Sea Angler Guides #5

SeaAngler Guides

Boat species The ultimate manual for beginners to experts

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SPECIES

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WELCOME

T

he 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.

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CONTENTS 6 Bass

32 Bull huss

12 Ballan wrasse

36 Pollack

We all want to catch a big bass afloat. Follow our tips and tricks to put that PB on the deck!

Try taking on a big ballan wrasse afloat, they’ll test your tackle to the limit.

16 Turbot, brill & plaice

There’s a certain skill set required to target big flatties from a boat, as we explain.

20 Spring codling

With the numerous estuaries around the UK providing some great spring codling sport, we explain the best methods and tactics to catch them.

24 Blonde ray

The UK’s largest ray species will test your tackle and nerve, but have you ever tried catching them in shallow water?

28 Spurdog

Once fished to near extinction, the feisty spurdog has made a massive comeback in recent years.

Fancy a crack at a 20-pounder?

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Double-figure bull huss put up a great scrap on the right tackle. Here’s how to target them.

Plentiful throughout most of the boat fishing year, these spirited fighters can be targeted with relatively light tackle for the ultimate boat sport.

42 Smoothhound

Nothing beats that initial run from a hooked hound on light tackle. We explain how to tackle up and get the best from these mini sharks.

46 Thornback ray

Numbers of thornback ray have rocketed in recent years, and they’re now available to catch all year round.

50 Black bream

Black bream put up one of the hardest scraps, pound for pound, from all UK boat species.

Follow our guide to tackle and tactics for the very best sport.

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54 Dab

When you just want a bite in the depths of winter when the cod and whiting have moved on, the obliging dab won’t let you down.

58 Gurnard

Not usually thought of as a targetable species, there are some tricks of the trade that will help you catch more gurnard.

62 Blue shark

The most abundant and obliging of our bigger shark species, a day on the blues can leave you battered and bruised!

66 Squid

In recent years the squid has become a worthy target on rod and line. Follow our tips and techniques to enjoy a day of inky fun!

70 Ling

78 Haddock

88 Tope

74 Whiting

80 Dover Sole

92 Winter cod

84 Conger eel

96 Grey mullet

Whether you’re fishing rough ground or a wreck, the ling can put a serious bend in your rod. We explain the finer points of targeting them.

Not only do they taste great, they can grow to over 6lb. With the lack of cod around our coastline, the whiting makes for some great winter action.

Somewhat of a mystery species until relatively recently, haddock can now be specifically targeted off the southwest coast.

Dave Barham explains how you can target big tope using circle hooks for some rod-bending small shark action.

Often thought of as a shore species, it is possible to catch plenty of sole from a boat, especially at night. Wire booms at the ready!

Apart from sharks, the conger is the largest and most powerful of species that can be caught readily around the UK coastline. Here’s how to gear up for battle with a big snake.

Although rare along the south coast these days, it is still possible to target a 20lb cod in UK waters.

We reveal how and where to try your luck.

If you have a boat in a marina, the chances are there will be mullet there throughout the summer months. Grab some cheap bread and start making soup!

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BASS If there’s one species that sets hearts racing, it’s bass – probably the nation’s favourite fish. Dave Barham explains how he targets them

You know you’ve chosen the right topwater lure when a big bass inhales it, like this one did to Dave’s Lucky Craft Sammy.

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B

ass, the mystical silver ghost that seems to have the entire country gripped. The magic of summer bass fishing is a spell that simply cannot

be broken.

I love fishing for bass by any means possible; be it uptiding in shallow water, trotting a bait back in the tide with a 1oz lead, fishing a livebait under a float, or casting hard and soft plastic lures, it really doesn’t matter to me. Either way, if I’m fishing for bass, I’m happy.

We could quite easily write a guide to bass fishing only using bait, such as crab, squid and worm for bass, but we’ve decided to leave traditional baits alone, instead focusing on lures and live baits.

TOPWATER FISHING

My favourite method of targeting summer bass is with topwater lures. There really is nothing like the sensation of watching a big bass smash your lure right in front of you.

Topwater fishing is generally thought of as producing best results on warm, calm, shallow water on overcast days, or during the low light periods of dawn and dusk. In reality, bass will hit top water lures at any time of day, and under many diverse conditions. Don’t put them out of your mind when conditions don’t meet the traditional thoughts – I’ve caught bass off the top at 1pm on a blazing hot day without a cloud in the sky.

The Heddon Super Spook is another of Dave’s favourite topwater lures.

You can’t beat bass fishing with light tackle.

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When choosing to fish a topwater lure the first factor to consider is water clarity. All predatory fish are sight feeders, in clear water the look and action of the lure, not the sound, will be the final determining factor to whether a bass strikes or not. Clear water is a very good place for fishing stick baits and pencil baits, like my favourite Lucky Craft Sammy or Heddon Super Spook.

In coloured water, you should reach for the noisy topwater lures, the true ‘popper’ styles such as the Maria Pop Queen, Tronixpro Bass Popper or Tackle House Feed Popper.

Topwater fishing is impacted by the ability of a bass to see the lure, which is no small consideration when you’re fishing for sight feeders. Too much surface disturbance limits this ability and correspondingly reduces the effectiveness of your topwater presentation. So, while a small amount of surface movement is good, too much can be a bad thing. Practically speaking, you will catch more bass, or at least have more activity, when the water has a little surface movement to it, especially in clear water situations. Ideally you want the bass to see your lure, but you don’t want it to see it so well he rejects it as not looking natural.

SUB-SURFACE LURES

When it comes to sub-surface lures the market is swamped by thousands upon thousands of minnow-shaped lures, in every possible colour and size. It can be a daunting place for the new lure angler to venture. The main principle to apply is ‘match the hatch’ (size, colour, action, speed of the typical prey fish) and then present the lure at the right depth in the water column.

Two presentations or retrieves that consistently work for me are the ‘crank and twitch’ and the ‘crank and rise’.

For the ‘crank and twitch’ you need a lure that suspends in the water or has a very slow sink rate, like the Savage Gear Prey. Cast it out and crank it down hard and fast causing it to send out massive noise, vibration and rattle then stop it dead. Take up the slack line but do not move the lure. Bass will investigate the heavy commotion just made so be patient and allow the lure to sit there for the bass to find, which could take 20 seconds or more, at this stage twitch the rod tip once or twice as a bass may be watching or even sucking it in to its mouth. Retrieve some more, then repeat the process of stopping and twitching. Always be prepared for the strike as soon as you twitch the lure, as this is really common.

For the ‘crank and rise’ retrieves you need a diving lure that floats, again like the SG Prey, DUO Tide Minnow or Daiwa Shoreline Shiner.

The way to fish these types of lures is by cranking hard to pull the lure down hard in short, sharp, two to five second bursts and then allow it to rise slowly up through the water column. This pull and rise technique is a deadly tactic.

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SOFT PLASTICS

The term ‘soft plastics’ covers a colossal array of lures, from Savage Gear Sandeels to Red Gills, Eddystone Eels, Fiiish Black Minnows, HTO Sea Minnows, Grauvell Kona Select, Kiddy Sidewinders Lunker City Slug-Go and a whole load more – I’ve just listed some of the that I like to use.

The tactics and tricks employed when using these also warrant a full on feature in its own right, so I’ll just touch on the basic techniques that I use.

I love drifting over wrecks, reefs and deepwater offshore sandbanks for bass with the new breed of ‘weighted’ shad-type lures. I’m talking about Fiiish Black Minnows, Delalalnde Shadka II, Kiddy Sidewinders and similar styles. I only really use one rig – apart from the occasional use of a Portland rig – and that is a fixed lead set up.

Quite often the weights of these lures alone is not enough to get them down to the feeding bass in 100ft of water, so you need a little extra help, be it 2oz or 10oz of lead. By far the easiest approach is to tie the top end of a swivel to the end of your main line, and then tie a 4ft or 5ft length of 25lb fluorocarbon hook length to the bottom eye of the swivel. To the end of this I add a Breakaway mini link clip which allows me to change my lure in a flash. Then it’s just a case of clipping the required lead to the link clip of the link swivel – it’s as simple as it gets.

The Delalande Shadka II is one of Dave’s favourite lures for deep water

Two at a time over an offshore sandbank with weighted soft plastics

Another chunky bass caught in over 80ft of water on a Fiiish Black Minnow

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The Kona Select strikes again – this time in just 6ft of water

Once I’ve dropped my lure to the seabed, depending on the run of tide, I do one of two things. If the tide is belting along, I simply ‘bounce’ my lure along the bottom. To do this I just slowly lift the rod tip and lower it, feeling for the lead ‘bouncing’ on the bottom before lifting the rod slowly again.

If the tide is slacker I will drop down and then wind the lure in slowly for, say, 20 turns of the reel handle, before letting it all back down and repeating the process. Both tactics have their place, and both are equally effective.

When it comes to the worm-type soft plastics, my favourite types are those that are extremely soft and supple – my all-time favourite being the Grauvell Kona select. I like to fish these in shallow water, up to 20ft, and use a small jighead to mount and present the lures.

By far my most successful approach is to cast the lure across the tide and allow the tide to ‘work’ the lure for me over a sandbank. I’ve caught hundreds, if not thousands of bass doing this. The other tactic is to simply cast and retrieve the lure. This will give you more control over the area covered, which is why I tend to adopt this tactic when there isn’t much tide and the boat remains fairly static.

LIVEBAITS

Using livebaits can be a very exciting and rewarding approach to bass fishing. If you use balanced tackle, such as a spinning rod and fixed spool reel loaded with 20lb braid, you can actually feel your live mackerel, launce or sandeel panic as a bass gets close.

The aim of the game when targeting bass with livebaits is to actually find the fish first. Most bass caught in this manner are either over reefs, wrecks of sandbanks, and in some areas the banks are vast, so locating a shoal of bass is the This double-figure fish fell to a launce livebait fished in 100ft of water

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MOUNTING A LIVE LAUNCE WITH A SINGLE HOOK

Pass the point of your hook through the mouth of your launce or sandeel, so that it protrudes from under the gill cover.

key to a good day. When fishing livebaits there are a number of rigs you can try, but I have two that I swear by, and they are both pretty simple.

The first is the good old Portland rig, which I tie using 3ft of 30lb fluorocarbon for the rig body, and 5ft of 20lb fluorocarbon for the hooklength.

On the business end I usually go for a small treble when using mackerel livebaits, or a single size 4/0 for launce or sandeel.

The other rig you can use is a simple running leger rig. Just thread a link swivel onto your line, followed by a bead, then tie on a decent swivel and a 5ft hooklength as before. One thing I will say is that this rig works best when you have to use more lead, like 6oz and above – the main reason being that you need the lead to tow the mackerel down through sometimes 100ft of water. If your lead is too light, the mackerel can swim off and leave your lead halfway up your mainline!

One quick tip here if you begin to miss bites – use a fixed pennell rig set up on the business end and pass one hook through the top lip of the launce/mackerel, with the other through the back. That will give you two strike points and a much better hook-up ratio. However, on days when the fish are just scoffing anything you throw at them, a single hook is all that is required – especially if you plan on returning the bulk of the bass that you catch.

Pull the entire hook through, then rest the eye up against the mouth and mark where the bend of the hook falls on the belly with your thumb. Pass the hook point through the belly skin like so.

There you have it – a failsafe presentation with loads of hook-up potential.

Live sandeel can be deadly on the right day

FLOAT FISHING

The other tactic for fishing livebaits is in relatively shallow water under a float. This rig is best fished on the drift when targeting bass, and you can use either a treble, circle or J hook, depending on your preference.

To set it up you need to find out the depth that you are fishing and tie a stop knot onto you main line about two feet short of the actual depth. If you’re fishing in a strong tide, then you may need to fish the rig a couple of feet over depth, to allow 10

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for the drag in the water lifting the bait up.

The best tactic for fishing the rig when drifting is to motor uptide of your mark and then let the float and bait out immediately after cutting the engine, without sticking the boat into reverse to stop it. This way the boat will still be moving forwards for a few yards, putting some distance between the boat and the float.

There are a number of things that you can do to make the rig more effective, and one such tip is to use bomb-type leads instead of the traditional drilled bullet. By simply sliding on a link swivel where you would normally put the drilled bullet, you can instantly change your lead size up or down to coincide with the rise and fall of the tide – giving you far more effective presentation.

Of course, you don’t just have to use mackerel or sandeel under a float. Live prawns, ragworm, pouting, and most other small fish will also catch you plenty of bass. n

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HOW TO TIE A FLOAT RIG Thread a bead onto your main line. This will be used to butt up against the stopknot and prevent the float from sliding up your line.

Now thread on your float, followed by a link swivel and another bead – preferably a rubber one.

Tie on a good quality rolling swivel to the end of you main line. The rubber bead will protect the knot from the lead.

Tie a 3ft length of 25lb fluorocarbon leader to the other end of the swivel, then tie your circle hook to the other end.

Clip on a 2oz lead to start with, then increase or decrease the amount of lead needed as the tide slows or picks up pace.

When you’ve measured off the depth minus 3ft, tie a power gum stop knot onto your main line. A simple blood knot will do the trick.

If you pull power gum up tight you will be able to move it at first, but as material constricts it will lock in place.

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WRASSE Few UK sea fish species fight as hard, or as dirty, as a big wrasse, which is why so many anglers love to target them.

What’s more, you can target them with both baits and lures

T

here are five main species of wrasse available from most UK ports – ballan, cuckoo, corkwing, goldsinney and rock cook. The latter three being on the mini-species list as they do not grow over 1lb. Then there are two ‘rare’ breeds – the Bailons and scale-rayed wrasse, again both mini species.

However, it’s the mighty ballan wrasse that we are going to focus on because they are the brutes of the family and by far the most widespread and abundant of the species. They are also the largest, with the British boat record a staggering 9lb 7oz.

Although ballans can be caught throughout the year, if you really want to target a specimen (7lb of more) then late autumn and early winter is the time to do it. Fishing from late August through to December will give you the best chances.

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A decent lure rod or multi-tip rod is essential for having the best sport SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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with the seabed at all times, feeling for the lumps and drops through the rocks. When a wrasse takes your bait you feel an immediate rattle through the braid to the tip of the rod, and then all hell breaks loose!

RIGS & HOOKS

One thing that makes targeting wrasse aboard a drifting boat daunting for many anglers is the possibility of tackle loss. The vast majority of wrasse live among rocks and hard ground, which in turn is often covered in thick weed or kelp – the kind of areas that just eat tackle.

Rigs vary depending on the ground and the wrasse being targeted. A lot of the time I tend to use a simple one-hook paternoster rig, with a rotten bottom weak link to attach my lead.

However, in some situations I like to use a one up one down rig, where one hook fishes above the lead and one hook fishes beneath. I use this rig over less tackle-hungry ground, especially when targeting smaller ballans and cuckoo wrasse.

The bottom hook, a snood of around 25cm, is tied onto a swivel next to the lead.

This hook, along with the lead, are the only items in this set up that make regular contact with the seabed. The next hook is set around 30cm above the lead on a 20cm hook length, which flutters in the tide a short distance above the rocks.

Attractors can play a big part in wrasse fishing.

Being mainly sight feeders, wrasse are always on the lookout for a meal. Some anglers like to use a yellow bead above their hooks, just like they do when fishing for black bream. However, red beads also help, as does anything silver.

When wrasse fishing for ballan and cuckoo wrasse use an Aberdeen-style pattern of hook, like the Kamasan B940 or Sukuma Manta in sizes from 1 to 2/0. Although they are strong, these hooks have the ability to bend out of a snag with a little pressure, you can then gently bend them back into position when free – this is common when wrasse fishing.

BAITING UP

Wrasse feed on lots of different things including mussel, limpet, prawn and crab, using their front teeth to crush the shells and a second set of teeth to pulverise them. However, one of the most effective baits for catching numbers of wrasse is ragworm which, cut into in 3 cm or 4cm lengths, can be deadly. These are threaded carefully onto the hook and up the shank, leaving only a small piece trailing. Wrasse are often delicate feeders and will nibble at a bait as it passes by. If your bait is too big, the chances are that when you strike to set the hook, the hook won’t actually be in the wrasse’s mouth. Couple this with an angler’s eagerness to strike at the first signs of a bite, and the wrasse is often missed.

Watch out for those dentures!

LIGHT TACKLE

To get the best sport when fishing afloat you need the correct tackle. There is no point fishing conventional boat fishing gear because you’ll struggle to feel the bites and you won’t enjoy the fight anywhere near as much.

There are far too many different makes and models of rods to list here, but as a guide you should be looking at a medium to heavy spinning rod, something like a 9ft 10-40g blank will fit the bill nicely.

The choice of reel should be matched to the rod, like a 3000-sized fixed spool reel, loaded with 15lb braid or mono. When using a sensitive rod, where feeling for bites is key, most anglers prefer braid. It works extremely well for wrasse fishing because it allows you to keep in contact SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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When it comes to targeting big ballan wrasse a whole crab bait takes some beating – either peeler crab or plain old hardbacks, or even hermit crabs. The key is to choose a small crab, something that has a main body the size of a ten pence piece.

When using crab baits you’ll quite often feel savage bits, but not connect to the fish. Usually this is because the wrasse is tearing the legs off the crab. To help prevent this, pull all of the legs, bar two, from your baits.

When using hermit crab, whip the legs together with bait elastic, and hook it in such a way that the legs end up pointing up the hook length, with the hook point through the soft body. This works wonders and often results in a hooked fish on the first bite.

Hermit crabs make excellent wrasse baits from the shore and boat

FISHING ON THE DRIFT

Unless you are fishing from a big catamaran, where all the anglers are on one side of the boat, the drift will either drag your rig away from the boat, or you will be fishing under the boat. The easiest way to rectify this is to use more lead.

This is where using braided main line really helps. If other anglers are using mono and they need 6oz to fish, then you should get away with just 3oz. By doing this you can stay in contact with the seabed and keep your rig fishing straight up and down, which not only increases the chances of you feeling the tiniest of nibbles, but also helps to prevent getting snagged.

Having lowered your rig to the seabed, as the boat drifts slowly over the area, gently lift the rod tip up and then lower it back down again, feeling for the ‘bump’ as your lead connects with the rocks below. The gentlest of movements lifts your bait slowly and allows it to move in the tide, which helps grab the attention of wrasse in and around that area.

Wrasse bites come in two forms – a very slight nibble on the bait which makes the rod tip rattle gently, or a thumping great bite as the wrasse engulfs your bait and makes a run for cover.

If the bites are shy, gently lift your rod tip up slowly and try to encourage the wrasse to hit the bait. If you feel no take from the wrasse after doing this, simply lower the rig back down and repeat.

Probably the most consistent big ballan bait is the good old peeler crab

SOFT PLASTIC SUCCESS

In recent years the soft plastic lure revolution has changed how many anglers fish for wrasse, both from the shore and boat. It has become quite apparent that wrasse have a rubber fetish, and there really is no other method as exciting or as rewarding than when fishing a soft plastic.

Over the years many anglers have found that green lures regularly out-fish any other colour, as has been proven time and time again in Wales and along the South Coast. A close second choice would be brilliant white.

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In some areas, especially the South West, live prawn is the bait of choice for big ballans SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Some huge wrasse have fallen to soft plastics

The HTO Sea Minnow is a killer wrasse lure

Another wrasse falls for the Black Minnow

As far as lure patterns go, small Fiiish Black Minnows, which have an articulated jighead attached, are great, as were the now discontinued HTO Sea Minnows, which needed to be fished on a fixed jighead.

Most modern soft plastics will catch wrasse.

The method is a simple one; in fact, it’s about as basic as lure fishing gets. All you need to do is drop the lure down to the bottom, let slowly lift and drop the lure just a foot or so, making sure that each time you bounce the jig on the seabed below. You can flick the rod tip to impart a little more action into the lure if you wish, which can sometimes help trigger a wrasse to attack.

The one thing that this form of fishing gives you that fishing with a baited rig does not, is a direct line to the fish, with no extra lead weight swinging around. The fight is much more intense and direct when lure fishing, and if you’ve never tried it we urge you to give it a go – you will be hooked from your first fish, we can assure you of that! n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Fiiish Black Minnows have accounted for numerous bass in recent years 15

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TURBOT, BRILL & PLAICE

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 up for their annual winter

Targeting turbot, brill and plaice during the early spring months can produce some of the best sport of the year

This small turbot went back alive

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There’s nothing quite like lifting into a chunky turbot, it’s exhilarating stuff

Dave’s PB brill weighed just short of 7lb, but there have been fish around the 10lb mark caught in recent years

migrations. It’s not uncommon to hear reports of plaice weighing over 6lb at this time of the year, and if you hit it right, you can have some tremendous sport.

TACTICS

The standard tactics for catching turbot and brill on the drift is to drag your lead over the ripples of sand, with a 3ft-long trace and size 4/0 hook on the end, with either half a fillet of mackerel or a whole fillet, if the water is coloured.

Having said that, a few years ago we learned a little trick for cutting down half a fillet of mackerel so that it looks more like a sandeel in the water. It’s a great tip for when the turbot seem to be a tad finicky, or when there is little tide. What you do is remove the fillet from your mackerel and then fillet the fillet! Remove as much of the meat from the skin as possible, then simply cut the ‘meatless’ fillet in half lengthways and use the shiny silver belly section.

When there’s not much tide we also make another change, and switch down to a really light lead. If we can, we’ll go as light a 2oz. The key to fishing this method is to wait until the drift is well and truly underway, then cast the light lead and thinned-down mackerel strip out across SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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There’s no mistaking the spots on a plaice!

the tide. The boat drifts along in the tide quite happily, but rather than drag the bait along, we cast it out the stern so that it runs away with the tide at a similar speed to the boat. This way you can keep connected to it as the tide carries it away. Doing this also means that the boat doesn’t run over the ground that the lead and bait would be dragged over too. In essence, it’s almost freelining a bait some 100ft away from the boat.

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Fishing in this manner can pose the problem of detecting bites, but the upside is that because the bait is so thin, the turbot tend to inhale it and hook themselves, so as soon as you feel a rattle or catch up to the weight of the fish as it lays there on the sea bed, you should just lift into it and the turbot should be well and truly hooked.

We’ve also caught good numbers of plaice using this tactic, on the same thinned down mackerel strip bait, so it’s well worth giving it a go on ground where plaice and turbot are known to inhabit.

HOW TO PREPARE A THINNED-DOWN MACKEREL STRIP Remove the fillet from your mackerel as you would do normally

DRIFTING FOR PLAICE

The tactics for targeting plaice are pretty much identical to those employed when drifting for turbot. When the boat is on her way, drifting with the tide, simply lower your baited rig and lead over the side until it hits the seabed.

When fishing the sand let off a few yards of line so that your bait is fished away from the boat. The key is to stay in contact with the seabed at all times.

When fishing over the mussel beds there’s a slightly different approach. Your best bet here is to use a heavier lead and try to keep the angle of your line as straight up and down as possible.

The more line you let out, the more angle you will have on your line and that only increases the chances of you getting snagged up.

Plaice show a definite liking for long, thin baits. So, cram a few wriggly ragworm onto your hooklength and follow this by tipping off your hook with a long, thin, strip of squid. Talk to any skipper that fishes out of Weymouth and they’ll tell you to tip your rag and squid bait off with a whole, uncooked king prawn. For some reason, the plaice down there love them, and most of the 5lb plus fish are caught using this bait. Other baits do work well, and a combination of ragworm, black lug and squid is another option. Peeler crab, mussels and razorfish also score when conditions are right.

When you’re drifting you will feel your lead bumping and banging on the seabed through your rod tip. It takes a bit of getting used to, because at first every little bump or irregularity feels like a bite. However, there’s no mistaking the tell tale ‘rattle’ as a hungry plaice grabs hold of your bait.

You need to be on the ball when fishing like this. As soon as the plaice takes the bait you need to let release line in free spool for a count of five to allow the plaice to eat the bait and find your hook. Then it’s simply a matter of doing up the drag and playing the fish to the boat.

One word of warning is not to bully the fish too much. Plaice have a habit of throwing the hook or ‘letting go’ as they near the boat. Just keep a steady pressure on and keep winding in order to reap the rewards. n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Using a sharp knife, remove as much of the flesh from the fillet as you can

Now cut the thinned-down fillet lengthways and use the shiny silver belly section

Pass the hook point through the skin side, then again through the flesh side so it looks like this

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The general stamp of fish is much smaller during the spring run, with most being in the 2-5lb bracket

SPRING CODLING

Even in shallow water, the tide can cause problems with a 5lb codling on the end

If you fish estuaries such as the Humber, Mersey, Thames or Severn, spring is the time to get out and make the most of the action

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES TACKLING UP

For many regions February and March can be a very poor time in terms of what’s available to catch, especially inshore. However, the main tidal estuaries can often produce some hectic sport at this time of year with the traditional migration of spring codling.

In years gone by the sport has been non-stop when the fish have running, so it’s a good idea to make sure that you’re well prepared for a good day afloat.

Most of the time the spring run is made up of much smaller fish than those caught throughout the winter months. As a rule these fish are not normally bigger than 5lb.

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You’ll need a decent uptide rod or a 12lb class boat rod to catch codling. Although you’ll be fishing in relatively shallow water (20ft to 60ft), the tidal flow in these estuaries can be fierce so you’ll need to tackle up accordingly. If only we could get away with using light spinning gear all the time, that would be some real sport.

Match your chosen rod to a suitable reel. We prefer to use a multiplier loaded with 30lb braid, which is pretty much the standard for all of our UK boat fishing these days, apart from when using lure rods with fixed spool reels. The braid will help reduce the amount of lead you need to hold bottom and will show the savage bites from SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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the smallest of codling much better than mono will. It’s a good idea to fish the 30lb braid straight through at this time of year, rather than using a shockleader, unless you know that you’re fishing into really rough ground. The reason for this is because of the amount of weed and detritus that often gets washed down these tidal river estuaries. There’s nothing worse than a leader knot that keeps getting clogged with weed while you’re trying to bring fish to the boat.

of your hooklength. Make sure you carry a good selection of leads with you too. Many estuaries are notorious for fast tides, which is often why the cod are there in the first place. Depending on the size of the tide you are fishing, you’ll need anything from 5oz breakout leads to 10oz fixed grippers to hold bottom when uptiding, and plain leads up to 1lb 8oz when fishing downtide.

UPTIDE OR DOWNTIDE

Spring codling are not usually fussy when it comes to baits. Because of the sheer number of fish usually found at this time of year, competition for food can be high, but they can become preoccupied at times. The traditional lugworm, lug tipped with squid, or whole squid baits, will sort out the bulk of the fish.

However, when you come to gut your catch you will probably notice that these spring codling have been gorging themselves on crabs. If you can get hold of it, fresh or frozen peeler crab can really pay dividends at this time of the year. A lot of anglers keep a few dozen peelers in the freezer specifically for the spring run of codling.

To be honest, this is truly a matter of personal preference for most people. Some anglers prefer to fish uptide or ‘across tide’ for spring codling if they can. We like uptiding because we know that if our lead is holding out across the tide, then the bait must be at the bottom, which is something you can never be absolutely certain of when downtiding in a strong tide. It is getting that bait down there and keeping it in the feeding zone that is so important to success, because when the tide is running so hard, the fish are not going to want to be leaving the seabed to struggle in the force of the flow.

The other bonus of casting across the tide when uptiding, is that the fish tend to hook themselves – unlike when downtide fishing, where it’s quite common to miss a lot of bites.

DON’T BE GREEDY

It’s all too easy to get carried away and start keeping every codling you catch when the fishing is good. Just sit back and think for a minute though, is it really worth putting all of those fish into your bucket? Just take as many as you need – maybe a few for a fresh dinner and a few for the freezer or neighbour. Put the smaller ones back so you can catch them again next winter! n

BAIT SELECTION

Lots of lovely lugworm – that’s what most anglers use for catching codling Sometimes a long, thin worm bait with both hooks tipped off with squid works well, especially in fast tides

SIMPLE RIGS

When it comes to rigs for spring codling, opt for a simple running leger with Pennell hooks on the business end. Depending on the stamp of codling expected we suggest going for size 3/0 or 4/0 hooks so you can cram a big bait on and really get that scent trail working to your advantage.

Because you can often expect to catch a reasonable number of codling, it’s a good idea to keep you hook lengths around the 30lb mark.

This way you won’t have to change them too often due to the cod’s sharp teeth damaging them. Aim to keep hooklengths shorter than normal in fast-flowing tides, something around 2ft 6in is ample.

Another tried and tested codling rig is the running paternoster. This rig is a little more complicated to tie, but the extra fiddling about really does pay for itself when you’re catching fish. We tend to use this when the tide isn’t running so hard on smaller tides, because it allows the bait to move about a bit more.

To tie this rig you need to thread a swivel onto your main line, followed by a bead. Tie a second swivel to the end of your main line, then tie on a 3ft length of 20lb hooklength material (fluorocarbon is best). Now you tie a 2ft length of 40lb mono to the swivel that is sliding up and down your main line. Add a link swivel to the end of this and clip on your chosen grip lead.

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Essential Codling Tackle Uptide rod or 12lb class downtide rod Suitable reel loaded with 20lb mono or 30lb braid plus an adequate shockleader if required 30lb fluorocarbon for hooklengths Super sharp hooks such as Sakuma Manta or Varivas Big Mouth in sizes from 3/0 to 5/0 A selection of grip leads from 5oz to 10oz, plus some plain leads in the 6oz to 1lb 8oz bracket for downtide fishing.

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BLACK LUG AND SQUID COCKTAIL

The lugworm and squid cocktail is a classic cod combo that has proven itself all around the UK. This presentation is just a variation of that classic bait, but one that is really simple and quick to prepare – ideal when your hands are nearly frozen in that cold wind!

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You’ll need some partially defrosted squid, some fresh or frozen black lugworms, some bait elastic and either a Pennell rig or single size 8/0 hook to present it with.

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Begin by taking one large squid and three or four black lug. If you’re using frozen lug, make sure it has defrosted first.

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Remove the fins and skin from the squid by peeling it away like this to reveal the white flesh underneath.

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Now take three or four black lugworm and lay them on top of each other.

Then find the middle and double them over like this.

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You should have a nice, neat, pile of black lug once you have doubled it over – just imagine the scent coming out of this lot!

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Now lay the black lugworm sausage up alongside your peeled squid body and begin whipping them both together with your bait elastic.

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Begin at the tail end of the squid and work your way down towards the head end. You’ll need to go up and down the bait a few times – don’t be shy with the elastic here.

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Starting at one end, give the black lug a small dose of bait elastic to help keep them together.

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You should end up with a really neat parcel of bait like this. It’s great for casting when uptiding, or just for simple downtide fishing.

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You can leave the guts inside the squid for this bait, and they add to the scent appeal. See how white the body of this squid is once the skin has been removed.

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You don’t need to go overboard with the elastic at this stage, it’s just a preliminary whipping to help keep them all together.

You can either mount the bait on a Pennell rig, or use a single size 5/0 hook and pass the point through the top end of the bait like this.

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BLONDE RAY If you think catching big rays is all about deep water, 30lb class gear, and 2lb of lead, think again. Dave Barham reveals where you can target blondes to over 30lb on light gear in less than 30ft of water!

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’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 one of my first insights into how hard these big blonde rays can fight if you give them the chance.

Over the past couple of years though, I’ve been targeting some truly massive blondes off Hayling Island with my good friend, Sean Heath. The bank we fish sits in a little under 25ft of water, and here it’s possible to use 15lb class gear for the ultimate sport. I’ve come very close to hitting the magic 30lb mark on more than one occasion, with a few sessions that have seen over a dozen 20lb plus blondes over the gunnels in just a few short hours! Here’s how to fish the mark, and a tale of one of my more successful sessions.

Great White II is an amazing boat to fish from

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SECOND TIME LUCKY

I’ve fished this particular bank before with Sean a couple of times with some great success, but this trip was going to be different. We knew that we were only going to get half a day in, because the flooding tide was pushing with the wind, which was a steady Force four. As soon as that tide turned it was going to be full bore against the wind, which in turn would whip the sea up and make it very uncomfortable indeed. That didn’t bother us though, a few hours afloat is far better

than a drive home with no fishing.

After a quick brew we slowly made our way down the river to the open sea, where Sean opened the throttles of ‘Great White II’ to a steady 20-knots cruising speed. When we arrived at the bank it was about three hours into the flood, and the depth read 24ft on the sounder.

Sean dropped the anchor and the boat settled down – we were ready to fish.

A big blonde comes to the boat

SIMPLE END GEAR Rigs for ray fishing tend to be simple. It’s a good idea to use a reasonably heavy mono for your hooklengths, because these big blondes have a rasping mouth that will go through lighter mono easily – especially during a prolonged fight. I opted for 80lb mono on this trip. As far as trace length goes, I’m a firm believer of fishing relatively short traces in fast water to keep the bait hard on the seabed, so I often go for a trace no longer than 3ft. On the business end I prefer using a single, strong, hook like a size 6/0 Sakuma Manta Extra. Then it’s simply a case of having your lead on a short boom and fishing the trace as a running leger rig.

I like to use heavy trace line to cope with the ray’s rasping teeth

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LIGHT ROD APPROACH

Traditionally, the banks where boats in this area fish for the big blondes are in excess of 50ft of water, and with strong tides that means you have to use heavy leads and often 30lb class gear.

However, this mark is different and the order of the day for me was my trusty MTI 15lb class offshore rod coupled with a Shimano Talica 10 two-speed multiplier loaded with 30lb braid.

Skipper Sean went for his trusty 20lb class Conoflex rod with a multiplier loaded with 40lb braid.

As far as lead is concerned at this mark, I managed to hold bottom with 8oz, and when uptiding I have held easily with a 6oz fixed head grip lead.

Skipper Sean piles on the pressure as another big blonde makes a powerful run

SEARING, LINESTRIPPING RUNS We’d been fishing for about 20 minutes, when Sean boated the first ray of the day, a chunky 22-pounder. Then, almost immediately after he returned it, I noticed a ‘wobble’ on my rod tip. I picked the rod up and felt the line, there was definitely something playing with the bait, so I paid out a few feet of slack. Then I felt the pressure as the fish moved off at a steady pace. I pushed the lever drag to strike and just lifted the rod tip, but whatever was on the other end was already moving and it just belted off – exactly like a decent smoothhound does.

At a guess, I’d say that initial run was a good 30 metres! Who’d have thought that a ray could do that to you, and under a fairly tight drag too. So, the fight went on. I’d get the fish back to the boat then it would belt off again, taking a fair amount of line in the process. I eventually coaxed it towards Sean’s waiting net. What a beast! I knew it was a good 20-pounder, but Sean quickly got his scales and weighed her. We all agreed she was 28lb 8oz – which was a new personal best for me, beating my old PB by some 1lb 8oz. I was over the moon, and after a few quick shots I watched her swim away alive and well. I checked the sounder in the wheelhouse and it read 29ft – no wonder that fish put up such a scrap.

MORE ACTION AND A PB

A further 10 minutes into the session saw Sean score with another good fish, this time a 27-pounder. I couldn’t believe that we’d had three 20-pounders in only 30 minutes; this was a far cry from what I was expecting.

The next 30 minutes saw another three rays to the boat in good time, and two of them were in the 18/19lb bracket, while Sean had another around the 22lb mark. That made it six blondes in an hour, four of which were over 20lb – what a session. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Sean informed us that we 26

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BIG BLONDE BAITS 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 hook.

This is the bait that Colin Penny showed me well over a decade and a half ago – and it still works a treat

My first fish of the day turned out to be my new PB. The MTI 15lb Offshore rod handled it like a dream

had about half an hour left before we’d have to up sticks and head for home – we all knew why too, the wind had increased and it was going to get nasty as soon as that tide turned, so we fished hard for the remainder of the session. It took me 10 minutes to get the next bite, and again I was watching my rod tip when I saw the telltale nod of a ray settling on the bait. I picked up my rod, but before I had a chance to do anything the line was singing through the guides as another blonde ray tore off in the shallow water. Just like the first, this one took a good 30 metres of line on its first run – it’s real heart-stopping stuff on this light tackle, just amazing sport.

A dogged fight ensued. It was obviously another big ray, but how big was anyone’s guess.

It kept making runs and taking line, but after nearly ten minutes I managed to get her to the boat and Sean scooped her up.

“She’s another big twenty Dave,” he grunted, and he heaved the big fish over the railings.

I couldn’t believe my luck, Sean put her on the scales and they whizzed round to bang on 29lb – I’d beaten my PB again! After yet more photos, she was returned alive and we all agreed that it was a good note to end the day on, so we headed back in. We’d fished for just over two hours, and we had managed a rather impressive tally of seven blonde rays, five of which were over 20lb, with my 28lb 8oz and 29lb PBs thrown into the mix – what an unbelievable session! n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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SPURDOG A species which, at one point, was critically endangered has made a big comeback in recent years

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nce the most abundant small shark species found in European waters, commercial pressure at the back end of the 1990s decimated spurdog populations to the point where catching one was considered something of a rarity.

Thanks to the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN), who won EU protective legislation, they have made a magnificent recovery, with lots of spurs being caught and released all over the country each year.

Along the south coast, the main run of spurdogs is from November through to the end of February, and it’s during these winter months that you stand the best chance of connecting with a 20lb plus specimen.

During the summer months you can target spurs from most areas, including the Welsh coast and Scottish lochs. One of the most consistent areas for decent summer spurdogs is off the coast of the Isle of Man.

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Dave Barham with a relatively small spurdog caught off Holyhead

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You can get away with a light spinning outfit at the Holyhead Deep

TACKLING UP

Spurdogs provide great sport on light tackle.

However, unlike smoothhounds they are often found in deeper water, so it is often the depth of water and tidal flow that determines how much lead you need to use to get down, and that will determine what gear you’ll need to fish effectively.

Sometimes, fishing marks like the famous Holyhead Deep, you can get away with using a light spinning rod and fixed spool reel loaded

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with 20lb braid. This combo allows you to use just 4oz of lead to get your bait to the seabed.

However, as a rule, you should go for a 12lb or 20lb boat rod with a suitable multiplier reel loaded with 30lb braid, plus a 40lb leader, which will cover you for most situations.

Huge spurdogs like this one can give you a real tussle on balanced tackle

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This is what you need to be aware of. The spines in front of the fins can do you some serious damage!

ESSENTIAL RIG

The most important part of your armoury is your rig for the simple reason that spurdogs have lots of tiny, sharp teeth. It’s no use using a 30lb or 40lb trace like you would for summer smoothhounds – a spurdog of any size will make short work of that. It is generally considered that 80lb breaking strain mono is the minimum you should use, with many anglers opting for 100lb to be safe.

In Scotland, they like to use a length of glow in the dark tubing directly above the hook. This also acts to help protect the line, but the main reason why it is used is because of the luminous qualities. In the deep water lochs it works a real

treat – even the shore anglers use it to great effect. You don’t need to use a complicated trace either. A simple running leger made from 3ft of 100lb mono with a strong size 6/0 hook on the end is all you really need.

TOP BAITS

Spurdogs tend to feed on fish baits more than anything else. They are known to eat prawns and crabs, but much prefer fish like herring and mackerel, and also squid.

To go well prepared for a trip you should ensure that you have some decent blast frozen squid, plus some frozen mackerel and a good

THE PERFECT SPUR BAIT

Cut a strip of mackerel about an inch wide to the same length as your sandeel.

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Remove the head of the sandeel to prevent it from spinning and to allow more scent out. Now mount it onto your hook as shown.

Whip the mackerel to the tail of the sandeel with plenty of bait elastic as shown.

Whip the two baits tightly together with more bait elastic.

If you’re using a Pennell rig you can pass the point of the top hook through the tail end to secure it.

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supply of frozen sandeels or launce. One of the best baits for big spurs is a cocktail of mackerel and sandeel. There’s something about the combination of these two fish baits that the big spurs just can’t resist – and it has been proven on countless occasions to out-fish other baits.

THE BITE AND FIGHT

Spurdogs can be finicky and give the shyest of bites, but for the most part they will snaffle your bait and then run off in the tide – just like any other shark. It is therefore important to slacken off your drag and turn on the ratchet alarm so that a hooked fish can take line from the reel – just in case your back is turned and you don’t see the initial bite. The last thing you want is to have your prized rod and reel pulled over the side of the boat!

Playing a decent spurdog to the safety of the waiting net is just as exciting as the initial bite.

A decent spur will make many dives and take line repeatedly, especially when it nears the surface, even from a tight drag. So be prepared for numerous hard runs before the fish is ready to give up. n

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BULL HUSS Often overlooked when it comes to specimen hunting, the humble bull huss can put a great bend in your rod and brighten an otherwise dull day afloat

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ull huss can be targeted afloat from most of the UK coastline. Anywhere that has rough ground or reefs will more often than not hold huss.

However, notable hotspots include the south coast, Wales and, of course, Ireland.

IDENTIFICATION

Often referred to as ‘huss’, the bull huss is also known as the greater spotted dogfish or nursehound.

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Small huss can often be confused with the lesser-spotted dogfish, with the main differences being that the bull huss is larger, has bigger and more widely spaced spots on the body, and has nasal grooves which do not meet the mouth, whereas the nasal grooves of the lesser spotted dogfish do meet the mouth. They are generally a sandy brown colour, or even greyish brown, with the underside being a creamy white.

Bull huss tend to have much larger spots than dogfish

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You can get away with a light spinning outfit at the Holyhead Deep.

HABITAT

The bull huss is a member of the shark family which is found predominantly around the southern and western coasts of the UK. This fish is much less common than its close relative the dogfish and because it grows to larger sizes it is a much more highly regarded fish by anglers.

Bull huss tend to feed more at night, spending the days hidden away in cracks and crevices in rocks, or seemingly ‘asleep’ on the seabed, but they can easily be caught during daylight.

Like the lesser-spotted dogfish, they also reproduce by giving birth to young in protective egg cases often known as mermaid’s purses.

Bull huss love rough ground, and if you’re going to target them then that’s where you should be looking. It’s quite common to catch bull huss when fishing for tope, and vice versa, for this reason you really need to think about the business end of your tackle.

TACKLING UP

When it comes to rods and reels, you can get away with pretty much anything that can handle 10oz (and more) of lead. A 12/20lb class boat rod will be ample in most cases. Whatever gear you choose to use, it’s a good idea to go for 30lb braided main line, with a 50lb mono shockleader to combat the rough ground and, of course, the skin of the huss.

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Watch out for those teeth!

INSET: Circle hooks are great for huss, and using them gives you the added security just in case you hook a tope.

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SIMPLE RIGS

All that’s needed for this type of fishing is a simple running leger rig, but because bull huss and tope both have sharp teeth, it is advisable to go for a heavy mono trace. You can use wire, but most anglers prefer to use 100lb mono to give better bait presentation. As far as hooks go, you’ll need to use anything from a size 5/0 upwards, and circle hooks can be used to great effect too.

BEST BAITS

Bull huss love a fish bait, so if you can catch some fresh mackerel you will be ahead of the game. However, squid, herring and Bluey are

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all good alternatives. Gethyn Owen, skipper of ‘My Way 2’ in Holyhead, swears by using fresh codling heads for bull huss, and we can vouch for this because we have used them to great effect.

In fact, during one trip out with Gethyn we caught three double-figure bull huss on the same codling head!

REEL ‘EM IN!

Once you hook a bull huss the trick is to try and keep them coming. They tend to tie themselves into a ball during the fight, which makes the job of bringing them to the boat much more of an effort. Some anglers will say that huss don’t fight, but if you can prevent them from ‘balling up’ you

will discover that this is not the case, and they can put up a decent account of themselves.

The trick is to keep winding when you can feel the fish is coming, then pump and wind when it flexes and rolls into a ball. Do this and you’ll have no problems in a fast tide.

RECORD BREAKERS

The current British boat record stands at 22lb 4oz caught in 1986 off Minehead, Somerset. The shore record is also an impressive 19lb 14oz. n

Fresh mackerel gives you a far better chance of fish

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POLLACK Nothing beats the feeling of your rod tip hooping over with line screaming from your reel as the hooked pollack dives for sanctuary – it’s electric!

THE RIGHT GEAR

The initial dive from an angry pollack is the main reason why so many anglers love to fish for them; that and the fact that they are a good eating fish.

Because the takes and dives from big pollack can be so violent, it’s essential that you tackle up to get the best sport, while still having enough beef to stop the fish.

In years gone by most anglers tended to use a rod in the 12lb to 20lb class, with a suitable multiplier reel loaded with 30lb braid. However, in recent years there has been a growing trend for using far lighter gear, with 20-60g lure rods, fixed spool reels and 20lb braid now becoming the norm for the ultimate sport fishing.

Whatever type of gear you choose to use, it’s a good idea to use a mono shockleader on the end

of your braid because braid isn’t very abrasion resistant, and when fishing over wrecks and reefs you’re going to encounter a lot of abrasion!

We like to use 25lb to 30lb fluorocarbon for our leaders, and we use enough to give half a dozen turns on the reel plus the length of the rod and a 4ft drop. Before you start fishing it is essential to set your drag. The initial run from a decent pollack will tear yards of line from your reel, and if you’re not ready for it you could get smashed up. Set your drag so that you can pull line from the reel under pressure. It takes a bit of getting used to, but the more you practise you have, the easier it gets. If you have the drag too tight you’re looking at a smash up, if it’s too loose then the fish will take you back down to the safety of the wreck or reef.

Ensure your drag is set correctly or you might be asking for trouble

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LURE SELECTION

There have been huge developments in lures for catching pollack and cod during the past decade.

Now we’re all spoilt for choice. To be honest, there’s not a lot between them when the pollack are obliging, but some styles do work better than others on any given day. It’s for this reason that you should go armed with a large selection of styles and colours when summer pollack fishing.

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You can get away with a light spinning outfit at the Holyhead Deep.

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My favourite colours for summer pollack are natural sandeel-types (silver/green), or garish pink, orange or red.

To start off with we always take some trusty artificial sandeels, like the Eddystone or Red Gill patterns. The good old Kiddy Sidewinder is also a firm favourite, especially in the ‘bubblegum pink’ colour.

More recently, we’ve been using the Fiiish Black Minnow for a lot of our pollack fishing, the ‘weedless’ set up of these lures makes them ideal for working over snaggy ground, and the pollack absolutely love them!

Another recent addition to the armoury is the HTO Slow Jig, a metal lure with two ‘assist’ hooks that has proven deadly on many occasions.

The art of slow jigging or ‘slow pitch jigging’ is becoming increasingly popular with anglers who are opting for the lure rod and fixed spool set-ups.

Pink and orange are great colours for targeting summer pollack

SLOW JIGGING

Slow jigging is basically vertical jigging slowed right down with the aid of specifically designed lures. The aim is to keep the lure in the ‘strike zone’ for longer. It is particularly effective when fishing over structure, when fish like to hold up.

There are two distinct approaches when it comes to the physical working of a slow jig. You can either work it by dropping down to the bottom and imparting a sharp lifting of the rod followed by a controlled dropping of the rod tip to allow the lure to flutter back down, without winding in, or you can lift the rod and wind down as you drop the rod tip at a steady pace, repeating the process to bring the lure slowly up through the water column – this is where the term ‘slow pitch’ comes from, because you’re pitching the rod tip and lowering it again in a constant fluid motion. It’s this latter approach that tends to work best for pollack.

TRADITIONAL METHODS We’ve covered the light tackle slow jigging, so now it’s back to basics for those who are not confident in using ultra light gear, or for those who simply don’t have the means to kit themselves out with a complete new set up.

Traditional wreck fishing tactics are still the norm for most anglers, and this usually means using a long trace with a running boom that carried a small amount of lead. The rig is simply dropped down to the seabed and wound in at a steady pace for approximately 40 turns, then dropped back down again and repeated.

When fishing this way, you need to be up to speed about where the wreck is in relation to your line, so take note and wind up off the bottom when you here “We’re coming up to the wreck now”, or you may lose your kit!

The biggest mistake that anglers make when fishing for pollack in this way is striking. Nine 38

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The good old Kiddy Sidewinder is one of the ‘go to’ lures if you’re fishing traditional methods for pollack SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Slow jigs are becoming increasingly popular for wreck fishing

times out of ten you will feel a pollack ‘nipping’ at the tail of the lure as you wind in. It’s at this point you have to keep telling yourself to just keep winding – don’t be tempted to strike, even when your rod tip starts to hoop over. Striking will simply pull the lure out of the pollack’s mouth and you will miss it, plus you’ll get a load of stick from the skipper and other lads on board! It’s such a common mistake that most anglers still do it a few times before they get into the swing of things.

When you feel something plucking at your lure, keep winding at the same speed. You can even speed up a bit, which often provokes the pollack into taking the lure. As you keep winding you will gradually feel the weight on the end of your line get heavier, then, all of a sudden, your rod tip will hit the surface of the sea and line will start to pour from your reel – that’s the real buzz of summer pollack fishing.

SENSIBLE TAKE

We could quite happily fish for pollack with light tackle all day long, but for the most part you’ll be fishing in deep water over wrecks and reefs, and the pollack rarely go back down once brought up. Be sensible, if you’re not planning on taking everything you catch home, don’t keep fishing for them.

This is where slow jigging can come into its own. Rather than working the jig up through the water column to attract the pollack’s attention, you can work it in the bottom two or three feet near the wreck to pick up other species such as cod, gurnard, wrasse and even the odd bass, minimising my chances of catching yet more pollack. n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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SMOOTHHOUNDS

When it comes to small sharks the smoothhound reigns supreme, both in abundance and as a true sportfishing adversary. Nothing compares to catching a 20lb hound on a light spinning rod

READILY AVAILABLE

The smoothhound’s sleek, shark-like, shape and ravenous appetite makes it an excellent target for any angler looking for fast and furious action.

The easiest way to distinguish the smoothhound from any other UK shark is its mouth. Most sharks, like tope, have rows of triangular teeth designed for cutting through flesh, whereas hounds have teeth that are flat and blunt, very similar to rays. These are designed for crushing hard-shelled, bottom-dwelling, creatures such as crabs and whelks.

They are a warm water species and have often only been associated with the southern half of the country. However, this is no longer the case; many Scottish anglers will tell you that they 42

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target hounds on a regular basis. There are good fish to be had in these northernmost waters, but on the whole they do tend to be smaller, often below double figures.

Hounds don’t have any hard and fast rules with the type of ground they feed over, so long as there is a good supply of food, especially crabs. But shallow estuaries, broken reefs, and sandbanks with a good tide run are a good place to start your search.

Inshore waters usually see the majority of fish move in with the medium-sized tides that are increasing towards the larger springs. It’s not common for hounds to come close inshore during tides that are dropping down towards the smaller neaps. May usually signals the arrival of the hounds in the English Channel. Then it’s SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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NDS

This 20lb plus hound was caught on a 7ft, 1035g, lure rod with just 2oz of lead

You can get away with a light spinning outfit at the Holyhead Deep.

only a matter of a few weeks before they begin to show further north. They can be as far north as East Anglia or the Bristol Channel by the end of the month. The peak fishing time is usually around June, and many areas can see excellent sport continue right through until late October.

Hermit crabs are a favourite prey of smoothhounds

BAITS

If you are fishing close to the shore, then a shore peeler crab is good option, and these can be presented whole without peeling them. Simply pass the point of your hook up through the base of the crab and out the top of the shell. The Smoothhounds give birth to live young, like this pup

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peeler gives out just enough scent to attract the hounds, but not too much scent that attracts dogfish and other ‘pest’ species. It really does work, but if you are casting away from the boat then you may wish to add a couple of turns of bait elastic to ensure the best presentation possible when it hits the seabed.

If you’re fishing a bit further offshore, in deeper water, then try fishing with hardback shore crabs. Again, you can simply hook one though the base of the shell, or you can cut these in half to allow the juices to flow out.

Another very popular bait, especially in shallow estuaries, is the hermit crab. One or two hermit crabs removed from their shells and hooked through the soft body can give instant results.

It’s not uncommon to catch bass when using this tactic either – they love them too!

Fresh hermits are far better than frozen, and with a sufficiently weighted drop net you can usually collect plenty off the back of the boat while you are fishing. This is a common practice in the Thames Estuary.

Light tackle sport is what it’s all about

HOW TO PRESENT WHOLE PEELER CRAB

This peeler is too far gone to use whole, ideally you want one that hasn’t begun to ‘pop’ yet.

Place the point of your hook through the middle of the ‘flap’ underneath the crab and out through the top of the shell.

That’s all there is to it. You can add some bait elastic if you plan on casting it a long way.

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HOW TO PRESENT HERMIT CRAB

fishing, and quite often we’ll use a medium spinning outfit with a fixed spool reel loaded with 20lb braid. This gear usually allows us to use less lead than with the heavier gear, and we can often get away with just three or four ounces.

We prefer to cast the bait downtide, either directly astern or slightly to either side.

BITES & BITS First you need to get the hermits out of their shells – a small hammer and a brick usually does the trick!

Push the point of your hook through the soft ‘tail’ section, and thread the crab all the way up the shank of the hook.

There you have it – the perfectly presented hermit crab bait.

A 20lb hound on a spinning rod is heartstopping sport

In recent years, there has been a lot of smoothhounds caught on squid baits, so if you don’t have access to crabs, don’t worry. A small Calamari or half a larger squid will work well.

TACKLE & TECHNIQUE

Because most good smoothhound ground is relatively shallow, the bulk of fishing will be done using the uptide method, which is where the bait is cast uptide and away from the ‘scare’ zone around the anchor and the boat.

It’s a good idea to anchor the boat within casting range of a sandbank or close to an area where rough ground meets clean. These are the areas that hounds will regularly patrol.

If the ground tends to be flat, then you’ll need to search for deeper depressions or small basins in the seabed. The fish will inspect these areas as they patrol. It’s a good idea to move around on this type of ground if nothing is showing on one mark.

To uptide successfully, you will need specialist uptide rods that are designed for casting leads between 4oz and 10oz, although you could also try an 11ft bass rod or a carp rod for targeting hounds too.

We like to fish as light as we possibly can, depending on the depth of water that we’re SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Smoothhound bites tend to be a couple of small tugs on the rod tip before pulling down firmly as the fish swims away. Ideally, you should keep the rod tip low, quickly wind up the slack and when you feel the weight of the fish raise the tip smoothly and firmly and keep winding as you do so – there’s no need to strike as such.

It’s vitally important that you set your drag correctly before you hook into a hound. A double-figure fish can easily strip 50-yards of line on its initial run, and if your drag is too tight you could snap your line, or worse still, lose your rod over the side. I’ve seen half a dozen or more rods go flying over the years, all because the angler didn’t back the drag off after casting out.

In deeper water you can use more conventional downtiding tactics. However, you don’t want to just drop your bait over the side and leave it in one place. Choose a lead that will allow you to trot the bait downtide and search out the ground. A 12lb class rod matched to a suitably sized reel loaded with 25lb braid is a great set-up.

However, deeper venues and faster tides may require something a little heavier.

SIMPLE RIGS

The most common rig used for smoothhounds is a simple running leger. The easiest way to set this up is to attach a zip slider boom to the lead, then run your reel line through the slider, slide on a bead and attach a swivel to the end.

For the hook snood you will need around three feet of 30lb mono, any lighter and you risk the fish chomping through it. On the business end I recommend a strong pattern of hook in a size 3/0 or 4/0, something like the Sakuma Manta or Varivas Big Mouth is perfect. n Don’t be fooled if you bring a big hound boatside – they will often turn and run again

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THORNBACK RAY Dave Barham explains how to target these thorny devils from any of the UK estuaries

THORNBACK EXPLOSION

The Thames Estuary, like many other UK estuaries, has seen a massive explosion in thornback numbers in recent years. It has always been a great venue for big numbers though – I can remember us catching 60 or 70 per trip during the spring as a kid, but as soon as we hit them in good numbers the local netters would often move in and scoop them up.

Nowadays, the commercial boats hardly put a dent in the population because their quotas are so low, which has meant that the rays have increased in numbers and are now available to catch all year round.

It’s not uncommon for a party of six anglers to catch 10 thornbacks apiece if the skipper can put them on the mark.

During our day afloat with Terry, we caught well over 40 thornbacks, taking two or three each for the table and returning all the others.

It’s worth mentioning here that if you are lucky enough to drop onto a shoal of thornbacks, make sure you keep checking your hooklength for damage after each fish you catch. These rays don’t have teeth as such, but they do have exceptionally powerful jaws that they use for crushing their prey. Their jaws have thousands of tiny rasping teeth, and it won’t take long for two or three fish to shred the 30lb mono just above the eye of the hook. If you think your hooklength has been weakened, tie a new one.

BEST BAITS

Depending on when you are fishing, you’ll need a selection of baits. Thornbacks love fish baits, so fresh mackerel or frozen squid is ideal. However, there is one bait that will always outshine the rest around the Essex coast, especially early season and through the summer months, and that is locally caught herring.

GEARING UP

Uptiding for thornies is a simple affair as far as tackle is concerned. A pair of uptide rods coupled with either fixed spool or multiplier reels loaded with 20lb mono and 40lb shockleaders is the norm.

As far as rigs go, a simple running leger using a single size 4/0 or 5/0 hook tied to 3ft of 30lb clear mono is all that is required for ray fishing.

A small boom that houses a grip lead completes the set-up.

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Baiting up with herring couldn’t be easier.

Simply cut the herring into four or five chunks about 1-inch across and use one chunk at a time on your hook. Not only is it an effective bait, but it’s also a relatively cheap one too.

THE UPTIDE METHOD

The aim of the game when uptiding for rays is to cast your baited trace uptide, away from the boat.

Using a breakout-style grip lead will allow your baited rig to be ‘anchored’ uptide, away from the scare area of the boat. When a fish takes your bait, it will hook itself against the pressure created by the bow of line and this will in turn break the grip lead out of the seabed – simple, but very effective.

Depending on where you are fishing on the boat will determine where you cast. Let’s say you’re fishing on the starboard side near the wheelhouse. You should cast as tight to the boat as possible, as far uptide as possible. Let out a bow of line so that the line leaving your rod tip ends up pointing downtide.

If you use the anchor warp as a guide, try to cast your rigs a few metres to the right of it. The next angler down should cast at 25 degrees to the warp, and so on. The anglers fishing along the stern should cast left or right, using the beam of the boat as an imaginary line. Doing this will help reduce tangles and it is possible for eight or ten anglers to uptide comfortably from a reasonably sized boat.

THE BITE AND FIGHT

In calm conditions it is actually possible to see a ray land on top of your bait. This will be signalled by a solid, but slight pull or two on the end of your rod tip. The ray will then position itself over the bait and begin munching away.

More often than not, the ray either feels the hook or finishes eating and moves off. This is when your rod tip will buckle over, then spring back as the ray breaks the lead out of the bottom and trundles off downtide. At this point your rod tip will be ‘bouncing’ as the ray swims off.

However, sometimes a ray will simply sit on your bait, indefinitely! It’s quite common to reel in for a bait change, only to find that you’re hooked up to a ray without ever seeing the bite. It is for this reason that many anglers like to watch their rod tips like a hawk for the slightest indication that a ray has landed on their bait. If any suspicious tip movement is seen, give it a few minutes and if nothing happens reel in to see what’s happened.

If you manage to spot the bite early and are ready when the ray moves off, pick up your rod and wind as fast as you can until you feel the weight of the fish. The quicker you can catch up to a ray as it swims off downtide, the easier it will be to bring it to the boat. Allowing a decent-sized ray to swim all the way downtide before you pick 48

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Locally-caught herrings are deadly for the Thames thornies

your rod up will only mean lots of hard work on your part, pumping and winding the fish back to the boat. This can be tough, especially in a fast tide.

When you feel the weight of the fish, pull into it and then pump and wind to get the fish back to the boat. There’s no need to strike – the fish is already hooked.

A double-figure ray will take line from you, so make sure your drag is set to allow this. The bigger rays will often stay deep and will put up a good scrap. If you’re faced with the situation where you are fishing in a fast tide and are connected to a big ray, do your best to just stand there and hold onto it, trying not to give it any line – it’s a bit like flying a kite underwater! The ray will tire eventually and the tide will lift it up to the surface way behind the boat. At this point you can heave-ho and try to ‘skip’ the ray across the surface of the sea.

Don’t think the fight is over in this situation!

Although it may appear that the ray is coming in easily, it will often flip over and make a final dive for freedom. Be prepared for this and you shouldn’t encounter any problems.

HANDLE WITH CARE

Learn how to use pliers or a disgorger to remove the hook from a thornback

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If you’ve never picked up a thornback before, take great care! They’re called thornbacks because of the nasty spines along their tail and wings. It is advisable to wear a thick glove, or use a heavy towel, to hold the ray if you are in any doubt. Heavy-duty rubber gloves can be handy for this.

However, if you are careful, you can grab the ray between your forefingers and thumbs either side of its jaw muscles. If you run your finger and thumb down the nose of a thornback you’ll come to a soft, fleshy part either side of the ray’s eyes.

This is where to grab it for a picture.

If you do get ‘spiked’ by one of the thorns, wash the wound in salt water immediately. The thorns are covered in an anticoagulant and unless you wash this off quickly it will be hard to stop the wound from bleeding. Don’t let this put you off handling thornback rays though, once you know where to hold them they’re easy to pick up – just take your time and be careful. n 49

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There’s nothing quite like the fight from a big black bream.

BLACK BREAM

WHERE AND WHEN

During April each year the bream hit our shores after they return from their deep-water nuptials.

They can be found offshore on deepwater wrecks and reefs, but the best bream fishing occurs in shallow to moderate depths within site of land.

This makes them not only accessible to the charter angler, but indeed anybody who owns a small boat. Black bream favour mixed ground, but rarely are they found far from an underwater The colours of a mature male black bream are amazing

The dogged fight from a black bream hooked on a light tackle is hard to beat. Here’s how to target one of the UK’s most spirited fighters

IDENTIFICATION

Easily identified by its oval shape, the black sea bream is a silvery, scaly, metallic-looking fish that is often tinged blue with vertical banded lines across the back. From the family of fishes called Perciformes (meaning perch-like) they have a full length dorsal with spines, gill plates with a razor sharp edges, and jaws with 4-6 rows of razor sharp teeth which allow this predatory species, like its freshwater perch relative, to hunt with less chance of being the hunted.

Like all British sea breams they are related to the many bream species that frequent the 50

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Mediterranean, so it is fair to say they are a warm water species. Bream turn up in huge shoals during spring, and the intensity of the fishing increases with the water temperature throughout the summer. As autumn hits and temperatures plummet they seem to suddenly disappear from shallow-water marks, making a journey from their summer haunts to nearby deeper water in which they spawn. While on the subject of spawning and sex, bream are hermaphrodites and have the ability to change from a female to male.

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feature. Some wrecks will produce bream but wreck fishing is not as consistent as fishing reef marks and the hard ground around them - a hard seabed is what the bream seems to like.

With a small mouth armed with rows of razor-sharp teeth and a jaw action similar to a piranha, black bream are built perfectly to feed on seaweeds and small crabs or prawns.

Early in the spring, shoals will frequent marks with a moderate depth, but as the core water temperature increases towards mid summer, thousands of bream move inshore into beach, estuary, pier and harbour areas.

When the tide is slack or has little run, black bream will come up in the water column, but as the tide starts to run they usually will move and remain hard to the bottom.

They can often be found in huge shoals, where fishing can often be a fish per drop for the duration of a tide.

It may seem like black bream fishing is a bottomless pit of fish, but we must always be aware of the knock-on effect throughout the whole eco system. Only keep what you need and put the rest back. It’s also worth checking your local bylaws, because in certain areas of the country there is now a bag limit per angler in force.

BALANCED TACKLE

Black bream are the epitome of British saltwater sport fishing and on correctly balanced light tackle they will offer a fight unmatchable by most other species.

On heavy tackle not only will fight be reduced, but bite detection can become harder. As with all fishing, lead will determine what rod you use, and the depth and run of tide will determine which lead.

Light tackle provides some serious sport when conditions allow

DO THE DROPPER Ground-baiting can be highly effective for all bream species, and on the South Coast it is common practice to use a bait dropper device to deposit groundbait around the area that you’re fishing to help draw the shoal in tight.

Finely chopped squid and a couple of bags of Dynamite Baits’ Marine Halibut Pellets make the perfect groundbait. The pellets are made from fishmeal and fish oils derived from the sea, so it stands to reason that they should be an amazing fish attractor when used back in the sea too.

These pellets are relatively cheap, and you can buy a kilo bag for less than £4. They come in 3mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 14mm sizes, and they’re well worth experimenting with.

There are loads of different styles of bait dropper available, but the largest ones are used by barbel anglers so they can get big beds of pellet and hemp on the riverbed on fastflowing rivers. If you use a catapult, rather like throwing groundbait over the side of a boat, the flow of the river or tide will simply wash it away. Using a bait dropper ensures that the bait is delivered hard on the bottom.

It works by a simple lever system. You open the dropper, fill it up and then push the lever down to lock it all in place. The bottom of the lever has a lead weight on it, which ensures the whole thing goes down vertically. When the dropper hits the bottom, the lever is pushed up to release the groundbait right where you want it.

BOW DOWN

Bream bites can be anything from a gentle pluck to a savage rattle and rod-wrenching pull. Most of the time you’ll find that bream will hit your bait and try to tear it off the hook, resulting in the familiar violent rattle felt through your rod. Our favourite tactic is to slowly lower the rod tip or push the rod towards the fish as soon as you feel that first rattle, then quickly lift into it, effectively striking and setting the hook. It works a treat, and by ‘bowing down’ you will hook a lot more fish.

These Marine Halibut Pellets are brilliant for bream when used as groundbait

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SPECIMEN SIZES

The current British record for the bream currently lies at 6lb 14oz, black and year there are many fish caught each ounces of this. A good bream is within any 3lb. A 4lb fish is a very good spe thing over cimen. If you catch a bream over 5lb you’re a lucky angler!

As a rule of thumb, always use the lightest outfit you can. In shallow water, with little run of tide, this may be a great excuse to fish with a spinning rod. Whereas in deeper water, this may have to be stepped up to a 10lb or 12lb class outfit. Either way, always choose the lightest setup and this will increase the fight and aid more sensitive bite detection. Fast bite detection is needed for a quick reaction to set the hook, or you will have been bait robbed!

When using light tackle, it is important to balance the rod with a correctly weighted reel. A 5000-6500 sized multiplier will pair nicely with any light tackle outfit, and use fixed spool reels for spinning rods.

Bream are a species that bite fast and will often need a quick strike to set the hook. This, paired with their love for sharp rocky dwellings, means you will not find greater control than when using braided main line. A good 20lb braid will increase bite detection, allow you to feel the seabed better, and as a bonus will help you cut through the tide, meaning less lead and more sport.

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SIMPLE RIGS

Although bream will come right up in the water column and can be caught using float tactics when there is little tide, bottom fishing is by far the most effective method to target them. When fishing over rough ground, keep it simple and keep it cheap. Bait is far more important. A two or three-hook paternoster made with dropper loop knots or two-way beads can be very effective if you want to catch numbers of fish, but I prefer the more sporting approach of a single hook running leger rig, tied with 30-inches of 12lb fluorocarbon.

This tactic will often find the bigger fish too.

Hooks are the most important aspect of any bream rig. They have small mouths and bite fast, so hook size and quick set are paramount if you want to land fish. Size 4 carp hooks, Chinus and ‘J’ hooks in size 1/0 and under will guarantee fewer missed bites.

A popular trick is to add a single or double 3mm or 5mm yellow bead directly above the hook so it butts up to the eye. There’s something about using this yellow bead that definitely increases bites.

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Small carp hooks can be very effective

Two-way beads are the matchman’s favourite

SECRET BAITS

Squid strip and ragworm baits, often in combination, are the most widely used for bream fishing – not because of success but more down to the convenience they can be purchased. But a bream’s natural diet consists of very little squid and worm cocktail, and edging baits towards their more natural food sources can often prove very rewarding. Limpet, hermit crab tails, scallop frills, muscles, and fish strip all score well.

A favourite bait for big bream is a squid head, either whole if it’s a small Calamari, or cut in half lengthways for larger heads. It’s also a good idea to pierce the eyes of the squid with the point of the hook before sending it down, to release even more scent into the water. n Some anglers prefer a long shank hook for bream.

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The perfect big bream bait – note the yellow bead Chopping up squid is made much easier with the use of some ‘worm scissors’

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DAB The humble dab has saved many a day afloat when traditional winter species don’t play ball

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R

egardless of their sweet taste, dabs are not at the top of our target list when planning a great day afloat.

They are the smallest of the UK flatfish and, despite weights recorded in excess of 2lb, are generally widespread in the 8oz bracket.

A dab that exceeds 1lb would be considered a great catch, unless you’re fishing over in Norway or Iceland, where the average size is 1lb plus.

Often, when the winter cod fishing has died away and even the whiting are scarce, the good old dab can turn a slow day into an action packed session – you just have to scale down your gear and actually target them.

Run your finger from the tail to the head of a dab and you’ll feel how rough their skin is

EASY TO IDENTIFY

The dab is easily identifiable when compared to other flatfish such as flounder and plaice. They have a white underside and normally a light brown topside. Dabs have light spots on the top that are more a yellowy orange colour than the striking red of a plaice, yet on odd occasions they are still misidentified by anglers, especially when small.

A key way to be certain that it’s a dab is to run your fingers along its back, from the tail to its head – dab’s have a rough skin to touch with quite a rough and pronounced lateral line.

The flounder has a mottled greenish brown colour on its topside, occasionally with dull red spots. A plaice on the other hand has a smooth topside when rubbed either way.

Commonplace around the whole of the UK, dabs can be routinely found in waters between 20 and 40 metres in depth. The habitat of a dab can vary, but most are caught over clean sand or mud.

If you travel to Norway or even the northern ports of the UK, the chances are that you’re likely to encounter the ‘long rough dab’, which is very similar to the regular dab, except it is much longer and slimmer in appearance.

Isome has been proven to work for dabs, especially when fished in shallower water on the drift

SOFT PLASTICS

Dabs have a varied diet that includes small crustaceans, worms and fish. As anglers, we tend to use various worm baits often tipped with fish or squid. Just like other flatfish, dabs will readily attack a moving bait, and it’s quite common to catch more dabs on the drift than laying at anchor. This is further quantified when reading various articles and exploits of other anglers where they concentrate on LRF methods, and in particular the use of soft plastic baits, its noticeable the number of small flatfish being caught on slightly twitched baits. Boat anglers can adopt similar tactics with soft plastic baits during a day afloat whether at anchor or indeed on the drift for targeting all manner of flatfish.

I’ve seen dabs caught on Isome worms before over in Norway, so I know the tactic works.

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TACKLING UP

The average size of dabs in Norway is over 1lb. You will also encounter plenty of long rough dabs there too

The choice of rod and reel is dependent on the ground, depth of water and tide of the particular mark that you are fishing. It goes without saying that the lighter you can fish, the more fun you’re going to have.

A 7-35g lure rod matched with a 3000-sized fixed spool reel loaded with 10lb braid would be my choice, but in some cases you can go even lighter and use dedicated LRF tackle. For general boat fishing, though, if you can’t get away with using less than 3oz to hold bottom, I would suggest a 12lb class boat rod with a really soft tip.

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RIG CHOICE

Hook choice is crucial, bearing in mind that the vast majority of baits being used will be wormbased, so a longer shank hook will help with good presentation. With dabs having fairly soft mouths, a very fine wire hook can be used when targeting them specifically – something like a fine wire Aberdeen pattern in size 2 is a good starting point.

When looking for dabs your chances of a double or triple shot are usually good, so two or three-hook rigs are the norm. It’s important to keep the rig as tight to the seabed as possible. A three-down scratching rig fished off a boom is the correct rig choice. The rig body needs to be around 4ft in length with the three hooks spaced equally along the body. 40lb body and 20lb fluorocarbon hooklengths are ample enough for all that may take the baits. However, additional care needs to be taken when landing anything bigger than a dab!

Flatfish respond to attractors, plaice especially are regularly caught using a vast array of colourful beads and sequins on the snoods in addition to the baits. Dabs are no different, and 5mm beads in either a bright yellow and red, or red and luminous combinations have been proven to work well.

BAITS

Dabs will readily hit baits with attractors added

Ragworm and rag tipped with squid can be a lethal cocktail for dabs from a variety of ports. Small harbour rag (maddies) bunched together can result in some very good-sized specimens, especially when fished on the drift over undulating sandbanks. Similar to fishing for plaice, the worms are bounced slowly over the depressions seeking out the ambush points of the larger dabs.

In many areas, especially during the winter months, sticky black lugworm has to be one of the best baits available.

Sticky black is the name given to black lug that has been frozen, thawed and re-frozen a number of times. The process dries out the worm and leaves it very sticky to touch and also with a very strong smell.

The worm can be used in a couple of different ways, either threaded up the hook and just passed over the eye of the hook and then tipped off with a slither of mackerel or squid. This slither helps prevent the worm from slipping along the gape of the hook and masking the point. Alternatively, with a baiting needle and some elastic, you can prepare some black lug sausages to offer a solid piece tipped off once again with mackerel or squid. n

Sticky black lugworm is a top dab bait

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Pete Cook from Lure Hub caught countless gurnards during this slow jigging wreck trip

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GURNARD

One of the most brightly coloured, and often overlooked, species in the UK, the humble gurnard can be targeted by bait and lure anglers alike

AMAZING COLOURS

Gurnards are usually caught by accident by anglers fishing with bottom baits, but in some areas of the country it is possible to target them with light tackle, which puts a completely different perspective on their fighting capabilities. Not only are gurnards

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great eating, they can provide some excellent sport for both bait and lure anglers.

Most UK sea fish species are the exact opposite of their tropical relatives when it comes to colouration. Our coldwater species are often shades of brown, grey or silver. When we think of colourful UK species we instantly think of the cuckoo wrasse, but tub and red gurnards are the real heavyweights when it comes to colouration.

Grey gurnards are the dullest of the family, but even so, some of them have a neon purple tinge

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STRANGE SPECIES

The shape of a gurnard is quite unlike any other British sea species. With their exceptionally strange looks and big head it will probably come as no surprise that the order of fishes they come from is known as Scorpaeniformes (scorpionfishes and flatheads). The direct family of fishes that they are related to is called Triglidae (Searobins).

Scorpionfishes have distinct looks and a distinct personality – the gurnard is no exception. From initial looks they may appear quite cute, but this is far from the truth. The gurnard has developed to live and hunt on the seabed among the most fearsome of larger predators. Large eyes capable to see at depth in low light, dorsal spines, sharp gill plates capable of deterring any other predator, and a huge head constructed entirely of bone, taking up a third of it’s body mass, means that for any other predator that eats fish whole, it’s a pretty uninviting meal.

Gurnards not only have large heads and large eyes but they also have an oversized mouth when compared to their somewhat smaller body. This large mouth is the ideal tool for any bottom feeder that needs to swallow dinner quickly and without even having to chew.

Perhaps the most notable feature, though, is the gurnard’s abnormal method of transport.

They have huge pectoral fins, almost like wings, which are used for propulsion. Three long feelers When the conditions are right, you can use a lure rod for gurnards, even in 150ft of water

can be found extending from the base of these fins like fingers. These are not only used to feel for food, but to walk on like legs.

WHERE AND WHEN

Gurnards can be caught all year round from much of the UK coastline, but catches are more frequent during the warmer months. A gurnards diet consists of anything that will go down whole including crustaceans (mostly shrimps and small crabs) fishes (mostly gobies, flatfish, young herring, eels and other bottom-dwelling fish). All three species of gurnard will often be found living hard on the bottom either on clean open ground or on clean ground around the edge of a reef or wreck. The South Coast, Cornish and Welsh coasts, right up the west coast into Scotland provide some of the best gurnard fishing, with

Hokkais are a really effective rig for gurnards when baited with strips of mackerel or squid.

This colourful red gurnard took a liking to a holographic HTO slow jig

notable spots such as Rhyl being established as the Mecca for big tub gurnards, which often weigh in excess of 6lb.

Gurnards love sand, shingle, and mud, although you may find other areas where they are more common and prolific. Although predominantly a bottom species, we have caught gurnards just a few feet under the surface in over 100-metres of water before, strings of them at a time on feathers intended for mackerel!

TACKLING UP

It is highly likely that if you target a gurnards you will be catching multiple other species at the same time, so you’ll need a rod that not only offers sport when playing smaller fish, but one that also has a little backbone to lift larger species that could possibly be caught. This is where a multi-tip match rod comes into its own, or one of the modern lure fishing rods with a soft tip action and stiff butt. A good alternative is a 6-12lb class boat rod if the amount of lead and tide dictates.

Fishing for smaller species can often be known as ‘scratching’, so it’s all about bite detection and recognising the smallest of bites and knowing when to strike. A fixed spool reel loaded with 15lb braid will be perfect for the job.

As you would expect, with match style fishing comes match style rig tactics, and this is the best way to present baits when looking to target gurnard and/or other smaller fish. Multi-hook 60

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paternosters and one-up one-down rigs are perfect. However, in some areas the good old baited hokkai rig takes some beating – it’s really a case of horses for courses. If we’re specifically targeting gurnards, we like to use a two-hook paternoster or two hooks down with size 1 hooks and a bit of bling added to the snood; either beads or beads and sequins will work a treat.

Fish strip and sandeel baits aimed at turbot and brill are often taken by larger gurnards, but by far the best way to target them is by using combination baits. These include ragworm, lugworm, squid strip, peeler crab and various shellfish, with small pieces of fish strip being the most successful.

LURE FISHING

Gurnards, especially the tub and red variety, love a lure. We’ve caught countless gurnards on Sidewinder Sandeels and Savage Gear Sandeels over the years. In recent years though, we have had great success with small metals, more specifically slow jigs. The way that a slow jig is worked means that it is kept in the feeding zone for longer, which gives the gurnard more time to get to it and attack, which is why the tactic is so successful.

It’s no coincidence that when fishing over a wreck for species such as bass and pollack, gurnards nearly always put in an appearance on the lures. It often happens just after you drift off the wreck, mainly because the gurnards will be laying in wait in the sandy scour behind it. If we specifically wanted to target gurnards on lures, we’d go wreck fishing and not fish the wreck!

RECORD BREAKERS

Although many gurnards that are caught are generally small in the 1-2lb bracket, the British boat record for a tub gurnard is a monstrous 11b 7oz 4dr. The British record for the red and grey are somewhat smaller with their weights being 3lb 2oz 2dr and 2lb 7oz 8dr respectively. Then there is the smallest of the family, the streaked gurnard, with a whopping 1lb 2oz British boat record weight. n

TWO-HOOK DOWN RIG 1 Tie a small rolling swivel to the end of a 4ft length of 15 or 20lb mono.

Fluorocarbon is best.

3 To form the second snood, simply make an overhand loop in the middle of the trace and pass the swivel end through it seven times.

5 Pull the bottom part of the main loop up through the smaller loop that you just created at the top like this.

7 The HTO Osoi slow jig has proven very effective for gurnards SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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Cut one side of the loop with a pair of scissors to give you the second snood.

Leave a tag of about 5mm to be safe.

2 Thread on your chosen combination of beads and then tie on your chosen hook to the end.

4 Separate the two sections of line exactly in the middle of the top of the turns to form a smaller loop.

6 Grip the top loop in your teeth (not too tightly) and pull the line either side of the to tighten the knot.

8 Now thread on a few more beads and tie on your chosen hook to finish off the second snood.

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BLUE SHARK

Autumn can be a great time for targeting blue sharks, with some areas of the coast still catching good numbers into November.

Here’s how to tackle up for them

TACKLING UP

A lot of specialist charter boats are geared up for shark fishing and have all the gear on board.

Most skippers like to fish a four or five-rod spread using 50lb class gear, just in case they bump into a big porbeagle or thresher shark, but you can quite happily fish for blues with 30lbclass tackle and 50lb mainline.

On the end of the 50lb reel line, a rubbing leader made with 10ft of 400lb wire with a 2oz oval bullet lead attached is tied on. Then a trace of 5ft of 400lb wire with a size 10/0 hook on the end is connected. The reason for all this wire is simply because blue sharks tend to spin on the trace once hooked – especially if they dive deep.

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Using wire instead of mono as a rubbing leader makes it easier to untangle, and it also means you don’t have to keep changing the rubbing leader section after just a couple of sharks.

The aim of the game is to drift along with four or five baits in the water set at different depths and varying distances away from the boat. Usually, the furthest bait from the boat is drifted out around 60-metres using a float and is set at around 10-metres deep. Then the second rod is set 50-metres from the boat at a depth of nine-metres and so on, until the last rod is set just ten-metres from the boat set at a five metres.

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RUBBY DUBBY

With all the rods set, the next step is to sort out the rubby dubby – a mixture of minced mackerel, pilchard oil and bran. This is all stuffed into an onion sack or drilled bucked and suspended over the side of the boat on a rope.

The trick is to have the sack so that it is only just sitting in the water, so that the action of the boat rocking helps ‘jig’ the bag up and down, in turn releasing the oily slick into the water.

It’s this ‘slick’ that attracts the sharks to your baits, and because there is nothing in the slick for the sharks to eat as such, they home in on your mackerel baits quite quickly.

You can use fresh fish such as pollack and mackerel to make rubby dubby, or you can do what a good friend of mine does and keep all the cod heads and guts from the winter’s fishing in the freezer, then mash all that up with some bran and fish oil. One of the UK’s top shark anglers, Graeme Pullen, let me into a little secret many years ago. He had a deal with his local trout fishery, and they keep all the heads and guts for him of the trout that people catch and clean.

Because the trout is such an oily fish, it makes excellent rubby dubby. Either way, it’s a good idea to mince up your rubby dubby and mix it at home, them scoop it into old ice cream tubs and freeze it down. It saves a lot of grief and mess on the boat, and the frozen blocks last far longer in a sack over the side than fresh ruby dubby does.

BLUE SHARK FACTS

The blue shark is one of the most easily recognisable sharks. It has a distinct colour – a deep indigo blue from above and a vibrant blue on its sides, changing to white underneath.

The large pectoral fins are also easy to spot as they are as long as the distance between the tip of the snout to the last gill slit.

The blue shark is a long slender shark, reaching 3.8 meters (13ft) in length. It is likely the most prolific of the large shark species as it is abundant throughout its range. The blue shark has a weak keel on the caudal peduncle and the upper lobe of the caudal fin is larger than the lower. The teeth on both the lower and upper jaw have triangular cusps with smooth or finely serrated edges.

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Fish oils added to minced mackerel and bran makes great rubby dubby

BAITS

The standard for a blue shark fishing is a mackerel flapper – basically a mackerel with the backbone removed. However, large English squid baits also work well, as do any oily fish such as herring, trout and even Bluey. You can fish with livebaits for blue sharks, but the preferred baits are usually dead, either fresh or frozen.

THE FIGHT

When you get hooked up to a big blue shark, the initial run can be somewhat daunting. They are extremely powerful and I’ve had blues take well over 100 yards of line from me on their first run.

DIET

The diet of this shark includes many types of fish and squid, and they may sometimes eat seals. Although flatfishes make up part of the diet, blue sharks predominantly eat pelagic fishes such as herring, cod, haddock, pollack, mackerel and whiting. Fish caught on longlines are often attacked and consumed by blue sharks, which in turn often become ensnared in the fishing gear.

REPRODUCTION

The blue shark is a viviparous species, nourishing the young in the uterus and giving birth to live pups. The newborn pups measure 40 to 51cm (16 to 20 inches) in length and litters usually consist of between 25 to 50 individuals.

Litters of up to 135 pups have been reported.

Females reach sexual maturity at a size of 2.2 to 3.2 meters (7 to 11ft), while for males it is achieved at lengths of 1.8 to 2.8 meters (6 to 9ft). After copulation the females may retain and nourish the spermatozoa in the oviducal gland for months or even years while she awaits ovulation. Once the eggs have been fertilized there is a gestation period of between nine and 12 months.

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SHARK MEASUREMENT TO WEIGHT FORMULA You can get a pretty good idea how heavy a shark is by measuring it and using the formula below to estimate its weight. The girth is taken as the deepest part of the body, usually just behind the pectoral fins, and the length is measured from the nose to the fork of the tail.

1 Measure the fish’s girth in inches, then square it.

2 Multiply the figure by the fish’s length in inches.

3 Divide the final figure by 800 to give the approximate weight of the shark.

For example – the shark’s girth is 35 inches and the shark’s length is 80 inches 35 x 35 = 1225 1225 x 80 = 98,000 98,000 divided by 800 = 122.5lb 64

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HANDLING BLUE SHARKS DO

n Use inline circle hooks: Crush barbs.

Deep-hooked sharks have less chance of surviving. n Be prepared: Make sure your gear is up to the job and you have everything you need to safely catch, handle, and release a blue shark. n Have a plan for when the reel screams.

Know where your unhooking tools, wire cutters and gloves are. Have spares! n Keep them wet: Releasing big blue sharks in the water is preferable, but boarded fish should be kept wet and the time out of the water minimised. n Watch out for the sharp end: blue sharks are agile and can bite their own tails!

Their teeth are efficient cutting tools and not to be underestimated.

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DON’T

n Haul sharks over the gunwales: their internal organs can easily be damaged.

Just because a shark swims off doesn’t mean it will survive. n Ever use a gaff on a blue shark. n Put a shark on a hot deck: Use a wetted mat or wet the deck to prevent damage to the fish. n Be a surgeon: If you can’t get the hook out easily, cut the trace as close as possible. n If you are in doubt or don’t have the facilities or experience to safely board a shark, release in the water. These fish are too valuable to be caught only once.

Every shark is different though. Some will run away from you, then run straight back at you.

Some will run a short distance, then dive deep, while others might just arc round while staying on the surface. That’s half the fun with shark fishing, you never know quite what to expect once you get hooked up.

The key things to remember when playing a blue shark are to keep the drag set nice and tight, but no so tight that the shark can’t take any line, and most of all, to have fun!

Enjoy the fight and take your time. When the shark wants to take line, let it, and when it feels like you’re winning, get some line back onto the reel.

Once your shark is near the boat, it’s best to let the skipper grab the leader and deal with it. Most are unhooked at the side of the boat, but there are quite a few specialist boats that have been designed with a door down one side at water level, so the shark can be easily slid onto the deck for measuring and tagging, then slid back into the water with minimal stress. n

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SQUID

They’re a brilliant bait and fantastic to eat, but did you know you can target squid with rod and line in the UK?

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 25cm long, catching one over 2lb is considered an achievement.

The veined squid is much bigger than its European and also much stronger – it’s a real veracious predator. December and Jan is when the real big squid are caught, normally by accident on cod baits with some trawlers reporting them as big as 12lb.

Squid are usually a cream or translucent colour, but when they need to blend with their surroundings, or are excited or alarmed they can rapidly change colour.

Squid are voracious and opportunist feeders, their main prey being fish, but they will not turn down crustaceans, molluscs or even fellow squid when hungry.

THE BEST TIMES

Squid can be caught in deep water at any time of the year, but the main season for targeting them on rod and line over inshore reefs and wrecks is from September to May, with the period

The business end of a squid where the super-sharp beak is hidden.

SCARY MONSTERS

Squid usually have ten ‘arms’ arranged in five pairs around the head. Four pairs are short and heavy while the fifth and lighter pair, the tentacles, are more than twice as long as the arms and are equipped with suction cups which are used to seize and hold prey. In the middle of these arms and tentacles is the mouth, equipped with a very hard and sharp beak.

Squid eyes are large, giving this sight feeder excellent underwater vision. They have a highly developed nervous system, probably the most sophisticated of any of the invertebrates, which allows them to be extremely agile. They propel themselves headfirst by using the motion of their fins, but when alarmed they can pump water out of the mantle through a siphon, shooting water with great force, moving rapidly into reverse. It’s quite common for squid to expel ink when doing this to create a cloud and give them more chance to get away.

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This squid took a liking to a Red Gill Mega Vibe lure intended for cod

RODS & REELS

Standard lure fishing kit can be used for the ultimate sport inshore, especially with smaller tides and slack water being the most productive times. However, when fishing offshore you may need to step up to a 12lb-class boat rod or heavier lure rod in order to keep your jigs working vertically with more lead.

A fixed spool reel loaded with 15-20lb braid coupled with a 10-40g lure rod will cover most situations.

WORKING THE JIG from November to February being the most productive. Neap tides or slack water are the best times for squid fishing.

During daylight squid are usually found in deeper water, normally over 70ft deep, feeding over wrecks and reefs or on shingle and sand banks with the bass and mackerel. Wherever you find bass and mackerel you will find the squid!

At dusk and throughout the hours of darkness they seem to move into the shallows from 10ft to 25ft deep.

Squid love a pink prawnstyle jig!

GETTING JIGGY WITH IT

We’ve caught numerous squid over the years by accident when using Red Gills and other artificial lures over wrecks intended for cod and pollack.

But if you want to target squid specifically then a squid jig is essential.

There are many types and colours available, hard plastic jigs, cloth-covered prawn-shaped jigs and skewer jigs for fresh bait. As with many lures, some to catch the angler more than the squid. What they all have in common is two rows of multiple, barbless hooks, designed to 68

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entangle the squid’s arms. Pink, orange, green and blue appear to be the most successful colours, but if we were to choose just one to carry in our box it would be a bright pink prawn-type jig.

When fishing for squid at night, it’s a great idea to use the luminous-type jigs, or even just to decorate your cloth-covered jigs with a glow in the dark pen. Squid definitely respond to light at night.

When it comes to fishing the prawn-style jig the favoured method is a single jig fished either on a 4ft-long trace behind a boom and weight, or multiple jigs fished on a multi-dropper paternoster rig.

The flowing trace rig is lowered to the bottom then slowly retrieved for about twenty feet then lowered and retrieved again, exactly like you would when working an artificial over a wreck for cod and pollack.

Multiple squid jigs can be fished paternoster style with each on a six-inch trace, again the slow retrieve method can be used, or you can simply leave the rig hanging over the side and let the motion of the ocean move them – like mackerel fishing on a spare rod.

When a squid does take a fancy to your jig, you’ll first feel an almost static heaviness on the end of your line. Then, as you start to retrieve, the squid will use its water jet propulsion to try and escape.

Pump the squid up slowly, and once it is in the landing net leave it there for a short while, even giving it a shake. This will encourage the squid to release most of its ink into the sea and not all over the boat! Once on boartd, put the squid into a coolbox with a lid, so that it doesn’t squirt any remaining ink everywhere. n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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LING If you target big ling on balanced tackle, you’ll be surprised at just how well they can fight

COD-LIKE FISHES

Ling come from the order of cod-like fishes called gadiformes including cod, hake, haddock, whiting and pollack. With a similar colouration as cod, ling also have a cod-like chin barbule, plus sensory glands on the head and a long lateral line to sniff out or sense anything that could be a potential meal. Offering the same edible qualities as a cod, the only thing that really differs between the two species is their body-shape – the cod

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being a shorter, plumper, round fish while the ling is elongated and eel-like.

They can be caught using the same tactics and methods as cod, but when it comes to fight there is no question which of the two fights hardest. Where cod will lunge and give deep heavy runs, ling will run and take line using the length of its body to shake for freedom, which can be detected in the rod tip by the distinct rattling movements.

WHERE AND WHEN

Ling can be found the length and breadth of the British Isles and can be caught both at anchor and while on the drift. Deep water usually produces better fishing but they can be caught in shallow areas too. We have caught quite a few while targeting inshore cod off Whitby in just 40ft of water. They love underwater obstructions and will often be caught around wrecks or nearby reefs and rough ground.

The UK’s two most prolific ling fisheries are the English Channel from south coast ports and the North Sea from east coast ports. In recent years there have been some mammoth ling

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caught from the northern isles of Orkney and Shetland, where they can regularly top 50lb.

Sport is more frequent during the summer months when the fish are abundant, but bigger specimens will often get caught post Christmas when they feed up ready to spawn.

When ling fishing its important to only catch what you need for the table. They are frequently caught at depth, which means their swim bladder will often blow upon retrieval to the surface.

An uptide rod is more than adequate for most ling fishing, unless you’re trying for a real monster over a wreck, where 30lb class gear is recommended

TACKLE TALK

Ling are one of the UK heavyweight fish and deserve appropriate tackle. Many anglers, in days gone by, preferred a 30 to 50lb class rod because this would guarantee less lost fish and was of suitable stiffness to jig a pirk. But in today’s age of supper strength light-tackle, and with smaller, more realistic, lures to represent every baitfish, heavy gear is no longer required.

A 20 or 30lb class outfit will be fine to carry up to 1lb of lead without ruining your sport. The key to which rod to use will always be governed by depth, run of tide and the conditions in which you are fishing.

When fishing for larger species that hug the

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bottom close to obstructions like wrecks and reefs, it pays to use a reel that will move them off and away from the bottom at a decent pace.

A 7000-sized multiplier with a high gear ratio is about the smallest suitable reel, but always remember to match your reel to your rod. Braid will offer better bite detection than mono, and will give you a few extra precious seconds to react and drag a big ling away from any potential hazards on the seabed. We prefer to use 30lb braid for pretty much all of our UK wreck, reef, and rough ground fishing.

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BAITS, RIGS & LURES

Ling predominantly feed on small, slow-moving, bottom fish such as pouting, poor cod, wrasse and whiting. At certain times of the year crab and squid will also feature highly in their diet.

You can tell they are aggressive hunters from their armoury - they have large eyes for vision at depth, an elongated body with full-length second dorsal and anal fins for fast propulsion across the bottom, and they have a serious set of teeth which are quite ragged in appearance and covered in an anticoagulant.

As far as baits go, most fish will work.

However, silver-sided fish such as mackerel, Bluey and herring have that added sight attractant. It’s hard to beat a fillet of mackerel hooked in the tail to wave enticingly on the drift, or a head and guts bait hooked up through the top of the head.

You can also catch good numbers of ling on squid baits. We like to use two or three decent sized squid on a Pennell rig when targeting ling inshore.

A simple running ledger rig is all you really need for ling, tied with a size 6/0 hook and 4ft of 100lb mono. You can fish this downtide at anchor, or by dragging the bait along the seabed while the boat drifts.

Attach your lead to a small boom via a weak link of say 15lb mono. Quite often when you’re fishing over a wreck or reef, it’s the lead that will become snagged – not the fish. So, if the lead can be snapped off easily when you hook into a big ling, you stand far more chance of getting that fish to the boat. Another great addition to your rig is one or two brightly-coloured muppets fixed just above the hook. These soft plastic attractors really do help get the attention of any ling in the

Mackerel head and guts is a great bait for ling in deeper water

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A 20lb ling is a good fish from an inshore mark

Watch out for those teeth – ling have a serious set of gnashers on them

area. For lures, pick ones designed to work close to the bottom: like jigs, leaded shads, and other soft plastics. Ling are often a by-catch when fishing wrecks for cod and pollack, but you can specifically target them by adding a small sliver of bait to your lure – ling are very well adapted to sniffing out the scent of a meal.

One of the most successful ling rigs in years gone by, especially for competition anglers, is a baited pirk bounced on or just off the seabed.

This tactic had accounted for more ling than any other, especially off the coast of Ireland.

LING RECORDS

The current British boat record for ling is a stupendous 67lb 5oz, caught in 2013 off Muckle Flugga, Shetland Isles.

The shore record stands at 21lb 10oz, caught in 1994 off Seasons Point, Plymouth. n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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WHITING

As soon as autumn is upon us many boat anglers suddenly go whiting mad, which is understandable with specimens weighing over 7lb being caught in recent years You don’t need to catch many whiting this size to feed your family

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A SPECIES IN ABUNDANCE Whiting, along with cod, pollack, poor cod, pouting, haddock and ling are members of the cod family and as such they taste pretty damned good. As far as the reason why anglers target them during the autumn and winter months, that probably has more to do with the whiting’s distinct migratory pattern. You see, much of the UK coastline becomes invaded by whiting come October, and they hang around right through until February in many places, offering a welcome rattle on the rod tips when the elusive cod aren’t playing ball.

PEAK TIMES

Whiting can be found in small shoals throughout the summer months, but as autumn approaches the juvenile whiting start to congregate inshore, before a mass invasion occurs.

The larger fish turn up from the deeper water to join them as the autumn days turn colder.

Winter is the best time to target a real specimen, with fish up to and over 5lb possible.

Go back five years and there was a distinct lack of whiting around our coastline. That was until a couple of years ago, when they appeared along the south coast in plague proportions. It was virtually impossible to target anything else there were so many, and it was easy to fill a string of six un-baited feathers in a matter of seconds in some areas!

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DESIGNED TO SCAVENGE

Blessed with a barbell for sense and taste, situated under the chin, an upper jaw that slightly extends the lower jaw and a large eye, whiting are designed to be predominantly bottom feeders, but also bottom feeders that can feed at any depth in low light.

Their long, slim, body and extended dorsal and anal fins means they are built to travel distances, hence their long distance winter migration. The holographic white/silver undersides make it easy to distinguish them from other smaller species when they are immature.

FIND YOUR FISH

During the summer months they can be found in moderate numbers over sand and mud seabeds, or around underwater obstructions like wrecks, reefs and sandbanks. They will shoal up tight to these features but will rarely venture onto the feature itself.

As the water temperature drops and the whiting begin to move on their migratory voyage, they rarely seem to feel the need to find the sanctuary of an underwater obstruction.

A 5lb whiting caught off The Needles.

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On some days the whiting are bigger than the cod!

Although they still prefer to feed over clean sand and mud, they will often congregate in the most desolate and barren of places. In fact, they’re quite similar to their relatives, the winter cod.

Basically, they’ll go wherever the food is – and that can be anything from lugworms, to prawns, or small fish.

TRUE PREDATORS

A telltale sign that the whiting is a predatory species is its small, razor-like, teeth that are designed for gripping small fish and other prey.

During the winter months when whiting are migrating and baitfish become scarce, they will quickly turn onto any available bait source including small crabs, molluscs, shellfish and marine worms, which is possibly why they become more abundant in inshore and shallow 76

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water areas during the colder months, feeding particularly well after dark.

One word of warning for you – when fishing for whiting, be careful when removing hooks – especially from the larger specimens. Their teeth are ultra sharp and will cut your fingers easily.

You always know when you’ve had a good day on the whiting, because your fingers are often torn to shreds – it’s inevitable!

TACKLE & TACTICS

To get the best sport from this species go for a light rod with good bite detection. Multi-tip match rods are ideal for the job, as are some of the new spinning rods currently available on the market. You can match these up with a mediumsized fixed spool reel for the ultimate thrill.

If you’re fishing in an estuary or deep water, SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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then the likelihood is that you’ll be fishing in some tide, so you may have to step up to a light uptider or an 8lb to 12lb class boat rod. Basically, fish as light as you possibly can, depending on how much lead you need to get your baits down.

As bite detection while bottom fishing is paramount, braided lines with zero stretch will give better bite detection than monofilament.

Fifteen to twenty pound braid loaded on a 6500 size multiplier will give superb bite detection, handle all whiting fishing situations, and will still land a rogue cod or monster bass if one should accidentally take your bait – which is much more common than you might think.

To appeal to a whiting that likes to hunt shoal fish, it’s far more effective to use a multi-hook and bait set up like a paternoster rig. One up, one down rigs are great for searching out specimen sized fish. A three-hook flapper rig tied with dropper loop knots will give you three attractive looking baits. Use size 1 to 2/0 hooks depending on your bait size. However, by far the most popular rig for winter whiting fishing at depth is to use baited feathers or hokkais, because these offer extra attraction. A lot of south coast anglers go for a multi-hook rig with pink coloured hokkais on, and they seem to do the business.

Check out those teeth - and this is only a small whiting

BAIT SELECTION

During the winter months the best baits to use are fish strips. This can be anything from sandeel or mackerel to herring slices, even sprats. One of the latest baits to really make an impact on winter whiting fishing is the Bluey. These are sold blast frozen, and are crammed with natural oil. They’re extremely effective in any situation, but they really come into their own in deep water or when fishing shallower, dirty water where there is very little visibility.

Worm baits do catch a lot of whiting, especially in river estuaries like the Humber, Thames and Bristol Channel. In these areas, the best bait is a lugworm tipped off with a small slice of mackerel or squid. n SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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HADDOCK IDENTIFICATION

Haddock are a member of the cod family and as such have three dorsal fins. The first appears as a tall triangle, the second is a broader triangle and the third is small and sloping.

The haddock has a silvery sheen, with a purplegrey iridescent back and a creamy-white belly.

Perhaps the best giveaways for identification purposes are the black lateral line and the pronounced ‘thumbprint’ which can be found above each pectoral fin.

Haddock have smaller mouths than other members of the cod family and a small barbule on their chin.

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Haddock fishing demands specific tactics in order to catch them with any regularity

SIMPLE TACKLE &RIGS The haddock is a bottom feeders, but that does not mean that they are not prepared to rise in the water a couple of feet in order to feed. Rig wise, a simple paternoster with either a single or double hookbait is the approach to take. Alternatively, you could fish a simple running leger rig with a small lead so that you can bounce it around on the bottom and cover more ground.

Trace length is adjusted to the strength of the tide. Use a longer trace for slacker tides, say 3ft, and a shorter 2ft trace when the tide is running.

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The ‘thumbprint’ is an easy way to identify them

They are known to feed on small fish such as sandeels, but fish baits are not their first choice.

In some areas of the country scallop frills are a brilliant bait, especially when fishing over, or near to, known scallop beds.

TIMID BITES

Haddock are very much like black bream in the way that they feed. They’ll rattle your rod tip as they try to pull bits off your bait, before finally giving in and engulfing it. The key to successful haddock fishing is patience. Wait for those rattling bites, but don’t be tempted to strike too early – wait for the haddock to take the bait properly before you lift into it. Haddock have quite soft mouths, so don’t strike too hard or you could pull the hook before you even get started.

The same goes for playing the fish to the boat – take your time and be careful not to pull the hook.

There’s no place for bullying a fish to the boat when seeking out haddock.

They fight all the way to the surface and because they are gentle biters they are often only lightly hooked. Any slack line given on the way to the surface will result in the loss of the fish, especially during the critical last few feet to the net, so make sure you have your wits about you when playing one.

BEST TIMES

Haddock can be caught throughout the year but during the winter months they tend to come close inshore and that’s when a lot of anglers prefer to target them, especially along the southwest and Welsh coasts.

Haddock are prolific spawners, mature females producing between 100,000 and a million transparent eggs. These are released in the spring (mainly March or April) in water of around 50 fathoms. The eggs rise in the water to float in the upper currents, where they hatch in a fortnight given sufficiently high surface temperatures. Within a few weeks the larvae sink through the depths to take up a demersal, bottom-living, existence. With good feeding the species can grow to over 6-inches within the first year of life.

WHERE TO LOOK

Haddock are more selective in the type of habitat they choose than the other cod species.

They prefer to feed over a soft seabed made up of shells, sand and small pebbles, where there are likely to be beds of live shellfish. Scallops are one of the haddock’s favourite foods, but they will also feed over mussel beds and in places where cockles burrow beneath the sand.

Haddock shoals are constantly on the move, searching the seabed for any food they can find.

Therefore, if you’re boat fishing away from rocks and reefs, don’t hesitate to move in order to keep up with the shoal.

RECORDS

The British boat record fish came from waters off Falmouth on the Cornish coast – a rather splendid specimen weighing 13lb 11oz, was taken by G Bones in 1978. The previous record of 12lb 10oz was also caught there. n

A decent haddock will give you a few great meals!

Use size 1/0 or 2/0 fine wire hooks and 20lb fluorocarbon hooklengths for haddock, but as long as you fish relatively light and small you will be fine.

As far as rods and reels go, this too will be dictated by where you are fishing. Try to fish as light as possible whenever you can. A 10-40g lure rod matched with a 4000-sized fixed spool reel is a ‘go to’ set up for haddock fishing. If you encounter more tide and need to go heavier with leads larger than 4oz, then a 6-12lb class boat rod and small multiplier reel would be the best choice.

BEST BAITS

Shellfish such as mussel and razorfish are top haddock baits with worms and squid a close second. Lugworm and mussel cocktails are very popular in the northeast, and this combo should work anywhere in the country.

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One of many Dover sole caught afloat using the twisted wire boom rig

DOVER SOLE The best time to catch sole is at night. Here’s how to target them

N

ot many anglers tend to fish for sole afloat, quite possibly because it entails fishing at night. However, if you find the right mark and fish it properly, you can reap the rewards.

The key is to find an area of relatively shallow water with sand or mud banks, preferably exposed at low water. The sole will almost certainly move up onto these banks as the tide pushes in and covers them. Of course, you need to be fishing an area where soles are present, and it’s a good idea 80

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to keep your eye on local shore fishing reports to help gain this knowledge – if anglers are catching sole from the shore, you should be able to catch them from the same area afloat.

ABOUT THE DOVER SOLE Common throughout the coastal waters of the UK, the Dover sole inhabits sandy and muddy areas down to 150 metres depth, although they are most commonly found in shallow water.

Ragworm is a brilliant sole bait SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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They migrate offshore in winter, but return to shallower water in spring, when the mature adults will move to spawning grounds in inshore waters or on the offshore banks that they first spawned on.

A fish of 2lb is a very good catch and will give you a good fight on light gear as they are very strong fish.

The largest Dover sole recorded by an angler is a shore caught fish from Alderney in the Channel Islands weighing a massive 6lb 8oz in 1991, but there have been bigger fish caught commercially.

FRESH BAITS

Most marine worms will work for sole, with a wriggly ragworm being the preferred choice in many areas. Fresh or frozen black lugworm is also a good bet, especially later in the season as the nights begin to draw in and get colder.

Some shore anglers do really well for big sole with a large king ragworm bait mounted on a Pennell rig, so that’s also worth considering if you’re planning a night’s sole fishing.

THE BEST TIMES

Dover sole fishing season usually kicks off in the summer, around mid July time, and continues through to late October and even November if the temperature remains mild.

An incoming tide that coincides with start of the flood in darkness is your best bet. You want it to be dark an hour or two into the tide (depending on where you are fishing) so the soles have the confidence to move up onto the bank and feed.

SPORTING TACKLE

When it comes to bites, the Dover sole isn’t shy – bites can be savage; therefore, using a rod with a fine tip isn’t a necessity for bite detection. You want to enjoy the scrap from a decent sole so our advice is to fish as light as the tide and conditions will allow.

Opt for a 10-40g lure rod, which will carry a 3 or 4oz lead with a couple of baits no problem.

Multi-tip boat rods with the quivertip style inserts are also great fun. Match your rod to a suitable fixed spool reel loaded with 12-20lb braid main line and you’re set.

WIRE BOOMS We really can’t give you an answer as to why wire booms are so effective for Dover sole, but we can tell you that a rig tied with twisted wire SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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A 2lb sole is a good fish

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THE WIRE BOOM SOLE RIG COMPONENTS 2 x 10cm Fladen Paternoster Arm Booms 4 x micro beads 4 x crimps 1 x size 3 rolling swivel 1 x size 4 rolling link swivel 2 x size 1 Stinger Match hooks 20lb Fluorocarbon rig body 14lb Fluorocarbon hooklength

1

Tie a size 3 rolling swivel to the end of you main line or leader.

3

2

Tie a 30-inch length of 20lb fluorocarbon to the other end of the size 3 rolling swivel.

4

booms will outfish a bog standard flapper or a rig with plastic booms by a ratio of about three to one. This observation is based on well over a decade of testing and experience.

The wire booms obviously help pin your baits to the seabed, but we get the impression that these wire booms react with the saltwater and give off electrical signals, which may well appeal to the sensitive snout of the Dover sole.

The key to using wire booms is ultra short snoods – no longer than 6-inches. Go for 4-inch snoods and even shorter if you can manage to tie them.

SIT ON YOUR HANDS A wise old beach angler once said, “sit on your hands at the very first sign of a sole bite”, and the same rule applies to fishing afloat. The reason?

Dover soles have tiny mouths. For this reason you must use small hooks, like size 1, 2 or 4.

As soon as you see a bite you should let it develop, wait, wait, and then wait some more.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, eat a sandwich, anything to divert your attention from your wobbling rod tip.

Of course, if your rod tip is hooping over and rattling away like a good ‘un, you can wind in sooner, but as a general rule, let the sole take your bait and find your hook.n Make sure you use small hooks for Dover sole – they only have tiny mouths

Now thread on a crimp, micro bead, 10cm Fladen Paternoster Arm Boom, micro bead and crimp in that order.

5

Secure the top boom in place about 8-inches below the main size 3 rolling swivel by gently crushing the crimps.

7

Tie 4-inches of 14lb fluorocarbon to the ends of each boom.

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Repeat step three in the same order to give you the second snood, and tie a size 4 rolling snap swivel to the end of the 20lb fluorocarbon rig body.

6

Secure the bottom boom in place about 8-inches up from the top of the size 4 rolling link swivel. This should give you about 14-inches in-between the two booms.

8

Tie a size 1 Stinger Match hook to each of the hooklengths.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO LOCATE YOUR NEAREST STOCKIST PLEASE VISIT: AKIOSFISHINGTACKLE.COM OR CONTACT US: EMAIL: INFO@AKIOSFISHINGTACKLE.COM TEL: 0161-4772580

CONGER EEL If there’s one fish that pretty much guaranteed to pull your string it’s the conger eel. However, they’re not just confined to wrecks

C

onger 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.

Winter conger will often take baits intended for cod – and can be the bane of a cod angler’s life!

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HOW TO TIE A CONGER RIG 1

You’ll need a heavy-duty rolling swivel for this rig, plus a coil of 150lb or 200lb mono and a size 8/0 to 12/0 hook.

3

Now measure off about 5ft of the hooklength and cut it off. This should give you a nice long trace once the swivel is attached.

5

Slide a link swivel and a bead onto your main line or rubbing leader.

There’s no need to use a boom.

7

Attach your lead to the link swivel with a length of garden tie or a sandwich bag tie – this will release the lead if it becomes snagged.

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2

There’s no need to use crimps to attach the hook, simply tie it to the end of the mono using a simple two-turn blood knot.

4

Tie the swivel to the end of the hooklength, again using a two-turn blood knot. Be sure to pull it up tight though.

6

Tie you hooklength to the end of your main line or rubbing leader and you’re nearly ready to bait up and drop down.

8

Two or three turns of the garden tie should be enough to hold the lead in place, even with a fish on, unless it gets snagged and falls off.

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CONGER BAITS

Winter conger love a whole baby cuttlefish, or two

We all know that one of the best baits for conger is mackerel, but during the winter months they show a definite preference for baby cuttlefish along the south coast. It’s really quite handy, because that’s another one of the baits that the cod in this area really like too.

While you’re fishing away with a single or double baby cuttle, you stand a really good chance of a big cod, conger or even a huge bass picking up the bait, which makes it all the more exciting when that rod tip buckles over!

The other advantage of using whole cuttles is that the ever-present dogfish and whiting tend to leave these big baits alone. They may try to have a nibble, but generally they can’t do much damage to the bait, which means it stays intact long enough for the congers to home in on.

Unlike wreck fishing for eels there are few, if any, snags on the open ground cod marks dotted around the English Channel. Instead of using the bog standard 50lb-class wrecking kit, opt for a 20-30lb class set up, or even a beefy uptider. Use a suitable multiplier reel loaded with 30lb braid main line, with a 60lb leader, and that’s pretty much all you need for these eels. Rarely do they show up much bigger than 60lb, and believe us, the fight from a 50lb eel on this kind of set up is really quite something.

THE BUSINESS END

The rig for targeting these winter conger is as simple as they come – a straight running leger tied on 5ft of 150lb to 200lb mono with a single size 8/0 or 10/0 hook on the end; there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

The reason why we use a 5ft-long trace is purely down to fish welfare and making life easier for the skipper to unhook the eels at the side of the boat. You need the long trace so that whoever is doing the unhooking can grab hold of it and get a few turns around a gloved hand.

If the trace is too short, then this can’t be done, and you risk snapping your leader line before you can use the T-bar to unhook the eel – and that results in a conger headed back to the seabed with a hook and line still in its mouth.

CONGER BITES

The smallest of rattles, sometimes brushed away as a small fish, can result in an adrenalin pumping fight that the angler was far from expecting. If the rattles are not noted, look out for the rod tip slowly bending down as the eel picks up the bait and retreats slowly to comfort and safety to consume the bait fully.

If you notice these small rattles, or slight downward movement in the rod, pick the rod up slowly and reel any slack line in preparation to lift 86

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A mackerel flapper, guts and all, is one of the best summer conger baits

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into the fish and reel it free from wreck or rocks.

Situations vary and only experience after each fish will help guide you in the right direction.

What you need to bear in mind is that the congers are surrounded by rough broken ground or wreckage, from which they can nearly always find some form of protection. A known tactic of congers is to wrap their bodies around rock or wreckage and not budge – your patience or the line parting well before the fish decides to budge.

Reel down, taking in the slack line, then wait for the next distinctive movement in the line/ rod tip, and then slowly lift the bait. At this point you may feel subtle resistance or a god almighty whack as the conger snaffles the bait and makes for home. If hooked up, make a few quick turns on the reel and lean into the fish quickly, hopefully clearing the eel from the ground, allowing the eel to take as little line as possible to start with. If you allow an eel to get to safety you can normally kiss it goodbye!

Once hooked, you will generally find that the eel will fight quite well. It’s common for congers to make two or three long dives back towards the seabed during a fight. If you hook a big eel in relatively deep water, then the crucial point usually comes when the eel first sees daylight.

That’s the time to make sure that your drag isn’t done up too tightly as the eel turns around and heads back home.

It’s quite amazing, but conger eels can decompress themselves. So, when fishing in

200ft of water, you will often get a series of bubbles hit the surface before the eel does – they look rather like those from a diver! Again, this usually signals the conger ‘getting its breath back’, and you can often expect another searing dive at this point. Just keep your cool, let it run when it wants to run, and take your time.

HABITAT & LOCATION

Congers favour rough ground: from very rocky reefs and rough mixed ground for the slightly smaller specimens, to old shipwrecks for the much larger specimens. Feeding congers appear quite happy to lay in wait in their lairs, waiting to ambush prey as it swims by the structures or reefs that the conger has made home. In this ground they can find various holes to lie up and hide from their prey. Congers are best known as nocturnal feeders; however in depths of over 100ft where light penetration is negligible, they tend to feed depending on state of tide more than time of day.

Some of the reefs and wrecks around Holyhead are in only 40 to 60ft of water, and the congers here tend to feed mainly after dark.

However, the odd eel does put in an appearance from these shallower grounds in daylight, especially on dark and murky overcast days.

There’s not an awful lot we can tell you about the breeding cycle of conger eels. It has been a long-held belief that congers travel thousands of miles to the Sargasso Sea to spawn in depths

of thousands of feet. As with the life cycle of the European eel, which makes the same migration, very little is known about the conger’s life cycle.

IDENTIFICATION

There are up to eight species of conger eel to be found in the sea. The eel we find around the UK is the ‘conger oceanicus’, it is one of the largest, with eels in excess of 200lb reported in commercial nets.

The conger eel has a very large head and protruding lower jaw, with a dark grey top half and white underside. The body does not have any scales but a very smooth skin, this skin often described as being very slippery or greasy to touch.

Both the dorsal and anal fins have a black tint around the edges.

There is often much confusion between small conger and the silver, or European, eel. The best method to distinguish between the two is by the dorsal fin. On a conger this fin begins in line with the pectoral fins, whereas on a silver eel the dorsal fin starts well back from the pectoral fin line.

RECORD FISH

The current British boat record for a conger eel stands at 133lb taken from Devon in 1995.

While the Welsh boat record pales slightly at only 62lb taken from Milford Haven in 1996. n

You’ll need heavier gear for wreck fishing

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TOPE The most abundant and accessible of our larger shark species, tope can provide some of the best boat sport in the UK. Here’s how to gear up for catching one, Dave Barham style

I

love my tope fishing, to the point that I look forward to it all through the winter and spring months. You see, I’ve been spoilt by travelling to exotic destinations, fishing for species that really put the hurts on you.

It’s such a buzz when a decent fish strips yards of line from your reel – and that’s part of the buzz of sea fishing for me these days, which is why I tend to fish as light as possible for all species; to get some fight out of them. The tope is one species that can put up a really good scrap, even on heavy gear, so by using a well-balanced outfit you’re guaranteed some heart-stopping sport.

WIDESPREAD ADVERSARY

Tope are far more widely spread than you might think and have been captured well above the Scottish borders on both the east and west coasts. The Thames Estuary is probably one of the best-known venues for tope angling and was once the Mecca for the species, and rightly 88

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so, with regular catches topping the 60lb mark.

Although recent years have seen a slight decline in the number of fish caught, it still remains one of the top venues to bag a biggie. As far as the English Channel goes, they can be caught all the way along its entire length, from almost every port, and most charter boats will offer this type of fishing during the summer months.

They are also a prominent fish off north Devon and on both the English and Welsh sides of the Bristol Channel, although the Welsh ports do tend to offer the better sport.

However, due to the increase in small boat ownership, many anglers have been doing more or their own searching and have discovered many more hotspots around the country. For instance, the east coast between Bridlington and Norfolk is now an extremely notable area with potential record-breaking fish already captured and released. If you find the right mark you could also be rewarded with up to 20 fish per rod being a common occurrence. I recently found a ‘hole’ off Skegness that was full of 40lb plus tope.

Even with those teeth, you can safely use a 200lb mono trace

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Such a wonderful sight – a big tope is ready for netting alongside the boat

That’s going to be getting a lot more attention over the coming seasons, I can tell you.

Another highly recognised venue is Cardigan Bay in Mid Wales. Once again, fish in excess of 80lb have also been boated and returned. But it’s the numbers of fish that attract the anglers to this area, with up to 50 fish per boat a real possibility during the peak.

There is also some good tope fishing off the North Wales coast within reach of the boats working out of Caernarfon, Conway, Rhyl and Rhos-on-Sea. They too see a good run, but recent years have seen more of the smaller males and fewer big females. Liverpool boats also take their fair share of fish, and so too do the smallboat anglers and charter boat crews who fish the Morecambe Bay banks.

Scotland has some excellent tope fishing, especially the Mull of Galloway and Oban. They can also be located in many of the west coast sea lochs.

Irish waters also offer excellent fishing. With the most notable areas being Wicklow, Blacksod Bay, the Shannon Estuary, Carlingford Lough and Lough Swilly. You see, tope can be found pretty much everywhere, if you take the time to go and look for them.

TOPE SEASON

As a general rule, tope are a summer species, but I have caught them as far into winter as late January. The English Channel and Cardigan Bay see the first fish showing around mid April and that fishing peaks in June. When we hit July and August there tends to be fewer fish as they become more widely spread and don’t feed in the packs as they do earlier in the season – although during some milder summers the fish regroup around September and they can be caught right SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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into November if the weather remains mild and settled. The Thames Estuary has a shorter season with fish appearing in April and peaking in June.

It is believed that these fish are pupping in the estuary and then head north to fatten themselves back up.

Tope tend to appear in the Wash area from the end of May and stay through to July. They can be caught further north, off the east Yorkshire and Holderness coasts well into September and October. The big females here have quickly piled on the weight and are regularly caught in the 60lb to 80lb bracket.

Drawing a line across country to mid Wales and the Cumbria coast sees a very similar scenario. Although there aren’t as many big fish compared to those caught on the east coast.

LIGHT TACKLE

When conditions allow, I like to target tope with a heavy spinning rod and fixed spool reel loaded with 30lb braid. If I’m using this kind of set-up then I always opt for a 20ft leader of 50lb clear mono tied to my braid main line. Using a long leader prevents your braid from being damaged by the tope as it swims around or even rolls up on the line, but the most important reason for using a long leader is when you get the fish near to the boat. Because I’m using a spinning rod, it’s very hard to bring a big fish near enough to the boat to land it safely, without putting immense pressure on the rod itself – so by using a longer leader, the skipper can coax the fish nearer to the boat by holding onto the leader.

If I’m fishing my general uptiding gear, then I do away with the leader completely and go for a slightly longer hooklength instead. On the business end of my gear I opt for 6ft of 200lb mono with a size 9/0 VMC Tournament circle 89

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This near 50lb tope fell to light tackle tactics

hook. The lead is carried on a small plastic boom, like a zip slider, which I drill out so that the 50lb mono to braid leader knot can pass through it.

That’s another point worth noting; I don’t like to see anglers using regular booms for their leads when tope fishing. If anything should happen further up your main line and it snaps, then you’ve got a tope swimming around trailing a load of line and boom with a lead on it because the leader knot won’t go through the boom.

LIGHT LEAD BOUNCING

I’ve fished for tope in the Thames Estuary for most of my life, and one thing that I learned from an early age was that by using a light lead and bouncing my bait way back in the tide I generally tend to get the first tope of the day. It’s a tactic that I have employed all around the UK when tope fishing, and it lends itself really well to using light tackle. You see, where most guys will be using 6oz of lead, I’ll opt for 3oz and bounce my baited rig back some 60 or 70 yards behind the boat. Usually at this distance the angle of the line is such that the 3oz of lead is just enough to keep the bait bouncing on the seabed. It also allows the bait to waft around enticingly in the tide.

Tope can detect the smell of blood from great distances, and if you’ve got half a dozen baits out creating a scent trail then the tope will naturally work their way up the trail to the source of the smell. By fishing way behind the boat, my bait is often the first one that any tope working up the scent trail will come to – hence I usually get the first fish.

HOW CIRCLE HOOKS WORK

The whole point of a circle hook is that the fish you are targeting needs to swallow the bait and hook deep into its throat or even its stomach, for the hook to work. The fact that these hooks have an in-turned point means that they can be swallowed into the stomach and dragged out with minimal chance of the point ever connecting with any flesh.

The theory is that the fish swallows the baited hook, then moves off. As the fish swims away, the pressure on your line drags the hook out of the fish’s throat or stomach, and the angle in the line drags the hook point into the corner of the fish’s mouth. This is the key – the fish has to move off and there has to be a slight angle as the line exits the fish’s mouth for the hook to find its hold. This is why using circles for tope is so effective. The only time that they might not work so effectively is when the tope runs towards you.

However, even this scenario can be overcome by using a heavy grip lead to create the angle as the tope runs towards you.

The hooks that I have been using for the past decade have never failed me. They’re VMC Needle Point Tournament Circles (7385BN) in 90

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size 9/0. The thing to remember with most circle hooks is that they come up way short of their stated size – so these 9/0 hooks are more like a 6/0 J hook.

MONO OR WIRE HOOKLENGTHS?

I stopped using wire hooklengths for tope well over a decade ago when I discovered that by using heavy monofilament I upped my catch rate quite considerably. Whether this is down to bait presentation or some other factor I don’t know, but one thing’s for certain – I’ve only ever lost one tope through being bitten off in the over 10 years of targeting them with mono. To be honest, there’s no need to use wire, unless

it’s simply a confidence thing. I don’t care what anybody says, confidence in your fishing plays a huge part in how many fish you catch.

I prefer to use a good quality, soft, mono like Jinkai or Momoi in 200lb breaking strain. A simple two or three turn grinner knot is all that’s required to hold the hook and swivel in place.

I’ve turned a lot of skippers and anglers onto circle hooks for tope over the years, and one of the reasons is that they have seem me in action using them, sometimes catching four or five tope on the same trace without any damage at all to the mono hooklength.

If you’re still unsure about the circle hook/ mono combination, just try it once – I promise you you’ll never go back to wire and J hooks ever again.

Dave’s circle hook of choice – they’re perfect for the job

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BAIT PREPARATION

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

A Simply cut your mackerel in half diagonally, like this, to give two perfect baits.

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 launce. When using small fish such as pollack, dab and whiting it is best to cut the

fish in two. This is done by diagonally cutting across the side of the fish from the back of the head towards the underside of the tail. Once again this will allow more fish attracting juices to ooze in the tide.

Many tope also fall to squid baits that are targeted at other species. So, it is always worth taking a box in case other fresh baits are thin on the ground.

Pass the point of your hook up through the bottom jaw and out the top of the head, like this.

This is about as big a bait as Dave likes to use for tope.

point, you’re asking for trouble. That’s the joy of using circle hooks for this method too; even if there is an element of slack line a circle hook is designed to not fall out. It’s all a bit of cat and

mouse from here on in. The tope will plough back towards the boat, and as it does so you can apply more pressure, then it will belt off again with another blistering run – it’s great sport. n When using light tackle, you can ‘walk the dog’ back towards the boat with minimal pressure

A good quality, hard, 200lb mono such as Jinkai is perfect for your hooklengths

WALKING THE DOG

Using light tackle and circle hooks for tope is a brilliant combination. As soon as the tope picks up the bait I know that it has swallowed it because I only use small baits.

The trick then is to pick up the rod and point it at the fish, count to five then tighten the drag, all the while keeping the rod tip pointed at the fish.

As the tension on the line increases, the circle hook does its job and finds a hold, then all hell breaks loose!

Once the hook goes in, the tope usually tears off at a rate of knots and strips line from your reel, sometimes as much as 100 yards or more.

One thing that generally always happens next is the tope stops running and turns to head back uptide.

This is the main reason why it’s possible to get away with using a spinning rod for fish that may reach 50lb or more. Tope, like all sharks, will often make a huge run, then turn and head back uptide. When the tope stops and turns, it’s simply a case of keeping minimal pressure on the fish and literally ‘walk’ it back to the boat. If you try to bully it and pile on the pressure at this SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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WINTER COD Although not so commonplace these days, it is still possible to target big winter cod around the UK

C

atching winter cod is all about using big, smelly, baits and waiting for the cod to home in on the scent trail. It really is a waiting game, and there’s no real pattern to when these cod turn up and feed.

In days gone by it was possible to actively target a 30lb plus cod along the south coast, but these fish have long since gone. However, there are still a few areas of the country that can produce big fish, such as the Bristol Channel and northern Scottish waters.

RIGS & BAITS

Traditionally, Pennell rigs tied using a couple of size 10/0 O’Shaughnessy hooks to at least 100lb mono were used along the South Coast. These can be used on a single trace, but the top tactic has been a 4ft-long flowing trace that resembles something like a wishbone rig, except one snood is shorter than the other. This effectively gives you two hooks about 8 inches apart.

On the end of each snood, tied using 80lb mono, is a single size 8/0 or 9/0 wide-gape hook.

The secret to this rig’s success is the fact that it only uses single hooks, but you have two baits presented in the water – which doubles the scent trail.

The baits are far more streamlined too, with the ‘point’ hook having half a medium cuttlefish and whole squid whipped together with bait elastic, while the hook above is baited with either a squid and worm wrap, or another half cuttle and squid cocktail.

RODS & REELS

Downtide fishing for big cod requires some fairly sturdy tackle. Not only will you have the chance of a 20lb plus cod in a strong tide, but you will more than likely encounter conger eels to over 50lb in the process in some areas, especially the South Coast and Bristol Channel.

Because you will have to contend with the tide for at least some part of the day, and the fact that you will be using big baits, rods need to be able to handle whatever weight is needed to keep your bait on the bottom. In some cases this may mean weights of up to 2lb, depending on where you are fishing.

A good 20lb class rod will be required, and, generally speaking, a multiplier is the best selection for this style of fishing. It’s a matter of power and torque, where the combined pressure from the tide and a large fish can render a fixed spool reel all but useless. Lever drag reels are excellent for downtiding as more drag can be set as required during the fight without too much messing about.

They are few and far between, but huge English Channel cod can still be caught

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Big baits often means big fish

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Keep the pressure on and don’t give the fish an inch, if you can

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FEEDING THE BITE

It’s a good idea when fishing a two-hook trace with big baits to try and lower it down slower than you normally would. Just use your thumb on the spool to slow the descent. Doing this will help prevent tangles, but it will also allow the tide to carry the baited rig a bit further away from the boat.

It has long been proven that when fishing the English Channel, getting your cod bait as far away from the boat as possible often pays dividends. You may have read about anglers ‘ballooning’ their baits back some 100 yards, and this is exactly the reason why they do it.

Once your rig and lead are on the seabed, lift the rod and let your lead hit the bottom once more, then slacken off the drag so a big cod can take line if it needs too. Put your rod in a rod holder and wait. At the first sign of a bite, it’s a good idea to pull a couple of feet of line from your reel in order to ‘feed’ the cod. You don’t have to do this, but very often it results in a better hook up and a more positive take.

When the tide is running hard it is worth checking that your lead and rig are still holding fast on the seabed every now and then by lifting the rod tip and lowering it back down, feeling for the ‘thud’ as the lead hits bottom. If your lead isn’t holding, then simply let off a little more line until it does. If you’re still having problems, then you may need to add more lead.

TAKE YOUR TIME

When you get hooked up to a big cod or conger it’s often the case that you find yourself in a deadlock battle at some point. The fight may begin easily, but if a big cod decided to open its mouth midwater, you may reach the situation where you can’t gain any more line for a while.

The trick is not to panic. Keep the pressure on the fish and just hold it there, trying not to give any more line if possible. What tends to happen in this situation is that the tide actually helps lift the fish up in the water, and quite often you will see the cod or eel break the surface way behind the boat.

If the fight progresses normally, without the cod opening its mouth, then you can usually tell it’s a big one because it will swim towards the boat and your line will be going straight down. In this situation you have to be on the ball and be prepared for a sudden lunge as the cod opens its mouth and the tide grabs hold. You must make sure your drag is set to perfection, in order to prevent your line from going pop, or even pulling the hooks out.

Just take your time and stay in control – don’t give that fish any slack if you can help it. It might take you 20 minutes to get the fish in the net, but it will be worth it. n IMAGE 4 94

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HOW TO PRESENT A WHOLE CUTTLEFISH Without doubt, a whole cuttlefish is one of the most consistent big cod catchers along the south coast. It’s a messy bait to prepare, but the cod-catching qualities make it worthwhile.

This is one of those ‘sit and wait’ baits, and more often than not it’s a big fish that will take it. I quite often fish a whole cuttle on one rod while experimenting with other baits on another when I’m fishing down south, but it is a waiting game. You’ll have whiting, dogfish and the like trying to nip bits off the cuttle, but generally speaking it will stay out there for a few hours before you need to wind in a re-bait.

1

To mount a whole cuttlefish you’ll need a decent trace tied on 80lb mono with Pennell-rigged size 8/0 hooks (or bigger depending on the size of the cuttlefish).

3

With the cuttle bone removed, insert the bottom hook of the pennell into the end of the cuttlefish.

5

Make sure the bottom hook passes through the head of the cuttle, between the eyes.

7

Place the top hook of the Pennell into the end of the cuttle and pull the trace tight.

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2

The first job is to remove the cuttle bone, so that your hooks can pass through the flesh.

4

The aim is to ‘weave’ the cuttlefish onto your trace.

6

To secure the top hook of the Pennell, wrap the trace line around it three or four times.

8

There you go – one whole cuttlefish, just waiting for a big cod to come and eat it!

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GREY MULLET Marina mullet can be wily creatures. Have you ever considered fishing for them under cover of darkness? They’re far easier to target, as Dave Barham explains

This fish, approaching 5lb, was caught at 1am – what a belter!

D

uring the summer months I get to do a little bit of mullet fishing at the various marinas I visit. Quite often I’ll travel down to the venue the night before with my friend, Jim Midgley, in readiness for an early start. In some cases, we will sleep on board the boat that we’re fishing on the next day to help keep hotel costs to a minimum; that’s when we get to fish for the mullet that inhabit the marinas. In recent years it has become quite apparent that fishing for mullet under cover of darkness has a lot of distinct advantages, as I will try to explain.

night these birds go home to roost, which takes one of the main obstacles out of the equation. I’ve also discovered that most marina mullet become extremely confident on a warm, calm summer’s night. In fact, I’ve caught my fair share of fish literally underneath my rod tip ‘off the top’, carp fishing style! What’s more, they take the bait without hesitation, and take it properly – you miss very few bites and don’t lose many fishing at night.

SIMPLE FISHING

For the most part, I try to catch mullet in the dark off the surface whenever possible. With all of your senses heightened under cover of darkness it makes for some really exciting fishing.

Most marinas have some form of lighting, albeit often quite dim, but there’s usually enough light to be able to see ripples on the surface of the sea within the confines of the marina. The visual aspect of mullet fishing at night is exciting itself, but the real winner for me is the sound of mullet breaking the surface and ‘slurping’ up the free offerings of bread. That’s what really gets me going.

Unlike during the day, these marina mullet will readily take bread that is floating on the surface, and quite often they will venture really close to the back of the boat in order to do so.

That means you can get away with freelining for them. There’s something about freelining for any species of fish that brings you one step closer to the ultimate fight. With no lead or float on the line, you get a true fight from a fish, and you’re able to feel every nod of its head and beat of its tail throughout.

You’ll find that mullet become quite confident at night and you’ll rarely miss a take

PESKY BIRDS

Most marinas have resident bird life, usually in the form of seagulls, ducks, geese, and swans. During the day, these birds are quite active, and it can be all but impossible to keep a steady flow of bread going into the water to tempt the mullet without the birds causing havoc and wrecking the swim.

It’s infuriating to know that there are mullet around the boat, but you can’t cast a bait to them for fear of hooking into a swan or a seagull.

Mullet are frustrating at the best of times, without this added hindrance. However, at 96

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HOW TO MAKE BREAD SOUP 1

Get yourself some cheap bread from the supermarket.

3

Now add some sea water to the mix – about half a bucket is ideal.

5

Give it another good mix and you’re left with bread soup

2

Place an entire loaf into a suitable bucket.

4

Give the bread a good mix and leave it to stand for half an hour.

6

Chuck it over the side and you’ve got a cloud of bread scent in

TACKLING UP

I like to use a rod designed for the job, in the form of my FOX Mullet Master. Unfortunately, they stopped producing this rod some time ago, so a 13ft coarse fishing float rod will do the job just as well. As far as reels go, I have a small fixed spool reel loaded with 8lb clear mono, and that’s pretty much all you need. On the business end, I tie a size 4 or 6 Kamasan B980 Specimen hook directly to the end of my 8lb main line, and that’s it. It really is as simple as you can get – bare bones fishing.

MEMORABLE FISHING

I first discovered this amazing tactic well over a decade ago while Jim and I were staying on board Shogun out of Lymington. We’d been out bassing for the day and returned late one evening.

While cleaning the boat down we decided to put out a couple of mullet rods off the stern. We’d already bought a few loaves of cheap bread on the way down with an aim to doing so.

Needless to say, the swans were quick to arrive and our plans were scuppered, so we headed to the pub for a bite to eat and a few beers before SEA ANGLER BOAT SPECIES

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retiring to the boat in readiness for another early start the following morning.

When we got back to the boat, we could see a few fish moving in the dim light, and after chucking out a few handfuls of bread we could hear the fish splashing on the surface, taking the bread. We kept feeding the mullet and managed to bring them right up to the back of the boat – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I quickly re-tackled my mullet rod, and omitted the float, choosing to just tie my hook directly to the end of my main line because the mullet were so close to us. I folded on a piece of bread about the same size as a 50 pence piece and was just about to cast in when I saw a mullet slurping bread directly under my feet. I had my rod almost vertical as I gently ‘dapped’ the baited hook on the surface, then ‘wham’, the mullet took it in an instant and belted off towards the yachts on the other side of the marina!

That was one of the most memorable fights I’ve ever had from a mullet. The sheer power and energy that it exerted was unlike any other fight from a mullet that I can remember – and at about 4lb, it wasn’t even a monster of a fish.

DAPPING EXPLAINED

I use the term ‘dapping’ loosely here. It’s a method that some fly anglers use to catch trout off the surface, but, as I discovered, it works extremely well for mullet. Basically, you fish with a long rod – which is where a 13ft coarse fishing float rod comes in very handy. The aim is to lower the rod tip so that your baited hook just breaks the surface of the water, then lift it off a couple of inches and wait for a second, then lower it down again so your baited hook is in the water, wait for a few seconds, then lift it off again.

You repeat the process and the disturbance that the bait makes on the surface of the water attracts the fish.

This works extremely well at night for the mullet, but only in calm conditions, which is why it is so effective in sheltered marinas.

FEEDING THE FISH

Both Jim and I soon discovered that the marina mullet responded well to the ‘plop’ as our free offerings hit the water’s surface. They homed in on it within seconds, and this is how we discovered that dapping was also a very effective way of catching them.

The main part of the plan that you have to follow is the feeding of the fish. If you want to catch more than one mullet in a night, you really have to get them going. By that I mean that you have to implement some self-control and not drop a bait on the first feeding mullet that you see or hear. You’ve got to keep feeding the fish, little and often with small pieces of bread – throwing them up in the air so they hit the water and create a splash.

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If you feed a single mullet for five minutes at night, pretty soon you’ll have half a dozen mullet in the same area, and if you keep feeding them for 20 minutes you’ll be surprised at just how competitive they become for the food. It’s amazing to see the bow-waves as two or three mullet race towards a piece of bread that you’ve just thrown in!

When you’ve whipped the mullet up into a feeding frenzy, that’s the time you want to drop your hookbait into the mix – and within seconds you’ll be hooked up. It’s quite rare to miss a bite under these circumstances too, because the mullet are in serious feeding mode and will take the bread offerings confidently so that their mates can’t get at it.

BREAD SOUP

If there are no mullet in your swim when you begin your fishing, the best thing to do is make a bucket of bread ‘soup’. I do this all the time now, especially if I’m fishing during the day. It’s a good idea to have some to hand for when things die down after you’ve caught one or two fish from the swim; a few scoops of slop soon brings the fish up again.

What you need is some really cheap bread. The budget brands from most supermarkets are ideal because they’re full of lard and fat. Simply place a whole loaf into a bucket and fill with seawater, then put it aside and leave it for half an hour, giving it a stir every 10 minutes or so. Pretty soon 98

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you’ll end up with a milky bread soup, with just a few pieces of crust floating on the top. The bread itself will have mostly dissolved into the water.

Now you can hurl scoops of the soup over the side and into the water – An old milk carton with the top cut off makes an ideal scoop.

What this does is create a cloud of scent, which tends to draw mullet in from every direction. It drives then crazy because there’s very little in the way of food for them to eat, apart from a few pieces of floating crust. When the mullet arrive you can begin to feed them in readiness for your first cast!

HOW TO BAIT UP

THE FIGHT

Take a piece of bread flake about the size of a 50 pence piece and place your hook on one side.

Playing a mullet in the dark is a fantastic experience. If you’ve ever coarse fished at night for carp or tench, then it’s the closest thing you can get in the sea. You get to feel everything, and you have to use your other senses much more because you’re struggling to see what’s going on.

You feel which way the mullet is pulling, you listen for any swirls as the mullet breaks surface – it really is an amazing experience.

I’ve been lucky enough to catch over a dozen mullet at night over the last two years, and every single one of them has fought like a fish twice its size. I’m certain it’s because they have trouble seeing where they’re going too. One thing’s for certain though – if you don’t try for a mullet after midnight, you’re missing out on some seriously rod-wrenching sport! n

Fold the bread over and pinch it tightly at the top so that the rest of the bread is still full of air.

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