7 Hours Driving... In search of a Coalfish!

With your Girlfriend living 6 hours away and close to the countries next big Kayak meet, I needed no excuses to chuck the kayak on top of the car for the trip as well.

The week before had me involved in a car accident that left the car undrivable (with a cracked subframe), so with a few days to go before the meet, I luckily found a replacement car in time!

Ouch!

So I finally made it to Flanborough

Then there was the fishing. We all met on Sunday morning to a fairly choppy sea, this meant the boundaries were reduced for safety. I had no local knowledge of the area and paddle with the guys that seemed to look like they knew where they were going was going to be my best hope. About 70 people fished and conditions were tough. I had a mackerel in the first half hour, then my first ever Weaver Fish which was a bonus. Strangley however, this was caught on a speed jig, fair and square in the lip, but the speed jig was bigger than the fish!!! I think they must forget how big they are sometimes!

So I thought I was going to be finishing near the bottom of the pack but started to hear over the radio that everyone else was struggling. What I did in the end was to paddle in closer to the start point so I could fish right up until the last few minutes. I chose to anchor because at times, without the drouge, I was drifting over 3 mph!

This proved my best move and the last 40 minutes produced some really good fishing, I just wished I had moved earlier. Having in previous years, never managed a Dab off of the kayak, I was now being plauged by them! Baited feathers were even catching them!

So in search of a better dab, I eventually managed one around 3/4lb, a personal best for me too. At this point with 10 minutes to go I was thinking what a shame it was to have come up here and not manged a Coalfish for my species list (I said before I came up that is all I wanted to catch), as we hardly get any down South. As I thought this, the 'dab rod' folded over and i thought it was going to be an even better Dab, then I could see a 'roundfish' coming up... Pollack, No a Whiting... NO... A COALFISH! I was over the moon, it also meant my 45th lifetime sea species.

I got back to the weigh in to find my coalie may be up around the top and I was over the moon to find out I managed 5th place! Thats the last two big kayak meets with a 2nd out of 140 and a 5th out of 70. On a personal level, I was very pleased, especially fishing unfamiliar territory and I think if the competition had been based on my specialty, species hunting, I think I would have been up there as well.

There was also a biggest bag of mackerel competition running alongside as well, It came down to 4th to 11th being decided on length as everyone just had one. Now I thought brilliant, I could be 4th or 5th in this as well, but then I realised I had be-headed my mackerel, making it lose a 'small' amount of length. Was glad the others found the funny side of it! It was actually quite a big mackerel and i estimated it to be 5th or 6th place but as it stood i finished 11th in that side competition!

On the next day, I was recovering from a small hangover and the Tope fishing everyone had planned, didnt happen. So everyone either went home or went in search of shelter from the wind! I chose the North Landing of Flanbrough for a hour or two and managed a nice Flounder, a first of a kayak for me! I also brought a Lobster right to the surface before it escaped my net!

So a productive and very enjoyable weekend both on the water and off it!