Author: lmuslibar

What a truly rubbish few months (and year) it’s been. Truthfully I haven’t gotten out fishing since my last report in December – primarily because of the latest Covid lockdown in England. I could have maybe gotten out locally as i live not far from the sea, but in all honesty most of my preferred venues are outside of my immediate locality!

With restrictions relaxing though I’m off out for the first time in months on Saturday – I think I’m Druridge bound fo some general pleasure fishing for flatfish and Bass. Then off work for a week so may have another session further afield as things start to relax a bit more hopefully.

Roll on the weekend!

Another opportunity beckoned to break the monotony of lockdown this weekend. Conditions weren’t as favourable as they have been on my last couple of outings but Tony and I were still hopeful of a few fish. The choice of mark was another new one for me – though Tony has fished it for years. The mark has a reputation for good quality fish, with bigger doubles common.

A 10 minute walk through a farmers field had us circumventing some curious cattle – mostly young bullocks from the look of things. Thankfully they don’t get too excitable and we were shortly down on the coast and scrambling over smooth rocks and boulders to get to our first mark. Ive been toying with investing in some wader studs and at this point i think my minds made up – it took some careful judgement as I hopped from rock to rock, praying to god i didn’t slip and break my neck! Some of the rocks are really mossy and an absolute death trap when wet, especially at night.

We soon had baits in the water whilst waiting for the tide to recede enough to wade into our main mark for the evening. A couple of tentative knocks showed that there was at least something about.

We only had time for one chuck before the first part of the skeer was exposed so we quickly moved over. First chuck on here on a squid, black and cart cocktail proved a winning combo as I got a very convincing thump after 5 minutes – and upon lifting into it there was a healthy weight on the end. It kept low all the way in and made use of a few of the ledges, which I suppose added to the surprise when it finally surfaced and turned out to be smaller than I was expecting. Still at 4lb 10oz I’m happy with that for a first fish on a new mark!

This lulls us into a false sense of confidence – surely an early fish means a half decent night? Unfortunately the reality is there’s little more for me to write about as what followed was a pretty much fruitless 4 hours save for a barely sized codling for me to keep me from nodding off completely!

Only on the “last cast” of the evening does Tony finally beat the blank with a fish of around 2lb. “Be rude not to have another cast” he says and sure enough he manages another about the same size to level the score and we decide to call it a night before the tide begins to push us back.

So not the night we were hoping for but at least we did not blank – and another decent fish supper for me! Hopefully things don’t tail off early this year and we still get a couple more sessions in before the fish move off to spawn.

Not much interesting to write about the latest session sadly. I attempted to repeat the success of last week and hit the rocks in search of cod. Sadly a solitary Coalfish and a well lit sky were about the only interesting events of the evening. Next time!

While I’m not perhaps the most die hard enthusiast when it comes to cod fishing, I do enjoy having at least a few sessions on them each winter.

Following a lengthy hiatus due to work, studying and general life, I spotted earlier in the week that finally, after weeks of settled conditions, there was a bit of sea forecast for Thursday. Thrilled at the prospect of going fishing for the first time in 2 months, I got myself a few packs of fresh black lug worm from the local tackle shop and raided my somewhat depleted freezer for a load of year old cart sticks and some ropey looking squid that had been refrozen following the last Wales trip.

I didn’t care – I was going and that was that!

It was obvious from the forecast that marks were going to be limited. I’d arranged to meet with Tony, one of the lads off the SAR forum, as we both had similar plans in mind in terms of marks that would be suitable during what was forecast to be a pretty big northerly sea! By the time I arrived at the first mark Tony had already been fishing well over an hour and had a codling of size for his efforts. I managed a couple of fruitless casts here before the tide receded and we upped sticks to a mark a little bit down the coast.

There’s a skeer here that gets exposed towards low water giving access to multiple holes thick with kelp. We still had a bit to go before it was safe to wade on so fished to side of it for the first couple of hours. This proved a good decision as we were into fish pretty early, nothing massive but all going size with the best probably just over the 2lb mark. I was getting them on squid and blacks while Tony seemed to be getting the slightly better stamp mostly on cart. Most fish were sent back kicking, the 3/0 circle hooks having done a good job of lipping most fish with only one of them being badly hooked and kept for the table.

With over half a dozen fish between us, eventually the tide had dropped enough and we trudged along the first part of the skeer now that it was exposed. First chuck into the jungles; not much time passed before I had a good thump on a cocktail of squid/lug/cart and once i struck it was obvious that this was a better stamp of fish. It kept low most of the way in but thankfully avoided the worst of the snags before popping up to the surface, it’s gob open wide in protest, defeated. This one was also destined for the fryer so was quickly dispatched. I’d later find out when weighing it at home that it was 5lb 8oz – not bad for first chuck!

Surprisingly the rest of the evening was slow, in fact save for a couple of tentative nibbles from smaller fish I didn’t manage to connect with anything else. Tony on the other hand hooked into something that put a fairly heavy bend in his T1000 and probably would have been the fish of the night, although sadly we never saw it as the hook came away. Another hour or so passed without much interest then on the last cast before home Tony winkled one out at 4lb 7oz.

Suitably content with the evenings efforts, we called time at around 1am.

It was great being out again after so long – hopefully get another chance in the coming weeks.

I started this blog with good intentions but as always life gets in the way and I’ve somewhat neglected it these past couple of months. The truth is I haven’t actually been fishing since the last Wales post – mostly down to time as I’ve been busy either with work, family, farm handing and more recently studying part time for a degree!

We’re smack in the middle of Cod season up here in the north east and I’ve yet to get out for them. I must admit it’s not my favourite type of fishing, but I do try to have at least a couple of sessions on them every year. But these last few weeks whenever there’s been a rare opportunity, the conditions haven’t favoured.

So I might have to have a rethink about other fishing related stuff to post about to fill the gaps between sessions – maybe more gear, rigs, tackle related stuff etc.

I have a week off next week so I’m sure I’ll squeeze a session in somewhere!

I love a trip away. Fishing on the doorstep serves well to satisfy the ever present urge to wet a line, but there’s nothing like a trip away somewhere to target something different and I spent the last weekend doing just that.

North Wales has some tremendous fishing on offer and it’s not hard to see why so many anglers up and down the country travel here. The Isle of Anglesey has a variety of sport unrivalled by almost anywhere else in the U.K. I’ve not had much opportunity to fish further afield this year due to a combination of Covid and being a new dad, so I’ve been looking forward to this trip!

I arrived on the island around mid day Friday and headed straight to Holyhead Breakwater. I was to be joined later in the afternoon by Steve and Erica. The intention was to use daylight and the flooding tide to tally up some species points by fishing light gear down the side of the harbour wall, then concentrate on the bigger Huss and Conger during the hours of darkness.

There was a difficult side wind blowing from the south west at a fair rate of knots and unfortunately this was to be the theme of the weekend – in fact Saturday and Sunday were forecast gales, so marks were restricted. But I was here so…get on with it!

First fish was a bit of a surprise – a female Dragonet. I’ve normally only caught these over clean sand so I wasn’t expecting to pull one out of the tangles of kelp and rock down the side of the wall, so a nice welcome bonus!

Not long after, the obligatory Corkwing Wrasse started to make an appearance. These fish are often here in big numbers and provide good sport on light gear, albeit a bit of a nuisance at times when trying to winkle out other species! There was one or 2 good size amongst them though and the males are a truly stunning looking fish in full colour.

The occasional Ballan Wrasse broke the monotony with a couple of nice fish over the lb mark putting up a great scrap on the 7g LRF rods. I’m by no means a purist when it comes to “LRFing” – in fact I don’t usually bother with the lure side of it, preferring instead to fish small 2 or 3 hook rigs with small hooks and sections of ragworm. You get some odd looks sometimes but it keeps things interesting to have a little rod baited and dropped short for smaller species.

Anyway just before Steve and Erica arrive I manage a nice little Rock Goby which was one of the targets for the species hunt.

The wind is challenging and I’m having to lay the rods flat on the deck with the tips just protruding over the edge to try and stop them from bouncing around too much in the wind – as I think the frantic movement transferred to the baits underwater water puts some of the more interesting mini species off – although it does seem to appeal to Wrasse!

It goes quiet for a bit at this point and I brave the howling winds on the upper levels with the bigger rod to see if I can tick off a few more species. The ground off of the outer wall of the breakwater is rough, some of it pure evil – so a 2 hook flapper with a weak link is the order of the day.

The wind is howling along the top of the breakwater and it seems the intended Cuckoo Wrasse aren’t playing, but I manage a nice surprise in the shape of a 3 Bearded Rockling. These are far more striking than their northern counterparts and great to look at with their mottled patterns and it’s a welcome bonus species that I’ve not caught in a few years.

I also manage a decent size Pouting and Poor Cod, both of which are deep hooked and so are retained for Huss bait – and also a nice Pollock which is returned, while Steve and Erica are enjoying success with the Wrasse again down on the lower levels.

As darkness falls the big rods come out and long pulley rigs are baited with big fish baits and sent out into the the rough stuff to see if the Huss and Conger are willing to oblige. Darkness for me has definitely been a factor in success when targeting Huss or Conger – they do come occasionally during the day but without a doubt they feed far more confidently at night.

A few hours pass with just a couple of Dogfish showing before I get the first decent take of the night on a big lump of mackerel. After a powerful fight a nice Bull Huss surfaces. Steve does a magnificent job with the drop net in the awkward side wind and it’s hauled over the wall. We quickly weigh it and with the weight of the sling deducted it comes out at 11lb 12oz.

The rest of the night is a bit slow with just more Dogfish showing. Both me and Steve get a few more tentative runs but most result in dropped baits. Steve hooks into a good fish only for it to come off near the wall. Then just at the turn of the tide I manage another Huss around the 7lb mark before we make the 1.7 mile trek back along the breakwater to the car.

The Next day

After a lie in I grab some breakfast from the local Asda and since I’m up I head to a mark 2 mins from the hotel where I know there’s usually a pocket of Black Gobies. It’s strange how these seem to be localised in certain areas, unlike the Rock Gobies who seem to turn up pretty much everywhere on the island! Sure enough after 20 mins i manage one for the species hunt.

Then we head off to Amlwch in search of more minis. I’m particularly after the 3rd Goby species of the weekend – a Leopard Spotted Goby – so set about fishing down the side with small bits of worm. The wind is picking up again and is meant to turn gale force from around tea time so the intention is to have a few hours here before finding a rock mark to try and get some shelter under the cliffs.

Again the Corkwings are being obliging and we manage quite a few of them along with some smaller pouting. I’m getting plenty of gobies – just not the right ones – they’re all Rock Gobies!

That’s about it for the couple of hours we were there so we head up the coast a bit to the intended mark for the evening. Upon arrival however it’s apparent that it’s not quite as sheltered as we’d hoped, with the now stronger south westerly wind whipping round the headland and straight across us. With the forecast to get worse we decide to move further round to the east side of the island and after a bit of searching, find a mark neither of us have fished before that gives a good depth of water and some much needed protection from the cliffs on our back.

We’re fishing the ebb which is obviously a gamble on a new mark but I’m hoping the good depth will mean it retains fish throughout the tide.

Well it did… in a manner of speaking. Unfortunately this was just a steady stream of ever present dogfish, until Steve managed a Huss around the 6lb mark half way through the ebb, which is about as interesting as it got all night. We stick it out until a couple of hours into the flood but we’re both shattered and decide to call it a night.

The following day the wind was horrific – Steve and Erica had to leave in the morning and since the tide didn’t start flooding until mid afternoon and most of my usual daytime marks were a complete blowout I decided to head home too.

12 species in total on what was a difficult weekend conditions wise so happy with that.

Back to my favourite local beach again this evening for another impromptu session to get rid of the ever present niggling that sets in whenever i don’t go fishing for a while.

I hadn’t planned on going out this evening initially but still had a couple of packets of dodgey looking ragworm in the fridge from a week ago so rather than salt it down for LRF bait I decided to used it while it was still on its last legs and head up to see if there were any more Bass about.

Conditions were going to be interesting; there’s been an onslaught of onshore easterlies this week coupled with masses of rain, so I was expecting chocolate coloured water and a lot of weed. Well, surprisingly the water at my mark wasn’t as bad as further down the coast. It was still murky, but because there’s no mud/silt in the immediate area, just plain sand, it seems to clear up quite quickly once the sea dies down.

The surf was smaller than it has been on recent trips but still Bassy enough to instil some confidence. I’d arrived for the last 3 hours of the ebb intending to fish it down and back up until the bait ran out. The sun was already dipping behind the dunes by the time the first baits went out on what was a cool but beautiful evening. No weed present yet – result! And the surf is just light enough that I can get away with using a plain pyramid lead – result!

The first hour and a half is quiet with only a couple of flounders troubling the rods.

Then while taking pictures I turn around to find slack line, so start focusing more intently on what the rods are doing and sure enough 10 mins later I get the first proper bite of the evening; the rod is bouncing frantically and it’s obvious the Bass have arrived. The first fish is beached without much fuss and hits 41cm. Good start!

Next chuck on the same rod and not 5 minutes later another thump and fish number 2 is hooked, giving a good account of itself in the surf and providing enjoyable sport on the Gravity Surf. This one comes in a little bigger at 43cm so just over legal size. I’m partial to the occasional bit of oven baked Bass, but I’m content enough with a picture this time and he’s unhooked and slipped back none the worse for his ordeal.

The bait is already running out and I’m having to be very stingy. Some baits are going out more than once, while others that are more washed out are just shoved up the line with fresh added below to bulk them out a bit! It doesn’t seem to put the fish off though as I miss another cracking Bass bite before the Coalfish start to make an appearance at last light. Inevitable that they’ve turned up really what with the post storm conditions and the onset of darkness, but they’re of a decent size and still provide some exciting sport so not complaining too much.

I manage a few of these with the best going over 35cm then just on low water the weed comes on hard, with big balls of it clinging to the line and dragging everything in shore. Checking the bait situation I realise the ragworm is pretty much gone – I do have a partially thawed mackerel in the bag as well but since the weed is here and the surf has died down considerably I decide to call it a night – the mackerel can go back in the freezer. I probably could have had a few more Bass in the time I was there if I’d had better/more bait but I’m happy with my few hours effort and won’t be too tired for work in the morning!

So I’ve been fancying a change for a bit now on my choice of mono for my surf reels. I’m a big fan of the continental style setups when beach fishing and my chosen set up is a pair of 14.4 Sonik Gravity surfs paired with Shimano Ultegra 14000 reels. These have opened a new avenue to UK sea angling for me and where the venue/ground allows I love using them.

One of the important things to consider when using these setups is mainline. Given the use of fixed spools, mainlines have to be low diameter in order to provide maximum casting distance. The right line and the correct casting style will have the business end sailing out as far as any standard heavy duty setup with a multiplier would do.

Up to now I’ve always used Asso Bulletproof in 12lb and it has never let me down – It casts beautifully off a fixed spool and to be honest, outstrips the 12lb rating significantly in my opinion. You always know when you’ve found a decent mainline as it’ll generally perform beyond its rating – 12lb will be more like 15-18 and this stuff from Asso has certainly done a job for me over the last 5 years or so.

But I’ve been fancying a change nevertheless and decided to splurge on some new line – and came across this Trabucco stuff.

Now it ain’t the cheapest of stuff – in fact a 1200m spool set me back £22 online (plus the postage) and I’ve never actually seen or used the stuff before, so taking a bit of a gamble! I’ve heard other anglers mention Trabucco in the past though and after reading a few reviews about the strength and diameter I was interested. In fact in the end the diameter is what sold me on it – coming in at .28 for a breaking strain of 21.03lb – lower than the .30 for the 12lb bulletproof. Lower di and higher breaking strain!?

Time will tell if there’s any truth to it but first impressions out of the box tick a few boxes.

It comes in a posh little tin which will come in handy later for storing bits and pieces. It survived the “pull in the hands” test – I certainly couldn’t snap it without doing damage to my fingers. The first thing I notice in fact is how soft it is – it lacks the springy, stretchiness of monos I’ve used before and at first glance I thought I’d be sent a spool of braid by mistake! Suppose that’s the low memory factor, but the lack of stretch is interesting and I’m quite keen to see how it performs on the bite detection front.

It’s a nice fluro orange colour which will help with visibility at night. Coloured lines put some anglers off, but this will have a 15m clear tapered shockleader attached so I doubt it’ll make any difference.

Haven’t actually cast it yet but the ultegras are all loaded up – hopefully get a chance to test it out in the coming days!

No fish to report on my latest session sadly – which was cut short after just an hour due to a poorly 9 month old! There was a lovely surf running up the beach though and I had hopes of a few Bass. But alas, only 2 photos taken – one of the sea and one of the setup!

Worm still in the fridge so fingers crossed I might get out and use it at some point during the week.

Bass fishing is a relatively new avenue of the hobby for me and not something I’ve spent an awful lot of time doing over the 20 odd years I’ve been fishing. I’ve caught quite a few, but mostly as a welcome bycatch when targeting other species. Only the last few years have I deliberately gone out to target them in the surf and found myself wondering why I never gave it more time in the past as it certainly can be really enjoyable. 

In the North East at least, a fish over 3lb is a good fish – frankly I don’t know what my PB is but I doubt its above that. The average tends to be schoolies going between 35-45cm (in my experience at least) with the odd one going a little bigger, but still good sport on light gear all the same. We certainly don’t see many of the monsters that seem to frequent other parts of the country anyway.

The original plan for this weekend was a road trip over to Dumfries and Galloway – but the weather forecast turned unfavourable and so that plan had to be reserved for later. I was still determined to get out though and with a moderate north easterly surf forecast locally I decided to head out in search of some Druridge Bay Bass. 

A quick stop off further north of the intended mark as I wanted to tick off a micro species for the year for the species hunt. There’s a small inlet running from a freshwater burn that fills up with saltwater at high tide. 3 spined stickleback are the quarry, one of the few species able to tolerate fluctuating levels of salinity in their environment and can be caught in both fresh and saltwater.

I baited a tiny size 22 hook with the tiniest bit of rag worm tail that I could and freelined it into position. Small fish were darting out from cover almost instantly and it wasn’t long before the target was landed – amusingly the size 22 hook was almost too big! 

Now a short tab over the dunes back to the car, heading 15 mins down the bay to the spot I intend to fish the rest of the tide for bass. I arrive to find the car park quite full – rarely a good sign, but on this occasion it seems to be more birdwatchers spying on the local Sandpipers rather than hordes of beachgoers.

Down on the beach and the surfs not quite as big as I expected but still looking a bit bassy so I’m not deterred. I set up the rods with 1 up 1 down rigs – a bit miffed when I realise I’ve left my baiting needle at home! Ragworm is the main bait for the bass today and for presentation sake I much prefer using a baiting needle but we will have to do without today! 

I bait one rod and send it 30 yds or so into the surf for Bass, for the second rod though I start off baiting with slithers of mackerel rather than worm to target Turbot, casting a little further beyond the breakers. The bay acts as a nursery for many species, including Turbot, but there are occasionally fish over 1lb and even more rarely the odd special fish over 2lb and I can’t resist targeting them whenever I come here during the day.

Not much time passes and I’m getting interest on the fish baits and a hand sized flounder turns out to be the culprit so the blank is off. This is shortly followed by multiple others on both rods. Druridge bay can usually be relied on for this type of sport and it’s very rare I blank here, the only time I probably wouldn’t bother fishing is when the water is completely still like glass – it needs a little bit of movement even if only a small amount to get the fish feeding, unless you’re after bass in which case a moderate surf is definitely the way forward! 

About an hour and a half into the session the first Turbot makes an appearance – again hand sized but nice and plump, one of this years juveniles/last years offspring and clearly thriving well. The bay is chocker with food items and seems to be enjoying a heightened abundance of small sandeel this year and it’s great to see the fish in such good condition. They don’t all have to be monsters! 

Next up is another annual target for the species hunt which is a welcome bonus – a lesser weaver. These need to be handled with caution due to the venomous spines on the back and gills which pack a nasty sting. 

The surf is starting to build now with a lovely bubbling cauldron of water visible just behind the last breakers which is absolutely screaming Bass. Sure enough at around half tide up the rod is bouncing in an unmistakable way and the first silver is beached – a schoolie of 38cm. Even at this size they’re an impressive looking fish and after a quick snap he’s unhooked and slipped back.

Confidence renewed both rods are rebaited in the hopes that there’s a shoal passing through. Unfortunately though I can’t get past the Flounders – but there are some nice sized fish in amongst them along with another plump little Turbot so I’m not grumbling much. 

An hour before high tide I manage another bass about the same size as the last, which slips out of my hand after being unhooked and is away. Obviously camera shy! 

It’s quiet for the last hour until pretty much the last cast when I get another decent bump and Bass number 3 is beached, unhooked and released in the surf without incident before packing up and making the trudge back to the car. It’s been an enjoyable afternoon and just about makes up for the disappointment of having to change the original Scotland plan. Hopefully I will get out on a road trip soon!