Innehållsförteckning för February 2026 från Sea Angler

There’s no better time for a new challenge than at the start of a new year. This month, we present what could be the ultimate UK sea fishing challenge – catching a halibut in British waters. It’s a goal that may be more achievable than you think with effort concentrated on fishing in the right spots. A few are caught each year – mainly from the far northern waters of Scotland – but it was once common as far south as the English Channel in pre-industrial fishing. With the right tactics and effort, we believe there are still a few lurking in more southerly waters waiting to be found. Mike Thrussell has caught more than his fair share of Norwegian halibut and explores the tackle, tactics and possible UK locations…

I have fished with lure rods from under £100 to about £700. I have helped fishing tackle companies bring lure rods to market and reviewed many rods on my blog. Fishing rods fascinate me, and I reckon I have enough experience to talk about them with at least a degree of knowledge. I am not an expert, but I enjoy trying new gear. The most misunderstood aspect of lure rod fishing is the importance of feedback or “feel”. Lure fishing is all about direct contact, and being able to sense what’s happening at the end of your mainline gives you a crucial advantage. Knowing, for example, whether your paddletail is thumping, your sub-surface lure has been hit or a soft plastic is dragging over the bottom – or if that…

POLLACK In 2026, recreational anglers in the UK will face a legally enforced bag limit on pollack for the first time, after avoiding a total closure of the fishery. Recreational anglers –whether from boat or shore – will be allowed to keep a maximum of three pollack per day. Although it may come as a surprise to many, this has been a long time in the making. The bag limit is a result of annual fisheries negotiations with the EU. French anglers are already subject to a bag limit and a closed season for pollack, and their initial proposal was for the UK to adopt the same measures. While UK officials successfully pushed back against a recreational-only closed season and a minimum size limit, they reluctantly accepted the bag limit,…

Jason Carter FISH: 11lb 4oz small-eyed ray BAIT: Squid VENUE: Eastbourne DATE: 12/12/25 Kurt Griffiths, Rhondda FISH: 10lb blue skate BAIT: Squid & mackerel wrap VENUE: Porthcawl Pier DATE: 30/10/25 Christian Tanner FISH: 23lb conger BAIT: Whole squid VENUE: Newport, South Wales Ollie Goodwin, Portsmouth FISH: 15lb 8oz conger eel BAIT: Joey mackerel VENUE: Portsmouth DATE: 29/11/25 Edward Mellis, Brighton FISH: 6lb 11oz small eyed ray BAIT: Whole squid VENUE: Brighton Marina East Arm DATE: 30/10/25 Mike Hingston, Plymouth FISH: 11lb 1oz bass BAIT: Mackerel VENUE: Cornish beach venue DATE: 28/11/25 Mike Pean, Saltash FISH: 11lb 10oz thornback ray BAIT: Frozen pilchard VENUE: Slapton Sands DATE: 8/11/25 Jim Alldis FISH: 14lb bull huss BAIT: Bluey and squid VENUE: South Cornwall DATE: 10/12/25 Paul Davies FISH: 18lb conger eel BAIT: Fish…

Winter in the English Channel is no longer the long, lethargic season it once was. Over the past 50 years, winter sea temperatures have risen by around 0.5°C on average, with recent years showing spikes of 1–2°C above historic norms. These warmer waters keep prey species active and give predators like bass, thornback rays and even turbot more reason to feed, meaning anglers can now find action well beyond the traditional summer months. Traditionally, as October waned and Christmas approached, boat anglers turned their attention to the two mainstays of the winter season: cod and whiting. Cod, however, are now all but gone. The great winter runs of the past have vanished. A few areas along the Channel coast still hold some, but they are scattered, small and mostly consist…

Our experts solve your fishing problems YEAR SIX: NEW CLUB ROOM, SAME OLD LEAK! 2025 marks our sixth year as a youth angling club, and it was the year we took full control of our own club room. Work is still ongoing to complete it, but there is a slight leak at the moment which is delaying progress. Hopefully it will be repaired soon so I can continue working there. COACHING THE FUTURE STARS: ENGLAND CALLS AGAIN! We were asked to run a coaching weekend for the England Under-16 beach fishing team, which incorporated trials for prospective new members of the England squad. This is a huge feather in the club’s cap and, I can announce, that we have been asked to run another session next year. GIFTS, GEAR AND…

THE CALL OF THE ROCKS The tide is flooding, the swell sighs against barnacled rock, and your rod tip twitches against the pull of the North Sea. Out there, beyond the boiling edge of weed, a shadow moves – bronze-backed, hungry and perfectly adapted to the cold, green world beneath the kelp. For the beginner shore angler, the thought of fishing in that tangled terrain might seem a recipe for lost leads and frustration. Yet those same kelp beds hide one of the UK’s most prized winter fish – the cod. In this feature, we’ll take you step-by-step through how to fish for cod from kelp forests around the coast of the UK, from reading the ground and gearing up, to timing, safety and success. WHY KELP HOLDS THE KEY…

Keeping my rods safe and out of the way has always been a problem in my garage, and I have tried many rod storage solutions without being satisfied. A fixed-rod storage rack takes up too much wall space for my liking, and I need every square foot I can get away with. The rods are too exposed for many of the projects I have in mind, especially when I work on something that requires a lot of floor space. I am in the process of giving my fishing cave a complete makeover, and there is a lot to do to turn it into my ideal workshop. First, I have to solve the rod storage issue. After extensive thinking and troubleshooting, the result is a storage rack that holds 10 2-piece…

Knott End, or to use its proper name, Knott End on Sea, is a small village opposite Fleetwood on the River Wyre estuary. It is a five-minute ferry trip or a thirteen-mile car journey from Fleetwood. Knott End has always been overshadowed by its larger neighbour as a spot fishing spot. There are three areas to fish: out on the sands in the channel, on the big mussel bed, or upstream past the cottages. This review focuses on the upstream section. THE VENUE From the car park, follow the path up the estuary towards the cottages and sailing school. Once past these, go down some steps onto a shingle beach that continues for about half a mile until you reach a marsh. All along this stretch, it is good 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…

The humble dab is a popular species among many anglers and can often be caught in good numbers, especially when other fish species are not feeding or available, such as during the depths of winter. And, as far as I am concerned, dabs are one of the tastiest fish you can enjoy on your plate. In appearance, dabs are very similar to both plaice and flounder, species that are often caught over the same grounds, but with a little experience, most anglers find it easy to tell these three apart, along with other flatfish species. Both of a dab’s eyes are typically on the right side of its body, and dabs are usually pale brown or tan, occasionally exhibiting scattered darker blotches and speckles. The skin of a dab feels…

I possess a fine and highly varied collection of fishing tackle, which you might call a comprehensive array of equipment that thoroughly covers nearly every angling situation I am likely to encounter both at home and abroad. For several years now, I have been fortunate to use some of the very best modern tackle available, top-of-the-range products that I have acquired largely due to my 30-year involvement with Shimano. However, those who know me well will confirm I have a fondness for old fishing tackle; vintage is the word currently in vogue. I still own my first multiplier reel, a classic Mitchell 602P bought in 1972 from Dave Richards’ tackle shop in Newport. I also have a 12ft fibreglass Milbro Sabre beach caster bought around the same time. That rod…

I have many fond memories of huss fishing over the years. They’re a species that many anglers in Britain don’t have on their doorstep, and they can be challenging to catch. Not only because they love rough ground, but because the marks that hold them in numbers are often a bit of an adventure to get to. When I say that, I am thinking of my native Dorset’s Jurassic coast, or the Channel Islands, where I have resided for half a decade. In my experience, they are usually well-earned fish, but you can be fortunate enough to land multiple doubles in a night at some venues. Bull Huss (Scyliorhinus stellaris), sometimes called nurse hound or greater spotted dogfish, are an awesome predator to target on mixed to rough ground over…

As the boat rounded the final estuary bend and the Costa Rican Caribbean opened up before us, a crocodile shuffled lazily on a sandbar a few hundred yards from the boundary of the 2025 Pan American Surf Fishing Championship. This is a little different from piking in the Fens, I thought, as we gingerly disembarked onto the black volcanic beach with our USA team sitting in 5th place at the start of day two of the tournament. Reflecting on my earlier angling experiences, I gained a solid foundation before arriving at this relatively tropical destination. Despite growing up in Cambridge, I was given a beach fishing combo as my second-ever rod, which I used on the East Coast from Southend Pier to the Wash. I caught cod, whiting, flatfish, dogfish…

A two or three-hook boom rig is a get-out-of-jail card when bites are hard to come by. They work year-round in varied conditions but are particularly successful in shallow, calm, clear waters during periods of high barometric pressure. They generally target flatfish and smaller species but often catch larger fish by surprise when smaller baits are taken. BOOM TYPES Plastic booms 3-5 inches long are ideal. Tronixpro and Avis Booms have a proven track record but there are numerous alternative Chinese copies available in shops and on the Internet, so plenty to choose from. Look for ones with a cylindrical body that allows the boom to freely rotate when it’s positioned between plastic beads on the rig. Always check this is so. If the boom body is not free to…

The 22 July, 2005. I was fishing out of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands with Alistair Wallbank aboard “Charlie Says”. We had fished the Triton Bank inside Scapa Flow for turbot and rays, then headed southward out of Scapa Flow, turning west to fish the ground towards the Old Man of Hoy. We were drift-fishing over rough ground, with rising pinnacles among small areas of flat rock. I was working a small pirk when something grabbed the lure, bent the rod double and shot off across the bottom. It stopped briefly, then shot off again, stopped, and when it went again, the lure pulled free. The fish didn’t shake its head, didn’t lift in the water. It just shot off tight to the seabed, and I remember the rod tip…

ASK THE EXPERTS When sending your question, please remember to include your name and address CHRIS KENNEDYBARNARD 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. ANDY SMITH Andy has represented Wales and specialises in lure and fly fishing for bass. BRIAN PASK Brian is a qualified sea angling coach and casting tutor who works with young people and experienced anglers to improve their fishing skills. SHORE ANGLING Q Why don’t anglers…

This three-piece rod is designed for fishing on clean beaches when targeting species such as flatfish, dogfish, bass and cod. It features a glass tip which provides excellent sensitivity for bite recognition at range. It has a smooth, progressive action which makes it an easy to cast rod with any style, the glass tip helps to prevent bite back when trying to hit distance. Built on a lightweight carbon blank, the butt section features a 1k weave, while the tip section has extra carbon tape for strength. The glass tip is white for easy bite indication in low light conditions. The rod comes fitted with premium anti-tangle K guides throughout and a DPS reel seat. It also has metal collars on the spigot for extra security, also EVA take apart…

RAD PROPULSION RAD 120 Sea anglers looking towards the future of clean, powerful propulsion now have a new option to consider: RAD Propulsion has unveiled the RAD 120, a 120kW electric drive launched at METS 2025. Building on the success of the RAD 40, the RAD 120 is designed for vessels that require significant thrust and long-range capability — perfect for larger sport-fishing boats, commercial angling operations or offshore workboats. Despite its substantial output, the RAD 120 maintains RAD’s compact design philosophy, operating at 350–450V and spinning up to 5000RPM (around 3000RPM at the prop). It’s built for zero-emission, high-thrust performance, with a capacity for 17-inch diameter propellers, providing strong grip when pushing heavier hulls or fighting tidal flows. Built on the same fly-by-wire RADBus architecture as the RAD 40,…

LICENCE FIRST On my annual visit to Madeira Beach on the west coast of Florida, just south of Tampa Bay, the first thing I need to organise is a fishing licence. These used to be bought at the local Walmart, but now it’s all done online. The store has a ‘help yourself’ terminal you can use to purchase a licence or renew one, as I have to do. It’s best to pay for a year-long licence if you plan to stay more than three weeks, which costs $47. Once that’s sorted, I grab a current fishing rules list to check which fish have restrictions or had their size limits changed. STICK TO THE RULES You don’t want to risk fishing without a licence or catching fish of the wrong size,…

JANUARY ● 1: Hornsea S.A.C Ashbridge memorial, 10am-4pm, biggest fish 3 places, biggest whiting, biggest flattie, juniors prize and ladies’ prize. £10 Seniors, £5 juniors. Boundaries Sewerby steps to Humber bridge north bank. Sign on the day 7.30am-9am at marine car park. Tickets will be available at Westlands and Tansterne until the day before. Contact Mark 07768 342169, John 07968 216565 ● 1: Holt SAC New Year Open, Kelling, Tony 07780793141, thomasamt@btinternet. com or Mike Watts 07858 758669 ● 4: Hastings SAC Open 08.30 - 13.30 contact Colin Crosby 07971 252652 ● 4: Amble Sea Angling Club 48th Open, Fishing 8.00am-12.00, Registration Radcliffe Club from 6.30am NE650RR, Or at local tackle shops in December, Weigh in 12.00-13.15pm, entry £15 all classes, Boundaries South side Seahouses Harbour to Cambodia Pier, excluding…