Quick kayak test and a short session

[kitster]

Hi guys just thought I'd post something to share.

Went to a friend's house to test out the kayak ive just bought. The RTM Tempo. Since reading about how its a little tippy i thought of testing it out in sheltered water.

It's summer in the UAE now and temps could reach as high up as the lower 50s in really warm days. Last friday was around 47/48C. I launched from one of the fronds of Palm Jumeriah. One of the Palm islands of Dubai.

my launch point was the second frond To the right.

I paddled for about 30 minutes to get to know how she rode before heading back, as I went past the tram rails and noticed some activity near the pylons This prompted me to paddle faster, as i was making my way to th car the water around me erupted with baitfish and a school of hungry queenfish chasing the tiny sardines that seeked cover from the moving yak. As soon as i got to shore i ran up to the car and hurriedly assembled my rod and reel. I chose to go with a tai rubber rod a round baitcaster that matched it and small slow jigs to round out the arsenal. I took a few spares with me and off i went.

I wanted to go back to the pylons and drop a few jigs to see if there were some golden trevallies around. These fish are great fighters on light tackle and are quite abundant in the summer months. So off i went. As soon as i got the the middle pylon i dropped my 20g storm koika to the side and almost immediately a queenfish took the lure and started jumping. It was not the monster i hoped for but in this kind of weather, you are thankful to at least hook something. The second drop was a bit better with a good bite just off the bottom and i got rewarded with a small orange spot grouper. The third drop was quite far from the pylon as i drifted downstream a bit because of the incoming tide. Me being me, i was just too tired to paddle upstream. As expected the bites that came so sudden came to a very painful stop (sweltering to be exact). I paddled and positioned myself near the 4th pylon and looked at the jig while it was falling. As expected the flutter of these koika jigs are so enticing but more than that i was extremely surprised at how the tai rubber rod was perfect for shallow slow jigging applications. The solid tip gave the jig a nice bounce! When the jig reached the bottom, i immediately started the slow jigging motion. Before i could quarter turn my handle the rod buckled over and the drag started to scream. The combo is quite light, loaded with PE.4 the sound of the click alarm from the shimano conquest was enough to get the attention of the sunbathers on the beach. When The fish started pulling me cheers erupted - half of them might have expected a shark!

At one point 3/4 of the rod was in the water because the fish went under the boat - to make matters worse the security boat was inching it's way towards me - residents and guests are allowed to fish with non motorized boats but for obvious reasons, they are very careful when it comes to boats that go too close to the pylons. I caught a lucky break when the then unidentified fish decided to go to shallower water. The thin solid tip of the rod was still in the water while i try my hardest to pull the fish. As soon as i managed to get hold of the leader, i slowly pulled the fish towards me - it was then I realized that the fish was a goldy. Not wanting to jinx myself i immediately paddled towards the car. Reaching shore i asked my cousin to take a picture of the fish - my first fish using the kayak, after a few snaps we sent him on his way.

The fish was not massive , but it was a great reward after slowly roasting in the summer sun.

Edited June 27, 2016 by kitster

[Sea Ranger]

Awesome,, Thanks for the post it was a good read on this cold rainy day in Sydney

Bear

[W4z]

Cool post and nice fish. It's always interesting to hear some fishing stories from overseas. Let us know how you go on your new kayak. The weather looks so nice over there

[kitster]

Hi guys, would not say it's nice...but the winters here are lovely. To be honest its great to be back on the saddle of a paddle yak, i quite like the tempo and i'm sure this is just the start...im already thinking of adding another RTM to my fleet . The disco+ looks nice. Will keep on posting on whats goin on. Thanks for the warm welcome guys!!!

[HookLine&Thinker]

Great post! Very interesting read. Looking forward to future reports.

[big Neil]

Thanks for the detailed post Kit. Exciting to read posts from o/s places. Could you possibly show what the 20g storm koika looks like. I'm a freshwater (predominantly) angler and not familiar with various types of jigs. Cheers.

[kitster]

Thanks for the detailed post Kit. Exciting to read posts from o/s places. Could you possibly show what the 20g storm koika looks like. I'm a freshwater (predominantly) angler and not familiar with various types of jigs. Cheers.

Hi Neil,

This is how they look like - since the Koika is a product of Rapala there are also Williamson versions that are outfitted with treble hooks, aside from that difference, there's the difference in the color pattern and a huge difference in price - the Williamson Koika slow fall jigs are about 30-40% cheaper than their storm counterparts. They work the same though - I usually take off the treble/single assist hook and replace them with a double slow fall assist hook from a manufacturer like VMC, Owner or Varivas.

[big Neil]

Thanks Kit...Neil