2016 Starts With Quality Pollock

Not one but two successful trips aboard charter boat Spot On! of Brixham, Devon has seen my 2016 kick off in fine style. Plenty of quality pollock have been eager to accept lures worked near deep water wrecks some thirty miles offshore and I have enjoyed some pretty hectic fishing. Standard wrecking tactics of a lure fished on a long trace of 30lb line, a 12oz ball weight, 50lb braid and a 12lb or 20lb class rod and reel combo have done the trick, hauling up fish to low double figures. A bit of bait fishing for ling over slack water has unfortunately proved unsuccessful so far, a little early still for this species perhaps?! Now is the time to book yourself a boat trip with the pollock fishing sure to get even better in the coming weeks and with spring just around the corner the cod shouldn't be far behind them. To book a place aboard Spot On! visit www.spot-on-charters.co.uk or call Ross on 07878668662. More boat trips coming up for me and a visit to the River Wye for a last chance barbel before the season ends so check back here soon to see how I get on.

A pair of quality pollock for Dan and I

A Winter Session on Barrow Tanks Reservoirs, Bristol

Bristol water who control barrow tanks 3 concrete bowl shaped reservoir's just south of Bristol, this year they have decided to open all year for trout fishing ,
So at a  loss on Tuesday where to go a few hours  a local venue not to far from home it seemed to be a ideal choice,
Loading a 5# 9 rod and reel loaded with a slow sink intermediate line and a pocket full of lures
I set off arriving a 11'0'clock ,my tactics where to be walking around reservoir 2 casting every 25 steps covering as much water as possible, and by 12.30 I had caught one fish and dropped 2 the bites being very timid with just a very slight indication on the line,

Biggest of the Day from Barrows no.2

 Time for a move to Barrows no1 the biggest of the 3 reservoirs tactics where the same using black and green damsel patterns fished mid water ,the wind by the afternoon had dropped to a breeze and fish where showing but to far out  to cast to so fishing short I managed one more fish and a couple of pulls before the light faded, so a very productive day and a ideal outing on a short winters day ,
tickets are purchased from a hut in car park  a 6 fish ticket is £14.50

Sun setting over Barrows no.1

  

Pike Fishing at Cheddar Reservoir

Cheddar reservoir is a 400 acre concrete bowl,  set in the shadow of Cheddar Gorge. On the right day the venue can be a very pleasant location so taking advantage of a unseasonably warm December day I set off with my friend Roy for a spot of pike fishing. We had chosen a swim on the south side of the reservoir with the wind to our backs enabling us to use our Fox Rage Predator drifter floats to their best advantage. These we set these up at 22ft with sea baits, we also fished a popped up ledgered bait close in. 

fishing the south bank

First cast I had an instant take which turned out to be a small pike of around 3lb on the drift float, followed by one of around 8lb. Roy also had one of similar size on the ledgered rig them a 15lber at distance on the drift float, a very nice fish and fighting fit, so in all a very productive day.

Cheddar day tickets are only £6 a day and can a bought in advance along with all relevant tackle and baits from: 
Cadbury Angling 
Within Cadbury Garden Centre
Smallway 
Congresbury 
BS49 5AA
01934 875733

Roy with the days biggest fish

Flattie Fishing Aboard Flamer IV of Weymouth, Dorset

Tuesday saw Dan, Dave and I hop aboard Flamer IV of Weymouth, Dorset. Skipper, Colin Penny runs trips targeting all species of sea fish but I think it's fair to say that the majority of his customers book up to fish for flatfish species. Colin has built up an enviable reputation for locating and catching large plaice, turbot and brill and it was these three species that were our main targets on this occasion. All on board enjoyed a great day with both Dave and I catching the target hat trick of flatfish, Dan caught plaice, along with some nice black bream and the rest of the boat added gurnard, mackerel and pouting to the list of species caught. Similar bait and tackle was used by all with ragworm, squid and prawn fished on rigs made up of coloured beads and flashing spoons and tied to 20lb line. To book a trip with Colin aboard Flamer IV visit www.flamer4fishing.co.uk



A plaice of nearly 3lb for me

Dan with a nice black bream





A Mixed Bag. Fishing in Spain With CatMaster Tours

Roger with 8 feet, 7 inches and 230lb of catfish

I have recently returned from a weeks fishing in Mequinenza, Spain with CatMaster Tours. My dad, our friend Roger and I spent our time targeting not only the catfish that this part of the world is famous for but carp and roach too. We got very lucky indeed and during our time there we landed catfish to 230lb, carp to 33lb 8oz and roach to over 2lb. The catfish and carp tackle was provided by CatMaster Tours whilst our own float and feeder gear was flown over with the rest of our luggage. Large halibut pellets fished on braided hooklengths accounted for the catfish and carp. Roach, some small carp and a couple of perch took a liking to maggot or corn presented on the float or feeder tackle. It's worth noting that Rogers catfish of 230lb is a real monster fish and one of the biggest ever caught in Spain, at a whopping 8 feet and 7 inches in length it is also the longest catfish ever landed by CatMaster Tours. So well done Roger! Dads carp of 33lb 8oz is a new personal best for him and my roach of 2lb 3oz sets a new best for me. Great results all round! CatMaster Tours continue to provide great holiday packages and all the information you need can be found at www.catmastertours.com  

New personal best for dad - A 33lb 8oz carp

 

My biggest roach weighed 2lb 3oz

A Bumper Day With Spot On! Charters

Two Boat trips in a row something of a record for me , this trip was to be an inshore wrecking trip mainly for bass but hoping for other Species as well , Kicking off from Brixham at 7'0'clock the day promised to be a good one weather wise and expectations where high , 50 minute's motoring to the first wreck and we where in to fish from the off , Bass off around 3lb up to 6lb being brought to the boat,

My best Bass around 6lb

 All methods and Lures where tried over the day from bass wedges to multi coloured shads fast retrieve and slow , all caught fish to varying degrees ,so a bumper day was had by all with 40 odd bass a couple of Cod to the boat, its worth noting that the new rule of only keeping 3 bass each was strictly observed and it was good to see them swim off back to the Depths,   

A Bonus Cod

A pod off 30 plus Dolphins followed us home,

Wreck Conger Fishing With Spot On! Charters

Geoff with the biggest of the day at 52lb

Tuesday saw Dan and I accompanied by Geoff and Roy (friends and customers of Cadbury Angling) hop aboard Ross Parham's Brixham based charter boat Spot On! for a days wreck fishing targeting conger eels. First job was to catch the bait and after half an hour of feathering we had a load of mackerel. A quick trip to one of the many inshore wrecks and we were soon anchored up and dropping our baited hooks down to where we hoped the eels would be lurking. We didn't have to wait long for the action to begin and I soon brought conger number one along side the boat, a strap of about 10lb. Roy soon hooked a bigger one, about 25lb. Dan was next with an eel similar in size to mine and it wasn't long before Geoff caught his first, an eel of about 15lb. Others on board were off to good starts as well, one of them getting very lucky and landing a bass of 11lb on his conger gear. Dan, Geoff, Roy and I all soon hooked our second conger each and more and more followed. Averaging 15lb or so the eels were great sport and put up great scraps, fighting all the way to the boat, often making dives for the wreckage below. A bit of black bream fishing for an hour or so gave our aching arms a rest but the bream weren't as forthcoming as the congers and all we managed were a few pouting to strips of squid fished on paternoster rigs. Time for round two with the conger and we all reached for our heavier gear again. 30lb - 50lb class rods, large reels loaded with 50lb plus braid, running leads to 200lb mono traces and 12/0 hooks were our chosen set-ups and did the job just fine. More eels were caught including a personal best for me of 35lb, a strange capture as the greedy conger had taken two baits, both mine and that of one of the other guys on board! Two hooks in one fish is a first for me! Anyway, Geoff was next to bend in to an eel and it was obvious to all that this was a big one. After fighting hard for a long time it finally surfaced and Ross was able to gaff it and heave it on to the boat. At 52lb it was a personal best for Geoff and the biggest conger Dan, Roy and I had ever seen. Well done Geoff! With the tide picking up it was time to pull up the anchor but before heading in we set up lure rods and did a few drifts over the wreck. We didn't catch much but did manage a few small pollock and pouting. As always another great day out with Ross and Spot On! Charters. Information can be found at www.spot-on-charters.co.uk