Sea Angler - Issue 621, April 2023

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ISSUE 621 APRIL 2023
HOW TO CONTACT US: EDITORIAL
sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Editor
David Mitchell
Contributing Editor
H
ow does fishing affect the smaller as a result of being more risk Dave Lewis
behaviour of fish? This averse and not taking the chance Email: david.lewis21@hotmail.com
might not be a question which means they get to the prey first. Art Editor
you’ve spent much time Are there fewer fish than there used Mark Hyde
considering. To be perfectly honest, to be? Most definitely. However,
nor had I until an enlightening are fish now more difficult to catch Contributors: Ben Basset, James Batty, Ian Bowell,
Henry Gilbey, Chris Kennedy, Dave Lewis, Tim
presentation at last month’s World than they once were? Based on Macpherson, Mike Millman, Wesley Shrubsole, Simon Smith,
Recreational Fishing Conference in this research and the results, quite Russ Symons, Mike Thrussell
Melbourne got me thinking. probably. Food for thought…
Amongst over 200 presentations Write to: Sea Angler, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary,
over the course of the three-day Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL
conference were the results into a BASS SEASON BEGINS ADVERTISING
study of the impact of size selective For many of us April is the
Talk Media Sales (TMS)
fishing – such as angling – on the traditional opening month of the bass David Lerpiniere, tel: 01732 445326
shoaling behaviour of fish. Using season in the UK. Early as it is, with Email: david@talkmediasales.co.uk
laboratory results and computer cold water temperatures, many of you Advert Production: Nick Bond, tel: 01732 441281
modelling the researchers were will be keen to get the first bass of Email: Nick.bond@talkmediasales.co.uk
able to demonstrate that harvesting the year under your belt. This month CLASSIFIEDS Tel: 0906 802 0279
the larger individuals from a stock Dave Lewis focuses on how to fish (premium rate line, operated by Talk Media Sales on behalf of Kelsey
Publishing Ltd. Calls cost 65p per minute from a BT landline; other
(something that anglers targeting rocky shore gullies with close range networks and mobiles may vary. Lines open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm).
trophy fish typically do) has an tactics for spring bass (page 14) and Email: seaangler@kelseyclassifieds.co.uk
impact on the shoaling behaviour of Cornish angler James Batty focuses MARKETING
the remaining fish causing them to on the baits needed to tempt the big Director of Operations: Gill Lambert
be more cautious and more vigilant bass with a meal rather than a snack Retail Director: Steve Brown
to threats and predators. Why? The (page 20). If fishing afloat is your bag Subscription Director: Kevin McCormick
Senior Subs Marketing Manager: Nick McIntosh
research proposes that the bolder fish, then Russell Symons provides all you PRODUCTION
more likely to take risks and therefore need to know to target a spring bass Print Production/Distribution Liaison Manager:
feed first and grow faster, are also the using the simplest, and arguably most Georgina Harris, email: georgina.harris@kelsey.co.uk
ones more likely to be caught and exciting, method of all: free lining live- Print Production Controller:
retained by anglers. These ‘leaders’ are baits, in this case mackerel. For those Hayley Brown, email: hayley.brown@kelsey.co.uk
also the ones that other fish are more of you considering a charter fishing Distribution: Great Britain – Seymour Distribution Limited
likely to follow and create shoals trip we also have a great feature on the 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT
Tel. 020 7429 4000
taking social cues from other fish etiquette, or the (mostly!) unwritten
www.seymour.co.uk
around them and relying less on rules, of fishing from a charter boat. Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland – Newspread, tel: +353 23 886 3850
their individual vigilance to spot and Dave Lewis explains all with help MANAGEMENT
avoid predators. from three top skippers. Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden
Once these bold, leader, fish are Publishing Director: Oswin Grady
removed the genes and behaviours of
the more cautious and vigilant fish, NEW RIG SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES
UK subscription and back issue order line: 0845 241 5159
the ones less likely to shoal, become While bass may be on the April catch Overseas subscription order line: 0044 (0) 1959 543 747
dominant in the stock. As a result, list for many of you, the spring flattie Toll free USA subscription orderline: 1-888-777-0275
over only a few generations the season is very much in full swing at UK customer service team: 01959 543 747
natural behaviour to shoal together this time of year with plaice, flounder For customer service support, please visit: help.kelsey.co.uk
Customer service and subscription postal address: Sea Angler magazine,
can be replaced by a dominant and dabs all inshore and feeding. Customer Service Team, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding
behaviour for fish to be more vigilant One method for maximising bites for Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL
and less likely to shoal – thereby these species is nailing your baits to Current subscription offers: shop.kelsey.co.uk/
making them both more difficult to the seabed and this month we bring Subs website: shop.kelsey.co.uk/subscription/san
you an exclusive look at a new rig Back issues can be ordered here: shop.kelsey.co.uk/issue/SAN
find (fewer shoals) and more difficult
to catch as the ‘risk averse’ individuals developed by Mike Thrussell. The ■ Kelsey Media 2023 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of
now dominate the population. Gravity rig takes components from Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except
with permission in writing from the publishers.
Despite being more vigilant it means the carp fishing world and ensures
these fish are also more vulnerable your hooks are in the feeding zone Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must
to predators through not being resulting in more bites and hook-ups. be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where
photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor,
protected by the safety in numbers Check out Mike’s feature on page six permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the
that shoaling behaviour provides. As for full details on how to build your copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and
emails received.
a result, they may be more difficult own Gravity rig. We’d love to know
to catch by anglers but more easy to how you get on using it, so feel free to The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor
or the publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and
catch by predators. get in touch using the usual channels. services offered by third parties.
Perhaps, therefore, for stocks and Finally, this month we have yet
species of fish where anglers target another great prize on offer with Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of
our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/
and remove the large specimens, the the chance for three lucky readers If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can
remaining fish, as well as being fewer to win a Sonik Black bass fishing set email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk
in number, are more dispersed (their up worth £150. Head to page 92 for
shoaling ‘instinct’ isn’t there), more details on how to enter. Good luck!
cautious (they are less likely to take
your bait or lure) and, on average,
Until next month
David
KELSEYmedia
SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 3

CONTENTS Cover image by Ed Povey
CONTENTS
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WHERE TO FISH
26 FONT Y GARY BOAT ANGLER
If you can cope with the
heavy tackle losses then you’ll 42 BASIC INSTINCT
be rewarded at this venue
on the Welsh coast of the
BASSING
Russell Symons explains the joys
Bristol Channel. of freelining for bass as they
migrate inshore to feed.
28 DYMCHURCH &
HYTHE RANGES 48 UNWRITTEN
Try these two Kent marks for
year-round thornback ray
RULES
Planning to book a charter day
fishing and great bait collecting afloat? Follow this expert advice
options too. on what’s expected of you.
32 TALES FROM 54 COALFISH:

THE TIDELINE A SPECIES TO
SHORE ANGLER Simon Smith looks at our
relationship with fishing and the SAVOUR
importance it plays in our lives. West Country angler and
6 THE LAW OF historian Mike Millman explores
GRAVITY the unrivalled record history of
Mike Thrussell shows you how
to build a deadly new rig using
YOUR CATCHES the species.
components from the carp 58 BUCKET LIST

fishing world. 34 MISSION Dave Lewis profiles the range of
14 GULLEY ACCOMPLISHED snappers known to anglers as the

tasty coral trout.
The best of your specimen
GAME PLAN catches from around the UK over
the last month. 60 THE FIRST TRIP
Here’s how to intercept those
early spring run bass using close- Dave Lewis provides essential
range, rough ground, tactics. 37 YOUNG RODS advice for parents and
grandparents taking youngsters
Junior anglers show the adults out boat fishing for the first time.
how it’s done with the best
20 GOURMET BASS catches from the next generation
In order to catch a big bass you of sea anglers.
need to think like one, as James
‘Leakyboots’ Batty explains.
42
4 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

TACKLE
ISSUE 621 APRIL 2023 84 DAIWA SALTIGA
ON SALE 31ST MARCH – 27TH APRIL Chris Kennedy reviews one of
Daiwa’s flagship reels, the
Saltiga 20.
SEA SCHOOL 78 TIDE TALK
Mike Thrussell looks at the
tides and tactics to tackle
86 WHEN THE GOING
62 Q&A gilthead bream from the GETS TOUGH
Eight pages of expert answers to shore and tope from the boats There’s no slipping up with these
your questions submitted to our this April. waterproof ankle boots from
team of specialists. Xtratuf, as David Mitchell explains.
80 NEXT MONTH
72 CASTING Don’t miss our specimen
hunting special: tactics, tackle 88 SEA ANGLER
John Holden explains the
importance of practice in nailing and techniques for targeting ARCHIVES
your casting consistency. big specimens of your It’s April 1973 and legendary
favourite species from both charter skipper JJ McVicar writes
shore and boat.
73 READER OFFER for Sea Angler explaining why he’s
going back into commercial fishing.
Save nearly £70 when you get
suited and booted for just £99.99! 82 TOPE HUNTER
Tim Macpherson goes to
sea at Eastbourne to test 92 COMPETITION
74 FIRST LOOK a brand-new boat that has Don’t miss out on your chance to
The latest new fishing gear to been specifically designed for win a Sonik Black bass set-up worth
tickle your tackle-buying taste sea anglers. £150.
buds this month.
MATCH ANGLER
76 BOAT STORE
Check out this innovate
new chain marking system
94 PENN SHORE
for anchoring. SEA LEAGUE
The latest results and scoreboard
from the UK’s biggest and best
shore fishing league.
97 WHAT’S ON
Never miss out on match dates for
your fishing diary with our list of
events over the coming months.
98 TIDES
Comprehensive tide times and
weights for April and May
helping you plan your spring
fishing sessions.
84
SHORE ANGLER Words and
photography by
MIKE THRUSSELL

Mike Thrussell’s new rig, taking tackle from the carp fishing world,
is getting him serious results. Here’s why it’s proving so effective
and how to build it yourself
O
ne of the problems when shore catches the bulk of the fish suggesting all is not
fishing at close to medium range fishing as well as it might.
in shallow water is making sure I’ve been thinking about different ways to
the baited hooks are within the combat this and nicked an idea from carp
common fish feeding zone. This anglers that’s proving to be a league above the
zone is typically either on or very close to the other rigs and methods I’ve been using up
seabed. Flatfish will rarely move up off the until now. Other anglers have probably tried
bottom to take a bait that is lifting more than a something similar, but so far I’ve not seen it
few inches off the ground. This lift is caused by mentioned elsewhere.
tide or surf movement, also fishing too tight a Just for reference, I’ve called it the Gravity rig,
line from the rod tip to the rig, especially at simply because it incorporates a greater element
short range. Round fish such as bass and of gravity to improve the presentation of the
coalfish may take food up off the bottom, but hooks on a 2-hook or 3-hook flapper rig.
still look to take the bulk of their non predatory
food on or very close to the seabed. Food
swirling around in the water column is a less TUNGSTEN TUBING
easy target to hit and uses up a lot of energy. When I’m carp fishing, I use a length of
This applies to many other species too. tungsten tubing around 30-inches long slid
You can drop your rod tip lower to the on the line just above the lead. The tungsten
ground to reduce the line angle. Alternatively, in the tubing adds a lot of weight, so after
fish a slack line bow in the line to keep the baits casting, the heavy tubing sinks easily to the
down. You can also put a secondary 1/4oz bottom disguising and sinking the line that is
ball weight above the rig connector swivel to closest to the baited hook, plus avoids the carp
flatten the lay of the rig. These all help but have bumping into the line as it feeds and spooking
disadvantages such as collecting close in weed, off. It’s this flat line lay that gave me the idea of
showing false bites from waves rolling in and incorporating the tungsten tubing into a sea rig
line lift as waves roll up and over the line. Even to help keep the rig flat on the seabed.
with these modifications you’ll still notice that Most of the top carp brands sell tungsten
one hook, usually the hook nearest the lead, tubing and you get about 2m for £6-£7.
SHORE ANGLER
Granted, not cheap, but it will be used over them up and down. Be careful not to pull and
mostly clean seabeds so losses should be stretch the tubing too much though, as it will
minimal, plus you can reuse it. Having used this break if overstretched and we need to avoid this
rig for a couple of years now, I find the tubing as broken bits will hinge affecting presentation.
protects the line from abrasion and unless you Being able to reposition the beads and swivels
snap off during the cast or snag up, the rig body means we can reposition hook lengths to give
can be used over and over with just a strength a shorter or wider presentation. For general
test before every trip. fishing, maximum spacing between the three
The tubing comes in three basic colours: hooks is preferred. However, if you’re fishing
green, brown and a dark grey colour. I don’t in conditions when fewer fish are present and
really bother about which colour, but the bites are hard to come by, reducing the distance
brown tends to fade into sand well enough, between the three hook lengths and shortening
plus the weight of the tubing will see it sink the individual hook lengths can concentrate the
and cover with sand anyway, so in very clear scent trail to maximise effectiveness and pull far
water fish don’t see it much or associate it with off fish in. Alternatively, if fish are only coming
something strange. to the bottom hook, reposition the middle and
top hook length so that they are closer to the
hook getting all the bites to place all three baits
RIG REFINEMENTS closer to the main fish feeding zone. This little
When the rig body is complete, you’ll find that change in repositioning the hooks to suit makes
the tubing will slide neatly into the pointed a massive difference to the number of bites you
end of the anti-tangle sleeve a little way. This get, yet so few anglers bother to do this.
massively reduces any chance of sand getting I use the smaller carp type quick link swivels as
into the tubing. The bead in the top sleeve has this enables me to change hook lengths quickly
the same effect. by using a loop on the top of the hook length
The beads on the tubing should fit quite enabling you to replace a fished-out bait with a
tightly but can be repositioned by gently sliding fresh one in seconds gaining more fishing time. Target plaice with a Gravity rig
“This little change

in repositioning the
hooks to suit makes a
massive difference to
the number of bites you
get, yet so few anglers
bother to do this”
SHORE ANGLER
THE RIG AND HOW TO BUILD IT

The rig body is the key to this rig, and we’ll look at this in detail first.
For a 3-hook rig I use half the tubing, so roughly 39-inches in length.
Dabs like their food

static and hard on the
seabed
However, because the quick link connection

is open ended, we need to have a short 15mm
section of silicone tubing that slides up the
hook length loop and over the quick link
connection to eliminate any chance of the loop
unclipping itself.
I use fluorocarbon hook lengths in 20lb and
about 12-inch hook lengths for general fishing
but will drop down to 15lbs or even 12lbs in
calmer weather. Generally, the lighter the hook
length is the shorter I make it. Using sticky tape, tape on a small 1oz lead weight at one end of the tubing. This pulls
What you can also do is to slide a small bead the tubing tight, keeps it in a straight, vertical line, and helps you thread the line
onto the line after tying on the hook, then slide through it much quicker. Holding the tubing vertical in front of you, slide the angled
on 6 to 10-inches of Tungsten Tubing, then the cut end of the line down into the tubing and keep threading it down inch by inch. If
short section of silicone and add the loop. This you find it gets to a point and won’t push further, feel for the end of the line inside the
additional tubing on the hook length itself really tubing, grip this tightly, gently pull the tubing backwards a centimetre or two and
hold it tight. Now release the tubing where the end of the line is. This sees the line
pins the bait down on the seabed. It makes it far
push forward further and further down the tubing. Keep doing this until the end of
easier in rougher sea conditions for an attacking
the line exits the tubing. There’s a knack to this but it’s quite easy when you’ve done it
fish to hit what is basically a static target rather a few times.
than a bait that’s moving all over the place.
On to a tag end of
HOW TO FISH IT line, slide on a short
I fish this rig specifically when I’m targeting carp type anti-
flatfish no more than 50 yards out. It works at tangle sleeve with
longer range, but the nature of this rig is not the taper towards
ideal for long range casting, as such. It’s forte the tubing, then
is in the 10 - 40 yard band, especially when tie on a Gemini
there’s a decent surf rolling in and standard Lead Clip. Slide the
presentations see the baits swirl all over the sleeve over the end
place. It also works well in very settled clear seas of the Lead Clip
and is deadly for both estuary flounder
and plaice, dabs off piers and breakwaters, also
for flounder, coalfish, whiting and bass on the
surf beaches.
To fish this rig to its maximum in shallow
water, I fish my rod tips low down on the rod  Quick link swivels
rest and parallel with the surf line. It enables me enable me to change
to fish a more direct line for better bite detection hook lengths quickly by
at the rod tip. If I’m fishing off man-made using a loop on the top of
structure into deeper water, then I have the the hook length
rod in the rest facing the sea and set at about a
75-degree angle, but don’t fully tighten the line
Carp companies sell soft plastic beads that will fit semi
tightly over the tungsten tubing. Some are just semi soft
rubber others are made with tungsten added which will
add a little more weight if needed. Slide a bead onto the
tubing and slide it slowly and gently down the tubing to
position it just above the lead clip. Slide on a quick link
swivel and another bead leaving a tiny gap between the
beads for the swivel to rotate in
Because the quick change swivels are open

ended a short length of silicone tubing is
needed on the hooklength to slide over the
swivel and secure the line Add two more
bead and swivel combinations, one in the
middle of the tubing and one at the top
To finish the rig, slide on an anti-tangle

sleeve, again taper towards the tubing,
a bead that will push into the end of the
sleeve, then tie on a size 4 rolling swivel.
Keep the gap between the swivel and the
top sleeve to just a couple of inches

SHORE ANGLER
“But like I mentioned, it’s invariably the lower hook with

tubing that pulls the most bites”
preferring to keep it just slightly slack so that positioned towards the hook. means of presentation to suit conditions when
the tungsten tubing can do its job and sit flat To help keep costs down, if sand does get fish refuse to chase baits or want them fished
on the floor. If you cast out, put the rod in the inside the end of the tubing, I have a 50-inch literally touching the seabed with minimal lift.
rest and gently tighten up; you’ll feel the line lift section of 20lb coated hook length wire which Think back to how many times just the one
due to the increased weight of the tubing. If you slides down the tubing easily but is stiff enough hook on a 3-hook flapper rig has caught most of
release a few inches of line off the reel with light to poke out any obstructions. It’s rare you need the fish during a session. This rig helps spread
thumb pressure you’ll literally feel the tubing to do this though. and increase the number of bites across all three
settle down on the seabed, even in quite lively The gravity rig then, offers a more static hooks and can be a game changer when bites are
sea conditions. hard to come by. ■
Even when I’m fishing say a standard 1 up/1
down rig, if I’ve found bites infrequent, then
adding a length of tungsten tubing to the hook
length below the weight can suddenly fire up a
few bites and it’s now one of the first things I
try. This is the best of both worlds too, with one
static bait hard on the seabed, but the top hook
free to move and bounce around in the surf. But
like I mentioned, it’s invariably the lower hook
with tubing that pulls the most bites.
If you feel the bait might bury into the sand
due to the weight of the tubing, position the
tubing towards the clip link and between the
hook and the tubing tie in a 5-turn Grinner
knot from rig gum. This means you can have
the weight of the tubing to hold the bait tight
to the seabed but have a short length of free
hook length below the tubing that will hinge
and sit the bait on the sand without it burying
so much.
As already mentioned, I also save any short
sections of old tubing I have left and leave a
few in my tackle box. I add these to the hook
lengths while fishing as conditions might
dictate. I used to use split shot, but prefer the
neatness of the tubing, plus it doesn’t damage
the line in anyway like a split shot can. Tying
a Powergum 5-turn grinner knot onto the
hook length above the line keeps the tubing

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SHORE ANGLER
Words and
Photography
DAVE LEWIS

GULLY GAME PLAN:
With the arrival of spring many anglers will be anticipating the start
of another bass season. Dave Lewis is already looking forward to the
joys of short-range fishing for bass in the weed-strewn gullies and
rock marks of South Wales. Here’s his guide to getting in on the action
I
t’s no great secret that my favourite
genre of sea fishing here in the UK is
surf fishing, for bass. There’s nothing I
enjoy more than standing waist deep
amidst the fizz and surge of a lively surf
beach, holding a light beachcaster while waiting
for the first electrifying rattle and tug on its tip.
But if conditions on my favourite beaches are
not suitable for a session in the surf, or
increasingly these days these beaches are busy
with surfers, swimmers and a throng of holiday
makers, a session on a remote rock mark comes
a very close second.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s ledgering a
juicy lump of freshly picked peeler crab at close
range in a rocky, kelp filled gully with a pushing
tide slowly making its way shorewards was the
way most bass anglers targeted their favourite
species. These days bait fishing for bass can
almost be regarded as being something of a
forgotten art. The popularity of bass fishing is
at an all-time high, but almost all of the anglers
I know and see who fish for bass over rough
SHORE ANGLER
ground, do so almost exclusively with lures of

one form of another. I doubt some even own
a roll of bait elastic, or have ever soiled their
hands digging amidst the mud and sand of the
intertidal zone in pursuit of peeler crabs. Some
may think that a ‘rotten bottom’ is the result of
a dodgy meal!
For many years the rocky headlands and
remote stretches of the South Wales coastline
has been my favourite area to target bass over
rough ground. The huge tidal range of the
Bristol Channel results in vast expanses of
coastline being exposed twice daily, revealing
a topographic landscape that is perfect for
both bait collecting and fishing. This being
the case the techniques and approach I am
going to discuss here can be mirrored pretty
much anywhere where bass are found over
similar ground.
PEELERS, PEELERS, PEELERS

Bait is the absolute key to success when fishing
for bass. Bass are both highly predatory and
scavengers, and at times can and often are caught
on any type of bait. That said, one bait reigns
supreme for bass when fishing over rocks: peeler
crab. This is hardly surprising as it is the prospect
of gorging on crabs that likely has tempted the
bass to move inshore to forage over such ground
in the first place. Common green shore crabs
and, perhaps best of all, peeling edible and velvet
swimming crabs are nothing short of deadly for
bass. I would go so far as to say that if you use
either of these three species for bait and do not
get a bite from a bass, then there aren’t any bass
in the vicinity of where you are fishing.
At most of the marks where I like to fish I’ll
time my arrival to coincide with about three

hours after high tide. By this time a lot of food component you add. My advice if fishing at
rich terrain will already have been exposed, and short range over rough ground for bass is KIS –
it’s the perfect time to start searching for fresh Keep It Simple!
crab. I’ve always enjoyed spending the first hour
or so of a session on the rocks hunting for crab, I
find that there’s something aesthetically pleasing RIG FOR THE ROUGH
about first finding your bait, then using it to catch My rig of choice is the running paternoster.
fish. Of course, in many areas and at certain times This is a basic yet very efficient rig, that is
of the year the availability of fresh crab cannot perfect for presenting a crab over snaggy, weed
be guaranteed, and I confess that these days I’ll covered ground. It’s an easy rig to tie. Start by
rarely head off for a session without a dozen baits, sliding a small plain swivel onto your mainline,
fresh or frozen, as back up. then tie a second swivel at the end of the line.
The hook length is tied directly to this swivel, I
suggest 12-15in of clear 20lb monofilament. I
RECCE do not use braid for this style of fishing. I prefer
There’s another advantage in arriving at a mark monofilament of around 20-25lb which is
as the tide is falling. As low water approaches much more resistant to abrasion.
you’ll have the opportunity to really study Throughout my formative years bass fishing
the ground over which later you’ll be fishing. the Mustad Viking 79510 with its bent eye
You’ll be able to locate the deeper gullies and was the hook of choice for most bass anglers.
rock pools through which the flooding tide will Many still use this bronzed sea angling classic
advance, prime areas to present a bait as they today, or the straight eyed version, the 79515.
serve as food highways for foraging bass, eager Personally, I now prefer to use super sharp
to get amongst the food rich environment. chemically honed hooks; Sakuma make several
These days there is an ever-growing tendency excellent patterns. Sizes 1/0-3/0 are suitable
to over-complicate terminal rigs when shore for most green crab baits, but when fishing a
fishing. While the addition of various links, large edible or velvet swimming crab I might use
clips, booms, beads, swivels and numerous hooks as large as a 4/0 or even 5/0, depending
other gizmos may actually be advantageous on the size of the bait.
in various situations, complicated rigs have The lead is attached to the swivel sliding freely
no place in short range, rough ground fishing. on the mainline via a 2ft length of 10-12lb line.
The more ‘stuff’ you incorporate in your rig Being weaker than both the hooklength and the
equates directly to the chances of that rig getting mainline, should, or when, the lead becomes
snagged. Complex rigs are time consuming snagged, it will usually be just this that you lose
to tie, and of course the cost increases when you pull to break free. This weak link is
proportionally with the addition of each known as a rotten bottom. 
“I’ve always enjoyed spending the first hour or so of a

session on the rocks hunting for crab, I find that there’s
something aesthetically pleasing about first finding
your bait, then using it to catch fish”

SHORE ANGLER
“perhaps the greatest

thrill of shore fishing
is feeling those first
tentative knocks as a
fish delicately
mouths your bait,
followed by a
solid lunge on the rod tip
when it tries to swim off”
The key advantage of the running paternoster absolutely no current or swell it will be better of shore fishing is feeling those first tentative
over other rigs is that being attached by such to use 4oz or even 5oz. Why? The answer is knocks as a fish delicately mouths your bait,
a long length of line the lead will sink through straightforward: you want the rig to fall swiftly followed by a solid lunge on the rod tip when it
gaps in the rock and beneath any boulders or to the bottom, and then sit there. Stationary tries to swim off.
kelp, in theory leaving the crab lying on top. The leads are far less likely to snag than those that are Finally, a word on safety. Many of the best
free running nature of this rig means that a bass rolling about. rough ground bass marks are inherently
feels very little resistance when it first locates, Secondly, when you have cast do not be dangerous. You’ll be fishing over ground where
and hopefully inhales your bait. tempted to try and move the rig a little, ‘to see it is all too easy to slip and twist an ankle, or
Rarely in this style of shore fishing will it be whether or not it is snagged’. If it wasn’t, then worse. Ideally do not fish alone, if you do,
necessary to cast, or perhaps I should say lob, there is a fair chance that moving it will drag make sure someone knows exactly where
a baited rig more than 30yds. You’ll often be it into a snag. The first time you move the rig you are. Carry a fully charged mobile phone,
fishing much closer than this, at times more or should be when you set the hook following but network coverage varies considerably in
less beneath your rod tip. The next two pieces a bite. different areas.
of advice are probably the most important I can Other than serving as a convenience when Always guard against having your safe retreat
offer anyone planning on a session fishing at baiting up, rod rests have no place in this style of cut off by a flooding tide. Night fishing can
short range rough ground fishing. fishing, as they are cumbersome to carry around offer some of the very best short range, rough
Firstly, do not use leads that are too light. when trying different areas. You should hold ground bass fishing, but the risks of fishing
With distance not being a prerequisite, it will be your rod at all times. Not only is this by far the after dark are greatly enhanced. Do not fish
tempting to use very light leads, but invariably most efficient way to ensure that you react and at night on venues you are not fully familiar
this is a big mistake. Whereas it might be set the hook as soon as possible after a fish has with; that is marks you have fished on several
tempting to use just 2-3oz, unless there is taken your bait, but perhaps the greatest thrill previous occasions during the daytime. ■

CAN YOU
HANDLE
THE HEAT?
WWW.TRONIXPRO.COM TRONIXPRO TRONIXPRO TRONIXPRO1

SHORE ANGLER Words by
JAMES ‘LEAKYBOOTS’ BATTY
BAITS FOR THE BIG’UNS

To catch a lunker bass this season you need to think and eat eat like
a big bass, as James ‘Leakyboots’ Batty explains
T
he longer I carry on fishing the less turned me into a catcher-and-releaser. Bass and the neighbour’s smoke detector. On my patch
bass I take home. It’s not that seatrout are pleasant enough, but these days pilchards show up late in the summer, and
advancing age makes me too creaky there are other fish I prefer to eat, and the way sometimes stick around through the autumn
to reel them in, too forgetful to find to my sense of environmental responsibility is and into the new year. I catch them from
my fishing spots or too long-sighted through my stomach. headlands and piers, ideally in calm conditions.
to tie up a new rig. I still land a fair number – They go well to mini-sabikis, size six or so,
occasionally I run into a blanker who reckons retrieved in darkness, slowly and erratically.
my numbers aren’t fair at all, more like the GOLD MEDAL I limit myself to one or two sabikis. I used to
unfair catches of a jammy so-and-so who sold First in line, the tastiness gold medal goes to the fish them as they come in the packet, five to
his soul to the devil in return for the ability to pilchard. That’s what we called it when I was a string. But I like to use a light spinning rod,
think like a ten pounder. But not many wind up growing up, and I can’t get used to its new, posh and one morning I hooked four school bass at
in the bag. Unless a fish clearly isn’t going to double-barrelled handle, the “Cornish Sardine”. the same time, the biggest a two pounder. I was
survive, back she goes. I’d like to say this is I reckon the re-naming was a marketing exercise on a pier, and to unhook them I had to coax
because I’m a good conservationist, and that’s from one of the supermarket chains: “We want my fish about 30 yards to a spot where some
part of the story. I release all my seatrout as a label that justifies charging £1.50 for a not steps lead down to the water, passing the rod
well, even though I cough up every year for a especially fresh tiddler.” around a lamppost and two mooring ropes,
migratory fish licence, just in case one should be Because pilchards aren’t exactly hard fighting then scrambling through a skip full of what
deeply hooked and not worth returning. So I monsters of the deep, generally they’re 8 - 10in seemed to be rotting vindaloos and seagull poo.
could boast that I’m single-minded in my long, but they’re truly delicious. Scrape off the Too much excitement before breakfast, and too
dedication to the wellbeing of marine species scales, whip out the guts, sprinkle with salt, many rude words for such a public place.
under pressure. But the truth’s less noble; it isn’t pepper, garlic and olive oil, and cook them three Anyway it’s the pilchard at the top of the
just a desire to look after fish stocks that’s minutes per side under a grill so hot it sets off podium. The silver medal’s a dead heat between
SHORE ANGLER
the squid and the mackerel. Some people

go squidding with specialist jigs, the ones
that look as if a lead weight collided with a
hedgehog in a day-glo paint factory. Not for
me. I lose a few along the way, but I catch
squid now and again all through the year;
and when they’re on their autumn run I land
plenty with my normal mackerel spinning
set-up, a couple of feathers in front of a 30 or
40gr metal jig. Mackerel themselves need no
comment beyond a common-sense request:
when you’ve caught enough to eat and to
top up the bait freezer, go home. Or have a
coffee and watch the water. Please. Filling a
sack with fishy corpses doesn’t make you a
good angler, just a selfish eejit.
And the bronze medal in my foodie
Olympics goes to the razor clam, easy
enough to harvest if you know your spots
and head out on a low spring tide. Find a
burrow, tip a bit of sea water into it, and
grab your prize. I eat most of mine raw on
the beach, but if you prefer them cooked,
give them good rinse, then into a hot frying
pan with garlic, chillies, a splash of white
wine or cider, and some parsley or tarragon
if you want to come across like a Masterchef
contestant. Razors are tender, sweet and
altogether delightful.
BAITS FOR BASS

Now you’re reading an article about bass,
so it’s a fair bet you’ve realised something:
my four favourite types of seafood are all
good baits for bass, especially for the bigger
ones we like to catch. There are a host of
alternatives, the most popular in my area
being lugworm, ragworm, peeler crab
and sandeel.
Fished in the right spot and under the
right conditions they’re all effective. But I
find they’re magnets for juvenile fish. They’re
like those so-called meals sold by fast food
places – luridly coloured boxes containing
quickly broken toys and four times the
recommended daily intake of fat, salt and
sugar. Unlikely to satisfy a grownup appetite,
but the kids in the back seat howl like rabid
wolves every time you motor past a roadside
drive-through without pulling over.
There are four problems with an offering
that appeals mostly to tiddlers. First, there’s
the risk of running out of bait before it’s
time to go home; a fate so grim that the US
constitution would outlaw it as “cruel and
unusual punishment”. Second, there’s a good


“it’s a fair bet you’ve realised something:
my four favourite types of seafood are all
good baits for bass, especially for the bigger
ones we like to catch”

SHORE ANGLER
chance a small bass will swallow your bait; and baits between 6 - 10in long, with the ample girth companions with smelly, slimy, shrapnel.
in spite of the disgorgers I see in the catalogues, of champion pie scoffers. Second, the pong of long dead seafood seems
I think a fish that’s undergone a fiddly amateur Now I believe bass take best when your lure to be attractive to dogs, which often like to add
surgical procedure by the light of a flickering or bait matches up with what they’re looking for their own perfume to the mix by peeing on my
headlamp isn’t likely to make a full recovery. It already. They behave like me when I’m at work kit bag. Third, I think fresh baits ooze more oil
may, as the catch reports have it, “swim away in our charity shop. By nine o’clock I’ve decided and scent into the water than old ones, and do
vigorously”, but so would you if a ham-fisted what to have for lunch, especially if it’s going it for longer. And most important, I can’t for
angler had shoved a dirty great lump of stainless to be a pasty from the place down the road. the life of me see why a big bass would be on the
steel down your throat and turned your When midday arrives, I couldn’t be tempted by lookout for a bunch of razor clams three weeks
oesophagus into a colander. a Michelin starred steak served by a Hollywood past their best-by date. Lots of things have
Third, in the sort of conditions that bring in film star, all I fancy is my pasty. And when the powerful aromas, but that doesn’t mean they
the monsters - surf that threatens to suck your bass are locked in on mackerel or squid, that’s trigger a feeding reflex. I live next to a farm, and
waders off, a howling wind that shot-blasts what they want and that’s what they’ll find. cow slurry on the fields stinks like mad, but it
your face with flying pellets of rain and gives Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what doesn’t put me in the mood for my breakfast.
you the glowing complexion of a makeup the bass are eating, but my big baits answer the A last thing to be said for a hefty chunk of
model or a dedicated beach angler – a bass is question before I’ve even asked it. Razor works bass fodder: you can cast it even without a lead.
more likely to find a fist sized lump of juicy best when there are fresh shells on the shore, Unless the surf’s heaving so much that I need
nourishment than a delicate little morsel of lug which normally means the middle or aftermath a wired sinker to keep my gear in the water,
or peeler. And fourth, if you spend your time of a heavy onshore storm. Razors burrow fairly I want my bait to move around in the wave,
landing and releasing schoolies, Murphy’s Law deep, and it seems to take wild weather to suck trickling along the bottom and stopping in the
says you’ll be threading up another worm or them out of their hidey holes and into the surf. dips and potholes in the sand.
whipping on a sandeel when that trophy bass Mackerel, pilchard and squid do the trick when So generally I use bomb weights, from four
cruises along. they’re around in numbers; which means I’m ouncers in a decently rough sea down to one
catching plenty from my piers and headlands. or two ouncers in a wussy wavelet. And when
And there lies another advantage of my there’s no surf at all, a freelined bait will swing
BIGGER BAITS big baits: freshness. I have no problem with around in any current on offer, searching out
Big baits - pilchard, mackerel, squid, razor – frozen bait, but I want it to go into the deep the feeding fish. My rod’s rated to cast 2 - 4oz,
don’t always put the baby fish off. But if you freeze in tip-top condition. Some anglers tell and I reckon a pilchard, a decent squid, a joey
fish them on sensibly sized hooks, 4/0s or 6/0s, me they prefer their squid or razor clams to be mackerel, or half of a big mackerel must weigh
the little ones often don’t get hooked. And in somewhere between stale and rotten. I don’t get in between 3 - 8oz, easily hefty enough to let me
general I find it takes an enormous mouthful to it. First of all, a decomposing squid or razor is chuck my gear 20 or 30 yards into the millpond,
appeal to the whoppers. All my double figure too soft to tie firmly to the hook, prone to fall not so weighty as to snap the rod, as long as I
bass and most of the ones over 6lb have been on to bits when you cast, showering your fishing stick to gentle lob casts.

BARBECUE WEATHER
One September we had a spell of what the Met
Office calls barbecue weather. I’m not sure
how they came up with that expression; when
I cook out of doors I enjoy a breeze to keep the
charcoal glowing and to disperse the smoke
from the grill. In light airs I need to close all
the windows, or the whole house smells like a
kippering shed. Anyway the tides were big, the
mackerel were running like Mo Farah with a
bus to catch, so I had a quick outing to the pier.
Three for supper, three more for a friend, and
a few for the deep freeze. I have one of those
vacuum packing devices. I know the plastic
bags are bad for the environment, but I defy the somewhere near London. They were kitted out I slung my half mackerel 20 yards out, staying
manufacturer’s instructions and re-use mine; with big beach-casting rods, flinging peeler crab well back from the water’s edge. In a calm I’m
and they keep my mackies in the squeaky fresh baits well over a 100 yards into the glassy ocean. convinced wading into the shallows is a good
state I like for my baits. Next morning I fancied Slow, they told me, they’d been at it all night for way of scaring any decent bass away into the
a trip to the beach, so off I went at about four three flounders and a couple of baby bass. next county, especially if you use a headlamp and
o’clock, low tide, with hope in my heart, coffee So I wandered on, then tackled up. No splash your way into the sea like an amphibian
and a banana in my tummy and four chunky weight, just half a mackerel – they were too big lighthouse. On my first cast the bait lay on the
mackerel in the bait bag. to use whole, maybe a pound apiece. A lot of bottom as motionless as summer traffic on the
There was almost no breeze and absolutely people like the head of a mackerel, plenty of guts A30. So I twitched it in a few feet at a time, and
no surf, the full moon reflected by the flopping about. Me too, but I’m just as happy when the mackerel was about 10 yards from the
gleaming surface of Mount’s Bay. It felt like with the tail end, finding it easier to mount shoreline I felt a gentle tug. It didn’t develop, so
the sort of day when dawn brings out droves securely on my hooks. And although generally I another lob, and by now the tide was running
of holidaymakers, eating sandwiches with don’t fiddle around with my baits, I always trim enough to make my gear trundle along the sand.
real sand, then falling off paddleboards and off the rays of the tail. Leave them intact and When the line was almost parallel with the beach
inflatable dinosaurs as they turn painfully red in your mackerel portion can spin like a conger it went slack and I tightened into a 4lb bass. Half
the morning sun. But there were two anglers on eel on a merry-go-round, then the hook length an hour later I had another, this one closer to
the beach already, a father and daughter from wraps itself around the weight or the swivel. 8lb. As the eastern sky began to glow faintly I
checked in on the father and daughter, and gave
them two whole mackerel and a head, along with
the suggestion that they try a lot closer in. I’d love
to report that they both caught good fish, but I
really don’t know what happened next, because
I headed home for some toast and marmalade.
All I can say is that they were delighted with their
new bait. “It’s so fresh I’m almost tempted to eat
it myself,” chuckled the young woman.
And that’s something I’ve never heard said
about a lugworm. ■
James Batty’s latest book ‘Fishing

from the Rock of the Bay – The
Making of an Angler’ was published
in 2022 (£20) and is available from
Merlin Unwin Books Ltd, Ludlow,
Shropshire, tel: 01584 877456.

WHERE TO FISH Words &
Photography
DAVE LEWIS
Rotten bottoms are essential at this tackle- NG VENUES ●

LI
hungry but very productive South Wales venue,
GR
Your insigh
AT SEA AN
as Dave Lewis explains into the best t
EA
sho
and boat fish re
T SE A A N
ing
that the UK
and Ireland
E
have to offer
GR
G
LI
NG ●
V E N UE S
The optimum time to fish from the beach at

Font-y-Gary is around two-and-a-half hours
either side of low water, ideally on a mid-range
up to spring tide. If you fish to the west of the
access path from the campsite, you’ll need to be
careful not to get your retreat back around the
headland cut off by a flooding tide. If you are
cut off, it’s a long walk around the opposite way.
SPECIES
Throughout the winter and increasingly spring
F
months, Font-y-Gary can be a very good cod
ont-y-Gary is a small village on the and whiting mark. Conger, bass, dogfish and
Vale of Glamorgan coastline, a few a few rays can be caught almost year-round.
miles to the west of Barry. It’s a Large numbers of smoothhounds are caught
rough, boulder-covered beach and if here from June until September. Other species
you fish here you must expect to include rockling, pouting and mullet.
loose a lot of terminal tackle, especially leads. This is a mark where the ability to be able to
The last time I fished there I don’t think I made present a decent size bait at long range can be an
a single cast where I retrieved the lead. advantage. When fishing here some anglers use
However, if you can live with such heavy tackle a fixed paternoster saying it gives them a more
losses Font-y-Gary can be a hugely productive direct contact with the fish, resulting in more solid
mark for several popular species. hookups than a pulley rig.
Many other anglers argue in favour of a
pulley rig. Whichever rig you choose to use
here, it is absolutely essential that you attach
NEED TO KNOW
the lead using a rotten bottom. Choice of bait To get to Font-y-Gary
will depend on target species but peeler crab follow the signs from
is deadly for smoothhounds, bass and cod. Cardiff Wales Airport,
a few miles west of
Various fish baits including sandeels, mackerel,
Barry, for Rhoose
bluey or squid are effective for conger, dogfish
village and then
and rays. Fonmon Road
to Font-y-Gary.
TACTICS Turn left at the
Font-y-Gary Inn, postcode
Font-y-Gary is not a venue for subtlety when CF62 3DZ, and drive under
playing fish. Fishing over such rough ground the railway bridge into Font-y-Gary
you need to keep the rod as high as you can, and Holiday Home Park and park in front
don’t give the fish an inch. The lead will almost of the main buildings. The access path
certainly have broken free from the rotten to the steps leading down to the beach
bottom attachment, if it hasn’t then it soon will. are to the left of the Indian restaurant.
Maintain as much pressure on the fish as you
can and hopefully you’ll eventually have it ready TACKLE SHOPS:
to land in the shallow water at your feet. ■ ■ Holton Road Angling, Barry
Tel: 01446 679284
■ Garry Evans, Cardiff
Tel: 02920 619828
■ Anglers Supplies, Cardiff
Tel: 02920 220723

WHERE TO FISH Words &
Photography
WESLEY SHRUBSOLE
DYMCHURCH & HY
Local angler, Wesley Shrubsole, explains how to ING
VENUES
●
L
target year-round thornbacks from these two
GR
Your insigh
AT SEA AN
into the best t
venues on the south Kent coast
EA
sho
and boat fish re
T SE A A N
ing
that the UK
and Ireland
E
have to offer
GR
G
LI
NG ●
V E N UE S
DYMCHURCH
This venue is well known to local anglers for a
BAIT
Bait collection is possible here on all but the
smallest tides. Black lugworm, razorfish and
good variety of summer and winter species. It is crab are all available and can be gathered when
a shallow venue with a flat sand bottom and the in season. The fresh local lugworms take a lot of
tide retreats a long way. The venue fishes over beating. The groynes are where it is possible to
low water for rays and bass. Generally, the bass
are small but good sport. Winter sees thornback
collect peeling spider crabs during the summer.
The shallow water around the legs of the groyne
NEED TO KNOW
rays, whiting, the occasional codling, pouting are where the crabs will be hiding. Be careful Parking is limited but there is a layby
and dogfish replace them. Mullet can also be when collecting as it also can hold old tin cans that will hold about four cars just
caught in summer and can be seen cruising on and glass, so always use a stout pair of gloves. short of the tower. To find Tower
the surface. 23 (a Napoleonic defence tower)
High water will see a depth of around 10m take the road from Hythe past
at casting range but only for around two hours the firing range and past a large
as the water recedes very quickly. Long casts are caravan site. The tower is on the
an advantage here, but there is little in the way seaward side on a sharp bend. Just
of snags apart from small wooden groynes. It’s before the bend on the landward side
a good idea to recce the venue at low water and is the layby. A set of steps will take
in daylight. you to the tower and there is plenty
of room for fishing.

THE RANGES TITAN®
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THE RANGES
For the last few years here in Kent the winter
fishing has been tough. For more than four
years the arrival of the cod has just not
happened. Rather than call it a day, shore
anglers have been targeting thornback rays that
now seem to stay with us here all year.
It is possible to catch quite a few at a session
if you pick your venue and bait wisely. One
such venue is the Ministry of Defence firing EXEAT MEETS BRITISH STANDARDS
ranges at Hythe. This venue is located between BS EN 343, BS 3424-26, BS 7209
the Western Parade and Dymchurch. It
offers slightly deeper water and less mud than TITAN EXEAT CLOTHING ARE:
Dymchurch. The high-water line is shingle but Exceptionally Waterproof/Durable water
you are casting onto nice firm ground with very repellency (DWR)
few snags. Water Vapour Permeable (Breathable)
Windproof Thermal
Designed and manufactured in
BAIT
The best bait here would seem to be sections
of Bluey fished on a Pennell rig. Hook sizes are
NEED TO KNOW FREE GB Mainland & NI Delivery
on orders £60 or over
a personal choice but 1/0 would do the trick. Parking can be an issue but is available
If Bluey is hard to get hold of then herring, both ends of the range, although be ORDER EXCLUSIVELY - SEE FULL RANGE
- SPECIAL OFFERS & MORE AT
mackerel or whiting will get you bites but can be prepared for a fair walk. The firing
a little slower. Be prepared to catch dogfish and times are on large boards at each Follow TITAN Fishing on
large whiting on fish baits, but there is always end and will tell you when fishing is
the chance of a large bass which have been possible. The army does quite a lot of
caught here well into double figures. night firing here so check in advance.
Try fishing two hours after high water. Once
you find the rays the fishing can be steady with TACKLE AND BAIT
one after another. Sections rather than fillets ■ Den’s Tackle
www.denstackle.co.uk
of bait seem to keep the whiting at bay and give
the rays a chance to find the bait. Tel: 01303 267053 www.titan.fishing
■ Best Buddies or call 0333 050 7513
This spot is definitely worth a go. Take just
www.bestbuddieshythe.co.uk
the tackle you need and chances are you will Tel: 01303 487144
have the two miles of the ranges all to yourself
to explore. Good luck!
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TALES FROM THE TIDELINE Words
Simon
Smith
from the tide

FISHING AND
“
FISHING ALIKE
Simon Smith ponders on our relationship with fishing and the importance it
plays in the lives of those who love it
hat exactly, you might have a little bit of spare time left over: “I it, that fishing session you had planned for
ask, is the difference think I’ll get a bit of fishing done on Sunday Saturday never happened and it’s suddenly a
between the two? morning”, “The guys are going fishing on week, a fortnight, a month later and there it
Surely it’s the same Friday night, so I think I’ll join them”. Even goes – good old ‘fishing’ has faded out of time
word?” On paper on those occasions when we can’t seem to and thought once more.
you’d be absolutely grab a few hours to actually get any fishing There are, though, those other times when
correct; the answer to the question being done, that little lower-case word simply takes that capital letter suddenly comes into play,
virtually nothing aside from one seemingly a little sideways step, becoming an adjective the focus shifts and the dynamic of that one
insignificant capital letter. In reality, the true and this time used to describe those moments little word is changed completely. The title
answer is: everything. spent pottering in the shed, garage or man ‘Fishing’ is a far more formal creature than
Humour me for a moment, if you will. Let’s cave: “I’m just going to tinker with the fishing its unassuming counterpart, taking on the
say for argument’s sake that we live in a perfect gear”, “I’ll be sorting the fishing shed if you presence and significance of something that
world, or at least that our day-to-day lives are need me”. carries a true and weighty importance.
perfect; all those issues associated with real life However, if we’re brutally honest with As I cast my thoughts back to my childhood
– work, family commitments, financial ourselves, ‘fishing’ is something that can easily self, that kid who had suddenly discovered this
burdens, car trouble (the list seems almost be taken for granted and often allowed to wonderful and fascinating new sport, I can
endless, doesn’t it?) – are not actually issues at slide unceremoniously into the background still recall how vast and imposing it all seemed.
all, and everything is hunky dory. These are the along with the rest of life’s white noise. ‘Fishing’ back then appeared a mountain that
times when ‘fishing’, with a lower-case ‘f’ comes Maybe you’ve had a difficult week in work would be hugely difficult to conquer, with all
to the fore or, rather, doesn’t. Confused? Let and are exhausted, perhaps the kids are ill its facets, skills and innumerable offshoots:
me explain. or you have to take them to a party. Family
At such times, fishing becomes something wedding this weekend? MOT due? Errands
easy, something almost natural and simply to run? Through no fault of your own you’ve
there, as a part of life as it slips comfortably had to bow to the demands of all those
into verb, something we simply do when we niggling necessities and, before you know

casting, bait collecting, rig tying, tides, reel awareness of the importance of mental health,
maintenance, tackle selection… I felt as how many have rekindled long-forgotten
though I’d never be able to master all the associations with rod and line, turning again
various elements that ‘Fishing’ had to offer, to ‘fishing’ to fill a void, encourage forays into
and it was only with experience and age that I the outdoors and provide the much-needed
came to realise that I probably never would. safety valve that releases the pressures of our
Very few ever truly master every aspect of increasingly demanding modern world? Of
something as grand as ‘Fishing’. Instead of those who have taken up their fishing tackle
mastery there came something else – familiarity. again, how many will go on to foster it until it
That capital ‘F’ suddenly transforms fishing takes on that greater significance?
from nothing more than just a common These are not my questions to answer;
pastime, personifying it with the presence of a they are for each of us who have ever fished
proper noun and turning it into something far to answer in our own time in our own ways.
more valuable – a lifelong friend. What can be said, however, is that whether
Fishing has seen me through some dark your association is with Fishing or with fishing,
days and truly tough times, and it has been whether that relationship is lifelong or brand
there, unquestioning, undemanding and new, we all eventually come to realise that they
simply waiting in the wings until I needed it are simply parts of one and the same thing,
and came looking for it once again. In these as essential as air, water and companionship, See
Website
post-pandemic days and times of increased especially in such an imperfect world. ■ for info &
Video
“I felt as though I’d never be able to

master all the various elements that
‘Fishing’ had to offer, and it was only
with experience and age that I came
to realise that I probably never would. Reinforced Knees
Very few ever truly master every aspect

of something as grand as ‘Fishing’...” Zipped Chest Pocket
Waist Belt
RRP £339.98
(Non-Studded)
RRP £359.98
(Tungston Studded Sole)

YOUR FISHING CATCHES
ACCOMPLISHED
Catch a specimen fish to stand a chance of winning some great prizes from Okuma
F
      
 from Okuma by catching a
great fish? In our catch competition,
your target is to catch one over the
weight given on our nominated species
list. If you do, enter our contest and you
automatically stand a chance of winning either our
shore or boat prize.
Each issue we award a superb Okuma package
to the captor of the best shore fish and best boat-
caught fish, both chosen on merit.
Prizes are awarded at our discretion and Okuma
reserves the right to send alternative prizes.
Ryan Watt, Isle of Wight

FISH: 24lb 5oz cod BAIT: squid
VENUE: south off the Nab tower
DATE: 27/02/23
Matthew Newman, Chepstow
FISH: 14lb 4oz cod BAIT: ragworm
VENUE: Aust DATE: 07/01/23
Scott Hicks, Llanharry

FISH: 9lb 7oz bull huss
BAIT: whole mackerel
Sarah Le Page, Guernsey VENUE: St David’s
FISH: 5lb 8oz 9dr ballan wrasse BAIT: crab DATE: 11/02/23
VENUE: Guernsey DATE: 05/02/23
Ellie Cay, Kent

FISH: 14lb cod
VENUE: Cardiff BAIT: ragworm and squid
DATE: 23/02/23
Rob Griffiths, Truro

FISH: 17lb 1oz bull huss BAIT: joey mackerel
VENUE: Lokie Adventures out of Penzance
DATE: 22/01/23
Steve Lane,
Bournemouth
FISH: 20lb
2oz undulate ray
BAIT: mackerel
and squid
VENUE: Aboard Aron Williams, Newport, Isle of Wight
Rocket from Poole FISH: 7lb 1oz bass BAIT: fresh pout
DATE: 02/03/23 VENUE: Atherfield Chine DATE: 20/02/23

In association with
Keiran Miller, Merthyr Tydfil

FISH: 9lb oz bull huss BAIT: squid
VENUE: St David’s DATE: 11/02/23
Gareth Williams, Newport, Isle Of Wight

FISH: 14lb undulate ray BAIT: fresh pout
VENUE: Atherfield Chine DATE: 20/02/23
Jay Pickup, Wallasey

FISH: 9lb 4oz thornback BAIT: Bluey and squid Greg Tadel, Southampton
VENUE: River Mersey DATE: 25/02/2023 FISH: 17lb spurdog BAIT: mackerel flapper
VENUE: The needles Banks DATE: 23/02/2023
Andy Bowrah
FISH: 15lb 12oz blonde ray
BAIT: whole squid
VENUE: Minehead
DATE: 25/02/2023
Steve Newell, Eastleigh

FISH: 11lb 12oz thornback ray
BAIT: mackerel and squid VENUE: Stokes Bay
DATE: 18/02/23
Jamie Baker,
Ipswich Barry Chambers, Plymouth
FISH: 14lb 02oz FISH: 30lb 6oz blonde ray BAIT: squid
thornback ray VENUE: Start Bay DATE: 04/02/23
BAIT: squid &
black lug
VENUE:
Brightlingsea
DATE: 11/02/23
Dean Levy, Croydon

FISH: 14lb 6oz pollack
BAIT: Sidewinder Skerries sandeel
VENUE: Brighton on board Yellow Fin Charter
DATE: 10/02/23
Brian Auger MONTHLY WINNERS:

FISH: 5lb 6oz ballan wrasse Dave Jenkins SHORE: Matthew Newman, Chepstow
VENUE: East Portlemouth FISH: 18lb cod BAIT: whole squid BOAT: Rob Griffiths, Truro
BAIT: ragworm DATE: 10/12/23 VENUE: Whitby DATE: 21/01.2023

Ashley Butcher,
Anstey Sea Anglers
FISH: 7lb 3oz cod
VENUE: Humber
DATE: 02/23
Harry Duke, Plymouth

FISH: 6lb 10z pollack
BAIT: rhubarb and custard sidewinder
VENUE: Plymouth reef DATE: 04/02/23
HOW TO ENTER
Entry by email only to sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Please supply these details: angler’s name, age, address, telephone number, email, type of fish,
weight of fish, where caught, date caught, bait/rig, whether caught from shore or boat, if from
charter boat, give name of boat, port and skipper. Please state if the fish was retained or returned.
YOUR MISSION TARGETS... Send us your

Catch a fish on this list at the weight or above
in your region to qualify for the chance to win
entries and win
Steve Davies
FISH: 7lb cod BAIT: squid and lug
prizes in our Mission catch competition.
To enter, send us the details requested above some great prizes
and email that information and your picture to
VENUE: Barry Island DATE: 28/02/23 sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk. ■ SHORE LURE OPTION:
SHORE BOAT Solaris 4000 or 5000 reel
Bass 7lb 9lb RRP: £60
Black bream 2lb 3lb Epixor 15-50g rod
Red bream 2lb 3lb RRP: £80
Couch's &
Pandora's bream 1lb 8oz 1lb 8oz
Gilthead bream 4lb 4lb
Ray's bream 3lb 3lb
Brill 3lb 5lb
Bull huss 8lb 12lb
Cod 7lb 10lb
Conger 20lb 40lb
Dab & megrim 1lb 1lb
Dover/lemon sole 2lb 2lb
Flounder 2lb 2lb
Halibut 20lb 20lb
Ling 5lb 19lb
Mullet 4lb 5lb
Golden grey mullet 2lb 2lb ■ SHORE BAIT
Plaice 2lb 4lb
Ian Patterson, Wallsend Pollack/coalfish 6lb 12lb OPTION:
FISH: 11lb 8oz cod BAIT: squid and mackerel Common skate 60lb 100lb DSA reel
VENUE: Tynemouth pier DATE: 23/02/23 Blonde ray 12lb 17lb RRP: £60
Thornback ray 9lb 14lb Wave Power
Small-eyed/undulate 7lb 11lb surf rod
Ray (other) 3lb 5lb
Sting/eagle ray 20lb 25lb
Smoothhound 10lb 14lb
Spurdog 7lb 11lb ■ BOAT
Tope 27lb 35lb Classic CLX
Trigger fish 2lb 3lb RRP: £60
Turbot 10lb 13lb Cortez Boat
Wrasse (ballan) 4lb 4lb Rod
Wrasse (other) 1lb 1lb RRP: £90
Blue shark - 60lb
Porbeagle/thresher - 100lb
THE RULES...
■ Only fish caught since March 2023 are eligible.
■ We must see a picture of the fish.
■ We may refuse an entry. ■ Enter by email only (please include all of the information
requested in How to Enter panel) to sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk
Tommy Joe, North Wales ■ Prizes as stated (Okuma reserves the right to send alternatives).
FISH: 4lb 15oz pollock BAIT: whole herring ■ No correspondence will be entered into.
VENUE: Anglesey DATE: 12/2/23

YOUNG RODS
In association with
Sea Angler’s celebration of the

great angling achievements of its
many younger readers
 This is eight-year-old
Charlie Sullivan with
an eel on his first night
session on Seaton beach,
east Devon, caught on a
sandeel and squid cocktail.
 Leo Pease, from

Bournemouth with his
shore caught 7lb 3oz
HLY
MONTNER
small eye ray caught on
the 15th January from
WIN Bournemouth bay using
sandeel bait on a 2 hook
flapper rig.
 Henry Parker caught this 4lb cod off the boat Blue
Strike in the Solent, skippered by Dan and fishing with
his dad.
 Darwin Welham, aged

four, on only his second
outing fished the West
 Ryan Allen, aged nine, landed this 18.6lb conger off Bexington tide up and over,
Neyland Marina on a cocktail of mackerel and squid. He being rewarded with a
used a drop down pulley rig. brace of ‘slippery ones’.
£25 TACKLE
VOUCHER
WINNERS
Fishingmegastore.com awards a £25 voucher
prize to each of two winners - the youngster
with the best shore fish and another with the top
 Following in her younger brother’s footsteps, and not  Jack Laflin, aged 11, boat catch. The winners can use the voucher to
one to be left out, Tallulah Welham, aged five, travelled caught his first codling, 3lb select tackle from Fishingmegastore.com which
to West Bexington attempting to target an early 2oz, caught on lugworm is based in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
plaice. Tally was overjoyed to find a brace of whiting – and squid on Sea Leopard, ■ Send your Young Rods entries by email to
impressive considering not another fish was seen to the skippered by John Marks sa.ed@kelsey.co.uk
left or right. Another young angler hooked on the sport. out of Brightlingsea.

E+OE Prices subject to change. Goods subject to availability
E+OE Prices subject to change. Goods subject to availability
BOAT ANGLER Words and
photography
RUSSELL SYMONS
BASIC INSTINCT
BASSING
Russell Symons explains the simple joys of freelining live baits for
spring bass as they migrate back inshore to feed

very spring and autumn great Because the bass are “here today and gone
shoals of bass swim by my tomorrow” the trick is being on the ‘Stone NO FRILLS
house; well, near enough that when the fish are on a stopover; it may be There is something visceral about free lining
my fishing year has been a few days before the next pod of transient a bait for any species of fish, let alone bass.
regulated by these annual fish arrive. But it is at these times when No special tackle, just a baited hook on the
migrations for more years than locals such as myself get in as much sea time end of the line and allowed to drift away on
I choose to remember! as possible, because these early transitory the tide. The basic simplicity of the tackle –
They are the migrating shoals of bass shoals are often composed of bigger fish. It bite detection consisting of a sensitive finger
which are following the edge of the 10-11 is not unusual to see a couple of doubles in a holding the line – is both ground level basic,
degree warm water thermocline as it moves day when the fish are hot to trot! yet sophisticated in so many ways, all at the
its way east up the Channel and then back same time.
down again at the back end of the season.
For a few tides in the spring, and then
again in the autumn, the Eddystone Reef
becomes a staging post for these migratory
shoals of fish as they stop over to feed up on
the huge shoals of spring greater launce, and
then joey mackerel, scad and occasionally
herring, providing protein for the rest of
the year.

BOAT ANGLER
There are no expensive lures, no and already there were half dozen or more
complicated rigs; this method is the sea boats milling around just outside the North
angler’s “basic instinct” at its best. It is a East Rock. It didn’t take much imagination
method limited only by your imagination to realise that the spring migration was on!
and a light touch grasp of the realities. For Bass often use the ‘Stone as a staging
instance, it would be silly to try to free line a area. They will stop for a day, maybe a
bait if you were fishing shoulder to shoulder week, feeding up on the shoals of sandeel,
on a harbour wall. However, be there at first mackerel, herring, baby pollack, pout and
light with a bucket of sandeels, when you whiting before either moving inshore or
have the pier to yourself, and it would be a continuing on up the Channel, following
different matter. Any free-swimming bait the water temperature. Some days there
would be an irresistible temptation to any can be a huge volume of fish, then another
predatory fish, especially a bass! We were on day, high on expectation, you can get up
the Eddystone Reef not long after first light, at the crack of sparrows, motor out, to
find maybe just a straggler or two to as a forecast for later in the day, so weighing up tide pushes through, waiting for the sandeel,
consolation prize. the sight of the boats milling about looking blennies, prawn and baby pollack to be
From the sight of the boats ducking and for fish and the prospect of a freshening washed down to them. I have found over the
weaving around one another, looking for wind we decided for the inshore option. years that a drift lined mackerel appearing
fish, it appeared to me that the shoal of Then, if it got nasty, we could always go in in their sights is like a Mars bar to a hungry
fish that were there earlier in the week had and drink Guinness. Arsenal supporter!
moved on. I sometimes wonder if the fish We motored in, going a bit to the west to a
know when the weekend is coming up! small Cornish reef which I have been fishing
The tide is two-and-a-half to three hours for more years than you want to know HUSH, HUSH
later at the ‘Stone than it is inshore. We about. At low water on a spring tide there is I have a simple belief when I fish shallow
therefore had a decision to make: did we a little more than 10ft over the top and the water for bass, which is that noise,
stay on for the first of the ebb, which is a bass lay just off the back of the kelp as the unfamiliar noise that is, will scare them
good time on the ‘Stone, or did we get back away. When I had my own boats I would
inshore to fish the last few hours of the ebb go bare foot and fasten down anything
on an inshore reef. There was a bit of wind that might rattle. Most important of all I
would turn the VHF and echo sounder off,
because the echo sounder is sonar, which is
an electronic noise and believe me, that noise
will scare fish in shallow water.
Then set the drift up in your head, so that
your drift lined sandeel or mackerel will

BOAT ANGLER
reach the fish way ahead of any boat noise, Just put your reel into gear and tighten up. scream. Don’t you just love the noise of a
however slight. Normally I like the bait to The circle hook will take hold, believe me, fixed spool giving line? Having said that, my
fish 30 odd yards, sometimes more, ahead of and once they are in they really do hold the personal choice is a dinky little lever drag
the drifting boat. fish, usually right in the scissors of the jaw. multiplier on an 8ft rod, purely because I
In the days of fishing monofilament it was This gives a very secure hook hold, yet like the smoothness and control that this
like fishing with a long length of knicker at the same time, because the hook is so combination gives me.
elastic, feeling the fish and setting the hook accessible, they are easy to remove when or if Just tie a rod length and a bit of
was definitely an acquired skill. Then when you decide to release, maybe after you have a fluorocarbon to the braid. The 4/0 or 6/0
the first of the circle hooks became available fish or two already in the cool box. circle hook is then simply tied to the free end
our catch rate doubled; the circle hooks do of the fluorocarbon. My braid is 20/25lb
not need a strike to drive the hook home. breaking strain and I use 18/20lb breaking
Then, later still, the first of the braid lines TACKLING UP strain for the fluorocarbon. This keeps it
became available and mysteriously we kept Fishing water this shallow there are many really simple and it catches fish.
dropping fish. In the end we realised this was options for tackle, there is no “right” rod and If you find the seagulls trying to dive on
because we could feel every movement of the reel to use because in truth with this method your bait, put a small ball weight on, well
bait, we could feel when the bass picked up you can use what you like. away from the bait. Often you will only need
the bait. We could feel too much. However, it is a fact that this last decade a half ounce ball to take the bait down a bit,
The bass will attack your bait grabbing or so has seen a quantum shift in tackle out of the reach of the gulls.
it across the body to kill it. The fish then to use inshore. A heavy spinning rod, say If there is a secret to this style of fishing it
returns moments later to swallow it head 15/40 gram, will make a magnificent drift is simply this. Once the fish on inshore reefs
first, so that the fins do not erect and choke lining rod, with a good quality fixed spool hear engines over the top, they will head off
the bass. reel making it simple to “drop back” that to quieter water. Get there early and fish
When you feel that first gentle bump- vital few feet of line. Say what you like, there quietly. Besides, it’s lovely at that time of
bump, don’t strike, don’t tighten up. Just let is something thrilling about playing a fish day. This is inshore, sporting fishing at its
a few feet of line go – what our American that will make the clutch on a fixed spool very best. Enjoy! ■
cousins call “dropping back”. Then, when
you feel the fish again, resist the instinctive
strike. Remember you are using circle hooks.

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DAVE LEWIS
UNWRITTEN RULES
Booking a day afloat? Dave Lewis encourages you to enjoy the day by
heeding the advice of some experienced skippers on what’s expected
of you, and how to behave on the day

tiquette: ‘The customary code charter fishing? Is there, or should there more than, the cost of a brand-new luxury
of polite behaviour in society or be, a certain etiquette in the way anglers car, so it is hardly surprising that skippers
among members of a certain behave and conduct themselves aboard get peeved when they witness anglers not
profession or group.’ Etiquette charter boats? respecting their investment.
could be described as Over the years I have spent a considerable Paul Radford, a famous Swansea based
being good manners or number or days fishing aboard charter boats. charter skipper throughout the 1970s and
acceptable behaviour, or put another way, I have witnessed behaviour ranging from 1980s, used to keep his boat in an absolutely
acting appropriately. the inconsiderate and to what can only be impeccable condition. Make a mess
Etiquette transcends much of everyday described as downright pig ignorant, usually aboard Paul’s boat and you could expect
life and is especially prevalent within many from anglers who simply have no idea how an immediate verbal tirade that was both
sports. Golf, for example, or more accurately to behave. Charter skippers react and deal harsh and impressive in its delivery! On one
the way ‘one behaves and acts’ on the golf with such behaviour in many ways, which occasion an angler thought it amusing to club
course and in the clubhouse, is richly steeped often results in them being labelled as being dogfish to death on the boat’s gunwales.
in etiquette. There are plenty of examples in some way grumpy or bossy when they Paul told him in no uncertain terms that
of etiquette in fishing too, especially game confront anglers for their unacceptable he would not be fishing with him again, but
fishing, where there are many examples of behaviour aboard their boats. Consider this, on this occasion that was not the end of the
‘the correct way of doing something’. But the cost of an average charter boat today matter. At the end of the day Paul followed
what about sea fishing, or more specifically is the equal to, or more likely considerably the anglers up to the marina carpark, where
Colin Penny with another party of

anglers aboard Flamer IV
Keep the
deck tidy
Follow the
rules and
enjoy the
fishing

BOAT ANGLER
he asked the dogfish clubber if a certain car

was his. “Yes, it is”, the idiot confirmed, at
which point Paul proceeded to bash the
car’s gleaming paintwork with a now long
dead dogfish. It was a very effective lesson in
etiquette; a lesson on how to behave aboard
a charter boat!
So, what is acceptable etiquette aboard a
charter boat? I suppose you could sum it up
quite neatly by saying that etiquette is little
more than common sense, but ‘sense’ can
be a surprisingly ‘uncommon’ commodity.
Rather than continue this article along the
lines of what I perceive as being right and
proper behaviour aboard a charter boat,
I have enlisted the help of a few charter
boat skippers and crew whom I have fished
with and asked them what they expect from
their clients.
SKIPPERS’ RULES
Weymouth based Colin Penny is one of the
UK’s most experienced charter skippers.
Apart from being an excellent skipper he
is a good friend, generally someone whom
I would describe as being a very easy-going
sort of chap. That said, I strongly suggest
you do not behave badly about Colin’s
immaculate boat Flamer IV and expect to
get away with it! Here’s what Colin had to
say about charter boat etiquette. Offering to help
“Charter Boats are expensive to buy and the skipper is
maintain, treat the boat with respect. When always appreciated
you find a good skipper, stick with him. I
find very few anglers read things when I send
out emails detailing things such as safety Netting a fish
rules, where to park their car and where for a customer
to get on the boat. My website is full of
useful information, but I still get numerous
phone calls and texts asking the same old
questions. Always arrive on time at the boat.
Better still, aim to be there at least half an
hour before departure.
SAFETY
Safety is the most important issue, and
the skipper’s requirements on safety must
be adhered to at all times. Due to past
unsavoury and unsafe incidents I do not
allow alcohol or, of course, recreational
drugs or other mind-altering substances
aboard Flamer IV. You have booked a
pleasurable fishing trip and should leave any
other ‘pleasure pastimes’ for when you get
ashore. Also turning up to the boat drunk
or in any other way inebriated is also big a
no-no.
BOOKINGS
I explain to people that I do this for a living
and am not a registered charity, so you
must honour your booking or be prepared
to pay the skipper if you let him down,
for whatever reason. When a booking is
made I send out a booking receipt with all
the terms and conditions on it, so there is
no misunderstanding.
LISTEN TO THE SKIPPER
I do my upmost to keep a clean boat for
anglers to come fishing on, so leave the
boots you have worn in the garden or in the
farmyard at home! Keeping your fishing area
reasonably clean is always appreciated, also
put your rubbish in the bin provided. One
of my pet hates is anglers who constantly
bang their weights into the side of the boat.
I try to make sure anglers are using the
correct tackle, traces and do the correct bait
presentation to enhance their chances of
Use the bait catching, but often I am met with people
board – not who insist on fishing how they do off
the gunwale!
Swansea or Whitby. I explain that every area
around the coast is different, so the bottom
Adhere to size line is always listen to your skipper!”
and bag limits John ‘Chalkie’ White is an old friend who
has fished extensively all around the world.
These days John is the crewman aboard
Yellowfin out of Brighton Marina, skippered
and owned by Kurt Lander. John echoed
much of what Colin had to say, confirming
that: “The skipper is the boss, aided by his
crewman. If he or she has one. You might
think some of the boat rules are unnecessary,
but at the end of the day the skipper is
responsible for the safety of the vessel and
all that sail aboard her. There’s nothing
worse than muddy boots, which in addition
to making a terrible mess can carry diseases
which can be in the mud including foot and
mouth, bird flu, mud fever, for example.
FISH SOBER
Don’t get drunk. Why do people need excess
alcohol to have a good day? You’ll catch
more fish if you can concentrate on the
fishing and not upset other members of the
crew. Always turn up at the agreed time and
of course, honour your booking. There could
well have been other crews who wanted the
date you have booked, so you’re not only
letting the skipper and crewman down and
depriving them of a wage for the day, but
other anglers who would have loved the
opportunity to have gone fishing.
The bait station isn’t the gunwale. The
damage a knife causes on polished fibreglass
includes unsightly cuts, scratches, chips and
stains. How would you like it if I cut my bait
on your car dashboard? Use the bait boards
provided. Probably the worst thing anyone
can do is to keep banging leads on the side
of the boat, trust me, it’s the perfect way to
upset the skipper!
THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

Life is full of know-alls! By all means share
your past experiences and offer to help
out struggling or novice anglers, but don’t
cross the line from helping to bragging. As
a crewman I appreciate some help when
having to deal with a group containing
several novices. The skipper and crew
have control over many things but not the
weather, and whether or not the fish are
BOAT ANGLER
hungry. It’s not Tesco out there! We can’t a zero drugs policy adding, “It’s surprising
Good customers get
pick the size or species that we catch, but how many anglers think it’s okay to roll up sausage butties!
we usually have a good idea. So please don’t and smoke joints while on the boat. Mess
ask questions like “where are the big fish?” or outside is an occupational hazard to be
make statements like “we want big fish”. We honest. Anglers very rarely clean up so I
do our best! usually spend at least an hour at the end of
You didn’t get on a dirty boat so it each trip cleaning the boat. Fortunately I
wouldn’t hurt to put your rubbish in the have access to a hose pipe on my mooring.
bin and help the crewman tidy up a bit on I do get naffed off when anglers walk in the
the way home. They’re not asking you to cabin with fish guts or peat from ragworm
scrub and polish the boat, but the small on their boots though.
consideration of some assistance will be well Finally Ron Rennie, another old friend and
received, and likely remembered on your one of the most successful Welsh skippers in
next trip. recent years. Rob’s boats have included Lady
Jue and Lady Jen, two of the most successful
boats focusing on the famous south-west
RESPONSIBLE ANGLING Wales shark fishery, and most recently a
Finally, something that’s very close to my fully refurbished and re-engined ‘Celtic
heart; observing size limits. Size and bag Wildcat’. What were Rob’s thoughts and
limits for certain species is part of modern- charter boat etiquette?
day angling; yet some anglers just want to
kill everything they catch. Worse of all, at
the end of the day they then leave fish on YOUR DAY, YOUR MONEY
the boat as they have too many. To my I have always run a charter boat with a bit the weather isn’t suitable for the intended
knowledge I’ve never knowingly kept an of a difference. Most of my crews are very trip I will cancel and rearrange; anglers
undersized or protected fish aboard the experienced anglers, many of whom have always remember a bad day and are unlikely
charter boat I work on. Catch and release their own boats. Yes, I am the boss and what to book another trip.
using barbless hooks is actively encouraged I say goes, but I want people to feel it’s their Be on time for the trip, it’s your day,
these days. Do you really need to use wire boat and their trip. I’m not a shout and rant your money. If you are late for a trip we are
and stainless hooks?” type of skipper, but it’s always safety first. still going return to port at the same time.
Tony Grey is the owner skipper of another Dirty boots in the cabin? I tell them I always make copious amounts of tea and
beautifully maintained charter boat, Lyn straight and usually give them a ribbing! I provide bacon or sausage sandwiches, hence
Marie, based at Swansea Marina. Tony don’t mind an occasional beer, but I don’t let my boat nearly always gets washed down
reiterated pretty much all of the points we people bring slabs of alcohol on board. I take on the way back in. The pleasures of being a
have already covered adding that he too has a deposit for 99 per cent of bookings, but if charter boat skipper hey!” ■
Lyn Marie, skippered

by Tony Grey, out of
Swansea Marina

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BOAT ANGLER Words and pictures
MIKE MILLMAN
Before 1960 coalfish were as scarce as they are today, but change was afoot
as Mike Millman relates in the first of a two-part feature on the species
that has an unrivalled record history
hen one veteran
angler talks to
another it is odds on
that during the
conversation one will
make the statement
“we certainly had the best of it” and follow
on with the question “Do you remember…”.
I had called Nick Carter to wish him a
happy 93rd birthday, with me lagging
behind at a mere 90. Of course, we talked
fishing. Between the 1970s and late 1980s
Nick had great successes at home and
during the five years he lived in the Azores,
where among his captures was a blue marlin
of 1,067lb.
On this occasion the “do you remember”
was completed with “all those big coalfish we
had with JJ”. He was referring to John Jacob
McVicar, widely known as JJ, who in the
early 1970s skippered the Plymouth boat
June Lipet. He had several records on his
own account and gave his anglers the
opportunity to set many more. All of this
sent me back in time to 1959 and my very
first coalfish where there’s a story to tell.
I fished from a private boat, its owner a
member of the Plymouth Sea Anglers’ Club
who ran angling trips for members on
Wednesday evenings and Sundays.
Saturdays he kept for a private party. I was
one of six booked for the season, on the
basis that you had to pay your corner or find
a replacement if you could not go.
In November 1958 two of our Saturday
lads were in a Barbican pub and got into
conversation with an owner-skipper of a
small trawler who was bemoaning the fact
that he had lost his trawl at a wreck off the
Bill Bassett, a three-time
winner of the National
Bus Company Fishing
Championship, had this
magnificent catch of coalfish at
a wreck off Plymouth

BOAT ANGLER
Mewstone. “Must have got the lane wrong”

he said. He was referring to the Decca
Navigator reading that worked with a black
and white graph-type echo-sounder. We, of
course, had no access to Decca and to be able
to fish a wreck within four miles off the coast
would be great so the question was posed, “If
we made it worth your while would you put a
dan buoy on it for us”. He agreed to do so and
the deal was struck.
The next Saturday morning we went to the
Plymouth Council scrap store for old window
sash weights, half a dozen empty one gallon
containers, a 7ft pole and 35 fathoms of light
rope. They didn’t have the rope so we had to
make a purchase at a Barbican chandlery.
They did have a large laundry basket though
and in it we put our purchases.
We put the dan together and fastened a
yellow duster to the top of the pole and
delivered it to the trawler skipper at his
Barbican berth a week ahead of the first
Saturday of the season. The trip was one of
great anticipation and we made our way from
the pick-up point at the Mayflower steps
across Plymouth Sound past the east end of
the Breakwater and the Shagstone Rock (one
of our favourite conger marks) and on to the
great conical rock island called the Mewstone,
a short distance offshore. We then veered to
the south-east as instructed and within 45
minutes we saw our yellow duster. We were
going wrecking!
We started the first drift uptide of the dan
and 10yds to the south of it, but where we
A big coalfish taken in expected the wreck to be there was nothing.
the Pentland Firth, which The next half a dozen runs, each one further
separates Scotland from the from the dan, had the same result. It was in the
Orkney Islands. I have always wrong place. About the eighth time we covered
thought this area has record the area all six rods went into full compression
coalfish potential and two were immediately broken. We had
four fish: two pollack and two coalfish came to
the surface. This was a different game to what
Carol Ann, the Plymouth we had been used to. The two lads that were
Sea Anglers’ Club boat broken up had set their reel clutches too tight
from which I caught my and paid the penalty.
first coalfish in 1959 One of the coalfish was mine and it would
weigh just in double figures – a ‘red letter
day’ catch. By the end of the session we had
a total of 21 fish, all but four pollack. It was
certainly a good day out. I would add that
we had previously worked with shore
markers and fortunately, as it proved to be,
we had taken notes of prominent places on
land from the Mewstone, a lookout station
on the cliff between the mouth of the
Yealm and Stoke Point and Penlee Point to
the west.
The following Saturday the wind was
blowing a hoolie and the trip was cancelled,
but on the Wednesday I went on the club
trip to the Ledges and fished for pollack and
bream. The weather held good for the next
Saturday and we headed for our dan but it
wasn’t there. It took an hour using the shore
references we had noted but of it there was
no sign; it had blown away or been pinched.
We cut our losses and went back to the
Ledges for a sure bet. As the 1960s and 1970s
progressed the coalfish became far more
numerous and it was fast becoming a regular
catch. In the middle of 1971 co-skipper John JJ McVicar with his record
coalfish of 26lb 12½oz and
Trust, of the well-known Brixham boat Our
27lb 10oz
Unity, picked up a rod on his own account and
at a Lyme Bay wreck took a coalfish of 26lb
2oz so putting an end to Hugo Millais’ 50-year
hold of the British Record.
Early in January 1972 “JJ” McVicar set a
remarkable two coalfish records on
consecutive days, the weights being 26lb
12½oz and 27lb 10½oz. His boat, June
Lipet, was destined to become top news in
British boat angling. Hard on the heels of JJ
came Stan Stevens and Ron Phillips with a
fish of 29lb 2oz. ■
In Part Two: How the Record kept

changing hands
Read more about the exploits of JJ McVicar

in his own words in our feature from the Sea
Angler archives on page 88.
"About the eighth

time we covered
the area all six
rods went into full
compression and
two were broken
immediately..."
A very young Bernard Hunkin Jnr. with

a magnificent 18lb 10oz coalfish taken
John Trust of the Brixham boat Our Unity broke Millais’ 50-year-old record for off Mevagissey aboard his grandfather’s
coalfish with his fish of 26lb 2oz in 1971 boat Eileen

photography by
DAVE LEWIS
The world's
greatest
fishing
Species and ve
nu
for your angl es
ing
bucket list
ur fly b ox aw a y. Th ese ‘trout’

Put yo al groupers
tua lly ta sty tro p ic
are ac
oral trout is not a true species of

fish. The term is generically
applied to several of the smaller,
more brightly coloured, species
of grouper. The species most
commonly referred to as being a
coral trout is the leopard coral grouper,
Plectropomus leopardus, also known as the
common coral trout, leopard coral trout,
blue-dotted coral grouper or spotted coral
grouper. This species is found in the western
Pacific, and the IGFA All Tackle record is
held with a fish that weighed 20lb 4oz caught
in Japan.
Another species widely called ‘coral trout’ is
the lunar or lyre tailed rock cod, or coronation
trout. This is a common and widespread
grouper species found throughout the Indo-
Pacific region, identified by the bright yellow
margin on the lunate, swallow like tail. The

species is reddish above, often shading shoaling species. If you catch one and continue
to orangish to white on the belly with fishing in the same area it is very unlikely,
numerous small bluish or pinkish spots on though not impossible, you will catch others.
the head, body and fins. This species occurs
throughout much of the Indo-Pacific,
from very shallow reefs close to the surface TACKLE
to others over 100m in depth. In reality, Medium and small sized jigs, both speed jigs
wherever you fish throughout the tropical and the increasingly popular slow pitch jigs,
regions of the Indian or Pacific Ocean, if you fished throughout the lower quarter of water
catch a small, brightly coloured trout the column, are the most effective way to catch
crew will call it a coral trout. grouper in the tropics. The most productive
Like all species of grouper, coral trout are colours for jigs I have used are hot pink and
predators. The majority of grouper I have chartreuse. I have never seen either a hot pink
seen have been caught jigging, usually when or chartreuse baitfish but throughout the
fishing in deeper water over or in the vicinity tropics these two colours are deadly, and for a
of reefs, notably along the deep water drop wide variety of different species. Both cut and
offs that surround the outer edge of mid- livebait will catch grouper too.
oceanic atolls. It is difficult to specifically set Once hooked coral trout fight hard. Anglers
out to target coral trout, but these are one who have just caught their first one often look
of those species that anglers often encounter surprised when their fish is boated, saying that
when fishing for other bottom or near bottom throughout the fight they were convinced that
species such as snapper. Grouper are not a they had been hooked up with a much bigger
fish. Like most other members of the grouper
family, when hooked, a coral trout will do its
absolute best to find sanctuary amongst the
coral. It is important to fight them hard until
they are well clear of the bottom and in open,
clear water.
WHERE
The very best destinations where I have
caught coral trout have all been around the
various mid-oceanic islands and atolls I have
fished during trips throughout the Indian
Ocean, including Madagascar, The Maldives,
Mauritius, Sri Lanka and The Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. Papua New Guinea is fast
emerging as an exciting new destination for
travelling European sport fishing. Anglers who
have fished here and at other island nations
throughout the western Pacific have caught a
lot of specimen sized coral trout and grouper
of numerous species. Finally, not only are coral
trout a sporting and stunningly beautiful fish to
catch, but they also make excellent eating! ■

BOAT ANGLER Words &
Photography
DAVE LEWIS
THE FIRST TRIP

Dave Lewis provides some invaluable advice for
parents and grandparents taking kids out boat
fishing for the first time – get it right and they’ll
be hooked for life
T
aking a son or daughter boat fishing should take on an entirely different level. I don’t
for the first time is a dream for always wear a lifejacket every time I fish afloat,
many sea anglers, it certainly was I should, but I don’t, and that is my decision.
for me. I remember I almost burst When children are aboard adults really should
with pride when on his seventh wear their jackets, by way of an example. Most
birthday Luke, my son, caught his first two blue kids look to emulate the adults around them,
sharks aboard a charter boat fishing off the so when they see adults fishing without a
Kerry coast. And my daughter Amy was not jacket it won’t be long before they come to the
much older when she beached her first striped conclusion that lifejackets are for babies, and
bass fishing the surf at Cape Cod. will want to take theirs off.
Safety should be a massive consideration It is important that children are provided
whenever you fish aboard a boat, but whenever with children’s lifejackets, and not bundled into
you take children afloat your attention to safety a full size and improperly fitting adult jacket. If
the trip is a charter confirm with the skipper at
the point of booking whether or not children’s
lifejackets are available; if not, provide your
own. If a correct size jacket is not available then
children should not board the boat. In this
situation there really is no decision to make.
Most manufacturers sell child size lifejackets
and, compared to the cost for a day’s fishing,
the cost is really quite reasonable. By far the
best option is to provide your own lifejacket for

your children, so that you can ensure that the mackerel feathers getting unceremoniously
jacket is correctly and comfortably fitted for hoisted aboard by over excited children, or
that individual. If the jacket is comfortable the adults for that matter, are a recipe for disaster.
child will very quickly forget that he or she is Only by remaining close at hand can you ensure
wearing it. that in the excitement of the moment nothing
Several manufacturers make child size other than fish get hooked.
floatation suits, but it is important to realise There are other safety considerations that
most flotation suits are buoyancy aids, and you will need to constantly monitor whenever
that they are not in any way an alternative or a child is part of the crew. You must ensure
replacement for a lifejacket. The difference they are firmly told that they are not allowed
between a lifejacket and a buoyancy aid is that to touch sharp filleting knives, which should be
a lifejacket has the necessary ‘turning moment’ sheathed and kept out of their reach at all times.
to maintain an unconscious casualty afloat, face Children, and again adults, must keep their feet
above the water. A buoyancy aid merely ‘helps’ firmly on the deck at all times; no climbing up
a conscious person to remain afloat, and if onto the gunwales or engine hatch or forward of
unconscious will not ensure you float face above the wheelhouse.
the water. You will need to ensure that they remain
warm and dry throughout the day. Children
very quickly become dehydrated resulting is
CALM CONDITIONS headaches and sickness, so make sure they wear
Until you know just how your child reacts to a hat and are liberally covered in high factor sun
being afloat, for example if they suffer from cream. If it’s a hot day ensure they drink plenty
seasickness, always ensure that their first trips I have been aboard boats where children have of non-fizzy drinks.
coincide with the very best weather conditions. been given a rod and reel to use, then left pretty Obviously if you are fishing for large, lively
Taking a child fishing on a day when they spend much to their own devices to cut bait, unhook fish such as tope, conger and sharks, you need
upwards of 10 hours feeling cold, wet, miserable fish and sort out their inevitable tangles. In to ensure that children keep well out of the way
and sick will almost certainly put them off boats reality you need to pretty much forget fishing whenever a fish is boated, and only get closer for
for life. On the other hand, if the day is nice yourself on those first few occasions when you photographs when told it’s safe to do so. Small
and calm and warm, and they catch a few take a child out, you must be prepared to devote bass, bream and most species of ray have nasty
fish to take home to show off to mum, as much time as necessary to ensuring the spikes that can easily impale an over eager child’s
they’ll soon be asking you when they children have the very best day possible. hand. The skin of even a small dogfish will very
can join you on another fishing trip. easily rasp a child’s bare arm. Fishing off some
parts of the coast, notably Cardigan Bay, weaver
FIRST TIME FEATHERS fish are a very common by-catch, so you need to
There’s nothing like starting a day afloat off by pay very close attention and assist with pretty
catching a bunch of mackerel for bait. With up much everything your child catches.
to half a dozen lively fish on the end of their If you ever want to hear those magical words,
line, any doubts the youngsters might have “dad, when can I come fishing with you again,” I
had about boat fishing will soon be forgotten. cannot over emphasise just how important it is
However, a rolling boat and a string of six to get things right on those first few trips. ■

SEA SCHOOL
Our experts solve your fishing problems
SHORE ANGLING
Q Can Whiting be used from the shore or dock as live bait
ASK THE EXPERTS and what is the best method of rigging them to catch large
When sending your question,
predators like cod and bass without killing them during the
please remember to include
casting process?
your name and address
DIANE JONES, NORTH WALES
IB says: Most fish such as whiting, Monofilament or fluorocarbon may
pouting, mackerel, even flatfish can be a decision you have to make, again
be used to target the larger predatory depending on water clarity and your
species. They can be used effectively preference. Once the bait is in the water,
both dead and alive. The location and set your clutch and rachet to allow the
how you get the bait out to where the fish to pick up the bait, run, turn the bait
larger fish are will depend on whether into a position it can swallow it, thus
you can use a live or a dead bait. From giving you the best chance of hooking
IAN BOWELL DAVE LEWIS a boat, pier or structure when you the fish. It’s an exhilarating feeling
Ian is the vice Based in Newport, can gently lower the bait it’s easy to hearing the click, click, click of your
chairman of the South Wales, our get it into position. When it comes to rachet before it screams at you as the
Sea Anglers Match contributing editor
beach fishing it can become more of a fish takes the bait and swims off. As the
Federation and our Dave answers boat
shore fishing expert. fishing questions.
challenge. A simple hook through the baitfish swims in the tide, you should be
lower lip of the bait fish will suffice able to see little movements on the rod
when casting is not required. The hook tip, these will accelerate, when there’s
should be big enough to hold the target a big fish in the area, which is the first
species but not too big as to restrict the indication of a potential take. A method
bait fish’s movement. It is possible to tie of live-baiting from the shore is to use
a small hook, similar to a hair rig, onto a slider, either to fish on the bottom
a larger hook, attaching the bait fish to or with a float. Cast your lead out and
the small hook, keeping the bigger hook allow it to settle. Then slide the bait fish
free. However, this does add a degree down the main line and allow the tidal
of additional weight and complexity to movement to take the fish out. This
JOHN HOLDEN HENRY GILBEY what is a simple, waiting game, method method is a good way of preserving the
A Sea Angler Angler, blogger of fishing. I would tend to use a long bait fish as it takes away the pressure of
contrbutor for and photo- flowing trace (1-2m of 0.3mm), which casting and hitting the water away, thus
over four decades journalist Henry, will allow the fish to swim in the tide. protecting the bait fish.
specialising in casting based in Cornwall,
and rod building. is our lure expert.
Q I have often been informed that I must balance the
combination of a rod and reel for fishing. Could the panel
HOW TO explain how, why, and when to balance rod and reel?
ASK US A ROY SANDERS, BERKSHIRE
QUESTION
IB says: The single most important to find the rod and reel combination for
Email: thing about your rod and reel is it’s you is to ask and to try, either at your
sa.ed@kelsey. right for you: it fits your physical local fishing or casting club or at your
co.uk attributes, your ability, and is matched local tackle shop. There’s a balance to
or online: to the type of fishing you wish to do. be struck on cost of a rod and reel –
facebook.com/ This is never more important than there’s not much point spending all your
BEN BASSETT
seaanglermag when beach fishing, as this will involve money on a top rod and skimping on the
The Plymouth angler
and blogger will By asking a question you casting. Too many people see some of reel. Line lay, braking, and robustness
provide answers on
are giving us permission the top tournament casters achieving come into play both in relation to the
to use your name and
the sport of light rock where you live in all
massive distances and think if they type of fishing, but also what you want
fishing (LRF), the versions and platforms of have the same rod, they too will to achieve. If most of your fishing is
go-anywhere tactic. this magazine. achieve the same results. The best way at distance then you need a rod and

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
WIN SUFIX AND
RAPALA PRIZES
WORTH £195
Q I sometimes read about fishing line being classed in To coincide with Sea Angler’s
diameter (such as 0.46mm, for instance). I’d never heard line 50th anniversary we’ve
described like this before and had only ever known fishing updated our great prizes
line by breaking strain in pounds. How does the diameter
SHORE WINNER:
relate to the breaking strain and isn’t it confusing to use both ■ Two spools of Sufix
instead of one? tritanium
STEVE JOHNSTONE, COUNTY DURHAM ■ One spool of
Superior
IB says: Until I got into continental style leader
fishing techniques, fishing abroad, and ■ Two spools
the international match scene, neither of shock max
had I! Now I don’t talk about breaking leader
strains, just line diameter. The stated ■ RRP: £65
diameters and breaking strains do vary
depending on manufacturer and the
type of test applied, which can make
life complicated. Lines manufactured
in the USA tend to be under rated: they
BOAT CATEGORY:
■ One spool of Sufix
are stronger than they state on the
Matrix Pro 250m
spool. With regards to breaking strain,
braid
these vary too with manufacturer, and fit my spools perfectly and with the
■ A bracelet of sufix
depending on the type of test. What I opportunity to reverse the line, I get the
invisiline
am sure about is I know what line I like best value from them. On the casting
(or more importantly, trust) and I stick field, weight categories are based on line ■ RRP: £65
to these. This said, you should always diameter, not breaking strain. Again,
be open to change! Be prepared to try, if you get into the international scene
and test a new or recommended line as and the use of fluorocarbon for rigs and
it may be better; However do this when traces, the language used is diameter
practising not when it really matters. not breaking strain. As a rule of thumb
Line design has come a long way and for multipliers use mainline of .28-.30
there are lots of really high-quality for clean ground fishing, increasing to
monofilament and fluro coated lines .40-.45 for heavier, rougher, ground. For
LURE CATEGORY:
■ Five Rapala Max Rap Lures
out there to choose from. Whether you fixed spools I can drop to .23-.26 on the
■ RRP: £65
use a multiplier or fixed spool, by using cleaner beaches where I live. I know
Prizes are subject to stock
diameter you will know how much some anglers go even lower, as low as
availability. Actual prize may be
line you can get onto your spool. This .2; however, what really influences my
slightly different to those shown
helps having gone to extreme lengths to choice is tidal movement and weed.
balance a spool, the last thing you need Line diameter gets to its extreme when
is to keep stripping off the backing. As you look at what some of the top
a fixed spool angler, I tend to use spools Spanish, Italian and Portuguese anglers
designed only to carry a certain amount use in the Mediterranean, getting down
of line of a given diameter. This way I to .12 or lower mainline with a tapered
only use what I really need and I don’t leader, which I do not recommend in the
suffer with line bedding into itself and UK (you’ll never get a rig back!).
restricting casting . I used to buy bulk Line choice can be as complicated as
spools; However, with the change to you want to make it; however, stick to the
specific spools, I tend to buy 250-300m best quality you can afford, matched to
spools. These, although slightly more the type of ground and conditions you are
expensive, mean I don’t get any waste fishing and you won’t go too far wrong.
reel designed to achieve this. If your

preference is multiplier then the rod
must be designed for use with
a multiplier: ring size, numbers
and spacings are important to allow
the rod to work properly. Arm spacings
between reel seat and rod but are
important to achieve the right balance
and feel for you. This is never more
important than if you are casting with
the reel in the ‘up’ position. I carry
To view the full range
three rods from a range which suit of Sufix and Rapala products, visit:
my size, casting ability, and the type of www.sufixfishing.fishing and www.rapala.co.uk
fishing I do. My reels for all three are
T&Cs: * One prize per winning question will be
the same, just changing spool and line
chosen by the editor. Prizes cannot be exchanged and
diameter to suit the conditions and type no correspondence will be looked into. We reserve
of fishing I do. the right to send alternative prizes.

BOAT ANGLING sandeels when fishing for bass
and pollack afloat? Live eels are,
WINNING QUESTI
ON of course, the best, but I cannot
Q always obtain these where I fish in
aboard my own boat. We do not intend south-west Wales?
GARY JONES, MILFORD HAVEN
to boat any fish we catch, preferring DL says: Some of the newest artificial eels really are very
to use barbless hooks and release them effective. The fact that some commercial rod and line
bass anglers use them should tell you everything you
alongside. What can we do if a fish need to know. The trick whenever using artificial lures is
has swallowed the bait and we cannot to ensure your technique delivers the very best possible
action and presentation from the lure. Long flowing
safely remove the hook? traces consisting of the lightest practical breaking strain/
diameter line help. Clear lines, especially fluorocarbon,
GEOFF TALBOT, DEVON are recommended in clear water.
DL says: Your approach to shark fishing is exactly how it

should be. An occasional deep-hooked fish is unavoidable.
When this happens use a decent pair of wire cutters to cut
the trace as close to the sharks mouth as possible, for the
fish’s welfare.
Q What is the best way to

present mackerel for bait
when uptiding? If fishing
downtide I typically use a
long strip, which has a lovely
action but invariably tangles
when casting?
PATRICK HEDGES, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
DL says: I like to present mackerel on a Pennell

rig when fishing uptide. Lightly secured with fine
elastic, as shown, the hook points remain clear and
exposed. It is the perfect presentation for rays, huss
and many other species.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Q I cannot understand why assists

hooks attached to the top of a jig are
more effective than the traditional
treble at the bottom. Why is this? Q What is the easiest way to
HOWARD LOGAN, WEST SUSSEX distinguish between a turbot and a
DL says: There are actually several reasons, key amongst brill, both species look the same to me?
which is the way many species feed: rather than JACK BROWN, CARDIFF
swimming and snatching at their prey, as many anglers
assume, at the very last moment most species open their DL says: Turbot and brill have almost identical colouration;
mouth to create a vacuum that results in them inhaling it is their shape that is the easiest way to confirm the species.
their prey. Assist hooks rigged correctly therefore get Turbot are more rounded, and brill are oval. I have heard of
sucked into the fish’s mouth first. possible hybridisation between these two species, but that’s a
question for a marine biologist!
Q What is the safest way

to handle a thornback
ray without getting
spiked in the hand?
STUART WEATHERBY, LANCASHIRE
DL says: Grip the fish firmly to one

side of, and just in front of the eyes as
shown. Usually there are no spines in
this area, but obviously a gloved hand is
best of all…

SEA SCHOOL
LURE FISHING
If you could bash a relative over the head
and secure a bit more money I’d go for the
WINNING QUESTION Penn Slammer IV 2500. It’s heavier than
the equivalent Shimano or Daiwa, but it’s
pretty much bombproof when it comes to
Q I am looking at buying a new spinning reel saltwater. If your family members aren’t
and spending around £150. I would like it to be up for handing over their life savings then
go for the cheaper but still very good Penn
light, around 2500 / 3000 in size, but it needs to Spinfisher VI 2500. It’s lighter than the
be durable as I can never seem to have a fishing Slammer and if you look after it as best you
can it will cope with the saltwater grief you
session without getting my reel soaked with sea are putting your gear through.
water, especially when wading. I have had a few There are a few quirks to know about
with Penn spinning reels: make sure to
reels seize up even when I rinse them after use. slightly underfill their 2500 size reels and
What can you recommend? you will have no hassles with wind knots.
MARK HEALEY-CLEMENTS, MANCHESTER I don’t know why, but with Shimano
reels you can load them right up with no
HG says: There is no getting away from hassles, but not with Penn reels. I use Penn
the fact that Shimano and Daiwa make spinning reels all the time and I trust them
some of the lightest and smoothest 100 per cent, but it took me a while to work
spinning reels. Each year it seems that out the best line levels. With any spinning
more and more of their expensive reel I am using around saltwater I will pack
technologies leach down to their cheaper the line roller with grease, reassemble it and
reels. I accept that tackle companies do then wipe off the excess grease and make
as much as they can to help protect their sure it is running smoothly.
spinning reels against saltwater damage, You said that you rinse your gear down
but when you used the word “soaked” in after use; I do the same, but one thing I
your question, that takes the Shimano do if my reel gets either heavily splashed
and Daiwa reels out of the equation. If or properly drowned is to take the reel off
you religiously rinse and look after your the rod, wind the drag down tight, fill a
spinning reels then you may well be fine sink with warm water, drown the reel in,
with something like a Shimano Stradic turn the handle a few times underwater,
2500 or C3000, but personally I would be remove the reel from the water, loosen
going down a different route. the drag, then leave it to drip-dry. I don’t
believe this is technically advised by reel
manufacturers as such, but it has saved
a number of my reels when they’ve been
absolutely drenched.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Q How long is your leader when you go bass fishing?

SIMON LEDBURY, HERTFORDSHORE
HG says: Part of me would sometimes because I can’t find a single reason for
like to fish with longer fluorocarbon not doing so. A properly tied FG leader
leaders over really rough ground. knot is so strong that any arguments
However, even with the very strong for the connection being a potential
and tiny profile FG leader knot, I do weakness is removed.
prefer that my leader knot is outside I like bright coloured braids so I like
my tip guide when I am casting. I guess a bit of clear line on the end of it. I
my typical leader length is about 3ft. like how the inherent bit of stiffness
It works fine and I can’t really recall in a leader helps prevent your braid
losing a bass. tangling around the trebles on a
Some bass anglers will argue against surface lure especially, and I like how
the need for a leader on the end of a leader gives me a bit more abrasion
your braid. I get their reasons and I resistance at the business end of my
understand the arguments for and setup. Marginal this might be, but I am
against. Personally, though, I always all for any marginal gains I can get in
use a leader on the end of my braid my fishing.
Q I am after a good all round lure fishing rod for bass,

but there are so many around and the prices fluctuate
wildly. Help! ALEX WILLIAMSON, SOMERSET
sure to try and pick a few up between 8ft

and 9ft 6in and see how they feel. You are
looking for a rod rated to cast somewhere
in the region of 5-40g, with many of them
being something like 7-35g or 10-30g. This
might not sound like much, but in fact we
can do the bulk of our shore-based bass
fishing with lures no heavier than 35g.
There are times when you might need to
go heavier, but a good lure rod rated up to
35g will do everything for a lot of anglers.
I was involved in their conception, but I
still think the Savage Gear SGS5 9ft 9-35g
and 9ft 6in 9-35g lure rods at around £150
HG says: It is amazing how many lure are some of the best rods you can find:
fishing rods there are these days, but light and crisp and fast. I happily fish
what amazes me even more is how good with these rods myself in all manner of
some of the cheaper lure rods are now. different situations. The new 8ft 4in and
I love a high-end fishing rod as much as 9ft 1in Westin W3 Seabass rods are also
anybody else does, but £100-150 buys you very impressive and you should be able to
a hell of a lot of lure rod these days. find them for around £130. If you can, do
I would guess that lure rods around try and handle a few rods in a good local
9ft long are the most commonly used tackle shop and then support them with
length in the UK and Ireland, but make your business.
SEA SCHOOL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
TICS
CONSERVATION & POLI
Q With the proliferation of wind farms positioned

around our coasts, and more planned, has anyone
considered the potential benefits to marine
life? These ‘artificial reefs’ already attract and
hold resident populations of fish and some form
of linking structures between turbines would
protect huge areas of seabed providing shelter
and a nursery for plant and animal life. Perhaps
in time these turbines may become a factor in the
long hoped for recovery of North Sea cod.
TREVOR HOWLETT, SUFFOLK
DM says: Sampling in wind farms in round – where their habitat is protected provide magnificent marine habitat and
the EU (10 years after construction) from trawling and mussel beds have recreational fishing locations.
has not shown significant changes in begun to recover.
populations or diversity of ‘benthic’ The fact is that not enough is known
species inside and outside the areas – For many years I was one of a number about how, or if, wind farms act as
despite the obvious assumption that by of people who campaigned for the marine protected areas and increase
banning fishing they would, and some seabed structure of turbines to be fish biomass or biodiversity. In many
anecdotal evidence supporting this. ‘co-designed’ as artificial reefs for fish cases it may be too early to tell and
habitat and angling. The cost of this, in others the research simply hasn’t
One unanswered question is whether along with the risk of having people been done yet. As far as the recovery
the wind farms simply act as fish accessing major energy infrastructure of North Sea cod goes, while protected
aggregating devices causing fish to installations, meant it was never areas might offer some protection
concentrate around them rather than feasible, or a priority, in the design to the handful that are still there,
helping to increase the overall stocks. phase of the wind farms. What will increasing water temperature as a
One study of anglers in the Netherlands be interesting is what happens in the result of climate change appears to
fishing in an area of wind turbines in future when, inevitably, the turbines be the real culprit in the shift of cod
the southern North Sea came back with are decommissioned. Will the bases of towards colder waters. I guess the irony
disappointing results suggesting that the turbines be left to act as artificial is that while the wind turbines are
there were no improvements in the marine habitat or will they be removed ultimately designed to combat climate
number, size, or diversity of fish being to return the seabed to a ‘natural’ state? change and sea temperature rise, it’s
caught. Other anecdotal reports from This is something that has happened their physical presence as an artificial
Sussex suggest the Rampion wind farm with the oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of habitat that might prove to be the
in the Channel might be the cause of Mexico and off the coast of Western most benefit to fish stocks impacted by
black bream now being caught year- Australia where old structures now climate change. ■

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SEA SCHOOL
LIGHT ROCK FISHING

Q I’ve often thought that species
hunting is a little like birdwatching.
Have you ever ‘twitched’ an unusual/
vagrant species that has been reported
somewhere? Like in a way that birders
drive great distances to photograph
rare birds?
RICHIE HOWARD, LONDON
BB says: If I am totally honest I think I am constantly

‘twitching’, on the lookout for interesting and new
species to target. Social media makes this very easy.
There will be times when you see that a particular Q Why do people fish for what are
species is shoaling somewhere: for example, garfish
and pilchards have shown in great numbers in certain
essentially small fish?
Cornish harbours this ANDY MYTTON, WEYMOUTH
winter, so I have headed
there to catch them. When BB says: An interesting question, especially for the uninitiated.
it comes to rarer species, For me it’s the thought of never knowing what is coming next
if I am lucky enough to and seeing the variety of species, big and small, in our waters.
receive the information on We have an incredibly diverse range of fish species across the
where to look for them, I UK and it is never quite the same every year. The smaller fish
am there in a flash. Lucky are also quite beautiful: the delicate patterns on a tiny two
enough, in the Lerfing spot goby can easily match the electric blues of a male cuckoo
community we are sharers wrasse. It’s also about fishing for what is in front of you. In my
and quite happily trade mind LRF is about fishing for what is there, not what might be.
secrets, as long as the mark You can catch big fish on small lures, but you can’t catch small
isn’t blown completely. fish on big ones. So it opens up a world of species, big and small,
while keeping you guessing at every stage.
Q Given that LRF is predominantly catch

and release, would you choose barbed or
barbless hooks?
TIM BREWER, FROME
BB says: I almost always crush my barb on my hooks or choose

barbless coarse fishing hooks for my species hunting. They
make a huge difference when unhooking smaller species. I also
recommend it for wrasse fishing too, as if the fish snags you
up or snaps you off, you know the wrasse can easily shake the
hook when the rig is no longer under pressure. There can be
an advantage in hook-hold when you crush a barb with pliers
or similar, versus a completely barbless hook, as there is still
some resistance instead of a completely smooth hook. In my
experience, though, I have had fish throw the hook with barbed
hooks as much as barbless, as long as you keep the line tight, you
have a good chance of landing the fish.

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SEA SCHOOL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
How to improve your casting skills
PRACTICE PAYS OFF

Consistent casting comes from a good set-up, and the best way to
master this is practice, as John Holden explains
A
little bit of casting happy place and iron out the issues,
practice delivers often within a couple of casts.
huge benefits for First learn the basics steps
the beach if it’s of a neat style, then practise to
done sensibly and become competent and confident.
with a realistic goal in mind. Practice begins with establishing
Distance is not the Holy Grail. a solid routine, an A,B,C process
Random thrashing for a few more of setting up and executing every
yards often makes matters worse. cast. Off-ground work makes life
Straight, consistent and effortless much easier because the set-up
bait delivery is the priority. is static, as opposed to pendulum
Power and range are by-products casting where the prelude to
of good technique, and they the main power arc involves a
happen automatically. swinging sinker.
We’re not talking perfection, My routine is to set the sinker
talent and endless hours of hard drop, then take my stance. My
work. That’s for tournament body rotates to here, the sinker
casters. Near enough is good lies on the ground there, the rod is
enough for beach work. Dig out at this angle, the tip is close to the
the necessary how-to guidance in ground. My right arm goes here,
magazines and online, or better the left elbow is high. The action
yet invest in a couple of lessons. is triggered by sliding my body
No matter which style of casting weight from right leg to left, my
you would prefer to master in the left hand pulls down… and away
long term, a simple off-ground goes the cast.
technique is overwhelmingly the These set-up details are personal,
best way to get started. As for and they also vary with different
tackle, bread-and-butter kit is fine tackle. The crucial point in the
and it absolutely does not matter early days is to follow exactly the
whether you go for a multiplier reel same routine every cast. It sounds
or a fi xed spool. Picking a suitable simple yet calls for strict discipline
amount of lead is much higher on from the outset. Every set-up
the priority list. All things being should be identical, as should be
equal, 150g or a little more is the the casting action that follows.
way to go. Technique-wise, start by doing
I never found it useful to work what you normally do. Good or
on my casting during a fishing bad, the results are equally valid.
session. A couple of hours on a field Good confirms that you’re on the
really helped, not least because I right track. Bad highlights an error
made more casts in a few minutes of some kind. But by setting up
than I would normally do in a day’s exactly the same way each cast, you
fishing. The lifelong benefit was can quickly pinpoint what is going
that my casting developed from a wrong. Normally only a handful of
carefully focused foundation that common mistakes are involved and
has paid off countless times. When they are simple to fix. I’ll expand on
things go wrong I go back to that the theme next time. ■
Follow all the latest news, catches

and photos from Century on
facebook.com/Century.Sea.Fishing

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TACKLE
Your update on the latest gear arriving in the tackle shops
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YO-ZURI
SUPERBRAID
WHITE
Yo-Zuri SuperBraid is now available in white
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factories in Japan, this is an extremely high
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Yo-Zuri’s heat integration process that bonds
the individual strands, makes it smoother
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FEATURES:
■ The ever-popular Skeet Reese design
SICK SMASH PowerBait formula. According to
Berkley fish love PowerBait so much
has been taken to the next level
■ Super life-like shape and action make
SOFTBAITS they hold on 18 times longer, giving
you the time and confidence to feel
them look real
■ Colours to match baitfish everywhere
more bites, set more hooks and catch ■ www.berkley-fishing.com
more fish.

SHIMANO
VANQUISH
The Vanquish is crafted with the greatest
Japanese precision. The responsiveness and
smoothness of the reel makes it perfect for
fishing ultra-light techniques: the mid-sized
3000 only weighs 170g. Shimano has created
an ultimate light-winding mechanism packed
to the brim with Shimano technologies,
derived mainly from STELLA. The lightness
of the Vanquish comes from extensive use of
Shimano’s exclusive Ci4+ composite material.
This is enhanced by the addition of the
Magnumlite Rotor, which also contributes
to the incredibly low start-up inertia
when winding. This slow start-up inertia
is particularly important when fishing
SAKUMA finesse and ultra-light techniques. Another
benefit is the addition of InfinityDrive.
FLOATING This technology produces powerful yet
BEAD STOPS lightweight rotation, especially under heavy

loads. Adding InfinityLoop improves casting
Most anglers are convinced a splash
of colour incorporated within their
distance considerably. This will help you UGLY STIK
terminal rigs adds to their overall
reach that interesting spot far out, even with
a super lightweight set-up. Other advanced DIGITAL
effectiveness. Popular colours include
fluorescent red and yellow. Luminous
technologies, like InfinityXross, X-Protect
and the Anti-Twist Fin contribute further to
LIP GRIP
Ugly Stik Scales and Grips are
beads are another popular choice, the technical performance of this reel.
having the advantage that they can be designed for ugly conditions.
‘charged’ with a torch to make them Rugged non-slip handles give
■ RRP from £449.99 you control in wet and slimy
glow brightly, which is ideal when ■ www.fish.shimano.com
fishing either at night or in deep water. environments. The stainless-steel
New from Sakuma is a range of top frames ensure extra strength and
quality, self-locking, large, oval, floating durability for the big ones.
beads. Sakuma Floating Bead Stops are
excellent for use as bait stops or visual FEATURES:
attractors and have the added bonus ■ UGLY TUFF™ NON SLIP GRIPS
that as they float, they help to keep ■ 360° rotating handle
bait off the bottom and away from ■ Strong stainless-steel construction
crabs. Available in boxes of six ■ 8 weight memory
beads, each pre-mounted on soft ■ Total weight reading
wire for easy rigging. ■ Average weight reading
■ Red backlit display
■ RRP £1.61 ■ Battery charge indicator
■ www.sakuma.co.uk ■ Batteries included
■ From £63 (amazon.co.uk)

■ www.purefishing.com/ugly-stik

TACKLE
A guide to new products for anglers going afloat
ANCHORING ACCESSORIES
Anchor more accurately for better and safer fishing with these new hard-
wearing and environmentally friendly chain markers from AnchoRight
markers will fit most marine chains on

the market. In addition, AnchoRight is
able to produce special orders for larger
sizes of chain, including a marker for
stud-link chains.
RENEWABLE-RESOURCE
‘PLASTIC’
Both the chain markers and the guide
plate are made from polylactic acid which
is derived from renewable resources, such
as cornstarch or sugarcanes. PLA
polymers are considered biodegradable
and compostable over time and have a
similar impact on the environment as
composting wood.
Stockists can be found in the purchase

online page of the AnchoRight website
(www.anchoright.co.uk). Prices vary
depending on how many positions are
being marked. For example, to mark seven
positions with seven colours (five markers
of each) including a guide plate, is a total
of £28.80. ■
N
ew to the boating market for Available in 10 clear colours, the
2023 is this innovative design markers can be used on a chain of any
in chain marking allowing length in 5m or 10m intervals without the
boat anglers to easily know need to mix colour sequencing, keeping it
how much anchor chain is in simple. This can then be referenced using
the water – essential information for one of the AnchoRight guide plates,
anchoring safely, accurately and separating any similar colours, while
consistently when positioning your boat specific sequences can be made up
over or up tide of a reef, wreck or other individually for bespoke colour runs.
fish holding mark.
AnchoRight chain markers have been
designed to not pop out from between the CHAIN SIZES
links, when they are passed through a The chain markers are available from
windlass or dragged on the sea floor. In stock for all standard chain sizes from
addition, both the markers and guide plate 8 – 14mm chain. They are produced for
are formed from a durable, UV-resistant calibrated chain (DIN / ISOP / EN)
material, suitable for the rigours of the standard measurements. Whilst chain
marine environment. dimensions may vary slightly, the

PRICES
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explorerboatsuk@outlook.com £12850 FOR
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f Explorer Boats UK Ltd TRAILER!
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TIDE TALK Words and
Photography by
MIKE THRUSSELL
MAY 2023
The best tides and tactics for giltheads
from the shore and spring boat tope
SHORE: creeks. It pays to hit a fish or two, then move
a few hundred yards upriver to ambush them
GILTHEAD BREAM
May will see a rapid increase in the numbers
again. Slack water sees them in the higher
creeks briefly. It’s the same on the ebb,
though they’ll move downstream even quicker fixed spool, and loaded with 30lb braid and a
of gilthead bream inside the smaller estuaries and won’t linger long in deeper pools and 60lb braid shock leader.
and off the relevant beaches. It coincides with channels. Avoid heavily coloured flood water
the greater numbers of crabs peeling as well as as it keeps the bream out. Use a simple sliding ledger rig in estuaries
warming water. with a 15lb fluorocarbon hook length and
On beaches, again it’s the 2nd to 4th hour a size 2 Aberdeen hook. On beaches, opt
of the flood tide that produces the fish when for a 2-hook clipped down rig and size
TIDE TALK the flow is stronger, with slack water poor. 2 Aberdeen’s.
It varies, but generally, targeting gilthead They prefer a gentle surf with light F2 to 4
inside smaller estuaries sees the best numbers onshore winds ideal. Gilthead can be caught Gilthead take worm and crab baits best, less
available during the middle-sized rising on the ebb tide too, but generally cast further so fish baits.
tides, not necessarily the biggest springs. For out for them and choose a venue where there
estuaries, the best overall tides fall from the is some reef or rough ground patches to hold
10th to the 17th, and again from the 23rd them longer. HOTSPOTS
May to the 2nd June. The tides on the 14th to Hampshire, Devon and Cornish estuaries
17th look spot on, also from the 25th to the especially the Fowey, Fal, Helford, Hayle
2nd June for peak catches and bigger fish. If TACTICS and Camel. Long shot, the Menai Straits
you’re fishing surf beaches, choose the bigger For estuaries fish a 2-4oz 11ft 6in bass rod in North Wales. In Ireland, the Bannow
tides between the 3rd and the 10th, then the and a 6500 sized multiplier loaded with 15lb Estuary, Wexford, Clonakilty Bay and
16th to the 23rd. line and a 20lb fluorocarbon leader. Or use Roscarberry in Cork.
a 5000 fixed spool loaded with 20lb braid
In estuaries, the gilts come with the 2nd hour straight through. Use the same combination
of the flood but constantly move, working for light surf fishing. For extra distance, fish a OTHER POSSIBLE SPECIES
right up to the higher reaches of the muddy soft tipped 13 to 14ft beachcaster, 7000 sized Bass and flounder.
HEIGHT (M) 6.8

6.9
7.1 7.1
7
6.9
6.6 6.6 6.6

6.4 6.4 6.4
6.2 6.2 6.2
5.8
1.1 1.1 1.1

1
0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8 0.8
0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN MON TUES
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th
HI HI HI HI HI Hi HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI

BOAT TOPE
May sees the start of the tope season with
ebb too, with again the middle hours being
the best time.
well featuring a 5ft hook length of 80lb mono,
then 15in of 60lb wire or 250lb mono crimped
to the hook length via a swivel. Hook size is a
the tope tight inshore working reefs and Tope will feed in most conditions, but it’s 6/0 and crimp the barb down.
sandbanks. This influx of tope is timely as best with cloud cover or a gentle wind that
it coincides with an increase of fish stocks puts a ripple on the sea’s surface cutting down Top baits are fresh mackerel, whiting, dab or
inshore as the water warms up. It’s also a on light penetration, especially when fishing squid. Keep baits no more than 6in long to
time when the smaller pack living male fish shallower water. avoid tope picking up then dropping the bait,
meet up with the bigger female tope to make a common mistake which is a sign the bait is
little tope. too big.
TACTICS
Use a 20/30lb boat rod and multiplier reel
TIDE TALK holding 300yds of 30lb braid plus a 60lb mono HOTSPOTS
At this time of year, tope can be taken most shock leader for downtide fishing. The leader Essex estuaries, Swansea, Milford Haven,
tides throughout the month, but the greater limits the risk of abrasion if a tope twists Cardigan Bay, Caernarfon Bay, Lancashire
numbers of tope and therefore the most around the line. coast, Mull of Galloway, Eastern Channel
consistent catches will occur during the tides
that are rising towards the highest spring Alternatively, a 4 to 10oz uptide rod with a
tides. The best overall tides fall between the castable multiplier reel holding 300yds of 20lb OTHER POSSIBLE SPECIES
3rd and the 11th, then again from the 16th mono plus leader. A sliding ledger rig works Rays, bull huss, conger.
to the 24th.
If you’re fishing larger estuaries, choose the

middle-sized neaps which fall from the 11th
to the 15th, and the 25th to the 31st. These
latter tides will see reduced tidal flow and
the fish tend to be in greater numbers and
penetrate deeper into the estuaries.
Breaking the state of the tide down expect

either side of slack water to be slow. The
second hour of the flood through to the 4th
hour when the tide is flowing strongly is the
best time, with bites easing off over high-
water slack. Tope will feed happily down the
* Heights shown are for London Bridge.

See page 98 for variations
7.2 7.2
7.1
7 7
6.8 6.8
6.7
6.4
6.2
6.1
5.8 5.8
5.6 5.6
1.4 1.4
1.3 1.3
1.2
1.1 1.1 1.1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5 0.5 0.5
WED THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT SUN MON TUES WED
17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31ST
HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI

The Sea Angler guide to specimen hunting:
techniques, tactics and tackle to land that
fish of a lifetime!
PLUS O N SALE
■ Specimen spurdogs
from the shore APRIL
28TH
eting giant
■ Dave Lewis on targ
Norwegian cod
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■ Bagging big blonde
Dave Barham
ty 3300
■ New VASS heavy du
waders reviewed
oot
■ Win a Sonik SKS 13-f
beach rod
SUBSCRIBE TODAY - SEE PAGE 90

When You Purchase Any ‘Maxel’ Jigging Reel
Wrap
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RANGE OF MAXEL REELS INCLUDE:
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Offer applies to UK & overseas orders. Offer is calculated at the payment stage. OFFER EXPIRES 30TH MAY 2023.
Our passion for boat building is reflected in

the high quality craftsmanship, durability
and design of the TOPE HUNTER 18,
now being produced on the Sussex coast.
18
TOPE HUNTER 18 The Tope Hunter 18 is compliant

Length 5.5M/18FT with all current standards.
Beam 2.01M/6.6FT An excellent pleasure boat,
Draft 0.3M/1FT with outstanding stability
Freeboard 0.8M/2.6FT and versatility.
Sea trials achieved 22 knots with a 40hp outboard, and 32 knots with a 70hp
outboard. The reinforced hull has a bonded chassis below the floor, creating
multiple buoyancy chambers giving a total reserve buoyancy of 660kg.
Call us on 07517 895 680 and enquiries@topehunterboats.co.uk
www.topehunterboats.co.uk
TACKLE Words and
Photographs:
TIM MACPHERSON
TOPE HUNTER 18
Tim Macpherson heads to Eastbourne to try out a new version of a
well-known design, The Tope Hunter… and he wasn’t disappointed
T
ope Hunter is not a new design – it The helm has a short windscreen and plenty of
was originally built by Stormcat in room for two seats that are situated on plinths FISHING SPACE
Scotland and has been around for 14 and which double up as seat boxes. It’s got good The best thing about this boat is, like the Raider,
years. However, the brand and design freeboard at 0.8m. it has a large area of deck space which could easily
is now owned by Eastbourne-based boat builder Forward of the helm is a storage area which, hold four anglers; even the seat plinths don’t seem
Steve Paice and his Tope Hunter Boats company. considering the fact the helm is right at the front, to eat into the fishing space. There are plenty of
Sutton Workboats produce the moulds and Steve is surprisingly spacious. The model we tested places for rod holders; either integral units along
then turns them into what we see now. had a foldable stainless-steel ladder attached to the gunwales or stand-up holders. There is also
the transom. plenty of space for a live bait well – an important
BASIC DESIGN, LOOK addition wherever we fish from.
AND FEEL HELM AND

The reinforced hull has a bonded chassis below ELECTRONICS DASH ENGINE CHOICE
the floor, creating multiple buoyancy chambers The test model wasn’t fitted with electronics but The recommended engine size for this boat is
giving a total reserve buoyancy of 66kg. The there is plenty of space on the dash for at least two 70-90hp. The engine we tested was a Suzuki but
design is a sleek open boat which is strong, stable nine inch monitors and a radio. The helm itself any brand can be fitted to order depending on
and uses top quality materials in construction. is integral to the bulkhead and the control box taste and cost. On this model the controls were
It has the feel of a fast inshore bass boat with is a standard model – perfectly adequate for the well covered and neatly bundled in trunking.
wide deck space and the console set at the front. purposes. Sonar transducers can be attached on The boat has two 24 litre tanks fitted and fuel
The transom has a shallow well which allows the the transom or in the drain well as a cut through. consumption (as with all four-stroke engines) is
engine to be easily accessed. There are sturdy
stainless-steel handrails, cleats and bow roller.
82
SPECIFICATIONS
■ Length 5.5m
■ Beam 2.01m
■ Draft 0.3m
■ Freeboard 0.8m
■ Top speed 30+ knots
■ Reserve bouyancy 660kg
■ Maximum dead weight for
trailer 875Kg
FEATURES
■ Two moulded seat boxes
with internal storage
compartments and mounted
with 360-degree turn
■ Two Stainless steel handrails,
grab rails, marine bollards and
bow roller
■ Heavy duty fender with rubber
end caps
■ Engine well drain well tube and
screw in bung
■ “No feedback” cable steering
■ On board fire extinguisher
■ Boarding leader
very good. On a normal day’s fishing, travelling

8-10 miles on a round trip and with the usual TAKEAWAY
movement between drifting marks, these two This is an impressive boat, with a lot of fishing
tanks will be quite enough. space. It’s quick, stable and with seats at the helm
it has excellent visibility for spotting rogue waves
and obstacles.
EXPERIENCE AND COMFORT The boat is fully trailerable and the weight
We took the boat out for a spin around Eastbourne comes in at 850kg – easy to run on and off
Bay and I was impressed with the engine pickup a trailer and could also be easily adapted for
and the stability of the boat at speed and when beach launching.
on the turn. This stability is transferred when the I really liked this boat and wouldn’t hesitate
boat is at rest. At speed there was no sign of any to recommend it as a very good angling craft,
slamming or porpoising when we hit waves. The and at a very accessible price for what it is. The
sea on the day was pretty flat, but feedback from Tope Hunter 18 starts at £18,000 +VAT
Steve suggested it could take quite a big sea without without engine and extras, which can be fitted to
shipping any water. Unlike quite a lot of small boats preference. ■
there was no sign of rocking when people moved
from side to side.
The chines are cutaway at the stern which allows ABOUT STEVE PAICE
the engine to dig into the water and make turning Steve has spent most of his life on
much smoother. In fact, when we tested the boat I the shores of the historic Sussex
was impressed by how tight and stable the turning coastline pursuing his love of the
circle was. sea through fishing, boat building
and diving. Having worked for the
renowned UK based Raider Boats
ANCHOR in the 1990s, the time came when he
In the boat we tested, the anchor is loose in a box wanted to return to the industry.
but can be run though the bow cleat and attached
with a lazy line. There is room in the prow Steve has a passion for boat
hold to store rope if that is the preference. The building, which is reflected in
recommended weight is a 5kg plough anchor. It’s the craftmanship, durability and
possible to put a hatch in the fore deck. design of the Tope Hunter 19. After
14 years he’s very pleased to bring
this stalwart back into play and
produced on the Sussex coast.
CUDDY VERSION
The current boat is an open deck, but Steve is Contact
planning to make a cuddy option before the www.topehunterboats.co.uk
Southampton Boat Show in September, so look Tel: 07527 895680/07900 913764.
out for that.
83
TACKLE Words and
Photographs:
CHRIS KENNEDY
BEST IN CLASS?
DAIWA SALTIGA 20
Chris Kennedy reviews Daiwa’s flagship reel, the Salltiga 20, and asks whether
it’s the best heavy-duty spinning reel ever made
N
obody can argue against the fact that My conclusion with the body of evidence was that
fishing tackle has got better and better GAME CHANGER the Daiwa Saltiga 8000 was more reliable than its rival,
during our lifetimes. The first spinning Daiwa, one of the most established and well-known needing less servicing and maintenance yet providing all
reels were invented back in the 1930s, reel manufacturers globally, began to make incredibly the performance that you’d need. To top this off, I saw
but for a long time anglers were stuck with these robust fixed spools around a decade ago which, in my a video of one of the world’s most accomplished pelagic
flimsy, fragile, reels which could only handle opinion, was a revolutionary move and something the anglers, Dennis Verreet, having the Shimano Stella fail
somewhat moderate to heavy work. As a boy in the sport was crying out for. They changed the game with on him while fighting a potential world record yellowfin
1980s, I can remember my eyes delighted in seeing my their Japanese engineering and mechanical know-how. tuna from the shore. Dennis went back a year later and
father’s Abu 6500 multipliers. Masterful pieces of The Saltiga is their flagship saltwater spinning reel. broke the world record with the Daiwa Saltiga Dogfight,
engineering in their own right; they were almost too They were initially designed for the offshore guys 8000 sized.
beautiful and shiny to use. chasing the most powerful, fast-running pelagic fish. In my opinion confidence plays a huge part in sea
The fixed spools that dad had for spinning were nascent Back in 2015, I had some trips abroad planned, and fishing; you have to believe in your kit. I purchased a
compared to the accomplished performance of the 6500s, I needed to invest in a couple of reels that I could fish Daiwa Saltiga Expedition 8000 and a Daiwa Saltiga
both in the cast and construction. People dubbed fixed deep water with and braid and also that would cope Dogfight 8000, initially testing them in Norway’s
spools egg-whisks back then: if you saw a surf caster using with the largest of fish from the shore. After some deep fjords, and in 2016 I really thrashed them, having
them it would be a source of ridicule. Fixed spools just felt deliberating, I whittled down my choices to either the sharks to over 400lb from the rocks in Ascension
like they’d come apart if you were hauling any size of fish. Daiwa Saltiga Expedition 2014 size or the Shimano Island and one over 500lb from the boat. Day after
The oscillation would quickly be off kilter, they corroded Stella; the world’s two leading heavy-duty spinning day, my friends and I were hauling, high as kites on
so easily in salt water and it wasn’t long until they joined a reels at the time. I read every international forum, adrenaline, drags screaming as enormously powerful
graveyard of broken tackle for many anglers. magazine article and source of information that I could. fish were screaming the drags. The Saltigas had

exceeded all expectations, and the £750 per reel that
I had spent was an investment that gave a return of
some of the best fishing experiences in my life. You get
what you pay for. I have used those reels over rough
ground for the past six years or so, and they still haven’t
had a service. All I have done is changed the drag
washers once.
A couple of years ago, Daiwa launched the new
navy/gold Saltiga 20. The stunning-looking new reel
is designed for the toughest conditions and hardest
fighting fish, like giant trevally or dogtooth tuna. I
hadn’t really seen a significant improvement in the
subsequent Saltiga releases after my Dogfight and
Expedition models, which were almost identical. Now,
with the new Saltiga 20, they’re reworked reels that I
already thought were perfect and actually upgraded a
performance that I didn’t think could be surpassed.
REDESIGN
With its redesigned spool, Daiwa has created less
of a sharp angle with the line coming off the spool,
which certainly improved the casting fluidity, and it’s
definitely better when the line capacity is low on the
spool. It has a new monocoque frame which houses
an even bigger main gear than its predecessors, which
is the largest in the industry. It’s enormous and also
very thick. They have entirely changed the Zaion
(composite) rotor, which was already very solid,
and it’s now even stronger and made of aluminium
which is also more compact. There is improved heat
displacement in this reel, which is essential if you’re
battling hard-fighting fish.
The Saltiga 20 is MagSealed, which is a phenomenal
system for keeping saltwater out of the reel in
challenging conditions. It has an incredibly loud drag
clicker which is much improved on the older models;
it sounds a little like a tiger purring. The bail arm
mechanism has also been upgraded and when you
close it, it sounds a little like you just cocked a gun. The
20,000 size is an absolute tank boasting 66lb of drag
(30kg). It has 13 bearings and 18 drag washers (which
have also been redesigned with efficiency in mind). The
powerful handle is 85mm long. It has an enormous
line retrieve and holds 300m of PE10 or 500m of PE8
braided line. The 20,000 size weighs 890g.
DREAMS COME TRUE

FEATURES: These reels are the most expensive that I have ever
■ ATD drag (carbon ATD 1800 sizes) owned, so they aren’t going to be for everyone.
■ Aluminium body & rotor What the Saltiga 20 offers an angler is unparalleled
■ Monocoque body performance, which is exactly what you want if you
■ Mag sealed (pinion & line roller are battling the fish of a lifetime. As anglers, we travel
plus two msbb on drive gear) enormous distances after our desired quarry, and if
■ Aluminium forged spool you want a reel that you can rely on in any situation,
■ Aluminium machine cut handle the Saltiga 20 is it. If you’re chasing record fish,
■ Aluminium handle knob (round especially pelagic species, these are the reels that you
shape p models - egg shape h models) should own; they are simply magnificent. It might be a
■ Twistbuster 2 mag sealed line roller bit much in terms of power and performance for many
■ Tough digigear (g-1 dura- applications, but it’s better to have something and not
aluminium machined drive gear) need it most of the time than to need something and
■ LC-ABS spool not have it. Daiwa’s release material points out that
■ Air rotor these reels in the largest size will handle 300-400kg
■ Air bail (one piece) pelagic fish. That’s insane. Anglers are dreamers at
■ Aluminium radiation drag knob heart, and these are the reels that can make dreams
■ Infinite anti reverse come true.
■ Cross wrap
■ Manual bail trip ■ RRP from £1150
■ www.daiwasports.co.uk

TACKLE Words and
Photographs:
DAVID MITCHELL
WHEN THE GOING

GETS TOUGH
David Mitchell tests two styles of fishing boots from manufacturer
XTRATUF, forged from the demanding requirements of Alaska’s
commercial fishing fleets
T
he appetite for TV shows about Xtratuf boots – a brand which has been kitting too. The boots also feature a fabric XpressCool
commercial fishing crews – each out those fishing in the toughest conditions for lining which wicks moisture away and helps to
episode hinging on the characters and over 50 years. keep your feet cool and dry in hot conditions.
semi-manufactured drama – ‘Will
Hank and the crew make it back to port before
the Tina-Marie is swamped by the ice storm?’ – SPORT FISHING ON TEST
sees no sign of slowing down. One of the first of But it’s not just commercial fishing that Xtratuf The pull tabs make the boots easy to slip on and
these to hit our screens was Deadliest Catch, a caters for; a range of Ankle Deck Boots has been slip off – something I found particularly helpful
Discovery Channel programme many of you will created specifically for sport and recreational when launching my boat at a slipway in bare feet
be familiar with, profiling the ups and downs of fishing. The six-inch boots are made from triple before slipping the boots back on; not something,
Alaskan king and snow crab fishermen over the dipped neoprene latex rubber making them 100 however, you might want to try in the middle of
course of successive seasons on the Barents Sea. per cent waterproof, resistant to most organic winter. In these circumstances a knee-high boot or
Eagle eyed fans of the show might notice the and inorganic chemicals, and more flexible than wader is really your only option.
deck boots worn by the grizzled and weather- ordinary rubber. The boots are incredibly slip-resistant on the
beaten deck hands hauling the giant crab pots at One of the key features of the brand is the high deck of a boat and I was pleased to discover they
night onto the frozen deck of a boat pitching in traction chevron outsole which, as I discovered, is are non-marking too; meaning you don’t get left
the ice capped 30ft waves. Many of these will be one of the Ankle Boots’ most attractive features with rubbery scuff marks. Another feature worth

noting for boat users are the reinforced toe and
heel guards which provide some protection from
anchors, chains, tackle boxes or other pieces of
heavy equipment on the deck of a boat which risk
crushing any errant toes. It happens!
MULTI-PURPOSE
But don’t be misled into thinking these ‘deck’
boots are simply for boats. The comfort,
waterproofing and grip make them ideal for rock
fishing, where good traction on slippery surfaces
is essential, as well as sand and shingle beaches,
kayaks and any other circumstance you can think
of, other than wading. A cleverly designed and
located lip on the heel of the boots makes hands-
free slipping the boots off easy by getting a grip on
the lip of one boot with the toe of the other.
SPORT BOOT
Weighing around 1.4kg the Ankle Boots are light
weight and comfortable to wear all day, as well
as being comfortable to drive in safely and stylish
enough to wear to the pub at the end of the day.
However, I have also been testing a new
light weight Sport version of the Ankle Boots.
Rather than being constructed from triple
dipped neoprene latex the Sport Boots are made
from ProLite high-performance foam, which is
where the weight saving comes from, and the 30
per cent reduction in weight is noticeable and
welcome, particularly for summer and warm
weather conditions. With a cushioned sole the
Sport Ankle Boots are really more like trainers for
water sports and come in a range of more ‘sporty’
colours while still having all the same key features
as the original Ankle Boots.
Both boots perform excellently, but my personal
preference was for the standard Ankle Boots:
the additional weight gave me a sense that the
boots were more substantial than the lighter
Sport Boots. I also preferred the more neutral
colour schemes.
Both boots come in a range of colours and
are available in men’s sizes from 6-13. At £120
a pair for the standard Ankle Boots, and £140
for the Sport Boots, they compete on price with
other boots of a similar build quality. However,
they benefit from being designed specifically for
saltwater fishing and are likely to give you many
seasons of use whatever type of fishing you choose
to use them for, whether you’re in the Barents Sea
or not! ■
■ Six-inch Ankle Deck Boot £120

■ Six-inch Ankle Deck Boot Sport £140
■ www.xtratuf.co.uk

THE
SEA ANGLESR
ARCHIVE
APRIL 1973

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MATCH FISHING
2023
SEA LEAGUE
The latest results from Britain’s biggest event for shore match anglers
FEBRUARY 11: FUNDRAISING FISHING FOR BABY 18: YORKSHIRE FEDERATION OF SEA
8: AMBLE SEA ANGLING CLUB OPEN BAILEY, 38 anglers ANGLERS, WITHERNSEA, 28 anglers
441 anglers 38 anglers turned out into two zones A n Result: 1st Lee Smith, Hull, 3 fish, 312
n Result: 1st Dave Delaney Walker, Kingslake and B Vale Park. The weather points (2); 2nd Paul Scot, 4 fish, 168 points
18lb 05.8, (20); 2nd Lee Corry, 14lb (not was nice and fresh with no wind or rain. (not registered); 3rd Sean Bullock, 1 fish,
registered); 3rd Gav Owen Consett, 13lb, Fishing was very slow going with a few 141 points (not registered).
9.4, (18); 4th L Smith, 12lb, 13.2; 5th G Bell, whiting and flatties caught at Kingslake
12lb, 04.4; 6th M McIntyre, 11lb, 02.2; 7th and very few up at zone B, Vale Park. 18: COLWYN BAY VICTORIA SEA
S Potts, 10lb, 09.6; 8th J Shaw, 9lb, 15.2; 9th n Result: 1st Phil House, Liverpool, 134cm ANGLERS WINTER SERIES, PENSARN,
A Johnson, 9lb, 04.2; 10th S Robson, 8lb, 08.8 (not registered); 2nd Mike Hughes, Bangor, 30 anglers
(points not able to be awarded as not able 110cm (2); 3rd Phil Coope,r Wallasey, 89cm n Result: 1st Scott Davies, Abergele,
to reconcile the name on the list due to no (2). Zone A winners: 1st Phil House 134cm; B zone, 7 fish 1.83m (3); 2nd Tony Bob
Christian name or location of the angler). 2nd Mike Hughes, 110cm; 3rd P Cooper, Roberts, Anglesey, A zone, 6 fish, 1.63m (2);
89cm; 4th Paul Bonner, 87 cm. Zone B 3rd Tommy Harrison, Liverpool, B Zone,
11: MIKE AND CHRIS’S WINTER winners: 1st Nigel Conlon, 73cm; 2nd Micky 6 fish, 1.60m (not registered). Longest fish
HEAVIEST COD LEAGUE CARNOUSTIE Duff, 71 cm; 3rd Joe Perry, 69cm; 4th Jay landed by Rich Hughes, Holyhead, 35cm
TO FERRYDEN LIGHTHOUSE, 31 anglers Cityzen, 42cm. Biggest flatfish 31cm sole whiting. A Zone, Tony Parry, Kinmel Bay,
n Result: 1st Chris Horn, Kirkcaldy, 8lb landed Dave Vernon. Biggest round fish 6 fish, 1.51m. B Zone, Rich Hughes,
7oz; 2nd Keith Bathgate, Edinburgh, 6lb 5oz; 65cm ray landed by P Cooper. Thanks to Holyhead, 4 fish, 1.11m
3rd Mike Horn, Kirkcaldy, 4lb 6oz. Heaviest all anglers who turned out to fish and
fish on the night was a codling of 2lb 12oz all the sponsors who donated to a huge 18: SOUTHERN LEAGUE ROUND 2
landed by Ian Crombie. Winner of the Cod raffle table. The match raised just over FRIARS CLIFF, 52 anglers
League with a fish of 8lb 13oz was Pete £800 for a great cause. Once again, the n Result: 1st Joe Wales, Shoreham, 7lb
Ritchie. Second with a fish of 6lb 13 1/2oz angling community stepped up to the 10oz (5); 2nd Phil Lee, Sussex, 5lb 7oz; 3rd Ben
was Chris Horn. Thanks to all those who mark. Brilliant. Arnold, Brighton, 3lb 12oz. Zone winners: Zone
have supported the league with a real mix of B: Dan Orley, 3lb 11oz (not registered). Biggest
winners this season, which is brilliant to see. 12: GYNN WALL, 32 anglers fish was a ray of 3lb 4oz landed by Dan Orley.
n Result: 1st Stuart Dewhurst, Preston,
11: COLWYN BAY VICTORIA SEA 6 fish 123cm (3); 2nd Matt White, Lancaster, 19: FOUNTAIN OPEN, SEABROOK,
ANGLERS WINTER SERIES, COLWYN 4 fish 94cm (2); 3rd Dave Hutchinson, HYTHE KENT, 95 anglers
BAY, 34 anglers Blackpool, 3 fish 66cm (2). Zone 1, Tony n Result: 1st Nathan Elliott, Dover,
n Result: 1st Shane Russell, Old Colwyn, Baxter, 3 fish, 60cm. Zone 2, Andy Young, 6 fish, 193 points (9); 2nd Steve Adams,
A zone, 24 fish 6.33m (3); 2nd Scott Davies, 2 fish, 57cm. Biggest flatfish, 34cm Chelmondiston, 6 fish, 186 points (8); 3rd
Abergele, A zone, 21 fish, 5.38m (2); 3rd Jim flounder, Andy Young and Matt white. Luke Mooring, Dover, 4 fish, 181 points (7).
Morris, Chester, 20 fish, 5.15m (2). Longest Biggest round fish, 16cm whiting, landed Zone winners: Zone A, Luke McNicholas,
fish was a 35cm whiting landed by Bill by Tony Baxter. 3 fish, or 143 points (not registered); Zone
Lindfield, Greasby. Zone winners: A Zone, B, Colin Carey, Worthing, 6 fish, 166 points
Dewi Parry, Anglesey, 20 fish, 5.11m; B Zone, 12: NORTH NORFOLK NATIONAL (3). Biggest fish was a conger eel worth 132
Carl Edwards, Liverpool, 15 fish, 3.73m; SEA LEAGUE ROUND 5, KELLING, points caught by Ian Reynolds, Southend,
C Zone, Bill Lindfield, Greasby, 19 fish, 5.11m 24 anglers (3). Top Junior was Harvey Plumstead.
n Result: 1st Mike Watts, Fakenham, 40
11: TRALEE BAY SAC COUNTY KERRY, fish, 7lb 8oz, (2); 2nd Kevin Green, Norwich, 19: GEORGE WINTER MINI OPENS,
IRELAND, VENTRY, 26 anglers 37 fish, 6lb 4oz, (1); 3rd Dave Shorthouse, 40 anglers
A freezing cold wind from the north-east Kettering 36 fish, 5lb 6oz. n Result: 1st Adam Davies, Llanelli, 880g
didn’t put off the anglers attending the (4); 2nd Dai Williams, Swansea 760g (not
Tralee Bay open. A mixture of dogfish, 18: CHANNEL ANGLERS SAC PORLOCK registered); 3rd Chris Jones, Porthcawl, 740g (2).
flounder, bass, rockling and coalfish were AND BOSSINGTON, 43 anglers
landed. The best bait on the day was sandeel. n Result: 1st Rob Marshall, Taunton, 6lb 19: HORNSEA SAC OPEN, SEWERBY
n Result: 1st Chris O’Sullivan, Kerry, 10 5oz (4); 2nd Dai Llewellyn, Barry, 6lb 2oz STEPS TO PAULL LIGHTHOUSE,
fish, 500 points (2); 2nd Richard Gormley, (3); 3rd Julian Shambrook, Torquay, 5lb 80 anglers
Courtown, 8 fish, 331 points (1); 3rd John 2oz (2). Zone winner, Simon Springell, n Result: 1st Wayne Leason, Hull, 1.975kg cod
Osborne, 7 fish, 287 points. Longest fish was Watchet, 3lb 9oz (including biggest fish, a (8); 2nd Chris Fisher, Aldbrough, 1.825kg cod (7);
a 35cm bass landed by Sophie McGowan. pollock, 1lb 13oz) (1). 3rd Garry Hutson, Cleethorpes, 1.525kg cod (6).
REMINDER Entries will only be accepted from the match organiser at least eight weeks in advance.
Results must be emailed to ian.bowell@icloud.com within seven days of the event. Those not received by
then risk being declared void for Penn points.

25: LIGHT RENEWABLES TEAMS OF 5 26: WESTON OUTCASTS COD sea, making conditions better than we
AND OPEN, HASTINGS, 38 anglers ROVER OPEN, PORTISHEAD PIER TO could have hoped for. As the pegs were
A really difficult day for the anglers with CLEVEDON PIER, 58 anglers, including put out, masses of shellfish were found
only a few fish showing on a very cold day. 5 juniors on the tideline, along with scores of
n Result: 1st Kerry Saint, Hastings, 7 n Result: 1st Morgan Wilson, Weston- feeding birds which made the hope for
fish, 144 points (3); 2nd Jason Carter, Super-Mare, 3 fish 10lb 7.5oz including a decent match a distinct possibility.
Doddington, 85 points (2); 3rd Nick May, heaviest individual fish of 3lb 10oz (not This was a bait provided match, with
Hastings, 74 points (2). Heaviest fish was registered); 2nd Jake Wakeford, junior, anglers armed with frozen black lug,
a plaice, worth 40 points, landed by Nick Portishead, 2 fish 4lb 5oz (not registered); squid and mackerel. From the start
May. Teams on day: 1st Big Red, 38; 2nd 3rd Damian Close, Burnham on Sea (not fish started to be landed, mostly small
Channel Angling; 37; 3rd Hastings Angling, registered) and Dave Stone Clevedon (not dabs and the odd whiting. As the tide
29; 4th Century, 27; 5th Asso, 22; 6th registered). Each landed a single codling started to drop the fishing slowed, with
Eddie and the Hot Rods, 15. Overall team of 3lb 5oz. the SAMF match team taking an early
positions after 2 matches: 1st Channel and healthy lead with all but one of
Angling, 67; 2nd Big Red, 65; 3rd Century, 3: EUROPEAN OPEN FLATTIE BASH, their anglers carding fish. Small baits,
62; 4th Hastings, 61; 5th Asso, 52; 6th Eddie BRIDLINGTON, 314 anglers fishing on short snoods on a pyramid
and the Hot Rods, 43; 7th Maidstone, 37; 8th n Result: 1st Dave Shorthouse, Kettering, lead, allowing some lateral movement was
Saul Page Tackle and Bait. 541 points (20); 2nd Ged Stevens, Barrow the tactic. As with most matches, it didn’t
in Furness, 494 points (19); 3rd Mick continue as it started; mid match CAF
25: SAMALITE CHESIL LEAGUE ROUND Holden, 290 points (not registered); 4th made a serious comeback and one of their
1; 43 anglers Chi Cheung, 289 points (not registered); anglers, Mike Treharne, landed a bonus
A good start to the 2023 league with 5th Darren Brownie, South Shields, 244 dogfish giving the angler a healthy lead in
really good turnout. It was a calm night points (16). Zone winner, Adi Whitehead, zone C. Moving into the last 90 minutes of
with a cold north-easterly wind coming 182 points (not registered). Longest fish the match it was time for a crucial decision
over the top of the beach. The flood tide a flounder of 40cm landed by David to be made which decided the outcome
was running well for most of the match. Middleton (not registered). of the competition. As the tide started
However, with clear water and being to flood, it was time to hit the horizon in
February, the anglers didn’t anticipate a 4-5: PAUL ROGGEMANN EUROPEAN search of fish, with big pyramid leads or
fish fest. Thankfully there were a few fish OPEN BEACH CHAMPIONSHIPS, cut down wired breakaways. It proved
about which included blonde rays, congers, BRIDLINGTON TO THE HUMBER to be a winning decision as many of the
dogfish, pout and bull huss. RIVER, 1,200 anglers SAMF anglers started to find a few more
n Result: All the top three were from zone n Result: 1st Scott Pippen Moore, fish, with Adrian Bordianu finding a bonus
A: 1st Till Hall, Bath, 10 dogfish, 1 pout, 686 Hartlepool, 3530g (20); 2nd Ben Shepherd, dogfish, helping him win zone B and 2nd
points (4); 2nd Ben Bradstock, Honiton, Maryport, 3305g (19); 3rd David Harty, overall. Experience shows the outcome of
1 blonde ray, 4 pout, 1 dog, 1 conger, 593 Withernsea, 2340g (not registered); 4th these competitions comes down to one
points (3); 3rd Darren Stevens, Bridgewater, Paul Medd; Scarborough; 2180g (17); 5th fish. This time it was who was top angler
1 blonde ray, 2 dogs, 373 points (2). Zone James Raymond, Limerick, 2085g (not on the day, with Mike Treharne landing
winner of B was Jason Brown, 5 pout, registered); 6th Matt Malia, Hull, 1980g a scorpion fish on his last cast, pipping
3 dogs, 262 points (1). Biggest fish was a (15); 7th Lee Smith, Hull, 1775g (14); 8th Lee Adrian by one point.
blonde ray worth 415 points landed by Smith, Hull, 1565g (points not awarded); n Result: Overall SAMF 253 points,
Ben Bradstock. 9th Dave Hutchinson, Blackpool, 1530g CAF 338 points and Police 444. Top
(12); 10th Scott Wylie, Beverley, 1505g angler was Mike, Adrian second and the
25-26: SKUA OPEN, PENSARN, (not registered). top police angler Paul Diment. Junior
52 anglers angler, Harvey Plumstead, was part
A hard weekend fishing 4: CHANNEL ANGLERS SAC PORLOCK of the SAMF team. He fished a superb
the North Wales coast
with not too many fish for
PENN AND BOSSINGTON, 45 anglers
n Result: 1st Terry Hartnell, Axminster,
match, finishing 18th overall, making all
the SAMF team including his manager
anglers who had travelled, PLUS 5lb 9oz (4); 2nd Dai Llewellyn, Barry, 4lb very proud. If anyone is interested in
some as far as Kent, 13oz (3); 3rd Till Hall, Bath, 4lb 4oz (2). getting involved as part of a SAMF match
Norfolk and Isle of Man as Heaviest fish was a dogfish of 1lb 15oz team then please contact Ian Bowell or
well as local match anglers. landed by Julian Shambrook, Torquay (1). checkout the SAMF Facebook page.
n Result: 1st Shane Russell, Old Colwyn,
(10); 2nd Saul Page, Deal (9); 3rd Jordan 10-11: SEA ANGLERS MATCH 11: SOUTHERN LEAGUE ROUND 3 OF
Hunter, Sunderland, (8); 4th Tony Thomas, FEDERATION, COMBINED FORCES 12 & OPEN, ABBOTSBURY, 60 anglers
Sheringham (7); 5th Orry Turner, IOM TEAM OF 15 CHALLENGE, NORTH n Result: 1st Ben Arnold, Brighton,
(6); 6th Ben Richards, Ramsey (5); 7th Jim NORFOLK, TEAMS OF 15, SAMF, POLICE 364oz (6); 2nd Till Hall, Bath, 165oz (5);
Morris. Chester (4); 8th Dave Shorthouse, AND COMBINED ARMED FORCES, 3rd Joe Wales, Shoreham, 149oz (4). Zone
Kettering (3); 9th Nathan Elliott, Dover 45 anglers winner, Paul Simmons, Faversham (2),
(2); 10th Adrian Bordianu, Taverham (1). Bad weather caused day one of the match Biggest fish was a blonde ray of 207oz
Zone winner, Kenny McCoy, Sunderland to be postponed. A big north-easterly landed by Ben Arnold.
(1). Longest fish was a 37cm flounder, one gale rolled in from the North Sea giving
landed by Jim Morris and Orry Turner rise to conditions which were unsafe 11: COLWYN BAY VICTORIA SEA
for the anglers to take to Bacton beach. ANGLERS WINTER SERIES, COLWYN-
26: LEINSTER LEAGUE, KILMUCKRIDGE, Given the amount of effort put in by BAY, 31 anglers
IRELAND, 63 anglers the teams, match organisers and our n Result: 1st Bill Lindfield, Greasby, 13
n Result: 1st Noel Fogarty, 279 points (6); hosts, Castaways Holiday Park, this was fish 3.58m (3); 2nd Jim Morris, Chester,
2nd Paul Tyndall, 183 points (5); 3rd Dave extremely disappointing but the correct 12 fishPSL
3.05m (2); 3rd Billy McLintock,
monthly winner for
Cottell, 168 points (not registered). The decision. Day two was scheduled for Kinmel Bay, 10
October willfish 2.52m (notin
be announced
longest fish was a 49cm bass landed by Al Kelling and it was such a relief to awake registered). Longest
the January issuefish, 36cm whiting
Santamaria (not registered). to see clear skies, a calming wind and landed by Heather Lindfield, Greasby.

MATCH FISHING
LEADER BOARD AS OF 11TH MARCH 2023

Dave Pinchbeck Dartford 3
Ian Reynolds South Benfleet 3
Keith Bathgate Edinburgh 3
Ged Stevens B in Furness 38 Alan Combe Kirkcaldy 9
Kerry Saint Hastings 3
Philip A Lee Sussex 31 Simon Dawber Blackpool 9
Mark Cousens Bearsted 3
Ben Arnold Brighton 29 Adrian Bordianu Taverham 8
Mark Rogers Maidstone 3
Joe Wales Shoreham 29 Dave Cave Holyhead 8
Mike Watts Fakenham 3
Dave Shorthouse Kettering 26 Jordan Hunter Sunderland 8
Paul Stevens Worthing 3
Darren Bond Lancing 25 Neil Cutler Gateshead 8
Stuart Dewhurst Preston 3
Shane Russell Old Colwyn 25 Steve Adams Chelmondiston, 8
Alfie Brown Peterhead 2
George Smith Grimsby 22 Wayne Leason Hull 8
Allan Hughes Holyhead 2
Lee Smith Hull 21 Alby Allan South Shore SAC 7
Andy Masden Bristol 2
Saul Page Deal 21 Cameron Turner Felixstowe 7
Carl Edwards Bootle 2
Alan Price Rhyl 20 Chris Fisher Aldbrough 7
Chris Jones Porthcawl 2
Dave Delaney Walker 20 Tony Thomas Sheringham 7
Connie O’Sullivan Kerry 2
Scott ‘Pippen’ Moore Hartlepool 20 Aidan O’Halloran Lisdoonvarna 6
Darren Stevens Bristol 2
Ben Shepherd Maryport 19 Garry Hutson Cleethorpes 6
Gary Wood Holyhead 2
Gavin Owen Consett 18 John Hopkins Bridgend 6
Ian Nelson Grimsby 2
Richard Yates St Mar Bay 18 Mark Shortt Bray SAC 6
Jason Carter Doddington 2
Dave Dai Llewelyn Barry 17 Nicky Robson Wallsend 6
Jay Cityzen Blackpool 2
Paul Medd Scarborough 17 Noel Fogarty Dublin 6
Keith Warren Clevedon 2
Rob Tuck Holland on Sea 17 Orry Turner Isle of Man 6
Kevin Eley Ipswich 2
Darren Browne South Shields 16 Ralph Crosby Hastings 6
Malcolm Stote Lymington 2
Sam Collier Deal 16 Simon Phelps Milford Haven 6
Mark Gooch Lowestoft 2
Craig Bradshaw Ipswich 15 Tony Owen Wales 6
Matt Frost Woodbridge 2
Henry Randell Bodham 15 Anton James Portsmouth 5
Matt White Lancaster 2
Matt Malia Rotherham 15 Ben Richards Ramsey 5
Mick Snelling Selsey 2
Dave Hutchinson Blackpool 14 Bill Lindfield Greasby 5
Mike Fox Withernsea 2
Gareth Griffiths B in Furness 14 Bruce Lawrence Ipswich 5
Mike Hughes Bangor 2
Jim Morris Chester 14 Chris Horn Kirkcaldy 5
Mike Kyle Easthouses 2
Julian Shambrook Torquay 14 Franco Attanasio Saundersfoot 5
Nick May Hastings 2
Rob Marshall Taunton 14 Karl Fogarty Dublin 5
Paul Simmons Faversham 2
Chris Clark Sway 13 Kenny McCoy Sunderland 5
Phil Cooper Wallasey 2
Paul Parsons Eastbourne 13 Kevin Hughes Port Talbot 5
Sam Creasey Woodbridge 2
Shane Giles Deal 13 Kevin Lewis Dundee 5
Simon Drayton Gainsborough 2
Kevin Warner Horncastle 12 Scott Davies Abergele 5
Simon Pattinson Rosyth 2
Nathan Elliott Dover 12 Adam Davies Llanelli 4
Tony (Bob) Roberts Holyhead 2
Tom Wells Deal 12 Jake Wakeford Jnr Portishead 4
Tony Baxter Clayton-le-Moors 2
Andy Clark Redcar 11 Leigh Davies Porthcawl 4
Andy Young Lancaster 1
Jimmy Price Abergele 11 Lewis Clark Rochford 4
James Waygood Watchet 1
Joe Arch Llanishen 11 Mike Horn Kirkcaldy 4
Jason Brown Bridgwater 1
Luke Mooring Dover 11 Terry Hartnell Axminster 4
Mike Coates Hull 11 Becky Lee Hythe 3
Till Hall Bath 11 Ben Bradstock Honiton 3
Dave Bielby Scarborough 10 Colin Carey Worthing 3
Wayne Davidson Thornton 10 Daniel Campbell Arbroath 3
MONTHLY
HOW IT WORKS WINNER
n With £10,000 in tackle prizes the points, based on entries, are awarded to the top three
plus section winners and captors of the largest fish caught in each designated Penn match.
Penn also awards a prize of a Spinfisher fixed-spool reel to the angler scoring the most
points in matches shown in each issue. If there is a tie, the winner will be the angler whose
total is from the greatest number of results and is then chosen on merit by the editor. An
angler can win only one reel during the year. To win a prize you must be registered with the Winner of February 2023
monthly competition is
Penn Sea League – supply your name, address, phone and email. Send fixtures, results and Saul Page from Deal with
league registration by email to Ian Bowell: ian.bowell@icloud.com 18 points

WHAT'S ON
Your at-a-glance match events planner l = Penn Sea League
five free, 2022 League entry £25, booking l 6: Samalite Chesil League round 4 of 11,
APRIL ends one hour before start, book only, Chesil Centre, 5-10pm, best eight results
Darren 07919 073232, Mike 07983 579596, from 11, couple of rule changes which
l 2: Denes Tackle Clacton Open, in aid of Ian 07736 004714 or Ant 07775 691916. means the league will be catch, measure
Clacton on Sea Lions Club, fishing 11-4pm, Nick: southernleagueandopens@gmail.com and release to the new SAMF chart for all
booking in at Denes Tackle Clacton 7.30- l 15: Anglers Corner West Wales Shore species. Fish may be kept for the table or
10am, £5 entry, all in aid of charity and League Teams of 5 and Open, Cefin for bait but must be marked by snipping
£10 pools (100 per cent pay-out), weight to Sedian, 11:30-3:30pm, Chris Isaac the tail after it has been recorded. No
measure. Buffet and presentation at the 07831 308344. crab, including cart, whites or maddies.
Lifeboat Pub. Pre book with Denes Tackle l 16: East Anglian teams of five and Pre-book only, Dave Lane 07977 132951
01255 425992 or Rob Tuck 07855 848967. open, Aldeburgh, 9-2pm, length to weigh Dave Lane: lanedc@talktalk.net.
l 2: Flat Fish only Hythe beaches, fishing conversion, £25 entry, juniors must be l 7: Marine Beach, 11.45-3.45pm, book
9-2pm book in at the Fountain Seabrook accompanied by an adult, pre-book only on at kite shop car park 10am, 2 hooks,
from 6 to 7.30am. £30 all in including with Rob Tuck 07855 848967. £20 entry, pegged 15cm min size, pre
biggest flat fish. Catch and release to l 16: ACSA Aberavon Open Aberavon book only Hutch 07547 633288 or Tony
conversion chart all over 18cm. Mark Cowell 07721 791210. 07702 229015.
Pre-Book and pay on the day. Any baits, l 16: Hornsea SAC RNLI Open, Sewerby l 13: Southern League round 5 of 12
Mark Rogers 07770 973062. Steps to Paull lighthouse, biggest fish & open, Bournemouth 6-11pm, pegged,
l 2: West Coast Angling Centre and match, tickets at East Coast Tackle or measure & return, undersize fish count as
Watchet Angling Club open, competition, on the day Lilys Beach Café HU18 1NJ, 1oz, £15 match entry, £5 pools, £10 pair, team
3.30-7.30pm, limits; Minehead Town beach fishing 10-4pm, weigh in at Marine Hotel, of five free, 2022 League entry £25, booking
to Blue Anchor Slipway, book in at Royal £10 seniors, £5 juniors, Mark Colman 07768 ends one hour before start, book only,
British Legion Watchet TA23 0AR, pre- 342169 or John Aylward 07968 215565. Darren 07919 073232, Mike 07983 579596,
book or more information from West l 16: Skua Open, Pwhelli, fishing Ian 07736 004714 or Ant 07775 691916. Nick:
Coast Angling Centre: 01984 634807. 3.30-7.30pm, pre-book with Ben Price southernleagueandopens@gmail.com
l 2: Hornsea SAC/Anyfish Anywhere 07393 201284 benplumb1992@gmail.com l 13: Anglers Corner West Wales
open, Sewerby Steps to Paull lighthouse, l 22: Bonkers Bank Open, 6pm-10pm, Shore League Teams of 5 and Open,
biggest fish match, tickets at East Coast high water 8pm, meet at Anthony’s Bank Cefin Sedian, 9:30-1:30pm, Chris Isaac
Tackle or on the day Lilys Beach Café 4pm-5pm, pre book only, 30 pegs, Mark 07831 308344.
HU18 1NJ, fishing 10-4pm, weigh in at Taylor 07500 112515. l 14: North West Federation of Sea
Marine Hotel, £10 seniors, £5 juniors, Mark l 22: Maryport and District SAC, Spring Anglers, Rock Channel, Fishing 11.30 -
Colman 07768 342169 or John Aylward Open, heaviest fish format, fishing 16.00, £12 including pools for leagues. Pre-
07968 215565. 10-2pm, Workington Jetty to End of Book only Heather Lindfield 07572 593272
l 2: Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers Maryport Promenade. Enquiries to; or Messenger.
League 2023, Riverside Drive 10-3pm, David Underwood 01900 605765 or l 14: East Region Shore League Omore &
pegged, lug and mackerel only, Chris Horn Jeff McAllister 01900 870624. Porthcawl Steve Chadwick 07777 689289.
07872 944807. l 23: Newport & District Open St Brides l 14: Scottish Federation of sea anglers
l 2: Spring Loughor Estuary and Tony Hart 07530 983667. league 2023, Montrose beach, pegged,
Penclawdd Bank 2.30-6.30 pm, book in l 23: Kent Flounder League Round Chris Horn 07872 944807.
Country Stores, Gowerton, Brian Davies 4, Allhallows 13.15-17.45pm, register l 14: Commercial SAC Withernsea Spring
07970 404522. from 11.30, ME3 9QD Sea Wall Slipway, Open Spring, biggest fish, fishing 9-3pm
l 8: Samalite Chesil League round 3 of 11, pre book. measure and return, Ian scales down 4pm, contact Nick Marshall
Bexington, 6-11pm, best eight results from 07791 234318. 07843 413280 or Dave Hart 07791 900003.
11, couple of rule changes which means the l 23: 48th Chesil Championships 11-5pm, l 19-20: Channel Anglers SAC 2023
league will be catch, measure and release sign on 9am at Bridport football club Minehead Festival, Friday
to the new SAMF chart for all species. Fish DT6 5LA, contact West Bay Angling 19th May; fishing 5.30-9.30pm,
may be kept for the table or for bait but Centre 01308 421800 or Richard Daw Saturday 20th May; fishing
PENN
must be marked by snipping the tail after 07977 365068 West Bay SAC. 6-10pm, two hours either PLUS
it has been recorded. No crab, including l 23: Ipswich Sea Anglers, The Alby side of high water each
cart, whites or maddies. Pre-book only, Clements Memorial open, Aldeburgh, day, 90 pegs available: 6 zones of 15
Dave Lane 07977 132951 Dave Lane: fishing 10-3pm, presentation Aldeburgh anglers; A- zone Porlock Wier pegs 1- 15,
lanedc@talktalk.net Social Club, Pre book only Matt 07810 B- zone Bossington pegs 16- 30, C - zone
l 8: Reg Willis Memorial open, Hastings 564399. Bossington pegs 31- 45, D - zone Golf
10-3pm, lug, fish, squid baits only, Mark l 29: Westend beach 1.30-5.30pm book Links pegs 46- 60, E - zone Golf Links pegs
Rogers 07770 973062, Colin Crosby 01424 on at Gerry’s of Morecambe 11.30am, 61- 75, F - zone Blue Anchor pegs 76- 90.
430120, colinmichael123@gmail.com 2 hooks, £20 entry, pegged 15cm min size, Entry: £80 all including bait supplied,
l 8: Seahouses Street SAC Easter Open, pre book only Hutch 07547 633288 or 1 rod 3 hooks, catch, measure, witness,
registration at Seahouses St working Tony 07702 229015. return and convert to weight. Peg draws
men’s club 7am to 8.45am. Fishing times l 30: Westlands angling centre spring for both days and bait collection each
9am to 1pm, £20 entry, 2 hook maximum. open, in aid of Yorkshire Air ambulance, day T.B.A. Contact: main event organiser
Heaviest flatfish £1000, 3 heaviest bags entry fee £10, sign on Westlands Angling James Madsen 07900 651071.
£500, £300, £200, plus table prizes. Contact Centre Hornsea, fishing 10am-4pm l 20: FFA Salcroft Open, pegged catch
John 07702 075718 or Mike 07548 949140. weigh-in at Westlands Angling Centre by and release, fishing 10:30-2:30pm, booking
l 10: Easter Monday: Shoreham Open, 5pm, boundaries Sewerby steps to Paull on 8:30-9:30 in car park, pre book only,
Burrell’s fishing 10.30-3.30pm, draw 8:30 to lighthouse, contact Anthony Simpson limited pegs, contact Gareth 07880 864661
9am, limited to 60 pegs pre pay, 3 hooks 01964 541192. or Dave 07547 633288.
any bait to SAMF rules, contact Philip Lee l 20: Colwyn Bay Victoria Sea Anglers
07807 442659. MAY 1st leg summer series Pensarn beach,
l 15: Colwyn Bay Victoria Sea Anglers fishing 10-2pm Darren Jones 07595375663.
winter series, Conwy River 5-9pm, l 6-7: Holt Sea Anglers Bass l 20: Lincolnshire Spring open
Darren Jones 07595 375663.
l 15: Southern League round 4 of 12 &
festival, Bacton. For booking PENN Sandilands 3pm-8pm, high water 7.15pm,
open, Stokes Bay 5-10pm, pegged, measure
and more information contact: PLUS meet 1-2pm Sandilands golf course, pre
Mike Watts 07858 758669 or book only, Mark Taylor 07500 112515.
& return, undersize fish count as 1oz, £15 Tony Thomas 07780 793141
match entry, £5 pools, £10 pair, team of thomasamt@btinternet.com GOT AN EVENT? CONTACT IAN.BOWELL@ICLOUD.COM

TIDES
Tide times and heights to help plan your
fishing sessions over the coming months.
Times listed for London Bridge*
APRIL *TIDAL VARIATIONS
DATE DAY TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT (M) FROM LONDON BRIDGE
1 SAT 4:04 1.7 10:25 5.5 16:43 1.9 22:59 5.5 Wick -2 29
Lossiemouth -2 00
2 SUN 5:17 1.3 11:36 5.9 17:49 1.6 **** *** Aberdeen -0 18
3 MON 0:00 6 6:17 1 12:27 6.3 18:43 1.3 Stonehaven -0 08
Cockenzie +0 47
4 TUE 0:45 6.3 7:09 0.8 13:07 6.5 19:29 1.2 Berwick +0 54
5 WED 1:23 6.6 7:53 0.7 13:41 6.6 20:11 1.1 Blyth +1 46
North Shields +1 47
6 THU 1:57 6.7 8:32 0.6 14:11 6.7 20:50 1 Hartlepool +1 59
7 FRI 2:28 6.9 9:09 0.5 14:43 6.8 21:27 0.9 Whitby +2 20
Scarborough +2 30
8 SAT 3:00 7 9:42 0.5 15:16 6.8 22:02 0.9 Filey Bay +2 45
9 SUN 3:33 7 10:10 0.6 15:50 6.8 22:33 0.9 Bridlington +2 58
Skegness +4 29
10 MON 4:07 7 10:34 0.7 16:25 6.6 23:00 1 Hunstanton +4 44
11 TUE 4:44 6.8 11:01 0.8 1702 6.3 23:29 1 Cromer +4 56
Lowestoft -4 23
12 WED 5:27 6.6 11:35 1 17:45 6 **** *** Aldeburgh -2 53
13 THU 0:06 1.1 6:19 6.3 1220 1.3 1843 5.7 Felixstowe pier -2 23
Clacton -2 00
14 FRI 0:58 1.3 7:29 6 13:29 1.7 20:05 5.5 Southend-on-Sea -1 22
15 SAT 2:29 1.5 9:01 6 15:22 1.8 21:40 5.7 Herne Bay -1 24
Margate -1 52
16 SUN 4:18 1.2 10:25 6.2 16:51 1.4 23:02 6.1 Deal -2 38
17 MON 5:53 0.8 11:38 6.6 18:11 1.1 **** *** Dover -2 53
Dungeness -3 05
18 TUE 0:06 6.5 7:00 0.3 12:36 6.9 19:13 0.8 Eastbourne -2 48
19 WED 0:56 6.9 7:51 0.1 13:23 7.1 20:04 0.6 Newhaven -2 47
Brighton -2 51
20 THU 1:38 7.1 8:35 0.1 14:03 7.1 20:49 0.6 Worthing -2 36
21 FRI 2:16 7.3 9:14 0.2 14:41 7.1 21:29 0.5 Portsmouth -2 29
Ryde -2 29
22 SAT 2:53 7.4 9:46 0.4 15:17 7.1 22:04 0.5 Southampton * -2 53
23 SUN 3:31 7.4 10:08 0.6 15:52 6.9 22:33 0.6 Poole (Entrance) * -5 09
Bournemouth * -5 09
24 MON 4:08 7.2 10:24 0.8 16:25 6.6 22:55 0.8 Swanage * -5 19
25 TUE 4:46 6.8 10:49 1 16:57 6.3 23:20 1 Portland +4 57
Torquay +4 40
26 WED 5:23 6.4 11:19 1.2 17:30 6 23:51 1.2 Dartmouth +4 25
27 THU 6:03 6 11:53 1.5 18:09 5.7 **** *** Plymouth +4 05
Fowey +3 53
28 FRI 0:29 1.4 6:53 5.6 12:39 1.9 19:04 5.4 Falmouth +3 30
29 SAT 1:32 1.7 8:07 5.4 14:00 2.2 20:34 5.2 Newquay +3 32
Padstow +3 45
30 SUN 3:14 1.7 9:33 5.5 15:45 2.1 22:03 5.4 Barnstaple +4 30
Weston-super-Mare +5 05
MAY Cardiff (Penarth)
Barry
Swansea
+5 15
+5 08
+4 42
DAY DATE TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT (M) TIME HEIGHT Milford Haven +4 37
MON 1 04:27 1.3 10:41 5.8 16:57 1.7 23:08 5.8 Fishguard +5 44
Aberystwyth -6 11
TUE 2 05:25 1 11:36 6.1 17:54 1.4 23:59 6.2 Barmouth -5 45
WED 3 06:18 0.8 12:21 6.4 18:45 1.3 **** *** Holyhead -3 28
Menai Bridge -3 08
THU 4 00:41 6.5 07:07 0.7 13:00 6.6 19:34 1.1 Colwyn Bay -2 47
FRI 5 01:19 6.8 07:52 0.7 13:37 6.7 20:19 1 Southport -2 55
Blackpool -2 50
SAT 6 01:56 6.9 08:33 0.7 14:15 6.8 21:01 0.9 Morecambe -2 33
SUN 7 02:33 7.1 09:11 0.7 14:53 6.8 21:41 0.8 Barrow (Ramsden) -2 28
Whitehaven -2 30
MON 8 03:12 7.1 09:44 0.7 15:32 6.7 22:17 0.7 Kirkcudbright Bay -2 25
TUE 9 03:52 7 10:16 0.8 16:12 6.5 22:51 0.8 Girvan -1 51
Ayr -1 44
WED 10 04:35 6.9 10:52 0.9 16:54 6.3 23:26 0.8 Lamlash -1 45
THU 11 05:23 6.6 11:34 1.1 17:43 6 **** *** Greenock -1 19
Oban +4 12
FRI 12 00:08 0.9 06:21 6.4 12:26 1.4 18:44 5.9 Gairloch +5 16
SAT 13 01:08 1.1 07:33 6.2 13:41 1.6 20:02 5.8 Ullapool +5 36
Belfast -2 47
SUN 14 02:36 1.1 08:51 6.2 15:06 1.5 21:21 6 Douglas -2 44
MON 15 03:58 0.9 10:03 6.4 16:23 1.3 22:32 6.3
IRELAND
TUE 16 05:15 0.7 11:11 6.6 17:35 1.1 23:35 6.6 Dun Laoghaire -2 09
WED 17 06:22 0.5 12:09 6.8 18:38 0.9 **** *** Arklow -4 41
Rosslare harbour +4 39
THU 18 00:26 6.8 07:15 0.5 12:56 6.8 19:32 0.8 Baginbun Head +3 53
FRI 19 01:10 7 07:59 0.5 13:37 6.9 20:18 0.7 Ballycotton +3 45
Courtmacsherry +3 32
SAT 20 01:49 7.1 08:36 0.6 14:15 6.9 20:59 0.6 Baltimore +3 35
SUN 21 02:28 7.2 09:06 0.7 14:50 6.8 21:35 0.6 Bantry +3 15
Fenit pier +3 13
MON 22 03:07 7.2 09:27 0.8 15:25 6.7 22:05 0.7 Kilrush +4 02
TUE 23 03:45 7 09:52 0.9 15:59 6.5 22:31 0.8 Galway +3 36
Clifden Bay +3 41
WED 24 04:23 6.7 10:23 1.1 16:32 6.3 22:59 0.9 Westport Bay +3 57
THU 25 05:00 6.4 10:56 1.2 17:06 6 23:32 1.1 Sligo harbour +4 25
Killybegs +4 21
FRI 26 05:39 6.1 11:32 1.4 17:44 5.8 **** *** Rathmullan +4 43
SAT 27 00:10 1.2 06:23 5.8 12:15 1.7 18:31 5.6
NORTHERN IRELAND
SUN 28 01:00 1.3 07:18 5.6 13:13 1.9 19:33 5.5 Belfast -2 47
MON 29 02:09 1.4 08:31 5.6 14:24 1.9 21:02 5.5 Portrush +5 48
Red Bay -2 41
TUE 30 03:24 1.3 09:40 5.8 15:40 1.8 22:11 5.8 Carrickfergus -2 42
WED 31 04:28 1.1 10:39 6 16:52 1.6 23:07 6.2

01524 422146 GERRY’S GIFT VOUCHERS
FREE
Fishing
ANY AMOUNT 2 TYPES
www.gerrysfishing.com ONLINE just order we

can send to anyone as a
gift or IN STORE ONLY
POSTAGE
Call 01524-422146 OVER £99
Anglers Serving Anglers We can send anywhere but
Spread the cost with Finance available from 1-5years
can only be used in store! MAINLAND UK
Also use to make 3 x 0% payments 10,000 sq ft shop with best display in the uk, “Anglers Serving Anglers”
BEACH Ian Golds MK2 Igloo shelter takes 2, best around Daiwa Beach Shelter £119.99 Dam/Imax Competition Shelter
SHELTERS £129.99 or even bigger MK2 Bigaloo £169.99 25mt W x1.4mt H x 1.5mt D £109.99 20x H110 Wx14cm D
GERRY'S OPEN DAY! BACK FOR 2023!!! BIGGER & BETTER THAN EVER!
COME FOR A DAY OUT! See Gerry's 10'000+ sq ft retail space bringing you tackle from the biggest fishing tackle companies. On the day have big named anglers offering advice, tuition
on rigs, and bait presentation as well as a rod testing area across the road on the beach. and who better to talk you through it than the People who have designed and fish with it.
Tronix /HTO, Akios / Innova,Penn, Savage gear, Vass, Daiwa, Sports Quest Follow
our Facebook
Holidays, Trakker, Nash ,Fox/Rage Preston Innovations / Sonu baits page for
updates!
Gerry’s has been selling Grundens clothing for a while now and we’ve had nothing but praise for the product from customers. It’s from the U.S.A and
is used by choice on TV programme’s Deadliest Catch and Tuna Wars those guys won’t or cant afford to wear rubbish waterproofs!
Grundens Weather Watch Grundens Neptune Bib and Grundens Full Share Bib Grundens
Jacket £74.99 Brace £89.99 and Brace £129.99 (match Transmit
brilliant value, waterproof, PU-Coated Polyester,100% any b&b with any garment Jacket
breathable, 2 x zipped Waterproof,Stain Resistant,Interior all brilliant!) Fabric 100% £199.99 (cols:
pockets, adjustable cuffs and Chest Pocket, Snap Cargo Pocket Nylon Taslon 320d w/pu Stormy Blue,
hood softer to wear roll up Adjustable straps with quick- membrane, single storage Grey, Grey/
store in a bag, contaminate release clip panels 1/4 leg zips chest pocket.,Grunden’s Orange 100% Waterproof/windproof &
resistant! with ankle fastening closures to adjustable suspenders. 100% breathable Corrosion proof Full-zip
prevent water entry. Waterproof/Windproof fully front Zip left-chest pocket Hook-and-
Grundens Weather Watch breathable, Lower leg zippers loop right-chest pocket, Adjustable hood,
Bib & Brace £79.99 Grundens Full Share Smock for easy on/off over boots. Neoprene inner cuffs. Built with a durable
superb value 100% waterproof, £129.99 Reflective logos, Articulated 2-Layer fabric, incorporates taffeta lining
breathable, zipped thigh pocket, (any col) grey/black, knees, elasticated Side that allows for next the best breathability of
sealed seams orange/black panels for all-round fit. any jacket on the market!
strong fabric, that’s
Grundens 100% waterproof and Grundens Transmit
Neptune Smock £89.99 very breathable, inside Grundens Tourney Bib & Brace £199.99
(any col) yellow/black, membrane Jacket Ocean Blue (match any b&b with
orange/black sealed seams, corrosion £129.99 any garment all brilliant!)
easy movement resistant zips and Lightweight, very tough, 100% Waterproof/100%
very strong PU hardware, neo cuffs, 100% waterproof and windproof100% breathable,
coated polyester hood adjustment easy to wear and wipe Adjustable Grundens Braces,
fabric, that’s 100% down. Pockets adjustable Chest pocket ,Internal bib
waterproof, sealed Grundens Full Share cuffs reflective logo,s. handwarmer pocket, Single
seams, corrosion Jacket £129.99 (any col) What more do you want cargo pocket, Pliers pocket Articulated
resistant zips and grey/black, orange/black, in an all-purpose fishing knees, Leg zips
hardware, neo cuffs, black jacket?
hood adjustment strong fabric, that’s Most used by staff at Gerry,s Grundens Sunnan 2 piece Suit £109.99
best commercial stye tough 100% waterproof and Maybe the best value 100% waterproof
smock on the market! very breathable, inside easy roll up suit
membrane sealed Grundens Tourney Bib & around? Jacket has
Grundens Neptune seams, corrosion Brace £109.99 Corduroy lined collar,
Thermo Smock £99.99 resistant zips and very tough easy wear, easy ventilation flap,
(any col) yellow/black, hardware, neo cuffs, wipe down roll up,100% trouser adjustable
orange/black as above but hood adjustment 2 x waterproof chest and Cargo waistband with leg
with warm thermo lining! zipped hand pockets pocket boot adjustments
The 3rd generation of RRP Gerrys Price

Tip Tornado Graphex rods Tip Tornado Graphex Sport 13’ 11” / 125-225g Heavy - Mixed £640.00 £559.99
capture the best of the past and Tip Tornado Graphex Supermatch 13’ 6” / 125-200g Light Heavy - Smooth £595.00 £519.99
Tip Tornado Graphex Match 13’ 6” / 125-175g Mixed - Smooth £590.00 £514.99
brings new and defined benefits Tip Tornado Graphex Supermatch LD 13’ / 50-150g Mixed - Smooth £570.00 £498.99
commensurate with advances Tip Tornado Graphex Ultralite ST 13’ / 50-125g Smooth £540.00 £474.99
Century are now one of the leading in manufacturing and material Eliminator T1200 14’ 10” / 125-225g Heavy ground £765.00 £669.99
Eliminator T1200 Salvador Bustos Edition 14’ 4” / 125-225g Heavy ground £765.00 £669.99
producers of top of the range surf rods, with technology. Graphex technology Eliminator T1000 14’ 10” / 125-200g Heavy ground £745.00 £649.99
fantastic advances in rod build technology, is a bespoke combination of Eliminator T900-SGT 14’ 4” / 125-200g Heavy - Mixed £670.00 £584.99
the resin matrix and Graphene Eliminator T800-SGT 13’ 6” / 100-175g Mixed - Smooth £615.00 £534.99
and one of the best finishes on the market, to benefit the rods; durability, Eliminator T700-SGT 15’ / 100-170g Mixed - Smooth £650.00 £564.99
and top notch rings. Just pick one to suit distance, tracking, sensitivity, Excalibur TT 14’ 10” / 100-225g Heavy ground £745.00 £649.99
Excalibur J 13’ 6” / 100-200g Mixed ground £570.00 £498.99
your fishing you can’t go wrong. Gerry’s also dampening recovery to Excalibur C 13’ 10” / 100-200g Heavy - Mixed £570.00 £498.99
neutral and weight Kompressor WR 300 13’ 3” / 125-225g Heavy ground £595.00 £519.99
now are the only supplier that can custom saving. Kompressor SS 13’ 10” / 125-200g Heavy ground £530.00 £464.99
finish your rods, you need to call us to Kompressor S 13’ 10” / 125-200g
TTR 14’ / 125-225g
Heavy - Mixed
Heavy ground
£525.00
£685.00
£459.99
£598.99
discuss your wants and needs. Gerry’s have Tip Tornado Sport 13’ 6” / 125-225g Heavy - Mixed £540.00 £469.99
Fireblade 13’ 13’ / 125-175g Mixed ground £315.00 £274.99
been building rods in house for 40+ years! NEW Fireblade 14’ 14’ / 125-200g Mixed ground £370.00 £324.99
DAIWA 19 EMBLEM SURF 45 SCW QD DAIWA BASIA SURF REEL DAIWA SEALINES
Possibly the longest casting reel on the market 'The best Longcast reel'
with its shallow spool, either braid or mono! • Waterproof These are brilliant
• Only 500g (30% lighter than last a lifetime,
• 300yds of 50lb braid or 15lb mono! average fixe spool)
• 4.9.1 ratio • 630g in weight easy to cast reels
• 1 x deep spool, 1 shallow spool
• Mag sealed • Air rotor • Digi Gear • Showroom smooth with 7 C RBB bearings.
• Quick Drag • Twist Buster II • Slow Cross Wrap ensures optimum line lay and release • 20SHA 300x15lb • 30SHA 300x20lb
Was £209.99 Now £159.99 RRP £799.99 GP £669.99 RRP £149.99 Gerrys price £89.99 any size
Fishing THE UK'S NUMBER 1 NORWAY SPECIALIST!

Anglers Serving Anglers
For the full range www.gerrysfishing.com

GERRY’S CAN HELP AND ADVISE WITH ANGLERS THAT SPECIALISE IN NORWAY AND OVERSEAS ANGLING, WE HAVE ANGLERS THAT HAVE BEEN
TO MANY DESTINATIONS JUST CALL 01524-422146 OPTION 1 ASK FOR ADVICE! “ANGLERS SERVING ANGLERS”

Sea Angler - Issue 621, April 2023

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Sea Angler - Issue 621, April 2023

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Britain’s biggest and best saltwater magazine

SPRING TIPS & TACTICS

GRAVITY RIG FIRST LOOK

NEW RIG GETTING

SEA SCHOOL – NINE PAGES OF EXPERT ADVICE INSIDE

species, techniques and line classes. SKZB7630FS-BU FIXED SPOOL 7’ 6” 20-30lb 2

SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 3

32 TALES FROM 54 COALFISH:

components from the carp 58 BUCKET LIST

14 GULLEY ACCOMPLISHED snappers known to anglers as the

4 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

6 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

“This little change

THE RIG AND HOW TO BUILD IT

Dabs like their food

However, because the quick link connection

Because the quick change swivels are open

To finish the rig, slide on an anti-tangle

SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 11

“But like I mentioned, it’s invariably the lower hook with

12 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

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14 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

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SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 17

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BAITS FOR BASS

22 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 23

24 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

James Batty’s latest book ‘Fishing

SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 25

Rotten bottoms are essential at this tackle- NG VENUES ●

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SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 27

28 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

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from the tide

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Very few ever truly master every aspect

SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621 33

Ryan Watt, Isle of Wight

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34 SEA ANGLER ISSUE 621

Keiran Miller, Merthyr Tydfil

Gareth Williams, Newport, Isle Of Wight

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