Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 535 i Sea Angler

THE ARRIVAL OF THE LONG-AWAITED glorious summer weather kicked off some spectacular sport for anglers in Britain and Ireland. You have been catching species ranging from bass to smoothhounds, but perhaps the highlight has been a record-breaking trio of sharks. Caught by boat anglers during a single week at the end of July, it proves big shark sport just keeps getting better. The first huge predator was a six-gilled shark, estimated to weigh in excess of 1,300lb and thought to be the biggest fish landed by an angler in the British Isles. It fell to Tony Carrig, while fishing out of Carrigaholt, County Clare, Ireland. Next up was Nick Lane, who boated a record-beating thresher, estimated to weigh 368lb, out of Ilfracombe, North Devon. Third of giant predators was Danny…

“It was evident that something a little larger was pulling back” IN AN AGE OF EASILY ACCESSIBLE technology, the young people of today seem to be under the spell of Xbox, Facebook, Twitter and Pokémon (you may wish to Google one or all of these!). Whether you are attending a social gathering, at the bus stop, or even in your own front room, chances are that you will be within a few feet of a young person glued to their handheld electronic device. You could argue that at least it is stimulating their minds, but as far as physical activity is concerned, not to mention interaction with others, it is little wonder that the media is rife with statistics of obesity and a generally self-inward withdrawal in the young. Before…

COMMERCIAL BASS CATCHES Official figures reveal that catches of bass by commercial vessels have soared, despite a ban on drift netting until July 1 – read the full story on page 121 . Here’s is a selection of your comments from our Facebook page: • Jeff Arye: It’s simple really – introduce a total ban on all bass fishing when fish are spawning. • Eddie Richardson: Why on earth are anglers being penalised with only being allowed to keep only one bass in any 24-hour period? Anglers who target bass have more blanks than fish. • Dave Barham: I guess that proves two things – the new legislation doesn’t work and there are loads of bass (not more) in the sea, and they’re not on the brink of collapse.…

THE set-up position we arrived at last time (issue 534) generates a useful amount of body rotation, which winds up your body like a powerful spring. The initial rod and sinker positions guarantee enough early resistance to make the tackle work effectively. The next step is to release that rotary power in a smooth and controlled manner. Like discus throwing, or a big golf swing, casting depends on pre-winding yourself into that giant spring, but springiness is instantly wrecked by triggering the casting action at the top end; in other words with the arms. Moving the rod before the body starts to unwind kills most of the power and makes timing the whole action more difficult. Instead, we let the legs and lower body control the flow and release every…

Each month we’ll select a winning question from each of our shore, boat/kayak and lure/LRF questions. Three lucky readers will get great gear prizes from sponsors Tronixpro. The sponsors reserve the right to send an alternaitive prize to an equal value. • BEACH: Tronixpro Centurion Rod, worth £149.99. • LURE: HTO Rockfish ML, HTO Rockfish 2000 reel, YKG G-Soul 4 ½ lb braid, HTO lure scissors & three Go! boxes, worth £118.93. • BOAT: Tronixpro Envoy Wave reel, Tronixpro seat box, Tronixpo Boatpro rig selection, worth a total of £109.88. HOW TO ASK A QUESTION • Q&A, Sea Angler, Media House, Lynchwood Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA • cliff.brown@bauermedia.co.uk • www.facebook.com/ seaanglermag…

WITH LURE ANGLING BEING so exciting and involving, largely due to the simple fact that you are always doing something, it is hard on your fishing tackle. I accept we are hardly landing hordes of double-figure fish, but, in truth, it’s not the size of the fish we might catch on lures that is putting so much strain on our gear. Think about a typical lure fishing session; your reel is never sitting still while you are waiting for a bite. Think about how many times you might open the bale-arm on your spinning reel, cast, manually snap the bale-arm back over, and then turn the reel handle continuously as you retrieve your lure. Think about how much the reel is actually being used by doing all this, and now…

I GUESS WE ALL KNOW THAT SEAWEED provides cover for young fish and, like most plants, it forms the basis of a marine food web. In other words, animals eat them and hide in them. In many ways it is only when these algae die that they become really important to bass anglers. Inevitably, when the sea is stormy, seaweed is torn up, washed into shallow water and cast up on to the beach. There they begin to break down and decompose. Wave action tears the fronds into smaller pieces. On the high water mark, these decompose under the influence of bacteria and are eaten by beach hoppers, seaweed-fly maggots, slaters and the like. These creatures, although they are individually quite small, are often very numerous. Mullet, which feed on…

WIDELY DISTRIBUTED around the coast of the British Isles, pollack are considered one of the hardest-fighting species of fish the shore-based lure angler can target. Certainly, a pollack will give a far better account of itself than any bass. While pollack can be caught from the shore at many locations throughout England and Wales, the average size tends to be a couple of pounds at best. Move north of the Scottish border and the average size increases, and some very good pollack fishing can be found at the numerous rock marks along the north and west coast. From my experience, though, the best shore-based pollack fishing is found in the west of Ireland, especially in the southwest in County Kerry, more specifically the spectacular Dingle Peninsula. Nowhere in Northern Europe…

WHEN THE SEA IS CLEAR, I have little problem imagining my lure being seen and hammered by any marauding bass. There was a time when if I went lure fishing and found a chocolate-milk sea, my heart would sink, and thoughts would quickly turn to going home, or questioning why didn’t I bring some crabs. Yet during the last few years while fishing local estuaries I have been increasingly amazed at the ability of bass to see or sense a lure in the poorest of visibility. Most estuaries suffer from cloudy water, but the clarity will vary from one to another and from one day to the next. When there is a reasonable clarity, I go for lures with a natural appearance. In my local estuaries, the Fiiish Black Minnow…

My starting point is the colour of the water. The clearer the water, the more natural lure colour hues I choose. If it is gin-clear, then I fish the best imitations that I have in my box. Soft plastics will be in natural sandeel colours, and hard plastics in light greens and soft browns. Rapala’s Flake Ayu colour is as close to baby pollack colour as you can get, and I love it in clear water. As the water gets more coloured, I start increasing the colour brightness. For me, the ideal visibility through water is around two to three metres, and it is then that I will fish the more garish silvers. The important factor is that while I may initially test water clarity as I board 3 Fishes…

OVER THE YEARS I HAVE LEARNED to tie a whole heap of knots for fishing, but time after time I find myself resorting to two in particular. The reason being, I guess, is that neither of these two knots has ever let me down. This instills great confidence in my fishing, and confidence in what you’re doing goes a long way on the water. First up is the classic four-turn grinner knot. I use this almost exclusively when tying on swivels, hooks, lead weights and lures. It’s simple, and can even be tied when using a doubled length of line to give more security when using low diameter and low breaking strain materials. Next up is how I join my braided mainline to a mono or fluorocarbon leader. With more…

WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE nation’s favourite charter skippers. Each issue we will throw the spotlight on a top boatman nominated by a Sea Angler reader. Use the form right (photocopies acceptable) to tell us the skipper’s name, boat, port and typical charges, along with the reasons you would recommend their services (use a separate piece of paper if you require more space). It’s your chance to tell Sea Angler’s readers why the skipper is so good and what a great service is provided. We’ll select the best entry for each issue and will award the winning operator with a special Sea Angler plaque that the skipper can display with pride on their vessel. Alternatively, enter by email, with the subject line Top Skipper, with the details listed on the coupon…

IT SOUNDED LIKE A GREAT TRIP, A JOLLY jaunt, starting with a short flight across the channel to Alderney, followed by dinner at a swanky restaurant and a night in a rather smart hotel. Next morning, following a leisurely cholesterol-enriched feast of a breakfast, we would head off for the run back across the English Channel to the mainland aboard a new Orkney Pilothouse 25. Of course, I’d attempt to pass it off as work. Things were going well, and when I arrived for my flight from Southampton Airport, the Aurigny check-in clerk offered to put me, free of charge, on an earlier flight. Only 21 minutes later I was in the air, heading south over the Isle of Wight and, ‘apparently’, arrived over Alderney 45 minutes later. I say…

“Unused bait stays frozen and can be put back in the freezer ” ANGLERS FISHING ON KAYAKS have limited space and are, therefore, restricted in what they can carry and in what quantities. This presents a problem for those who fish with bait. While a large coolbox is sufficient for the boat, it is unfeasible on a kayak. Bait will generally fall into two major categories, fresh/live and frozen, and there are various ways to store them on a kayak. LIVEBAIT When it comes to livebait, I find it hard to ignore peeler crabs because they make a fantastic bait for a range of species. I try to keep my bait fridge stocked with them whenever I can. Having a bait fridge at home means you can collect bait at…

• Plymouth angler Aaron Barrett (above) and his pals Paul Regan (below) and Steve Voyzey (bottom) had a superb day’s fishing at the local Eddystone light, catching plenty of bass. They used Sakura and Z-Man Swimmerz with Headlock TT jig heads. • Rich Westhorpe, of Hamble, Hants, caught a 12lb smoothhound on a hardback crab bait while fishing on a small boat in the Solent just off Hill Head. • A 40-year wait to catch a double-figure bass ended for Dave Grantham (above) when he bagged this 14-pounder. This big fish fell to a mackerel head and guts bait offered by Dave, of Sidlesham, West Sussex, while fishing from a friend’s boat out of Littlehampton. “I’ve waited more than 40 years to catch my first double-figure bass,” said Dave. Another…

Blue sharks weighing an estimated 100lb were the top fish in the 2016 Shark Angling Club of Great Britain annual festival at Looe, Cornwall. The three-day event from July 6-8 attracted 32 anglers fishing from nine boats and produced 68 sharks. Billy Whistance from Bolton, Lancs, and Robert White from Market Harborough, Leics, caught the largest sharks. Billy’s blue shark measured 91 inches long with a 29in girth, while Robert’s was 89in long with a 31in girth, both worth 120 points and with an approximate weight of 100lb. Runner-up was John Shaw, of Tavistock, Devon, with a blue measuring 88in long with a 31in girth for 119 points, and an estimated weight of 93lb. Richard Day from Hitchin, Herts, won the prize for the most sharks with seven. The skipper’s…

SNOWBEE EASTBOURNE BOAT COMPETITION JULY 17, 2016 23 BOATS, 79 ANGLERS SNOWBEE EASTBOURNE BOAT COMPETITION Eastbourne, East Sussex 23 boats, 79 anglers Heaviest round fish 1 Adam Groves, on board Panther, 12-4-0 cod; 2 Peter Finnis, Deep Blue, 10-3-0 pollack (+ £265 cash pool). Heaviest flatfish 1 Martin Arnold, Aladard, 4-4-0 plaice (+ £265 cash pool); 2 John Frapp, On a Mission, 3-14-0 turbot. IT’S EVENTS SUCH AS THIS ONE THAT GO TO show the power of social media. This entire competition was developed and orchestrated via Facebook, and what a success it turned out to be. The Snowbee Eastbourne Boat Competition was the brainchild of Terry Hill, the owner of Castle Cars, in Tonbridge, and Steve Bradshaw, skipper of Deep Blue out of Eastbourne. Their idea was simple, to…

“A major tactic that many get wrong is casting distance” AMID THE PEACE AND TRANQUILLITY of the River Ore in Suffolk, Tom White gingerly steps barefooted into the shallow water. It’s the middle of July, the temperature is close to 30ºC and, glancing at the surroundings, he could easily be in the Bahamas wading for bonefish. Up to his ankles in the pleasantly warm water, he carefully flicks a cigar float 15 yards out, daringly close to a clump of rocks that are covered in bladderwrack. Motionless, and fully focused on the lightweight piece of hard foam slowly swirling in a back eddy, he patiently waits. Almost immediately, the float twitches, then dips slightly before disappearing in just two feet of water. With a swift lift of the rod, the…

ALONG-TIME FAVOURITE WITH many Welsh shore anglers, Rhossili beach, also widely known as Llangennith, is a highly-rated bass hotspot. It is a classic west-facing surf beach where other species are regularly caught too, including flounders, golden-grey mullet, dabs, smoothhounds, whiting, dogfish and occasional soles, turbot and plaice. Fish can be caught at Rhossili for 12 months of the year, though spring through until late autumn invariably produces the most consistent results. This three-mile stretch of golden sand has been voted the UK’s number one beach. Access to most popular marks along this beach involves a fairly long walk, so the key advice is to travel light. There is a very large tidal range, and you will be constantly following the waterline either up or down the beach, especially on spring…

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FISH to target in British waters is the stingray. I say ‘target’ because, as with the best-planned trips, tide and weather variables mean that this species doesn’t always play ball. When it all comes together, though, the rewards are superb. Getting information on top marks is the first step. I started fishing for stingers a little more than a year ago, and finding areas that have produced, and then being there on the right tides with the correct bait, will give you half a chance. The areas I fish for them are Beltinge, in between Herne Bay and Reculver in Kent, and St Osyth, in Essex. Both have a good reputation for stingrays. My friend Chris North lives for his fishing and, without exception, I’ve never…

Sunline, the largest Japanese producer of fishing lines, strives to develop the thinnest and strongest lines. Our winner gets a selection from the range: • Sunline Super PE 150m (4 strand): Hi-vis green, dark green and light blue. Low stretch for sensitivity and extra-tight braiding for durability. Special finish reduces guide friction. Superior control and response when using lures. Very tough when fishing rough ground. Knots are easy to tie. • Sunline Super PE8 150m (8 strand): Hi-vis orange. Resistant to abrasive structures. Sensitive, low-stretch design to capture delicate bites. Slick, smooth line surface for low guide friction and excellent castability. Knots effortlessly. • Sunline Momentum 4x4 150m (8 strand): High-grade polyethylene and high specific gravity ester mono with amazing specific gravity of 1.05. Less susceptible to the effect of…

RECREATIONAL anglers are finding themselves in the spotlight when topics such as fish stocks and conservation find their way into the general media. Anglers need to ensure they do things properly. People leaving litter, fishing on protected land, and who lack respect for others all portray us in a bad light. We need to be seen to be trying our hardest to protect and conserve our environment. Possibly the most important and easiest way is fish care. What sort of a picture are you painting to the public if you leave your fish flapping on the shore while you are preoccupied with something else? As soon as a fish is landed it should be placed in a bucket of fresh seawater. This water should be frequently changed to keep a…

SUUNTO TRAVERSE ALPHA WATCH RRP: £390 Boasting special features that have been specifically designed for fishing, this truly is an anglers dream watch. Equipped with GPS/GLONASS route navigation, electronic compass, location-based moon phase calendar incorporating moonrise and moonset times, and a barometric pressure graph that keeps you fully updated on any weather changes. Includes sunrise and sunset times, and red backlight for night vision while activity tracking is compatible with the Suunto Movescount App for Android and iPhone. Tested to military standard, it has a knurled stainless steel bezel, robust water-repellent nylon strap, and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass. Choose from either black Traverse Alpha Stealth or grey-green traverse Alpha Foliage colours, and it comes with a USB cable for charging. • For more info, visit: www.suunto.com/ traversealpha TT LURES HEADLOCKZ &…

XCELERATE CASTING RELEASE RRP - APPROX £30 HOW DO YOU CAST A FIXED-SPOOL reel if you can’t hold the leader? It’s a problem I’ve encountered many times over the years. The various fixed-spool release aids are fine as far as they go, but all need a reasonably strong finger or thumb to operate. I saw an automatic release some while back that seemed like a good idea, but sprayed casts all over the place and wouldn’t cope with more than an ounce of lead. Old-time readers might recall the Tip Top casting device from Baitsafe inventor Ted Thwaites. It worked automatically and fairly well, but killed itself marketing-wise by needing a specially adapted rod. Arthritis and physical weaknesses of all kinds affect thousands of anglers. Such problems seem bound to…

WASH: After a lure fishing session, I gently wash my spinning reel under freshwater and then put it down somewhere to dry off. BEARING: Every few sessions I open up the roller bearing assembly and put a few drops of oil in there, and not forgetting the bearings either side of the reel handle. SERVICE: I would encourage you to send your spinning reel for a decent service at the end of your lure fishing year. BALE-ARM: Get into the habit of manually closing your bale-arm when lure fishing with braid. I have no idea why, but using the handle to trip a bale-arm back over can cause wind knots, so do it manually. LEADER: I like using a shortish 16lb or 12lb fluoro leader on the end of my…

• GETTING THERE: I travelled to Ireland using Stena Line from Fishguard to Rosslare. Cork is approximately a three-hour drive from the ferry terminal. For more information visit: www.stenaline.co.uk My trip was arranged by Anglers World Holidays, visit: anglersworld.tv • Accommodation: There are many places to stay in and around Dingle. My favourite base for a fishing trip in these parts has been Tigh TP’s at Ballydavid, tel: 00353 (0)66 9155300. It has smart B&B accommodation, with Coastguard House located next door. Located on the beach at Smerwick Harbour, it’s a 10-minute drive from Dingle Town. Visit: the-coastguard-house-tigh-tp.irelandhotel24.com…

WHETHER YOU SEE A SWIRL on the surface or feel a lunge from below the waves, the sense of anticipation is just the same. As the lure stops dead, the rod bends and your mainline is dragged from a slipping clutch as a fish takes off, it’s sure to set your pulse racing. Lures come in all shapes and sizes, with varying patterns and colours for both shore and boat fishing. Some float, some sink and some will even dive. All of these qualities are what trigger a specimen to attack it. Prices for a huge selection of lures vary from as little as £1 upwards, so it doesn’t have to cost you a packet. If you’ve never attempted lure fishing before, you could be missing out on a whole…

IF EVER THERE WAS A SPINNING REEL THAT felt purposely designed for the sort of lure fishing we do in the British Isles, then it has to be the new Penn Clash, and specifically in the 2500 and 3000 sizes for bass and wrasse. I love fishing with top-of-the-range spinning reels that are so smooth it’s like cutting through soft butter, but all I really want is a tough, nice to use, and long-lasting reel that will give me a decent amount of fishing time for my bucks. I can’t yet give you a really longterm report, but so far the sub-£150 Penn Clash is ticking a lot of boxes for me. The reel looks heavy, but it’s not. The Shimano 4000/Daiwa 3000-size Penn Clash 3000 weighs around the same…

“On light tackle, haddock provide an excellent account of themselves” HADDOCK ARE FOUND IN THE North Atlantic, although, unfortunately, as with so many other species of white fish, stocks have been seriously diminished due to decades of overfishing. They are easily recognised by a black lateral line running along the white side, and a distinctive dark spot above the pectoral fin that is often described as St Peter’s mark or thumbprint. Most commonly found at depths of 40 to 133 metres (131-436ft), typically in areas with temperatures ranging from 2-10°C, juvenile fish prefer shallower water, with the larger adults more commonly found in deeper water. Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinu) feed primarily on small invertebrates, although larger ones may occasionally consume fish. SPECIES Not generally noted for being a hard-fighting fish, but…

WITH THE RAPIDLY GROWING number of species anglers, fish once classed as a casual catch are becoming a more common target. Gurnards are a good example, with anglers developing specific methods for this distinctive-looking species. There are three types of gurnards common in UK waters – the tub, red and grey. Found around most of the UK, but predominant in the western waters, they appear mainly from May to November on inshore grounds. Extend that season by a month or so either side when fishing water more than 150ft deep. The peak period is from July, with August to October producing some of the biggest fish and best catches. That’s pretty much where the similarity stops. LOCATION Gurnards differ in the type of ground they prefer. The grey is fairly…

OCEANLED ‘EYES’ UNDERWATER CAMERA OceanLED, the most innovative and widely used marine lighting brand in the world, has introduced its new EYES HD underwater ocean camera. Billed as the premier underwater video camera for boats of all sizes, OceanLED’s new EYES HD can be mounted anywhere, including the cockpit, allowing the owner to capture the magic of his/her very own underwater aquarium in full 1080p High Definition video from any vantage point. The Tritonium™ optical lens is scratch and sea growth resistant, so maintenance is no issue. The unit is suitable for Fibreglass, GRP and wooden hulls, as well as for aluminium/steel hulls using the Delrin Isolation Sleeve accessory. For price and details, contact LED Marine, tel: 01455 637505 or visit: www.oceanled.com KEY FEATURES 34mm hole in hull Full 1080p…

WITH THE END OF THE summer fishing season almost upon us, it won’t be long until Glasgow Angling Centre’s famous three-day Autumn Open Weekend Event, held this year on September 23, 24 and 25. It’s set to be bigger and better than any fishing show the country has ever seen! Even though the GAC team has been working hard all summer to build the massive new Edinburgh Angling Centre store, it won’t get in the way of the most important event in the angling calendar. Glasgow Angling Centre is well known for its year-round deals on the best brands in fishing, so for this September’s big event, it will launch its biggest end-of-season sale, with thousands of items reduced to half price or less. If you have visited one of…

A record-breaking trio of sharks during a single week for British and Irish anglers has proved that big predator sport just keeps getting better. The first colossal specimen, estimated to weigh in excess of 1,300lb, is believed to be the biggest fish landed by an angler in the British Isles. Measuring in at a staggering 4.6 metres, the huge six-gill shark was caught at the end of July by Tony Carrig, from Shannon, who was on Luke Aston’s boat Rahona out of Carrigaholt, County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. After an hour’s tug-of-war with the shark, it emerged from the depths, where marks could be made on the boat, which were measured later. “This is one of the largest six-gills we’ve ever had, and 1,300lb is a conservative…

Anglers going afloat have been encountering superb sport with double-figure pollack. Michael Collins (below, top), of Plymouth, Devon, caught a pollack estimated at 16lb while fishing a soft plastic lure on light gear from a small boat off Challaborough, Devon. Fishing from his own boat out of Yaverland, Isle of Wight, Mike Mowbray (bottom) caught a 16lb 4oz pollack. The local angler, from Godshill, took it on a Sidewinder lure. Liverpool angler Glenn Palmer (middle) caught a 13lb 3oz fish while kayak fishing off Filey Brigg, North Yorks, on July 30. He took it on a Fox Rage soft plastic. WE WANT YOUR STORIES AND BIG FISH PICTURES Please email cliff.brown@bauermedia.co.uk and use the subject line 'YOUR FISHING'…

FANCY winning tackle from Shimano by catching a fish? Your target is to catch one over the weight given on our nominated species list. If you do, you automatically win a Mission Accomplished badge, as well as being in with the chance of winning a great monthly tackle prize. Each month we award a Shimano Nexave Surf 400 five-piece rod and a Speedcast XS-B fixed-spool reel, worth a total of £300, to the captor of the best shore fish, chosen on merit. The top boat angler each month, chosen on merit, gets a Beastmaster AX Boat Slim rod and a Tyrnos 20 multiplier reel, worth a total of £320. John Paul Hepton, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne & Wear. Fish: 13lb 14oz cod. Bait: Frozen peeler crabs on a single hook flapper rig.…

BEDLINGTON STATION SAC SUMMER OPEN Seahouses to Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear, 61 anglers The £250 first prize for the heaviest bag of fish caught in this roving match went to Darren Browne, of Bedlington, who was fishing at Dunstanburgh. Having won the event last year, he repeated his success by using float-fishing tactics to take 22 coalfish and pollack for 34-11-0. Runner-up Mark Daglish fished the same venue, where he caught nine fish for 18-14-8. Third-placed Joe Greaves caught four fish (codling and wrasse) for 11-1-0 at Beadnell. The top two had fished an Alberta AC midweek match at Dunstanburgh and caught 75-3-0 and 65-13-0 respectively. Earning £100 for the heaviest fish was Kenny Bowen with a 6lb 3oz 8dr cod, caught at Newton. Twenty-two of the 61 competitors weighed…

BASS ANGLERS ACROSS EUROPE have been outraged by the contemptuous way in which they have been treated by EU Fisheries Ministers in 2016. While recreational anglers were subject to the full six-month moratorium, some commercial fishermen have been allowed to land bass for four of those months and some even saw their Vessel Catch Limits increased. Many recreational anglers eagerly awaited July 1, when it became legal to take one bass per day, per person, for the table, even though they remain incredulous that it is legal for a fixed gill netter fishing next to them to take 1.3 tonnes of bass a month. However, when July 1 finally arrived, it proved to be a bittersweet moment, since, the day before, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea…

PULLING INTO THE SMALL CAR PARK at Red Strand, we were met by a brilliant blue sky, which seemed to light up the golden sand and breathtaking scenery. It was quite staggering, and for a while I just had to stand and admire it, but soon that urge to get a line in the water took control. The decision to fish this spectacular venue had been made the previous evening when I arrived at the Woodpoint guesthouse at Courtmacsherry, in County Cork, for a week-long Irish sea safari adventure. Being a bit of a chicken when it comes to choppy seas, I’d opted out of going charter boat fishing. Keeping my feet on the ground was a far better option, and it was a decision that I did not regret.…

GETTING THERE For the Llangennith end of the beach, exit the M4 at J47 and follow signs for Gower. Then take the A4295 North Gower Rd, turning right to Llangennith at the petrol station, follow the signs for the beach car park. For the Rhossili end, take the A4118 across Gower, exit to the B4247. There’s a nominal charge to park at both venues. TACKLE SHOPS • Anglers Corner, 80 Station Rd, Llanelli, SA15 1AN, tel: 01554 773981. • Country Stores, 3a Church St, Gowerton SA4 3EA, tel: 01792 875050 • Mainwarings, 44 Vivian Rd, Swansea, SA2 0H, tel: 01792 202245.…

STAR LETTER YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE Having been an angler for 36 years, the last few have seen me doing more sea fishing. I’ve had some good sessions on boats and from the shore. On one occasion I went fishing on a rock mark. I started catching small pollack and codling before getting a clonking bite from a real fighter. I steadily climbed down to the water to be able to land my catch, but slipped into the water, having hurt myself on the descent. Luckily, the straps on my chest waders caught on a rock to stop me going completely into the sea. I shouted for help and a dog walker heard my shouts and came to my aid. Now if I go to any rock mark I…

ADAM KIRBY & DAN SISSONS The Portsmouth-based duo fish ultra-light from shore and boat. They’ll provide answers on light rock fishing (LRF), the go-anywhere tactic where size of fish is secondary to the fun of catching them. PAUL FENECH Sea Angler’s features and tackle editor Paul Fenech is here to solve your shore angling problems. DAVE LEWIS Based in Newport, South Wales, our contributing editor Dave answers boat fishing questions. GARY ROBINSON Kerry-based Gary gets a thrill from fishing afloat on a kayak. Send him your kayaking problems. HENRY GILBEY Angler and photojournalist Henry, based in Cornwall, will answer questions on lure angling. Q: Are telescopic rods as good as conventional beach rods? JOSH WHITE, WATCHET, SOMERSET PF says: Shore anglers fishing in the Mediterranean generally use telescopic rods from…

THE CONTINENTAL SHORE ROD revolution marches on within the UK, and in a crammed market, this style of beach rod is fast reaching out to a wider audience. Whether you’re a match angler or just someone who prefers to use lighter lines and terminal tackle, there are more than enough varieties to choose from. One brand that often finds its way into a shore angler’s rod holdall is Colmic. The three-piece design, sensitive tips and lightweight feel are certainly what appeal to the army of Continental users. The wide choice of Colmic models available means there’s bound to be a rod to suit your needs, and at a price that will please. “The three-piece design, sensitive tips and lightweight feel are certainly what appeal to the army of Continental users”…

CATCHING FISH ON ARTIFICIAL LURES is a challenge, but also it is tremendous fun and, at times, can be a hugely effective way for catching a wide variety of different species of fish. Here in the British Isles, the species most commonly caught on lures include bass, pollack, cod, coalfish, ling, mackerel, garfish, scad and wrasse but, increasingly, anglers are using light rock fishing (LRF) skills to catch these and a huge variety of smaller species. Visit your local tackle shop and it is likely you will find an enormous selection of lures on sale. In recent years, plugs of various shapes, sizes and design have become very popular with anglers fishing both afloat and from the shore; the same can be said for soft plastic lures. For many years,…

I have heard a few reasoned arguments over the years for the use of mono mainlines for lure fishing, and so far I haven’t found any reason not to go lure fishing with some kind of braid as my mainline. If so much of lure fishing is about feel, it’s the simple fact that a lack of stretch in braid and its thinness give us such a direct contact to the lure, the terrain, and fish we hook. I can’t imagine lure fishing without braid, indeed, I can’t remember the last time I went fishing with a mono mainline. As with all lines, there are different types and a few tips and tricks to make life easier. Up until the launch of Daiwa J-Braid (reviewed in issue 534), it used…

KAYAK ANGLING IS A KIND OF hybrid, combining shore and boat fishing, and those of us who do it have a tendency to pick and choose the various elements of both to best suit. A prime example of this, and one which I think puts us ahead of both, is in trolling for bass close to shore or structure. Why? Well, we can target the predators that come in close to feed on crustaceans and fish taking shelter from the dangers of open water, and can paddle along the length of that area covering a lot more ground rather than pinpointing spots. Additionally, we can get into shallower water or closer to rocks than a larger vessel, with the added benefit of stealth. Firstly, you must be paddle-fit to troll…

“The first two or three hours of the flood is a great time to catch these flatfish” WHETHER YOU ARE WADING a sandy beach in the warm summer sun or perched on a harbour wall hopping lures across the seabed, LRF for flatties is addictive. The most common of our British flatfish is the flounder, which can be found anywhere there is sand and mud. From open, sandy beaches, estuaries, harbours, even rock marks, flounders will be present. These flatties can be found in very shallow water as they follow the flood to take advantage of the prey items, such as crabs, worms and sandeels. Therefore, the first two or three hours of the flood is a great time to catch these flatfish. I like to target changes in the…

CHOOSE THE WRONG LURE AND YOU will fail to catch a bass. Is it that simple? I recall drifting my boat so close to the shore that my crew could almost pick mussels from the rocks. As the anglers fished their expensive plastic lures in likely-looking nooks and crannies, I watched a chap march down to the water’s edge. This character had all the purpose and intent of someone who clearly didn’t know what he was doing. Being only 20 metres away from us, I noticed his rod looked like a beachcaster of some Winfield heritage and was fitted with an enormous and battered fixed-spool reel loaded with red line. He rummaged in his skip-like tackle box and produced a huge silver-coloured metal pirk that was armed with a treble…

WHEN RECENTLY I STEPPED aboard the charter boat Celtic Wildcat for a day’s shark fishing off the coast of south-west Wales, I had something of a surprise. Her skipper and owner, Nick O’Sullivan, handed me a much-needed cup of hot coffee, and a battered old copy of Boat Angler magazine. It was the Sept/Oct 1993 issue, and while we waited for the rest of our crew to arrive I flicked through the pages. It was the same year that I joined the Sea Angler team as a contributing editor and, at the time, we also produced Boat Angler. Inside that old issue I found many old photos that brought memories flooding back, especially a spread of mine entitled ‘Heavenly Haven’. I remember the day well, with inshore fishing centred on…

PLYMOUTH HAS LONG BEEN A PORT synonymous with wreck fishing and big fish. Head offshore some 20 or so miles and there are hundreds of wrecks, most of which produce good numbers of cod, pollack, ling and conger eels throughout the year. You really are spoilt for choice, and if the fish aren’t on one wreck, it’s just a couple of minutes steam to the next. It was way back in 1964 that the British Conger Club moved its headquarters from Littlehampton to Newton Ferrers on the outskirts of Plymouth, and the club’s base remains there to this day. It’s not all about the fabulous wreck fishing, though. Much closer to home you can find an amazing array of reefs and rock pinnacles. FAMOUS Perhaps one of the most famous…

ABU VOLATILE 20LB RRP: £69.99 SEA ANGLER FEATURES EDITOR Paul Fenech thrust this rod into my hands and asked if I could put it through its paces. Well, all I can say is “Thank you, Paul,” because this little rod, from Abu, is a really fun piece of kit. Abu describes its new range of Volatile Boat rods as being “designed for big, hard-fighting fish and featuring the same high-performance Nano Technology utilised in the Veritas series. This gives the blanks a powerful through action, with plenty of reserve power left further down the butt should it be required.” I can’t disagree with that statement either; the 20lb-class rod that I had on test proved to have a wonderful through action, and there is, indeed, plenty of reserve power left…

Mail Order Don’t forget, Glasgow Angling Centre also operates a multi award-winning mail-order department, sending out hundreds of parcels every day, and giving valuable advice to anglers who aren’t within striking distance of the store. This busy service is backed up by two huge warehouses stuffed with stock to keep both shop and mail-order customers constantly supplied. Alternatively, sign up online or on the phone for a FREE catalogue including a bonus SALE booklet, which will be delivered direct to your door. You can even connect with the megastore on Facebook and Twitter, where you’ll be kept up to date with all the latest news, gear and deals in fishing. How to get there Glasgow Angling Centre is just two minutes’ drive from junction 16 of Glasgow’s M8 motorway, at…

A massive porbeagle shark, estimated to weigh around 200lb, has been caught from a West Wales rock mark, writes Dave Barham. It was a combined effort between two anglers, Mark Turner (above left) and Simon Shaw (above right). The shark was hooked within 20 minutes on the first cast, and the initial bite was so timid that the pair thought there might be a dogfish playing with the huge bait. But moments later the shark took off, stripping at least 100 yards of line on its initial run. As Mark piled on the pressure, his Century T1000 rod was buckled over when the massive shark breached the surface. The lads from Pembrokeshire thought it was a monster tope at first, because that was what they were targeting, but it soon…

Official figures reveal that catches of bass by commercial vessels have soared, despite a ban on drift netting until July 1. A report presented to the Eastern Inshore Fisheries Committee (EIFCA) on July 27 showed that 46 tonnes of bass were landed in Suffolk ports in April, May and June this year, a 50 per cent increase on the total bass landing for 2014, and a 200 per cent increase for the TBL since 2015. This is after scientists recommended that in order to allow falling bass stocks to recover, there should be an 80 per cent reduction in landings in 2015, a 90 per cent reduction in 2016 and, most recently, a complete ban in 2017. At the same time that commercial fishermen have been plundering the last of…

• On her maiden boat trip, nine-year-old Ffion Woolley caught this 10lb 4oz smoothhound. The Crosskeys, Gwent angler used peeler crabs on a running leger rig while on a private vessel out of Port Talbot, Neath. • Brothers Henry and Dylan Cole, from Trowbridge, Wilts, enjoyed a shore coaching session with Somerset angler Craig Butler. Fishing at Bossington beach, 11-year-old Henry (left) bagged a 6lb 4oz fish while nine-year-old Dylan beached one of 9lb 10oz using hardback crabs as bait. • Tyhon Graja proudly displays a 3lb 8oz turbot that he caught while fishing aboard Colin Baker’s Sally Ann Jo, out of Weymouth, Dorset. The nine-year-old from nearby Broadmayne, used a fillet of sandeel for bait. • Archie Roberts caught this plaice weighing around a pound when he fished a…

AUGUST • 27: Southern League and open, Hill Head, 5pm-10pm, book in 3pm-4pm, £15 entry, £5 optional pools, Justin 02392 812478, Darren 07919 073232, Nick 07870 922216, Mike 07983 579596 or Ian 07736 004714. • 28: The Burnham League rnd 5 & open, Burnham-on-Sea, 11am-3pm, pegged, one rod, three hooks, measure & return (conversion), £6 per match, optional £5 pool, £20 optional league entry (best four of five results), draw 10am, book only, James Madsen 07900 651071. • 28: Yorkshire Summer League, Barton, 2pm-6pm, 50 pegs, Neville Charlesworth 07764 151611 or 01964 536930. • 28: Holyhead & District AC open, Holyhead breakwater outside wall, 11am-3pm, pegged, Mark James 01407 763584 SEPTEMBER 2-11: The 2016 Torbay Sea Angling Festival, boat and shore event, 8pm Sept 2 to 8pm Sept 11, prize…