Normally, you would not associate the UK with unusual/exotic/colourful fish - but we do get occasional exotic visitors to our shores, brought here on the warm(ish!) Gulf stream currents.
One such visitor is the Gilthead bream - it is more commonly found in southern Europe - the Mediterranean and Spain, but very occasionally we get them in our estuaries in the UK. I have been trying to catch one from the kayak for over 4 years; its become an obsession... this year, I was determined to be one of the very few people in the UK to catch one... Last week, I ended my search in style...
Not bad for my first Gilt, and just check out the dentures on these things... awesome....
The same weekend, I wanted to catch probably the most colourful fish in the UK; the Cuckoo Wrasse. These fish are almost tropical in their colouration. I managed to catch a few, and what they lack in size, they more than make up for in appearance...
It was one of the most memorable and enjoyable weekend's kayak fishing I have ever experienced in the UK - all made possible by a couple of friends who told me the most important thing in kayak fishing... "Where and when" !
A video short of the cuckoo wrasse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOzmu3WgFKU
The colours on those things are fabulous.
More info on the blog...
http://dizzybigfish.co.uk/kayak-fish...cuckoo-wrasse/
I have also recently written a FREE guide to kayak fishing which I am giving away via the link below. Time to give something back to the sport which has given me so much. Feel free to download a copy and let me know what you think (its aimed at beginners, but I have had lots of great complements from experienced yak fishermen who learnt a few new tricks)...
http://dizzybigfish.co.uk/free-guide-to-kayak-fishing/