Sea Angling for Spearos

[ADM]

I find veals pretty reasonable actually. Just ordered some stuff Thursday for it to arrive Friday. Top work by those lads, almost as quick as popping to the shop except I get to shop with a pint in one hand and not using any petrol...

[Jonny250]

I took my Scupper Pro Kayak out on the west coast today, superb conditions with a fair tide flowing over and around the rocks. When the wind started to pick up there were some good waves too, occasionally burying the bow as the wave would sweep over the kayak - my idea of a good paddle :-)
I was trolling a small blue/silver lure with a feather. picked up a pollack after just a few minutes, ideal as my son likes fish cakes from pollack and we had run out. i carried on into the tide and increasing wind and picked up another pollack :-)
i carried on along the coast, quite hard work, managed a couple of miles but no more fish, just enjoying the paddle. stopped and drifted for a few minutes taking a moment to relax and take in the view and the environment whilst enjoying a cup of sweet tea - superb.
heading back downwind and down-sea was great fun surfing the odd wave and making good speed i picked up a good size mackerel - which put up a good fight! i moved out away from the shore and around the 'knife' rocks - the tide was ripping past the rocks which made things quite exciting. another pollack, but too small for me and 'lightly' hooked allowing for an easy release without being handled.
The outer reefs looked ideal for bass, so i turned back into the tide for a further slog into wind, keeping close to the weed/rocks and working the edges. it wasn't long before i got lucky -the rod bent hard over, i though i might have snagged, but the line was coming off the reel so i expected a fish.. after a good work out i landed a bass (3 1/2 Lbs) which i am very pleased with - good 'eating size' :-)
so with plenty on the stringer it was time to head in; one more cup of tea and drifting back towards home... ideal :-)
[Funny how the sea looks so calm in the photos??!]

[foxfish]

You had all the ingredients for a great day out & with the best fishy months to come - but what happened to the summer?

[stuckinsurrey]

Channel Five tonight at 9pm - Fishing programme! Part of a series I think, big fish - sharks etc!

Wow! Fishing on normal TV - not been any for ages! Cool!

[Mr. X]

Had a good time spearing in S. Devon. Rod-wise managed 2 mackeral, feathering at Torcross with the new Tidewater bass rod, the old Leeda 60 surfcaster reel & a 3oz lead - cast huge distances but my arm was beginning to ache after an hour & the shoulder was quite painful after an hour and a half. This set-up seems better suited to bait fishing.

Saw lots of good size mullet in various "fingers" of the Salcombe ria [Boden country according to the Telegraph]. Tried, half heartedly, to catch them on a few occasions without success. I think we'd have had more luck with float/ledgered bread/rag worm, or rag worm-spinner combination but we were just filling the odd half hour/hour on holiday so stuck with spinners, small tobies and small eddystone & delta eels (with in-line power-ball or torpedo leads). The power-balling is working fine now, my current rig is a small Woolies power ball with guitar-string wire through, a big swivel at the top and a small swivel at the bottom, with the eel on a 4 foot trace; tried various trace lines: 4lb - too weak for snags, 8lb - still a big weak & floppy, 10lb, 20lb "invisibile" fluorocarbon -- the stiffer lines are much easier to deal with.

Was surprised at the number of tangles I had to deal with on holiday. I had been getting on very well with the Whiplash braid last season so was surprised that it didn't go so well this trip. I did re-spool recently, so perhaps it got wound on the wrong way? It seemed to be worse with light casting weights (e.g. spinners), poppers/top walkers and in windy conditions - the braid likes/requires constant tension. Probably spent half of my angling time unknotting the braid. I usually use a small wire clip without swivel to attach lures but added a swivel clip but it made little difference. Will probably try a different, stiffer braid or perhaps my 15lb Ultima PowerPlus mono next time. For the bass rod used a swivel clip combination provided by Foxfish (thanks) to terminate the shockleader, which provided desirable extra security for the heavier rig.

[Spearing report for trip on the Devon 2008 thread].

Another petition that might be of interest: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/1mileboundry
A local angler at Beesands told me he saw a Spanish trawler run a huge net across 3 bays there & looped round to scoop up all the fish. Apparently that is illegal and he called the Fisheries, who turned up an hour too late. Double win for the Spanish, free British fish & depleting the competing British holiday market (good year for them what with the tennis & motor racing too). That said, I saw enough fish to keep me happy - although some bigger ones would have been nice.

[ADM]

I've not had much trouble with braid tangling before but I haven;t done much plugging this year.

Had a beauty of a bass last night. Will try to write some more later on!!



I can't load images at the moment, apparently i've exceeded my quota. Maybe my subs ran out?? Will sort it later this evening.

[Jonny250]

Andy that's a super fish, well done, awesome! could have done with being a day earlier perhaps for the GBASS thing? I'd be interested to know how you will cook it - filleted rather than 'steaks' ?

[ADM]

OK, here's the story which I lifted straight from the local site if bits don;t make sense...

Left home about 7:45 hoping for a quick fish and race to the weigh in (8pm). Headed out west into the wind. Grande Havre was busy as usual, I think there were 5 people on the beach, had a quick chuck but nothing but crabs. Moved elsewhere to have a place to myself and get fishing. Long cast with one rod and smaller bait, thinking I was on sand (til I tried to reel in and it seemed rather weedy) and a shorter cast no more than 30 yards with the Estuary bass rod and big bait.

Had a little tap on razorfish but nothing developed. Brought it in to check and no bait left.

A couple of casts later using the manky re-frozen verm after getting hitched up in the really rough and losing my gear I had a clasic slimy thing bite, very very gentle taps, just the two. I was standing back to the sea with rod over the shoulder keeping my eyes out of the wind (they get upset with it for some reason) when I felt them, two very delicate taps, very rockling like. Turned round and stepped forward which must have given about 3ft of line and I realised that it was tight again and a slight pull. Bloney bait grabbing so and so's I said to myself, gave it another foot of line and suddenly there was a heavy weight pulling away like weed in the tide sort of thing.

Decided to hit it, at which point everything went ballistic. Never felt a fish go off like that before, absolutely mental, I loosened the drag a touch as I knew my trace was a bit frayed from losing the hooks last cast and couldn't be bothered to change it, though I thought I should have before I cast it was too late now, there was something attached and going mental screaming line off the reel, rod bent double.
I made my way down to the water, leaving drag as was letting the fish take line and retreiving when he stopped running. After a few minutes of holding deep it came to the surface about 20 yards out and started head shaking and thrashing about, I could see it was silver but what was it?? Gilthead or Shiny??

That was soon answered when it came a bit closer and I could see it was really long, shiny!!

Managed to drag him up to the edge of the water while still thrashing about a bit but worried about the trace I didn't want it to get in the rough, quick grabbed the gills, my whole hand able to fit in there and lifted what felt very heavy out of the water and safe up to the rods.

He was still a bit feisty despite the fight and the scales wouldn't settle, looked like 8-10, then 9-1 so I decided to leave it a bit and try when he calmed down. When it eventually gave up wriggling about I weighed it again and it went 8-12. A massive PB for me.

Absolutely chuffed and the fact that I missed the Fesitval weigh in by 2 hours is a shame but not a damper at all judging by the smile which I still have now, 12 hours later.

And what do I regret? Not putting it back.

Andy

[ADM]

For cooking Jonny, I filletted it down and froze the 2 fillets as I have meals planned for this week. We are a family of 3 so a fillet for all 3 of us will be a rather generous portion but I am a growing lad (outwards not upwards!!).

I nearly alway cook bass in the frying pan, nice and hot skin down with olive oil and butter til burned then do a flip for a minute on the flesh side but open to suggestion.

The thing didn't fit in the fridge whole, let alone the freezer... Good thing my bait fridge was empty!!

[Jonny250]

Andy, that GBASS comp: on the website what does GBASS or BBC imply?
Also is there an entry for kayak (as opposed to 'boat') category, i thought i saw it but not on the results?
would the GBASS be a good way to entre a couple of fishy comps in the kayak or is there a better way?

[Magpie]

Guernsey Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society
and
Bailiwick Bass Club

2 separate clubs who fish comps, sometimes against each other.

Yep, there were kayak/dinghy prizes, top 3, which counted in addition to the normal boat prizes (ie big fish off kayak could win kayak and boat prizes). Its in the results under Dinghy, not sure where they draw the line between dinghy and boat though.

You could enter any boat comps in the kayak, to do a lot you'd need to be in one of the clubs as they run their own comps. GBASS or BBC, the choice is yours...

[ADM]

Yeah, it was dinghy/kayak. Dinghy having to be less than 15ft and less than 10hp if I remember right. Just to add a dimension for those who don't motor out miles and of course for the ever increasing interest in kayak angling.

The boat section of the main GBASS club comp is now getting more interest, due to kayaks coming into it. Clarky had all the fish in his boat catches off the kayak so it's a very good way to get amongst the prizes in the boat section, especially when the weather has been as it has this year and those with proper boats haven't been able to get out into sheltered bays without going through a massive swell from the harbour etc

[foxfish]

That is one hell of a dinghy, there are semi professional fishermen with smaller boats than 15'! I would of thought 10' & 5hp would be more compatible to share the same class as a yak?

[ADM]

I think I'd agree Mart but I'm not on the committee, more of an advisor at times... Might suggest something for next year though I don't know how many entries there were in that section. Things have been rather consumed with other issues.

[Jonny250]

Thanks for the info guys. might be something for the future if more kayaks get involved, sound like it's kind of chicken and egg... need the category, need the participants...