Innehållsförteckning för Issue 616 från Sea Angler

ISSUE 616 DECEMBER 2022 Last month I mentioned the run of codling along the South Coast. With mild weather stretching into autumn we’ve been blessed over recent weeks with some superb autumn fishing and, in my opinion, the high point of the sea fishing year when the summer species coincide with the winter species. You never know what you might catch. This was certainly the case at Chesil Beach last month during the final of the PENN Sea League. Black bream, bass, red mullet, codling, conger and hounds were all making up the bags. Congratulations to Anyfish Anwhere’s Julian Shambrook from Torquay who won the final at his 14th attempt. See page 110 for a full report on the match. Another autumn species that is becoming increasingly popular is squid,…

It was just a normal morning with the usual routine: get up, a quick shower, breakfast and then checking emails, just the daily emails. Normal stuff: angling reports, some new rods to look at and loads of spam, however there was one email that caught my eye and it came from a TV company interested in coming to Walton-on-the-Naze to see me. I saw the words ‘Great Coastal Railway Journeys’ and ‘Michael Portillo’; surely this was an email to get excited about? I’m a great fan of anything that Michael Portillo has done over the years and have avidly watched every series of his railway journeys. I clicked on the email and to my surprise I had to read it twice. Michael Portillo was travelling around the coast on his…

WARLEIGH POINT This mark includes the wooded area continuing on from it to the mouth of the Tavy. To reach Warleigh, drive the long road from Tamerton Foliot on the western side of Plymouth to what was formerly the Southern Railway’s Tamerton Station. To the right of it is the rail bridge that gives access to Warleigh Point and its extensive river beach backed by an easy path all the way to the Tavy Rail Bridge; a very good mark when the tide eventually gets there. Allow a minimum of two hours after the time set for high and low water in Plymouth Sound due to the considerable distance between the two. There is absolutely no point being there before the water is due. MARISTOW The Maristow stretch of the…

FANCY WINNING A NEW ROD AND REEL COMBO from Okuma 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 prize. Each issue we award a superb Okuma package to the captor of the best shore fish and best boat-caught fish, both chosen on merit. Prizes are awarded at our discretion and Okuma reserves the right to send alternative prizes. Michael Rawlings, Wiltshire FISH: 12lb 4oz small eyed ray VENUE: Minehead DATE: 24/09/2022 Tony Smith, Swansea. FISH: 9lb 8oz small eyed ray BAIT: Mackerel/ Bluey cocktail VENUE: Cold knap beach, Barry DATE: 26/09/22 Graeme Iddon, Lancashire FISH;…

The year is 1921 at the Carnbase Reef, a short distance from the vaulting cliffs of Land’s End and the Longships Reef, on which in 1875 the 115ft tall lighthouse was built. The anglers were Captain Hugo Millais and his wife who over two evenings had a dramatic experience with pollack and coalfish that is unlikely to be repeated. They left Sennen Cove in the late afternoon reaching the reef of which their boatman John Roberts, a commercial fishermen, had great knowledge, an hour later. The sea surface was being churned to white froth by predators feeding on a huge shoal of herring and in a matter of two hours of whiffing with 6oz leads, the boat moving at 3½ knots, they caught 24 coalfish and pollack together weighing 269lb.…

The bay is large but this article concentrates on the area from Downderry to Rame Head. Within it is the wreck of the Liberty ship the James Eagan Layne, on the seabed since 1945, and the Frigate, Scylla, sold off by the Navy to a consortium which included the National Marine Aquarium. Cleared of toxic material she was scuttled in 2003 to ultimately become an artificial reef. The progress of this and the species that have taken up residence is monitored by Aquarium cameras. The ‘Layne’ was one of 10 ships in convoy through the English Channel in March 1945 when abeam of the Eddystone was torpedoed. Later the same day she was taken in tow by tugs in an attempt to get her to Plymouth Sound, but such was…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address 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. HOW TO ASK US A QUESTION Email: sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk or online: facebook.com/seaanglermag By asking a question you are giving us permission to use your name and where you live…

SHIMANO SOARE METAL SHOT MINI-JIGS These are a range of superbly finished lures, which have been specifically developed for micro jigging Manufactured from tungsten these lures feature a super compact body profile, which falls to the bottom more quickly than cheaper lead alternatives. The special natural holographic design perfectly mimics a wounded baitfish, which is exactly what any good lure should do! The current range of lures includes three different sizes, 3,5 and 7 grams, which retail for £7.99, £8.99 and £9.99 respectively, each of which is produced in four different colours. ■ fish.shimano.com £9.99 FISHEAGLE BAIT PUMP: 50MM BAIT PUMP Finished in stainless steel and available in a choice of 28 and 50mm sizes, the Fisheagle Bait Pump will save your loved one hours of back breaking work digging…

Tronix has just launched three new rods in the XENON range and I was given the opportunity to try them out. The price point for these rods starts at around £200 and goes up to the £300 mark for the more expensive rods in the range. There are two different rod lengths to choose from in each model, a choice between either 4.2m or 4.5m. Each one of these rods comes in a pretty decent black padded rod bag, which I thought was good. Furthermore, they are all fitted with quality Fuji K Alconite guides and a Fuji DPS reel seat as standard. All of the specifications for this new range can be found on the Tronix Fishing website. Once on the beach, I unpacked and put each of these…

MATCH FISHING PEMBROKE AND OSPREY SEA ANGLING CLUBS OPEN, 47 anglers 13 anglers including 2 ladies weighed in 1 bass, 1 mullet and 16 flounders, but as usual there were other fish caught but not weighed once the winning bass and multiple flounder bags were weighed. ■ Results: 1st Marc Hagan, Pembroke Dock, 3 flounder for 1Kg 920gm (not registered); 2nd Peter Taylor, Saundersfoot, 1 bass for 1kg 300gm (3), 3rd Franco Attanasio, Saundersfoot, 2 flounder for 925gm (2). Top lady, June Howell, Tavernspite, 1 flounder for 425gm. 23: IPSWICH SEA ANGLERS OPEN 62 anglers The weather was pretty miserable at times with heavy rain showers and a brisk wind. Fish were being carded from the first cast to the last cast, mainly whiting with some bonus dogfish and even…

Amroth is located between Wiseman’s Bridge and Marros in south-west Wales. If you visit over high water you will find a short, steep shingle and boulder beach backed by a concrete flood protection wall. However, if you wait for the tide to start to ebb a sandy beach will soon be revealed just 50 yards from the road, and at low tide you will be faced with approximately two miles of open sand. The fishing over high tide can be very good but most locals consider the most productive period as being approximately two hours either side of low water. You can fish here on all sizes of tides, though mid-range tides tend to be most productive. Amroth is not a true ‘storm beach’: that is, a west facing beach…

Brighton Marina has always been considered a great South Coast fishing venue with an east and a west arm that both stretch out into the open sea, with both arms open to anglers. The marina and the local beaches have always held a place very close to my angling heart and any chance to fish this area will see me down there. At certain times one or both arms could be closed when weather conditions are adverse, so it’s always best to check the day before your arrival. The marina opens at 6.30am and closes at 7pm, costing just £6 for two rods for the day which in anybody’s money is extremely reasonable. There is a duty warden on site and he will collect monies while you are fishing and…

£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 In association with…

Some of us carry a life raft and of course hope that we will never have need to use it. For anglers, our boat usage is normally in relatively settled conditions and close to land meaning we are most likely to abandon ship in the case of fire or serious hull damage. In times of stress or panic there is no substitute for previous hands-on experience or training on the deployment and use of the life raft and I had often considered participating in an RYA life raft course but never actually got around to it. I was in the position of having an old, out of service, life raft that needed replacing and was keen to put it to some use rather than just dumping it. With this in…

A few years ago the Mull Of Galloway Sea Angling Festival (MOGSAF) committee discussed the possibility of opening up their events portfolio to include one that would give shore anglers a change to participate, as previously all of the events were boat based. Committee member Kevin Hamilton suggested running a catch, measure, picture and release Scottish bass event, which was approved by the committee. So, in September 2021 the first ever bass match was held. This was an open shore venue competition where participants collected their ID tags and measures and could leave the Sands of Luce Holiday Park at 9am and fish as much or as little as they liked, providing they were back to the Sands of Luce by 5pm on the Sunday. The first event was attended…

Arbroath, on the east coast of Scotland between Dundee and Aberdeen, is one of the most renowned winter cod fishing spots in the UK. There are a million different marks along the miles of coastline, some of them closely guarded secrets that only the locals know, and a myriad of spots that are pretty dangerous to the uninitiated or beginner angler. I’m no expert, I’ll say that right now, and that’s after nearly 10 years of trudging along the rocks and blanking more times than I care to admit. I’ve made some good friends up there and learned a lot from guys like Stewart Falconer, Billy Buckley, Allan Saunders and Chris Horn, who are always happy to share their vast knowledge, skills and tips. That’s the thing about that area…

The planning’s all settled and I’ll be prepared when Saturday comes. The gear is sorted, bait gathered and dug: there’ll be fish, squid and shellfish, a good pound of lug, when Saturday comes. Rigs are retied, hooks sharpened and changed, batteries charged, lanterns topped up again. The wind’s swinging west, there’s no forecast of rain when Saturday comes. Scour the diaries, pore over the charts; analyse every session and pull it apart. What venue? Which species? Where do I start? Do I go with the head or side with the heart when Saturday comes? That knot of anticipation deep within takes hold and starts calling you seaward again. Sleep becomes difficult, talk becomes thin. The banter and offers of wagers begin, but out by the water everyone wins when Saturday…

Inshore reefs offer boat anglers the opportunity for excellent mixed fishing and, depending on your geographical location, a huge variety of different species can be caught from even the smallest patch of rough ground, even in relatively shallow water. When targeting specific species you need to fine tune your tactics to suit those species, and in this article I am going to discuss the basic tactics for catching some of the larger reef species boat anglers encounter in the UK – ling and conger. The largest ling and conger are invariably caught by anglers fishing wrecks, typically wrecks located many miles offshore which require several hours of travelling to reach. Reefs offer the opportunity for excellent fishing, albeit for what generally are classed as small to medium sized fish. That…

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s south-west Wales was regarded as one of the most prolific areas anywhere in the UK for catching tope, and Carmarthen Bay was the epicentre of this tremendous fishery. It was while fishing here in 1964 that Albert ‘Ack’ Harries caught what at the time was a world record tope weighing 74lb 11oz. Today this beautiful area of the coast still produces outstanding fishing for tope, along with numerous other species. Each year throughout the spring and summer months boats fishing in and around Carmarthen Bay regularly report catches of tope numbering in the several dozen per day, and Saundersfoot is perfectly located to exploit many of the most productive tope marks. As is so often the case when fishing, the key to consistently catching tope…

The skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, is a small to medium-sized member of the tuna family, and in my opinion a much-underrated species of sportfish. Depending on where they are caught it is referred to by various other names including bonito, oceanic bonito, striped tuna or victor fish. Skipjack grow up to a maximum of about one metre in length. The IGFA All-Tackle record for the species is held by a fish that weighed 46lb 5oz caught at La Gomera in the Canary Islands in 2020. Skipjack are found in tropical and warm-temperate waters throughout the world. They can often be encountered feeding on the surface in vast shoals of up to 50,000 fish, gorging themselves upon small fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. Skipjack are an important prey species for sharks and…

Stay safe this winter and save on a new Fisheagle Expert MKII two piece flotation suit for just £99.99 (RRP £139.99) Thanks to our partners at Fishing Megastore we are offering Sea Angler readers the chance to pick up a perfect Christmas present for you or a loved one for just £99.99. Available in six sizes (small to 3XL), the latest edition of the best-selling Expert two-piece flotation suit is state-of-the-art and has all the functions and quality that you are used too, but with a modern touch and extra safety features. The bib and brace trousers are certified as a 50 Newton Buoyancy Aid, having been specially designed to elevate the top half of your body when in water. The suit features a reflective tape for night safety, a…

I get to fish with a lot of different braids and top of the pile for me is the expensive but very long-lasting Sufix 131 braid. You do not need to spend that much money on a mainline though, and I really like coming across 150yd spools of modern braid that feel really good and come in at under that £20 mark. I don’t need long with a new braid these days to know if I like it or not, and from the off I liked the feel of this new Berkley Sick Braid X8 as I loaded it onto a spinning reel. But you need to go out fishing with a new mainline, so that’s exactly what I have done. Multiple times as well! Berkley Sick Braid X8 is…

Competing in the World Boat fishing championships in Portugal was always going to be hard as the size and types of fish are so very different from those in UK waters. Despite this the England team members were confident on their arrival in Portugal that they would be challenging for medals. There was a tremendous amount of experience in the team, with Colin Searles and me having fished for England since the early 2000s, including being part of the amazing gold medal winning team in Portugal in 2006. Cliff Newbold and Mark Smith were in the gold medal winning team in Weymouth in 2014, while Paul Hart and Matt Osborne also both had valuable experience in Portuguese waters. ARRIVAL IN ALBUFEIRA We flew out a full week early on 19th…

DECEMBER2022 ● 2-3: JE Williams Memorial Festival (NWASAC), Otterspool. Pre-Book only 07572593272. ● 3: Harrington SAC Cod Open £20 entry, registration in Harrington Sailing Club North Side Harrington Workington Cumbria CA14 5QW, registration from 09.30-11.00am, Fishing Times 11.30-15.30, Boundaries; Whitehaven North Pier to Workington, Blocks (both excluded), weigh-in 15.30 – 16.30pm followed by the presentation. Contact Alan on 01900-67257 or barrymcglasson@hotmail.co.uk or mattypeckford@yahoo.co.uk ● 3: Southern League round 12 of 12 & open, Hayling, 5pm-10pm, pegged, measure & return, undersize fish count as 1oz, £15 match entry, £5 pools, £10 pair, team of five free, 2022 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 ● 3: Tralee Bay SAC County Kerry, Ireland,…