Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 558 i Sea Angler

JUDGING BY ALL THE CATCH PICTURES WE ARE RECEIVING, IT LOOKS like spring fishing has really picked up in the last month. There are so many readers who have done well, but among those that stand out are the many big stingrays, Richard Seager’s 20lb turbot and a 250lb porbeagle shark (see page 42). Well done to everyone and thanks for taking the trouble to contact us about their latest successes. We’re always keen to put your catches in the spotlight, be it in the magazine or on our Facebook page. Once again, we’re bringing you a varied selection of fishing from all parts of the country, from a host of experts, with turbot from shore and boat, tactics for the East Yorkshire coast, great marks on Anglesey, hot tips…

HAVE YOU BEEN AMONG THE influx of visiting anglers to the Holderness Coast seeking some great smoothhound sport, but left disappointed? It was probably because you were casting too far. Warmer, settled weather will see the return of the hounds to this part of the East Yorkshire coast, where the females come to drop their pups in the shallow water. Some really big girls turn up, with fish weighing more than 20lb caught each season, with double-figure fish fairly common. It’s the prolific numbers of these sporting fish that attracts the visiting anglers. Along with my dad and two sons, I have been known to pack up fishing and head off elsewhere when the hounds are here in numbers, because they can be hard work when we’re targeting other species.…

JOHN BARRIBALL RUNS THE LURE Heaven tackle shop and website with his wife Melissa. They are known in the modern lure fishing world here in the UK for making some fantastic brands available to anglers. If you want to know about Graphiteleader rods, Duo, Bait Breath and Gary Yamamoto lures, Geecrack fishing luggage, along with Palms and Zetz slow-jigging gear, then Lure Heaven, in Launceston, Cornwall, is the place. Henry Gilbey: When did you start Lure Heaven and why did you decide to become so involved in the growing UK lure fishing scene? John: When I was 16 I ran a tackle shop in Surrey for about eight years. Then we moved down to Cornwall in 2000. We started Lure Heaven in 2008 and then it became a limited company…

A growing number of tackle shops are signing up for the Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme. It was created so anglers from sea, coarse and game across the UK can have a route to recycle old fishing line. Behind the scheme is a group called Local Independent Sea Anglers (LISA), based in the Sussex area, who have distributed recycling bins to some local shops. Received with great enthusiasm by anglers, it was obvious it needed rolling out on a national basis. Now shops from all over the country are joining the scheme. Last year, LISA became a partner in the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, which works to ensure cleaner and safer oceans by finding solutions to the problems of ghost fishing gear. The Anglers National Recycling Scheme, LISA and the…

• John Gamble (above), of Stockport, caught a 222lb common skate, a new personal best and 5lb off the British record, from Ronnie Campbell’s boat Laura Dawn II, out of Oban, in 540ft of water. John fished a dogfish and octopus cocktail, and the fish took 45 minutes to boat. It took Phil Neale, of Wallasey, half-an-hour to land this personal-best 166lb common skate. “I’m well chuffed,” said Phil, who was fishing out of Oban. The current British boat-caught record stands at 227lb. • Jack Cox, of Wantage, Oxfordshire, caught and released this beautiful wrasse on a gold-coloured 60g Tronixpro slow jig. He was fishing with a Luckycraft rod, Shimano reel and 20lb Power Pro braid over a Cardigan Bay wreck in 36 metres of water aboard Tim Harrison’s new…

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 superb Shimano reel to the captor of the best shore fish and best boat-caught fish, both chosen on merit. There is no choice of prize, which is awarded at our discretion. Darren Hankins, Grantham, Lincs. Fish: 21lb 6oz cod. Bait: Squid on a Pennell rig. Venue: Mako (Lee Hardingham), Skegness, Lincs. Date: March 11. Paul Baxter, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex. Fish: 4lb 2oz plaice. Bait: Rag, lug and squid. Venue: Flamer IV (Colin Penny), Weymouth, Dorset. Date:…

• Only fish caught since May 2018 are eligible. • We must see a picture of the fish. We may refuse an entry. • You can claim one badge per species in an issue. • A further badge can be awarded in future only if you set a new personal best. • Enter by post using the coupon; by email (please include information requested on the postal form) to paul.fenech@bauermedia.co.uk • Prizes are as stated (Shimano reserves the right to send alternatives). • No correspondence will be entered into.…

IT’S A LITTLE BEFORE EIGHT IN THE morning, and along with 23 anglers I have somehow managed to cram myself inside the none-too-spacious Beach House Cafe on the seafront at Lyme Regis. A blackboard behind the counter proudly announces the day’s special is a halloumi and avocado baguette, but so far there have been no takers. A vegetarian butty might well cut it with some of the posh city-type vacationing clientele who will likely walk through the door later that day, but it certainly wasn’t going to tempt any of this bunch of hardcore anglers. These guys wanted an equally hardcore breakfast, and nothing short a cholesterol-enriched full English, or at the very least a bacon and sausage sandwich, was going to satisfy this bunch. Outside of the warm and…

RAMSGATE IS A BUSY PORT AND ONE that is steeped in history. It was one of the main embarkation harbours during the Napoleonic wars, resulting in many of Ramsgate’s streets being named to commemorate the association with this period in its history, including the harbour’s main thoroughfare, Military Road. During the Second World War, Operation Dynamo was launched, and an odd assortment of yachts, motor cruisers, fishing boats and other small craft assembled in Ramsgate, before crossing to Dunkirk to ferry men from the beaches to waiting ships. These ‘Little Ships’, like the men waiting on the beaches, were under constant attack from German aircraft and guns, and 765 vessels involved in the operation were lost. Despite heavy losses, the valiant ‘Little Ships’ assisted in the rescue of 309,739 troops,…

State-of-the-art satellite tags will be used in a new UK project to track the movements of bluefin tuna, which have returned to UK waters after an absence of 60 years. At some point in the future more knowledge about these fish could lead to a legitimate recreational tuna fishery in the UK. The Thunnus UK project is a two-year collaboration between Defra, Cefas and the University of Exeter, designed to find out more about these magnificent fish. It’s something the Angling Trust has been pushing the Government’s scientists at Cefas to do for the last couple of years. The project will use satellite tags on up to 40 fish in an effort to understand where and when Atlantic bluefin tuna are found in British waters; where Atlantic bluefin tuna go…

AMONG the largest bony fish in the world, Atlantic halibut are strong swimmers and are able to migrate very long distances. In recent years the species has become an increasingly popular target for sea anglers visiting Norway. Found in the temperate and Arctic waters of the northern Atlantic, from Labrador and Greenland to Iceland, the Barents Sea and as far south as the Bay of Biscay, it is the largest flatfish in the world, reaching lengths of up to 15ft and weights of over 700lb during a lifespan that can reach 50 years. SPECIES With the exception of the smaller Greenland version, halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)are unlikely to be mistaken for any other species. The current British boat-caught record stands at 234lb, with a fish caught off Dunnet Head, in Scotland,…

SHORE FISHING Q: I get lots of bites but keep missing them when I strike. Can you tell me when is the best time to strike a bite? SIMON STUART, BY EMAIL PF says: If you’re watching the rod tip in its tripod or resting on a railing, try not to be too hasty to rush to the rod when you get a bite. Sit on your hands and simply let the bite develop. The first rattle signals the fish is having a taste, so leave it to come back for more. It all depends on what species you’re after as bites differ greatly. Cod give a slow pull or a drop-back, whereas whiting and flatfish can give aggressive rattles. Smoothhounds can pull the rod tip right over and, on…

SHORE RODS The eye-catching Penn Squadron II shore range offers four brand-new three-piece rods. Built on tough user-friendly blanks, these versatile rods blend power and precision to deliver strength and maintain vivid bite amplification on the tip. Designed for fishing over sand and stonier seabeds, all are easy-casting rods capable of impressive distances, and suited to anglers of all experience levels. SURF • Steve says: This is available in 14ft 4in and 15ft versions and tailored to general open-beach fishing, targeting everything from flatfish and codling to hard to retrieve rays. The forgiving blank is designed with simple casting in mind, and ensures excellent distances are achievable even in inexperienced hands. The rod will cast up to 8oz but delivers optimum performance with 4.5oz to 6oz lead weights. Large aperture…

GARMIN INREACH MINI – RRP: £299.99 With inReach technology and a satellite subscription, you can send and receive messages, navigate, track and share your journey and, if necessary, trigger an SOS. Measuring under 4in x 2in and weighing 3½oz, inReach Mini is ideal for your pocket. You don’t have to worry about being in range of a cell tower – it works anywhere. The emergency help service is on standby 24/7 to respond to your SOS, track your device and notify the proper contacts and emergency responders in your area. Once you’ve triggered a distress signal, you can expect a delivery confirmation that help is on the way and be continually updated on the status of a response team. Wireless unit-to-unit connectivity lets you remotely control inReach Mini to send…

• Bass Rock SAC open, Bellhaven beach, East Lothian, 44 anglers: 1 Kenny McCoy, Sunderland, 222cm (4pts); 2 Steve Williams, Jarrow, 199cm (3); 3 Chris Stringer, Whitley Bay, 196cm, including 37cm flounder (2). Longest fish – Steve Burns, Edinburgh, 37cm turbot (1). • Bristol Channel FSA spring open, Minehead to Blue Anchor, Somerset, 68 anglers: 1 Ben Bradstock, Honiton, 363cm (6pts); 2 Rob Marshall, Taunton, 352cm (5); 3 Neville Charlesworth, Hornsea, 261cm (4). Longest fish – Adrian Ford, Weston-super-Mare, conger (2). • Charity open in memory of John Beeching, Grain foreshore, Isle of Grain, Kent, 36 anglers: 1 Peter Josh, Gillingham, 2 flounders, 52cm (3pts); 2 Noel Beard, Sheerness, 1 flounder, 33cm (2); 3 Jimmy Malone, Isle of Grain, 1 eel, 30cm (1). • Chesil League & open, Masonic, Portland,…

JUNE 1: Veals Summer League rnd 5 & open, Littleton, 8.15pm-12.15am, draw 7.15pm, pegged, one rod, three hooks, no white rag or maddies, £45 league entry, best six from seven, £15 entry all-in, book only to fish as opens, Steve 0117 926 0790. 2-8: FIPS-M World Championship for Long Casting of Sea Weights, Caserta, Italy. • 3: West Coast Tackle League rnd 6, Stanah, 1pm-5pm, book on from 11.30am at car park, £20 entry, book only, Hutch 07472 249294 or Tony 07702 229015. • 3: SWWASAC summer open, North Channel, 1.30pm-6.30pm, meet noon at shoreline, Burry Port, longest single fish, longest overall length, catch & release, pegged, three hooks, 20cm minimum fish size, Peter 07599 540822. • 3: Furness FA Cumbria open, Barrow in Furness rover, 9.45am-1.45pm, heaviest fish, £20…

UNDERWATER MOUNTAINS AND ridges, with huge drop-offs and holes all around them that create whirlpools and sudden changes in tidal flow, are an ambush predator’s dream. Finding such a mark is also an absolute dream for shore-based lure anglers. I fished such a mark during last year’s Tronix Fishing trip to Skarnsundet in Norway, when I had the pleasure of lure fishing with some top rods. I’ve done a huge amount of lure fishing all over the world from boats, but very little from the shore, so I was really looking forward to chucking some plastic about with the likes of Adam Kirby, Mark Radcliffe, Martin Collison and father-and-son duo Chris and Paul Devlin, of Fishing Megastore fame. While other members of the group were off drowning ragworms and a…

FROM THE MASSIVE COMMON SKATE to the tiny black goby, many species that are uncommon around the rest of Britain’s shoreline can be realistically targeted in the sea lochs of the Western Highlands of Scotland. The fishing is in some of the most scenic landscapes in Britain, where there are around 80 sea lochs that are all well served by the huge tides. Most of the angling on these huge expanses of water involves fishing from boats, but for shore anglers, the lochs offer instant access to seriously deep water. The beauty of shore fishing in Scotland’s sea lochs is that it can provide sport all year round. Some stay away from the area from June to September to avoid the constant attacks of the midges. However, in my experience…

Ben Price and Wayne McGilloway, representing Wales, won gold in the 1st World Shore Angling Pairs held in Spain, with England duo Tom Bagnall and Toby Oldfield taking silver. Held in Peniscola from April 21-28, the event featured 25 pairs, with the Italian duo of Marcello Messina and Salvatore Drago taking bronze. Italy also won team gold, with England in second and hosts Spain in third. Wales finished fifth and Ireland seventh out of nine teams. Ben and Wayne scored 23 points over the four matches, with their best placing being third on day 1, while Tom and Toby had looked to be heading for top spot with five points after three days – but they blew out on day 4 with 20 points to finish on 25 points. England’s…

David Rowe, one of angling’s key administrators, who served the former National Federation of Sea Anglers with distinction, has died. Even after he retired, David remained involved in club angling and was passionate about maintaining sustainable fisheries and a rich marine environment. After a short fight with cancer, David passed away on April 19. Nigel Drew, of Teignmouth SAS, said: “He will be greatly missed by all at the club and those who met him during his NFSA days.” David had a long association with Sea Angler in his role as an angling administrator, not least through his work with the British Record (Rod-caught) Fish Committee. His work in angling administration really blossomed when he became a member of the NFSA Wyvern Region and the national governing body of the…

BASS SHORE Ben Clayson, Ashford, 8-11*, Dungeness COD SHORE Nigel Winnan, Cardiff, 16-8*, Ogmore COD BOAT Darren Hankins, Grantham, 21-6, Skegness FLATFISH SHORE Gary Bonner, Coshquin, 2-2 flounder*, Donegal FLATFISH BOAT All caught at Weymouth unless stated Paul Baxter, Hurstpierpoint, 4-2 plaice Graham Broach, Plymouth, 4-0 plaice Gary Broome, Neath, 3-6 plaice* Kevin Clark, Weymouth, 4-5 plaice Steven Clark, Norwich, 5-0 plaice Tony Geal, Worthing, 6-5 brill Matt Hamilton, Southwick, 4-4 plaice Adrain Powell, Neath, 4-6 plaice* POLLACK BOAT Steve Adams, Neath, 14-8*, Weymouth Brandon-Lee Tucker, Plymouth, 7-10, Plymouth RAY SHORE Steve Ford, Bristol, 11-12 thornback*, Clevedon William Hooper, Gosport, 10-2 undulate, Haslar Gary Mayho, Teignmouth, 11-10 undulate*, Chesil Beach John Reed, Taunton, 9-3-5 small-eyed*, Blue Anchor RAY BOAT Mark Cundick, Tollesbury, 41-1 thornback, Essex Ray Gatteral, Paulsgrove, 11-4 undulate*,…

Not only did Harley Thompson (6), from Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, win the junior section in a Ryhope SAC match, but he came second in the senior event too! He used frozen black lug tipped with whiteworms to catch a flounder and whiting double. Matthew Connelly, who comes from Pontypridd in the Rhondda, South Wales, caught this decent flounder during a shore fishing session at Cardiff Barrage. The 14-year-old used ragworms tipped with squid for bait. On his third beach fishing trip, Ethan Austin, from Canterbury, Kent, used a black lug and squid combo on a two-hook paternoster rig to land this whiting that weighed 1lb 3oz. Plymouth, Devon angler Jack Brockman, aged 15, succeeded in tempting this 3lb 2oz mullet with a piece of floating bread crust when he…

I LOVE THE SPRING, ESPECIALLY WHEN we are blessed with a mini heatwave and flat calm seas. It’s a prequel to summer, and quite often it switches the fish into feeding mode. Another reason why I love spring is because it heralds the arrival of flatfish. The plaice start to show up, albeit thin from spawning, as well as the turbot and brill, which are more often than not ravenous and eager to take a bait. I popped down to Weymouth in Dorset for my annual ‘big turbot’ hunt on board Duchess II, skippered by a good friend of Sea Angler, Jeff Clarke. It’s a trip I make every spring with the aim of bagging myself a personal-best turbot. However, today wasn’t going to be my day, but it certainly…

A QUESTION OFTEN ASKED AMONG kayak anglers is whether, individually, we’re kayakers or anglers first. A natural question and one which changes over time, depending on where your love develops most. It’s fair to say that the bulk of the kayak fishing community in the UK has come from the angling side of things, predominantly from disillusioned beach anglers, with a smaller number of freshwater anglers wanting to access hard-to-reach swims, or former boat owners wanting to fish with lower costs. We’re becoming more visible both on the water and the internet. We have, as a community, developed a culture of mixed media reporting involving narrative, photography and video. We’re friendly – the demographic is mostly in the 30-50 age range – and are people that are a bit more…

You need panel pins, foam squares, mono line for weak link, Impact Shield, scissors and bait. Tie a loop in the end of your rig and then pass through the top and bottom of Impact Shield. Now slide the piece of silicone tube supplied with the Impact Shield on the looped line. Slide the tubing over the anchor point on the shield and adjust the amount of line loop. Add weak link from rig loop to the sinker. Push rig loop through lead’s eye, slide pin into loop. You can include a short length of stiff plastic on the lower hook of your Pennell set-up. It’s always worth checking that your hook sits neatly on the plastic clip of the Impact Shield. Select a peeler crab to use for baiting…

SNOOD KNOT 1 Place snood line alongside boom, form loop and take line inside loop six times. 2 Moisten the line with saliva and pull line in both directions to tighten knot. 3 Trim off the tag end and then attach your hook to the end of the snood. RIG KNOT 1 Form an overhand loop in your rig body and take one end over and under the loop. 2 Repeat eight times and open out middle, wrapping the top of loop over the bottom. 3 Insert bristle boom into the gap, putting tension on both sides. 4 Moisten line with saliva and pull tight in both directions. THE FINISHED RIG…

PAUL FENECH Sea Angler’s features and tackle editor Paul is here to solve your shore angling problems. GARY ROBINSON Galway-based Gary gets a thrill from fishing afloat on a kayak. Send him your kayaking queries. DAVE LEWIS Based in Newport, South Wales, our contributing editor Dave answers boat fishing questions. HENRY GILBEY Angler and photo-journalist Henry, based in Cornwall, will answer questions on lure angling. 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.…

ARE YOU on the lookout for a new multiplier reel and saving a huge amount of cash too? Well, this month’s offer is definitely for you. The Tronixpro range of beach multiplier reels has won praise from shore anglers all over the UK, and one model in particular that has really caught the eye is the Tournament Envoy Orbit. This 6500-size reel is designed for more demanding conditions when the need for magnetic braking isn’t so crucial. Instead, the generated high-spool speeds are easily controlled by six centrifugal brake blocks. Plus, you have the option to add or remove blocks, when certain conditions demand it. Available in left or right-handed versions, it has a pacey 5.3:1 retrieve plus a star-drag that offers an incredible 8kg of resistance. The power handle…

WHEN MANY OF THE nation’s leading anglers do battle, there are always twists and turns, particularly if the fishing is tough and few fish being caught. It means fortunes can change dramatically, and those who never say die pull a great result out of the bag, often as an event draws to a close. This year’s Penn Sea League final proved an excellent demonstration of never giving up in the hope of either a late flurry of fish, or that one, big, match-defining specimen. Once again, 40 top anglers from the 2017 Penn Sea League had qualified for the big final, held this time at the rugged boulder beach at Bossington, in Somerset. With conditions not ideal for top-class action from this picturesque venue, it never looked like anyone would…

• With £10,000 in Penn tackle prizes spread over the two divisions, points, based on entries, are awarded to the top three, section winners and captors of the largest fish caught in each designated Penn match. Penn also awards a prize of a 525 Mag reel to the angler scoring the most points in matches shown in each issue. If there is a tie, the winner will be the angler whose total is from the greatest number of results and is then chosen on merit by the editor. An angler can win only one reel during the year. To win a prize you must be registered with the Penn Sea League – supply your name, address, phone and email. Send fixtures, results and league registration by email to:…

JUNE 2008 • A superb 24lb 4oz turbot fell to Dean Saunders of Ferndown, Dorset, while fishing a mackerel bait from Chris Tett’s Peace and Plenty out of Weymouth, Dorset. • John Edridge of Crowhurst, Surrey, caught a 188lb common skate on a whole mackerel while fishing from Ronnie Campbell’s Laura Dawn out of Oban, Argyl. • Frank Shaw, skipper of Carrick Lee out of Newhaven, East Sussex, reported some big cod, including five weighing more than 20lb. The best was 28lb 8oz for Craig Shortland from Edgware, who caught the fish on a white shad. • A draft Marine Bill had been announced. It would include proposals to create marine conservation zones with varying levels of protection. 1998 • A superb 19lb thornback ray was caught in the Thames…

TURBOT ARE ALWAYS EAGERLY awaited along the South Coast because they are a great indicator that larger predatory fish, such as rays and bass, will soon be following – always good news after a long, harsh winter. These turbot normally become active after a slight rise in the water temperature, which often coincides with shoals of bait fish, such as sandeels, moving close to the shoreline. Other species will be fairly quick to follow. In April I was hearing that the first few turbot had put in an appearance, especially in the Selsey area of West Sussex. After a long miserable spell of cold and wet weather this was just the encouragement I needed to get out and wet my lines. Shore-caught turbot may not be known for their fighting…

WE’RE ALL GUILTY OF IT. In our haste to cast a lure we overlook a potentially vital component to becoming a consistently successful bass lure angler – observation. Suppress that urge to attach the lure that worked last time, or your current favourite and instead simply wait, watch and, importantly, assess what is in front of you. This approach can offer an enlightening insight into what the bass are actually feeding on. Armed with this information, you can then adapt your lure selection and approach accordingly in order to accomplish the objective – to catch one or two of these marvellous sporting creatures. Bass are renowned for being both predatory and extremely opportunistic. Furthermore, they will quickly switch on to a food source to the extent of becoming fixated on…

Our host for the week was Phill Dale. Nothing is too much trouble, and he’s always at the end of the phone to answer questions or help out if he can. Originally from East Yorkshire, Phill moved to Norway in 2008, where he trained and worked as a fishing guide under the watchful eye of camp owner Klaas Jan Jonkman. In 2012 Phill achieved his dream to become manager/owner of Skarnsundet. The set-up there is superb. The apartment block we stayed in has everything you could need for a week’s stay. It’s a species hunter’s dream – it backs on to the harbour, and you can fish from your balcony. There are eight apartments, loads of rental boats and kayaks, complete with all safety gear and electronics, fishing kit for…

A NIGHT SESSION AT A BEACH IN WEST Sussex produced a huge stingray for Sam Wadman, and soon other anglers were on the case. He fished the Pagham area twice over the early May bank holiday. On the second day, he caught a dogfish on his first cast, but it all went quiet until 3am. “I was on the verge of packing up, because I had used up all my bait, when there was a pull on my right-hand rod, followed by lots of slack line,” said Sam, who lives in Brighton. “Winding down fast, I came up against some serious resistance as a powerful fish kited downtide, taking line as it ran.” Eventually, the big fish tired and he was able to slide it up the shingle. Sam did…

A single ragworm fished an hour before high tide produced an 11lb 9oz bass for Jamie Lock (below), of Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset. He caught it on May 6 using a two-hook flapper rig with size 1 hooks while fishing at Burnham lower light. A day earlier, Senhouse Street SAC’s Kevin Corrie, of Workington, Cumbria, caught and released an 8lb 7oz bass during the Maryport spring open. An 8lb bass fell to a crab bait offered by Warren Hayes (below), of Ramsgate, Kent, while fishing in the south of the county. Simon Smith, of Swansea, had a session to remember at a South Wales mark when he caught and released six bass, the best 6lb 6oz. He fished a running leger with crabs or tiny flounders.…

BASS • Shore: 19lb 13oz 8dr John S Locker • Boat: 19lb 4oz Wayne Milton BLACK BREAM • Shore: 5lb 5oz 1dr C Le Monnier • Boat: 6lb 6oz Tony Heart COUCH’S BREAM • Shore: 2lb 15oz 1dr Lynton Carre • Boat: 6lb 9oz 7dr Ray Fallaize GILTHEAD BREAM • Shore: 9lb 8oz Scott Smy • Boat: 10lb 2oz Roger Simcox PANDORA’S BREAM • Shore: 1lb 2oz Baz Wheater RAY’S BREAM • Shore: 6lb 1oz Jordan Colwell RED BREAM • Boat: 6lb 4oz Patrick Meegan BRILL • Shore: 6lb 12oz Mark Griggs • Boat: 13lb 10oz Tony Hayward TURBOT • Shore: 20lb 2oz Eddy Barham • Boat: 32lb 1oz Steve Scally BULL HUSS • Shore: 21lb 9oz M Urquhart • Boat: 23lb D Nicholson COD • Shore: 32lb Adrian Lloyd…

FEW GET THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT some sort of major setback, and the saying goes that ‘what doesn’t hurt you makes you stronger’. It’s how you react to a bad experience that builds character and resilience. The events of March 1 and 2, 2018 put three Holyhead charter skippers in exactly that position. Storm Emma battered the North Wales coast for almost 48 hours with savage east to north-easterly winds exceeding 85mph. The huge groundswell and massive waves put severe pressure on the pontoons within Holyhead Marina, and these eventually broke up or tore their moorings out in some unprecedented scenes of devastation. Some boats broke free and were washed on to rocks near the breakwater, causing irreparable hull damage. Other boats sank, taking severe and irreparable injury underwater from debris…

These Fox Kwik Change Pop-Up Weights cost less than a fiver a box. You can use regular split shot to do the job. I’ve tied a size 4/0 hook to some 25lb red mono for this demo – I always use 30lb fluorocarbon when seeking turbot. The first step is to insert your hooklength into the groove along the length of your chosen style of weight. By pulling and stretching the rubber stop provided, pull it into the groove in the weight to trap the line underneath. Trip off the ends of the rubber stop with sharp scissors or a knife and it should look like this. Slide the weight up and down the hooklength as required, but I think it’s best to keep it 10mm from the hook eye.…

AS YOU READ THIS, WE MAY BE JUST weeks, or even days, away from the EU Commission deciding whether we should have a bass bag limit for some or for all of the second half of 2018. This is it, sea anglers are in the last-chance saloon. Speak up now. If the Commission decides not to give us a bag limit, we will officially become second-class citizens. Although the bass stock belongs to the public and we are not the ones who have done the damage, we will find ourselves locked out of the bass fishery without a key. We will have to watch impotently from the beaches, while commercial fishermen fill their boats with targeted and by-catch bass. The bass fishery will be privatised for the benefit of commercial…

• You can get the printed book and Kindle version at www.amazon.co.uk • This book is also available for download at the iBooks store • To view this book, you must have an iPad with iBooks 2 or later and iOS 5 or later, or an iPhone with iOS 8.4 or later, or a Mac with OS X 10.9 or later. The e-book is readable on almost all smartphones and tablets using the free Kindle reader app • Facebook: anglingknots2014 • Website: www.anglingknots.com • A waterproof guide to knots is available via: www.fishingmegastore.com/angling-knots-waterproof-pocket-guide-to-fishing-knots~37397.html…

The appealing aspect of lure fishing simply has to be travelling light while being extremely mobile. Moving around certain marks and putting your watercraft skills to the test, in the hope of tricking a prowling pollack or beautiful bass into striking an imitation fish, is such a thrilling part of fishing. With an extensive range of lure rods to choose from, it can be tricky to pick one that’s right for you. Here we showcase 10 of the more popular choices, ranging in length, action and price. “It measures just 44cm and will slot into most bags or suitcases” NORMURA HIRO NARITA TRAVEL LURE PRICE: AROUND £60 Perfect for the travelling angler, this is a 6ft 5in, five-piece outfit. Broken down, it measures just 44cm and will slot into most…

RECENTLY, I WAS IN NORTH Wales reviewing a Robalo fishing boat and I was asked to cast a critical eye over the Finnmaster S6. While I was aware of this manufacturer, I couldn’t remember having stepped aboard one of its boats. Naturally, I seized the opportunity to give it a whirl. While the S6 is clearly a boat that has been built for general family fun on the water, being perfect for skiing and day cruising, there is little doubt she would make a very fine fishing boat. When I got home, I visited the Finnmaster website, keen to obtain some background information on the company. It told me that Finnmaster has designed and manufactured vessels at its boatyard in Finland for more than 25 years. It adds: “Over these…

SAMF MASTERS Cley and Kelling, Norfolk, 170 anglers In tough, very challenging conditions, England International George Smith became the 2018 UK Masters Champion with a cracking performance on both days to finish with three penalty points. Runner-up was Welsh International Shane Russell, who finished on five points. Clacton’s Rob Tuck put in a consistent performance that also earned him five points, but his slightly lower total weight meant he finished third. The match, with 85 anglers competing each day, was fished in four zones at Cley and Kelling. Day 1 was fished in a strong onshore wind with a big sea, and the resulting swells pushed the majority of the usual flatties offshore, to be replaced by dogfish, smoothhounds and bass. Fortunately, there was plenty of water throughout to prevent…

SIX FISH BEST • Brisk northerly winds made conditions chilly for the Gravesend spring open. There were 49 fish recorded in the catch-and-release event, mostly flounders with whiting and eels. Alan Underdown, of Whitstable, won with six fish for 180cm. FLATTIE BAGS • Bags of plaice and flounders dominated the North West ASAC open at the Rock Channel, New Brighton. Winner Mike Hughes caught 14 fish for 483cm. Runner-up Gordon Thornes bagged his third batch of Penn points with 10 fish for 349cm. WIN FROM BRID • Phil Walker, of Catwick, caught two thornback rays, each weighing 2.7kg, in his winning bag of 5.625kg in the Hornsea Lifeboat open, held along the coast of East Yorkshire. He fished at Bridlington.…