The Ocean Kayak Classic 2010, Swanage, Dorset, England

Firstly a little background information. This is the first year the OK classic has been held and I believe it is the first kayak competition to be sponsored by a major kayak manufacturer in the UK. No doubt somebody will correct me if I am wrong   . The competition was held   at Swanage, Dorset on the south coast of England . 47 kayakers registered and 43 turned up and fished the event. As kayak fishing gains popularity in the UK this figure will undoubtedly grow. The format was a species hunt ie whoever caught the most species of fish was the winner. Catch and release. Also due to some misidentification at the log in table, due to bright sunshine making the computer screen hard to see . I should have won ! But Ocean Kayak generously promoted me to joint first from third after the mistake became clear  
So to the report pretty much copied and pasted from a UK forum.


The weekend started at 9 am Friday morning, first stop asda for beer and burgers. When I came out of the supermarket there was a big puddle of water under the car ! Bugger I had burst a hose pipe. So back home, out with spanners and fit a new hose. 11:30 back on the road Swanage here I come. After some heavy traffic I arrived at the site at 4ish a trip to the co-op for cash and meat/beer and we were set for an evening paddle round Swanage bay.
We tried to catch mackerel but failed miserably, only managing small Pollack. Still the scenery was great .  

 


Back at the campsite the beer was flowing and the meat was already on the barbecue. We talked and joked until midnight. But it was going to to be an early start so we all turned in ready for the big comp in the morning.



We were all up early and rearing to go, arriving at the car park near the pier in plenty of time . After booking in getting a safety talk it was time to hit the water and fish. First spot I tried was a bit of reef close in. I soon had a Pollack



A few more drifts and then a Ballen Wrasse



This was going quite well I had only been on the water 45 minutes. But by then the jet skis, water skiers, yachts and day trippers were turning the inshore water to foam. So I headed out further. As much to find a bit of peace as to find different species. :
So once I had reached some deeper water I put over the feathers bang Mackerel.



I then anchored up and put down some bottom baits, I had a few bites which I missed, I then had a slow take I bent into the fish, it felt heavy. Wow. I could see a ray coming up through the clear water I got it on my lap and saw it was an Undulate Ray [ I think ] My first ever ;D .



Back down with the bait and then a Doggie.



Soon after that I had another Ray. This was sufficiently different looking to the first one to make me think it may be another species.



I gave it another Half an hour. The tide went slack and bites dried up. I made the decision to paddle back and register early, I had 5/6 species. I got back and climbed up the hill to book in. It was confirmed that it was only 5 species , so all I had to do was wait and see what happened as people booked in . I was in 3rd place right up to the end. My gamble had paid off, quite few others had booked in with 5 ;D
When it came time for the prize giving we all gathered round on the grass. A few speeches were made and the winners were presented with their medals and prizes.
I even managed one for best specimen fish [ The Undulate Ray ] ;D
It was a brilliant day and the organisers and competitors can be proud for making it such a success. Roll on OK classic 2011 !


At this point, after posting this on the forum in the UK a small storm ensued [ nothing nasty] after it was pointed out that I should have won ! So Ocean Kayak promoted me to joint first.


Well this is the second part of my view from 3rd > joint 1st place ;D What can I say its only just sinking in. Firstly thanks to Andrew and Johnson outdoors for being so generous, absolutely outstanding. Secondly I hope this doesn't take some of the shine off of Amos's equally good result.
So back to the story..........

After the presentations it was back to the campsite to fire up the barbecue and crack open a few beers. It was a very chilled out evening with lots of good natured banter and some crackin' fishing stories to boot .




At one point Simon [dorado] tried to flog Richi a skua ! He also managed to poor a little red wine on Snappers head ....see caption competition on the general thread :




Soon after midnight we were all turned in ready for traveling home or a spot of fishing
Ian [ dizzyfish ] headed off to swanage bay while Andrew [ piscator ] Steve [ lureman ] Richi erm [ richi ] Mark [ Snapper ] Amos [ hungryfisherman ] and myself headed for Kimmeridge . It was a bit breezy so I packed the sail trollied the yak down the slip and squeezed in between the dive boats. Starvin came down just before we launched and got his lures out for a spot of Bass fishing.



Steve and Richi seemed to know where they were going so I followed them to the mythical monster bream mark . I put on a deep diving lure and slowly trolled it behind the yak . the wind and tide were not in our favour and I realised that I wasn't getting very much closer to where the guys were lashed to pot buoys . I looked at my GPS 0.0 knts I would have to paddle harder :
Eventually I reached the other guys. Richi vacated his buoy so I lashed myself to that close to Mark. I lowered some feathers and soon had some mackerel. I kept half a dozen for the freezer but the weather was deteriorating and we decided to head in.




The sails went up and we made or way back to the launch slip, it was then time to pack away our stuff say our goodbyes and head home. It was a great weekend in great company ....roll on the Ocean Kayak Classic 2011 where, no doubt, Amos and myself will try and defend our title.


It was indeed a great weekend and not just because I won a brand new Ultra 4-7  
I will include a video put together by my friend Dizzyfish it sums up the whole thing nicely....good music too

Sounds like alot of fun. Pretty cool to see whats going on in a diffrent country. You guys have Ling cod over there?

You put together a great report, it always cool to see fish from the other side of the pond, those are beautiful and mean looking rays,

Looks like you all had a great time, congrats on the win..

"Simon [dorado] tried to flog Richi a skua !"

I don't know what that means but it sounds vaguely obscene......

Great tourney, what a cool format!  Looks like you guys had a blast!  Go OK!!

Allen

"Simon [dorado] tried to flog Richi a skua !"

I don't know what that means but it sounds vaguely obscene......

Great tourney, what a cool format!  Looks like you guys had a blast!  Go OK!!

Allen

And illegal in 48 states!!

Congrat on the winning Mueller.  Thanks for the awesome report, lots of pictures, and great video!

Yes we get Ling. They grow 20lb + but usually live around deep water offshore wrecks and reefs. So are not really targeted by kayak fishermen.  There is another meet coming up at the weekend this time its SHARKATAG 2010 in Scotland.
Hopefully, if I can sort out my car I shall be in attendance and will post a report in a week or two. 

Another cool report and pictures TM. Thanks for sharing. Congrats on the win bro.
Awesome video too.

Jedmo

Quit the Variety there on the fishies.....&quit the variety on the conditions = those last ones look like motion sickness fo sure.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop on what's really going on elsewhere......you guys got it bad(and that's GOOD) 

what a cool report! That could be one of our gatherings!

who ended up with a banana in their kayak?

congrats on the win TM. And that Undulate ray is a really neat looking specimen, beautiful markings.