioned above head height and behind the angler.

Conclusion

In my opinion the VISICarbon Pro is a high quality innovative kayak light that’s well ahead of the competition. Sure it’s not cheap, though with its superb functionality and unrivalled product support it should last many years with the correct care. It comes with a twelve month warranty as standard.