A Tough January Draws to a Close

The sun sets on a very quiet month

January has been a struggle and not for a lack of trying. Freshwater, saltwater, river, lake, beach and pier, we've tried it all and with very little to show for our efforts. Toby has caught the most fish out of all of us. His visits to local stillwaters have produced some half decent nets of skimmer bream and the odd small carp. Dan and I have just about managed a dozen fish between us. Highlights included a number of nice roach and some sizable dace. I should mention that my dad managed to up his personal best dace to 10oz and my friend Dave showed us all how it's done by landing a whiting on Clevedon Pier that was actually big enough for his dinner! So it hasn't been a complete disaster. That said, as a pretty unproductive month comes to an end, we're all hoping that February will bring with it a few more fish! My plans for the next few weeks include a bit of carp fishing, some more sea fishing and hopefully, if we get mild weather, a visit to the River Wye for a spot of late season barbel fishing. Dan has his trip to Cuba coming up and Toby will be out trying to fill his keepnets. Check back to see how we get on!

Making the Most of a Mild Winter

The last couple of weeks have seen Dan, Toby and myself all making the most of the mild weather. Dan is still searching for a 3lb perch and although it remains elusive he has had some very good fish. Toby has been out several times visiting Acorn fishery and has enjoyed some good catches. Decent skimmer bream and small carp have been falling to his pole, groundbait feeder and method feeder techniques. Finally, I enjoyed an excellent day fishing the stick float on the River Chew. Small brown trout and dace to 10oz made up the bulk of the catch, with fish coming to red maggot or caster on most casts. I was also lucky enough to land two grayling, one being a personal best of 11oz. If you have read my previous blog posts you will know that the grayling is a species that I have only recently started catching and so it was great to catch a couple from a local venue! Slightly colder weather is forecast for the coming week so sport may slow up a bit, but we will all still be out regardless, doing our best to put fish on the bank!

Dreaming of Sun, Sea and Sand. Fishing in Cayo Coco, Cuba

With shop trade slowing down a little in January and February, my thoughts turn to far flung destinations. This year I am returning to Cayo Coco in Cuba, where I spent a couple of weeks last February fishing for bonefish, tarpon, barracuda and jacks. I had a brilliant time and enjoyed some fantastic sport, taking some good sized, hard fighting fish on a variety of tackle and bait. (See the pictures below) Jon is also planning his return to Spain for a week catfishing and to defend his title of CatMaster Tours record holder! So dont let the winter blues get you down, book a trip for a bit of fishing in the sunshine!

A 12lb jack, caught trolling a sardine from a catamaran

The front half of a barracuda, bitten in two by a larger barracuda,
 estimated to be 70lb - 80lb, during the fight!