Sizzling Summer Sport

Keeping an eye on us - This seal kept us company all day
at Hope's Nose, Torquay

Wow! What a week I've had! July has started with similar success to that which I enjoyed in June. I've tried a bit of eel fishing, I didn't catch any, but I did land a small carp on a sprat! A first. A few days later and an evenings surface fishing ended in excitement when I slipped the net under a grass carp of 19lb 4oz. A chopped down Cell pop-up, fished on a size 10 Drennan barbel hook, 10lb Korda Kruiser Control line and a Fox Bolt Bubble, proved irresistible to the three and a half foot long personal best. Next up - A day on the Wye at Courtfield. My friend Baz caught his first ever barbel. I was on hand to net the 7lb 10oz fish. Baz was chuffed and I was very happy to have helped him add a new species to his list. Dad caught a couple also, a decent chub of 4lb and I, not wanting to be left out, had barbel to over 8lb. Yet another memorable day on my favourite river. The final thing to report is the afternoon spent at Hope's Nose near Torquay with Dave and Corin. We caught mackerel and pollock on feathers and all managed personal best wrasse, with hard scrapping fish approaching 3lb falling to ragworm fished on light running lead rigs. Great sport! Highlight though, wasn't the good fishing or the amazing weather, but the huge seal that spent the day munching mackerel as we threw them back and even, sometimes, chasing hooked fish as we reeled them in! Very entertaining and not something you see everyday. I'm loving my fishing at the moment and I'm out again next week. Stay tuned.