25/10/15, 27/10/15 More Pike Fishing

The river continues to challenge us on the pike front and today (25th)was no exception for me and Dave with just one pike, an upper single, to my mackerel bait.
Its slow fishing but I think one needs to be philosophical about the whole thing and adopt the mind set that if you catch a pike, any pike, then you're having a good day. If a 'double' turns up or you pick up a few pike, then its a very good day and a 'twenty' is indeed a 'red letter' day and one I haven't personally experienced for nearly three years!
I returned to the river two days later and headed back to the scene of last week's lost pike thinking that she might still be around. In short she wasn't there, or perhaps she didn't like sardines but a couple of small pike did so it wasn't a wasted journey.
The hunt continues................................

24/10/15 Wrasse No Bass

I took Simon out in the boat with me today for a 'bass hunt' that produced not one solitary bass but plenty of wrasse, in the 1-2lb bracket mostly, to our soft plastic lures.
Trying several of the better known reef marks we searched and searched all day but conclusively failed to locate the target 'silver' and even the ' experts' struggled too. Martin reported a similar situation which is highly unusual for him but perhaps a little encouraging for me in that at least I knew I was doing nothing drastically wrong although realistically, I'm no bass angler.
We also managed to fish some live baits which were constantly 'mullered' by persistent cuttle fish one of which I took home to eat that evening-delicious.
Whatever, its always an enjoyable day with Simon on board who seems to have a 'tenacity' for fishing similar to myself. He won't give up until the bitter end. The bass will return I'm sure of it.

 

22/10/15 A Move Upstream

The boat gives us unlimited access to the tidal reaches of our local river and, providing that we don't anchor above the high tide mark, we are able to fish without permission of the respective landowners. This opens up a great deal of water ,some of which would rarely see an angler's bait and, as every pike enthusiast knows, our favourite predator thrives on neglect.

However, lets not forget that pike fishing on tidal rivers is always going to be challenging and, in this respect, ours is no different.

Today I decided to head a few miles upstream and into territories that are not controlled by any of our local angling clubs at least, they haven't been for several years. Its a remote area that I've fished in the past and one that has produced fish,being loaded with bank side features. Water conditions are superb at the moment with the river running comparatively clear(for a tideway) and 'freshened' occasionally by the short periods of rain we've been experiencing of late. It really is a time to make the 'most of it' before the 'real' winter weather arrives to spoil it all.

Tucking in to the first swim at mid morning, and literally within minutes of dropping in my roach bait, the clicker on the multiplier sang its song. The run came so quickly that, foolishly, I hadn't even had a chance to assemble the landing net and I didn't even see the float disappear. I bent into a decent fish ( I would estimate it at a very good double) but the pike tore off so powerfully it snagged me in a sunken tree just a few feet from the take zone. I kept the tension on whilst I messed around trying to sort out the landing net but to no avail. The pike slipped the hooks and I wasn't best pleased although thankfully, I managed to successfully retrieve all my tackle.

Feeling slightly dejected I opted to stick it out in the same spot and, although the 'lost fish' swim didn't produce, the second rod, fished upstream of the boat. soon provided an eight pounder , again on a roach bait, to lift my spirits somewhat.

Proceedings went a little quiet following that so I elected to carry out a short hop, a few yards downstream and tuck the boat in some slack water among several overhanging trees. The river widens here and the flow becomes barely noticeable making for comfortable fishing conditions. The stretch ( I moved a couple of times) gave me a brace of low doubles (10 and 12lb) on the roach baits and a repeatedly dropped run , a lightly hooked jack pike, on a joey mackerel to make for some lively fishing before the light faded and I was forced to make tracks back to the mooring.

A good days piking.

18/10/15 Trashing Plastic

One of the biggest problems with the Fiiish Minnow soft plastic lure is that virtually every time you catch a ballan wrasse, you're a fiver out of pocket. These toothy marauders seem to trash every F.M body I throw in front of their noses and Simon and me had more than our fair share of them today.
.
The one above was a respectable 4lb 8oz and ,along with a solitary bass and a cod of about 5lb for Simon to take home for tea, made for an entertaining afternoon's drifting.

Not that far away from us was my good friend, talented photographer (see above) and bass guru Clive Hodges. We pulled over for a chat (as you do) and Clive complained to us that the bass had been extremely uncooperative  with just two fish caught all day. Clive who, it must be said, is a master of rhetoric, then casually informed us that one of the bass was 12lb 10oz!!! Gutted for ya mate!

I sincerely hope that Clive doesn't mind me publishing this truly impressive picture on here. What a fish!

12/10/15 Cod On Plastic

At the moment we're experiencing a series of days with double figure (Knots) Northerly winds albeit  combined with a period of high pressure and relatively settled weather. From the shore, the sea state looks relatively calm however , five miles off it could be a different story although as can be seen in the picture, today wasn't actually too bad and definitely worth poking a nose out to have a look.
In the summer months  cod appeared to be very prolific on the middle distance wrecks in our area and we'd all hoped that they would appear inshore to entertain us during the colder months.
Early signs indicate that this could well be happening as  a few of us are starting to pick the odd fish from reef marks.
 I had three modest fish this afternoon on soft plastic lures and marina buddy, Tony also scored a hat trick of 'green backs' although of a much better size in a catch that also included some excellent bass. Well done mate.

I also found small bass on all three marks that I fished, along with plenty of wrasse and a pollack but, for the first time in quite a while I stumbled across a shoal of bass that showed clearly on the sounder and managed to extract a couple of 'easy fish' before having to 'high tail' it to cross the river bar before the tide ran off too much. I guess they'll have to wait for next time.

Marks #6,2,31

9/10/15 Wreck Madness

A last minute(literally) invite today to jump on board 'The Blueprint' with 'nippers' Martin and Pete for a spot of long distance wrecking.
Armed only with a 40g spinning rod, a box of Fiiish Minnow variants and a few hastily collected ball weights, as I'd only intended to quickly nip out to the  inshore reefs in my own boat, I did feel somewhat 'ill equipped' however, I needn't have worried.
Its amazing what you can do with such light kit even in 180ft of water.
The fish weren't exactly throwing themselves at our lures on every drift and Martin worked extremely hard to find them but, find them he did and over the course of the day  we built a respectable catch of pollack cod, and bass.
Prize of the day however must go to Martin who caught his first ever coalfish- a specie I'd never even seen before.
Pete gave me a quick ',master class' in using some 'slow jigs' that have recently become available on the market and these proved to be equally effective and, in the smaller versions, could prove useful on the inshore marks.
Somehow, I think that wrecking with the 'old school' methods using a flying collar rig and conventional boat gear will never be the same again. The light tackle approach, fishing the lure 'direct' with exceptionally thin PE braid and  a light spinning rod is definitely the way forward for me.

8/10/15 Chunky Wrasse.....and a few Bass

We're just starting to see the bass return to our reefs in enough numbers to make them worthwhile fishing for again so, from now until Christmas, when the weather allows, I suspect they will become my main target .
Today's trip was merely a couple of hours with a lure rod and resulted in a modest catch of smallish bass along with a few plump wrasse all taken on vertically fished soft plastics.
Quick, easy, hassle free fishing.

6-7/10/15 Slow Piking

Two very slow days on the river with just a solitary pike to show for all that effort. Oh well, nobody said it was going to be easy did they.

3/10/15 Chasing Turbot

Marina buddy Martin has been fishing very well this year on a distant bank for turbot and today, I managed to wangle an invite to join him on another foray on board his extremely capable craft 'The Blueprint'.
To say that the fishing was 'rock hard' is something of an understatement but , one thing I've always admired about my skipper mate, is his patience and determination and I was more than keen to play along.
We did catch several 'huge' greater weever , some very close to the British record of 2lb 2oz, and the first time I'd even seen one in the flesh. These curious looking fish, which derive their name from an 'old french' language word meaning 'dragon or 'viper', have, like their smaller cousins the lesser weever , a rather nasty venomous sting, and should be handled with extreme care even when deceased.
 The specimen pictured above was flicked off the hook and returned to grow into a record but others were kept as they do make an extremely tough fillet bait.
We did take a small brill each, again a first for me (others have caught them on my boat) and prior to typing this I had one for lunch and am happy to report that they taste as good as they are reputed to .
However, our main target was conspicuous by their absence until , late in the day,  this one showed up on my 'bling rig'. A most welcome sight.
Challenging fishing indeed but no less enjoyable (it was a beautiful day) and a real treat for me as its highly unlikely I'll ever be able to carry out this sort of trip in my own boat.
Ironically, the following day, a turbot was caught on our local plaice ground just a couple of miles out of port . Just goes to show!!

30/9 - 1/10 Two Days On The River

Two consecutive days on the river in a vain attempt to catch some bream with Dave. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be and, despite some heavy ground baiting, we only managed to attract roach and dace although there were a few respectable specimens among them.
The river continues to be a challenge and this will probably be the last general' coarse' fishing trip of the season for us as. with the ever shortening days, our thoughts turn to pike fishing once again.
Hopefully this year, with the advantage of being afloat, we'll be able to score a few decent fish and also target the considerable areas of the river that are completely inaccessible from the bank.

26/9/15 A Quickie.

I'd been given the task of looking after my wife's dog, so time today was limited and restricted to just fishing lures on nearby reefs.
The bass weren't easy to locate but I did find a few along with the obligatory wrasse, which are a bit on the small side at the moment but, as you can see from the pics, it was a very pleasant day to be afloat.

25/9/15 Rock And Mussel

 Chunky 'pig'

Dave wanted to catch something to take home to eat as his girlfriend is a bit of a 'dab hand' when it comes to the culinary arts so, we hatched a plan.
Initially we targeted the reef at mark No.5 with soft plastic lures fished vertically and an array of wrasse, bass, a nice cod and even a greedy black bream took a shine to a 'swat shad'.
The cod was obviously kept for the pot, but we thought it would be nice to catch something to keep it company so , for the afternoon, we headed to a nearby area that has been brimming with plaice of late.
Drifting with a mix of rag, and frozen black lug attached to a selection of 'bling' we soon collected a decent box of plaice to 2 1/2lb with the lightly hooked specimens being returned.
A thoroughly enjoyable mixed days fishing.

21-22/9/15 Penzance Shark

Jack's first shark.

 'Chumming' duties

 A proper 'tiddler'

 

 Something a little larger

A two day shark trip hunting blues but, steaming from a new location for me -Penzance.
Some of the catches made by the professional shark angling skippers at this time of year are very impressive indeed with crews often picking up numbers of blue shark well into double figures and even catching the odd small porbeagle from the same ground.
I felt as if I'd 'done' Falmouth and fancied a bit of a change of scene so when my good mate Andy Howell (Specialised Charters) gave me info on the slipway at Penzance as an alternative launch site, I decided to give it a try.
I'd been keen to get my son Jack out for a spot of shark fishing and, being a Saturday, he was able to take time off from 'his, ever busy automotive business and join me for his first ever go at the 'toothy ones'.
The fishing wasn't exactly hectic, with four blue shark on the first day but, seeing as its a new area for me to target, I wasn't disappointed and it was especially rewarding to see my son enjoying playing and 'wrestling' his first ever shark. The fish being held up above looks deceivingly small in the picture as we're both well over six foot tall.
At one point, we were joined by a very small shark swimming at the boat of less than a metre in length. Although it was undoubtedly attracted by the bait dangled in front of its snout, it obviously decided against taking it and it was a bit on the small side for us to want to catch it anyway.  We quite happily filmed it on the Go-Pro, and fed it on 'chunks', which it took readily, and she thoroughly entertained us for a quarter of an hour. Sometimes, its not just about 'catching'.
The film can be found here; https://youtu.be/3HYKZfT4ZEo

Day two saw me venturing out solo, only my second attempt at doing so, but was no less enjoyable. The shark took a while to pick up the trail but I ended the day with the same number of fish all cleanly released.
Highlight however, was when a pod of common dolphins decided to put on a show for me and again , I managed to capture some of the action on the Go-Pro . Appearing suddenly out of nowhere, they were regularly swimming right through my 'spread' of baits but are obviously intelligent enough to ignore them.........thankfully. Listen carefully to the film and you'll hear their sonar 'clicks' as they pass the boat-truly fantastic stuff.
https://youtu.be/NINSdX9vISE
Penzance proved to be an excellent launch location and will no doubt be visited again , with 'Jupiter' in tow, sometime in the future.
 I'm unsure whether I'll be able to fit another South West shark run in before the end of the year and , with just three trips under my belt this time around, I've done far less that I intended. As usual the weather patterns haven't helped as I really need at least two clear days to make a trip worthwhile, and it's been a tricky year on that score . We'll see.

12/9/15 'Deadliest Catch' Devon Style.

My son Jack is often called upon to assist his girlfriend's brother Ben, with pot hauling duties and as I happened to be visiting him in Ilfracombe at the time, jumped at the chance to get on board and see how its done.
Ben, at a mere 19 years of age , must be one of the youngest commercial skippers in the country but judging by his display of skill and experience when handling his boat and gear, you'd be hard pushed to notice.
As 'green horn' I was given the job of baiting the pots whilst Jack hauled, cleared the catch, and meticulously stacked the pots ready for the 'shoot'.
 We retrieved and reset nine lines each comprising twelve pots in the space of a few hours. The target was Lobster and a modest catch worth about £200 was amassed for a considerable amount of hard work.
Due to bad weather the pots had lay in 'soak' for several days and, as well as crabs and the odd wrasse,some were  occupied by angry congers which had become trapped inside but made a hasty escape once the 'door' was opened.
A fascinating insight for me into the world of the commercial fisherman and an eye opener too. Never let it be said that this is an easy way to make a living.

7/9/14 Busman's Holiday Part 2

'Jupiter's Moon' has an almost identical twin on the marina in the shape of Rusty's recently acquired 175 Export-'Untouchable'-the only other resident Warrior in Littlehampton.
The initial plan was to get together for a wrecking trip but, as Russ had tried it yesterday, and found it hard going, we decided instead to hit the banks 'down west' and try for the elusive turbot.
My experience of turbot fishing locally is that it takes endless patience. They are much sought after ,not exactly thick on the ground and my only success have been where I have continually drifted a mark all day long for a return of perhaps half a dozen fish to the boat- and that was a 'red letter' session.
Having sourced the mackerel , we tried  a small bank first, with little success, before moving to a much larger bank to anchor up for blonde ray-a favourite of mine.
It's an eye opener , at times how heavily we small boaters rely on our electronic 'trickery' to get us exactly where we want to be.
The particular bank we'd chosen to target is one I'm very familiar with on my own equipment , and have indeed taken some seriously good blondes from in the past. However, simply faced with a different chart plotter with  a different style of mapping- I was completely at a loss when trying to locate my favourite 'spot' .
In short, I didn't have a clue where we were and the boat could have been on the moon for all I knew, but we can't have been far off  because Russ's baits were hit by a couple of spotted ray and a small blonde.
 Relocating once again to the 'smaller bank' I took a modest bass whilst messing about with the spinning rod and plastic,before we once again anchored up to try with static baits.
The going was slow, which  is often the way when fishing these banks but, at least we weren't plagued by cat sharks.
 My first bite, when it finally came, was typically 'big ray'-very delicate,  but the initial stages of the fight were a complete contrast with, what was obviously a decent fish stealing line and diving strongly.
Its been over a year since I've had one and forgotten just how well they go.
Unfortunately after a while it became clear that the ray had 'tail wrapped' which completely killed the 'scrap' and it then became a 'war of attrition' winching the big fish slowly against the powerful tide flow.
I'll admit to being a bit nervous as I was geared for turbot with a 4/0 a 20lb trace but my biggest concern was that I'd tied the leader on with a, new to me, slim line leader knot which I'm testing for shark fishing,and wasn't confident as the strain on the gear was quite considerable.
 I needn't have worried as it survived the battle( a good test for the knot) but, I was more than relieved to finally see the big ray slip over the rim of the net.
I've caught bigger specimens but, thanks to Russ, was exceptionally pleased to finally get a decent picture of me holding one instead of a 'deck shot'- a splendid fish of 24lb 4oz which made my day.
I'm sure if we'd given them more time we'd have caught one or two more but , in a similar fashion to turbot, these blondes aren't exactly everywhere, but are extremely rewarding when they do turn up.
So, despite the general lack of action ( I couldn't care less really) another really enjoyable day afloat and huge thanks to Russ for letting me sit in the 'passenger' seat. It's certainly a comfortable ride in those Warriors.

24lb 4oz

I know for sure that I'm not completely wasting my time and that there are a handful of you 'out there' reading all this drivel. I'd really appreciate hearing from you especially if you'd like to share your own experiences. Get in touch on here, or by email at completeangler@sky.com.

Jeff

6/9/15 Busman's Holiday Part 1

9lb bass

 11lb pollack

A cracking day's fishing with my mate Brian on board the Marruig-his 19ft Orkney.
I don't often fish on other people's boats but, being able to sit back, take it easy, and let somebody else do all the work and worrying is always a pleasure.
Brian took me to one of his 'secret' marks ( I would never dare ask where LOL) and we settled down to a morning of drifting with lures.
With relatively shallow water I opted for a light spinning rod and  40-60g Fiiish Minnows fished direct although as the tide increased I moved up to a 90g head on a 160 Minnow to stay 'vertical'
 It wasn't hectic fishing but cod,  bass to nine pounds ,and  pollack to eleven pounds (superb scrap ) hit the lures along with the ubiquitous pouting, some of them very fat indeed.
After thoroughly tiring ourselves out with the active stuff, we opted to 'drop the pick' on some 'messy' ground, chill out and sit watching bottom rods with cuttle baits.
We were after cod but a trio of feisty hard fighting conger turned up instead and , I didn't complain, I love the things.
Fresh cod baked with capers and home made chips for dinner made for a fitting end to a superb day-cheers Brian........always a 'blast' mate.

4.8 m tide, #15.

4/9/15 Dogged Determination

I can think of so many instances in fishing where my stubborn nature has eventually paid off. I can't call it patience because in reality, I'm not the most patient of anglers, and tend to be a bit of a fidget.
 This is possibly  why I'll never succeed as a specimen carp angler, nor ever catch a barbel from the River Arun unless by a stroke of extreme good fortune.
No 'stubbornness' is a different kettle of fish altogether.
Today I went mullet fishing whilst still standing on 'terra firma' as opposed to being afloat-the first time I've done so this year.
My favourite low tide mark seemed to be pretty devoid of mullet activity although one or two could occasionally be seen milling about up and down stream so, although my confidence wasn't very high, I decided to give it a go anyway.
The last of the ebbing tide didn't produce a bite but, with the water level slowly rising and the flow slowing almost to a halt, a few whelms were evident in the general vicinity of my swim indicating the presence of mullet.
I like this state  of the tide because usually, the water colours up sufficiently to prevent the fish from being spooked by my clumsy movements in the gloopy bankside mud, and they can often get very close indeed before detecting me.
I tend to target a couple of small 'promontories' in the river bank which cause slack areas , especially on the first of the flood. The mullet like to skulk in this 'dead' water and can often be tempted to feed, to a degree.
The only down side being, because the bait is moving very little, they appear to be aware that there is no rush to take it. Bites can be extremely delicate fooling one into thinking that tiny fish, such as smelt, are pecking at the bait but often,this is not the case.
Having hooked and landed so many mullet over the years in this exact situation, I know better. However, this doesn't mean to say that the fishing is easy and I can recall multiple occasions when I've failed to connect with these most infuriating of mullet.
Today was no exception- I just could not hit their delicate twitches and even 'sail aways' with the float appearing to glide across the surface, though not submerging, were missed.
 It's almost as if they can detect when you are about to strike and a millisecond beforehand,  cunningly spit out the bait-ba****ds.
Once the flood tide flows in earnest , usually they seem to disappear, probably moving off upstream, and if you haven't caught by then, its 'game over' -the chance has been missed, and its time to pack up.
Frequently, without wishing to blow my own trumpet, by this time I'ld hopefully already had a mullet or two on the ebb so if I fail in this 'still water' I don't usually mind. It's always been a rather pleasant, if somewhat challenging way to finish a mullet session on this stretch .
Today, thus far, I had blanked, and wasn't best pleased.
For some reason, when it came to packing up time,  I didn't follow the customary 'de-tackling' process, nor did I throw the remains of my bread mash ground bait into the river, before walking back to the van 'just in case' I came across a few 'stragglers' I suppose.
Well, those 'stragglers' did indeed appear but, as is customary with mullet following the flood at this location, they weren't 'stopping' for a 'look'. They always seem to  have something to do upstream at this state of tide and this behaviour has always mystified me.
As I watched them sail past me I noticed one or two double back to the shallows-perhaps stopping for a snack in merely inches of water , their angular tails cutting the surface rather like a mini shark fin.
By now the tide was at half flood, pushing in strongly and the current was extremely fast. I sent the float down and when it disappeared , on about the fourth or fifth run, I was so keyed up, the strike, which I'm delighted to say 'connected,' lifted the poor mullet completely clear of the water.
Thankfully, the 'shock' didn't seem to harm the fish and, after the usual spirited fight, this modest three pounder graced my net to make me one very 'happy bunny' indeed.
 It was with one big smile, and no small amount of satisfaction that I watched him glide back into his regular environment, none the worse for the experience.
Sometimes, persistence does pay off.

2/9/15 Pure Frustration

 Dinner

 Jupiter's sister craft...Rusty's 'Untouchable'

 

 The day began by testing out a theory.........I like theories. The grand Idea was to attempt to attract mackerel shoals to the boat by using a sack of shark chum. To cut a long story short, it didn't work. Well, at least not well enough to notice any improvement in the mackerel catch. I got about a dozen or so , and put half in the bait tank, but it all took a bit longer than expected.
Arriving at the first mark I met up with marina neighbour 'Rusty' aboard Jupiter's sister craft- an almost identical 175 Export. He'd 'wasted' far less time than me , and caught more mackerel completely blowing my theory out of the window.
I guess you can't fish for what isn't there!
I drifted a 'livey' under a float on one rod and vertical jigged a 140 Fiiish Minnow on the other for just one small bass, and this rather nice cod on the artificial.
My live mackerel were left well alone but Russ did better, picking up a couple of mid sized bass on the same method -one on a scad.
The going was generally pretty slow so I relocated west finding another popular reef mark completely deserted.
This time the live mackerel were hit......no less than three times but I just could not connect. For whatever reason the hook just did not get a hold yet the mackerel either came back dead, or just not there any more-intensely frustrating but that is fishing.

27/8/15 Dave's Roach

Another session in the river boat with Dave targeting the roach.
Small they might be , but the fishing is no less enjoyable nor challenging. Quiver tipping with red maggots and crumb ground bait had the desired effect and we made a modest catch of roach and dace with Dave getting the best fish- this scale perfect and plump roach of exactly one pound.

 

I then returned to the 'wild camp' on the  Dorset Stour for the bank holiday where it rained persistently the whole week-end.
 Because of the very limited bank access,I could only really fish in just one, shallow  swim. Plenty of small fish, among them some nice roach, 'played ball' highlighted by a chub ,of a couple of pounds, taken in darkness,  on bread flake.
Its a very pleasant place to spend time and must surely be the only 'camp site' in the south of England that is completely empty at this time of year. I hope to revisit some time in the autumn /winter when the vegetation has died down and swim access might be improved-target will be pike.

25/8/15 Wet, Windy Piking.

Driving rain and strong winds aren't exactly ideal conditions for fishing in a small boat but nevertheless, my roach baits  managed to induce two takes from small pike.
I would have liked to explore more swims but instead, only managed a couple of moves during the session,spending the majority of the time tucked up under the cuddy, which is extremely useful, with the bow of the boat nestled against the wind and firmly wedged into the bank side vegetation.
Despite the rain, the river remains in excellent condition with a healthy green tinge. I can only surmise that the ground is still dry enough to absorb the rain fall, rather than channel it into the river which, in winter conditions can become like a mucky drain.
One of my side line pastimes is messing about with old fishing reels and I've amassed a modest collection in recent years some of which get the occasional airing.
I've been servicing a 1950s Young's Gildex No.1 multiplier for Dave recently, and couldn't resist loading it with line and taking it along today for a few casts before handing it back to him. It cost £9 9 Shillings in 1959 when the average weekly wage was about £13 and even featured in 'Mr Crabtree'.
Considering its age, the direct drive reel (the handles revolve like mad things when you cast) works extremely well indeed and I'll admit to becoming quite attached to it.
 The reel is extremely well engineered with quality components and is obviously built to last a long time but, and this is my usual gripe with 'old school' multipliers, Its right hand wind.......and they never made a left hand wind version. Why, seeing as most people are right handed , hold their rod and cast with  their right hand, and most fixed spool reels are left hand wind is one of the angling world's great mysteries.

 Diminutive 'jack' pike with a mouthful of needles.

 

The 'Gildex'  http://www.jwyoungs.co.uk/gildex.htm

22/8/15 Tricky Mullet

It probably wasn't the best day to choose mullet as a target with high air temperatures, and bright sunshine-conditions which I've never favoured when hunting this specie.
Talking of heat,the cooling system on the river boat outboard has been playing up of late. What should be a forceful 'spurt' from the 'tell tale' has gradually weakened to a pathetic trickle so the old motor had to come off the boat for a closer inspection.
Fortunately, after the roach trip of a few days ago the tide was at its highest point when I returned to the boat mooring so I was able to manhandle the outboard up the raking ladder , and on to dry land single handed. No easy task, it has to be said.
After some fettling at home, I considered it was ready to return to the boat so , chose high water again to precariously lower the outboard back in place using a piece of rope that is normally reserved for a life ring on the mooring.
 Naturally, I tie good knots(ahem) but, I was relieved to see the lump of metal land safely on the deck without any damage.
Whist testing an outboard in a bucket of water  at home is fine, they really need to be subjected to a working load, and what better way to do this than to run ten miles downstream for a spot of mullet fishing. If  the engine failed, at least I had a set of oars on board.
Arriving at the first swim with the tide well into the ebb, it was clear there were several fish in residence and it didn't take very long at all to get them feeding on my bread mash, induce a take, and land the three pounder seen above. However, in true mullet fishing fashion, that was the end of it as far as the 'grey ghosts' were concerned.
The fish in the swim seemed to melt away after my capture possibly by the disturbance I'd caused . I carried on for a while but it became clear I would have to look elsewhere for them.
I did a lot of searching, even running as far downstream as Ford but, the mullet were nowhere to be found. A building breeze that funnelled between the river's flood banks didn't help as the ripple on the water made spotting fish increasingly difficult.
Apart from a dfropped fish which I suspect may have been a small thick lip,the only other action I experienced was from a rather nice roach of about twelve ounces, of all things, on the flood tide close to an area of  mud flats. I have caught coarse fish before this low down the river but I'm still surprised when they turn up out of the blue like this.
During the afternoon, the last remaining Vulcan bomber still flying continually circled above me giving me a stunning view of this fantastic aircraft although, little did I know of the tragic event unfolding just a few miles east at Shoreham.
I called a halt to proceedings In the mid afternoon heat and ran the boat back up to the mooring with no issues-thankfully, she's 'peeing' steadily now.

19/8/15 Size Isn't Everything.

1lb 4oz Arun roach

...but somehow, a roach of over a pound seems like quite a big fish. Well lets just say its an above average fish  by my modest standards.
.I have caught a larger roach, an accidental capture whilst mullet fishing way down on the tidal stretch where , by all accounts, they had no right to be but, in all honesty, I have very little provenance with the specie to speak of.
As a youngster in the mid 70s I remember my fishing buddy catching a one pound roach from the Thames at Kingston-a regular haunt of ours at the time. It seemed huge and I recall being quite envious of this 'specimen' especially when most of our catch comprised tiny ruffe and gudgeon.
I can't remember the last time I saw a ruffe, also known a 'pope'. Do they still exist?
I returned to the scene of our pre-baiting campaign for today's fishing. Our (mine and Dave's) last visit was almost entirely unproductive probably because we mostly fished with large pellet baits in the hope of a 'carbel'. However, throughout these sessions we were continually harassed by small fish nibbling at our baits, and I suspected they  weren't all 'tiddlers'.
I'd even declared to my mate my intention to try for a pound roach (achievable ) and a twelve ounce dace (not quite so easy but we'll see)
Scaling the tackle and bait right down to a single red maggot on a size 18 hook coupled to a feeder rig once the swim had been built up with a few casts to get the fish 'going', it was a 'bite a chuck' though not always easy bites to hit.
I had to fish my way through the smaller roach and dace but occasionally the culprits would turn out to be decent roach in the half to three quarter pound bracket topped off by the above specimen at a pound and a quarter. I also managed to catch a common bream of a couple of pounds and a rather feisty eel which subsequently destroyed my end rig.
So, have I been bitten by the roach fishing bug? Well actually yes, and I've been consulting with Brian, formerly a successful match angler on the river, for some tips on how to improve my catch rate.
Perhaps one day a two pound Arun roach will grace my net although this may take some time.
One of this size was recently reported by a Pulborough Angling Club member. It took him  forty years to catch it!

Difficult August.

August can be a difficult month locally for the inshore boat fishing but I've actually had a few 'bloopers' on the river as well so, as this blog is a 'warts an' all' account of my fishing, here's an abbreviated account of the less successful fishing that I've experienced this month.
A night time conger trip with Dave proved to be very slow indeed with only two average sized eels taking the baits. It was a very 'bright' night with a full moon and its entirely possible that this could have had an effect on the eel fishing-who knows. We did pick up quite a few rays-undulate and thornback so it wasn't all bad.
The following day we had a short afternoon session on the river for pike with baits but , as none showed up, there's not much else to say.
 I have also attempted  to tempt a pike on a lure from the boat. I know it can be done as a few years ago friend Michael Kernan had considerable success with the method and even wrote a chapter in a book about it.
Both Dave and me have been less successful and perhaps, need an injection of confidence in the method by catching a few pike on an artificial from the river. Its certainly much more convenient, and active than bait fishing and at least you feel like you're actually hunting the pike rather than simply laying a trap as you do when fishing with baits.
We've also been doing a bit of 'carbelling' pre-baiting a selected swim with 'heavy duty' halibut pellets in the hope that a carp, or an extremely rare, for our river, barbel happens along. Two days without a 'show' is probably enough for me as I'm not sure I've got what it takes to be a 'long stint' angler. These guys who bivvy up for days, or even weeks at a time for a single run  have my admiration-personally, I just haven't got the patience.
On that subject I do know of someone who has caught a barbel from 'our' river-a good one too. It took him twelve sessions to get the bite!
We have often seen a well known angler from the carp fishing world on the river in his own boat  but understand that he's taken just one carp for all his efforts so far this season. That is true dedication for you.
The winds haven't exactly helped the inshore boat fishing but I did manage to get out one afternoon with just lures and feathers.
The lures produced a handful of wrasse on the reefs but disappointingly, just one small bass. Hopefully the bass shoals will return to the deep reefs in September .
The feathers were intended for mackerel of which a few did show but , the majority of hits were from scad. Full houses at times when I ran through a dense shoal of the blighters.
So there you have it-quite a bit of fishing done but some pretty average results by all accounts but, that as they say, is fishing.

7-9/8/15 Sharking With Brian.

 Brian's first ever blue shark.

 The loneliness of the solo sharker.

My first ever bull huss.

 

 

A three day trip to Falmouth once again, in search of some sport with blue shark.
I'd been given a tip from local charter skipper Andy Howell that the blues were starting to show up in better numbers of late so decided on a last minute run down to Cornwall with boat in tow.
Leaving home a 4-30 in the morning proved to be a good move and by the middle of the afternoon the boat was nicely settled on a pontoon mooring in Mylor yacht harbour ready for the next day's assault.
I'd never shark fished solo before but, with my crew Brian not being available until the following day I decided to 'bite the bullet', take advantage of the weather conditions, and go for it anyway despite feeling a certain amount of trepidation.
In the event, I needn't have worried in the slightest. By being extremely organised , having all the tools to hand and only fishing two shark lines , I was able to fish effectively and safely.
I had to wait a while for it to happen but, late in the afternoon a screaming ratchet signalled that the shark had finally picked up my chum trail and the result was a decent sized blue of perhaps close to the ton at the side of the boat.
Two more lesser shark were taken before I called it a day and returned to port having covered about five miles on the drift. The slight wind had assisted me somewhat by helping to spread out the chum trail and this was a bonus as the tides themselves were a bit on the small side. Unfortunately, this season's unsettled weather patterns have meant that 'beggars can't be choosers' when it comes to shark fishing. You've got to go when the weather allows and not be selective when it comes to the best tides.
The following day Brian joined me and I decided to head out to virtually the same area that I had used the previous day. The drift however, was completely different, taking us in completely the opposite direction and leaving us some 14 miles from port at the finish.
Again, we had to wait a long time for some action but, with blue shark fishing ,within reason, there is no such thing as a 'not happening' day. The longer the chum trail is allowed to do its work, the more chance that a shark will pick up the scent and find the baits.
Luckily Brian is a patient angler who just enjoys being out there so we waited, and waited, and eventually, of course, it paid off.
My mate was thrilled to get his first ever shark and I was pleased that the fish didn't tail wrap the trace., was cleanly hooked and therefore gave Brian  a decent 'scrap'. We decided that, as it was Brian's first, we would bring her on board to get a trophy shot which we managed to do successfully.
Shortly afterwards we experienced a dropped run on one of the baits but I sensed that it would return so left the bait in place and sure enough, we were given a second chance resulting in a second shark on what was otherwise quite a slow day.
By the third day the winds really had picked up. Andy was out sharking in his BIG charter boat and reported over the radio that it would have been far too uncomfortable for my Warrior, so we decided to hunt bull huss instead.
I'd never caught one before but Andy had furnished me with some likely numbers inside the shelter of the Fal estuary to try. With very little tide to speak of and a gusty wind it proved extremely difficult to keep the boat still enough for bottom fishing but this didn't seem to stop the huss from biting. We scored nine of the feisty blighters, Brian taking most of them, along with a handful of thornback rays making for a most enjoyable day's fishing.
We'd begun our session by feathering mackerel for bait and had found enough within a minute or two of fishing. Our plan was to end the day in a similar manner and secure a few for a decent evening meal but do you think they would 'play ball'. We did eventually find a few but at one point we though we might have to pay a visit to the local 'chippy' for our tea.
Unfortunately the strong winds were due to persist for the following day so we were unable to continue with the shark fishing and decided to recover the boat and return home-a journey which was made so much easier by travelling through the night rather than mingle with the daytime holiday traffic.