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The first Anglers Afloat meet of the year was organised by Seagypsy (Ben). The setting was a chilly Poole Harbour in Dorset.

Ben had organised a series of activities including a flounder fishing comp, an RNLI demonstration and a teach-in for paddle skills. He had also arranged for some burgers and hot dogs – yippee !

Mark (Snapper) from Johnson Outdoors, and nearby Bournemouth canoes had brought along some kayaks and paddles for people to try out…

Poole harbour meet - demo kayak fleet

It was a great gathering, and the weather was cold but calm – and no wind – this was good for the majority of paddlers and fishermen – but a few of us wanted to try sails out… always the way.

I didn’t bring my rods; instead, I just had a paddle and spoke to others.

I got a glimpse of the new Trident 13 – and in particular, the new rod pod hatch (which is also available as a retro fit to existing Trident owners). It looked good, with inserts and fits for Scotty mounts as well as a couple of indents for bits and bobs and a measure (for fish) along the side…

New Ocean Kayak Trident rod pod cover

New Ocean Kayak Trident rod pod cover (underside) 

Steve (Lureman) had brought down a Mini-X kayak for Nick (Fruitcake). Steve must live in a dodgy area (Tee Hee !), becuase just check-out the size of the lock he used…

Lureman's kayak lock !

The local RNLI lifeboat soon appeared and gave a demonstration to on-lookers – they also practised some drills with the kayakers present, loading and unloading the kayaks onto the lifeboat.

Poole Harbour RNLI

Ben had also arranged for a local representative from the canoe club to come down and teach the group all about paddle strokes – it was very informative and well received by all who attended…

Kayak Teach in

I decided that I would go for a paddle in the harbour to warm up. I met Steve and many of the others, but nobody had caught any flounders yet.

It's tough being a kayak fisherman !

I managed to find a small secluded bay with a nice beach and decided to stretch my legs and have a bite to eat. A very peaceful spot (as the sign says !)…

Shhhh.... Kayak fishermen at work !

A toned down (!) version of Dizzys T15

Time to explore

Lots of small shells and a group of Oyster catchers…

Cockles and Kayaks

Oyster catchers

Upon my return, one of the members, Cam had caught a nice flounder…

Kayak caught flounder

Flounder from Poole Harbour

I also managed to meet up with some guys from my neck of the woods – RichC from Glastonbury, Yarrow an Baz100 from Bristol.

Baz100 had brought his new Hobie kayak down – and very nice it was too…

Baz and his new toy

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. A great day out…

End of a great day in Poole Harbour