Innholdsfortegnelse for #5 Light Rock Fishing i Sea Angler Guides

Once 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…

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 target hounds on a regular basis. There are good fish to be had in these northernmost waters,…

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…

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…

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…

Bass, 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.…

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES 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. TACKLING UP You’ll need a decent uptide rod or a 12lb class boat rod to catch codling. Although you’ll…

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…

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. 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…

Conger 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. Unlike wreck fishing for eels there are few,…

During 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. PESKY BIRDS Most marinas have resident bird life, usually in the form of seagulls, ducks, geese, and swans. During the day, these…

There 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…

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 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…

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 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. STRANGE SPECIES The shape of a gurnard is quite unlike any other British sea species.…

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. Off ering the same edible qualities as a cod, the only thing that really differs between the two species is their body-shape – the cod 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,…

Not 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 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…

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…

Catching 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…