Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 549 i Sea Angler

AUTUMN IS UPON US AND IT’S usually a time of plenty for sea anglers, due to a crossover of summer and winter fish species. We’ve devoted this issue to bringing you a wide variety of great autumn shore and boat fishing, ranging from cod, flounders and bream to bass, tope and wrasse. On the species theme, we’ve included with this issue a free 48-page booklet about the main fish species – it’s packed with advice on where, when and how to fish with a range of rig diagrams that should prove a really useful guide to boost your sport. I’d recommend you check out the question and answer session with Craig Gosling about how he has managed to catch seven double-figure bass this year – find it on page 30.…

WHEN THE SUN BEATS DOWN upon a sea of glass, there can’t be many places to rival the idyllic shingle ridge that is Dorset’s Chesil Beach. As I marched along that very shingle one Saturday afternoon, my friend Ben Stockley was barely visible in the distance. A heat haze, combined with the distracting beads of perspiration trickling down the bridge of my nose, did its best to blur my vision. I trudged on, the smell of beach barbecues drifting west diminishing with every step as the sun did its best to make me drop my tackle and start fishing there and then. Still I trudged on – after all, if Ben thought it was worth the walk, who was I to argue? Chesil has a reputation for producing a many…

OVER THE YEARS I’VE TRIED MANY FORMS OF SEA angling, from spinning for mackerel to targeting large rays from the shore. However, on a recent trip I found myself rekindling the feeling that first got me started off in this fantastic sport. I remember how hard it was for me to learn all the tricks of fishing when I first started out. We all relied on the angling press because there was no social media or YouTube and I didn’t know anyone that was into the sport. As a result, it took me a few years to get to grips with sea angling, and one of the reasons I started my ‘Sea Angling Adventures with Andy Webb’ project many years ago was in an attempt to help other anglers with…

WIldlife artist David Miller’s exceptional work first came to my attention during the spring of 2009 when my salmon and migratory trout rod licence arrived in the post. Rather than being the bland printed form of previous years, it was now conveniently credit card-sized, and beautifully illustrated with a stunning image of a salmon about to take a fly. The following year the salmon was replaced by a sea-trout, then back to another salmon the next year, and so on. Each one is a stunning work of art and I have kept them all, the plan being that eventually I will get them framed in the style of old cigarette cards. The original paintings, I eventually discovered, are the work of David Miller. Last year I was finally dragged into…

ON the road to becoming a better caster you will have discovered a sinker drop that works well for you. Most of us also find that the right drop varies between different rod and reel combinations, the lead weight used, and when switching between casting styles. Precise sinker drop, then, is never a one-size-fits-all measurement, but is best established by trial and error. That said, though, a drop of around half to three-quarters of rod length suits most rods casting about 150g of lead using simple pendulum and off-ground methods. To turn the thing on its head, if you and your kit don’t blend into a reasonably efficient casting machine with the drop set somewhere within that ballpark, technique and control are the likely culprits. BETTER RESULTS With those basics…

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 Galway-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: I often throw away a lot of bait after a session and buy fresh for the next trip. What bait can I freeze, and does it…

Anglers fishing the ‘hands-up’ method need to be on the side of the boat facing the tide and or wind as it drifts. All baited-up and ready to go, slowly let the lead weight down. If you drop the weight at speed, the bait can potentially twist around the leader. Go slow, occasionally pausing and lifting the rod tip to straighten the trace out. A whole mackerel flapper is heavy, so will keep the trace away from the leader if you go slow. When you feel the weight hit the seabed, wind in about 7ft of line, or enough to keep the bait well up off the seabed at what is a compromise height for the undulating ground feature. Judging the weight of the sinker needed is crucial. Ideally, you…

NOT MANY YEARS AGO IF YOU wanted to go lure fishing in the sea, then the chances were that, if spinning, you would use a 1oz silver Abu Toby. If you fancied throwing a plug or two for bass then you’d try something like a Rapala J13. As far as soft plastics went, a 172mm Red Gill artificial sandeel would tick most boxes. Back in the day, all of these lures produced plenty of fish, and will still do so, though I have fished with bass guides who have reacted with horror at the prospects of me daring to cast out a metal spoon from their boats. These days there is a glut of lures of all shapes and sizes available. Of course, some lures are better than others, but…

I’ve been lucky enough to fish all over the world for marlin, with some of the best skippers and crews available, in Kenya, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Tobago and the Canary Islands, to name but a few. During my years of travelling, I’ve learned a great deal about how to set a spread of lures, manoeuvre the boat when turning and playing fish, and a lot else in between. I’m by no means an expert, but experience is something that only comes with time and hours on the water, which is why Mark Shreeve asked me for some help. Mark, who has a holiday home in Villa Real de Santo Antonio, in Portugal, owns a Levant 700, called My Garden Shed. We’ve become very good friends and, as a result, I’ve…

WE’RE looking for the nation’s favourite charter skippers. Each issue we throw the spotlight on a top boatman nominated by a Sea Angler reader. Use the form right (photocopies are acceptable) to tell us the skipper’s name, boat, port and typical charges, along with the reasons you 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 select the best entry for each issue and reward the winning operator with a special Sea Angler plaque that the skipper can display with pride on their vessel. THIS MONTH’S WINNER: MICK & MATT COKER Boat name: PORTIA and ROYAL CHARLOTTE Port: DOVER, KENT We’re handing out…

RECENTLY, I WAS DISCUSSING THE sport with a few prominent kayak anglers from the United States. They were witnessing a worrying trend creeping into the sport on their side of the ocean; a sneering attitude emanating from the experienced and directed towards newcomers. On both sides of the Atlantic, it appears that kayak angling is becoming consumed by brand snobbery. Disdain is heaped on those who launch without the latest product from brand ‘X’, or those who have purchased a kayak from a perceived inferior label. Beginners often seek advice on the kayak forums before buying gear. Rightly so, it pays to arm oneself with valid information when making an initial outlay on equipment. It seems most who reply are keen to promote the name of their chosen kayak with…

DAIWA TOURNAMENT SURF RANGE RRP - FROM £200 AS A LAD, I RECALL MANY OF THE top anglers, who I looked up to for inspiration, all owned a Daiwa beach rod. The AWB and AWT range that were endorsed by Paul Kerry were certainly among some of the best casting and fishing rods on the beach, and in Paul’s case, the tournament field too. However, I must confess that I never owned one. Much of the fishing I did back then was into extremely rough or broken ground, which meant I always used a rod that was, shall we say, slightly beefier. When it came to open and flat beaches, though, I would look on in amazement as the top lads fired their clipped baited rigs incredible distances. In past…

• A black and silver sandeel lure fished over a small wreck in 250ft of water produced this 6lb 8oz John Dory for Tim Priscott, of Newquay. He was fishing on Kevin McKie’s charter boat Size Matters, out of Plymouth, Devon. • A fishing holiday on the Isle of Skye produced this 132lb common skate for Connor Wood. The angler, from Drumchapel, Renfrewshire, visited Armadle pier on August 11 and caught the skate on a mackerel head bait meant for a conger eel. • Matt Phillips, of Pwllheli, caught this personal-best bull huss, weighing 16lb 8oz, on a mackerel and squid bait, while fishing from the local charter boat Haf Aled, skippered by Jason Owen. • Brian Campbell had never caught a smoothhound, but opened his account with this 10lb…

I mainly fish the Bristol Channel, where the fishing is best among the rocks and seaweed but tackle losses are quite high. To reduce losses, I make my own sinkers out of six-inch lengths of bicycle tyre inner tube blagged from a cycle repairer. I double-tie one end with mono line and fill it with sand and then double tie the other end, finally cutting short small slits in the tubing to admit water for greater weight. Now when I get snagged due to the sinker getting caught up in rocks, a steady pull often pulls it free. On fast retrieval, the rubber sinker tends to plane upwards over the rocks and seaweed, lifting the end tackle from snagging and helping lift any fish from potential hideaways. On flat sand,…

Sammy Walsh, from Anglesey, in North Wales, caught this bull huss weighing 6lb when he fished aboard Spindrift, skippered by Gareth Williams out of his local port. The 12-year-old used a mackerel flapper for bait, mounted on a running leger rig. • Fishing at a shore mark in Portsmouth, Lewis Gale used a frozen sandeel to catch his first undulate ray. It looks a really cracker, but Lewis didn’t tell us the weight of this cracking fish. • Four-year-old Harry Smale caught his first mackerel while fishing aboard Size Matters, skippered by Kevin McKie out of Plymouth, Devon. • Sophie McArthur travelled from her home in Liverpool to Penmon Point in Anglesey, North Wales, to catch this bass weighing 4lb 8oz. The six-year-old used a peeler crab bait mounted on…

“This secretive spot is an absolute gem of a find” DRIVING NORTH ALONG THE A1 arterial road into the Scottish Borders is a pleasant enough journey, but blink and it’s a good bet you’ll miss a cracking cod venue. Mostly out of sight and situated in a slice carved out of high cliffs towering to 300ft is the picturesque fishing port of Burnmouth. Small it may be, but it turns out that this secretive location is an absolute gem of a find for any shore angler keen to exploit some decent cod action. High-speed trains on the East Coast Main Line railway pass along the top of the cliff above the village, which is made up of a cluster of fragmented houses above, below and on the cliffs surrounding the…

Traditionally, the vast, sheltered waters of Poole Harbour are recognised as a winter flounder fishery, but throughout the summer and early autumn, the harbour can be full of surprises. A wide range of species filter into the harbour, including bass, wrasse and double-figure smoothhounds, along with increasing numbers of gilthead bream. Compared to their West Country cousins that can top 8lb, these giltheads are not monsters, but I’d heard of fish to 4lb taken during the previous weeks and it stimulated my enthusiasm. A double trip was arranged with Shane Inman, who is a noted caster, and England Junior International Riley Price, who had returned from the World Junior Shore Angling Championships in France with a silver team medal. Shane and Riley would make a short trip on the Sunday,…

PERCHED ON THE JETTY, PEERING into the crystal-clear water, I could see shoals of codling hunting through the weed along the glacier-scoured shoreline. Clouds boiled over the towering mountains and, in the distance, I could see another squall rolling in from the open sea. It was going to be wet, but I didn't care, I was in Light Rock Fishing paradise. You could be mistaken for thinking I was in the fjords of Norway, but this was Scotland. Nestled 200 miles north-west of Edinburgh on the shores of Loch Broom in a truly beautiful and remote part of the north-west Highlands, lies the village of Ullapool. Although remote in terms of geography, it is fairly straight-forward to get to Ullapool, and it has good transport links as well as the…

THE bait loop, also known as the bumper knot or egg loop, can be used to secure soft bait to the hook. Unless you are an Alaskan salmon fisherman you have probably never heard of it because it was designed to help prevent salmon eggs from falling off the hook when fishing for silver and king salmon in Alaskan rivers. However, any time you are fishing with soft baits that fall off the hook too much, the egg loop knot is said to be a lifesaver. It is basically a knot-less knot or snell knot with a twist. The result is that it has a retractable knot along the hook shank that you loop around the bait in order to pin it to the shank. Shrimps, clams, and squid could…

Each month we’ll select a winning question from each of our shore/LRF, boat/kayak and lure questions. Three lucky readers will get great gear prizes from sponsors Tronixpro. The sponsors reserve the right to send an alternative prize to an equal value. • BEACH: Guerilla Beach rod and Envoy Tournament Mag reel, worth £150. • LURE: HTO Lure Game rod, Lure Game 4000 reel, Lure Game 16lb braid & large reel wrap, worth £152. • BOAT: Guerilla 20lb-class rod, Envoy Wave reel, Tronixpro large seatbox, and multiplier wrap, worth £153. 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 fewer daylight hours and tumbling temperatures, it’s time for anglers fishing the Bristol Channel to make a last-ditch attempt to target one of the country’s finest sporting fish – the tope. As Mike Thrussell explains on the previous pages, the tope is considered a summer fish, but the big females feed over heavy rough ground or even wrecks well into the autumn because their food supply is peaking. Here in the Bristol Channel, tope appear when the first of the mackerel shoals invade the western approaches to the waterway. As tope hunt mainly by sight, they will always favour the cleaner waters of the west, though as the season progresses we often find them scavenging further up the Bristol Channel in more murky waters. Why they bother to travel…

IN A PREVIOUS ARTICLE, I LOOKED AT THE outstanding and well-documented fishing that is available in the far north of Norway. Here we are going to look at what is available further south, more specifically the stretch of coastline between Trondheim and Bodo. As you would expect, there are similarities between fishing here and further north, but also there are some significant differences. For example, here you can target species not commonly caught in the far north, and it is here that many of the truly outstanding captures from the shore you will have read about will most likely have been made. Cod, are one of the most common and popular species. Big fish are caught in this region, but the average size is noticeably lower than those further north.…

BULL huss, also known as the greater spotted dogfish, is a species of catshark belonging to the family Scyliorhinidae. Huss are found in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, generally among rocks or broken ground at depths between around 60-200ft. When small, bull huss are often confused with lesser spotted dogfish, which they closely resemble in appearance, but huss can easily be distinguished in having generally larger spots and nasal skin flaps that do not extend to the mouth. SPECIES With the gradual demise of other species, in many areas bull huss (Scyliorhinus stellaris) are increasingly becoming targeted by boat anglers. Not what you would classify as a sport fish, what huss might lack in terms of speed they more than make up for in terms of brute strength, along with a…

AN OPEN CUDDY IS THE preferred choice for many anglers who trailer their boats, or for those who do not have to rely upon the security of a lockable wheelhouse. Considerably lighter than a version with a lantern-style wheelhouse, if you regularly tow your boat, then I would suggest the open-cuddy version could be a most practical choice for you. In my experience, a cuddy is used primarily for open stowage for the mountain of equipment that sea anglers invariably carry, but, of course, a cuddy does provide a degree of shelter, a place to sit out a heavy shower. I have already introduced you to the Smartliner Fisher 21 (Sea Angler issue 543), one of a range of three purpose-built fishing boats that feature a simulated clinker hull, along…

• NAME: Lee Cotton • AGE:42 • ADDRESS: Plymouth, Devon • HOW LONG SEA FISHING? Since early childhood • FAVOURITE TYPE OF SEA FISHING: Autumn bass fishing and summer shark fishing from my boat OKUMA METALOID M-12 TWO-SPEED MULTIPLIER RRP: £299.99 I was looking to purchase a new two-speed reel for summer shark fishing and perhaps some Norway trips, having used Shimano TLDs before, which are single speed and never let me down. I haven’t owned an Okuma product before, but was drawn to the Metalloid. Being an engineer, the specification and build looked amazing, with some high-end features that are included in the Makira models. Features include helical cut gears, one-piece frame, corrosion protection, silent anti-reverse, ergo-grip handle, easy one-screw side plate access, the list goes on. Over the…

AFTER MOVING TO CORNWALL back in the early 1980s, I took up sea angling and served my ‘apprenticeship’ in general sea angling before becoming increasingly focussed on catching bass. The idea of catching this beautiful predator in many of the stunning locations of my newly adopted home ticked all the boxes for me. Little did I know at that time, that its increasing appeal to restaurant-goers would mean bad times were ahead for the species. Back in those early days, thoughts were about how to catch bass. My basic grounding in catching them was in beach fishing, but other techniques I had learned during my ‘apprenticeship’, such as float-fishing and spinning, would later also prove useful for catching bass. I learned a great deal from fellow local angling club members…

Asso Lines are a huge range of well-known products produced by Gruppo DP, one of the biggest monofilament companies in the world. Our winner gets an Asso package consisting of Bullet Proof, Classic, Ultra, Ultra Cast, tapered leaders, Ever Green braid, Ultraflex (50m) and Oblivion (100m). Contents, worth just over £100, may occasionally vary. • BULLET PROOF – originally designed for carp fishing, but its durability attracted sea anglers. Available in six breaking strains. RRP: £13.99 for 4oz spool. • CLASSIC –its high impact strength, low stretch, superior abrasion resistance and durability mean anglers also use the 50lb, 60lb and 70lb as shockleaders. Available in 15 breaking strains. RRP: £5.99 for 4oz spool. • OBLIVION – described as “another dimension in monofilament”, this is for making rigs. It has no…

SEPTEMBER • 21-28: The 38th Daiwa Irish Pairs, Kerry, Nick Haward 07702 037223 or nickhaward@btinternet.com. www.irishpairs.co.uk • 23: The Scarborough Open Angling Championship (Scarborough Angling Festival), Whitby to Flamborough, 2pm-6pm, bag weight, weigh-in by 7pm at Anglers Social Club, £7 entry, Pete Atkinson 07711 104090 or 07711 124032. • 23: Samalite League & open, Bexington, 6pm-11pm, draw ends 5pm, booking essential, Dave 07977 132951. • 24: Ardrossan SAC open, Carsethorn, 11am-5pm, measure and release, meet 10am-10.30am at hotel, booking advised, Stuart Miller 07868 732891 or Stuart Ballantyne 07742 716173. • 24: Peever SAC heaviest fish open, 10am-4pm, register 8am-9am at Royal Hotel, Kirkcudbright, one fish only to be weighed, size limits, £10 entry, Bob Drennan 07469 184812. • 24: Veals League & open, Aust, 8.45am-12.45pm, draw 7.45am, pegged, one rod,…

DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO THE beautiful Gower Peninsula, Loughor is one of the most popular towns for commuters to live in South Wales. For anglers, though, its eponymous meandering estuary has long been rated as among the best autumn and winter flounder venues in the country. Situated between Llanelli and Swansea, the town has merged with Gorseinon and overlooks the waterway, which is spanned by several bridges, one carrying the A484. One of the best places for the flounder fishing within the sprawling expanse of this river estuary is Green Banks. Located at Bynea, on the Llanelli side of the estuary, just downriver from the railway bridge, it is part of the Wales Coastal Path. Close by is the local independent lifeboat station, which is regularly supported by fundraising…

MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT global warming and its effect on the distribution of various species of seafish, writes contributing editor Dave Lewis. Many of the species cited as being indicators of rising sea temperatures have always been found off the coast of Northern Europe at certain times of the year. Typically, these have included sharks, tuna, trigger fish, red mullet and other oddities that anglers occasionally catch. However, the distribution of sea bream appears to be spreading ever further northwards. Traditionally, the coast of Northern Europe extending into the Irish Sea and the south-western sector of the North Sea marked the extreme northerly limit for most of the few species of bream that anglers used to catch around the British Isles. It’s a good example of widening distribution, when…

While fishing the night before writing this article, it struck me how important it is not to make a hash of things when you are casting lures in the dark. It’s easy when you can see what’s going on, but doing it all in the dark is a different matter. Because you are potentially fishing for a species of fish that can come in remarkably closetotheshorelineundercoverofdarkness, you should use an absolute minimum amount of light. It’s a big leap of faith from shining your headlamp at the rod tips when bait fishing to being as ninja-like as possible. 1 LIGHT DISCIPLINE 1 As much as light makes it easier to move around and change lures, I would urge you to do as much as possible to keep any light off…

TOPE TEND TO BE THOUGHT OF as only spring and summer fish in the south and west of Britain. By late August, for most of us, the tope season is pretty much over… or is it? Usually, they move inshore in the spring, coinciding with good numbers of whiting and dabs on the cleaner ground, come inside our larger estuaries after flounders, and in the early summer move on to shallow reef ground and sandbanks, taking mainly bream, ailing mackerel, pout and poor cod, plus any flatfish they find. The reason we see a decline in tope returns from late August is that they dramatically change their habitat and feeding pattern. The pack tope, including smaller males, and the bigger female fish are in among each other in the spring,…

THERE ARE FIVE MAIN SPECIES of wrasse available from most UK ports – ballan, cuckoo, corkwing, goldsinney and rock cook, the latter three being on the mini species list because they do not grow in excess of 1lb. Then there are two ‘rare’ types - the Baillon’s and scale-rayed wrasse, again both mini species. It’s the mighty ballan that I’m going to focus on, because they are the brutes of the family, and by far the most widespread and abundant of the species. They are also the largest, with the British boat record a staggering 9lb 7oz. Although ballans can be caught throughout the year, if you really want to target a specimen 7lb-plus beast, then late autumn and early winter is the time to do it. Fishing from September…

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF offshore wrecks within easy reach of Newhaven, which is why the port is a big attraction for both charter and private boat anglers. During the summer the wrecks produce large hauls of pollack and cod, plus some quality bass and conger eels. Come the winter, the wrecks continue to fish well and play host to the hard-fighting pollack and cod once again, and it’s not uncommon to fill a box with these powerful fish on relatively light gear and lures. There are also plenty of reefs and rocky areas offshore to try for tope, conger eels and bull huss. Some boats specialise in fishing the offshore banks for turbot and brill, and it’s not unusual to boat a dozen of each species in a day when…

Torqeedo Travel 1003C Electric Outboard Torqeedo, the market leader in the fast-growing electric propulsion industry, has introduced the new Travel 1003C, a development of its popular Travel 1003 motor series. Now with extended range and runtime, along with an integrated lithium battery, the Travel 1003C boasts a 915Wh battery that has 73 per cent greater capacity compared to the standard Travel 1003, at an almost identical weight. The Travel 1003 models offer the same performance as 3hp petrol outboard motors, with the thrust equivalent of a 4hp motor. The Travel range is designed for small boats up to 1.5 tons, and there are tens of thousands of motors in use globally. With a total weight of just 14.9kg, the Travel 1003C is billed as the lightest and most efficient electric…

WITH summer slipping away into the distance, the return of shorter days and longer nights will see our autumn species returning once again. So why not kick off your new season in style by taking advantage of this superb shore offer, and get your winter campaign off to a flyer? First up is the Penn Squadron Surf three-piece rod. At 15ft, its rated to cast loads up to 7oz. The progressive but fast taper action will certainly help you to accurately put your baited rig into the feeding zone. It’s Ideally suited to clean beaches, but you can definitely rely on the extra power it possesses to handle venues with mixed ground. Accompanying the rod is the superb Tronixpro Envoy 7000 fixed-spool reel. It’s incredibly lightweight and equipped with a…

RECORD SOLE Night session produces boat best An angler fishing a night session from a boat has caught a record-breaking Dover sole. Paul Aldridge was on his pal Paul Batty’s boat in Southampton Water, where they had anchored just off the main channel in flat calm water. Baiting up with ragworms, the bites were steady and they soon started to catch, mainly small fish. “Just after midnight my rod suddenly bent over and I was into a half decent fish, and after a short battle the fish came to the surface,” said Paul, who thought it was a small ray until it was netted. “To my surprise, it was an enormous Dover sole. We had never seen a sole so big. We quickly dug out an old set of scales…

ONE OF LIFE’S GOOD GUYS I felt I wanted to write to Sea Angler after the very sad news of the death of Neil Mackellow, particularly as someone who also had the pleasure of working directly with him, when he was at his absolute best. When my late father Alan decided that Penn needed to aggressively move into the surfcasting market, there really was only one person he thought of bringing on board. Neil brought an unmatched wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts to the Penn team. The first thing we did after Neil joined was to dispatch him to the Penn factory in Philadelphia for a week and have him sit with the engineering team and outline exactly what he thought could be done in the field of USA-made…

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 issue we award a Shimano Beastmaster CX bass spinning rod or a Socorro saltwater 500 reel to the captor of the best shore fish, chosen on merit. The top boat angler each issue, chosen on merit, gets a Speedmaster AX Boat Slim 20/30 rod or TLD20 multiplier reel. There is no choice of prize, which is awarded at our discretion. Jonathan Charlton, Whitehaven, Cumbria. Fish: 9lb 1oz thornback ray. Bait: Bluey on a Pennellpulley rig. Venue: Whitehaven pier, Cumbria. Date:…

AS A TEENAGER, JUST AFTER THE Second World War, I was a member of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade which, using breeches buoys, attempted to rescue the crews and passengers of ships which had run aground, normally by breakdowns and stormy seas. One night in 1947, a Greek steamer dragged her anchor in a huge storm and was driven on to the rocks at Brown’s Bay, Cullercoats. The crew aboard sent up every rocket they had – irrespective of colour. At the time, we were all in the Watch House at Tynemouth (it’s still there) and rockets were sent up to summon more of our volunteers. We didn’t have fancy pagers or mobile phones in those days. All our equipment was on a big handcart, which had to be dragged…