KAYAK FISHING BLOG | CORNISH KAYAK ANGLER
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Information Guides
    • Choosing a Fishing Kayak
    • Choosing A Paddle
    • What to Wear
    • Essential Safety Equipment
    • Paddle or Pedal Kayak?
    • Installing A Fish Finder
    • How to Anchor A Kayak
  • Kayak Modifications
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Places to Fish
    • North Cornwall
    • West Cornwall
    • South Cornwall
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Photos
    • 2013 Photos
    • 2014 Photos
    • 2015 Photos
    • 2016 Photos
    • 2017 Photos
  • Marine Life Photography
    • Fish
    • Cnidaria
    • Echinodermata
    • Mollusca
    • Crustacea
  • Links

Kayak Fishing Blog

Sunny Sennen Species Fishing

9/8/2014

 
Picture
The Penzance Kayak Fishing Species Hunt had unfortunately been cancelled for the weekend with the untimely arrival of the remnants of tropical storm Bertha. Mark, Si, Richi and Steve were already down here for the competition so with all but perfect conditions forecast for Thursday we planned a day out from Sennen – the preferred venue for the now cancelled competition. We were in for a great day on the water….

I met up with Mark, Si and Richi at Ponsandane campsite early doors just as coffee was being made… perfect. We chatted, chatted some more and then loaded the kayaks onto the cars before heading down to Sennen to meet Steve. Steve had been there since the early hours of the morning and told us that the local fisherman had been catching plenty of mackerel… great news given their notable absence of the past month or so. Richi and Si eventually arrived after taking an unplanned visit to Lands End before finding the correct turning to Sennen Cove!

Clear blue skies, hot sunshine, Light winds and a fantastic view meant we were all itching to get out on the water. A short walk down the slipway and we were at the waters edge ready to launch. Mark in his RTM Black Tempo, Si in his Kaskazi Dorado 2, Myself in my RTM Abaco, Steve in his WS Tarpon 140 and Richi in his Stealth. Sennen gives access to a diversity of ground and species – we planned to fish the deeper Lands End side to see what it could produce. Time to see how many species we could get between us.

Picture
We paddled out to the end of the Cowloe reef and dropped hookais down over reefy ground. Richi disappeared off into the distance in the Longships direction – trying his luck for a big Pollack or Bass no doubt! Anyhow Si was into the first fish… Mackerel! A welcome sight and a promising start. 
Picture
Mark was next into a fish and one which gave a good scrap… his first Cornish fish…. A Cuckoo Wrasse! His first of the species too…. Great stuff! 
Picture
It wasn’t long before his rod was bending again and too my surprise he pulled out a plump little Cod! 
Picture
A few moments later I hit into a hard fighting fish and after a few minutes of spirited fighting, on my Daiwa Powermesh X 5-30g lure rod, 2 Cod graced the foot well…. Awesome! Although not monsters they are not often seen on my kayak so that was me happy. The larger of the two was kept for tea as I had promised Holly fresh Cod next time I caught one. I went to grab my measuring stick to get a photo for Kayak Wars when I had realised it was still in my shed...typical! Luckily I have a measuring ruler printed onto the Abaco foot well so had to make do with that. Another smaller Cod found the Hookais before we moved off the reefy/rough ground.    
Picture
Picture
I had a Mackerel and Launce before we had a quick look in closer over the kelp reefs for a Pollack. Mark managed one over the rough before I suggested we paddle further out to see what was on the bottom in the deeper water. Huge shoals of sand eels and mackerel were periodically filling the fish finder display – at times I was paddling in 30m and then all of a sudden 2m, looking over the side of the kayak it was easy to see why the fish finder was fooled – huge dense shoals of sand eels were passing underneath in the tide – a great sight to see. Steve stayed in close whilst we paddled out until we hit 38m and dropped baited hookais and strips of Herring or Mackerel on running ledgers to the bottom. Soon enough I had a fish on and after putting up a good account of itself on the light rod I was pleased to see a Tub Gurnard arrive on the surface – one of the most stunning fish in our waters and one of my favourites to catch. Just look at the colours!
Picture
I tried drifting a small sliver of herring on the bottom and soon found that the usual dogfish were willing to oblige, one in fact must have been the biggest dogfish I had caught at around the 3lb mark. It wasn’t behaving for a photo but was around 75cm in length. Another beautiful Tub Gurnard found the Herring bait irresistible too.

Mark suddenly shouted that he had seen a Tope follow his bait up so I wound up my bait in the hope that it may take it… I watched the bait below the kayak, a fish shot out of the depths but it wasn’t a Tope… it was a decent sized Garfish, it made one pass at the bait before disappearing again....damn! I dropped it down another 20ft and let it be with the clutch loosened whilst I cut up some new baits. BANG, the rod bent over and line started pulling off… Tope? Nope it was a hard fighting Pollack around the 3lb mark.
Picture
Picture
With a bait back on the bottom I sat back and enjoyed the sunshine. Out the corner of my eye I spotted a fin, then another….. DOLPHINS! They were Bottlenoses and were heading straight for my kayak, they passed at about 30ft before heading over to Mark. He managed to get a great pic of one breaking the surface.
Picture
Back on the baited hookais and I was into another fish… this time a vibrant Red Gurnard – another stunning fish… I was enjoying this! 
Picture
I rebaited the bottom hook on the hookais and dropped them back down. No sooner had it hit bottom something nailed it…. A different fight left me waiting to see what would emerge from the depths. A flash of colour deep down turned more and more colourful as I reeled it in closer…. It was a Male Cuckoo Wrasse and a decent sized one at that! They are my favourite species so I was well happy. Unfortunately it wouldn’t swim off so I kept it to be weighed into my club and to be used as bait at a later date – Cuckoo wrasse makes great bait so it won’t be wasted. It weighed 1lb 1oz 10dr so a new PB. 
Picture
Si had pulled up a Grey Gurnard and a few other fish, Mark was desperately trying to catch his first Red Gurnard. We had drifted towards Lands End and decide to paddle right below the famous landmark. Richi had since arrived from his ocean voyage around the Longships with a few Pollack to show for his efforts. I stayed over a patch of reef whilst the others headed further around the headland. I had a stonking bite and hooked into a hard fighting fish followed by another take and even more chaos on the end of the line…. The rod was bent double and after a while two Pollack both around the 2.5lb mark were in the kayak…. That was fun on the light rod!
Picture
The others hadn’t found much between them so we regrouped right below Lands End and watched a fantastic practice rescue session between the Sennen and Penlee Lifeboats and an RNAS Culdrose Helipcopter. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
We all sat back and watched….. Except for Richi… he was off again! This time he was sat on the edge of the helicopters prop wash, camera in hand taking photos! We all found this hilarious and were waiting (Hoping) to see him get plucked from the water by the winch man! Well he should have got some really epic photos anyway.
Picture
We paddled back round to deeper water towards Sennen in the hope of finding a few more fish. Richi spotted a Sunfish and Mark went over to check it out – they got really close and Mark has got some great photos of it next to his kayak. I headed back over to Steve on the inside of the Cowloe to see how he was fairing. He had found plenty of Pollack and a Cod so he was happy. Together with Si we headed to the end of the reef to see if any bigger Pollack were feeding in the ebbing tide. The underwater reefs created an area of confused water and in combination with the ebbing tide and a lumpy swell made for a rocky ride round the end of the reef. We drifted along, hookais down…. BANG… fish? Snag? Either way my rod doubled over and with the pull of the tide and a rising swell my rod shattered in my hands!! Not happy… the rod snapped at two points on the tip section… it was a lovely rod too. I resorted to bait fishing over some cleaner ground further into the bay. Steve followed whilst Si tied off to a buoy. Steve deployed his deadly Dexter wedge whilst I found a couple of dogfish and Pollack on the bottom. A splashing on the surface caught my attention… Mackerel were shoaling on the surface around the kayak and it wasn’t long before Steve was pulling out one after the other. 
Picture
Mark radioed in and said everyone else had landed back on the beach. We called it a day and joined them back on the beach inside the breakwater.
Picture
Picture
Mark had found his first ever Red Gurnard… brilliant! We all finished up with a good few species each. I had a great day finishing up with 8 Species – Mackerel, Launce, Cod, Pollack, Dogfish, Red Gurnard, Tub Gurnard and a Cuckoo Wrasse. Mark had 7 only missing out on catching a Tub from the species I caught. Si had 6 and Richi and Steve had a few between them too. Mark missed out on a Tope and I nearly had a Garfish so it could have been more. Not bad considering we hadn’t even tried the sands for the Flatfish, Rays and possibly a Weever. A good bit of fishing in the sun with excellent company… fantastic! Mark, Si, Richi and Steve are all top blokes and it was great to fish alongside them. Its great to have made some new friends amongst the kayak fishing fraternity. We headed back to the campsite; stoked up the barbeque and prepared fish… fresh BBQ Mackerel and pan fried Pollack fed everyone and their families. We had a great evening in the sun chatting around the campfire… a great end to a lovely day on the water. 

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Liam Faisey

    Liam Faisey Cornish Kayak Angler

    SPONSORS

    palm-equipment-logo
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Navionics Logo

    Proudly associated with
    Cornwall Canoes
    Cornwall's only specialist kayak fishing shop

    Archives

    January 2023
    November 2022
    February 2022
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Anchor
    Anchor Chain
    Anchoring
    Anchor Reel
    Anchor Trolley
    Atom Bib
    Baillons Wrasse
    Ballan Wrasse
    Basking Shark
    Bass
    Battery
    Black Bream
    Blonde Ray
    Blue Shark
    Boat Fishing
    Bull Huss
    Buyers Guide
    Camera
    Clothing
    Cod
    Common Skate
    Competition
    Conger Eel
    Corkwing Wrasse
    Cornwall
    Couch's Bream
    Crate
    Cuckoo Wrasse
    Dab
    Diy
    Dolphins
    Drift Fishing
    Drysuit
    Equipment
    Extendable Pole
    Fishfinder
    Fish Finder
    Fishing Kayaks
    Flounder
    Footwear
    Gilthead Bream
    Goby
    Goldsinney-wrasse
    Go Pro
    Gps
    Greater Weever
    Grey-gurnard
    Grey-gurnard
    Haddock
    Herring
    Hobie
    Hobie Eclipse
    Hobie Outback
    Hobie Outtfitter
    Jellyfish
    Kayak Fishing Guide
    Kayak Review
    Kayak Surfing
    Kayak-wars
    Launce
    Launch Venues
    Leashes
    Lesser Spotted Dogfish
    Ling
    Lithium Battery
    Live Bait
    Lowrance Elite 4x Dsi
    Lure Fishing
    Lures
    Mackerel
    Marine Biological Association
    Measuring-fish
    Megrim Sole
    Mirage Drive
    Modifications
    Mother Shipping
    Mounting-board
    Oceanic Pufferfish
    Ocean-sunfish
    Octopus
    Paddle
    Paddling
    Palm
    Palm-kaikoura
    Pedal Drive Kayaks
    Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet
    Pfd
    Pilchards
    Pilot Whales
    Places-to-fish
    Plaice
    PLB
    Pollack
    Porbeagle Shark
    Pouting
    Railblaza
    Ram Mounts
    Ram Tubes
    Ray
    Raymarine Dragonfly
    Red Band Fish
    Red Gurnard
    Red Mullet
    Reef Fishing
    Review
    Revolution 16
    Rigging
    Rock Cook Wrasse
    Rod Holders
    Rod Rest
    ROKK Mounts
    RPF Master
    RTM
    RTM Abaco 420
    RTM Abaco 420
    RTM Luxe Seat
    RTM Ocean Duo
    RTM Rytmo Angler
    RTM Tempo
    Safety
    Scad
    Scorpionfish
    Scotty Mount
    Selfrescue
    Shark
    Shore Fishing
    Skate
    Slide Track
    Small Eyed Ray
    Smoothound
    Spotted Ray
    Starting Out
    Storage
    Storm
    Streaked Gurnard
    Tandem Kayak
    Team RTM UK
    Teksport Xplore 330
    Thermals
    Thornback Ray
    Tompot Blenny
    Tope
    Triggerfish
    Tub Gurnard
    Turbot
    Ugly Stik Elite Spin Rod
    Ugly Stik Kayak Rod
    Undulate Ray
    VHF Radio
    Video
    Viking Kayaks
    West Cornwall Kayakers
    Yak Attack

    Add my blog to your feed reader by clicking the button below 

    RSS Feed


    Cornish Kayak Angler - Kayak Fishing Blog

    Get blog updates via email

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    blog web counter
    Web Counter

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Kayak Fishing Videos

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Kayak Bass Fishing Video
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed Widget
    Custom feed reader powered by FeedWind

    Useful Links

    Anglers Afloat
    Cornish Shore & Kayak Fisherman
    Cornwall Canoes
    ​Palm Equipment
    ​Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet Info
    Saltwater Kayak Fisherman
    Magic Seaweed
    XC Weather

    Picture

    Choosing a Paddle for Kayaking

    Kayak Fishing Clothing

    Pedal and Paddle Fishing Kayak Pros and Cons

Cornish Kayak Angler - Kayak Fishing Blog

Popular Pages

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Kayak Modifications
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Places To Kayak Fish

Sponsors

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Navionics UK

YouTube

Facebook

Website powered by pasties and the hope of good weather!
© 2023 Liam Faisey
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Information Guides
    • Choosing a Fishing Kayak
    • Choosing A Paddle
    • What to Wear
    • Essential Safety Equipment
    • Paddle or Pedal Kayak?
    • Installing A Fish Finder
    • How to Anchor A Kayak
  • Kayak Modifications
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • Places to Fish
    • North Cornwall
    • West Cornwall
    • South Cornwall
  • UK Fish Identification
  • Photos
    • 2013 Photos
    • 2014 Photos
    • 2015 Photos
    • 2016 Photos
    • 2017 Photos
  • Marine Life Photography
    • Fish
    • Cnidaria
    • Echinodermata
    • Mollusca
    • Crustacea
  • Links