Tywyn Tope fishing

After traveling the best part of an evening, myself and friend Paul arrived at Tywyn in Wales to find other friends already at the kebab shop. We then made our way to where we would be staying next to the launch site and settled down for the night.

The next morning, Friday we woke to a good fresh wind and light rain. There was going to be no fishing today, so we got ready and drove into town for a breakfast and tour of local attractions, there were two tackle shops to view and waves lashing up the prom. Returning to the launch point we decided to give ourselves a bit of shelter by tying a tarp between two of the vehicles and spent the day chatting.


The day seamed to go quickly and as night arrived the BBQ made it`s appearance, all fed and logs turned it into a camp fire.

We were all in our sacks by 9.30pm ready for an early start as the forcast for Saturday was more favourable.

 As Saturday dawned the wind had gone and conditions were right for a launch. We all got our kit ready and were on the way down the river by 7.30am.



The paddle down was very easy as the tide was on the way out so we were being gently drawn by the flow. At the end of the river there are some gentle rapids just before you hit the beach, the tide was just right to paddle staight out of the mouth and through the surf and breakers, the biggest being about 3ft. Once away from the river mouth the sea was pretty calm with a slight swell maybe about 18 inches to 2ft, we paddled out to where some of the others were anchored and picked ourselves a spot.

I dropped anchor with dubby bag attached and Paul teathered to my yak. We both got ready our rods with Mackerel flappers and cast different sides, game on we thought. After a couple of minutes the rods started nodding but not the signs we were there for, the doggies were in on the act. Their attack on our baits was constant but they weren`t big enough to get anywhere near the hook, Paul decided a second rod was going down to get into this pesky action.



I resisted the sight of Paul bringing one after the other to the surface for about an hour, then tackled my second rod for some of the same. The action was constant, the competition below must have been fierce, some of these fish weren`t even hooked and only let go of the bait once they felt the yak under them. A good hour and a half, right through the turn of the tide the doggies kept us entertained. The tope rods kept giving the odd ratchet click as we swung in the tide, making us both jump with anticipation, but the doggies kept coming. Paul was using squid for his dog slaughter I wasn`t wasting good bait, I just hooked the tail end from my flappers and they wanted it enough. All this time we kept focussed on what we were there for, with attention on our tope rods reeling in and re-baiting, now with full Mackerel so they would last a bit longer, I reeled in my tope rod and the baitfish had been gutted out by the dogs, I thought give it another ten minutes use so back in it went.
   The Dogfish were still performing so I carried on, by now we must have had 50 or 60 fish between us, Paul having the most as I took time out to have a lay down and catch some sun, so the day wasn`t wasted if we didn`t catch a tope, but things were to change. I`d just reeled another doggy in and my Tope rod gave a click, then a few more, I put the doggy rod to rest and picked up the tope rod ready for a run, but nothing. Paul`s eyes were wide and he said "it`s still there", I tightened up and struck into something that didn`t like what I`d done.

 The reel was now screaming and line was peeling off, I was into what we came for a Tope and a decent one, a little bit concerned by using a new reel, I slowly increased the drag lever but this fish was still going, the thumb went on the spool. I was starting to gain control and the fish surfaced on the far side of Pauls yak, luckily Paul had got both his rods in and out of the way and was now armed with his camera.

As the fish came along side it decided the time wasn`t right to be boated and made another run for the bottom but having seen it was firmly hooked in the bottom lip I had no concerns and let it burn some more energy.  Finally back to the side of the yak I grabbed the leader, put the rod down and lifted her on board. I thought yes, my biggest yet. Looking at the fish and holding it I estimated somewhere between 25-30lbs, Paul thought more but what ever it was, it`s a new personal best as I`ve never had one that big before.

We carried on with our quest for another hour or so, with a chance of further Tope but they weren`t there in numbers only the Dogfish which became less in numbers as the sea drained from beneath us.
We headed back to shore to find the river mouth was 3 flat swirling races of water spreading out from a very fast running set of rapids, we tied a length of cord to each yak and started to pull them up stream to more settled water where we paddled back to the launch site.

Not the couple of days Tope fishing we were after but still enjoyable and a break from the usual.

Malachite performance

Having waited some time to get the new yak on the water for some serious paddling, the oppertunity came with a weekend on the North East coast. Saturday saw a few friends and myself out of North bay at Scarborough, the weather was rain with a slight wind and the sea had about a foot of swell so nothing that could not be handled.

Once out on the water I soon got used to the tippy feel of the yak and settled in to paddling. The yak moved through the water with ease which I expected but I was really suprised by how it tracked keeping a straight line even with cross wind, having spent the last couple of years paddling the Big Game and fighting the slightest breeze to keep straight, this yak was a pleasure.


After 20 mins or so, we decided to put a bit of recovery practice in, so I capsized the yak and took the plunge.

On starting my self recovery I was amazed at how the yak came to meet me, with the gunwale below the waterline it made recovery very easy, the only thing needing any thought was how not to go straight over the other side. The narrow beam means that weight shifting suddenly from one side to the other needed to be done with a bit of agile presision, something I`ve grown out of over the years but the riding a bike theory applies to yaking and I managed to stay upright.
After a couple of re-entries we got back to paddling and ventured further from the beach, paddling into the wind, across it and then with it, the yak was behaving itself nicely but it didn`t seem challenging enough so I started a bit of messing about. I flipped over the side and made my way round to the bow, I intended mounting the yak from the bow just to see if it could be done, well maybe on a mill pond with an acrobat but not me, not today. First attempt and I was straight back in, second go and I managed to get up on the bow deck and sat for about 5 seconds, bump from a wave and the sea had got me back in, leave that for another day I thought.

Having seen the pictures taken on the day, courtesy of Andy Elliot, the Malachite seems to be sat a bit low in the water suggesting that my 13 stone may just be a little short of its load carrying ability, if I were to compare it to other s.o.t`s, that may be the case, looking at the first picture with Dave`s sit in sea kayak, both seem to be at the same level so I`m not to concerned. A future test of load carrying will have to take place.



The Sunday of the weekend saw us launch at Flamborough`s North landing. Now this isn`t a place for the faint hearted, the slip is enough to bust your lungs when you are pulling your yak back up.

The forcast was looking good and the weather was perfect. We made our way down the slip and launched on to a calm sea, paddled out of the cove and into a wind of about 5mph, we were heading into the wind and up towards Bempton cliffs. I had put on the thigh straps today, these were supplied with the yak and what a difference they made. Control of the craft was much improved and they also allowed me to deliver more power to my paddle stroke, I will keep them on the yak from now on.
Arriving under Bempton we decided to do a spot of fishing, now the comfort of the BG was begining to be missed. I prefer to fish side saddle, the malachite does not lend itself to this very easily, I felt very vulnerable and decided that for the time being, sat in the seat with my legs over each side was the safer option.  Having spent an hour fishing without any sign of fish, we decided to head back down the coast and try our luck near the landing, I stowed my gear and off we went.

I stopped along the way and beached my yak at the bottom of the cliffs on the rocks, by this time the sea had got up a bit and there were 2/3ft waves breaking. I noticed Dave was heading towards me in his Dorado, he took one look at the shore line and promptly turned back out to sea. Definately one advantage poly yaks have over glass yaks is you can beach on rocks.
Once we reached the landing the others carried on with their fishing while I carried on getting to know my yak.

I`ve enjoyed my first couple of days afloat on the Malachite and look forward to many more outings and more new experiences.