Spring has yet to arrive
The weather forecast for the next few days being disastrous, I decided to try my luck in the open sea, just to get a feel for the place. This late spring is not easy to manage. Indeed, this year, the weather isn't really with us. Spring still hasn't arrived, and on the calendar, summer starts next week. The current forecast calls for temperatures of barely 15°C and winds of 80 km/h this weekend. As much as to say that kayak outings will be limited for a while.
As a result, this window of fine weather is almost unhoped-for and I'm not going to miss it. A coefficient of 54, with high tide around 11:00. If I'm on the water at daybreak, I'll be able to do all the uphill runs. Moderate wind until 2.00 pm with a northerly direction, which is good for this spot in the Abers, as the wind tends to take me back to the starting point. It's important to avoid going out into the onshore wind, as it's not very safe in the event of a problem with the propulsion, and paddling back into the wind for 2.5 km is no picnic. As a reminder, even on a propelled kayak, the spare paddle is compulsory... Top conditions, then, and we headed out to sea in search of the spot.
On the way, I still work on the detections I've encountered. A few old and a few small crappie grab my talashad. Of course, these fish caught on depths of less than 10 metres leave without a care in the world. Even if some of them are over the ridiculous regulatory size of 30 cm, I release them anyway, as my mesh size is over 60 cm, which corresponds to the biological mesh size for this species. Once in the area, I pick up a few more interesting fish at depths of 15 to 20 meters. If I reel them in quietly, they also leave without a hitch, but no pretty fish yet.
A beautiful fish
In the distance, a few gannets dive, indicating some activity below. In addition to the gannets, there are also northern fulmars, a species we don't come across very often. On arrival, nothing on the sounder, but I cast my imitation sandeel under the kayak anyway, contact with the bottom, a little milling to avoid snagging and I feel a little tap. Immediate clamping and it's the violent cartridge. I've had feedback that on big fish, you shouldn't let them rush, but shoot them 2 or 3 times in the head to calm them down. I test the trick and it works, he calms down, which allows me to gain the few meters away from the bottom. After a few seconds, he starts to rush again, but I'm calmer, he's at least 5/6 meters from the bottom and my rod and reel brake are doing the job. After each start, I regain a few turns of the reel, it's really a nice fish, but I'm confident in my rig and my equipment, I just have to reel it in gently and let it wear itself out.
After a few minutes, the beast surfaced. Weighing in at 4.605 kg gutted for 81 cm, it's a fine fish for a kayak catch. With this fish, I have enough to provide the family table for a few meals. As it's still early, I decide to turn back and have some fun in the parks with the bass. They too will be active, with surface lures and swimming fish in between, not big fish, but plenty of them, for a long time to come. Back to the departure beach for the usual snack, the local seagulls welcomed me with open arms...
A closer look at the equipment used to find the location
- Penn Regiment Labrax rod in 7X28 grams, tip action, but good power reserve, too bad it's no longer made...
- Penn Spinfishing VI reel in 2500 fill with Yo-Zuri super Braid 8 strands multicolor in 1.2 Fluorocarbon Topknot-Leader-Yo-Zuri in 33/100
- Lure: Astufish Talashad 120 green ayu, mounted on a 30-gram green-eyed astubreizh head.
