Innehållsförteckning för Issue 608 från Sea Angler

Fifty years ago this month the first issue of Sea Angler went on sale. How things have changed since then, and how some things have remained very much the same. Remarkably, two of our current contributors, Mike Millman and John Holden, were contributors to Sea Angler almost from the start in 1972. Their combined body of knowledge is immense and it’s a great pleasure to have some great features from them in the 50th anniversary section of this issue. I’m sure they will take many of you down memory lane and the ‘good old days’. For those of you less interested in looking back, and more focused on your fishing today, we’ve got another packed issue with advice from experts such as mike Thrussell teaching us how to read the…

Mostyn is on the south bank of the Dee Estuary and is famous for the Mostyn Fun Ship which was formerly the TSS Duke of Lancaster steam passenger ferry working several UK to Ireland routes. It is a dominant beached landmark looking north. Between the Fun Ship to the east and the works at Mostyn Quay to the west lies a long rubble-banked sea wall that gives access to one of the main Dee Estuary channels. This section is also used for competition fishing occasionally. SPECIES From October to February expect numbers of whiting (especially at night) as well as dabs, flounder, dogfish, occasional bass, and small codling. Conger can show at the base of the channel where the rubble meets sand. There’s also the odd thornback ray. Plaice show…

GETTING THERE From the M20, turn off the final junction for Folkestone and follow the signs for the harbour. Go past the Grand Burstin Hotel and bear left past the entrance to the pier and follow the road to a dead end and the Victorian water lifts. Here you will find a large pay and display car park. There is plenty of B&B accommodation and the Grand Burstin Hotel has offers at this time of the year. TACKLE SHOPS ■ Folkestone Angling, 121 Tontine St, Folkestone, CT20 1JU, tel: 01303 253881.…

The dominant feature of this two-mile stretch of rock-bound coast at the south-east tip of Cornwall is the towering headland of Rame topped by a 12th century chapel. Fishing is from its south facing front that has a mix of gullies stretching out some distance but only uncovered at low water. It is interspersed by flat areas of rock that give a good foot hold. There is a danger if you fail to keep a wary eye when the tide fills a deep gully to the rear of the forward area being fished. Failure to be fully aware of what is happening could result in either wading through chest-high water or having to swim for it – the tackle being sacrificed until the next low water. It has happened! SPECIES…

Over the last few years, I’ve been visiting Norway sampling the delights of the shore fishing that this country has to offer; believe me, it’s a sea angler’s paradise. I mainly stay at Skarnsundet Fjordsenter as a guest of Phil Dale. Over the time we have spoken of our passion for plaice fishing; being brought up so close to the muddy banks of the River Thames I have a love for all flatfish, but plaice are my favourite. Phil and I have been talking since before last Christmas about the expectations of›spring and the local plaice fishing. Phil has been putting a lot of time and effort into finding new plaice holding areas from the shore around Skarnsundet and the local ›ords, studying local sea charts to find holding areas.…

My first front cover was of Rodney White with a wreck pollack of 19lb published in 1974, and with its sister publication a further 115 covers were to follow. The emergence of the Decca Navigator in the mid 1960s led to catches previously unimagined and a constant rewriting of the British Record List. Boat category record fish statistics show just three per cent of the skippers engaged in the charter boat industry provided anglers with the opportunity to set a UK record. Those operating in the waters of the south west were the most successful and, as the catch history shows, the late 1960s to the late 1980s were the most productive periods for conger, coalfish, pollack and ling. However, the list does not take into account a very considerable…

GETTING THERE To get to Oxwich Bay follow the main South Gower road, the A4118, in a westerly direction towards Port Eynon from Swansea. The beach is clearly sign posted. Take note of the gate locking times, you don’t want to get trapped inside! For more information on fishing at Oxwich Bay or at any other marks off Gower contact Mainwarings Tackle in Swansea on Tel: 01792 202245. TACKLE SHOPS ■ Country Stores in Gowerton Tel: 01792 875050. ■ Anglers Corner, Llanelli Tel: 01554 773981…

A good friend of mine, Tony Parry, once showed me a rig that he’d developed for fishing the River Mersey. He’s the skipper of ‘Jensen’, and has been fishing the area for decades, moving the boat to the Mersey for the winter cod season, while fishing the summer from his home port of Rhyl. As you may be aware, my good friend Roger Cooling has just put Pete Churchill’s old boat ‘Moonshine’ up here in Grimsby, so we’re regularly fishing the Humber these days, which is a very similar body of water to the Mersey. We’ve been enjoying some great sport recently, with plenty of plump codling to around 6lb. But our last trip at the start of March threw up three nice bass – all falling to whole squid…

JAMES MADSEN Bristol Channel angler James Madsen is here to solve all your shore angling problems. JOHN HOLDEN A Sea Angler contrbutor for over four decades specialising in casting and rod building. 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. HENRY GILBEY Angler, blogger and photojournalist Henry, based in Cornwall, is our lure expert.…

Now that the thornback ray has become much more widespread and can be caught from most parts of the country, there are many more anglers who would like to enjoy freshly caught ‘skate’ wing, which is, in fact, normally thornback ray. This month, Cerion Bull, head fishmonger at the Boathouse Fisheries in St Mary’s Bay, Kent, shows you step-by-step how to fillet and prepare thornbacks – a process that has seen many inexperienced angler give up with lacerated hands (due to the thorns) long before enjoying the fruits of their labour! Rays, like sharks, have cartilage instead of bones and it’s the ‘wings’ of the fish that are eaten. The minimum size that you can keep a ray is 40cm (check locally), measured across the wings. However, we wouldn’t recommend…

We’ve teamed up with the event organisers, Angling Spirit, to give-away almost £6,000-worth of entry prizes, which include five private boat entry places, worth £1000 each, plus two charter boat pair entries worth £360 each. All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning a place in the event is to enter at seaangler.co.uk/win Terms and conditions of entry into the competition can be found in full at seaangler.co.uk. Full terms and conditions of the event can be found on the event website: www.seaanglingclassic.com Event Organiser: Ross Honey T: 02392 571571 M: 07831 690609 E: Ross@anglingspirit.com…

PENN BATTLE III LONGCAST RRP: £204.99 If you haven’t already, check out the new Penn Battle lll range of fixed spool reels, specifically designed for saltwater fishing. Penn has made a number of great improvements when compared to the older Battle ll range and I’ve personally tried out the Battle lll 7000 longcast version. The longcast versions of these reels have a taller spool which helps you to achieve greater casting distances when using monofilament. It also has much slower oscillation for perfect line-lay on the spool. Penn has also brought out a range of Battle lll fixed spool reels with a narrower spool for spinning, along with a high-speed retrieve option. FEATURES When highlighting the main improvements across the range, the stand-out improvement has to be the conversion from…

■ Lumens: Boost: 4000, Power: 1800, Mid Power: 800, Low Power: 200 ■ Light Functions: Power, Mid Power, Low Power, Boost ■ Beam Distance (m): Max: 330, Power: 250, Mid: 150, Min: 80 ■ Burn Time (h): Low Power: 20, Mid Power 7, Power 3.5 ■ Battery: 2 X Li-ion battery pack 21700 ■ IP CLASS: IP68 ■ Weight: 374g including batteries ■ In The Box: 1 x H19R SIGNATURE head torch, 1 x set of rechargeable batteries, magnetic charging cable, Bluetooth remote, bike mount, helmet clips, helmet connecting kit, extension cable, GoPro accessory connecter, book and loop straps, tripod connector, mains plug with USB slot, storage case.…

I’ve caught countless big blonde rays over the years, mostly off the South Coast on the standard 20/30lb class kit with heavy leads. I’ve caught a few special ones mind you. You know, the ones that stick out as being a memorable catch. One such fish was a 22-pounder I caught on a live sandeel in 2-knots of tide while drifting a sandbank in 40ft of water in search of bass. On that day I was using my trusty 11ft Fox Mullet Master rod coupled with a fixed spool reel loaded with 20lb braid. That ray took off like a fish possessed and I really didn’t have any idea what it was until near the end of the fight, when it just hung there as we drifted along. That was…

Conger fishing, especially for the bigger specimens approaching 100lb, is best undertaken along the south coast of the UK, fishing into some of the big sunken wrecks in the English Channel. They can be caught in good numbers throughout the summer and autumn months, but they can also be caught from late October right through until March over broken ground and reefs. It’s often the case that anglers get frustrated with the big eels as they regularly snaffle baits intended for cod. THE LIGHT TACKLE APPROACH One of the reasons why many anglers enjoy catching big eels from these open ground cod marks during the winter is the simple fact that you can get away with using relatively light gear for them. Unlike wreck fishing for eels there are few,…

Mention whiting to any member of the Mersey Specimen Sea Anglers (MSSA), and after their frown has slowly subsided, they are most likely to tell you the best way to use them is as bait. Small fish are not on the MSSA radar. Their primary goal is the search for large fish. Some of the members were previously match anglers but have given that up now and dedicate their sport to the pursuit of specimen fish. The MSSA was gradually formed in the Covid-19 lockdown periods of 2020-2021 where conversations between various like-minded anglers were amalgamated into a single WhatsApp group. This group of a dozen sea anglers of varying experience are dedicated to seeking the larger species of fish from the Mersey and North Wales. It is a group…

Ogmore Deeps, or ‘The Deeps’ as many refer to this productive Welsh shore venue, is located on the Vale of Glamorgan coastline between the mouth of the River Ogmore and Southerndown beach. The Deeps has long been a popular mark noted for producing big fish. For example, in the past, anglers fishing here have caught cod in excess of 30lb along with conger of a similar size. TIDES The optimum tides to fish The Deeps range from neaps up to mid-range. Be aware that under certain conditions this can be a very dangerous mark – anglers have drowned here. Avoid fishing at times whenever there is a strong south-south westerly swell or onshore wind, especially over the high-water period on spring tides when waves frequently break over the rock ledges.…

GETTING THERE Access from both west and east is via the A549 coastal road between Greenfields and Prestatyn. From the east past Greenfields look for the obvious Fun Ship on the right and just after you pass this there is a small dirt track to the right positioned between the Plumbing Centre and the Robert Davies Memorial Church Hall, both on your left. From the west look for the Port Mostyn buildings on the left and then the Robert Davies Memorial Church Hall on the right and the dirt road is on the immediate left. It’s easy to miss, so look for the Church Hall and the obvious clock tower as an indicator. Go down the dirt road past the Water Cleansing Works and then turn left or right along…

Anglers come from far and wide to fish this famous structure, which is the second longest amusement pier in the country. It tretches out to sea for 792 metres making it the longest pier in the country going out to the open sea and therefore ideal for angling. The 1960s and 1970s saw anglers from all over the country flock to the pier for its amazing cod fishing during the winter months. Cod to 30lb were landed and anything under 20lb were not even given a mention! The mid 1980s saw a demise of the cod stocks all around the British Isles and unfortunately Walton Pier took a big hit; however, the all-round fishing here is second to none. SPECIES Bass, pollack and coalfish, dabs, dogfish, garfish ,thornback rays, smoothhounds,…

GETTING THERE Cars may not be taken along the road to the Point from a Council parking area at Kingsand and it is a 20-minute hike from there to the mark. The alternative is to drive along the Whitsand Bay cliff top to Maker Church from where the narrow road takes you to Penlee Battery which it is no more than 20-minutes from the Point. During lockdown the Council installed a gantry that restricts vehicles over 6 ½ ft in height so don’t take a campervan. Ordnance Survey Sheet 201. 1:50,000 series covers the area.…

MANCY WINNING SOME UALITY mono, braid and fluorocarbon from Sufix by catching a great fish? In our catch competition, your target is to catch one over the weight given on our nominated species list. If you do, enter our contest and you automatically stand a chance of winning either our shore or boat bundle. Each issue we award a superb Sufix package 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. Chris Fry, Cardiff FISH: 18lb 2oz cod DATE: 11 February 2022 VENUE: Bristol Channel BAIT: whole squid Neil Law, Glamorgan FISH: 10lb 2oz small eyed ray BAIT: Sandeel and squid VENUE: Fontygary ledges, South Wales DATE: 25th February John Baskott,…

Much has changed since the 1960s when Leslie Moncrieff sparked a revolution in beach fishing. I still have my faded copy of Creel magazine featuring his spectacular catches of Dungeness cod along with the blow-by-blow account of the Layback casting style. To me he was a god wielding the iconic Springheel rod and Penn multiplier reel. Still on schoolboy pocket money, I struggled with the bottom two sections of a river rod and my grandad’s wooden centrepin reel. And yet, I could dream. After a bizarre series of lucky breaks, I won the 1969 British Casting Association’s 6oz amateur multiplier championships with a record 191yd cast. Terry Carroll won the professional event with 197yd. We made a huge national media splash and featured on BBC TV and radio. The Times…

OLD MILL CREEK The first area for good thornback ray is Old Mill Creek. It is sizeable and a spring flood will bring the rays into the main channel that extends quite a distance. Once the water makes up, the fish become widespread. Crab and worm usually do best. Moving upstream the river remains wide until Lower Kilngate where it begins to narrow and continues its way to the Anchor Stone. Thornbacks continue to be the dominant species. ‘The Stone’ is highly rated for bass but this, in my opinion, is greatly overstated. Mullet are plentiful over all this area but are rarely fished for. Below the lower ferry and to the mouth of the Dart on its eastern side near the castle is a useful cove that holds thornback.…

It’s seemed like a lot of missed opportunities lately have conspired against me. Mostly this has been weather-related. Such factors as onshore winds making the sea uncomfortable to fish in, crosshore winds making the launches too hairy and rain lashing down when the low offshore winds have coincided with the days I’ve had free. With local reports from charter friends, beach fishermen and other kayak anglers all pointing to a noticeable lack of any fish worth catching, it’s left me at a bit of a loose end and the drive to load up the car and buy out the bait shop has been missing somewhat. Okay, I’d had four cod the last time out, a month prior, and all of a decent stamp before the weather went bad again. But…

To coincide with Sea Angler’s 50th anniversary we’ve updated our great prizes SHORE WINNER: ■ Two spools of Sufix tritanium ■ One spool of Superior leader ■ Two spools of shock max leader ■ RRP: £65 BOAT CATEGORY: ■ One spool of Sufix Matrix Pro 250m braid ■ A bracelet of sufix invisiline ■ RRP: £65 LURE CATEGORY: ■ Five Rapala Max Rap Lures ■ RRP: £65 Prizes are subject to stock availability. Actual prize may be slightly different to those shown To view the full range of Sufix and Rapala products, visit: www.sufixfishing.fishing and www.rapala.co.uk T&Cs: * One prize per winning question will be chosen by the editor. Prizes cannot be exchanged and no correspondence will be looked into. We reserve the right to send alternative prizes.…

Q When using artificial sandeels, or soft plastics over a wreck or reef for pollack, cod, bass and other species, how long should the hooklength be? RYAN BAYFIELD, NORWICH DL says: In order for the lure to be presented in a natural, lifelike, way, it is important to use a reasonably long hooklength. I see some anglers using, what I regard as being, excessively long traces of more than 15ft. In my opinion, these are unnecessary and invariably result in tangles. Typically, I use between 6-10ft hooklengths. Q What is the purpose of the threaded studs you sometimes see fitted to the reel seat of some multipliers, and can they be removed? MARK FODEN, ABERDEEN DL says: The studs you refer to are intended for securing the reel to a…

The double runner rig fuses the principles of two existing rigs together: the running leger and the pulley rig. The benefit of the double runner is combining the bite detection from being in direct contact with the hooklength of the running leger and the ability to lift the lead, and second hooklength, high in the water when the pulley hook is taken by a fish, thereby minimising any snagging when retrieving the rig over rough ground. The other obvious benefit is being able to fish two baits. Step-by-step 1. Tie a link clip to your mainline and attach a size 2 rolling swivel to the other end of the link clip. 2. Make your pulley hooklength by taking 80cm of 20lb mono. To one end tie a size 4-2 Aberdeen…

■ Tough long casting surf reel ■ Rugged construction for all round shore fishing ■ Lightweight and corrosion-resistant graphite body ■ CNC-Gear technology ■ Long cast superline spool ■ Instant anti-reverse bearing ■ Sealed HT-100 Carbon fibre front drag ■ 12kg Maximum drag ■ Heavy-duty aluminium bail wire ■ Line capacity rings ■ Rotor brake ■ Slow oscillation ■ Round EVA handle knob ■ 5 Sealed stainless steel ball bearings ■ Capacity 415m x 0.35mm ■ Retrieve 4.0:1 ■ Recovery 32’’ ■ Weight 662gm…

DAIWA X BOAT RODS RANGE RRP: £150.00 The original X Boat series of rods from Daiwa were one of the first to feature a blended carbon/fibreglass tip section to give better bite detection and a more forgiving action. However, this new incarnation of the extremely popular X Boat series features the use of 3DX technology, which gives an even smoother transition from soft tip to rock solid carbon mid and butt sections. 3DX basically enhances the tubular strength of the blank during the transition, which provides an even more forgiving action and sensitive upper tip section. When I say ‘upper tip’, I’m talking specifically about the first 18 or 19 inches from the tip ring down. After that the glass is blended into the carbon and that’s when the real…

The Sea Angler Guide to Boat Species is a handy reference work created to help you become a better angler and to put more and bigger fish in the boat. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or an absolute beginner, we’re sure you’ll find plenty of useful information within the pages, thanks to some great guidance from our regular contributor Dave Barham. Inside we cover everything you need to know when targeting many of the UK’s most popular boat fishing species. You’ll find out how to tie effective rigs, which baits to use where, when, and how. Plus Dave reveals some of his best-kept secrets for lure fishing.…

Fishing the shallow sandy surf beaches found around the UK and Ireland is one of sea angling’s jewels. Standing amongst breaking white water is a magical experience and one that can yield some incredible rewards. At the outset though (and speaking from experience from when I was still a teenager, and getting it all wrong) one of the key things to get right is to be able to read the beach and gain an insight into where fish advancing with the tide will drop in to feed. Once you understand the different little features, literally the surf and turf that make up a surf beach, then you can really hone your skills to both maximise your catches and even predict what fish will appear over specific features, as they all…

GETTING THERE To Get to Ogmore Deeps exit the M4 at junction 36 and head towards Bridgend. Follow the signs for Ogmore by Sea alongside the river to its mouth, and then the A4524 towards Southerdown. There are several small car parks and pull-ins along this road from where you can walk down to the ledges. Do not leave valuables in your car. TACKLE SHOPS ■ Ewenny Angling Centre: Tel: 01656 66269, or visit www.reelfishing.co.uk ■ Keens Tackle and Guns: Tel: 01656 722448, or visit: www.keenstackleandguns.co.uk…

When fish are scarce in the southeast of England, there is a venue that’s very reliable most times of the year, but it is one that few people have heard about. SPECIES Local anglers go to Folkestone beach in Kent when the big two – Dungeness and Hythe – are out of sorts. Offering very deep water close in, it is on a par with Dungeness and has produced double-figure cod, bass and conger eels. Large pollack and wrasse also show here in season and sometimes anglers get lucky and land a prime lobster. If you go on YouTube and type in ‘Folkestone beach’ you will find a video of the underwater topography of the venue. It is well worth a look because it clearly shows the change from shingle…

GETTING THERE Recently, the top half of the angling pier has been closed to anglers because of storm damage to the underside of the pier. There is still plenty of room on the bottom half.  Walton Pier is open for 24-hour fishing, but you will need to purchase a season ticket (£105). Day tickets are £9 for two rods, valid 9am-9pm Walton on the Naze is between Clacton and Harwich. Follow the A120 Colchester to Harwich Road, and the A133 towards Clacton before taking the B1033 to Frinton and Walton. TACKLE SHOPS ■ Meta-lite fishing tackle shop, 15 Newgate Street, Walton on the Naze, CO14 8DT, tel: 01255 675680.…

BASS ■ Shore: 19lb 13oz 8dr John 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: 7lb Becky Lee Hodges 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 BULL HUSS ■ Shore: 21lb 9oz M Urquhart ■ Boat: 23lb D Nicholson BALLAN WRASSE ■ Shore: 9lb 4oz Darren Swift ■ Boat: 9lb Glen Carter CUCKOO WRASSE ■ Shore: 1lb 13oz Joe Edward…

The magazine’s arrival on the publishing scene coincided with the golden years of electronic boat angling, started at Brixham in 1965 by commercial skipper Dudley Stone who owned a trawler Ko I Nor with whom I fished regularly. The following year the trio of John Trust, Ernie Passmore and the boat ‘Our Unity’ took the angling world alight, their anglers making colossal catches at the hundreds of wrecks, victims of two world wars, that lay on the bottom of Lyme Bay. In the boat’s first three years of operation in excess of 27 tons of conger and ling were landed to the Brixham fish market. A two-fish rule operated (which was to become controversial) but not where Our Unity anglers were concerned. All we cared about was the opportunity to…

Oxwich Bay, one of many popular beaches situated on the stunningly beautiful South Gower coast, has for many years been one of the main launch sites for trailered small boats in South Wales. My personal relationship with Oxwich goes back a long time, to the early 1980s, and I have countless fond memories of hugely successful days fishing that began launching my boats ‘Teal’ and ‘Alison’ from this flat, and mostly sandy, beach. Over the years I have probably spent more time boat fishing at Oxwich than anywhere else. My records show that throughout the 1980s and 1990s I used to launch my boats here as often as 50 times a year. In the early days bass were always our primary target species and my personal best for the species,…

Bohar snapper, Lutjanus bohar, also known as the two-spot red snapper, red bass, or twinspot snapper, are found throughout the from the east Indo-Pacific region ranging African coast, including the Red Sea, to the western Pacific Ocean, north to the Ryukyu Islands, and south to Australia. The average size bohar snapper is around 10lb with the IGFA All-Tackle record being held with a 33lb 2oz fish, caught at Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean in 2016. I first became aware of bohar snapper in the 1970s when I watched a documentary filmed at Holmes Reef by the great Australian angler, Malcolm Florence. Malcolm, who can best be described at Australia’s John Wilson, was casting lures over the reef, with each retrieve resulting in the water behind the lure turning red,…

Contains clear, concise, easy to follow step-by-step knot-tying illustrations by Andy Steer of recommended sea fishing/big game fishing knots and set-ups. This publication should help you to gain a solid base of reliable, tried and tested knots, enabling you to land more fish. It will also help you protect the environment and save money by losing less tackle. Disclaimer: No responsibility in any way is accepted for incidents arising from the use of this material.Paperback: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9071747271/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_9M.MFbWMHPV9SeBook:www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S72QYX0/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_FK.MFbZ4TKN89…

DESTINATION ANGLER III BY DAVE LEWIS It’s a testament to Dave Lewis’ long career traveling the World with a fishing rod in his luggage that his latest, and most recently published, book, Destination Angler III, is now the third in his Destination Angler series. Despite two earlier volumes, Dave’s bank of entertaining and inspiring stories from fishing exploits all over the world sees no sign of diminishing. The 268-page book contains 26 chapters and great photography from all over the world; from the Caribbean to Belize and Iceland to Ireland, almost every continent is covered. Readers will recognise some familiar faces from the UK sea angling scene and can either enjoy being transported to a far-flung bucket list angling destination from the comfort of their own living room, or be…

THE LED LENSER H19-R SIGNATURE RRP: £225 Led Lenser, as a brand, have a history of making aesthetically beautiful looking torches with innovative new technology, and plenty would argue that they lead the way in light output (lumen capacity). Unlike some of their competitors, they don’t heavily advertise in the sea angling or freshwater fishing market. Their torches already have a reputation on almost every continent as leaders in providing outdoor lighting for activities such as trail running, climbing, camping, mountaineering, cycling and many more. They also produce industrial quality lighting for companies working in construction in some of the most challenging environments, including underground tunnels on rain infrastructure, mining and even the maintenance of overhead power and telecommunication lines. Essentially, they are a trusted choice of lighting for those…

SHOREHAM OPEN BEACH MATCH Burrells on Shoreham, 36 anglers ■ Result: 1st Brett Cotter London 506 points (3), including the biggest fish, 54cm plaice; 2nd Tom Ryder Worthing, 364 points (2); 3rd Tom Wells, Deal, 308 points (2). GERRY’S SEA LEAGUE Gynn wall, 30 anglers ■ Result: 1st Neil Wilkinson, Maryport, seven fish, 186cm (3); 2nd, David G Hutchinson, Morecambe, three fish, 83cm (2); 3rd, Alan price, Rhyl, 3 fish, 67cm (2). HASTINGS & ST LEONARDS AA TEAMS & OPEN East Sussex, 37 anglers ■ Result: 1st Darren Bond, Lancing, 7lb 1oz (3); 2nd Graham king, 4lb 12oz, (Not registered); 3rd Martin Jenkins, Dover, 3lb 2oz (2). Heaviest fish, Graham king, flounder, 1lb 1oz. Zone winners: Shane Giles, Paul parsons, Eddie Ryder. SOUTHERN LEAGUE Cogden, 83 anglers ■ Result: 1st…

■ The percentage game – There are lots of match anglers who will go and fish for a dogfish on a venue that’s predominantly fishing for whiting. By the time they change their tactics they are so far behind they are effectively out of the game already. The winning angler will have fished for whiting with a surprise dogfish coming as an added bonus – not the other way around. Fish the venue for the species that are there, not for the fish you are hoping to catch. There’s a massive difference. ■ The importance of bait – It’s critically important to consider both bait-supplied matches and those matches where you supply your own bait. Consider what bait you need for the venue you are fishing. How much bait you…

EARLY SEASON Come late March, early April, the South Coast begins to come alive with flatfish. It’s during this period when you can have some real big hits, with numbers of fish in the high teens. Plaice, especially, can put in a mass appearance early in the season, with some days producing more than 50 fish per boat out of ports such as Eastbourne, Brighton, Weymouth and Dartmouth. If you want to catch big numbers of flatties, have a crack early in the year. However, if it’s big, fat, juicy eating fish that you’re after, then best time to concentrate your efforts is from late August right through October. This is the time when the flatties are at their best, having gorged themselves throughout the bountiful summer months, fattening themselves…

There are many types of bait that you can use to target tope, but the most common one is fresh mackerel. The mackerel can be used in a variety of forms: either whole, fillet or as a flapper. I prefer to use small baits, rather than a whole fish. I much prefer a small head and guts section, or a tail cone, mainly because I use circle hooks. Simply place the mackerel on a cutting board then make a diagonal cut from behind the pectoral fin to give you two perfect baits. Remember to chop the tail fin off when using the ‘cone’ bait, or it will spin in the tide. You can also try a variety of other baits such as a small pollack, whiting, pouting, dab and even…

Everyone has their favourite bait for rays, but I was taught a very simple bait that has caught me untold amounts of big blondes over the years. It was many moons ago when Colin Penny, skipper of ‘Flamer’ out of Weymouth, taught me how to target big blonde rays. To this day I’ve used exactly the same bait on every trip. All you need is half a fillet of mackerel and a whole squid. Just pass the point of your hook once through the tail end of the mackerel fillet, and again through the tail end of the squid (once you’ve peeled away the fins and skin from it). That’s all there is to it – a simple bait that wafts around in the tide, all mounted on a single…

SQUID FOR SPORT There are an estimated 350 species of squid, or Cephalopods, to give them their correct title, in the world, with some giant squid weighing in at two tons and measuring up to 60 feet in length! In UK waters we’re more likely to encounter the Loligo forbesi (veined squid) or Loligo velgaris (European squid) species weighing between one and 12 pounds, and measuring up to four feet in length. The European squid is the first to visit our shores in the spring. It has a long, slender body, with long fins that comprise two-thirds of the›mantle length. The head and body is relatively small compared to the veined squid. It can grow up to 30 to 40cm in mantle length, but more usually they are 15 to…