Innehållsförteckning för June 2023 från Sea Angler

The joy I’ve got from owning and fishing from my own boat over the last four years is hard to overstate. Last year, frustratingly, I only managed to get out on the water six or seven times as work, family commitments and the weather all scuppered any more chances of going afloat. I enjoy every aspect of boat owning, even if the maintenance and preparation might take up more time than any actual fishing! I was lucky to have a friend who was selling the boat and trailer and asked me if I was interested. After picking up a second-hand outboard I had only spent £1500 on the boat, engine and trailer and was ready to go to sea. My point is that while boat owning can be expensive it…

Tenby South Beach is a beautiful expanse of golden sand that extends for a mile and a half from St Catherine’s Island to Giltar Point. It is backed by rolling sand dunes and, as you would expect during the summer months, at holiday periods the beach gets very busy. Thankfully, at quieter times, and especially at dawn, dusk and during the night, it is an excellent place to fish. I am often asked for advice for where to go for some ‘easy’ shore fishing by anglers off on holiday to the area and looking for a couple of hours of easy fishing and solitude on the beach with their children. Tenby South Beach is the perfect venue for this. Throughout the year a wide variety of different species can be…

If you’re anything like me, you’ll remember reading Sea Angler as a kid and marvelling over the roll call of fabulous and mysterious fishing venues that regularly cropped up in articles, accompanied by pictures from which anglers smiled out, holding the kinds of enormous fish I could only ever dream about. Chesil, Dungeness, Filey Brigg, Loch Etive; nationally known with justified good reason, everyone who has ever held a beach rod in the UK will have heard of at least a couple of these venues, and even now the names trip from my tongue just as they did back then when I muttered them under my breath whilst running my fingers over the images and words. To a kid like me they were as distant and inaccessible as the Amazon,…

TALES FROM THE TIDELINE Right, the tripod’s up, the rods are rung and balanced in their cups. The last thing now is just to add the rigs and sinkers – carefully mulled over, of course, and selected for the occasion, then clipped onto the ends of the shockleaders, their sequins and silvery hooks swinging and catching the late sun’s rays. With the rods attended to, it’s time to turn my attention to the lantern, a beautiful old Petromax, the Peter Pan of lanterns – it’s older than my father yet looks as though I walked out of the shop with it yesterday. I don’t use it very often, but I do like to hark back from time to time, enjoying its nostalgic value. Most don’t like to use lamps like…

Electric outboards have come a long way over recent years and have many benefits over traditional fuel powered engines: quiet, cheaper to run, no servicing required, more efficient, cleaner (no mess!), no exhaust emissions, higher torque and instant power. Whether you are looking for a portable motor for your SIB or an auxiliary engine for your boat an electric motor might be the perfect option for you. Here are four to consider. THRUSTME KICKER At only 4.7kg the Kicker is the lightest of the four but with 16kg forward thrust is equivalent on power output to a 2hp petrol outboard. The 1000W brushless motor is coupled to an integrated 259Wh lithium battery. With six speed settings the Kicker has a maximum running time of two-and-a-half hours going down to 30…

How to improve your casting skills I never thought about bass rods until I went surf fishing in Ireland. I’d been happy enough catching local bass on my regular East Coast beach kit. But my first venture into the rolling white waters of Tralee Bay underlined the limitations of a heavy, fast and stiff distance casting rod. Water up to my waist ruled out a big-swing pendulum cast. Holding the rod for hours was awkward. In all, poor gear took the shine off the trip. I needed a proper bass rod. Or did I? I saw no need for a specialist rod on home beaches such as Orford Island which is my top spot for a big one. The gulley at the bottom of the shingle slope is the right…

PIONEER X ALOX LIMITED EDITION 2023 The new Victorinox Pioneer X Alox Limited Edition 2023 features tough anodised and embossed aluminium scales in a zingy electric yellow colourway. With nine handy functions for essential tasks, it’s the perfect tool for all round angling with the Swiss-made build quality to last you a lifetime. ■ RRP £80 ■ www.victorinox.com/uk SPIDERWIRE DURA BRAID Already a leader in braided fishing line performance, SpiderWire is now the most abrasion-resistant conventional braided line with the introduction of DuraBraid, which is 25 per cent tougher than conventional braids. FEATURES: ■ Designed for maximum abrasion resistance ■ Almost zero stretch (3 per cent at break) ■ Very sensitive ■ Very abrasion resistant ■ No memory ■ RRP £13.99 ■ www.penn-fishing.co.uk BERKLEY SICK VAMPER LURES The Berkley Sick…

SHAKESPEARE AGILITY RUCKSACK This practical rucksack sports a waterproof PVC backing and is designed to be big enough to carry all the gear required, while remaining comfortable to carry. The Agility Rucksack features strong, adjustable padded carry straps and a reinforced base. The large front pocket is ideal for rig wallets and terminal tackle, while the two useful side pockets have zip flaps for protection. SHAKESPEARE AGILITY RIG WALLET The Agility Rig Wallet is packed with 20 separate resealable wallets. The outer zip is designed to allow full access to your rigs, and an additional mesh pocket is situated on the underside of the lid, ideal for hook packets and hook length materials. THREE EASY WAYS TO ORDER 1. LOG ON to the link gac.fishing/00203sa 2. CALL 0141 212 8880…

Catchwise is a new survey of sea angling taking place across England and Wales in 2023 and 2024. The project has been co-developed with sea anglers and aims to significantly improve the recognition of the sport’s impact and its value to coastal communities. It will improve data used for relevant fisheries management decisions with more accurate data on catches and releases and show sea angling’s social and economic value. NEED FOR RESEARCH Accurate data on sea angling has improved significantly in recent years with information from surveys helping to ensure that sea angling has a seat at the table at long last. The Fisheries Act has enshrined recreational sea angling as a stakeholder in marine management but having more accurate data about it is vital. Results will be used to…

£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…

Anchoring in deep waters is one of the most dangerous things you can do while sea fishing and you must only do it if the weather forecast promises completely calm weather. For safety reasons there should always be at least two on board for this procedure. The method works just as well when you anchor in more shallow water. You will need the following: ■ An anchor that is adapted to the weight of the boat. For most boats that weigh less than two tons and are shorter than seven meters, you can have an anchor that weighs 5kg. Cheap all-round Bruce-type anchors work well on soft bottoms. For rockier bottoms it can also be good to have a standard collapsible 5kg anchor. ■ Anchor chain that is heavier than…

Aside from a few exceptions ground baiting is a technique very few British sea anglers use to attract fish to the area where they are fishing. These exceptions include fishing for shark, which routinely uses bags of ‘rubby dubby’ suspended over the side to create an all-important scent trail to attract the fish. Another good example of attracting fish to the area you are fishing is loose feeding or ‘chunking’ which involves throwing small handfuls of chopped fish over the side on a little and often basis. This is a deadly yet little used technique, especially when fishing over relatively shallow reefs for species including bass and tope. Of course, anglers fishing for mullet invariably use ground bait to first attract and then hold shoals of fish, but almost always…

REVIEW It’s high times at Cheetah Marine UK: the order books are full. Place an order today and you’ll be waiting until spring 2024 to take delivery. Despite a global economic downturn, the Isle of Wight-based company is clearly doing something right. I first caught sight of the new Adventure catamaran from Cheetah when it was launched at the Southampton International Boat Show last September. I finally got the chance to go to sea on one last month. Cheetah Marine UK is now part of RS Marine Group, better known for sailing and the first fully electric RIB, the Pulse, featured in Sea Angler last year. FEATURES Cheetahs are a popular make of vessel within the under 10m commercial fishing fleet where the qualities of their stability, speed and deck…

MATCH FISHING As part of the run up to the 2023 Sea Angling Classic in June the organisers, Angling Spirit, have been holding a series of qualifiers across the country. The plan was to run six events in Eastbourne, Weymouth, Cardiff, Plymouth, Lymington, the Mull of Galloway at Drummore and Portsmouth. Unfortunately, as often happens, the weather got in the way of a few of these events, specifically Eastbourne, Weymouth and Plymouth. Events were, however, held at the other venues with the two qualifiers in Lymington and Scotland run as competitions where the winners would qualify for the main event. LYMINGTON We attended the two main qualifier events. The first in Lymington was held in April and was very well attended with more than 20 boats and 50 anglers taking…

Last summer there was something of a mini explosion of nocturnal feeding sole along the Dorset and Hampshire coastline which remained active until towards the end of the year. Many of the better specimens were taken from marks along the western end of Chesil Beach, such as West Bexington and Cogden, where night tides are a real bonus. However, the occasional real biggie has also been taken from unexpected marks. I sampled some typical action when targeting a local mark at Hordle cliff. Casting just 20 yards out produced a three-pounder caught on a size 6 hook baited with ragworm in broad daylight, a venue where I had never previously caught a sole. While some doormat sized sole are being recorded from Chesil, for sheer numbers of smaller flatties the…

TIDE TALK ROUGH GROUND BASS June is the peak month for targeting rough ground bass. They are feeding heavily on crab and bait fish with overall bass numbers inshore at a high point for the summer, especially when it comes to bigger than average fish from 4lb upwards. TIDE TALK The bass favour the bigger tides with a surf running as this tends to expose a large amount of food that’s hiding under the rocks and stones. Even in calmer seas a few bass will still work the rougher ground knowing full well they’ll find a crab or two that get caught out in open ground. The tide table tells us that the best tides to fish are from the 3rd to the 9th of June, and again from the…

FOR ALL YOUR OTHER MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ENTRIES CHECK OUT THE SA FACEBOOK PAGE HOW TO ENTER Email only to sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk Please supply these details: angler’s name, age, address, telephone number, email, type of FISH, weight of FISH, where caught, DATE caught, BAIT/rig, whether caught from shore or boat, if from charter boat, give name of boat, port and skipper. Please state if the FISH was retained or returned. Send us your entries and win some great prizes ■ SHORE LURE OPTION: Solaris 4000 or 5000 reel, RRP: £60, Epixor 15-50g rod RRP: £80 ■ SHORE LURE OPTION: Solaris 4000 or 5000 reel, RRP: £60, Epixor 15-50g rod RRP: £80 ■ BOAT: Classic CLX, RRP: £60 Cortez Boat Rod, RRP: £90 ■ SHORE BAIT OPTION: DSA reel RRP: £60, Wave Power…

Some of us are old enough to remember the fantastic wrecking that Decca navigators brought us in the hay-days of the 1970s and 1980s with The legendary catches of McVicar, Trust, Passmore and others. I have fantastic memories of congering from Plymouth aboard Graham Hannaford’s boat Tiburon where eels to 80lb were common and the odd 100 pounder possible. 50 years on and the great days might be a distant memory but, there is still good sport to be had from charter boats around the coast specialising in wrecking. Conger eels suffered a severe lull in numbers partly as a result of the huge numbers unnecessarily taken from the wrecks. Now, it is refreshing to report that numbers of eels on our local wrecks of Ramsgate and Dover are increasing…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address 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 in all versions and platforms of this magazine. Q I would like to lure fish the tidal waters at Breydon Water in Norfolk. Can you tell me the best time to fish, what I can expect to catch, the best tide time and which lures would be best please? NICK RICHARDSON, CAISTER ON SEA IB says: Breydon Water is like many rivers around the UK, a narrow entrance, opening to a wide, shallow expanse of salt water, gradually changing to…

FISHING NEWS Boat anglers beware! On the 31st March the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 came into force. This lays out a list of regulations and requirements that operators of personal watercraft (any craft capable of moving under its own mechanical power’) are now required, by law, to comply with. Affecting the whole of the UK, the legislation is intended to act as a deterrent to those who might otherwise use watercraft in a reckless or inappropriate manner. Sea Angler understands that in particular it has been the reckless actions of jet ski operators driving dangerously, disturbing wildlife and generally acting in an anti-social way that has resulted in this legislation. The Order places a duty on the owner of a watercraft within UK waters to take all reasonable steps…