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Post by tamworthian on Aug 3, 2008 19:30:06 GMT -1
I will post a full report tomorrow as i have just got back after 10 hours fishing & a 350 round trip, i went for the meet not knowing that it had been canceled, lucky for me Monair & Richie J turned up the weather was great no waves or swell & light winds it was great, I think some one from the coast guard got the call wrong Richie J was nodding of in a cove in the afternoon it was so calm, we have some pics to post as well.
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Post by moniar on Aug 3, 2008 21:23:24 GMT -1
I planned on joining the meet today at Bull Bay but it was cancelled due to the forecast wind. I decided to give it a try anyway, as you can often get out and fish close in at Bull Bay, and met up with two other forum members at 9am. Richi from Wrexham was trying out his new collapsible BIC kayak for the first time, and so I took some video whilst he tried out the stability and did a capsize re entry close into the slipway prior to putting the rods on board: s65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/moniar/?action=view¤t=RichiinBICfirstreentry.flvCarl from Tamworth was paddling (peddling actually) a Hobbie which has foot pedals like a bike to propel some fins underneath, as well as a backup paddle - has the advantage of being able to fly fish or plug/spin with both hands free and still manouvre or hold steady around rocks etc - has quite a turn of speed too! Carl had a play with his newly fitted hummingbird fish finder, and found a few shoals at various points. As the wind wasnt too bad in the morning we tried with the shrimp rigs for mackeral and coalies in the headland rip - the back eddy to the SW against the wind drift from the SW wind made for a nice slow NE drift back around the headland where the fish usually congregate. We jigged the shrimp and feather rigs for a good hour there but nothing doing except a few small pollack for Richi to christen his new yak with. We then paddled NE over towards Amlwch and tried a few of the flat calm bays close in with surface plugs, tobys and diving plugs as well as the shrimp rigs. Nothing doing so we went a bit further along. s65.photobucket.com/albums/h225/moniar/?action=view¤t=bullbay030808video.flvTowards lunchtime we made our way back to the harbour in the brighter sunshine as the tide turned onto the ebb. Richie and Carl went in for their butties whilst I had a last play in the headland rip which had now started to build up some swell and standing waves as the increasing ebb flow went against the wind. Having had my adrenaline fix for one day, I turned round and battled against the ebb flow and the following waves in the tail twitchy prowler 13 until I reached the safety of the harbour slipway, which was busy with some sea touring kayakers, powerboats and a dodgy looking inflatable three person kayak! Took a couple more shots off the shore - Ritchie smiling for the camera again: After paying a visit to the rnli shop I loaded the prowler 13 back onto the car and left Richi and Carl to go out again for another session. A text on my phone told me our springer spaniel was about to drop her pups, so a quick race home down the back roads saw me home in time to see the fourth pup born and the subsequent further four! A nice end to a good day, despite it being another blank. Where have all the fish gone?! Glad to hear that the lads did connect with a few more pollack and a solitary mackeral in the afternoon - so I must be the jinx!
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Post by JIMBOB on Aug 3, 2008 21:52:55 GMT -1
Great report.! Gutted now that I decided to leave it Went up to Bull Bay Saturday night with the missus and the little one and it was like a mill pond! What a nice finish to your day too Moniar Ahh the pitter patter of tiny paws ;D
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Post by ZEBRA on Aug 3, 2008 22:31:55 GMT -1
great report steve so pleased that you all got out .well done to all of you
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richj
valued Member
Posts: 106
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Post by richj on Aug 4, 2008 8:04:32 GMT -1
Nice to see she dropped the pups Steve, you'll have plenty of takers for the little fella with the spot on his bum Carl and i paddled every inch of those coves and i can't believe there were no bass around there ! It looked like the perfect habitat, even plenty of little bait bait fish but nothing taking lures or even showing on Carls fishfinder. Managed to catch one of the afternoons pollock on a deep diving lure trolled behind the yak on the way back in, which is a first for me and a pleasant surprise Paying for it today across the shoulder and do i dare mention the sunburn
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Post by JIMBOB on Aug 4, 2008 9:56:46 GMT -1
Paying for it today across the shoulder and do i dare mention the sunburn ;D ;D ;D.........
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topcat
valued Member
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Post by topcat on Aug 4, 2008 16:07:03 GMT -1
Hi all Sorry I missed it. Loaded up saturday night ready for a early start for Bull Bay saw it was canceled ,trouble is i was using the prowler 4.5 and i cant lift it on and off on my own and i wasn't sure if anybody would be there ,also with the wind report it didn't look promising. After seeing the report and the pics I made the wrong decision. It looks a nice place to fish. Are the tide rips strong and is it safe for a lone kayaker. i,e me. that's a question for you steve {monair}
cheers tony
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Post by steve07 on Aug 4, 2008 18:58:11 GMT -1
great report there steve and well done on the puppies!
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Post by tamworthian on Aug 4, 2008 19:35:10 GMT -1
Just wanted to say congrats to Monair well done Granddad, and a big thank you from Rich and myself for giving us a great day and keeping us safe with your Extensive sea skills and knowledge it really is reassuring when you are out there to have some one of your caliber with you & that goes for some of the other members i met at llandudno, responding to topcats thread yes there is a strong tidal rip to the left side head land and no i would not venture out on my own unless i really had to, safety in numbers, Stroke, Heart attack, fit , or slice an artery with a fillet knife, how do you get back ? from some one who has had more than a few near death experiences i don't tempt the Grim reaper, the sea can be very unforgiving .
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Post by BUDDY on Aug 4, 2008 20:03:02 GMT -1
Hi all. Good pics, nice to see you had a good day. Too big a gamble for me after the coastguards weather report. 240 mile round trip. A tyring drive home after fishing. Will be at llandulas. Steve
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Post by moniar on Aug 4, 2008 20:56:40 GMT -1
Just wanted to say congrats to Monair well done Granddad, and a big thank you from Rich and myself for giving us a great day and keeping us safe with your Extensive sea skills and knowledge it really is reassuring when you are out there to have some one of your caliber with you & that goes for some of the other members i met at llandudno, responding to topcats thread yes there is a strong tidal rip to the left side head land and no i would not venture out on my own unless i really had to, safety in numbers, Stroke, Heart attack, fit , or slice an artery with a fillet knife, how do you get back ? from some one who has had more than a few near death experiences i don't tempt the Grim reaper, the sea can be very unforgiving . No problem Carl - but on no account would I claim to have extensive sea skills or knowledge. Put me on a sea cliff or mountain top and I am a lot more comfortable, with 25+ years of experience under my belt. I just adopt the same safety attitude I used climbing and mountaineering to the sea. As you say, you have to respect the danger and risks; and like mountaineering/climbing the trick is to build up your knowledge and experience steadily and not try to run before you can walk. I have been involved in enough near tragedy incidents in the mountains and on the local sea cliffs on the island here, along with assisting in rescues in those environments, to know that you need exit options and self/ assisted rescue plans. To answer your question Topcat - Bull Bay is probably not a place to solo kayak fish in (very few places are) - reason being 1/ Its a deep water venue with strong rips around the headlands at certain times of the tide 2/ At certain times the rip is in the opposite direction to what you expect - ie a back eddy forms close in 3/ Prevailing wind is SW which is off shore 4/ Standing waves and rough disturbed water occurs off the immediate headland (usually on the ebb on a big tide like Sunday) Having said that its a great place to practice re entries close in to the slipway over high water, out of any SW wind. I wouldnt solo fish there normerly for the above reasons and because I dont usually like solo fishing in areas which are relatively not popular venues - If I am desperate to get out fishing and have to go alone I would choose somewhere like Porthdafarch, Benllech, Treaddur Bay beaches or Holyhead harbour. On the few occasions when I have solo paddled/fished I dont anchor up and have stuck to these well populated areas, and ALWAYS give the coastguard a paddle plan and inform them on the way out and back in on the vhf. I am comfortable (by now) to fish parts of the straights, bull bay, moelfre etc with at least one fishing partner - at least then if you get into trouble in a rip you have someone who can summon help on the vhf and/or help you recover your yak or rescue you if you are too tired to re entry alone. I consider that I am still alive as a result of in the past having found the right balance between challenge, adrenaline, fitness level and skill. I still like a challenge, and yesterday I did venture into the headland rip alone later on when Carl and Richi were going in for lunch - I ensured they knew where I was going, and I had the vhf, flares etc on my pfd - I cautiously paddled into the rip where we had fished in the morning quite easily on the flood, but now on the ebb it was SW wind over ebbing tide - after the first five minutes of going through the resulting rough water/swell I quickly turned around and had the remainder of my days adrenaline rush paddling hard against the strong ebb flow for 100m with a tail twitchy prowler 13 doing its characteristic wave surfing. I had decided very quickly that whilst I would have been comfortable going further into the rip with either of my usual local experienced kayak fishing partners, when you are alone it is a much more serious proposition. As with rock climbing there will be some who will say you shouldnt do it or I shouldnt have tried out the rip alone - my life experience has taught me that you have to push ourself out of your comfort zone (but only just outside of it when alone) in order to progress your skills and enhance your risk assessment judgement - as one day you may end up out of your comfort zone by accident, and without the self confidence to keep calm, increase concentration, and work through it to safety. Tony if you want to give Bull Bay a go I am available most Sunday mornings to accompany you and guide you away from the main danger spots (of which there are relatively few) - same goes for the safer part of the straights that I have learnt to paddle /fish over the last year (with help from some experienced local small boat anglers). Like rock climbing/mountaineering, kayaking and kayak fishing is much safer with greater numbers and I am always a lot more comfortable kayak fishing with 2 or 3 others than I am with just one other. I am happy to help others as others have helped me (am still waiting for Spud to teach me the swellies run in the straights :-) ) As stated in one of the other threads - the re entry training from Kev (Hatter3) has helped a lot of people off this forum to master the art safely and confidently - and forums like this can do a lot to help keep the sport as safe and enjoyable as other "adventure" sports.
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topcat
valued Member
Posts: 221
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Post by topcat on Aug 5, 2008 9:47:41 GMT -1
Hi steve Thanks very much for that very informative advice ,I appreciate you taking time answering my question, also I would like to take you up on the offer to meet up with you to fish bull bay sometime . Thanks again steve.
cheers tony
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