MARK RADCLIFFE
JACKSON KAYAK FISHING TEAM
Living two hours from the sea isn't ideal, but it has its advantages in that nearly every coastline is the same distance away – Essex, Devon, South Wales, or my childhood waters of the Humber. This allows me to travel fairly easily and target whatever is in season.
The joy of kayak fishing is the social side, so in whichever direction I head, I know there will be someone local who will be happy to share information, if not even take the day off and join me.
When I started I concentrated on fish for the table – bass, cod and rays. However, since getting into the tournaments I have become more of a species hunter, giving myself an ever-increasing annual target of species to catch.
I love making small adaptations to rigs and presentation, which make all the difference to what I catch, be it big or small. The pleasure of specifically targeting a difficult or unusual species and actually succeeding in capturing it is immense. Two that come to mind from this year are red bandfish and stingrays.
A background in coarse match fishing has really helped in the species tournaments. My usual tactic is to find two different marks, one over sand and one over rough ground.
The rigs for the sand are three-hook flappers or a running leger. On rough ground I prefer to tie my own rigs, with a size 8 or 10 hook for mini species. Speed and efficiency is paramount, and the longer your bait is in the water the more fish you catch, so having rigs and bait prepared means more time actually fishing.
My kayak of choice is the Jackson Kraken. This is a stable, comfortable fishing platform that I have been able to take out in all tides and conditions but, most importantly, it gives me the space that I need when I am fishing. I like to have everything in front of me and, having tried several makes and models, this is the one that suits my style of fishing the best.