Category: Tope

Tricky Tope Fishing

30/6/2019

Tope Fishing Article Cornwall Kayak Fishing

I have a love-hate relationship with Tope. They are one of my favourite species to catch. Hard fighting with powerful runs and the whole element of danger handling a toothy critter on the kayak makes fishing for these small sharks quite exhilarating. Whist brilliant fun to catch, I have blanked far more times than I have caught when fishing for them and after several back-to-back blanks it can be frustrating to keep targeting them. Nevertheless, they present a challenge, and it wouldn’t be half as interesting targeting these fish if they were jumping onto the hooks every cast!

Tope Under Pressure!

9/7/2017

The mission was set. Catch a Tope for a magazine article! My good friend Kyle is a writer for Saltwater Boat Angling magazine and they had a special shark edition coming up. Kyle also needed to catch his first Tope so we hatched a plan and waited for the next available weather window to try our luck.

After-Work Tope Fishing

20/6/2017

Early summer gives us just enough time in the evenings to head down to the coast after work for a few hours fishing. The gate at Cornwall Canoes closes at 5:30pm. Andrew and myself only have to shoot a few miles down the road and can be on the water by 6:30pm. There is one fish we love to target as it gets dark.... Tope!

Smooth Sharks

4/6/2017

I've been itching to get a session in on the North Coast to see if i could catch a Tope. Conditions haven't been great for several weeks but things were shaping up for an evening session with a big Spring tide. With the light evening there was just enough time for a few hours on the water after work.

Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet 2016

1/9/2016

It was time for the meet that i organise - the Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet. Kayak anglers from all over the country would be descending on West Cornwall to fish its productive waters. Many would be making a holiday of it and staying for several days either side of the Saturday and Sunday meet. I had a good few days off work to join them too!

Swell Sharks! - 31st July 2016

20/8/2016

Tope are one of my favourite fish to catch from the kayak but i haven't put much time into targeting them this year, other than a couple of evening sessions that resulted in tope blanks. Gary was still waiting for his first Tope so we planned a day session to try and catch these hard fighting sharks...

Tope Feeding Frenzy!

18/8/2015

It was time for another Tope session. The weather was calm and swell was low so a launch on the north coast would be possible. It would be an early start but Rob was keen. It was a beautiful sunny morning as we set up our kayaks. Everything was looking good but we have found the Tope fishing to be hit or miss. Sometimes they just don't seem to be there. Fingers were firmly crossed they would be today!

Tope Time!

7/6/2015

This time last year i had caught my first Tope from the kayak so i have been itching to get out again this year to try for them. A very narrow weather window presented itself but it would be choppy with an onshore wind. I contacted Rob who had just brought an RTM Abaco and we planned an early morning session on the North Coast......

Tope Fishing from a Kayak - Video

28/6/2014

I've finally got round to trawling through the footage i took during the Tope sessions a few weeks back. Here is the video - press 'read more' below to check it out, and make sure you select HD!

Another Tide, Another Tope

2/6/2014

After the success of the first Tope trip Kieren wanted in on the action so we headed off to the North Coast for another short evening session. It would be the first time Kieren, Elliot and myself would be fishing together on the kayaks so we were hoping for fish all round. Conditions were less than ideal with a fair chop being whipped up by a brisk onshore wind. We battled our way out to the mark and dropped the mackerel baits down....

Tope-busters!

31/5/2014

I have often contemplated targeting Tope from the kayak but have never got round to trying for them. News was in of Tope showing on the North Cornwall coast so hatched a plan to dedicate a session targeting them. A bit of research online into rigs, gear and conditions and I was ready. I spent the evening before tying tope traces – 8/0 Mustad o'shaughnessy hook double crimped to 12” of 100lb Sakuma coated Wire biting trace attached via a swivel to 5ft of 80lb Fluorocarbon rubbing leader. If I hooked one I wanted to land it!