Well it’s that time of year again where the nights are mild and relatively light...the time of year when me and my mate Liam take the yaks down to Beccles and launch for the 3 mile paddle up to the Lock Inn at Geldeston for a night-time pint of locally-brewed real ale and so last night we set off for the first session of the year. Usually I just paddle and we go at a fair pace but as the season has just started and the pike were feeding well on Monday night I couldn’t resist so we took it easy while I trolled a couple of Rapala J13’s which are currently producing the goods here.
I’d left my camera at work (Johnson Indoors) but had brought something else from the yard (Johnson Outdoors) – the Sprinter. The plan was that I’d troll upstream on the prowler with Liam taking the Sprinter and swapping over for the way back with the rods stowed. A bit of trepidation getting in and getting used to the rudder pedals but Liam, who was already getting wet through the scuppers, managed to stay upright and spent some time getting used to things while I slowly made my way up. As he was in the quick yak I gave him my Enchantment Carbon to make best use of and had the cheap Day Tripper for myself – I’d forgotten how pleasant this paddle (a freebie with my first yak) was to use. Nice and solid, not heavy and easy to pull through the water.
Things were a bit quiet at first but after the first half mile I got a run, bringing in a small Jack of around a pound. Quickly unhooked it went back in and swam away. We carried on and then my phone went – a mate telling me about his friend who’d just been chasing Catfish on the Ebro with some success (sounds like a challenge for a yak!). He brought me luck – a second run, similar size, which was soon unhooked and followed a few hundred metres further on by a third twice the size. The fourth took soon after and poor old Digs was starting to sound a bit fed up about being at home in Lahndan Than. Fortunately the fishing slowed for a while and I paddled with him on speaker. Then, as pike number 5 screamed off (a three-pounder this time) I shut him up by putting the phone next to the reel which had the clicker set :D After this we rang off and Liam and I headed into the last stretch about 20 minutes (at this slow pace) from the pub. That’s when Pike 6 turned up – another small one.
It was a really calm evening, the water was like glass, the foliage all full, only a couple of boats out and a few anglers here and there – it’s a quiet stretch as it becomes un-navigable past the pub and the Waveney here just meanders through marshland. It’s always a pleasant paddle and the reward at the end is more than worthwhile – the food is good too and we often go up with the children. Still, enough of this – Pike number seven was screaming away and the rod was banging away in the flush mounts – a better fish this time of around 5-6lbs and a decent scrap which pulled the kayak around until I was facing back the way I’d come…soon unhooked and returned and we finished the paddle up to the mooring – poor Liam having more difficulty than I at exiting the Sprinter from 4ft below the bank but managing to stay out of the river. Now, the most Pike I’ve had in a day I think is 8…this was seven in maybe an hour and a quarter! Cracking stuff.
It was folk night and all the beardies were tapping and strumming and singing and dancing like whirling dervishes (only slower) outside which is where we sat and drank a half of Fruitbat (5.5%) and some Elderflower ale whose name I forget (4%) which was very pleasant.
Come 11:30 it was time to go back home so we got down to the waters edge – the level 2ft higher by now – and swapped yaks. Now, I’ve paddled the Sprinter once back in October and hated it. This was going to be a proper paddle though so more indicative of it. By the light of a full moon and under stars that weren’t spoiled by ambient light from streetlights we headed back along the water.
The Sprinter is a bit tippy so you have to get a feel for it – it’s not bad, but you know it’s not too bothered about staying upright. The rudder pedals are not quite as intuitive as those fitted on my trident but the responsiveness of the rudder is far greater. Initial acceleration is surprisingly less than you’d think – it’s quite a heavy boat – but as soon as it’s moving it keeps picking up. Liam, a better and more experienced paddler than I, was in the Prowler with my Enchantment Carbon again (I found it too long for the Sprinter) and I suggested we have a short burst to compare the speeds. Bear in mind I usually follow him whenever we’re on the water! Anyway, the first 50 yards or so we were both paddling strongly and neck and neck…then the Sprinter started to slowly pull away (maybe hull speed was reached on the Prowler?) and then I was tearing off and leaving Liam standing after maybe 150 yards. Quite an interesting comparison. It also pays to not put all your effort into the stroke as at speed it seemed to go better with a slightly relaxed pull. You still feel it’s heavy and it creates quite a wave (straight rather than sculpted bow profile) but it does make light work of distance. I enjoyed paddling it quite a lot but it’s not a kayak I’d personally acquire for myself – it’s for speeding along and getting fit and I prefer a more leisurely pace with lures out the back or kids in the yak. I suppose I could get Tuna trolling from it but I’d likely get pulled over by a Mackerel! We made easy work of the trip back though, around half an hour with bats flying about and loaded up and set off, getting back at 12:40. A lovely evening out and a good bit of sport too.
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