Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Sea Angler

Despite the daytime hustle, the late-night bar fights and discarded pint glasses, the litter and the noise; beneath the diesel slicked surface of the city harbour, there is life. Lots of it. Living in spite of everything humanity throws at them, there are hundreds of species of crustacea, cephalopods, fish and even mammals thriving in our urban waterways. But during the day, that life is often hidden away, trying to stay out of sight and out of mind, waiting for darkness to fall. The exception is in our cities where it is never truly dark. Many species have learned to take advantage of this, and so can the angler. We often associate freshwater canals and rivers with city fishing, but there are over 50 cities that are coastal in the…

WESTIN’S HISTORY The company was started over 70 years ago by Ingvar Westin making handmade lures. Through the years the Scandinavian lure specialist has branched out across rods, nets, luggage, lines and accessories, always with a keen eye for detail and quality. Westin now boast over 220 rods across 42 different models and work closely with Torayca – the world’s leading carbon manufacturer – give access to the very latest technologies. Having built lure rods for the specific species – Powersturgeon, SBASS, Salmon, Zander-Hunter to name a few – and specific techniques – dropshot, predator trolling, jerkbait, super finesse – Westin really are the guys in the know when it comes to expert rod building. The most recent release of their W8 range features the most advanced carbon blends, technologically…

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…

It’s sunrise in the mouth of the River Fal — the UK’s deepest saltwater harbour — and the tension is electric. Twenty-five boats are lined up, bows forward, throttles primed. Crews are shoulder to shoulder, from small private boats to big charter outfits, every angler locked in and ready. The head marshal is now on the radio. The countdown begins. Ten… nine… eight… the rumble of engines builds. Five… four… three… eyes narrow, hands grip tight. Two… one… They’re off! The fleet explodes into motion, spray flying, engines howling as boats tear out into the bay. It’s a flat-out race, every skipper pushing hard for open water. The target? Six of the biggest bluefin tuna they can find over two days. This isn’t just fishing. It’s speed, strategy and raw…

One fish I have never caught in a very long time trying, and I’m not going to mention how many years, is a John Dory. We had to get one sometime on our boat and it was my boat partner Ross who came up with the goods on a recent trip out to a small wreck, around eight miles off Eastbourne. We had got an early start to give ourselves time to locate some mackerel, but that didn’t happen. I’m sure the bluefin tuna must have eaten them all off Devon and Cornwall, or maybe the factory ships have hoovered them all up. Anyway, we decided, without mackerel for bait, to run out to a small wreck and drift sidewinders over it as the tide started to drop off. NO…

We bass anglers show unreasonable affection for the fish we pursue. Post a snapshot of a well-conditioned specimen and the response is what you’d expect if it was a picture of a cute kitten or a Hollywood star in a swimsuit. Mention inshore gill netters and people react as if you were talking about genocidal warlords. And how often do you see a grip-and-grin selfie featuring a kiss to bid the bass good speed before it’s released? So why do we fall in love? In several respects bass aren’t altogether heart stopper. First, they certainly aren’t the hardest fighting fish in the sea. Pound for pound I’d say a gilthead bream, a mackerel or a pollack puts up a much harder tussle. Second, and in spite of what’s written by…

There’s something about wrasse fishing that gets under your skin. It got under mine, anyway. It’s not about chasing records or ticking off venues – it’s the simple, honest pull of a fish that’s built for rough ground and wild weather. They’re not finicky fish either, and they can be quite obliging on a range of baits and tactics, but I’ve found you have to have something of a no-nonsense approach when successfully fishing for bigger ballans; so that’s how I’ll suggest you approach it too! THE FISH, AND WHY THEY MATTER Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) are the heavyweight wrasse, the undoubted rock-monsters of our shores. Thick-set, beak-lipped and unmistakably tough, they’re made for life among kelp and boulders. They’re slow growers, with some fish taking decades to reach specimen…

The tide is both your friend and enemy. Mostly, the beach is hidden by the tide, but for an hour or so either side of low water during a spring tide all its secrets are visually revealed. This is the time to leave the rods at home and just walk the beach. Make a note on your phone of anything that sees an obvious change of ground format. On shallow, sandy surf beaches at the mean low water line, you’ll often find a ridge or step of lifting sand but on the seaward side it will be uniformly flat and rippled. This lip is obvious but might only be 6-inches to 12-inches high. It’s caused by the surf line being concentrated here and eating away at the sand while the…

I have worked with numerous tackle companies over the years, and there are always occasions when a fishing rod suddenly breaks for no apparent reason. Sometimes things go wrong with the manufacturing and transport processes, and especially with what can be relatively fragile, high-tech lengths of wrapped carbon. However, I am going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest: when did an angler ever admit that it was their fault when their fishing rod broke? “The fish was so big the rod snapped”; “I only cast a 12g lure on a 35g rated rod”; “it broke on the waggle”; “all I was doing was gently pulling my lure out of the weed”, and so on. You know the score as well as I do, and…

Coalfish are one of the hardest fighting species of fish an angler can target off the coast of the British Isles, especially when caught on light tackle. Depending on location, the average size of coalfish caught is small, probably between 1-3lb, but in some areas such as deep water wrecks and reefs, double figure specimens are regularly caught. Fish to over 20lb and even 30lb are commonly caught in both Iceland and Norway. The current British boat caught record for coalfish stands at 35lb 5oz, a stunning fish caught off a wreck near the famous Eddystone Reef in 1986. The shore caught record weighed 24lb 11oz 12dr. This equally commendable fish was caught off Filey Brigg in Yorkshire in 1995. Coalfish are widely distributed throughout the North Atlantic. Their range…

This issue’s diary piece is a real adventure. It is the story of the first of several long-range kayak trips I made with a small group of hardcore and hugely experienced kayak anglers based in South Wales. Not content with the fabulous inshore fishing they had enjoyed fishing off the South Wales coast for many years, these lads set their sights on the distant horizon and beyond. Their plan was to catch some of the largest and hardest fighting fish that swim in the seas around the British Isles. To say that the ride out to the fishing grounds, over 30 miles offshore, was uncomfortable would a gross understatement. Lady Jue 5 is a fine, well-built and extremely seaworthy craft, but the remnants of the previous evening’s weather front had…

OCTOBER • 11: West Bay SAC Jurassic League round 10 of 12, Preston, 6.00pm-11.00pm, measure and release to SAMF chart for all species. Fish may be kept for the table or for bait but must be marked by snipping the tail after it has been recorded. No crab, including cart, whites or maddies. Pre-book only, Dean Francis 07583 233251, Richard Daw: westbaysac@outlook.com • 11: Gerry’s Sea League 13 of 15 Greenodd fishing 12.30 - 4.30pm, Book on at car park 11am, £20 Pre book only 15cm min size, Hutch 07547 633288 or Tony 07702 229015 • 12: South Wales Sea Anglers Open Cardiff Foreshore, Rob Cole 07792 456428 • 12: NWASAC Town hall & Maddocks bank LW 7:30am- 11:30am book on from 6am Contact Danny Parker, danielparker096@gmail.com • 17: Fishon…

By now you may have taken onboard last month’s instalment of this series where I revealed why the right kind of practice is an essential element of becoming a top angler: finding your weakest link and focusing on practicing what you find most challenging is key in your quest for angling immortality; however, to quote former US Secretary of State for Defence Donald Rumsfeld’s famously mocked phrase, this doesn’t do much to help you identify or practice your “unknown unknowns”. These are the things we don’t know that we don’t know! In order to master anything – and this applies to sea angling as much as it does to breeding Rottweilers or playing the jazz flute – you must find a way of assessing what you are doing, why, and…

Jon Billet FISH: 2lb red mullet BAIT: Ragworm VENUE: Out of Newlyn aboard Unleashed Charters Gaz Hopkins FISH: 170lb skate BAIT: Mackerel and squid VENUE: Scottish Highlands DATE: 6/9/25 John Smith FISH: 168lb female common skate BAIT: Mackerel VENUE: Loch Eil, Scotland DATE: 6/9/25 Oli Edwards, Weston Super Mare FISH: 3lb 3oz Dover sole BAIT: Ragworm VENUE: Bristol Channel DATE: 11/9/25 David McInnes FISH: 25lb cod BAIT: Baited Gummie VENUE: Cullivoe, Shetland DATE: 5/9/25 Stewart Walker, Paisley FISH: 25lb ling BAIT: Coalfish VENUE: Cullivoe Yell, Shetland DATE: 6/9/25 Sam Walsh FISH: 7lb 4oz cod BAIT: Lugworm and squid VENUE: Bognor Regis DATE: 19/9/25 Chris Carter FISH: 9lb Couch’s bream BAIT: Squid VENUE: Out of Newlyn aboard Unleashed Charters Matt Elmy, Chelmsford FISH: 7lb 13oz thin lip mullet BAIT: Red flexi…

It’s thanks to many of you that we know so much about the fish that swim in our seas: for many species angling is an invaluable tool to allow scientists to gather data on fish biology, spawning, aggregations and migration, providing fisheries managers with information they wouldn’t otherwise have on how to manage and conserve stocks. No more so is this true than with catch & release fishing of common or flapper skate – species once widespread around the whole of the UK but now confined to the north western extremities of the UK and Ireland where deep water and a lack of commercial fishing pressure have given them refuge. It turns out that individual skates, like whales, orcas and some sharks, can be identified by their unique markings and…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address CHRIS KENNEDYBARNARD 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…