Sea Angling for Spearos

[miles]

Hiya

Its mostly about technique more than raw power, though power with technique will of course beat the same technique from a weakling like myself

ABSOLUTELY correct!! With my crap technique and good raw power, i can only DREAM of 200m casts..... Magpie, well done!!!!

Mr.X, it seems as if you've already started a lure collection!!! I probably have more lures than our local tackle-shop! Every season, you get lulled into buying THE PERFECT lure, only then to have the lure not work for the next couple of seasons!! You'll soon end up with a tackle box FULL of very expensive lures!! If i was restricted to ONE colour, it would most definitely be a RED HEAD. Thats a rapala with a white body and a red head. I've had THE most success with that colour. More good rapala colours are the all grey, called mullet (i like the ones with a bit of red around the gill area of the lure), the carrot (completely orange lure), fire tiger (pearl white lure with orange stripes). In the Halco range, also the red head as well as the all gold colour works extremely well.

Some hints on bait. Fresh bait is ALWAYS better than old bait!! When using squid/calamari or octopus, always bash it with a tenderising hammer. The softer you can get it, the better it will work. Always use squid that is pure white in colour. When they start becoming pinkish, its time to discard the bait. I don't know whether you guys catch your own squid, but we do, and we have a special way of storing them. Firstly, wash them off in clean salt water. Dry off with paper towels. Wrap EACH squid in a sheet of newspaper. Put 5 wrapped squid in a plastic bag, and freeze. If you go fishing, take only how many bags you'll need. After a trip, your left over squid would most likely have thawed. Now you'll have to remove them from the newspaper. Simply pull off the tentacles, the insides will also be ripped out. Remove the plastic peice that is still inside the squid. Now remove the skin, by simply pulling off the small little wings on the top of the squid. Wash in salt water and wrap up again in newspaper. I've kept squid like this for over a year and it still looks VERY FRESH!!

Regards
miles

 

[Mr. X]

...Mr.X, it seems as if you've already started a lure collection!!! ...You'll soon end up with a tackle box FULL of very expensive lures!! If i was restricted to ONE colour, it would most definitely be a RED HEAD. Thats a rapala with a white body and a red head...

Yes, I have got enough plug/rapala type lures now, including a couple of variations on the white body-red head theme (one made in SA! Real solid, with a long metal lip ). Mind you, I'll be in trouble if I hook a fish the size you guys get though, Miles! (Do you have any of those huge squid lures?) Glad to hear that you are using the red-heads, it crossed my mind that they might be primarily intended for Pike.

I should probably sell some off some lures but will experiment a little first -- although I suspect finding the fish will be more important than chosing a lure. I might get some cheap Toby's (saw several nice sets of 5 for £3 at the Gamefair, various sizes & weights, & in "bass bullet"-style...which are often expensive) & a couple more small Eddystone eels. I was expecting to loose more gear than I have recently. Still, plenty of time for that on holiday!

BTW does anyone bother adding extra weight (to cast further) when using Rapala-style lures?

...Some hints on bait. Fresh bait is ALWAYS better than old bait!!

The exception that proves the rule: an old friend told me recently his brother caught a huge bass (14lb?) fishing with him one night...on the oldest most festering bait he had ever seen. A lot of land animals like rotten meat because the bacteria have done some of the digestive work for them...and the smell is hard to ignore!

...When using squid/calamari or octopus, always bash it with a tenderising hammer. The softer you can get it, the better it will work. Always use squid that is pure white in colour. When they start becoming pinkish, its time to discard the bait. I don't know whether you guys catch your own squid, but we do, and we have a special way of storing them. Firstly, wash them off in clean salt water. Dry off with paper towels. Wrap EACH squid in a sheet of newspaper. Put 5 wrapped squid in a plastic bag, and freeze. If you go fishing, take only how many bags you'll need. After a trip, your left over squid would most likely have thawed. Now you'll have to remove them from the newspaper. Simply pull off the tentacles, the insides will also be ripped out. Remove the plastic peice that is still inside the squid. Now remove the skin, by simply pulling off the small little wings on the top of the squid. Wash in salt water and wrap up again in newspaper. I've kept squid like this for over a year and it still looks VERY FRESH!!
...

Sounds like squid & rag worm are the baits of choice. If I caught a squid, it would be served for dinner...so I may need to take Foxfish's advice & visit the freezer section for bait.

BTW anybody watching the series on trawlers (7pm Mon, Tues,... on, maybe BBC?) -- pretty interesting. £1.5m loans on the boats focuses the mind. Weathering out force 10 gales looks pretty grim. Makes you wonder how tough it was in the old days.

 

[miles]

Hiya

A BIG white or brownish coloured squid works very well for YF, especially if pulled very, very far behind the boat. I pull a BIG squid with a bird more than 40m behind my boat!! How-ever, i prefer the slightly smaller squids, as they tend to catch a larger variety of fish. The BIG squids only seem to attract the attention of 50kg+ YF's, whilst the smaller ones attract ALL the gamefish, regardless of their size. That said, i have caught 2-3kg albacore on the big squids. Looks ridiculous, as the squid is almost as big as the albacore!! Makes me wonder what the fish intended to do with the squid, bigger than itself, when it caught it...........rofl

BTW does anyone bother adding extra weight (to cast further) when using Rapala-style lures?

Depends on how much more weight you need. If its a little more weight, simply change your treble hooks to heavier treble hooks. Be careful on not going to heavy or too large on the trebles, as this will most likely spoil the lures action. For more weight, we simply wrap some soldering wire around the shank of the treble. Once again, ensure that you don't overload your lure.

Regards
miles

 

[miles]

Some squids.....

 

[miles]

my favourite surface plugs!!

 

[Mr. X]

Wooh, that's quite a collection Miles...and I thought I had a collection.
Lots of pretty lures, precious-is. Gollum! I do rather like lures...I dare say they are designed to catch fishermen as much as fish!

Interesting to see the shiney metal lip on the, presumably, SA lures. That's unusual over here. Probably need them with the big fish you guys get over there. Good idea anywhere though: I already had to replace a lip broken on beach pebbles. I used a piece of tackle box separator, much tougher.

Any of those lures particularly successful for you? Are Tobys effective?

BTW are those "favourite surface plugs" homemade?

...And are those bite marks on: 1st post, 3rd image, bottom right 2 lures?!

BTW What colour braid do you recommend for sea shore fishing (blue, green, brown,...) - I'm assuming clear is not available?

 

[Magpie]

Here's the contents of my lure box, not a collection of Miles proportions, but they all do the job. There's plenty strewn about the place that don't!

Left column: Surface poppers
Middle: Floating divers
Right: Sinkers

The top two in the middle column are my favourites.

Don't add weight to a plug to make it cast further, you will ruin the action, use a different plug. Top middle column and fourth down left column have this weight transfer system that adds a few yards, but the longest casting are the two bass bullets top right. They really fly.

Also note my redgill leadheads made from a thin barrel weight taped to a redgill style tail, works brilliantly for pollack.

 

[Mr. X]

Interesting collection & categorization Magpie. I have mainly floaters, the middle column, so far. (I have several of the second from the top - so glad it made the cut & is one of your favourite - if you ever need a replacement, let me know). Interesting to see you have a white body red head one in there too.

I have 2 or 3 poppers, haven't tried any of them yet, probably because I haven't noticed any signs of surface feeding & the few bass I have seen while diving stay mid-water or near the bottom. Good to see they catch though.

I am distinctly lacking in the 3rd column sinkers. The Rapala, 3rd from top, is the exact lure I saw in E. Devon on sale for £17.50, gulp! Have seen them selling for about half that since though. Reckon it looks like the "sandeel"-type creatures that I generally encounter in Dorset - so I have a feeling it would work well. A set of cheap Tobys might help fill the gap (saw them at the game fair in various weights: 18g, 22g, 30g).

By the way, what sort of weight & size do you generally look for UK coast fishing? I used to think a 14cm 20g lure was huge...now I am wondering about 30g & possibly more (the rod is rated to 60g after all) -- to get futher out...but perhaps that is not necessary? Seems like 14cm is near the upper end for length for the UK...or perhaps I am mistaken?

BTW what are those eel like things on the right - are they rubber/homemade/heavy? (Your "lead heads"?). Like a heavy castable Eddystone eel ... good idea.

(Braid colour suggestions? I have settled on clear for mono).

 

[Mr. X]

http://www.harrissportsmail.com/ is a good source of baits. Top tip; make sure you buy baits rigged for sea water. Ordinary bronzed hooks will rust in no time. Usually, subtle actions and colours work better in calmer, clearer, shallower conditions and visa versa.

Hi Tim, I missed this post first time through (& BTW we are a diverse website & so will not discriminate against "politically incorrect bigots" like yourself rofl).

I was planning to ask about how folk choose which lure to use. I currently opt for subtle colours in bright clear conditions (a grey-brown top, white bottom J13 rapala for example) and more colourful options (e.g. a shiney blue-silver mackeral pattern lure, like Magpies middle row, 2nd down; or a red-head white body) in cloudier/darker conditions -- it helps me see them, even if the fish can't! Sounds like I'm on the right track. Hadn't thought about the action ... although I stopped using one lure when the lip broke as the action looked rubbish (fixed now though).

Was interested to see magpie goes for blue silver a lot (as I have) but also green-silver. Are these used interchangeably or are they for different conditions? I avoided green as the lures often appear to look like perch to me, so I figured they are for pike. However, I recently noticed more greenish fish in the sea, small wrasse mainly (still didn't find out what the green & pale Nemo-pattern fishes were...wrasse, trigger fish?).

Was thinking of taking my painted Lidls lure back to its original orange colour but the acrylic paint & varnish are really tough -- it won't be practical. Would like to have at least one v. bright coloured lure ... maybe a spinner or Toby would work. Turns out the Lidl's fishing box I bought has a couple of very big & heavy Mepp's style spinners -- & some smaller, lighter spoons (seem more pike/perch-oriented) -- which might fill the sinker gap for now. Tried one out and it casts like my 20g lure.

The tackle box also include various 1oz weights (balls, coffin shape, barrel shape) ... was thinking of rigging one in-line with an Eddystone eel.

I have been using American clips (also from the Lidl's box) to attach the lures. Seems like some folk like these (for quick change) while others think that a direct knot tie-in is the only way to get the proper action. Enough good fisherman use the former to make me think both will work OK. I use the small one but the lure I found had a huge clip.
Something like this: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20293&id=0011853
or even this: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20293&id=0011850

 

[miles]

Hiya

BTW are those "favourite surface plugs" homemade?

No, they're made locally. Called chisel nose plugs. Made from perspex with some lead in the rear for casting weight.

...And are those bite marks on: 1st post, 3rd image, bottom right 2 lures?!

Tuna damage. You can clearly see the bite marks showing how the fish grabbed the lure from below. Strangely, most fish tend to get caught on the front hooks, indicating the attack angle as being straight up!!

Snap Clips. I don't like them!! I used to fish with them, but after losing some quality fish due to the snap clip opening up, i switched back to simply knotting the line. I know of some guys that fish 4kg line and have had snap clips open up. Since you can't pull hard enough to open a snap clip with 4kg line, i'm assuming that the fish's jaws opened up the clips. Secondly, i don't like lots of hardware close to my lures.

Talking about hardware close to the lures: FLOUROCARBON leaders. I use FC leaders on all my bait fishing rigs. Never thought it was needed on a trolling or spinning rod. How-ever, one of my more experienced friends came fishing with me and he caught 4 fish on his lure, before i swtiched over to FC and also started catching fish!!! Needless to say, ALL my rods now sport FC leaders!

Lure Selection. Everybody has their own preferences. Some guys like to use brightly coloured lures in clean water, whilst others prefer the same lures for dirty water. Often BOTH are experienced anglers and BOTH catch fish with the same lure in clean or dirty water!! The biggest secret in lure fishing is to have confidence in your lure!! Its rather pointless ahving a huge selection of lures, as you can only use ONE lure at a time!! Get a small selection of the best lures for your area. SPeak to the succesfull local anglers or visit your local tackle shop and speak to a KNOWLEDGABLE person on which lures work best in that specific area. Once you've found a lure that quite a few people recommend, stick with it. The more time your lure is in the water, the greater the possibility of you hooking a fish!!

Abu Toby Lure. Possibly one of THE most succesfull lure ever made!!! They catch ALL types of fish, from freshwater breams to saltwater pelajics. VERY, VERY deady lure!!

Regards
miles

 

[Mr. X]

...No, they're made locally. Called chisel nose plugs. Made from perspex with some lead in the rear for casting weight....

I like the look of them -- they've got that robust, "big game" SA look. Surprised they don't fit mid-body treble hooks, given the bite marks on your other lures! (I read somewhere (ML book?) that bass here usually grab the tail hooks.)

...Talking about hardware close to the lures: FLOUROCARBON leaders. I use FC leaders on all my bait fishing rigs. Never thought it was needed on a trolling or spinning rod. How-ever, one of my more experienced friends came fishing with me and he caught 4 fish on his lure, before i swtiched over to FC and also started catching fish!!! Needless to say, ALL my rods now sport FC leaders!

Interesting. The whole line/leader/braid thing seems the topic I hear the greatest variety of opinions on. I guess like many things, it depends on location, conditions & personal preferences. Do you just use a short (e.g. 1.5-5 foot) leader to hide the line from the fish & protect against abraison, or does it also act as the shock leader for casting too (e.g. does it go round the reel spool several times & upto through the rod's rings to the lure)?

... The more time your lure is in the water, the greater the possibility of you hooking a fish!!...

Good point!

... Abu Toby Lure. Possibly one of THE most succesfull lure ever made!!! They catch ALL types of fish, from freshwater breams to saltwater pelajics. VERY, VERY deady lure!! ...

That's good, we were big fans of Abu gear "back in the day", although we could only afford the odd piece. Talking of which, I think I have blown my gear budget for this year. Fortunately, I have enough to see me through.

BTW Foxfish, I have pre-made up a couple of ledger rigs from salvaged fishing gear I had laying around, to try out on holiday. They have much thicker, fluoro, line than I normally use but I have attached new hook lengths (from my Lidl's tackle box) & lighter weights (3oz is too much for my rod).

 

[foxfish]

My brother brought a few mags back from the U.S. £3.00 for a 100mts of braid :head

 

[Oldsarge]

I can't get my fishing partner to go angling in the salt water and so I haven't gone for years. And that's a sad commentary on someone who is living within 7 miles of the ocean, I can tell you! But when I did . . . "Beware the bait fisherman, my son, for he worships at the alter of a deadly goddess!" My son even did his 7th grade science project testing which baits were most effective off our local fishing piers. Shrimp won, hand's down.

However, for those of a more refined nature, fly fishing the surf has been a serious past time in SoCal for a couple of decades. The basic idea is to use any kind of fly so long as it's orange because baby corbina are orange and they're the preferred fry by all the surf dwelling predators. The local experts seem to prefer about a 6-7 weight rod and sinking line. I understand that they do quite well. Never tried it, myself, being quite hopeless with a flyrod.

Once I get my kayak, next year or the year after, I'll be out around the kelp and the local reefs with jigs and spoons . . . and bait!

 

[Mr. X]

... "Beware the bait fisherman, my son, for he worships at the alter of a deadly goddess!"

rofl Like it!

Foxfish, in the UK (& the EU), we have become suckers for high taxes & high prices (which seem an inevitable consequence). We are gullible, as most have never experienced any different, and the politicians are able to take advantage of that, knowingly or unknowingly. The Channel Islands may well be ahead of us in that regard(?).

 

[Mr. X]

BTW Foxfish, the value of the £ has recently increased greatly against the $ (because interest rates went up, because inflation went up, because student top-up fees went up & because fuel prices went up, because the middle east is at war, because ...blah,blah,blah,blah ...we got what we deserved) - it's currently at $1.90 to the £ and they reckon it will test £2. It did the same during the first Gulf War. So the USA retail price of that braid is actually closer to £2.44 per 100m at current exchange rates!

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi

Live mid-market rates as of 2006.08.09 16:12:33 UTC.
4.66 USD United States Dollars = 2.44091 GBP​

We should see the price of US goods falling (some hope!) - although the idea, of course, is to reduce the amount of money we have to spend. You could always buy line on-line from the US of course.

Was shocked to see tins of 500 airgun pellets selling for £5 at the Gamefair --pellets 1p each!! (I expected tins to be about £1.50).

 

[Lockedin]

Try this site: kayakfishing.com

Great advice on this site (though admittedly with a SoCal emphasis) I've found that (in my area) a very basic rig of lead-head and frozen squid produce great results. Mostly Halibut and Calico Bass, still waiting for a big WSB!

 

[Oldsarge]

Lockedin,
For best attraction of wsb, try live squid, if you can cop some from the bait barge. Do you try trolling you rig? Wsb seem to like waiting in ambush.

 

[miles]

Hiya

OldSarge, how do they keep the squid alive? I've experimented with squid, but have failed dismally, when trying to keep them alive for extended periods. They seem to be a very sensitive and temperamental specie.

When we catch them, we put them into a holding tank, which is secured outside the boat. This allows them to discharge their ink, if they do, as well as keeping them in their current sea water. When we leave, we transfer them to a live bait tank inside the boat, complete with aerator pumps. Yet, they don't survive the two hour trip out to sea. Other baitfish survive quite easily, but i would LOVE to have a live squid to feed to some tuna's!!!

Regards
miles

 

[Pav]

havn't read all the posts in this thread but this link may be useful. Specific forums for kayak fishing and sea fishing.

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?act=idx

 

[Oldsarge]

Miles,
I wish I could answer that but it's been years since I did any sea angling, sorry to admit. I may even be completely off track and the squid we used then were, in fact, frozen. At my age a lot of what I think are memories may be daydreams!