Innehållsförteckning för Issue 531 från Sea Angler

WELL DONE TO ALL THOSE SEA anglers who took part in the protest against the 2016 bass regulations. Our contributor Henry Gilbey was in Camborne, Cornwall, on April 9 to join those who had sought to make their views known to Fisheries Minister George Eustice. Such a shame then that Mr Eustice had another engagement and failed to show up, although he had notified the protest organisers in advance. For those unaware of the regulations, sea anglers must return all bass caught in the first six months of 2016 and can keep one a day from July. While the protest is a first small step by the sea angling community, I can’t help thinking that, firstly, any event organised by the commercial fishing industry’s lobbyists would have mobilised many hundreds,…

SMOOTHHOUNDS ARE A SPECIES that never really made it on to my angling radar until the 1980s, which I think is true for many other Welsh sea anglers of my generation. The first time I really took notice of the species was after reading an article by the late John Darling, who had travelled to Aberthaw and caught some impressive hounds. Previously, nobody had ever spoke about smoothies, but all of a sudden they became the species to catch. Was this a case of the fish initially not being there and then starting to appear? Or were they there all of the time? I asked Clive Vedmore, manager of Garry Evans tackle shop in Newport, who has been actively fishing the South Wales shoreline for much longer than he would…

GETTING THERE From Exeter, take the A38 and A380 before joining the A3022 to Brixham. Berry Head is well signposted from Brixham and there is a large pay car  park at the entrance to what is designated a Country Park. Blue Badge holders are permitted to drive down to the quarry floor. TACKLE SHOP. • Brixham Bait & Tackle, 10 The Quay, Brixham TQ5 8AW, tel: 01803 853390. Open seven days a week from 8am. Full selection of fresh baits. Ordering is advised. LOCAL CLUB • Brixham SAC has magnificent premises in Caster Road and offers visiting anglers temporary membership. Wall displays include the 133lb 4oz World and British conger record, caught by Vic Evans, and other memorabilia. DID YOU KNOW? • During the era of the Napoleonic wars Berry…

BY NOW I GUESS EVERYONE KNOWS about the changes regarding the regulations surrounding bass fishing. Like most sea anglers, I simply want to go fishing without worrying about politics and restrictions on what I should do, but, like it or not, these matters affect us all. Just to summarise, for the first six months of 2016 we have to return any bass that we catch, and from July 1 there will be a one fish daily limit. Even without these restrictions, it is clear that recreational sea angling is already by far the most sustainable approach to taking bass. In addition to the fact that we catch one fish at a time, taking them on hook and line allows us to be selective about which fish we choose to keep.…

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…

WHAT would happen if you were to remove one of the vital parts of the fixed-spool reel, such as the drag? It seems like a crazy suggestion – or does it? We have never really seen a drastic change in the design of fixed spools. While an increase in technology has seen these reels come on leaps and bounds in terms of performance and, thankfully, stopped them from being viewed as only beginner-worthy coffee grinders, the overall concept of the design has stayed the same. When was the last time beach anglers, especially those who fish matches, used the drag for anything other than threading line through the eyes. Not very often is my answer. In fact, I can’t remember! I only use the drag when targeting big fish like…

KNOWN AS SUNNY RHYL, THIS popular North Wales tourist town has undergone major redevelopment, especially on the sea front. It is also home to charter skipper Tony Parry and his 33ft Cyfish boat Jensen. A charter skipper for 26 years and a keen angler since boyhood (when he gets time!), Tony can often be found fishing his local shoreline for bass, plaice, flounders and winter codling. Charter fishing is a family affair too, as his son, Simon, works his own boat, Suveran, also from Rhyl Marina. To see for myself how the modern Rhyl is fishing, I jumped aboard Jensen for a day with a group from Milnrow SAC, whose membership is mainly drawn from the Manchester and Rochdale area. Founded in 1976, the club has gone from strength to…

1 The first step in booking a charter trip should be to decide the species you would like to target. Then contact a few skippers at the port you intend fishing from to determine the optimum time of year to fish, along with suitable tides. Remember that the best charter boats always get booked up first, often as much as a year in advance for peak season, so early enquiries are recommended. 2 If you have a specific date in mind for your trip, once again, contact the skipper as early as you possibly can, only this time ask his advice for the best fishing options available on that day. 3 When you speak to a skipper, establish the duration and the full cost of the trip at the earliest…

AGREEING TO HOST A BAIT VERSUS lure day on my charter boat in Ireland sounded like a good challenge, but never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate what would happen next. The words ‘fish of a lifetime’ can get thrown into angling stories almost at will, but in this instance it was no idle boast. It all started after I moved to Ireland last year and was asked to host the boat fishing during Sea Angler’s visit to West Cork. Besides the magazine’s features editor Paul Fenech, the team to fish on my boat consisted of modern lure fishing duo Adam Kirby and Dan Sissons, and Tronixpro boss and lure fishing expert, George Cunningham. After a debate in the pub on the first evening about bait versus lure, it…

IN MANY AREAS AROUND THE COAST, DECENT concrete slipways offering public access to launch and retrieve private boats are rarities. At times it can seem that this is especially the case in those areas that offer the best angling opportunities, meaning that dinghy anglers are often forced to launch from a beach. With practice, beach launching is a straightforward procedure, without the hustle and bustle and tidal restraints associated with most concrete slipways. Beach launching can be more relaxing. At busy times you will not be forced to queue to launch or recover. Nor do you have to keep an eye on the time when fishing so as not to miss your last recovery time at a launch ramp, most of which are available either side of high water. In…

I HAVE HEARD IT SAID BY SOME ANGLERS that the one thing that stops them from going kayak fishing on their own is the hassle of loading and unloading a kayak from the roof of a car. I thought it would be safety concerns that would keep more ashore, but it turns out the risk of slipping a disc is more of a deterrent. Granted, a 16ft kayak that weighs up to 80lb can be a struggle to load on to the roof of a car, particularly with a strong cross wind, but there is a far easier method for loading and unloading your vessel. Some anglers will have a kayak trolley, which is really handy for transporting the kayak long distances to a launch point. It is actually an…

FENIX HL55 HEADLAMP RRP £49.99 THERE IS NO ESCAPING THE BIG advances in lighting technology over the last decade. The birth of high power LEDs, which have made traditional halogen bulbs all but redundant, has made a huge impact on those of us who enjoy fishing in darkness. Modern units can run for hours and offer a brilliant, crisp light that can illuminate the coast more than 100 metres away if required. The cost has come down considerably too. With many examples from China on the market for just a few pounds, it can be a real task to sort the wheat from the chaff. Power is not the be all and end all of a headlamp, and I reckon brightness remains the primary concern, while there are some manufacturers…

THE ORACLE ANGLER PADDLE RRP: APPROX £180 THERE IS A COMMONMISCONCEPTION that it makes sense to buy the best kayaking gear and that the paddle should just be an afterthought. However, a day’s kayak fishing could potentially mean that the paddler makes more than 10,000 strokes, which makes you realise how integral a paddle is to your kayak fishing enjoyment. The Oracle Angler paddle by Adventure Technologies is an excellent option. It features a straight shaft and is available in a range of lengths. Made from carbon, it is both light and strong and features an option of adjusting for an extra 10cm in length. With kayak seating options ranging from low to high, the extra 10cm is a great help for the higher seating option. The design of the…

• Stephen White caught this 14lb 8oz undulate ray during a club event at Gilkicker, Gosport, Hants. He used a size 3/0 hook baited with sandeel and mackerel. The angler, from Southampton, caught it during an Elmore AC event on March 26. • Carl Watts, from South Wales, boated this 27lb ling on a squid bait at an offshore wreck. He was aboard Daniel Clarke’s charter boat Fins-Up, out of Weymouth, Dorset. • John Knott, of Plymouth, caught this coalfish on the charter boat Tamesis, skippered by Roy Stevens out from Plymouth, Devon. Using Sidewinder lures close to the Eddystone, the charter party also had cod to 20lb and pollack to 18lb.…

• Gosport angler Steve Young beached this undulate ray, estimated to weigh 15-20lb, on a sandeel and squid wrap on April 2 at Gilkicker, Gosport, Hampshire. • Matthew Todd, of Winchester, Hants, landed his first black bream of 2016 on April 8 while fishing an inshore trip out of Poole, Dorset. He was aboard True Blue, skippered by Steve Porter, when he caught the 2lb 2oz fish, which was returned. He fished a flowing trace with size 4 hook on a 3ft, 15lb snood. • John Ball, of Oxford, added a 14lb bass to his catch list while fishing from the Dorset charter boat San Gina II, skippered by Tom Greasty out of Swanage. The fish took a small squid/ragworm bait presented on a size 1/0 hook.…

Glasgow’s popular Fishing Megastore will be opening a new store in Edinburgh this summer. The new Edinburgh Angling Centre will be packed with the same huge range of fishing tackle, clothing and accessories that you find in the Glasgow premises. Located in the Granton Central Retail Park, 65 West Harbour Road, Granton, the new store will have free parking for at least 150 cars. There will be a click and collect service, as well as all the other features that have made the Fishing Megastore brand a success. A knowledgeable team of staff will be on hand to give advice on tackle.…

WEYMOUTH ANGLING CENTRE FLATFISH OPEN Chesil Beach, Dorset, 148 anglers Penn Plus event Result: 1 Dai Loder, Newport, 4 fish, 135cm (14 Penn pts); 2 Matt Chappell, Bristol, 4, 127cm (13); 3 Saul Page, Deal, 3, 117cm (12); 4 Malcolm Stote, Lymington, 3, 111cm (11); 5 Wayne Perrett, Eastleigh, 3, 106cm (10); 6 Colin Erscott, Weymouth, 3, 103cm (9); 7 Toby Oldfield, Christchurch, 3, 101cm (8); 8 Tom Wartnaby, Christchurch, 3, 99cm (7); 9 Dan Mogridge, Fareham, 3, 95cm (6); 10 Andrew Proudfoot, 3, 92cm (5). JUST DAYS LEADING UP TO THIS EVENT, conditions were favourable as a flat calm sea saw anglers bagging plenty of large plaice. With the wind swinging to an easterly direction prior to the match, the clear water became coloured, making the event much more…

With three anglers in the top 12 from a maximum 20 matches, West Bay SAC’s A team made sure of victory in the 2015/16 Penn Clubman. The Dorset team of four collected 172 points from 20 matches to win the team league. The quartet consisted of Ollie Mears, who finished fourth in the Clubman’s individual league, PJ Wheeler, Simon Bowditch and Craig Horton. Victory earns the team £1,000 worth of tackle from event sponsor, Penn. West Bay’s win comes after six years of entering teams and follows the bitter disappointment of just missing out in 2014/15 when, due to having less than 10 anglers fishing the club’s last two matches, they added no further points. “It just proves that if you persevere then you can eventually succeed,” said Dave Cornick,…

SINCE ALL BASS CAUGHT BY recreational anglers need to be returned in the first six months of this year, many will be faced with the task of returning fish. My approach has been modified over the years to give me the greatest chance of ensuring that those I return will survive. When beach fishing for bass I always hold my rod, which allows me to strike at the first indication of a bite. As a result, more than 90 per cent of my shore-caught bass are lip-hooked. However, I have heard positive things about fishing big baits on circle hooks and not reacting to the bite; striking with circle hooks is unnecessary. An angler called Billy Bantock has videos on YouTube showing catching and unhooking fish. Check out the footage…

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING special about trips to the magical Purbeck coastline, and the arrival of spring sees me in the starting blocks just itching to don my hiking boots. Careful consideration is vital when selecting any successful early-season trip to this part of Dorset’s coastline because the better ballan wrasse often hang out in the deeper gullies, with a good thump required. As soon as the water temperature starts to rise, though, they will be caught almost under your feet. Scanning back through my records, I decided to try the main quarry at Hedbury, or Cannon Cove as it is called locally because of the old cannon nestling in its midst, as it also offers several options. It is not the easiest mark to locate; whichever way it is…

“Slack water behind the pilings is a great place to find fish that intercept prey” IN ITS HEYDAY THE CLYDE WAS A tremendous place to fish, with huge bags of cod, haddock and flatties taken during angling matches. Its decline as a commercial fishing area is well documented, but there is still plenty of fun angling from the banks of this famous waterway. With anything from mini species, such as gobies, blennies, corkwing and goldsinney wrasse, dragonets, to flatfish, codling, pollack, coalfish and ballan wrasse, there are numerous species to target with ultra-light lure gear. CLASSIC MARK I teamed up with Scottish international shore angler Billy Buckley to sample some of the spring fishing. We fished from high water down, starting close to Erskine Bridge. A classic estuary mark, it…

The first thing to realise is that, assuming no one is going to stop fishing altogether, we will inevitably, try as we might to avoid them, catch some bass before the end of June. Ideally, every effort should be made to reduce any injury to the fish resulting from them being hooked and landed, and we ought to return them to the sea as soon as possible and in good nick. Bass are reasonably tough (thousands have been successfully tagged and released) so this should be easily possible. If we’re going to fish with lures for pollack, mackerel, scad, garfish, coalfish and wrasse, we should try to ensure that any accidentally caught bass suffer minimal damage. The best way to do this is to avoid using plugs, spoons or wedges…

Write to: Sea Angler Mailbox, Media House, Lynchwood Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Email: cliff.brown@bauermedia.co.uk ARE FISH DISORIENTATED? I noticed two letters in different issues of Sea Angler on lesser-spotted dogfish being found discarded or washed up on the beach. I believe some of these fish could get disorientated. I’ve seen unwanted fish returned to the sea at the end of a match when anglers tip the bucket of dogfish into the sea and hope they will swim away. Dogfish will swim in circles trying to get their bearings, by which time a wave has caught them and pushed them back on the shoreline. As a result they end up struggling to get back into the sea. It might sound barbaric, but I believe the best thing to do…

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: Why are black and green beads so popular as attractors for plaice? JOSH WHITE, BY EMAIL PF says: Flatfish like plaice are generally found hunting around…

THE WRECK LOOMED CLEARLY ON the boat’s sounder and we could see it was smothered in a dense cloud of fish. With high anticipation, the crew lowered their lures down through 160ft of water to the rusting hulk, and started to retrieve them through the water column . Soon, almost all of the seven rods fishing bent into hefty fish. The next drift was just as productive, as was the next, along with almost every drift we made over that wreck. Sport eased a little over slack water, but when the skipper suggested a switch to small rubber shads, once again it was bent rods all around. We kept on catching fish right up to and including the last drift, and then headed back across a flat calm sea to…

GO BACK 30 YEARS AND THERE WERE only half-a-dozen line manufacturers in the world, but as technology has advanced the number of brands has exploded. There are so many types of line available to anglers these days that it can be very confusing when it comes to choosing the right one for the job. You really don’t need to overcomplicate things, though, and if you follow a few simple rules you will have no problems. Hopefully this guide will help you decide what type of line you need to suit your fishing. MONOFILAMENT LINES The most widely used fishing line is mono, and it is also the cheapest. Bulk spools costing as little as £5 are mostly used to fill up reels for uptiding and shallow-water fishing. It’s also used…

“I reckon some companies are using a wooden ruler to check the diameter” IN 200 FEET OF WATER ON A MODERATE TIDE, a 200g jig goes down and fishes very well. It’s what we’ve done in the past, but now anglers have been able to obtain the asymmetrical slow jigs that twist, turn, flutter and lay on their sides. These ingenious lures have given cause for a re-think in the way we are doing things. For many years the standard for me when fishing speed jigs over deep-water wrecks was a 20lb braid with a diameter of 0.22-0.25mm. That was, more than likely, 25lb breaking strain or maybe more, which is why it was so tough to break out when hitched into the bottom. Fresh thinking led to the idea…

“The cockpit is large enough for up to four anglers to fish in an environment that is both comfortable and safe” THE NEW 730 ARVOR BY Quicksilver will appeal to experienced sea anglers, especially those seeking a well-designed, substantially built and highly practical fishing boat that is capable of working well offshore. Over the years I have taken a considerable number of Arvor angling boats out on sea trials, and spent numerous days fishing aboard others, and I always come away impressed with their practical layout and sea-keeping qualities. If ever I have found anything to criticise, then it has been that the finish and attention to detail in some areas has been somewhat basic and, occasionally, less than expected. Within minutes of stepping aboard the new 730 Arvor, however,…

VISION IKON BREATHABLE CHEST WADERS IF YOU FISH OVER ROCKY, SLIPPERY ground and you feel the need to wear lightweight, breathable chest waders, then I am sure you know all about how waders simply don’t last that long. Bearing in mind that most of these breathable waders are made for the freshwater fly-fishing market though, it is perhaps understandable how they don’t tend to stand up particularly well to what we like to put them through. Frustrating I know, but for many lure anglers especially, a pair of breathable chest waders is as important as a rod and reel – and the best ones I have used over the last couple of years are the Vision Ikon chest waders. VALUE FOR MONEY I wish I could tell you that they…

I’VE BEEN AROUND FOR A FAIR FEW YEARS on the sea fishing scene, and during the past three decades I’ve been witness to a number of so-called ‘miracle’ bait additives, all of which have claimed to give you the edge and increase catch rates. All of these wonder baits were claimed to have had hundreds of thousands of pounds invested in development. I don’t doubt any of those claims, but let’s stop and think ‘where are they now?’ Many failed dismally in the UK. The main problem? I think the fact that the aforementioned baits and additives were developed in Japan or America goes a long way to explaining why they didn’t work here. So what’s different about Kvalvik? SCEPTICAL TO START Having seen so many come and go over…

• Paignton SAA member Gordon Richards set a new boat-caught club record when he bagged a 17lb 8oz 12dr spurdog. He caught it on April 12 using a fresh herring mounted on a size 5/0 Sakuma Manta hook. The previous best was 15lb 11oz 10dr. Gordon was fishing at the Skerries banks off Dartmouth with his friend Ross Stewart. • A Kent angler fishing with a 40g Toby lure caught and released a double-figure bass. Paul Collingwood, of Dover, visited nearby Hythe beach on April 3 and hooked the 10-11lb fish two hours before low water. • Curtis Porter, of Chepstow, hooked this estimated 10lb-plus bass on April 9 from Porthcawl, Bridgend, on a whole squid on a Pennell pulley rig. • Rod winners: Six readers have won an Imax…

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. Daniel Crump, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Fish: 53lb conger eel. Bait: Whole mackerel and Bluey. Venue: White Water 3 (Andrew Alsop),…

CHESIL LEAGUE Preston beach, Dorset, 30 anglers Jeff Fisk, of Poole, landed the fish of the match, an 11lb 8oz bass, Measuring 78cm long, he caught it at range on blow lug mounted on a size 4 Kamasan hook. Gale-force winds forced the match to be moved from West Bexington to the reserve venue of Preston beach. Thankfully, the rain disappeared before the match started and the sea flattened as the tide flooded. Species caught included bass, flounders, plaice, pollack, rockling, pouting, whiting, rays, smoothhounds and dogfish. The top three all came from zone B, with Jeff landing nine fish for 317cm. In second spot was Ian Dancey, Portsmouth, with 11 fish for 312cm, and third was Ben Arnold, Brighton, with 13 for 275cm. Chris Read, won zone A with…

LONG QUARRY POINT Location: under Walls Hill, Torquay. Access: difficult. Best fish: former British record electric ray of 47lb 8oz. THUNDER HOLE Location: off Meadfoot Drive, Torquay. Access: easy. At the end of the promenade is a walk up and down into the quarry. Best fish: 41lb conger eel. HOPE’S NOSE Location: under Marine Drive, Torquay. Access: easy. Best fish: A 10lb-plus ballan wrasse, but securing it was bungled. NATURAL ARCH Location: Close to Torquay harbour. Access: through a lane near Imperial Hotel. Best fish: former British record conger of 67lb 1oz and 62lb 8oz.…

RECENTLY I WAS HAVING A CHAT with an very competent angler who told me how much he liked his new lure rod. The only problem was after he cast out his various shallow-diving minnows, he couldn’t feel anything when he retrieved them. It made me wonder what the word ‘feel’ actually means, because we use the term almost at random in lure fishing. We’ve all heard phrases like ‘that rod’s got plenty of feel’ or ‘soft plastics are so much about feel’ or ‘I could feel everything going on’ and more besides. So, what is ‘feel’ and what if you don’t ‘feel’ anything going on? Are you are missing out on something very important in lure fishing? I think that the word ‘feel’ is overused. Light rock fishing (LRF) with…

“After a five-minute battle, a cracking fish was beached at the edge of the shingle” TIMES HAVE CHANGED AT Sandwich Bay. This shingle beach venue used to be one of my favourite shore marks for cod fishing, although that seems such a distant memory. During the late 1980s the cod were present in numbers if you fished the correct tides. Some very big fish came close to the shoreline of the bay, located between Ramsgate and Deal on the east coast. What we looked for was high water about 11pm on a six-metre tide. If it was dark at low water the cod moved inshore to feed, but if the bottom of the tide was in daylight the venue failed to deliver the goods. Times have changed though. With the…

PROTECT THE FOOD SOURCE PROTECT THE FOOD SOURCE It does not seem sensible to reduce the taking of bass and not have measures to protect their food source. I suspect seine netting of sandeels is prolific in many parts of the country. Last year I witnessed seine netting for sandeels by five different netters on one beach in seven days. These people were not satisfied by setting their nets once, but did it at least twice. All of these seine netters had travelled up to 20 miles to set their nets. Some were catching for commercial use, others for angling and some for private use. How many other beaches did these netters visit? There seems to be no restriction, except for access to the beaches. There should be by-laws to…

I’ll continue the experiment, using some other baits such as small ragworms or maddies. I’ll try the method at other types of venues such as deeper-water rock marks. I imagine it is a killer technique for wrasse, pollack and other rock-loving fish – anything that is attracted by movement. The method could be upgraded by adding more beads to support a bigger bait. The turbot I caught in 2015 was only about 1lb, but I wonder how the bigger ones would respond to a larger, well-presented and highly mobile bait. Don’t use this method unless you have a couple of metres of water to work with. In very shallow water, the baits fish on the surface and attract the attention of gulls. Steep-to shingle beaches are ideal though. Avoid using…

• BEACH: Tronixpro Centurion Rod, worth £149.99. • LURE: HTO Rockfish Revolution ML 7-28g, HTO Lure Game 3000 reel and HTO Lure Game 20lb Braid, worth a total of £121.97. • 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…

BLACK BREAM ARE THE COMMONEST of several species of bream caught throughout the British Isles. Often found in depths ranging from five metres to 300m, they tend to feed mostly on seaweed and invertebrates. They are an extremely popular species to catch by boat anglers, who appreciate their fighting qualities, while being one of the finest eating fish too. SPECIES The average size of black bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) is probably 1lb to 3lb, but in certain areas much larger specimens are regularly caught. Despite the name, most black bream are generally silver in colour and occasionally will have a dark, slate-grey back and fins tinged with blue. Males are easily identified by a lilac-blue slash across the forehead. Black bream are a protogynous species, which means females have the ability…

GoFree Hooked Fishing App FREE GoFree, part of the Navico family of marine electronics brands including Lowrance and Simrad, has released a new smartphone fishing app. Billed as a ‘mobile tracking solution for anglers, with the capability to record and share every fishing trip’, the GoFree Hooked app automatically saves the time, location and navigation track of each fishing trip. This app features a fast and simple ‘Catch’ function to quickly log fish-catch details like photos, size, weight, species and other information. After you log a catch, you can share these details by text or social media. Another interesting feature allows you to merge GPS navigation data with catch details, providing a clear picture of catch patterns from your fishing trip. All data is stored on secure GoFree cloud servers…

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. This month’s winner: STEVE PORTER • Boat name: TRUE BLUE • Port: Poole, Dorset Gary Rook, of…

“I have been paying greater attention to detail and trying new methods” If there’s one thing that really makes me happy it’s catching a new species of fish. I’m not fussed about catching specimens every time, and I guess the LRF guys will know what I'm talking about. One of those great pleasures is seeing something different; give me a decent rock pool and a handline and I’ll spend the day on any beach. Before kayaking, my part of the coast (Lowestoft, Suffolk) always seemed to be devoid of anything other than whiting, dabs and codling, and maybe a chance encounter with a bass. Once I started using a kayak, a whole range of fishing grounds opened up and, generally, these lay between 200 and 400 yards from the beach.…

HTO LURE GAME 3000 REEL RRP - £39.99 THERE IS AN ARGUMENT THAT YOUR choice of reel does not make any difference to your angling. It is a view that is most often spoken by those who practice the noble art of fly-fishing. In their world, rod and angler must combine effortlessly to create the cast, and a reel is little more than a practical container for an expensive line. In the lure casting world it is a big mistake to think in the same manner. Your reel is at least as important as your rod, and more important than your choice of line. Get your choice of reel right and the experience of casting and retrieving a lure will be a pleasure that brings the reward of hookups on…

WHEN IT COMES to the sensitive side of shore fishing, Spanish rod company Grauvell prides itself on the range of Vertix three-piece Continental shore rods. Not only are they lightweight and easy to handle, they have enough grunt to launch baited rigs a long way, helping you to search out fish in clear water. In association with Grauvell and Veals Mail Order, we’ve got three to give away, whereby a lucky reader will receive either a Vertix Odissey LC-420, Vertix Inspire LC-MT 420 or a Vertix Magic LC-420. THE PRIZES The Vertix Magic has a high carbon construction, with a mixed tip, and comes with a price tag of £149. Fitted with SiC Sea Guides, reel seat and collared sections, it’s rated to cast 3.5oz to 7oz. The Vertix Inspire…

An information campaign is being launched to tackle all forms of illegal fishing. Such illegal activity contributes to overfishing, which undermines attempts to manage fish stocks sustainably and threatens the wider marine environment. The campaign, organised by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) was launched in April in London, with the Angling Trust representing the rights of recreational anglers. Also at the event were representatives from the National Federations of Fishermen’s Organisations, and many regional Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities. The campaign aims to raise public awareness about the law and requirements of the Registered Buyers and Sellers scheme in order to legally buy fish caught from licensed, powered vessels. Illegal fishing includes a variety of activities. At one end of the scale it can consist of enormous quantities of illegal…

Bristol angler Steve Ace has rocked the world record for a shore-caught halibut with a stunning 96lb 8oz fish. The fish, caught on March 25 at Saltstraumen, Norway, has been verified as the second biggest caught, behind the best of 111lb. It was caught during a 22-hour fishing session when Steve and his pal Gary Withy were ready to throw in the towel for the day. With four baits in the water, the ratchet on Gary’s reel wailed, but the fish shed the hook shortly before Steve’s rod hooped over. For 20 minutes the fish went on long and heavy runs but, finally, Gary was able to gaff the fish and the battle was won. Steve and Gary were on a 10-day fishing holiday when the 5ft 6in long fish…

• This colourful three-bearded rockling fell to the rod of Patrick Burke, who comes from County Donegal, in Ireland. The 11-year-old presented a piece of mackerel from a local shore mark. • During his maiden charter trip aboard Chara, skippered by Alan Thorne out of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Jake Moles, from Bristol, bagged this 7lb 4oz thornback ray. The nine-year-old used mackerel on a running leger rig. • This 7lb 12oz thornback fell to Drew Lennie when he fished aboard a private vessel at Loch Seaforth in the Outer Hebrides. The 12-year-old, from the Isle of Harris in the Western Isles, used a wishbone rig with strips of mackerel. • Tyler Ling, from Salisbury, Wiltshire, used a one-up, one-down rig armed with lug and ragworms to beach this pouting.…

The event offers £2,500 worth of Penn tackle, with individual and team prizes. Only 20 competition results count for the Clubman season (May 1, 2015 until March 31, 2016) and all your club events fished count against all members’ scores. Only three results can be entered or count per month. Matches must have 10 competitors. Bonus points are awarded for larger entry events. BLACKDOWN SAC Watchet, 13 anglers, 20/3/16 • Result: 1 Ryan Williams, 4 fish (5pts); 2 Tim Dyke, 4 (4); 3 Simon Lomen, 4 (3); 4 Jim Leyton, 2 (2); 5 Ken Flint, 1 (1). DEAL 1919 AC Deal beach, 14 anglers, 23/3/16 • Result: 1 Ken Withington, 5.50kg (5pts); 2 Louie Smith, 3.45kg (0); 3 Ben Hackett, 3.16kg (3); 4 Steve Hackett, 2.32kg (2); 5 Martin Jenkins,…

MAY • 7: Southern League and open, Milford, 8pm-1am, book in 6pm-7pm, £15 entry, £5 optional pools, Justin 02392 812478, Darren 07919 073232, Nick 07870 922216, Mike 07983 579596 or Ian 07736 004714. • 7: Lincs open, Cleethorpes prom, 4.30pm-8.30pm, measure & release 18cm, book in 2pm-3.30pm at RNLI station, £15 entry, 50 pegs, booking advisable, Garry 07889 271115 or George 07857 550125. • 7-8: Tralee Bay SAC ray tagging open, Tralee Bay rover, 10am-6pm both days, tag & release, check in from 8.30am at West End bar, Fenit, David O’Sullivan 00353 (0)89 2076044. 7-8: UK Ladies Championships, North Norfolk Junior Tournament & The Shannock Quads, Kelling, contact Mike or Tony, see below. • 7: Holt SAC North Norfolk Bass Festival, day 1, Bacton, £15 per day all-in, optional pools,…

WHEN I WALK INTO A TACKLE shop and see the walls festooned with packets of hooks, swivels, lines, lures and so much more, I always think that there are more things on the market to catch anglers than to catch fish. I started sea angling around 1940 – the previous two years had been spent as a game angler, which I started when I was six years of age. In those days there was little or no choice of tackle. My first attempt at sea angling was with a handline. There were no such things as nylon or courlene lines, and it was just a white or brown line that looked like string. My first real rod was a 12ft, three-piece hickory butt with centre and tip greenheart sections. The…