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Thread: Fishing with a paravane

  1. #1
    Native -Tim-'s Avatar
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    Fishing with a paravane

    In a nut shell has any one tried it?

    A little background into why I am asking...In September we are off to Scotland for a week, canoeing on a sea loch and camping in the wild for nigh on a week.
    To supplement our rations we are hoping for some fish, problem is I'm not a fisherman and when I have tried the results are meagre.
    To help me along I was hoping to troll a line behind my canoe, however I have tried this in the past but the line including bait and weight simply skims across the surface.

    In my quest to find out how to catch tea I have come across a post regarding a home made paravane...

    "Simple tow behind (trolling) paravane method from a kayak, rowing boat dinghy or yacht - works up to about 5 knots speed.
    This is the simple method of using a hand line to catch mackerel or other predatory fish – I have had Garfish and Bass to this method.
    Cut a rectangle of 15mm thick or so plywood approx 15 -20cm long and 5-8 cm wide. On the centre l,ine drill a 4mm hole at each end about 1cm back from the edge then on one end cut to a 45 degree chamfer - Sizes are approximate and do not seem to affect the function you can change the depth by changing the size and angle of the chamfer but it does not seem to make any difference to the mackerel

    Tie the pointy end to a 15 – 30m handline i use a swivel but you can just thread through the line and tie a stop knot - i prefer to use thick paracord or nylon cord as the hand line rather than the thin orange crab lines you buy at the seaside as it does not cut into your cold hands.

    Off the back tie a swivel and then attach a 1 ½ m nylon mono filament fishing line with a reasonable breaking strain – 5+ kg is fine and attach a simple spinner on the end. You can use feathers but any simple silver spinner does fine and if towing from a kayak or sailing boat using many hooks on the feathers can be painful. I sometimes use a rubber sand eel which also works well.

    A coat of varnish will prolong the life and also make it dry out quickly after use but you can just use

    To use drop the paravans in the water so the chamfer angles down, as you let out the line the paravane will take the line down to 5m plus deep. When you get a fish on the fish will swim off to the side which flips the paravane over and then the chamfer works to bring the line to the surface and keep it there.

    This works really well as you can then see you’ve got one on and also makes it really easy to haul in as there is no weight and its all at the surface already. If you are sailing or paddling then you don’t have to keep feeling the line to see if you have one.

    I used this method as a kid off a 35ft yacht, a 16ft wayfarer sailing dinghy, i now use it off a sit-on-top kayak which you can do off the beach , from sea rowing boats (seine boats) in Teignmouth Devon. It works best at dawn and dusk close to shore int he summer when the fish are feeding, but has been successful out of sight if land in the English Channel , as long as the speed is not too fast.

    A small length of cord with a clip on the end makes it easy to attach to the boat to stop you loosing it all.

    When you get one, hold out over the side of the boat when you unhook as they will tend to empty their guts, I prefer to quickly break the neck by sticking a thumb in the mouth and sharply lifting up to 90 degrees which breaks the backbone and stops them flapping about making a mess and bruising the flesh. This also bleeds them out as the gills rip.
    "

    I would appreciate your thoughts.

    Cheers
    Tim
    "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute;
    pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois;
    paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."
    .

  2. #2
    Tribal Elder midas's Avatar
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    Seems like a good simple effective idea,That "Rivercottage.net" site seems good!I've used "plugs" rather than spinners,when trolling with some success.But then they have a vane on them,to make them dive..Best of luck....."Gone Fishing"lol.........
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  3. #3
    Natural Born Bushcrafter luresalive's Avatar
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    I've used them but bought ones not homemade ones, if you can get them working properly they're ok, but the wrong speed, turning a corner too tight or a bit of seaweed on the line all end to make it go belly up.. you really need lots of practise to get hem to work properly.. better off just stopping for a while and dropping a trace of feathers over the side and jigging for a few minutes, even do this on the drift.. but good luck regardless and don't forget the pics!

  4. #4
    One with Nature
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    hello,
    I'll go along with luresalive as I've done a few overnights by various Scottish lochs. Stay safe up there both in & out of the water as it's cold..er in September wrap up warm
    Regards
    David

    Quote Originally Posted by luresalive View Post
    ..better off just stopping for a while and dropping a trace of feathers over the side and jigging for a few minutes, even do this on the drift.. but good luck regardless and don't forget the pics!

  5. #5
    Native headshot's Avatar
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    i've always used the bought ones that can be used on a rod,they work very well,dont know whether you will have the speed by paddle for it to work properly though,somebody somewhere will make one specially for kayak fishing...atb kev.
    this is the one i use,you can get them from most tackle shops
    http://www.davisnet.com/marine/produ....asp?grp=m15-4
    Last edited by headshot; 08-07-2014 at 11:29 PM.

  6. #6
    Samuel Hearne happybonzo's Avatar
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    Bogey Knight's in Plymouth had some of these. I wanted to buy one as a conversation piece for the grounds of Château Despair but Mrs B vetoed the idea

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paravane_%28weapon%29
    Only my dog can judge me

    http://www.devilark.com.au/

  7. #7
    Native -Tim-'s Avatar
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    No need to worry David we are all experienced canoeists, its just that I'm just rubbish at fishing lol, all I usually catch is salad.

    We are taking rods so we will be dangling our tackle in the water at some stage but to increase our chances of a catch I was thinking about trolling a lure / feathers behind me whilst I paddle / sail.

    Cheers
    Tim

    Quote Originally Posted by David_JAFO View Post
    hello,
    I'll go along with luresalive as I've done a few overnights by various Scottish lochs. Stay safe up there both in & out of the water as it's cold..er in September wrap up warm
    Regards
    David
    "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute;
    pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois;
    paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."
    .

  8. #8
    Native -Tim-'s Avatar
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    I have rigged up an old crabbing line with one of the parvanes along with a single lure for trolling behind the canoe, I have chosen a single lure as if by some freak chance I troll through a shoal of hungry mackerel I won't be fighting with six or so fish whilst trying to paddle / sail.



    All being well I will be able to catch a bit of supper this way be it fish or sea weed!

    Cheers
    Tim
    "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute;
    pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois;
    paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."
    .

  9. #9
    Natural Born Bushcrafter luresalive's Avatar
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    Don't forget the pictures!!!

  10. #10
    Native -Tim-'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by luresalive View Post
    Don't forget the pictures!!!
    I'm hoping to get quite a few pictures, plus a story to go with it

    cheers
    Tim
    "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute;
    pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois;
    paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature."
    .

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