New to kayak fishing...

Hey there, I recently bought a nice 13ft sit on top sea kayak and I was hoping to eventually do a spot of light fishing from it. Targets being a few mackeral and pollock and maybe even stretch to a flattie hunt. I fish the East and North coasts from Larne to Benone fairly regularly from the shore but does anyone know of any decent spots to try from a kayak? I will most likely being going it alone so obviously don't want to head out too far or to remote places as I am wary of tides etc.

I have a few ideas myself but any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

I am looking forward to experimenting either way.

Cheers

before you do anything, practice capsizing the kayak and re-entering it. don't go out fishing until you can do this in your sleep. half a mile out is not the place to find out that you do not know how to re-enter a kayak.

associate yourself with all safety equipment and procedures - nobody wants their next trip out to be their last.

if you want to meet up i will head out for a session, i am based in wicklow though....

You'll have great crack with the kayak. Best thing I've ever bought . You can fish spots which shore angllers can't reach and boats can't get near because of their size. Happy fishing .

Great crack on the yak im only about 6months on the yak fishing and I think its just a nice relaxed way of fishing and getting away from the missus

Great crack on the yak im only about 6months on the yak fishing and I think its just a nice relaxed way of fishing and getting away from the missus

Thanks for the replies. I'm not a total kayak novice but it has been a few years since I was last in one so safety would always be number 1. I plan on a few mackerel trips at first then go from there. I'd love a wee trip to Wicklow but I'll maybe get a bit of experience up first but thanks for the offer

[chuckaroo]

as above. if youre headin out on your own then make sure to have have ALL safety plans covered. bring a mobile phone wrapped up in a sealed plastic bag inside your wetsuit, for example. the sudden change in a wind and resulting rough seas, or unexpected raging currents, could find you in serious difficulties. so take extreme care. hopefully you will be aware of all this but anyways
i was out the other day in a yak, you just cant underestimate the speed of drift and just how hard it might be to row back against the current to get back to your launch site. it all depends on what type of area you might be fishing i.e. headlands tend to have quicker currents rounds them! beware, keep an eye on your drift at all times and never go far from the shore. current are slackest at low or high tide states at the certain location so maybe aim to head out just during these times?

all that aside, i could recommend a little spot along the shore road close to the salmon cages in red bay (not glenarm). i saw a couple of guys park in the lay-by there (almost directly inshore from in-line with the cages) and pull their kayaks down and over the shoney shore below i.e. its easily accessible.
they had a pretty good day with plenty of mackerel, flatties, dogs, codling... just fishing the area around the cages. should be pollack fishing along the shore over the kelp too.

hope this helps

Last edited by chuckaroo on Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The currents would something I would be concerned about the most and to be honest I'm not particularly keen on heading out myself. I'm going familiarise myself with the kayak first before attempting any fishing but hopefully in the future maybe some of us could get together for a bash! I fish red bay from the boat a few times a year but there's a few rough ground marks close to shore I fancy trying. The area cuckaroo refers to would be one of them.

If you ever fancy comming down to Carlingford give me a shout

i could head out some time with ya up this way if you wish to try that spot
would need a bit of notice and would be only interested in calm seas..
pm me if you wish
cheers

i could head out some time with ya up this way if you wish to try that spot
would need a bit of notice and would be only interested in calm seas..
pm me if you wish
cheers

I would be keen to meet up sometime cuckaroo so I may well take you up on your offer. I'd also only be interested in calm conditions. Hopefully summer will arrive soon so I can actually use the bloody kayak this century.

Never been to carlingford Lough but I'd certainly give it a throw. What's the main catch down the re? I've heard tope are a distinct possibility.

Never been to carlingford Lough but I'd certainly give it a throw. What's the main catch down the re? I've heard tope are a distinct possibility.

Yes there is always a chance of a good tope and even better only a short distance from shore. Its definetly worth a go. PM me if you fancy comming down here.

will do dangler...cheers. Same goes for yourself if you fancy a go on the NE coast!

try www.irishkayakangling.com too if you wish
endless info and advice on there

Can't say I've ever been yaking around Larne but I have done a fair bit of inshore boat work in the area and there's plenty of options for the yak and often wanted to do it myself! If it were me and I wanted to experiment a bit before heading further afield I'd head to browns bay and set a few drifts accross the bay there. Should be plenty of flatties, doggies and codling about and the chance of a small pollock or wrasse up along the rocks where the rough meets the sand. I've had huss along the rocks off the boat there too. Easy launching off the beach and tides are fairly gentle as long as you stay within the bay. Ballygalley bay is worth a go too as long as you stay away from the head itself, wouldnt fancy those tides under paddle power Anyway I recon you'll have plenty of options round Larne - once summer comes back that is..

One of the fellas on IKA had something like 11 species up around Larne last year.

try http://www.irishkayakangling.com too if you wish
endless info and advice on there

Thanks for the link, great stuff up there. Trying to get a mate to get a kayak along with me - he has the ability to transport them