2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as a year to forget in so many ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on everyone’s lives around the world. I had the heartbreak of losing my Mum early in the year, and also fishing friends Bastien Beynet and Willemijn Vollebrecht-Schonnenberg. Despite the despair and lowpoints, life goes on, and friendships and fishing have really kept me going. They have given me the strength to see the positives in these difficult times, and reminded me to cherish what we have. So with that in mind, it’s time to celebrate the good things in life, and especially fishing…
For the last 5 years, I had been putting my heart and soul into writing a book about my kayak fishing exploits. It had become a labour of love. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and wanted it to be just right. By the time I was happy with the manuscript, I had probably re-written the book 2 or 3 times. At times, I was starting to resent the amount of time I was spending writing rather than fishing, but slowly it was starting to take shape. In my head, I had some ideas about the way I wanted the book to look, something fresh and contemporary, different to many other books I had read. Along came Martin Mumby. Martin runs Wye Angling Publications, and also publishes the hugely brilliant fishing magazine Catch Cult. With his design skills and experience, the book really came to life. Working closely with Martin transformed my text into the vibrant, fresh and exciting creation which I had in my mind.
After all the years of effort, my book “Kayak Fishing In Close and Personal” was finally ready to be printed. About a week before it was due to be printed, the COVID lockdown was announced across the UK. Luckily Stuart, Pam, Gareth and John at the printers Gomer Press in Wales, pulled out all of the stops, and I received the books on a lorry pallet the day before lockdown. I had decided that the print run was going to be a limited edition with only 150 books, and I would sign and number each one. I thought I would struggle given lockdown, but incredibly, I sold the vast majority of the books within the first 2 months of issue!!
I am quite proud of the book, and the feedback I have had from people who have read the book as well as the glowing book reviews, has definitely made all the years of effort well worth it.
Once lockdown kicked in, my fishing options were limited, but one activity which was COVID secure, was fly tying. Very relaxing and therapeutic, despite my eyesight not being so great these days, I still managed some decent efforts…
My good friend Ian Poole, sent me a reg tag fly, after seeing me dabbling with mullet flies…
Soon I was tying my own mullet shrimp creations with some advise from Darren Jackson, someone who I had admired alot for his bass and mullet fly creations. My shrimp/idotea imitations were not a patch on his, but I was still pleased with the results…
At last, the lockdown restrictions were starting to ease, and fishermen were already starting to think about where, when and how they were going to start fishing again. With all of the fly tying, and a spell of good weather, I only had one location in mind, the stunning Wimbleball Lake fly fishery run by Mark Underhill. Charlie Fishwish and myself had a top day, as is always the case at Wimbleball. We found lots of hard fighting rainbw trout, and ended up at the bottom of the lake, where the fish were feeding on cased caddis…
You would think that a realistic cased caddis immitation, such as the one I had in my fly wallet, would have worked wonders…
But actually, the old coves pheasant tail pattern which I had tied up during lockdown, proved to be my most successful fly. As always, a top day’s kayak fishing, in beautiful surroundings…
Duffer’s week is a time when the mayfly hatch, and even duffer’s like me get a chance to catch wild brown trout on dry flies. This year was no exception, and I spent some unforgettable evening’s wading my local river with Charlie. “Matching the hatch” is alot of fun, but if I am being honest, it probably doesn’t make a huge difference when the fish are in a feeding frenzy. We caught some beauties…
Now the river season had started, so it was off on a chub adventure to our local river. Myself and Charlie paddled the kayaks a long way up the river to get away from the crazy hoardes of people who had appeared from nowhere to enjoy the river following their enforced lockdown. Our efforts were rewarded with some fighting fit chub to 4lbs caught on 5cm hardbaits. We also fished new stretches further afield and took advantage of the good weather.
I applied for a licence to trap crayfish, and started to experiment with catching these tasty little devils – it was very productive, and alot of fun….
The great thing about the crayfish traps was that I could set the traps on my my along the river in the kayak, and lure fish at the same time, then collect and empty the traps as I returned from my fishing trip.
There were some huge chub up to 6lb which were tempted on crankbaits. Sight casting to these mini submarines is very exciting and hugely addictive.
Pike and perch were also caught along the way, and perhaps the most exciting session in the kayak was spent testing out some cicada surface disturbance lures made by Duo. Not the sort of lure you would expect a wiley old chub to eat. But the chub and pike loved them, and some crazy days were spent on the river.
My first saltwater kayak fishing trip was to one of my all time classic venues – Salcombe in Devon. The weather was incredible and I took full advantage, negotiating my way along the spectacular coastline casting my lures and catching bass, wrasse and mackerel. The video gives you some idea of the dynamic nature of the fishing on offer. This is real “instant fix” fishing, and I must have hooked and landed over 40 wrasse vertical jigging with weedless soft plastic lures. Hopefully the video gives you a flavour of the day…
Back to the river for some more action with big chub and other assorted predators…
Then time for something a bit different… down to Christchurch harbour in Dorset with Charlie and David. More glorious weather and fish everywhere. Catching thin lipped mullet on baited spinners. Oh man, I had almost forgotten just how hard these fish fight. I also caught some bass and a whole bunch of freshwater fish using a variety of different methods, including the method!!!
I would return to this venue later in the year, and it turned out to be a very special trip indeed.
Next trip was to Cornwall, to a location which I had fished from the shore for years. A very remote mark, not for the feint hearted, but I knew there were big fish there. As it tuned out, it wasn’t to be. I launched and got about 100 meters before it was obvious that it was simply too dangerous to be out on the kayak. I paddled back in, and decided to drive to a more sheltered spot where I had fished with my buddy Ian in the past. It turned out to be a good move, as the sea was flat with an offshore wind. I had tried to reach Ian, as I had a hunch that given the conditions, he might be out there in the kayak. No reply from him, so I paddled on out. Once out at my chosen mark, I could see another kayak fisherman approaching. I was pretty sure it was Ian, but I was the last person he was expecting to see. The look on his face as he realised it was me, was very funny “What the heck are you doing here?”. It was so good to catch up with Ian, and later I caught some nice wrasse, and saw some incredible giant bluefin tuna breaching right out of the water very close to me. Its not always about catching fish…
“What the heck are you doing here!”
Next I was to meet an Italian fishing friend Andrea who I had got to know on social media after many, many years. He was visiting England with his wife in order to say goodbye to his daughter as she started University in Wales. We met in Bath, and I got to show him around my hometown. It was really good to catch up with him after all these years…
This year I had taken advantage of lockdown to write some fishing magazine articles. A couple for Catch Cult Magazine, which I hope you will see soon, and one for Voyage De Peche. This told the story of a trip to Sweden with Morgan Promnitz, Gero Priebe, Keeton Eoff, Frank Steinman and a bunch of other very cool fishing dudes. It was a great trip.
Continuing on the magazine theme, my fishing buddy and kayak fishing guide Brian Nelli had sent me a copy of an article that went into Florida Sportsman magazine, featuring a specimen peacock bass which I caught whilst being guided by Brian with Pushin Water Kayaks.
This reminded me of the happier times I was missing. I decided to make a video showing the peacock bass, largemouth bass, striped bass and european bass in the style of top trumps. Alot of fun…
2020 was the Angler’s Mail magazine ceased production. When I was a young boy, I still remember the excitement of waiting for the Angler’s Mail to be delivered. I was lucky enough to feature in the weekly magazine many times. Also, my local fishing tackle shop Veals, stopped trading. This was a fantastic shop, which I had been regularly visiting for almost 40 years. Many of the staff who worked there had become close friends – Jerry Salisbury, Steve Ace and Tony Rixon to name a few. It really was a superb shop, and I cannot describe how much I am going to miss it.
Back to the river for more outsize chub action. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this was to be my last visit to the river this year. Plenty of chub and perch around, and I covered a crazy amount of ground in the kayak that day…
Time was moving on, and I really wanted to go back to Christchurch harbour. There was a keen wind blowing, but before it was light, I was already paddling along the estuary, with only the sea birds for company. The previous week, Mark Radcliffe, Alan and Andy had been out and had a great session on the kayak. Mark had bagged a monster bass on a floating popper. The area always throws up a few double figure bass every year. Following a conversation with Mark I was already pumped and raring to go.
I started the session in what is normally a busy area for boat traffic. However, it was a weekday, and still really early, so it was worth a few hours I thought. I tried the usual Mepps comet #3 spinner in blue. Nothing to show, so I started to experiment. Years ago, I had met Sam Fu whilst competing in the Hobie Fishing Worlds. He had become a close friend, and every time we met, he would show me the latest creations from Chinese lure fishing giant Lurefans. I have been using their lures for years, and with some success, particularly with their hardbaits and vibes. The vibes – the rattlesnakes and super rattlesnakes are deadly for most fish, and I have caught loads of pike using their Double Kill DK9 lures. People are only just switching on to these lures, which is a real shame, because they have been around for years. There is a subtle art to fishing the rattlesnakes and super rattlesnakes. But once you master the technique, then you will not look back. Following the failure of the Mepps spinner, it was time to bring out the Lurefans super rattlesnake SR45. When I opened my lure box, a blue 10g version jumped out at me. I might have upgraded the hooks to Vanfooks, I cannot remember, but the blue had always done well for me on the sea trout, and the bleak and sand smelts I had been catching there also had a blue tinge to them. Second cast and I was in. The fish fought hard, and I knew it was a good one. I was just praying that some crazy yachttie was not going to run over my line. Luckily, everything held, and I netted the fish. What a special fish it was…
The day was not over, as in my head, the main event was to target the bass on surface popper lures. I was biding my time until the tide was right. Then the onslaught began. Really difficult fishing… the wind was now 20-30 knots, and the water was very shallow – about a foot deep. After casting like a madman for about an hour, I had nothing to show for my efforts. I was knackered. I rang Mark, just to check I wasn’t going mad. Mark confirmed I was probably mad, but was doing nothing wrong! So I continued. Just as I had almost given up, the shallow water exploded as a fish grabbed the large popper. It swam directly under the kayak, and spun it around against the strong tide and wind. I was just hanging on at his stage. After a few minutes which seemed like hours, I netted the fish. It was a decent one at around 5lbs, but given the fight I had expect something nearer 8-9lbs. What a great day out!
Looking at the weather forecast, it seemed as if there might be an opportunity to re-visit my Cornish bogey venue. The winds were offshore, but you just never know at this place, so its always a gamble, and its a long journey for me. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so off I set in the darkness, arriving in pastyland just before dawn. It tuned out to be a perfect day in the kayak. The weather gods were with me, and so were the fishing gods. Lots of bass hitting the lures, and of course those big bad ballan wrasse. I lost a few fish which simply overwhelmed me. They are so strong. I was using quite heavy gear, and top notch tackle, but these guys are used to braving out massive winter Atlantic storms, so think nothing of snapping 25lb braid or opening up lure clips. Eventually I landed a decent lump of 5lbs, mission accomplished. This was a short stocky fish, but what a beast…
The final trip of the year, was another departure from the norm – which seemed somehow appropriate given the enormity of the year we have had. I ventured to Salcombe, but looking at the surf as I prepared to launch, it was borderline. I managed to punch out through the waves, but once past the breakers, it was clear that there was a considerable swell caused by the sandbar at the mouth of the estuary. There was nothing else for it, but to venture up the estuary to attempt to find shelter. As I got to the shelter of a creek, the fish finder lit up with returns showing everywhere. I dropped a small jig and micro sabikis over the side of the kayak, and almost immediately pulled in a couple of sand smelts. I had the livebait bucket with me, so in they went. This continued for some time, with a couple of mackerel thrown in for good measure. Not what I had expected in November almost a mile and a half away from the open sea. I was quite smug that I had adapted to the conditions, and now I had a bait bucket full of live sand smelt. There was only one thing to do…. catch some bass using the sand smelt. And so I did…
All that remains, is for me to say thank you to everyone who has helped make 2020 what it is. If nothing else, it had made me appreciate the things which are important in life, and not to take anything for granted. Thanks you to my friends and family and to my sponsors who have supported me….
Navionics Electronic Navigation Charts
and to Bone Fishing World, and Quantum Specialist
I wish you all the best for 2021. If you would like to stay in touch with my fishing adventures, please subscribe to my YouTube channel or “Dizzybigfish” on Instagram.