Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Sea Angler

So autumn has arrived. As far as seasons go, I’m not much of a fan. It’s the noticeably shorter days and earlier nights that really get me at this time of year; not to mention the depressing thought that we still have another three months before they begin to start getting longer again. The only saving grace to the end of summer is the superb fishing September, October and November bring; this, and the start of another shooting season certainly help to soften the blow! I may lament the end of summer but in truth my summer fishing opportunities this year were no more than a handful and, like many of you, I’m hoping to make the most of autumn, squeezing out every last possible chance of a trip. Many…

Have you been lucky enough to squeeze in some bass fishing on a holiday this summer? Many of you may have stashed a lure rod and some lures in your suitcase or car, just in case the opportunity presented itself to have a few sneaky casts while the family was still in bed! One problem holidaying in the UK is our weather can sometimes be less than favourable for lure fishing. We all know, despite the sun shining in June, as soon as the children break up from school the weather gods can sometimes have other ideas. This is something I have found when talking with customers at the tackle shop. How can you approach the local bass fishing when the rain or winds have created conditions far removed from…

Mastering any new skill is never easy. It’s not supposed to be. If it is, then not only are you not doing it right but you’re also wasting your time. Going through the motions, mindlessly repeating the same things – whether it be practicing your casting technique, knot tying or any other skill necessary to become an expert angler – might make you feel like you’re putting in the hours but is, in fact, the exact opposite of what you should be doing if you want your fishing to excel. DELIBERATE PRACTICE The key to seeing fast results is to keep repeating what you find hardest and not wasting time repeating what you know or can already do. Don’t confuse improvement with repetition: practicing the same bad habits without changing…

MONTHLY WINNER In association with £25 TACKLE VOUCHER WINNERS Fishingmegastore.com awards a £25 voucher prize to each of two winners - the youngster with the best shore fish and another with the top boat catch. The winners can use the voucher to select tackle from Fishingmegastore.com which is based in Glasgow and Edinburgh. ■ Send your Young Rods entries by email to sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk…

The mighty porbeagle is one of the largest and hardest fighting sharks to be found in our waters. Specimens exceeding 200lb are not uncommon with fish well over 500lb reported. Fortunately, all sharks are now returned to the water with the killing of fish a thing of the past, when angling practices were less enlightened. The British Record porbeagle of 507lb was caught from Dunnet Head, Scotland in 1993. It is likely that several porbeagle have been caught well above this weight in recent seasons, but no angler these days would slaughter such a fish to claim the record, although recent changes to the record lists mean length measurements can now finally be accepted to make a claim. The porbeagle is probably the most widely distributed member of the larger…

FLY LINE & LEADER - SNOWBEE SPECTRE PRO BIG FLY LINES - FLOATING AND MID SINK Coming in three options, Floating, Mid Sink and Fast Sink, we can recommend the first two options for bass. These lines give you the ability to cast big lures, achieving the maximum distance possible. All with reliable ease, control and ultimately presentation. ■ RRP £90 Jon says, "I mainly use floating or intermediate lines. I rarely need fast-sinking lines unless I’m targeting wrasse. I always use a fluorocarbon leader for its low visibility and abrasion resistance, with a short 3–4ft fluorocarbon tippet." REEL - SNOWBEE XS #7/9 SALMON/SALTWATER FLY REEL Sealed, so saltwater can’t get in to corrode the insides, the XS is a highly rated option when targeting bass around the UK coastline,…

SEPTEMBER • 20: Southern League round 10 of 12 & open, Hayling, 09.00-14.00, pegged, measure & return, £15 match entry, £5 pools, £10 pair, league entry £25, booking ends one hour before start, book only, Darren 07919 073232, Mike 07983 579596, Ian 07736 004714 or Ant 07775 691916. Nick: southernleagueandopens@gmail.com • 20: Skegness Pier Angling Club Sandilands National Trust, Sandilands, Lincs, 16:30 till 20:30 Sandilands National Trust car park, Booking in from 15:00 Pegged £10 Entry Russ Parsons 07385 150259 russinskeg@gmail.com • 20: Loch Ryan Sea Angling Association Open 2025, registration from 1300pm Commercial Inn Stranraer DG9 7JY, contact Gavin McCrae 07719 668586 or Mark Dewar on 07952 510250, or on their Facebook group, l Loch Ryan Sea Angling Association • 20: Scarborough Angling Festival 2025, Times 2-6pm weigh in…

When I first decided I was going to try saltwater flyfishing, after decades of bait and lure fishing, the whole thing was a complete mystery. The terminology might as well have been in Martian, and even the core concept seemed at odds with a saltwater environment. I mean, ‘fly’, how did that work? I sort of understood chucking a pretend insect at a hungry trout; that’s logical, but bass don’t eat insects. Of course, I soon realised I was taking the word ‘fly’ a bit too literally. ‘Fly’, when applied to this method of fishing, refers basically to a lure designed to mimic the natural prey of a fish and engage its predatory instincts to entice a take. They’re generally made from a combination of lightweight materials which might include…

Salinity simply means the amount, or percentage, of salts present within water. It’s not something many sea anglers give much thought to, but at certain times salinity levels have a major effect on our fishing. You don’t need to be a scientist to understand it, just aware of a few indicators that will help you maintain catches when salinity levels are lower than normal. Estuaries are our best example of where salinity levels regularly fluctuate. Seawater, due to the dissolved salts present, is denser than freshwater. This sees the freshwater float on top of the seawater. Although it’s influenced by many factors such as tidal range – an estuary’s specific shape, wind speed and direction, and the amount of freshwater discharge – the freshwater on top flows seawards with the…

Fishing a live sandeel for bass is one of the most rewarding angling experiences any UK sea angler can have. Regardless of how many times you try this most exciting and deadly effective technique, the thrill you get when you feel a bass grab your bait never fades. If conditions allow, and often they will, you will be using the lightest of tackle, and almost always you’ll be fishing off some of the most scenically beautiful stretches of coastline in the country: bass don’t live in ugly places. When hooked, a bass will always give its all until its in the mesh of the landing net. Fishing a live sandeel is probably one of the most established and well-known methods that there is for catching bass. It is a technique…

One of the most memorable shore-based bass trips I’ve experienced here in South Wales, was when I fished with local guide John George. It was a hot and sunny day and we had driven out to remote Whiteford Point on the north Gower coast, me riding pillion on his quad bike. You might say that it was a case of ’Easy Rider meets Mr Crabtree’! On arrival at this iconic landmark in the centre of the Lougher Estuary we had found what at first looked like absolutely textbook perfect conditions for our planned session: fishing plugs for bass over the shallow reef adjacent to the old lighthouse. Yet despite the area being full of visibly feeding fish, we could see them swimming everywhere around us, catching them proved to be…

Have you ever been fishing and had a problem with one of your reels? I know I have, on more than one occasion. Sometimes you’re on a boat and the skipper or owner has a toolkit onboard, but more often than not you’ll be on a beach somewhere, or maybe even abroad, with no access to tools. That’s where this M.100X tool from Tactica comes into its own. Right off the bat, you can purchase the M.100 Multitool on its own for £39.95, which comes supplied with a single Phillips 1/4in tool bit, but for just £54.95 you can buy the M.100X kit that I have here, which comes supplied with an additional 12 very high quality bits, including Allen keys, Phillips, Flathead and TORX heads. The entire kit is…

I guess you sometimes don’t know, appreciate or even choose to ignore what’s on your own doorstep at times. I live in Paisley in the central belt of Scotland which is handy for the shops and infrastructure but not terribly convenient for coastal fishing. Of course, the Clyde – which is tidal –winds its way from Glasgow via Greenock and Wemyss bay and out to sea. However, that’s not a particularly challenging nor plentiful area unless you’re after mini species or summer mackerel, and I don’t know about you, but fishing in an urban environment has never really appealed to me that much. I had met a bunch of Ayrshire lads last summer when we bumped into each other down in the south west of the country. We were fishing…

If you read either of my previous two features on bass fishing on the Broads you will know that after moving to Norfolk in 2022, I decided to dedicate my efforts to target bass on the river systems of the Norfolk Broads, beginning in July 2023. I have always been a bass fishing fanatic, but these stunning fish are taking my obsession to another level! So much so that I have changed my working life so I can spend more time learning about these fish. As I write this (early August 2025) I have only caught 40 Broads bass over 42cm. By comparison, this time last year I had caught over 70. I have, however, caught some cracking bass; the seven best so far have been two 6lb 4oz, two…

Ian Ainsley, Seaham FISH: 8lb 9oz cod BAIT: Peeler crab VENUE: Newton, Northumberland DATE: 24/08/25 Ian Clapp FISH: 9lb 4oz bonito BAIT: Fiiish Black Minnow VENUE: North Devon DATE: 24/08/25 Adrian Jerskowski, Leicester FISH: 21lb cod BAIT: Baited gummies VENUE: Cullivoe, Shetland DATE: 25/08/25 John Booth, Plymouth FISH: 80lb blue shark BAIT: Whiting VENUE: Out of Newlyn DATE: 02/08/25 Antony Abbott, Leicester FISH: 9lb cod BAIT: Daylight lures VENUE: Alnmouth, Northumberland DATE: 17/08/25 Ashley Butcher, Leicester FISH: 110lb flapper skate BAIT: Baited gummies VENUE: Cullivoe, Shetland DATE: 25/08/25 Will Smith, Leicester FISH: 15lb 5oz ling BAIT: Baited gummies VENUE: Cullivoe, Shetland DATE: 25/08/25 Jeff Lygo, Leicester FISH: 10lb 5oz plaice BAIT: Baited gummies VENUE: Cullivoe, Shetland DATE: 25/08/25 David Holman, Swindon FISH: 13lb 4oz turbot BAIT: Mackerel VENUE: Fishing out…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address CHRIS KENNEDY Chris is a specimen hunting specialist based on Sark and answers shore fishing questions. DAVID MITCHELL David is Sea Angler’s editor and is an expert on sea angling policy and conservation. BEN BASSETT The Plymouth angler and blogger will provide answers on the sport of light rock fishing (LRF), the go-anywhere tactic. DAVE LEWIS Based in Newport, South Wales, our contributing editor Dave answers boat fishing questions. DANNY PARKINS Southwest based Danny has worked within the angling trade for 20 years, as well as guiding anglers. BRIAN PASK Brian is a qualified sea angling coach and casting tutor who works with young people and experienced anglers to improve their fishing skills. SHORE ANGLING…

XTRATUF LEGACY WOMEN'S BOOT With 75 years of experience, Xtratuf knows how to make practical, stylish shoes for all outdoor pursuits, including fishing. But it’s not just for the men as the company has expanded its women’s Legacy Boot line with two new colours, Marine Blue and Sahara, as well as an all-new ankle-height style. Built with triple-dipped latex neoprene, these boots are 100 per cent waterproof and resistant to common contaminants, acids and chemicals. Despite being tough they are soft, pliable and provide great grip in the wet. What is even better, is that the company have partnered with the RNLI for the second year in a row, gifting lifeguards with essential footwear and donating £1 from every lifestyle range product sold. ■ Available at www.xtratuf.co.uk■ RRP £104 -…

It’s starting to get serious. There is a distinct lack of mackerel off the East Sussex coast, and this is affecting all the other species that follow the shoals during the summer. Ross and I were prepared that we may struggle to find any as we had already failed on a recent trip – thankfully taking plenty of squid and some frozen lugworm with us just in case. However, this time we were quietly confident we would get a few strings for bait. As it happened the feathers were out all day and we didn’t have a single one. This left us with the option to go for black bream using the squid. It didn’t work out well: we hit a shoal of small pout and kept these for something…