There are two kinds of saltwater fly fishing: inshore and offshore. Offshore fly fishing is the deep-ocean kind. Inshore fishing means angling in brackish waters, tidal estuaries, and salty bays and lagoons, as well as an ocean proper but within reasonable distance of shore.
Inshore fly fishing tackle wholesale attracts the greatest number of anglers. For one thing, the inshore brand is more generally available. It exists along every coast – in this country from Maine to Florida, to Texas, to California, to Alaska. Inshore fly fishing can be done by casting from the banks, by wading, or by fishing from small boats with fox fishing tackle and fox lures. A great deal of this inshore saltwater fly fishing is even done is fresh water – in fresh or partly brackish lakes or canals where we have tarpon, snook, and other species that can thrive in water that is entirely or partly fresh. There are huge sharks, for example, and even sawfish in Lake Nicaragua in Central America, 125 miles from the Atlantic. More species of fly-taking fox fishing tackle are generally available to the inshore angler, and inshore saltwater fishing also is less expensive than offshore sport. Particularly when it comes to fox fishing tackle. For the offshore variety, you have got to have a sport fisherman or similar boat of your own, or go on a charter cruiser with professional captain and mate. You also have to buy expensive gear, this is unless you find a good fishing tackle sale.
There are probably fifty or mre species of inshore fish speared from New England around Florida, into Gulf and along the Pacific Coast that will take fly rod fox lures, but the ones most in demand are striped bass, bluefish, smook, tarpon, bonefish, permit, sea trout, mackerels, channel bass, ladyfish and barracuda – not by any means in the order named. Among experienced saltwater fly-rodders the most desirable inshore fish are the scarce and hard-to-take permit, the speed-king bonefish, the wild-jumping tarpon, the shrewd snook, the powerful striped bass, and the bruising bluefish. It is interesting to note that each of the species just named, each of these great saltwater fish, could be caught in a foot of water against a grassy bank.
Until recent dredging and silting and shore-filling condominium construction, one of my favourite all-time salt fishing tackle sales grounds was the Loxahatchee River on central Florida’s Atlantic side. Upriver not far from the US 1 bridge is shallow oyster bar. It sweeps along the west bank, not 100 yards out from a gorgeous home where – almost every time I fished there – a couple of rambunctious boxer dog loped about ten yard. We would fish the bar from a small boat, using either surface poppers, fox lures or streamers, and every time in the winter season we would boat six to a dozen bluefish ranging from 2 to 5 pounds. Every time, that is but one winter when I fished the lower Lox twice and never saw bluefish. The point I’m making is that here we have an ocean fish which, when in the lower Loxahatchee, is swimming in as civilized waters as we might find.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Fly Fishing on Turneffe Islands, Part 2
Stand on the shore of any freshwater lake, say a Midwestern lake equipped with a daiwa longbow df or a daiwa airity pole, and I think of the fish it holds that you might realistically catch on flies. Bass, pike, walleyes, bluegills, crappies. Stand on the sea-wall at, let’s say, Lake Worth, where that salty lagoon hits the ocean at Palm Beach, Florida. What might you catch here on flies? Bluefish, ladyfish, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, snook, barracuda, sea trout, tarpon, moonfish, lookdowns and even grey snappers.
The grey snapper, incidentally, is one of the most difficult fish to catch in salt water unless you have the benefit of a wychwood riot. They are cunning, and they have magnifying eyeballs. When hooked, they are strong, game fish, and excellent on the table, too, but getting one to hit is something else.
On the Bermuda trip, Ries Tuttle and I were at a swank hotel on the water. An open-air dance floor outside the dining room was built right to the water’s edge. After dinner, Ries and I strolled outside and, crossing the dance floor to the low wall at the waterside, we looked down. A bunch of grey snappers, 1 to 4 pounds, were hunched up in the clear water just below, attracted by the dance floor lights that threw a big yellow-bright circle on the water. The snappers hung in that circle of light, going around and around, feeding on glass minnows that also were being drawn by the light.
While the orchestra played lovely stuff and the dancers waltzed on, I went to my room and rigged a daiwa longbow df fly rod and a daiwa seat box. Wanting only to get strikes from the fish, and not caring if I hooked but lost them, I put on a 7x leader tippet, a meter 1-pound test strand such as we’d offer cagy trout. I went on down, walking through the lobby and dining room carrying my daiwa airity pole and a box of flies, smiling back at the people who gaped at me. Out to the dance floor I went, excusing myself as I worked and threaded my way through couples lost in the strains of the band. Once at the wall, looking down at the snappers, I got a workable length of line out, then picked it up and threw my backcast high in back of me – let things 30 feet of fly line sail over the dance floor over the heads of dozens of swaying, swooning dancers.
I kept the line-up okay on my daiwa longbow df and got a pile of goof casts to those fish – but never had a hit. They’d swim up to the fly, look it over, and turn away. I tried pattern after pattern, different sizes and colours, fast retrieves and no retrieves, everything, and couldn’t get a strike. The snappers would come and look all right, but just wouldn’t take even though they were feeding constantly on hogmouth fry and grass minnows that blundered in range. I took the daiwa airity pole and tried, with no luck. We finally quit, edged around the dancers, and went to our rooms. I’ll always remember the fly line rolling out over the heads of these dancers, and the incredible wariness of the snappers.
Fortunately for us fly fishermen who are using wychwood riot, most of the salty species we go for are much more cooperative, in fact, that is one of the good things about saltwater fly fishing: excluding the tough ones, such a grey snappers and permit, most of the saltwater fish that we do not spook, and that we get our flies out of daiwa seat box to properly, will hit.
The grey snapper, incidentally, is one of the most difficult fish to catch in salt water unless you have the benefit of a wychwood riot. They are cunning, and they have magnifying eyeballs. When hooked, they are strong, game fish, and excellent on the table, too, but getting one to hit is something else.
On the Bermuda trip, Ries Tuttle and I were at a swank hotel on the water. An open-air dance floor outside the dining room was built right to the water’s edge. After dinner, Ries and I strolled outside and, crossing the dance floor to the low wall at the waterside, we looked down. A bunch of grey snappers, 1 to 4 pounds, were hunched up in the clear water just below, attracted by the dance floor lights that threw a big yellow-bright circle on the water. The snappers hung in that circle of light, going around and around, feeding on glass minnows that also were being drawn by the light.
While the orchestra played lovely stuff and the dancers waltzed on, I went to my room and rigged a daiwa longbow df fly rod and a daiwa seat box. Wanting only to get strikes from the fish, and not caring if I hooked but lost them, I put on a 7x leader tippet, a meter 1-pound test strand such as we’d offer cagy trout. I went on down, walking through the lobby and dining room carrying my daiwa airity pole and a box of flies, smiling back at the people who gaped at me. Out to the dance floor I went, excusing myself as I worked and threaded my way through couples lost in the strains of the band. Once at the wall, looking down at the snappers, I got a workable length of line out, then picked it up and threw my backcast high in back of me – let things 30 feet of fly line sail over the dance floor over the heads of dozens of swaying, swooning dancers.
I kept the line-up okay on my daiwa longbow df and got a pile of goof casts to those fish – but never had a hit. They’d swim up to the fly, look it over, and turn away. I tried pattern after pattern, different sizes and colours, fast retrieves and no retrieves, everything, and couldn’t get a strike. The snappers would come and look all right, but just wouldn’t take even though they were feeding constantly on hogmouth fry and grass minnows that blundered in range. I took the daiwa airity pole and tried, with no luck. We finally quit, edged around the dancers, and went to our rooms. I’ll always remember the fly line rolling out over the heads of these dancers, and the incredible wariness of the snappers.
Fortunately for us fly fishermen who are using wychwood riot, most of the salty species we go for are much more cooperative, in fact, that is one of the good things about saltwater fly fishing: excluding the tough ones, such a grey snappers and permit, most of the saltwater fish that we do not spook, and that we get our flies out of daiwa seat box to properly, will hit.
Fly Fishing on Turneffe Islands, Part 1
It was more than fifty years ago, when I was a high school student, that friends and I drove up to Joe Brooks’ house in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys. Joe and his wife Mary had been living there only a few years, having moved down from Baltimore. We wanted Joe to take us shimano fishing with shimano reels, but he had just started to work on his book Salt water Fly Fishing, and could not afford the time. Joe led us across the road and introduced us to Vic Barothy, the great pioneer shimano fishing camp operator and shimano fishing clothing provider who succumbed to cancer at Coral Gables, Florida, in the early seventies. Vic was running a fishing camp, so he took as to the wonderful, wild flats that existed then along North Key Largo, and I caught my first bone fish, a fine 8-pounder, on a fly. I was sixteen years old, and up to that time that was the greatest diem angling experience I ever had. Vic and I became friends, and in subsequent years I fished with him often at camps he opened at Isle of Pines, Cuba, and on the Belize River and Turneffe Islands, in what then was British Honduras, in central America.
The next day Brooks showed us a deep, coral-lined lagoon right beside U.S. 1 a bit outside Islamorada, saying it held 20 to 50 pound tarpon, and that if we fished it at night we might hook some. We were fishing the lagoon at dusk wearing shimano fishing clothing and using latest shimano reels, and after an hour or so of casting big popping bugs and streamers, when it was full dark I caught a tarpon we figured weighed about 25 pounds. That first bonefish, and that first tarpon, hooked me for the rest of my life on saltwater fly fishing.
I am often asked what my favourite kink of fly fishing is, and I always reply – brown trout fishing with dry flies on western streams. But saltwater fly fishing offers so much more excitement, so much variety, so much many opportunities, and such strong fish, that it runs a close second.
The freshwater fly fisherman who has never hooked a saltwater fish on fly shimano reels cannot comprehend the difference between freshwater and saltwater game fish. The power and speed of the important saltwater fish are incredible. There is simply no comparison between the fighting qualities of the saltwater species and the fresh.
Some saltwater fish are plain strong when hooked, others are fast, still, others jump like crazy – and then there are those species which all three traits. During the last ten years, many diem angling writers in discussing briny-water fly fishing have been prone to report the news that saltwater fly fishing is coming of age or indeed has come of age. New England fly fishermen were taking striped bass on flies sixty years ago still wearing well known at that time shimano fishing clothing. The first bone fish on fly was recorded, also, more than a half century ago. And, as a matter of fact, saltwater fly fishing is more than a century old.
It is true, of course, that many millions of fly-rodders are now shimano fishing the salt and that as the converts grow and the publicity mounts, we will have more and more saltwater fly fishing fans. And that is as it should be, because for a fly fisherman to be near the salt and not swim his flies borders on tragedy.
The next day Brooks showed us a deep, coral-lined lagoon right beside U.S. 1 a bit outside Islamorada, saying it held 20 to 50 pound tarpon, and that if we fished it at night we might hook some. We were fishing the lagoon at dusk wearing shimano fishing clothing and using latest shimano reels, and after an hour or so of casting big popping bugs and streamers, when it was full dark I caught a tarpon we figured weighed about 25 pounds. That first bonefish, and that first tarpon, hooked me for the rest of my life on saltwater fly fishing.
I am often asked what my favourite kink of fly fishing is, and I always reply – brown trout fishing with dry flies on western streams. But saltwater fly fishing offers so much more excitement, so much variety, so much many opportunities, and such strong fish, that it runs a close second.
The freshwater fly fisherman who has never hooked a saltwater fish on fly shimano reels cannot comprehend the difference between freshwater and saltwater game fish. The power and speed of the important saltwater fish are incredible. There is simply no comparison between the fighting qualities of the saltwater species and the fresh.
Some saltwater fish are plain strong when hooked, others are fast, still, others jump like crazy – and then there are those species which all three traits. During the last ten years, many diem angling writers in discussing briny-water fly fishing have been prone to report the news that saltwater fly fishing is coming of age or indeed has come of age. New England fly fishermen were taking striped bass on flies sixty years ago still wearing well known at that time shimano fishing clothing. The first bone fish on fly was recorded, also, more than a half century ago. And, as a matter of fact, saltwater fly fishing is more than a century old.
It is true, of course, that many millions of fly-rodders are now shimano fishing the salt and that as the converts grow and the publicity mounts, we will have more and more saltwater fly fishing fans. And that is as it should be, because for a fly fisherman to be near the salt and not swim his flies borders on tragedy.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Sea fishing tackle review, Part 1
I have my computer to thank for handing me a new slant on cod fishing from the shore after it reunited me with an old fishing pall.
I am not afraid of computers, but because of the increased amount of work I do on a computer I had always shied away from using it for social networking other than getting my Daiwa seat box online. But, like many, I finally gave in to signing up for a facebook account, and that is how I managed to once again hook up with my old pall J, who I had not seen for about 10 years. Both J and I are from Cambridge, and probably started our fishing lives in the same way, fishing local rivers.
The last time I saw J he was working as a chef in Cambridge so I was totally surprised to find out he now lived in Cromer – just a few miles up the road from me in Great Yarmouth. He sea fishes all the time and, like me, also works in the sea fishing industry running one of the greatest uk fishing tackle shops - Angling Direct fishing tackle wholesale superstore.
As soon as we had reacquainted ourselves, we were both talking about fishing and organised a trip to meet up somewhere around Norfolk to target the early run of winter cod. The cod start to show in late September and the volume of fish increases over each following set of spring tides. The cod, or rather codling, are in the 1lb to 3lb class with the odd better -sized fish here and there – the bigger cod usually arrive after Christmas. It was this early run of codling we wanted to target and for cod fishing marks in the channel, it’s really hard to beat the area around Norfolk's Beaches.
When you are fishing with other anglers, and doing features like this, you have a duty to protect some information, such as location or type of discount fishing tackle in particular the precise mark otherwise you will rapidly lose friends. But J was happy to reveal the exact location of where we fished, so that everyone can enjoy this mark. Most anglers flock to Cromer beach because it fishes well, but J prefers somewhere slightly different – an area nearby known to local anglers as the rocks.
Instead of following the crowd towards the town centre car park, park your car in the town centre on the main road and then walk down towards the water, past the uk fishing tackle shop. There you will find some of the best codling fishing in Norfolk. As for specific marks, the whole of the Cromer coast fishes well.
J prefers to pick the points that jut out from the bends in the beach because he knows that the ground beneath the water in these areas is somewhat different to the ground either side. Whereas much of the beach is shingle and sand, these points feature a lot of broken, rocky ground and this is where the cod are going to be looking for food, and one particular type at the top of their list – crab which you can also get in a little discount fishing tackle shop on the coast of Cromer. This is where we stopped to stock up our tackle Daiwa seat box and get bait for out fishing session. It's a handy little fishing tackle wholesale store with a good selection of products.
I am not afraid of computers, but because of the increased amount of work I do on a computer I had always shied away from using it for social networking other than getting my Daiwa seat box online. But, like many, I finally gave in to signing up for a facebook account, and that is how I managed to once again hook up with my old pall J, who I had not seen for about 10 years. Both J and I are from Cambridge, and probably started our fishing lives in the same way, fishing local rivers.
The last time I saw J he was working as a chef in Cambridge so I was totally surprised to find out he now lived in Cromer – just a few miles up the road from me in Great Yarmouth. He sea fishes all the time and, like me, also works in the sea fishing industry running one of the greatest uk fishing tackle shops - Angling Direct fishing tackle wholesale superstore.
As soon as we had reacquainted ourselves, we were both talking about fishing and organised a trip to meet up somewhere around Norfolk to target the early run of winter cod. The cod start to show in late September and the volume of fish increases over each following set of spring tides. The cod, or rather codling, are in the 1lb to 3lb class with the odd better -sized fish here and there – the bigger cod usually arrive after Christmas. It was this early run of codling we wanted to target and for cod fishing marks in the channel, it’s really hard to beat the area around Norfolk's Beaches.
When you are fishing with other anglers, and doing features like this, you have a duty to protect some information, such as location or type of discount fishing tackle in particular the precise mark otherwise you will rapidly lose friends. But J was happy to reveal the exact location of where we fished, so that everyone can enjoy this mark. Most anglers flock to Cromer beach because it fishes well, but J prefers somewhere slightly different – an area nearby known to local anglers as the rocks.
Instead of following the crowd towards the town centre car park, park your car in the town centre on the main road and then walk down towards the water, past the uk fishing tackle shop. There you will find some of the best codling fishing in Norfolk. As for specific marks, the whole of the Cromer coast fishes well.
J prefers to pick the points that jut out from the bends in the beach because he knows that the ground beneath the water in these areas is somewhat different to the ground either side. Whereas much of the beach is shingle and sand, these points feature a lot of broken, rocky ground and this is where the cod are going to be looking for food, and one particular type at the top of their list – crab which you can also get in a little discount fishing tackle shop on the coast of Cromer. This is where we stopped to stock up our tackle Daiwa seat box and get bait for out fishing session. It's a handy little fishing tackle wholesale store with a good selection of products.
Sea fishing tackle review, Part 3
With J working in a fishing tackle sale shop imagine my surprise when he failed to pull out masses of squid, black lug and peeler crab from his bait box. The method in his madness made perfectly good sense. J uses large crab and squid baits when he is fishing marks specifically for big cod, but when he is targeting smaller codling he reckons you just don't need them. I was sceptical but he said he would prove it because he knows his fishing tackel well. He then proceeded to thread three common lug up his hook and tipped it off with just half a peeler crab, bound on tight with bait elastic- now that is a low cost cod bait compared to the ones I have used over the years.
With an hour before sunset and the tide ebbing nicely, J got under way. His first cod was baited with the three lug and half a crab fishing tackle cocktail, as he had showed me, and on his second rod, he baited with three lug and a small piece of squid – just to prove a point. Both rods were cast onto the broken ground around the point and we sat back and waited and waited … and waited. Just as we were losing the light, J would in two washed-out but untouched baits and replaced them with fresh ones. It was at this point I started to worry that we might be on the road to drawing a blank, but he assured me that would not happen.
Just as the sum was dipping beneath the horizon, J first rod, the one baited with lug and half a peeler crab, registered a small bite and he started to look for his daiwa rubba keepnets. Lifting the rod from the rest, he struck, smiled and announced it was definitely a codling as he walked towards the water's edge while retrieving, not letting the line fall slack at any time. He was right, the first codling of our fishing session has fallen to the lug and half peeler bait. J quickly baited up again and cast the rod back to the same position, just on the edge of the broken ground.
When fishing the Cromer beach you can pick up a lot of small codling, so J usually only keeps those that are deep hooked – which this one was or those over 3lb. As this one was destined for the table, J decided to gut it there and then, just to check what it had been feeding on. Now, I certainly do not advise cutting fish open for the sake of it, but if you are going to cook it, be it cod, bass or pollack, it makes sense and good water craft to gut one during your session to see what fishing tackle they are feeding on. That way, as fly fisherman would say, you can match the hatch, that is to try to bait up with what the fish are feeding on, or at least pick the nearest bait you have available.
Our first codling of the night was staffed to the gills with small crabs and a few small prawns. It certainly made a lot of sense to fish J's half peeled baits and proved he certainly known what he is talking about.
During the next hour J hauled out another five codling, all on small lug and half peeler crab baits and not one fell to the lug and squid. So our daiwa rubba keepnets were pretty full. Rochelle had noticed that J was catching and soon came over to discover what the successful bait was.
After switching to the same combination she latched onto the action by landing four prime channel cod. Nine codling in just over two hours is superb sport by any standards and shows Cromer is well above par when it comes to searching for a top winter cod mark.
With an hour before sunset and the tide ebbing nicely, J got under way. His first cod was baited with the three lug and half a crab fishing tackle cocktail, as he had showed me, and on his second rod, he baited with three lug and a small piece of squid – just to prove a point. Both rods were cast onto the broken ground around the point and we sat back and waited and waited … and waited. Just as we were losing the light, J would in two washed-out but untouched baits and replaced them with fresh ones. It was at this point I started to worry that we might be on the road to drawing a blank, but he assured me that would not happen.
Just as the sum was dipping beneath the horizon, J first rod, the one baited with lug and half a peeler crab, registered a small bite and he started to look for his daiwa rubba keepnets. Lifting the rod from the rest, he struck, smiled and announced it was definitely a codling as he walked towards the water's edge while retrieving, not letting the line fall slack at any time. He was right, the first codling of our fishing session has fallen to the lug and half peeler bait. J quickly baited up again and cast the rod back to the same position, just on the edge of the broken ground.
When fishing the Cromer beach you can pick up a lot of small codling, so J usually only keeps those that are deep hooked – which this one was or those over 3lb. As this one was destined for the table, J decided to gut it there and then, just to check what it had been feeding on. Now, I certainly do not advise cutting fish open for the sake of it, but if you are going to cook it, be it cod, bass or pollack, it makes sense and good water craft to gut one during your session to see what fishing tackle they are feeding on. That way, as fly fisherman would say, you can match the hatch, that is to try to bait up with what the fish are feeding on, or at least pick the nearest bait you have available.
Our first codling of the night was staffed to the gills with small crabs and a few small prawns. It certainly made a lot of sense to fish J's half peeled baits and proved he certainly known what he is talking about.
During the next hour J hauled out another five codling, all on small lug and half peeler crab baits and not one fell to the lug and squid. So our daiwa rubba keepnets were pretty full. Rochelle had noticed that J was catching and soon came over to discover what the successful bait was.
After switching to the same combination she latched onto the action by landing four prime channel cod. Nine codling in just over two hours is superb sport by any standards and shows Cromer is well above par when it comes to searching for a top winter cod mark.
Sea fishing tackle review, Part 2
Another feature of these points of Cromer coast is that they disturb the tide. If you stop for a couple of seconds and watch the water from the beach path, you will clearly notice the tides change in movement around these points and when looking for fish, even the slightest change in tidal movement is always a good place to start, this is also where you will need a good bite alarm, such as fox bite alarm. The simplest way to describe this is to imagine a beach is like a motorway flat and featureless, and then you come across a service station. Basically the slightest feature like these points, with their differing sea bed and tidal movements, are like service stations for cod travelling up the channel. The only difference is, service stations do not serve crab.
After the slog along the beach, it was starting to get cold. Mind you, if you wear good sea fishing clothing such as diem clothing it is not too bad. J finally picked his mark for the evening session and his fishing partner Rochelle started to set up her sea fishing equipment about 100 yards to the right of J. I find the best time to pick an angler's brains is while they are rigging up, so a J set up his sea fishing equipment I quizzed him, and there is what I found out regarding guru fishing tackle and fishing techniques. There isn’t any specific tide when the water in Cromer fishes best, basically it fishes on any tide as long as the tides are not huge springs which make it difficult to hold bottom due to powerful currents. J prefers the out-going tide although he admits he has had great days fishing this area on the flood and incoming tide too. As J set up his guru fishing tackle I couldn't help notice he was also using match rods from Daiwa. Usually I associate the Cromer beach with heavier, rough-ground rods, but when I asked J why he was using them it all made perfect good sense.
The Daiwa sea fishing rods happily cast from 150 to 200 gram of lead, which is what I use, but the main reason is that their softer tips bend and lean into the tide better. If you use stiffer-tipped rough-ground rods, on this type of broken ground, said J, the tide pull is going to keep bumping the lead out. For a bite alarm he prefers to use a fox bite alarms. His chosen reel to pair with the Daiwa sea rod is a Daiwa Saltist 20H, loaded with 15ib clear Berkley Big Game and a 60lb shockleader because the reel has cranking power and the line is second to none for rough-ground fishing.
On the business end of his fishing tackle, J was wearing diem clothing for sea fishing and using a rig that I have not used before – a pulley dropper rig. His theory is that in the strong tides of the channel, the rig that offers the best bait presentation by far would be a simple running leger. But, as we all know, you cannot cast a running leger long distance because it is not aerodynamic and, due to this, most of the bait flies off mid-air. So the pulley dropper basically gives him a running leger that can be blasted to the orizon with no worries of damage to his baits. For the snood he uses 30lb clear Amnesia and two 2/0 or 3/0 Sakuma Manta Extra hooks, Pennel rigged.
After the slog along the beach, it was starting to get cold. Mind you, if you wear good sea fishing clothing such as diem clothing it is not too bad. J finally picked his mark for the evening session and his fishing partner Rochelle started to set up her sea fishing equipment about 100 yards to the right of J. I find the best time to pick an angler's brains is while they are rigging up, so a J set up his sea fishing equipment I quizzed him, and there is what I found out regarding guru fishing tackle and fishing techniques. There isn’t any specific tide when the water in Cromer fishes best, basically it fishes on any tide as long as the tides are not huge springs which make it difficult to hold bottom due to powerful currents. J prefers the out-going tide although he admits he has had great days fishing this area on the flood and incoming tide too. As J set up his guru fishing tackle I couldn't help notice he was also using match rods from Daiwa. Usually I associate the Cromer beach with heavier, rough-ground rods, but when I asked J why he was using them it all made perfect good sense.
The Daiwa sea fishing rods happily cast from 150 to 200 gram of lead, which is what I use, but the main reason is that their softer tips bend and lean into the tide better. If you use stiffer-tipped rough-ground rods, on this type of broken ground, said J, the tide pull is going to keep bumping the lead out. For a bite alarm he prefers to use a fox bite alarms. His chosen reel to pair with the Daiwa sea rod is a Daiwa Saltist 20H, loaded with 15ib clear Berkley Big Game and a 60lb shockleader because the reel has cranking power and the line is second to none for rough-ground fishing.
On the business end of his fishing tackle, J was wearing diem clothing for sea fishing and using a rig that I have not used before – a pulley dropper rig. His theory is that in the strong tides of the channel, the rig that offers the best bait presentation by far would be a simple running leger. But, as we all know, you cannot cast a running leger long distance because it is not aerodynamic and, due to this, most of the bait flies off mid-air. So the pulley dropper basically gives him a running leger that can be blasted to the orizon with no worries of damage to his baits. For the snood he uses 30lb clear Amnesia and two 2/0 or 3/0 Sakuma Manta Extra hooks, Pennel rigged.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Feeding habits of Carp
There is not a lot of fish in still water which could match the speed and strength of wild carp. Even though there is some genetic difference between the wild carp and the common carp, there are no apparent visual difference apart from shape. And yet a slender common carp can still be visually mistaken for a wild carp and a chubby wild can be easily confused with a common.
From the original wild carp, different strains have been produced by selective breeding throughout Europe during the past three centuries. As a result of this selective breading were produced many different carp species. Here are some of the most common species.
The king common carp is probably one of the most favourable species and is widely adored by most carp anglers and they always invest into good carp fishing tackle to catch one. King common carp is the fully-scaled modern equivalent of the original wild carp, selectively bred to be thicker across the body, deeper and much faster growing with a far greater weight potential.
Ultimate weight for a king carp is still uncertain. Monsters of 80 lb and more have been recorded so there is every reason to expect that in the right growing conditions a king carp can reach as much as 100 lb somewhere in European waters. It is therefore necessary to use good quality carp fishing tackle to catch one. For example good quality carp fishing reels and rods are a must have.
In Britain however summers do not get sufficiently hot and do not last sufficiently long meaning the target weight of 100 lb is not achievable. The top weights here remains in the lower 50 lb brackets. Although, with temperature in the UK being gradually on the rise, this can easily change.
The fully-scaled mirror is completely covered in scales of different sizes, is by far the prettiest and possibly the most desirable to catch of all species. The average weight of fully-scaled mirror is about 34 lb and they usually respond well to both carp fishing tackle and pike fishing tackle.
The scatter-scale mirror generally has a continuous line of scales on both sides of the dorsal fin from head to tail, with single or odd groups appearing almost anywhere, particularly close to the tail root or head, or both by far the most common form of mirror carp. The average weight of this carp in the UK is 36lb and just like fully-scaled mirror it responds well to both carp and pike fishing tackle.
The linear mirror is known for its straight row of uniform scales along the lateral line, plus odd groups near the tail and on both sides of the dorsal fin. The average weight is less that 30lb and linear mirror responds well to any fishing tackle.
The starburst mirror is really a scatter-scale mirror with a presence of tiny, bright scales shot all over the lower half of its body. Italian goldfish and shubunkins have very similar scaleage, reminiscent of a burst of stars – hence this particular carp's nickname. They also respond well to any fishing tackle. Some anglers using pike reels for targeting starburst mirror, but in my opinion they do not work.
The plated mirror again is really a scatter-scale fish with anything from one to several enormous plate-like scales set in an irregular-shaped group on one or both sides of its body. Not a fish that wears well in a busy fisheries, because during the fight the line can catch behind these big scales and force them out. It is therefore you are not very likely to see plated mirror in your local fishery. Some anglers using pike reels for targeting plated mirror, but in my opinion they do not work.
The leather carp is completely free of scales over the body with perhaps the odd line of small scales either side of the dorsal fin. The average weight for a leather carp is about 28lb. Some anglers say that they have managed to catch leather carp on pike fishing tackle and also on plain fishing tackle.
The colour of carp, to certain extent is governed by the colour of water in which they live. In sandy or light green water the body of fish fades to beige, grey or dull brass with a distinct warm tinge to the tail and lower fins. This applies to wild and king carp, and carp that live in clear and weedy water can differ from bronze to slate blue with scales of gold or silver.
Feeding of carp is very aggressive. In the wild they dominates the water and have more than a fare share of food. This feeding habit is why carp is one of the first fish that reaches bate and runs away with line off your carp fishing reel. Although in the dark balance swings towards others, such as cat fish and pike as they naturally become more active.
Since carp is such an aggressive feeder, so why is it so hard to catch one? Well, the answer to this would probably be the fact that carp are smart, and they learn well through association what to be careful about. An example of this would be previously used baits they have recently been cough on, thick line, insensitive terminal rigs, shadows on the water, unnatural sounds picked up through bank vibrations. Thus, once the carp learns to associate one of these factors with danger it will be enough for the carp to stay away, be more alert and stop feeding in such an aggressive way. This is one of the reasons why during carp fishing it is important to be stealthy, well camouflaged use good tackle and good quality carp fishing reels when tacking previously unfished water as those fish would rarely see humans or hear their disturbance along the banks and this would make them more alarmed.
Natural diet of carp mostly consists of miniature life forms, although carp will generally eat anything humans give them. With its two pairs of barbules the carp is a past master at seeking out midge larvae and annelid worms the deepest silt. Occasionally a carp may come up to the surface to catch floaters.
In prolifically stocked waters, especially where competition for the natural aquatic food is high, carp consume far more fish that most anglers could imagine. It is therefore you can use pretty much any tackle with can fit into your seat boxes and fishing boxes. During the spawning season it is natural for them to munch away on both the spawn and newly hatched flies. And this does not stop them from enjoying larger small fish either dead or alive at any time of the year.
During the hot month carp are regularly caught on spinners, spoons and jigs, which would suggest that carp are becoming a more aggressive predator the warmer the water. Other favourite natural foods are all aquatic insects and beetles, shrimps, assellus and a certain amount of algae from silt and mud on the bottom.
From the original wild carp, different strains have been produced by selective breeding throughout Europe during the past three centuries. As a result of this selective breading were produced many different carp species. Here are some of the most common species.
The king common carp is probably one of the most favourable species and is widely adored by most carp anglers and they always invest into good carp fishing tackle to catch one. King common carp is the fully-scaled modern equivalent of the original wild carp, selectively bred to be thicker across the body, deeper and much faster growing with a far greater weight potential.
Ultimate weight for a king carp is still uncertain. Monsters of 80 lb and more have been recorded so there is every reason to expect that in the right growing conditions a king carp can reach as much as 100 lb somewhere in European waters. It is therefore necessary to use good quality carp fishing tackle to catch one. For example good quality carp fishing reels and rods are a must have.
In Britain however summers do not get sufficiently hot and do not last sufficiently long meaning the target weight of 100 lb is not achievable. The top weights here remains in the lower 50 lb brackets. Although, with temperature in the UK being gradually on the rise, this can easily change.
The fully-scaled mirror is completely covered in scales of different sizes, is by far the prettiest and possibly the most desirable to catch of all species. The average weight of fully-scaled mirror is about 34 lb and they usually respond well to both carp fishing tackle and pike fishing tackle.
The scatter-scale mirror generally has a continuous line of scales on both sides of the dorsal fin from head to tail, with single or odd groups appearing almost anywhere, particularly close to the tail root or head, or both by far the most common form of mirror carp. The average weight of this carp in the UK is 36lb and just like fully-scaled mirror it responds well to both carp and pike fishing tackle.
The linear mirror is known for its straight row of uniform scales along the lateral line, plus odd groups near the tail and on both sides of the dorsal fin. The average weight is less that 30lb and linear mirror responds well to any fishing tackle.
The starburst mirror is really a scatter-scale mirror with a presence of tiny, bright scales shot all over the lower half of its body. Italian goldfish and shubunkins have very similar scaleage, reminiscent of a burst of stars – hence this particular carp's nickname. They also respond well to any fishing tackle. Some anglers using pike reels for targeting starburst mirror, but in my opinion they do not work.
The plated mirror again is really a scatter-scale fish with anything from one to several enormous plate-like scales set in an irregular-shaped group on one or both sides of its body. Not a fish that wears well in a busy fisheries, because during the fight the line can catch behind these big scales and force them out. It is therefore you are not very likely to see plated mirror in your local fishery. Some anglers using pike reels for targeting plated mirror, but in my opinion they do not work.
The leather carp is completely free of scales over the body with perhaps the odd line of small scales either side of the dorsal fin. The average weight for a leather carp is about 28lb. Some anglers say that they have managed to catch leather carp on pike fishing tackle and also on plain fishing tackle.
The colour of carp, to certain extent is governed by the colour of water in which they live. In sandy or light green water the body of fish fades to beige, grey or dull brass with a distinct warm tinge to the tail and lower fins. This applies to wild and king carp, and carp that live in clear and weedy water can differ from bronze to slate blue with scales of gold or silver.
Feeding of carp is very aggressive. In the wild they dominates the water and have more than a fare share of food. This feeding habit is why carp is one of the first fish that reaches bate and runs away with line off your carp fishing reel. Although in the dark balance swings towards others, such as cat fish and pike as they naturally become more active.
Since carp is such an aggressive feeder, so why is it so hard to catch one? Well, the answer to this would probably be the fact that carp are smart, and they learn well through association what to be careful about. An example of this would be previously used baits they have recently been cough on, thick line, insensitive terminal rigs, shadows on the water, unnatural sounds picked up through bank vibrations. Thus, once the carp learns to associate one of these factors with danger it will be enough for the carp to stay away, be more alert and stop feeding in such an aggressive way. This is one of the reasons why during carp fishing it is important to be stealthy, well camouflaged use good tackle and good quality carp fishing reels when tacking previously unfished water as those fish would rarely see humans or hear their disturbance along the banks and this would make them more alarmed.
Natural diet of carp mostly consists of miniature life forms, although carp will generally eat anything humans give them. With its two pairs of barbules the carp is a past master at seeking out midge larvae and annelid worms the deepest silt. Occasionally a carp may come up to the surface to catch floaters.
In prolifically stocked waters, especially where competition for the natural aquatic food is high, carp consume far more fish that most anglers could imagine. It is therefore you can use pretty much any tackle with can fit into your seat boxes and fishing boxes. During the spawning season it is natural for them to munch away on both the spawn and newly hatched flies. And this does not stop them from enjoying larger small fish either dead or alive at any time of the year.
During the hot month carp are regularly caught on spinners, spoons and jigs, which would suggest that carp are becoming a more aggressive predator the warmer the water. Other favourite natural foods are all aquatic insects and beetles, shrimps, assellus and a certain amount of algae from silt and mud on the bottom.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Norfolk's Greatest Carp Fisheries
I've been wanting to go carp fishing for a while now. I just had to wait for the weather to break into sunshine and the lakes to come to life again after what seemed like a never-ending winter. So the plans were made, carp fishing tackle purchased, and the place and holidays booked for beginning of March. The choice of place this time fell on my mate Adam, and he decided to go to Taverham Mill.
Taverham Mill Fishery is a quite little place set on the outskirts of Norwich in approximately 100 acres of countryside and boasts 4 lakes and 3/4 mile of the river Wensum. We have not been back here since spring last year. At first glance it appears that some things have changed. A new boardwalk has been installed by the fishery management accross the meadow making it a flat and even surface. This newly installed boardwalk will certainly help us later on to push through our fishing trolleys. Other than that, the lake looks cracking as always and there are plenty of carp anglers about.
In terms of stock, over the last couple of years the lake has gone from strength to strength. Last years record was set at just over 34lb mirror carp.
In the summer, the lake is covered by expansive patches of lilies, which always hold lots of carp, along with beds of Canadian pondweed, gravel bars and plateaux, depths range from a few inches to 10 feet. What I also like about Taverham Mill Fishery is that they is a carp fishing tackle shop on site where you can get everything from fishing clothes to cheap carp rods and carp fishing reels. Based on past experience we have booked two swims for three nights. Our swims were in the centre of the lake which usually delivers well in colder months of the year. This time round we did not get a chance to prebate our swims so we are just going to set up our carp rods and reels and get the swims sorted. Then, hopefully we can bag a carp or two in the first night.
As I unpacked my fishing trolley, got out my carp rods and loaded my carp fishing reels, Adam came over from his swim to say that he had just seen a couple of very big carp rolling out in font of him, including a mirror and a common, both at least 30lb each. I went over to his swim to have a look and had also seen quite a few turn over in the waves in front of us, although there had not been a sign of anything on my side of the swim.
By dust both of us were completely sorted. The promised cold and wet weather was still long way off and we were both enjoying the early spring evening sun. As soon as it got dark, the indicators on Adam's carp rods in his swim came alive, but not with carp. It seemed that the feast of red maggots we had put into our swims was attracting everything that swam past.
By midnight Adam had caught a trench, bream and a couple of ells. By this time I started to wonder if I was doing something wrong as I was having no luck.
Later on, as we had been promised the weather began to turn colder and with it came rain. In this weather good fishing clothes are absolutely essential. Adam's swim still seemed alive, through, and after seeing a few shows and getting several liners, he was suddenly into not one, but two more carp. Seeing the second, a big wide-backed common, go into the net was such a buzz. We knew that it was one of Taverham's big ones and so it proved, weighing in at over 35lb. Adam's swim was mayhem with rods and nets everywhere. Before doing anything, though, he spodded out a few rockets of fresh maggots to keep the swim ticking over while everything was sorted out.
Compared to Adam's side of the swim, mine was pretty lifeless. A very welcome mid-twenty common saved me from what was looking like a blank and I decided to change my baiting tactics and add in a water a bag of Nash top rod frozen boilies and half a bag of Dynamite carp fishing tackle pellets.
My rigs were light and refined – there were no weed or snags to contend with and the water was clear, so I elected for hook link tied from 10lb Guru Drag Line, whipped to a size 10 Wide Grag Line. The hair was made from Supernatural braid, held tightly under the hook whipping. This gives the bait more natural movement and helps the hook end of the rig to sit flat on the bottom. The hook bait was made from a tiny match hook on which I impaled about five maggots and then pulled down into a piece of white night-glow plastic corn.
Within a couple of hours my carp fishing reels had finally seen some movement. I had caught a brace of thirties from two different spots and both on the same bait mix. Not long after, both of Adam's rods gone off at once. The first fish was safely netted and then the second one. Both fish were commons between 23lb and 27lb. It is safe to say that we had an excellent fishing session.
Taverham Mill Fishery is a quite little place set on the outskirts of Norwich in approximately 100 acres of countryside and boasts 4 lakes and 3/4 mile of the river Wensum. We have not been back here since spring last year. At first glance it appears that some things have changed. A new boardwalk has been installed by the fishery management accross the meadow making it a flat and even surface. This newly installed boardwalk will certainly help us later on to push through our fishing trolleys. Other than that, the lake looks cracking as always and there are plenty of carp anglers about.
In terms of stock, over the last couple of years the lake has gone from strength to strength. Last years record was set at just over 34lb mirror carp.
In the summer, the lake is covered by expansive patches of lilies, which always hold lots of carp, along with beds of Canadian pondweed, gravel bars and plateaux, depths range from a few inches to 10 feet. What I also like about Taverham Mill Fishery is that they is a carp fishing tackle shop on site where you can get everything from fishing clothes to cheap carp rods and carp fishing reels. Based on past experience we have booked two swims for three nights. Our swims were in the centre of the lake which usually delivers well in colder months of the year. This time round we did not get a chance to prebate our swims so we are just going to set up our carp rods and reels and get the swims sorted. Then, hopefully we can bag a carp or two in the first night.
As I unpacked my fishing trolley, got out my carp rods and loaded my carp fishing reels, Adam came over from his swim to say that he had just seen a couple of very big carp rolling out in font of him, including a mirror and a common, both at least 30lb each. I went over to his swim to have a look and had also seen quite a few turn over in the waves in front of us, although there had not been a sign of anything on my side of the swim.
By dust both of us were completely sorted. The promised cold and wet weather was still long way off and we were both enjoying the early spring evening sun. As soon as it got dark, the indicators on Adam's carp rods in his swim came alive, but not with carp. It seemed that the feast of red maggots we had put into our swims was attracting everything that swam past.
By midnight Adam had caught a trench, bream and a couple of ells. By this time I started to wonder if I was doing something wrong as I was having no luck.
Later on, as we had been promised the weather began to turn colder and with it came rain. In this weather good fishing clothes are absolutely essential. Adam's swim still seemed alive, through, and after seeing a few shows and getting several liners, he was suddenly into not one, but two more carp. Seeing the second, a big wide-backed common, go into the net was such a buzz. We knew that it was one of Taverham's big ones and so it proved, weighing in at over 35lb. Adam's swim was mayhem with rods and nets everywhere. Before doing anything, though, he spodded out a few rockets of fresh maggots to keep the swim ticking over while everything was sorted out.
Compared to Adam's side of the swim, mine was pretty lifeless. A very welcome mid-twenty common saved me from what was looking like a blank and I decided to change my baiting tactics and add in a water a bag of Nash top rod frozen boilies and half a bag of Dynamite carp fishing tackle pellets.
My rigs were light and refined – there were no weed or snags to contend with and the water was clear, so I elected for hook link tied from 10lb Guru Drag Line, whipped to a size 10 Wide Grag Line. The hair was made from Supernatural braid, held tightly under the hook whipping. This gives the bait more natural movement and helps the hook end of the rig to sit flat on the bottom. The hook bait was made from a tiny match hook on which I impaled about five maggots and then pulled down into a piece of white night-glow plastic corn.
Within a couple of hours my carp fishing reels had finally seen some movement. I had caught a brace of thirties from two different spots and both on the same bait mix. Not long after, both of Adam's rods gone off at once. The first fish was safely netted and then the second one. Both fish were commons between 23lb and 27lb. It is safe to say that we had an excellent fishing session.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
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Predator Fishing on the coast of Norfolk
Last month I was on one of my weekly trips to the coast of Norfolk, well equipped, on the mission to catch cod. On the day of my arrival, the sea of Cromer was flat and calm, the tide was nearing low water and the time was shortly after midday. I like coming here mid week as at this time you are far less likely to find yourself surrounded by locals and holidaymakers. This trip was no different. The beach was almost destitute with the exception of a couple of sea anglers well spaced out alongside the rocky shoreline.
When fishing for cod, I like deeper water with a snag free bottom, so I had carefully assessed the best place to land my rods. Finding a perfect spot is something which I like to do before setting up my sea fishing equipment. I cannot tell you how many times I had to waste time to pack my fishing tackle up not long after unpacking it in order to move some place better. But this time I did well, the spot which I found is going to be perfect for now and maybe even for later when tide is high as there is more than plenty of rocky shore left behind me. I've unpacked my fishing tackle and set up both of my sea rods so I am ready to go.
Everything around me was so peaceful, in fact I almost started to drift to sleep. Then suddenly my tranquillity was shattered by the sound of a screaming bite detector. I stood up from my fishing tackle seat boxes and stepped forward to pick up my rod. I soon realised that the line was quickly disappearing from the spool of my reel as the fish tore out to sea. I lowered the tip of my sea fishing rod, put the reel in gear, disengaged the ratchet and swept my sea rod smoothly upwards to ensure the hook was firmly set. I kept calm, allowing the fish to run against a well set clutch. Then, about 5 yards out a big dorsal fin appeared through the water and eventually revealed a good size tope.
I lured the fish to the edge and leaned forward to drab its tail. It was so strong and within seconds it thrashed for freedom and slipped from my grip. It was at least 35lb.
My second attempt to grab its tail also failed as he was just such a powerful fighter. It is only on my third attempt that I have finally managed to firmly grab the tail and lift it out of water onto the rocks. My weigh sling was already set up so I carefully lifted the top into the sling and watched as the scales settled at 42lb. Good result. I took my camera out of one of the seat boxes to take a picture of this beauty before finally releasing it back to the water.
It was starting to get dark, looks like I am not going to get this cod after all. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with the end result and will look forward to coming back here again and I strongly suggest you try the same.
If you have never tried fishing for cod or any other large size predators before, let me give you this small advise. It is important to be equipped with appropriate sea fishing equipment. You definitely need a good quality and robust beach-caster rod or any other similar sea fishing rods will suffice as long as they are capable of casting up to 9oz. Don’t forget to get a good quality tough line, shock leader, pulley rig and plenty of fish bait. Good Lack.
When fishing for cod, I like deeper water with a snag free bottom, so I had carefully assessed the best place to land my rods. Finding a perfect spot is something which I like to do before setting up my sea fishing equipment. I cannot tell you how many times I had to waste time to pack my fishing tackle up not long after unpacking it in order to move some place better. But this time I did well, the spot which I found is going to be perfect for now and maybe even for later when tide is high as there is more than plenty of rocky shore left behind me. I've unpacked my fishing tackle and set up both of my sea rods so I am ready to go.
Everything around me was so peaceful, in fact I almost started to drift to sleep. Then suddenly my tranquillity was shattered by the sound of a screaming bite detector. I stood up from my fishing tackle seat boxes and stepped forward to pick up my rod. I soon realised that the line was quickly disappearing from the spool of my reel as the fish tore out to sea. I lowered the tip of my sea fishing rod, put the reel in gear, disengaged the ratchet and swept my sea rod smoothly upwards to ensure the hook was firmly set. I kept calm, allowing the fish to run against a well set clutch. Then, about 5 yards out a big dorsal fin appeared through the water and eventually revealed a good size tope.
I lured the fish to the edge and leaned forward to drab its tail. It was so strong and within seconds it thrashed for freedom and slipped from my grip. It was at least 35lb.
My second attempt to grab its tail also failed as he was just such a powerful fighter. It is only on my third attempt that I have finally managed to firmly grab the tail and lift it out of water onto the rocks. My weigh sling was already set up so I carefully lifted the top into the sling and watched as the scales settled at 42lb. Good result. I took my camera out of one of the seat boxes to take a picture of this beauty before finally releasing it back to the water.
It was starting to get dark, looks like I am not going to get this cod after all. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with the end result and will look forward to coming back here again and I strongly suggest you try the same.
If you have never tried fishing for cod or any other large size predators before, let me give you this small advise. It is important to be equipped with appropriate sea fishing equipment. You definitely need a good quality and robust beach-caster rod or any other similar sea fishing rods will suffice as long as they are capable of casting up to 9oz. Don’t forget to get a good quality tough line, shock leader, pulley rig and plenty of fish bait. Good Lack.
Monday, 27 February 2012
The best places for sea fishing in East of England, Part Two
When I arrived, I thought to myself how much the beach has changed since I was here last. The groynes used to be uncovered with the sea running by them, but now they are all but buried, and during low water they are 50 yards away from the edge of the sea. Still, this would fare well for the summertime as lots of holiday-makers visit here for the high quality of the beach and will get a surprise when they see how big it has become.
The main reason for the sand accumulating here is the new outer-harbour at Yarmouth, which just out hundreds of meters and has changed the flow of the tide for a large part of the coast. Some beaches have lost ground whereas others have gained – it is the laws of nature, plus a helping hand from man on this occasion.
I unpacked my sea fishing equipment, my sea fishing rod and my other sea fishing tackle. It was a whiting onslaught once again, only they were a much better size than at Sea Palling. Every cast produced a fish, plus a shed load of weed. Nevertheless, I stuck it out until my arms were hurting with having to haul in several pounds of weed a cast. I decided enough was enough, so I cut the trip short and spent the rest of the day working out a third plan.
Back at the beach house in Sea Palling, I knew that my last chance would be to have a crack at night because daytime had certainly been a failure. But the dilemma was where to go. It was late afternoon as I downed the dregs of a large scotch while pondering my options. As I was putting on my sea fishing clothing it dawned on me that the warming snifter had in fact made my decisions for me. There was no way I could get behind the wheel in search of new pastures – so it was back onto Sea Palling Beach.
As fate would have it, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I unpacked my fishing equipment and my sea fishing rod. The tide turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The tide was well on its way down, darkness was only an hour or so away and suddenly I had the feeling that I was going to catch a cod.
I set up my sea fishing equipment at the same place where I had started my fishing experience, actually, my footprints were still in the sand and so were the marking from my sea fishing rod pod. The first cast produced a codling of about 2lb to prove my gut instincts were spot-on. This came just before low water and I was made up. I now had a good while before the tide turned and started to push again. I knew I could catch some whiting in this slack water period, so I played with the three-hook flapper again to keep myself amused. After lots of the pesky little whiting, the tide began to move once more, so I sent out my sea fishing tackle to just beyond the sand bar. This cast produced another codling of identical size, making me imagine there could be a reasonable one lurking offshore, but even if my assumptions were right, the whiting returned with a vengeance, pecking at every bait I cast in. but I didn’t care because I had achieved my goal.
After a couple of hours I decided to try live bait tactic again, but no more codling appeared, which made me wonder whether the whiting were keeping the cod off the bait, or if the two fish I had beached had been lost. Still, it was just a great feeling being home again like the old days when I lived by the sea. I had enjoyed three days of sand, sea and fishing. Also, the pair of codling had been hard fished for, which made the catch all the more satisfying.
It was becoming cold, damp and I had my fun. My sea fishing clothing kept me warm throughout the night but the time has come. There was also a drop of whisky left waiting in the house. A perfect way to end a satisfying trip.
The best places for sea fishing in East of England, Part One
Sea Palling is a charming little coastal village very popular with so many tourists as well as fishermen. This village lies between Waxham and Eccles –On-Sea and has always been under the threat from sea and had a bit of a violent history.
Part of Sea Palling disappeared under the waves together with its church and the large estate of Gelham Hall. One of the earliest accounts was written by John of Oxendes, a monk at nearby St. Benet's Abbey, in which he relates the destruction brought by the great storm of 1287" .. the sea, agitated by the violence of the wind, burst through its accustomed limits, occupying towns, fields and other places adjacent to the coast .... it suffocated and drowned men and women sleeping in their beds, with infants in their cradles .... and it tore up houses from their foundations, with all they contained and threw them into the sea with irrevocable damage".
Several more incursions occurred over the centuries and by 1604 the neighbouring village had also lost 56 houses and over 900 acres of land. Just 3 years later Sea Palling's defences were breached one more time as well as the neighbouring Waxham was flooded in 1655 and 1741 also taking away the first local sea fishing tackle uk shop. Lack of proper maintenance of the dunes led to continuous breaches and it was not until the 19th century that a programme of sea defence work was started. The great storm of 31 January 1953 took the lives of 7 Sea Palling villagers - part of the 100 who perished in Norfolk alone. (A memorial plaque is in St Margaret's Church). Following this tragedy the sea wall was extended in 1986 and in 1995 the Environment Agency undertook a multi-million pound project erecting nine barrier reefs.
I have always found the sea angling easy at Sea Palling and I hoped that this time was also going to be a nice experience for me. Last time I was here, I remember standing on top of a sand dune totally captivated by the sight of massive waves surged over the 12 feet high concrete defence wall. It was an incredible spectacle to witness. It was a one-off experience but one I may yet relive as sea levels rise.
My latest trip was a three-day stint and I arrived at my haven armed with some cracking bait bought from the Angling Direct sea fishing tackle UK in Norwich, Norfolk. The shop supplied me with some massive gutted black lug – the size of which I haven’t seen in ages, along with some common lug and unwashed squid. These baits are perfect for cod along the East Anglia coast. It is hard to come by a good sea fishing shops in UK, this is why I like Angling Direct they always have a good selection of products and helpful staff. I also like to get my sea fishing tackle online.
For this session my plan is to fish an afternoon session followed by two days at the shoreline. Hopefully all this effort should result in a good size cod being caught.
The trick to success when sea fishing is to find the right casting place, and this is precisely what I like about Sea Palling as its full of such places.
I have used the same routine here ever since I first cast a line of its beach. I park up and immediately rush over the sand dune to observe the sea conditions, as well as looking for the position of any sand bars by spotting waves becoming bigger as they pass over the shallower water and the holes will show as calm, flat areas. I can also gauge the stage at which the tide is at without referring to a tide time line. I soon found what I was after – the end of a sand bar leading into a hole where sea fishing tackle would certainly gather. This was where I would fish.
Previously I have caught on all stages of the tide here, although I do prefer the second half of the flood until the second half of the receding tide, so I would start my quest straight away and get my sea fishing rods unpacked.
For some unknown to me reason, I always seen to set up my sea fishing gear here faster than anywhere else. Maybe it’s because I feel really focused when I am here.
When sea fishing, I like to start as far out as possible to find the deeper water. In order to achieve great distance I use a single clipped-down paternoster with 3/0 hooks, loaded with black lug, and a flat-back lead to tow it out. A Daiwa 7th turbo, loaded with 15lb Ultima Powertseel and 80lb shock-leader, strapped to a couple of Century Tip Tornado Super Sport sea fishing rods, made my life easy to achieve this distance.
I had a second sea rod ready for close-range sea fishing, in a gulley on the inside of the sand bar, which had a three-hook flapper baited with common lug to search out any smaller stuff. To assist me, I used size one hooks as a pyramid lead from Gareth’s Weights. These sinkers are great in slow to medium tide runs, as they can hold out sufficiently and can also be easily moved, by raising the rod tip or cranking the reel handle, when it can trot for a bit then settle again. This is ideal for covering plenty of ground. You can probably find them in any of your local sea fishing shops or you can get find them in any sea fishing tackle online shop.
The long range sea rod was showing no signs of movement, but the close one suddenly started to rattle pretty much straight away. I knew this was a whiting, although I was hoping it might just be a dab as I fancied a one of those for my diner. But when a double shot of whiting broke surface I feared the worst. It was a nice sight, but I really wanted something bigger. With these little fellas in abundance my one hope was that large cod would be homing in to feed on them. That is when I noticed the long rod’s tip twitch – defiantly a whiting - so I left it out there as live bait.
Sadly nothing took the live bait and, after an hour or so, I decided it was time to reel in. the hooked whiting was fine and swam away; unaware it had been the unwilling bait for much larger prey.
Meanwhile, the three-hook setup had got me dozens of pin whiting. The tide had turned and way on its way out, which meant I would give it at least three more hours, maybe the better fish might show on the ebb.
But only whiting were interested in my offering, so it was time to call it a day. Instinct told me that the codling simply weren’t here, so contingency plan was in order.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Anglers guide to Norfolk carp lakes, Part 3
The next week the wind was due to blow southerly which would be perfect for fishing in the other corner of the lake. I decided to stock up on some cheap fishing tackle and go down to the lake the day before I was going to fish just to put down a couple of kilograms of boilies in the margin. When I turned up the next day after work, the wind was blowing in there nicely and the bait was completely gone. I flicked my rod out to silty spot that was two rod length out at the bottom of the marginal shelf, baiting with one kilogram of carp fishing tackle.
The rod was down for less than an hour when it tore off. I slid down the bank and picked it up; it was bending right round the rest. The fish didn’t really do much, just a few short, fast runs before rolling on the surface, where I could see it was a good-sized common. I left it in the net and rang Dave who promised to come down to take pictures. Some 15 minutes after Dave turned up with his fancy camera and started to take pictures. We took the fish out of water and weighted it. It was the Big Common, in immaculate condition, and weighing 39lb 14oz.
During the week leading up to my annual leave I started priming up a second spot in that swim. About 20 yards to the left there were a couple of humps and over the course of the week I baited a couple of times with some cheap fishing tackle. I knew that no-one had fished there before because it was impossible to cast.
The day I fished it I removed the branches that prevented casting. I arrived at first light and had my carp rods out by 8am. The wind was blowing a hooligan and I took shelter under my fishing brolly. The air felt quite dump so it was a good job I had my diem clothing on to keep me warm. I drifted off to sleep, waking to a screaming take from the new spot. The rain was pelting down at this point, but this fish fought doggedly, staying deep and ensuring that I got pretty wet. Slipping the net under it I could see that it was a big, chunky mirror, definitely not the 28 pounder caught last year. I rang Dave and he came over to take the photos. On lifting the net out of the water I couldn’t believe how heavy it was. The big mirror weighed in at 41lb 10oz. Incredible.
The next day the weather improved, turning warm and sunny. At least it gave me an opportunity to dry up my fishing gear and my diem clothing. I looked at the water and could see that the bait had all been eaten. I baited the water again with some carp and sea fishing tackle again and settled down for another night. I had to be up early to go to work the next day. With five minutes until I really had to be off I dragged myself out of bed. I couldn’t see the rods from my bed chair and as I went to reel in I noticed that the left-hand rod had been pulled off the buzzer. The line was still in the rest. Fishing round to the left, the rod must have jumped off on the take. I picked it up and the line was going out into the lake towards a weed bed 40yards out. It felt solid initially, but as I applied a bit more pressure I felt a kick from the fish as it popped out of the weed. I played it in the bright morning sunshine and a few yards out I could see that it was the one that I wanted – the one with the very distinctive tail. I could hardly believe how lucky I was to catch him. I safely netted this beauty, but did not have much time to celebrate as I was running really late for work. I had to quickly pack up my gear and started to make a move.
The next week my leave had started and I was going to go back down to the lake for three days. So I got my gear ready, stocked up on some carp fishing tackle, wore my best diem clothing and left. I had fish all over me, but they just cruised over the bait, reluctant to go down. They were obviously wary and I think that area had blown.
On the last morning I saw a fish jump in the far corner of the lake. I had been keeping the sea and carp fishing tackle going in there so I went to investigate. From the tree I could see the Big Common and a Crinkle Tail. They were going down and eating the tackle before swimming 20 yards out and then returning for more. I have seen that on a number of occasions on different lakes, where fish do not show over the spot they are feeding on. I filled in the area with a bucket of hemp, about three kilograms of boilies and some other cheap tackle before leaving.
Two days later I was back for another three days session. I turned up at dusk and got my rod out on the spot that I had baited heavily. A couple of fish rolled closely by in the night and once again I was woken in the morning by the sound of my bite alarm screaming. It was another Big Common. It fought hard. I knew it was going to be over 40 lb. And it was. 40lb 02oz. It was stunning.
That was the last time I fished in that lake. Five bites in ten nights was a pretty good result and I knew that I would probably just keep catching the same once over again, so it is time to leave them carp in peace.
The rod was down for less than an hour when it tore off. I slid down the bank and picked it up; it was bending right round the rest. The fish didn’t really do much, just a few short, fast runs before rolling on the surface, where I could see it was a good-sized common. I left it in the net and rang Dave who promised to come down to take pictures. Some 15 minutes after Dave turned up with his fancy camera and started to take pictures. We took the fish out of water and weighted it. It was the Big Common, in immaculate condition, and weighing 39lb 14oz.
During the week leading up to my annual leave I started priming up a second spot in that swim. About 20 yards to the left there were a couple of humps and over the course of the week I baited a couple of times with some cheap fishing tackle. I knew that no-one had fished there before because it was impossible to cast.
The day I fished it I removed the branches that prevented casting. I arrived at first light and had my carp rods out by 8am. The wind was blowing a hooligan and I took shelter under my fishing brolly. The air felt quite dump so it was a good job I had my diem clothing on to keep me warm. I drifted off to sleep, waking to a screaming take from the new spot. The rain was pelting down at this point, but this fish fought doggedly, staying deep and ensuring that I got pretty wet. Slipping the net under it I could see that it was a big, chunky mirror, definitely not the 28 pounder caught last year. I rang Dave and he came over to take the photos. On lifting the net out of the water I couldn’t believe how heavy it was. The big mirror weighed in at 41lb 10oz. Incredible.
The next day the weather improved, turning warm and sunny. At least it gave me an opportunity to dry up my fishing gear and my diem clothing. I looked at the water and could see that the bait had all been eaten. I baited the water again with some carp and sea fishing tackle again and settled down for another night. I had to be up early to go to work the next day. With five minutes until I really had to be off I dragged myself out of bed. I couldn’t see the rods from my bed chair and as I went to reel in I noticed that the left-hand rod had been pulled off the buzzer. The line was still in the rest. Fishing round to the left, the rod must have jumped off on the take. I picked it up and the line was going out into the lake towards a weed bed 40yards out. It felt solid initially, but as I applied a bit more pressure I felt a kick from the fish as it popped out of the weed. I played it in the bright morning sunshine and a few yards out I could see that it was the one that I wanted – the one with the very distinctive tail. I could hardly believe how lucky I was to catch him. I safely netted this beauty, but did not have much time to celebrate as I was running really late for work. I had to quickly pack up my gear and started to make a move.
The next week my leave had started and I was going to go back down to the lake for three days. So I got my gear ready, stocked up on some carp fishing tackle, wore my best diem clothing and left. I had fish all over me, but they just cruised over the bait, reluctant to go down. They were obviously wary and I think that area had blown.
On the last morning I saw a fish jump in the far corner of the lake. I had been keeping the sea and carp fishing tackle going in there so I went to investigate. From the tree I could see the Big Common and a Crinkle Tail. They were going down and eating the tackle before swimming 20 yards out and then returning for more. I have seen that on a number of occasions on different lakes, where fish do not show over the spot they are feeding on. I filled in the area with a bucket of hemp, about three kilograms of boilies and some other cheap tackle before leaving.
Two days later I was back for another three days session. I turned up at dusk and got my rod out on the spot that I had baited heavily. A couple of fish rolled closely by in the night and once again I was woken in the morning by the sound of my bite alarm screaming. It was another Big Common. It fought hard. I knew it was going to be over 40 lb. And it was. 40lb 02oz. It was stunning.
That was the last time I fished in that lake. Five bites in ten nights was a pretty good result and I knew that I would probably just keep catching the same once over again, so it is time to leave them carp in peace.
Anglers guide to Norfolk carp lakes, Part 2
The time came to February 1st. The weather was forecast to go over the 12 degrees during the day. That morning, at the first light, I went over to the lake. Even though the sun was out, I could still feel a hint of frost in the morning air. It is going to take me a while to worm up. I have taken my fishing bivvy and my winter sleeping bag with me to keep me warm and my fishing umbrella just in case it is going to rain.
Once I got to the lake, I spent the morning walking around, climbed a few trees and watched the water. At around mid-day it finally started to get warmer. The wind had also picked up and was blowing into the area where we had seen the large fish in the autumn. Somehow I knew that the fish would eventually turn up there, so I sat up a tree with a decent view and waited. I could see a small, clear area in the weed just off the reed line. I had some boilies in my pocket and some left overs bits of my sea fishing tackle so I dropped a handful on that spot hopping that I would see if any fish would show up to feed. I sat there for a couple of hours without seeing any fish. Rather disappointed, I decided to do another lap of the lake and maybe then unpack my carp rods and may be start setting up my fishing bivvy for the night.
When I returned and climbed back up the tree, within 10 minutes an orange coloured fish loomed into the baited area. Not long after, two more fish came in and one of them defiantly went down. It came up off the bottom and, as it swam towards me, I could see its white lips moving as it chewed my boilies and leftover bits of my sea fishing tackle. This was looking good for a bite. I started to get my carp rods unpacked. So all I need to do now is set up my bivvy and get my umbrella out and I will be good to go.
My kit is out and fully set up. Armed with my carp rods I squeezed myself in the trees. The swim was really tight and I had to wade out to cast. I flicked the rod out a few times but it was solid weed. I knew that there was a small, clear spot and finally the lead cracked down, right next to a single reed stem. This made a handy marker for baiting up. Despite the slight warmth of the day, it went really cold that night – well down to freezing. Because the lake is out of the way I made a small fire to keep myself warm and cook my dinner. It was really very pleasant, a type of angling that I enjoy more and more. I went to bed happy but not overly confident of action.
I woke to the sound of the buzzer of my bite alarm. My carp rods was placed in the margins and I had to run through deep mud and water to get to it. I picked it up and played the fish, which didn’t fight particularly hard. I wasn’t even sure that it was a carp at first. It rolled at the net and I saw a flash of scales. Not knowing what else was in there, apart from the commons, I was certain that it was the fish which I had earlier seen feeding on the bait. I called Dave and asked him to come over and take some picture of me and the fish. I waded out where I had staked out the net and rolled up the mesh to lift it out. At this point I hadn’t really looked at the fish, and as I lifted it I realised that it was bigger than I first thought. I will never forget that first look at it on the mat. Both Dave and I were blown away – it looked absolutely prehistoric. It was the most gorgeous, scaly carp, the like of which are not generally found in Norfolk. Weighing 33 lb 8oz, it was not the biggest carp that I had ever caught, but who cares when they look like that.
I had work the next day. But decided to do another night and pack up early in the morning. After all, my fishing bivvy and my sleeping bag kept me really warm so I will have no trouble staying another night.
That night there was a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. It is a good job that I was not travelling light. I had to get out a couple of time to check on my bite alarm so it was a good job I had my fishing umbrella with me in such terrible weather. At first light I decided to start packing up my kit. The water and the air felt absolutely freezing. Joking aside, my feet were so cold that I really thought I might get frostbite. The only thing around me that was dry was sleeping bag. So I took it off the bed chair and put my feet inside it to keep them worm. I looked at my watch and realised that it was time to go.
Once I got to the lake, I spent the morning walking around, climbed a few trees and watched the water. At around mid-day it finally started to get warmer. The wind had also picked up and was blowing into the area where we had seen the large fish in the autumn. Somehow I knew that the fish would eventually turn up there, so I sat up a tree with a decent view and waited. I could see a small, clear area in the weed just off the reed line. I had some boilies in my pocket and some left overs bits of my sea fishing tackle so I dropped a handful on that spot hopping that I would see if any fish would show up to feed. I sat there for a couple of hours without seeing any fish. Rather disappointed, I decided to do another lap of the lake and maybe then unpack my carp rods and may be start setting up my fishing bivvy for the night.
When I returned and climbed back up the tree, within 10 minutes an orange coloured fish loomed into the baited area. Not long after, two more fish came in and one of them defiantly went down. It came up off the bottom and, as it swam towards me, I could see its white lips moving as it chewed my boilies and leftover bits of my sea fishing tackle. This was looking good for a bite. I started to get my carp rods unpacked. So all I need to do now is set up my bivvy and get my umbrella out and I will be good to go.
My kit is out and fully set up. Armed with my carp rods I squeezed myself in the trees. The swim was really tight and I had to wade out to cast. I flicked the rod out a few times but it was solid weed. I knew that there was a small, clear spot and finally the lead cracked down, right next to a single reed stem. This made a handy marker for baiting up. Despite the slight warmth of the day, it went really cold that night – well down to freezing. Because the lake is out of the way I made a small fire to keep myself warm and cook my dinner. It was really very pleasant, a type of angling that I enjoy more and more. I went to bed happy but not overly confident of action.
I woke to the sound of the buzzer of my bite alarm. My carp rods was placed in the margins and I had to run through deep mud and water to get to it. I picked it up and played the fish, which didn’t fight particularly hard. I wasn’t even sure that it was a carp at first. It rolled at the net and I saw a flash of scales. Not knowing what else was in there, apart from the commons, I was certain that it was the fish which I had earlier seen feeding on the bait. I called Dave and asked him to come over and take some picture of me and the fish. I waded out where I had staked out the net and rolled up the mesh to lift it out. At this point I hadn’t really looked at the fish, and as I lifted it I realised that it was bigger than I first thought. I will never forget that first look at it on the mat. Both Dave and I were blown away – it looked absolutely prehistoric. It was the most gorgeous, scaly carp, the like of which are not generally found in Norfolk. Weighing 33 lb 8oz, it was not the biggest carp that I had ever caught, but who cares when they look like that.
I had work the next day. But decided to do another night and pack up early in the morning. After all, my fishing bivvy and my sleeping bag kept me really warm so I will have no trouble staying another night.
That night there was a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. It is a good job that I was not travelling light. I had to get out a couple of time to check on my bite alarm so it was a good job I had my fishing umbrella with me in such terrible weather. At first light I decided to start packing up my kit. The water and the air felt absolutely freezing. Joking aside, my feet were so cold that I really thought I might get frostbite. The only thing around me that was dry was sleeping bag. So I took it off the bed chair and put my feet inside it to keep them worm. I looked at my watch and realised that it was time to go.
Anglers guide to Norfolk carp lakes, Part 1
Every carp angler is dreaming of finding an unfished pit containing uncaught carp. Do they really exist? After finishing on the Felthorpe Lake for a long while I started looking around Norfolk for a quieter pit. I really enjoy lakes where the stock is a bit of a mystery, and always wanted to find a nice place which did not see many anglers, the kind of place which is rarely talked about.
This lake came to my attention through a recommendation from a very good friend, Dave, who works for a fishing fishing tackle wholesale shop. He overheard one of his customers talking about this charming little lake in the south corner of Norfolk which was very quiet and untouched by anglers. After a long talk and some discount on fishing tackle, Dave found out the exact location of this lake and we decided to go investigate.
Not being open to fishing, the lake was overgrown without any proper swims. In order not to draw attention to it we would have to be discreet. We have walked around it a few times and thought that it looked carpy. Dave had seen a couple of fish there which got him very intrigued. He decided to stock up on some carp fishing tackle at his wholesale shop and have a go for them fish the following weekend.
The weather was quite good. The days were still warm but the night were just starting to get a little bit chilly. He did a single night at the lake in his waterline nerus beach shelter and caught a 28 lb mirror. However, what was most interesting was that he had seen eight fish that day. He recognised the one that he had caught and it looked liked it was the smallest of the bunch. He decided to give it a proper go again the following weekend and I left him to it, planning to start fishing myself in spring 2012.
A couple of month had passed. On a hot day in October 2011 we had a good mooch around the lake and climbed a few trees. The lake was not particularly snaggy, but there was one spot that caught the sun in the afternoon. Peering through the crystal clean water there was a couple of cleaner looking spots on the bottom among the prolific weed growth. As we made our way a bit further round, we stumbled across carp sunning themselves in a whole in the weed – two commons and a mirror. All three were lumps, the smallest one of three looked to be at least 35 lb. The largest, a common, looked to be around a 40 lb mark.
Dave stocked up on some carp fishing tackle at his fishing tackle wholesale shop and again did a couple of nights at the lake later that week. All went well as he duly banked a brace of commons. He rang and asked me to come over and take some photos. When I turned up, he was sitting in his waterline nerus beach shelter with a huge grin on his face. He had a good session. The first carp was huge - probably just under 38 lb. But the one that impressed me the most was the smaller of the two, which was 36 lb. It had a small head and fins and was a silvery blue colour with a very distinctive tail. At that point I was thinking that it was going to be my target for the spring. I was not bothers by the fact that there were only going to be a handful of carp in the lake and was very confident that armed with good carp fishing tackle I would have a good chance of catching the one a wanted. I decided to do a couple of day sessions, mainly to plump around and open up a couple areas from which to fish.
Come January, my campaign began early. We weather was surprisingly warm for this time of years so I decided to give the lake a try. Armed with some discount fishing tackle I got on January sale at Dave's fishing tackle wholesale store I was ready for action. But before I could even start I had to prep the area with some bait.
I had arranged my work schedule so that I had enough time to do what I had to do. About 3 times a week I was putting the bait in my rucksack, drive to the lake, park up in the residential area and jog over a couple of field, all before work. Initially, I didn’t bait the lake in any particular area. I was spreading boilies in all the corners and out into the lake. I just wanted the fish to get a taste for the bait. I did this three times a week, giving out between 1 and 2 kilograms of boilies at the time. It is a good job that I stocked up on that discount fishing tackle at Dave's tackle shop as I was going through a lot of stuff. A couple of weeks later, I decided to target two main spots at either end of the lake. One at the end of the south-westerly wind and the other on the easterly. The first was the corner where Dave caught the fish last time, and the other is where we had seen the big fish sunbathing last year. I began to put hemp out to try and clear the spots as both were in the margins surrounded by thick weed and pretty visible. I wanted to be able to see what was going on. This baiting went on for about a month, and although I had not seen any fish yet, the spots were being cleaned. My first session was planned for February 1st. I hope for some good weather.
This lake came to my attention through a recommendation from a very good friend, Dave, who works for a fishing fishing tackle wholesale shop. He overheard one of his customers talking about this charming little lake in the south corner of Norfolk which was very quiet and untouched by anglers. After a long talk and some discount on fishing tackle, Dave found out the exact location of this lake and we decided to go investigate.
Not being open to fishing, the lake was overgrown without any proper swims. In order not to draw attention to it we would have to be discreet. We have walked around it a few times and thought that it looked carpy. Dave had seen a couple of fish there which got him very intrigued. He decided to stock up on some carp fishing tackle at his wholesale shop and have a go for them fish the following weekend.
The weather was quite good. The days were still warm but the night were just starting to get a little bit chilly. He did a single night at the lake in his waterline nerus beach shelter and caught a 28 lb mirror. However, what was most interesting was that he had seen eight fish that day. He recognised the one that he had caught and it looked liked it was the smallest of the bunch. He decided to give it a proper go again the following weekend and I left him to it, planning to start fishing myself in spring 2012.
A couple of month had passed. On a hot day in October 2011 we had a good mooch around the lake and climbed a few trees. The lake was not particularly snaggy, but there was one spot that caught the sun in the afternoon. Peering through the crystal clean water there was a couple of cleaner looking spots on the bottom among the prolific weed growth. As we made our way a bit further round, we stumbled across carp sunning themselves in a whole in the weed – two commons and a mirror. All three were lumps, the smallest one of three looked to be at least 35 lb. The largest, a common, looked to be around a 40 lb mark.
Dave stocked up on some carp fishing tackle at his fishing tackle wholesale shop and again did a couple of nights at the lake later that week. All went well as he duly banked a brace of commons. He rang and asked me to come over and take some photos. When I turned up, he was sitting in his waterline nerus beach shelter with a huge grin on his face. He had a good session. The first carp was huge - probably just under 38 lb. But the one that impressed me the most was the smaller of the two, which was 36 lb. It had a small head and fins and was a silvery blue colour with a very distinctive tail. At that point I was thinking that it was going to be my target for the spring. I was not bothers by the fact that there were only going to be a handful of carp in the lake and was very confident that armed with good carp fishing tackle I would have a good chance of catching the one a wanted. I decided to do a couple of day sessions, mainly to plump around and open up a couple areas from which to fish.
Come January, my campaign began early. We weather was surprisingly warm for this time of years so I decided to give the lake a try. Armed with some discount fishing tackle I got on January sale at Dave's fishing tackle wholesale store I was ready for action. But before I could even start I had to prep the area with some bait.
I had arranged my work schedule so that I had enough time to do what I had to do. About 3 times a week I was putting the bait in my rucksack, drive to the lake, park up in the residential area and jog over a couple of field, all before work. Initially, I didn’t bait the lake in any particular area. I was spreading boilies in all the corners and out into the lake. I just wanted the fish to get a taste for the bait. I did this three times a week, giving out between 1 and 2 kilograms of boilies at the time. It is a good job that I stocked up on that discount fishing tackle at Dave's tackle shop as I was going through a lot of stuff. A couple of weeks later, I decided to target two main spots at either end of the lake. One at the end of the south-westerly wind and the other on the easterly. The first was the corner where Dave caught the fish last time, and the other is where we had seen the big fish sunbathing last year. I began to put hemp out to try and clear the spots as both were in the margins surrounded by thick weed and pretty visible. I wanted to be able to see what was going on. This baiting went on for about a month, and although I had not seen any fish yet, the spots were being cleaned. My first session was planned for February 1st. I hope for some good weather.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Monday, 23 January 2012
My day out at Windrush Valley, Part Two
Part 2.
It is a good job that we stopped on our way at the fishing shop so I had an opportunity to stock up on some discount carp fishing tackle. So now I can be generous with my fishing tackle. I decided to put out ten spods of maggots, casters following by a few spods of broken savoury boilies, all fairly tight around the back of the float, I assume they all will spread quite a bit as they sink. Finally, I put 70 or so baits onto the silty area. I start seeing some fishing feeding. This may seem like a lot, but the fact that the fish is feeding gives me the green light to feed them a bit. On the other hand, I am starting to worry if I have enough carp fishing tackle to last me another day. I may have to ask Charley to make a run to the fishing shop in the morning to get some more of that discount fishing tackle as it seems to work well.
I am going to fish a really low version of my favourite Jon Mac pop-up rig over this spot, shortening the pop up section to less than an inch because of the carpet of maggots. I am hopping that the crumbed baits and grabs will draw the fish in but the whole boilies will prevent them from feeding in too preoccupied a manner. I have decided not to top up John's maggot spot because he reckons that he put out two gallons out there. This should work well for me.
Charley by now has decided to dropped into the neighbouring swim, down to my left, where the lake narrows a little. He said it has produced fish and he has found a couple of nice spots near the central gravel seam that runs right through his swim. I asked him if he would mind to pop into the fishing shop first thing in the morning and he did not seem to mind.
I must admit that with the pressure off so early I am feeling confident on all three of my carp rods. A rare state of affairs, I have to say. Charley wanders down and is astounded to see that I have actually brought my bite alarms with me. I can understand his surprise because it has been a long time sine I have been using bite alarms but I am willing to give it ago once more. With the pizza ordered and on its way to us, we decide to relax and take in the stunning Oxfordshire Sunset. It is very cold but I am hopeful.
The evening slowly drifts on and I hear just the odd bleep from my bite alarms. It is starting to approach 10 o’Clock in the evening and I hear a much more positive sound coming from my bite alarm. I check my rods, the chod rig still sitting right where I picked up the first fish, pulls up tight. Charley assures me that this is a typical choddy bite and I pull into another carp. This one gamely boils its way to the net but I can tell that it is not a large one. Pretty much as soon as it glows up in the beam. I net it and pull it in towards the bank. It is another double, a little smaller that the last one but the chodd is doing the business. That is the last action before we turn in to our tent for the night.
The next thing I know there is a crack of light beaming through a little hole under my sleeping-bag cover. Annoyingly, a mallard seems to be insisting that I get up because it just would not stop quacking in my swim. Bleary eyed, I throw back the covers and glare at the duck, which seems to get the message and takes off. My gaze wanders onto the rods; the left one is unmoved... the middle one is okay... the right one is bent right round! Yet somehow the buzzer of bite alarm has not made a sound and I have a carp on. This just remind me why I stopped using them in the first place. The other thought that comes to mind s that using all that carp fishing tackle has paid off.
A couple of faint kicks transmit down the line as I pull onto it, which is a start. I am astounded to feel the electrical-tape line marker click through the tip ring after a couple of turns. The fish has hardly moved. I soon have it swirling in the margins and I am surprised to see that it is a common. It is also pretty small but I am still glad that the mix of my carp fishing tackle has produced such result, and where there is one, there is always another.
It is a funy little character that I slip back without a photograph as there did not seem to be much point inconveniencing him much further. The pop-up has been torn so I chop it off, tie on another and flick it back out there, 20 yards to the spot. It pins against the clip a foot or so above the water and I feel it down with a nice muffled thud, perfect.
Although the day was lovely and clear, the wind has resumed where it left off yesterday, cutting me in half each time I venture out from under the tent. A couple of dropped coot takes on the middle rod have me scampering down to the front of the swim but the next bite simply does not materialise.
In the morning, with a rather ominous bank of cloud pushing in from the west we opt to get out of there. We have both really enjoyed our session and Hunts. It is definitely the sort of place that I would happily revisit with a few mates. It is well managed; convenient, accessible fishing that offers a more laid-back feel to the rest of the Linear lakes. Now we just need to make a stop at a fishing shop to get restocked on that discount fishing tackle as it certainly proved to work for me.
I am going to fish a really low version of my favourite Jon Mac pop-up rig over this spot, shortening the pop up section to less than an inch because of the carpet of maggots. I am hopping that the crumbed baits and grabs will draw the fish in but the whole boilies will prevent them from feeding in too preoccupied a manner. I have decided not to top up John's maggot spot because he reckons that he put out two gallons out there. This should work well for me.
Charley by now has decided to dropped into the neighbouring swim, down to my left, where the lake narrows a little. He said it has produced fish and he has found a couple of nice spots near the central gravel seam that runs right through his swim. I asked him if he would mind to pop into the fishing shop first thing in the morning and he did not seem to mind.
I must admit that with the pressure off so early I am feeling confident on all three of my carp rods. A rare state of affairs, I have to say. Charley wanders down and is astounded to see that I have actually brought my bite alarms with me. I can understand his surprise because it has been a long time sine I have been using bite alarms but I am willing to give it ago once more. With the pizza ordered and on its way to us, we decide to relax and take in the stunning Oxfordshire Sunset. It is very cold but I am hopeful.
The evening slowly drifts on and I hear just the odd bleep from my bite alarms. It is starting to approach 10 o’Clock in the evening and I hear a much more positive sound coming from my bite alarm. I check my rods, the chod rig still sitting right where I picked up the first fish, pulls up tight. Charley assures me that this is a typical choddy bite and I pull into another carp. This one gamely boils its way to the net but I can tell that it is not a large one. Pretty much as soon as it glows up in the beam. I net it and pull it in towards the bank. It is another double, a little smaller that the last one but the chodd is doing the business. That is the last action before we turn in to our tent for the night.
The next thing I know there is a crack of light beaming through a little hole under my sleeping-bag cover. Annoyingly, a mallard seems to be insisting that I get up because it just would not stop quacking in my swim. Bleary eyed, I throw back the covers and glare at the duck, which seems to get the message and takes off. My gaze wanders onto the rods; the left one is unmoved... the middle one is okay... the right one is bent right round! Yet somehow the buzzer of bite alarm has not made a sound and I have a carp on. This just remind me why I stopped using them in the first place. The other thought that comes to mind s that using all that carp fishing tackle has paid off.
A couple of faint kicks transmit down the line as I pull onto it, which is a start. I am astounded to feel the electrical-tape line marker click through the tip ring after a couple of turns. The fish has hardly moved. I soon have it swirling in the margins and I am surprised to see that it is a common. It is also pretty small but I am still glad that the mix of my carp fishing tackle has produced such result, and where there is one, there is always another.
It is a funy little character that I slip back without a photograph as there did not seem to be much point inconveniencing him much further. The pop-up has been torn so I chop it off, tie on another and flick it back out there, 20 yards to the spot. It pins against the clip a foot or so above the water and I feel it down with a nice muffled thud, perfect.
Although the day was lovely and clear, the wind has resumed where it left off yesterday, cutting me in half each time I venture out from under the tent. A couple of dropped coot takes on the middle rod have me scampering down to the front of the swim but the next bite simply does not materialise.
In the morning, with a rather ominous bank of cloud pushing in from the west we opt to get out of there. We have both really enjoyed our session and Hunts. It is definitely the sort of place that I would happily revisit with a few mates. It is well managed; convenient, accessible fishing that offers a more laid-back feel to the rest of the Linear lakes. Now we just need to make a stop at a fishing shop to get restocked on that discount fishing tackle as it certainly proved to work for me.
My day out at Windrush Valley, Part One
Part One.
I've had a long weekend coming up and a usual decided to spend this time fishing for carp. So I grabbed my friend Charley, a box load of carp fishing tackle and off we went. This time we though we would try something different to our usual lake. So after one and a half hour drive we have finally arrived at Hunts Corner.
Hunts Corner is situated at the far end of the complex alongside the Windrush Valley and is run by Richworth Linear Fisheries. Allegedly, it is stocked with well over 300 carp and at least half are estimated to be over twenty pounds in weight. So we though to ourselves, with such impressive figures we are going to have an exiting weekend out there.
The lake is hidden amongst a mature long rectangular shaped gravel pit. There are ten swims in total and all ten have been placed in such a way so to give the carp angler loads of seclusion in almost an acre of water. Each swim is exclusively set so that it cannot be cast over by neighbouring anglers.
As Charley and I were walking along the lake, looking for somewhere nice to set our tent and fishing gear, we saw an angler in the second swim, I decided to stop for a chat. His name was John and judging by his fishing gear, he is an experienced carp angler. John told us that he has managed to catch 5 good size carp in the last 2 days and a couple of smaller ones. Looking over his shoulder I can see tips of his carp rods lightly nodding in the cool breeze. And before we could even ask, John suggested that we set our tent and fishing gear behind him a he was about to leave anyway. We decided to look no further and accept Johns kind offer.
As we set our tent, John was kind enough to offer us what was left of his maggots. I thanked him and said that lately boilies are the choice of carp fishing tackle for me, but the fact that he managed to catch most of his carp on maggots alone I though I might give it a try as well.
As John folds his fishing bivvy down I push my barrow into the swim and slide one of my carp rods out from its sleeve, I have brought three with me this time. The one that is out is set up with a chod rig. The hook nicks straight into my fingernail so I think to myself it is good to go. I carefully tie on one of my carp tackle hook baits and punch it across the brisk wind. The line on my carp rod bows significantly but I can still feel a soft impact as it lands.
I propped my fishing rodson the floor and balanced a couple of stones on each of the spools to alert me to any interest as I set the rest of my fishing gear up. Then, literally five minutes after casting, the urgent buzz of the spool has me dropping everything and a quickly run to grab my fishing rod. Stones placed on the spool clearly failed to work. I got very exited and could feel the tension rising and so I started to gently play the fish in order to full it safely out of water. Judging by weight, it felt like it was going to be a good size.
Charley has arrived by now from his walk around the lake and so I quickly shouted for him to get net for me, and so he did. Some moment later there it was. A nice size carp. At is turns out 28 lb. Very impressive. So we quickly return him back to the water. No sign of movement on my other fishing rods, so time to relax.
Rumour has it, Hunts Lake has lost a few of its older 40lb plus carp and other stunning originals over the years so it is mainly the little mirrors now in the water. It is not bad, because as they grow on this good quality carp feed and other fishing tackle, they gain character and become hard-fighting. With my carp rods back out there, I decide to have a little look around the place for somewhere to move my other two rods. These days I like the lake bed to tell me which rigs to use with my rods so, initially, I am just looking for a couple of spots which just feel right. John has shown me the spot which he has been bating with the maggots, so I feel like it would be wise for me to at least try and bait there for a bit. There is a long stretch of margin between the angler in the swim to my right and me, so I think I am good to go.
I am not going to position the rig tight under the willows, instead, I will look for something a little way off. The spot that I find in probably a good 20 yards out. The marker slides over the silt before bumping up into a gravel seam. I am interested in the silt primarily, so I drop the lead a good few yards behind the bumpy stuff. I am going to give them a bit of everything of my carp fishing tackle. I have brought with me, so I have a very good feeling about this carp rod, hedging my bets if you will.
Hunts Corner is situated at the far end of the complex alongside the Windrush Valley and is run by Richworth Linear Fisheries. Allegedly, it is stocked with well over 300 carp and at least half are estimated to be over twenty pounds in weight. So we though to ourselves, with such impressive figures we are going to have an exiting weekend out there.
The lake is hidden amongst a mature long rectangular shaped gravel pit. There are ten swims in total and all ten have been placed in such a way so to give the carp angler loads of seclusion in almost an acre of water. Each swim is exclusively set so that it cannot be cast over by neighbouring anglers.
As Charley and I were walking along the lake, looking for somewhere nice to set our tent and fishing gear, we saw an angler in the second swim, I decided to stop for a chat. His name was John and judging by his fishing gear, he is an experienced carp angler. John told us that he has managed to catch 5 good size carp in the last 2 days and a couple of smaller ones. Looking over his shoulder I can see tips of his carp rods lightly nodding in the cool breeze. And before we could even ask, John suggested that we set our tent and fishing gear behind him a he was about to leave anyway. We decided to look no further and accept Johns kind offer.
As we set our tent, John was kind enough to offer us what was left of his maggots. I thanked him and said that lately boilies are the choice of carp fishing tackle for me, but the fact that he managed to catch most of his carp on maggots alone I though I might give it a try as well.
As John folds his fishing bivvy down I push my barrow into the swim and slide one of my carp rods out from its sleeve, I have brought three with me this time. The one that is out is set up with a chod rig. The hook nicks straight into my fingernail so I think to myself it is good to go. I carefully tie on one of my carp tackle hook baits and punch it across the brisk wind. The line on my carp rod bows significantly but I can still feel a soft impact as it lands.
I propped my fishing rodson the floor and balanced a couple of stones on each of the spools to alert me to any interest as I set the rest of my fishing gear up. Then, literally five minutes after casting, the urgent buzz of the spool has me dropping everything and a quickly run to grab my fishing rod. Stones placed on the spool clearly failed to work. I got very exited and could feel the tension rising and so I started to gently play the fish in order to full it safely out of water. Judging by weight, it felt like it was going to be a good size.
Charley has arrived by now from his walk around the lake and so I quickly shouted for him to get net for me, and so he did. Some moment later there it was. A nice size carp. At is turns out 28 lb. Very impressive. So we quickly return him back to the water. No sign of movement on my other fishing rods, so time to relax.
Rumour has it, Hunts Lake has lost a few of its older 40lb plus carp and other stunning originals over the years so it is mainly the little mirrors now in the water. It is not bad, because as they grow on this good quality carp feed and other fishing tackle, they gain character and become hard-fighting. With my carp rods back out there, I decide to have a little look around the place for somewhere to move my other two rods. These days I like the lake bed to tell me which rigs to use with my rods so, initially, I am just looking for a couple of spots which just feel right. John has shown me the spot which he has been bating with the maggots, so I feel like it would be wise for me to at least try and bait there for a bit. There is a long stretch of margin between the angler in the swim to my right and me, so I think I am good to go.
I am not going to position the rig tight under the willows, instead, I will look for something a little way off. The spot that I find in probably a good 20 yards out. The marker slides over the silt before bumping up into a gravel seam. I am interested in the silt primarily, so I drop the lead a good few yards behind the bumpy stuff. I am going to give them a bit of everything of my carp fishing tackle. I have brought with me, so I have a very good feeling about this carp rod, hedging my bets if you will.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Guide to spinning tackle
Most spinning rods and reels can be expressly labelled as saltwater and freshwater. Saltwater fishing tackle, reels especially, were always significantly more expensive compared to freshwater tackle. This price tag often reflected manufacturers struggle in producing affordable tackle which would not easily give way to corrosion. It is good that all of this is a thing of the past.
Majority of newly produced fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of equipment.
Over the years tackle manufactures have developed various technologies which allowed them to introduce materials like fiberglass, graphite and e-glass to the world of fishing tackle. They all have experimented quite a bit with these material and most of the time have come up with remarkable products.
The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing rods and reels.
If you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the fishing rods and reels for heavy saltwater spinning or very large fresh water fish.
Due to the sheer weight, there reels are not really intended for all day use. An average reel should carry around 300 yards of 30 lb test line. But line capacity can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Nice quality spinning reels are usually made by manufactures such as Daiwa, Shimano, Abu Garcia, Penn, Hardy Greys Chub, Leeda and Wychwood and many other. You can find most of these in your local fishing shop or in any online fishing shop. Spinning reels should only be used with spinning rods and not with any other rods. This is because only spinning rods have an upside down reel seat. Spinning rods come in variety of length and types. When choosing a rod for your spinning reel keep in mind where you are going to fish and which fishing tackle you will be using.
You can combine your reel with anything from 9 feet to as much as 14 feet long surfcasting fishing rods. In such combination baits can be casted long way away from the shore. These rods would usually comprise of 2 or more parts which have to be joined together. This can be handy if you are planning to travel a long distance with your rod. Some angels prefer to use specially made one piece rods. These can usually be made to order in most reputable fishing shops.
You can also combine these reels with 7 foot length rods for the purpose of big game fishing on a boat. Or generally to cast and retrieve rigs and lures. One major enemy of spinning reels is a line twist. But this is not the case for all tackle spinners because most middle and top range models with better size spools don’t have this problem. It’s only the lower range models which have rather narrow spools cannot always seem to cope with the monofil line. One way to eliminate this problem is to take out the line spool from the reel and spray it with a special lubricant which can be purchased from most fishing shop or online.
At last, the use of adequate weight rigs is also very important, especially if you are casting large baits. If you are not sure about what size rig you should be using, just visit a fishing shop and ask for advice.
Majority of newly produced fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of equipment.
Over the years tackle manufactures have developed various technologies which allowed them to introduce materials like fiberglass, graphite and e-glass to the world of fishing tackle. They all have experimented quite a bit with these material and most of the time have come up with remarkable products.
The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing rods and reels.
If you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the fishing rods and reels for heavy saltwater spinning or very large fresh water fish.
Due to the sheer weight, there reels are not really intended for all day use. An average reel should carry around 300 yards of 30 lb test line. But line capacity can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Nice quality spinning reels are usually made by manufactures such as Daiwa, Shimano, Abu Garcia, Penn, Hardy Greys Chub, Leeda and Wychwood and many other. You can find most of these in your local fishing shop or in any online fishing shop. Spinning reels should only be used with spinning rods and not with any other rods. This is because only spinning rods have an upside down reel seat. Spinning rods come in variety of length and types. When choosing a rod for your spinning reel keep in mind where you are going to fish and which fishing tackle you will be using.
You can combine your reel with anything from 9 feet to as much as 14 feet long surfcasting fishing rods. In such combination baits can be casted long way away from the shore. These rods would usually comprise of 2 or more parts which have to be joined together. This can be handy if you are planning to travel a long distance with your rod. Some angels prefer to use specially made one piece rods. These can usually be made to order in most reputable fishing shops.
You can also combine these reels with 7 foot length rods for the purpose of big game fishing on a boat. Or generally to cast and retrieve rigs and lures. One major enemy of spinning reels is a line twist. But this is not the case for all tackle spinners because most middle and top range models with better size spools don’t have this problem. It’s only the lower range models which have rather narrow spools cannot always seem to cope with the monofil line. One way to eliminate this problem is to take out the line spool from the reel and spray it with a special lubricant which can be purchased from most fishing shop or online.
At last, the use of adequate weight rigs is also very important, especially if you are casting large baits. If you are not sure about what size rig you should be using, just visit a fishing shop and ask for advice.
Finding the right sea fishing rod
Over the years manufactures have developed various technologies which allowed them to introduce materials like fiberglass, graphite and e-glass to the world of sea fishing tackle. They all have experimented quite a bit with these material and most of the time have come up with remarkable products.
Majority of new generation of sea fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for sea fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of sea fishing tackle.
The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced sea fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing poles, rods and reels. But if you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the rods and reels for heavy freshwater and medium saltwater spinning.
Such sea fishing rods and reels are often used for casting lures in most surf conditions or from a fishing vessel. They also work well in medium to large size waterstreams for catching reasonably large size trout.
Medium saltwater spinning reels would usually hold about 350 yards of 6 lb test mono line or about 335 of 8 lb test mono line and the reduction in capacity goes so on. This is just a rough estimate as actual capacity of reels can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Lines which are smaller in diameter would allow you a lengthier cast (depending on the size of your lure) and larger lines would usually result in a sorter cast. You should adjust the size of your line in accordance with the type of water, fishing tackle, desired length of cast and the weight of your lures. Consider using a larger diameter line (but not more than 12lb test) in waters where there are obstacles such as large amounts of weeds because a lighter line can easily snap if it gets tangled. You can also get advice on fishing tackle directly from your local specialists.
When selecting a reel, make sure that the one you are planning to get has a reasonably large diameter spool so to avoid line twist. For a medium power sea fishing rod, between 7-9 feet in length, the spool should not be smaller than 4.5 to 5 millimetres. You should also adjust the fishing rod length by taking into account the following factors: the type of reel, fishing line, lure, fishing tackle and water condition.
You should also make sure that the reel has a smooth drag and even a small fish can snap your line a fast moving waters if the drag of your reel is not up to scratch.
It is also wise to get a spear spool when buying a new reel. This is because there can be time when you may need to use a different size or colour line. As regards to choice of lures, these reels would suit anything from a ¼ to 3/8 of an ounce lures. Adjust the size of your lure in accordance of the size of your line, fishing tackle and water conditions so to achieve adequate cast and allow it to sink with ease. If it is something you are still not sure about then ask your local specialist on fishing tackle direct.
At last, if the reel you want to by does not already have a line on it, ask your sea fishing tackle dealer to load the line on for you as they usually have line loading equipment in store. This could save you a lot of time and effort. Also don’t forget to ask about a line lubricant as it will really help you to maintain your line and reel in good working order.
Majority of new generation of sea fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for sea fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of sea fishing tackle.
The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced sea fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing poles, rods and reels. But if you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the rods and reels for heavy freshwater and medium saltwater spinning.
Such sea fishing rods and reels are often used for casting lures in most surf conditions or from a fishing vessel. They also work well in medium to large size waterstreams for catching reasonably large size trout.
Medium saltwater spinning reels would usually hold about 350 yards of 6 lb test mono line or about 335 of 8 lb test mono line and the reduction in capacity goes so on. This is just a rough estimate as actual capacity of reels can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Lines which are smaller in diameter would allow you a lengthier cast (depending on the size of your lure) and larger lines would usually result in a sorter cast. You should adjust the size of your line in accordance with the type of water, fishing tackle, desired length of cast and the weight of your lures. Consider using a larger diameter line (but not more than 12lb test) in waters where there are obstacles such as large amounts of weeds because a lighter line can easily snap if it gets tangled. You can also get advice on fishing tackle directly from your local specialists.
When selecting a reel, make sure that the one you are planning to get has a reasonably large diameter spool so to avoid line twist. For a medium power sea fishing rod, between 7-9 feet in length, the spool should not be smaller than 4.5 to 5 millimetres. You should also adjust the fishing rod length by taking into account the following factors: the type of reel, fishing line, lure, fishing tackle and water condition.
You should also make sure that the reel has a smooth drag and even a small fish can snap your line a fast moving waters if the drag of your reel is not up to scratch.
It is also wise to get a spear spool when buying a new reel. This is because there can be time when you may need to use a different size or colour line. As regards to choice of lures, these reels would suit anything from a ¼ to 3/8 of an ounce lures. Adjust the size of your lure in accordance of the size of your line, fishing tackle and water conditions so to achieve adequate cast and allow it to sink with ease. If it is something you are still not sure about then ask your local specialist on fishing tackle direct.
At last, if the reel you want to by does not already have a line on it, ask your sea fishing tackle dealer to load the line on for you as they usually have line loading equipment in store. This could save you a lot of time and effort. Also don’t forget to ask about a line lubricant as it will really help you to maintain your line and reel in good working order.
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