Monday 13 June 2016

CAMERA MOUNTS FOR YOUR FISHING TRIPS


As I am getting started in Kayak Fishing, I am checking out the various options and gears I could use to shoot and record my trips. The Kayak Angler Mag recently published a short video presenting the interesting Railblaza mounts.

Railblaza is a name you may know already if you are an experienced angler. When I saw the set up Rex DeGuzman and Robert Field have on their canoe, I got interested by the unlimited option you can get from this camera mount kit. I could get equivalent results with other mounts but I kind of like the Railblaza concept.

To summarize what's said in the video, here is the list of what you could need to get the ideal camera set ups for your yak.

Of course, you don't need to buy all these elements. Think first what you want to shoot, how you want to do it, and where would be the best spot to put your camera and the recording options you need.

Then just make your decision based on these points.


Railblaza Boom Pro 150 and 600 Series


The RailBlaza Camera Boom 150 or 600 Pro Series (longer version) are really cool camera mounts with a great number of pivot options and camera platforms. You can fix it on your side rails if you don’t want to drill holes while getting started. The pivot system at both ends of the pole is a really interesting feature when you want to change shooting angles on the fly.

Camera Mount Boom 150 Pro Series. © Photo by Railblaza.
Camera Mount Boom 150 Pro Series. © Photo by Railblaza.

Camera Mount adaptor

The Railblaza Camera Mount Adaptor allows you to mount directly all kind of cameras directly on top of the poles. The pack includes a GoPro style tripod adaptor and it can hold SLR, Contour, Garmin, Sony, Panasonic, HedCam, and most action cameras you could think of.

Railblaza Camera Mount Adaptor. © Photo by Railblaza
Railblaza Camera Mount Adaptor. © Photo by Railblaza

Rotating platform

The rotating platform is a cool kit to add to your camera mount. It is actually included in the Boom
150 package I described above. It offers a full 360˚rotation to shoot in all kind of directions.

Railblaza Rotating Platform. © Photo by Railblaza
Railblaza Rotating Platform. © Photo by Railblaza.


Think about it, you are close to your buddy who hooked a monster and you can record the action by just turning the cam around.

StarPort and Trac mount (for those who don't want to drill their yak)

The combined StarPort Base and Tracmount kit is the way to go if you’re not too confident drillingholes in your yak. Those sidetracks still allow you to get multiple choices of shooting angles to try before deciding later or not to to go for a permanent fix at the rear of front of your boat.

StarPort fixed on a Wilderness Systems Kayak with the TracMount © Photo by Railblaza.
StarPort fixed on a Wilderness Systems Kayak with the TracMount © Photo by Railblaza.

I'll be getting these gears soon, so I will be able to show you the set up and how I use them.

The team is also using other types of mounts and I am sure they will be eager to share their experience and review of these mounts in further posts.

For more information check out Railblaza.com website.

What kind of mounts do you use for your cameras? Share it with us in the comments below.





Sunday 12 June 2016

PERCH FISHING JUNE 5th 2016, SORT OF A DISASTER

Have decided to fly fish for perch this season a bit more than I have done before and felt it was time to do something about that.
Weather was better than forecasts promised and I went out in a light breeze,sun came out from the clouds every now and then,it was a bit windy but still decided to grab two setups with me, a #7 weight and a #9 weight just in case,well...I had some pike flies with me too.
This time I was out all alone.Because I had no clue about proper Perch fishing I decided to paddle on areas I thought could be good and just fish from a drifting yak.
When I reached some open water I noticed that with my casting technique I could forget using the 7 weight rod and fish with the nine weight instead,wind was really about to increase now.

Came to the first area and started to fish,got a 6-7 cm flashy streamer at the end at the line,it felt so easy to cast after all those big pike flies.
Fished close to a area where we  had caught many pikes so naturally I used trace wire too which came to use just minutes after I started to fish,noticed immediately it was a pike that shown some interest in my small streamer....


Don't know....Should I be happy or not,after all I was fishing for perch....
Anyway...fished this area for a while but without any contacts from neither perch or pike so I decided to move a bit further,actually to a pike spot but thought it could be a good place for perch too,third cast and boom,not surprisingly it was a pike again...and again....and again,felt strange,fishing was good,only wrong species hitting my fly

Just before I thought it would be nice to take a coffee break someone hit my fly with bad intensions and a small but angry and strong jack decided to do some harm to me,water was warm so I wan't to keep fights short and I forced the pike closer so I could grab the leader but this little bugger decided to do a angry run straight downward which ended up in a BANG when my rod broke,ended up to fight this fish with a two ft long rod tip,managed to land the fish anyway...


NOW it was a good time to take the break,after all I needed to pile up my reserve rod....
Said and done....



While drinking my second cup of coffee it started to rain and also noticed that the wind went harder every minute,in fact it was so hard I for a second thought to quit fishing and get back to the shore but because I knew I will have some tail wind on my way back I decided to go on.
Paddled a short way against the wind and even if this yak is one of the best I have paddled it was tough,so hard I was almost giving up but managed to reach the area I had in mind,a slightly shelter area were I was to spent the rest of the day.
Fished a long reed bank when the wind suddenly really went hard,so hard the waves rolled over the yak on and on so Decided to drag my ass to shore and wait for the wind to take off.
This break last for almost one and a half hour,eat my food and drink my coffee and decided there was no idea to continue so I fished some spots on my way back,this time I had some pikes in mind.

Except this I landed a lot of smaller jacks on my way back.
The way back was most steering the yak because of the strong tail wind.
Had mixed up feelings about this trip,had pretty good fishing even if I failed to land a single perch,but a amount of about fifteen pikes still made me longing out as soon as possible.

Need to find some time and inspiration to edit all video material from this trip,while waiting you can laugh to this...