Innehållsförteckning för Spring 2024 från Sea Angler

Spring is just about here. Let’s hope it doesn’t drag its heels or, worse, subject us to a last-minute ‘beast from the east’ just when we thought it was time to pack the thermals away. For me and other followers of the meteorological calendar, the first day of March marks the start of spring (whatever the weather outside) and thoughts immediately turn to longer days and the arrival inshore again of some of our favourite species. For many this means the giddy excitement that bass fishing will be with us again soon. This month we’ve got some outstanding tips and expert advice on nailing an early season spring bass. In his first feature for Sea Angler since a major health scare last year Henry Gilbey explains, starting on page six,…

Having been used to fishing for bass at least three different ways for the last few summers, I had already mapped out my season’s plans to follow such diverse avenues as lure fishing, float fishing, livebaiting, freelining and any number of other interesting methods. However, as can often happen, the demands of work increased, a new bathroom and copious amounts of decorating materialised and, before I knew it, my carefully planned, glorious summer bass season passed me by in a heartbeat. Eventually though, work eased a little, the bathroom and decorating were completed, and those other plans, deferred for what seemed so long, were lifted back down from their shelf and blown free of their dust when a Thursday night unexpectedly became free. Normally, for such a short-notice session, I…

Sunday morning, the breakfast room at the B&B next to TP’s bar in Ballydavid where the four of us are seated around the table: yours truly, Terry Thomas, Kevin Linnane and Clive Gammon. It had been a late night, a very late night. The kind of night where ‘just one for the road’ at something approaching a sensible time had degenerated into another two to three hours of overindulgence of Ireland’s finest. Exactly as had been forecast the previous evening, the weather outside was terrible. Strong westerly winds were thrashing the surface of Smerwick Harbour into a maelstrom, driving the kind of relentless monsoon rains that the west of Ireland, and County Kerry in particular, are famous for. The latest weather updates offered little hope of respite, at least until…

Fifteen years is a long time to wait to go fishing. That’s how long it had taken me to return to Norway. Life had been a bit busy and somehow a return trip kept being put off until late October 2023 when my friend Pete and I made the long journey back to in search of a halibut. I had fished in the fjords north of Tromso on my last visit, but we had failed to catch any halibut. On this trip to the Lofoten Islands, an archipelago 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, that was our number one target species. After a few days of mixed fishing, we woke to find the world bejewelled with a layer of early season snow that had fallen overnight. As we made…

Steve Davis, South Wales FISH: 11lb 8oz cod VENUE: Penarth Pier, Cardiff BAIT: Squid and black lug Dale Harris FISH: 9lb cod VENUE: Rock mark BAIT: Bluey and cart wing Stephen Cosheril, Alderney FISH: 6lb gilthead bream VENUE: Alderney BAIT: Crab Davey Purvis FISH: 7lb 5oz cod VENUE: Sunderland BAIT: Lug Paul Whiting FISH: 10lb 4oz cod VENUE: Plunkington Bank, River Mersey BAIT: Lugworm and squid Caleb Dunn, Cornwall FISH: 11lb 1oz cod VENUE: South Cornwall mark BAIT: Mackerel Craig Cushnaghan, Ayreshire FISH: 110lb Common skate VENUE: Oban BAIT: Dogfish Layton Lawson, Manchester FISH: 5lb 8oz coley VENUE: Aaron Anderson’s boat Endeavor out of Sunderland BAIT: Mackerel and squid Eddy Anning, Ivybridge FISH: 4lb 10oz 4dr thick lipped mullet BAIT: Bread flake VENUE: Erme Estuary DATE: 4/2/24 Ricky Baker, Galloway…

I’d be prepared to wager nearly everything I own that just about every fisherman and woman will have had some form of interest in sharks at one stage or another. Few fish capture the imagination quite like sharks and whether you prefer to coarse, game or sea fish, it’s hard not to be fascinated by them. Like a lot of other fish species, there are some sharks that are more impressive than others and in terms of the British large shark species, mako sharks are right at the top. It’s not exactly hard to understand why makos are the most coveted of large shark species we have. Muscular, hydrodynamically superb physiques and the impressive set of teeth they have makes them voracious feeders and the fastest recorded shark on the…

We all know the pain of having to put new lines on our favourite reels. We are either asking the Mrs, children or any mug to assist us while we wind line onto our favourite multipliers or fixed spools. I cast my mind back to my dad using pencils, paint brushes and god knows what else to keep a spool in place while the line was wound onto a reel. He’d use all sorts to apply friction to the spool, to stop his fingers being burned alive by the revolutions of the spool of braid or mono, including builders’ gloves and my mother’s favourite tea towels. The job has never been a pleasure, whether it was 1960 or 2023. Unless, of course, you have something fit for the job. Various…

TM: What got you hooked on angling? How did it all start? ML: My first catch as a small child was a stickleback from a golf pond in Leeds – and I was hooked. A little later I caught ballan wrasse and plaice while on holiday in Castletown, Isle of Man, and I was instantly a committed sea angler. TM: As a marine biologist, what insights into the marine environment have particularly helped you improve your experiences as an angler? ML: My PhD involved digging up and studying the biology of worms, molluscs and crustaceans of Budle Bay, Northumberland, in the cold winter of 1962-63: good training for many chilly winter nights tending a rod on the coast! TM: Thinking back to when you started fishing, what were your favourite…

Species hunting is one of my favourite angling pastimes – I’ve only ever taken part in day or weekend species competitions over the years and never had the time to dedicate a whole year to it – partly because I write about angling and tend to spread myself across all sorts of angling adventures. So, I was intrigued when Brent approached us with his story. Brent hails from Llandudno in North Wales and works as a chef. His job gives him some flexibility allowing him to get out fishing when tides and weather provide the right conditions. Like many of us, he started fishing when he was a small boy, mostly freshwater to begin with, but at the age of 18 he started fishing on Llandudno Pier with his friends.…

£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…

The new BoatLife Fishing Championship is a catch and release boat angling competition that will be taking place across four fantastic venues throughout the UK during 2024. The four stages of the competition will be held in Conwy (Wales) 17-19 May, Cowes (Isle of Wight) 12-14 July, Plymouth (Devon) 4-6 October and St Peter’s Port (Guernsey) 14-17 November. Each stage will consist of three days of fishing fun across each weekend, with Friday being a free practice day followed by two separate competition rounds on the Saturday and Sunday. Each stage location and the timings have been carefully considered for weather conditions and species availability, as well as provision of shoreside facilities. The four base marinas – Boatfolk Conwy, Cowes Yacht Haven, MDL QAB, Plymouth and Victoria Marine Guernsey –…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address CHRIS KENNEDY Chris is a specimen hunting specialist based on Sark and answers shore fishing questions. DAVID MITCHELL David is Sea Angler’s editor and is an expert on sea angling policy and conservation . BEN BASSETT The Plymouth angler and blogger will provide answers on the sport of light rock fishing (LRF), the go-anywhere tactic. DAVE LEWIS Based in Newport, South Wales, our contributing editor Dave answers boat fishing questions. 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…

GARMIN QUATIX PRO 7 SMARTWATCH WITH AMOLED DISPLAY Garmin have launched a watch for outdoor sport people which has some exciting new and updated features. These watches are designed for use in all sports, boat fishing being an important one. We’ve been using one since the first version launched a few years ago but this updated model is an excellent upgrade. This rugged marine watch features a large 1.3 inch AMOLED display with scratch-resistant sapphire lens. 100 per cent of the plastic used in its eco-friendly housing design comes from recycled ocean-bound plastics. The Quatix Pro 7 has a touchscreen, which is a brilliant upgrade, as well as buttons and the menu system has been streamlined and made much more user friendly and responsive. The watch face has tide times,…

MARCH ● 1-3 European Open Beach Championships (EOBC), 30th Year Anniversary, for details visit eobc.co.uk. ● 3: LSAC summer league 2024, Individual and Teams of 5 qualifiers and Opens, N Channel 2-4pm pegged, SAMF length conversion table, Chris Isaac 07831308344 ● 3: Hastings SAC Sea League Open 11.30-4.30pm, lug, fish, squid baits only, Mark Rogers 07770973062, Colin Crosby 01424 430120, colinmichael123@gmail.com ● 8: Edinburgh New Year Shore League, Newhaven Reg 6-6.15pm, fishing 7pm-10pm, pre-book only, contact Ian Campbell 07907805822 ● 8: Fishon Tackle Round 3, Pagham 8-12pm, signing in 6-7pm from Sandy Road car park, pegged measure and release anything over 18cm, no bait restrictions, £10 member £12.50 non-members, back up venue for all matches is Eastney contact Ashley Dowdeswell 02394 007684 or 07807639872 ● 9: Yorkshire Federation of Sea…