Kayaker Gary Robinson of Kayak Fisherman Ireland shares the joys of sea fishing with pal Rory and recounts:
I really cannot get over how good the weather is at the moment. Galway is getting weather that would not disappoint during the summer, never mind the spring! Long may it last.
The fine weather is too good to waste so it only made sense that the kayak should be launched. Finishing work a little later than planned, Rory and I decided to have a go at the inner reaches of the bay once more. I wanted to head south and fish the Clare coastline in the hopes that there may be better pollock there but time was very much against us.
The bigger fish have not made it right into the bay yet and talking to a couple of charter skippers over the weekend confirmed this. Still, we could have a bit of craic with some of the smaller fish and Rory, a fly fisherman at heart, decided he wanted to try fly fishing for the smaller pollock. I was going to jig in an effort to locate the fish and then put him over them with the fly.
The first mark that we fished was looked at with the hope of it producing a few wrasse but again, the fish have not made it in this far yet. We headed out further and found a rocky, weedy reef that harbours fish. Almost first drop down saw me connect straight away and the pattern continued with a fish or two on almost every drop. Unfortunately they were all tiddlers but I was happy enough that I was locating the fish for Rory. Unfortunately Rory didn’t connect with a fish but he did become rather comfortable casting flies from the kayak.
It’s hard to feel short changed when you get out on the water in conditions like that and this evening was no different. We decided that the summer weather had tricked us into thinking that fish should be there when in reality it’ll be a couple of more weeks before they land here. Local knowledge says the same thing and it always pays to listen to local knowledge. I’m retreating from the salt for the next couple of weeks in favour of freshwater. There is a roach run imminent and I am keen to try and intercept it.
Gary Robinson
kayakfishermanireland.com
Kayak angling in Ireland
Gary discovered the thrill, freedom and pure joy of kayak fishing almost by accident. After purchasing kayaks with the intention of paddling trips with his long-suffering partner, he started to assess the suitability of such a craft as a fishing platform. Some internet searches showed him that he was not alone in his thoughts. America and Australia already had blossoming populations of kayak anglers. Needing no more encouragement, he set about rigging his first sit on top kayak and transforming it into a fishing platform to gain access to some of the more inaccessible waters. Now into his fifth year of kayak fishing he shows no sign of slowing down.
Find out more about Gary and his adventures at www.kayakfishermanireland.com