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Category: Catch Reports 2017 (Page 2 of 4)

Tony and Chris on Miss Molly

We set of from Southsea Marina around 08.00 and thought we’d head west up the Solent to try for cod. We got to Gilkicker  and there was a gaggle of around 10 boats so we headed to a mark we have further west just to find a charter boat on it. We went looking for another mark and found a interesting spot, dropped the hook and started fishing . It was a pleasant day F3 SW, tide on the west run. We were straight into fish: pout, smoothound, doggies, scad, whiting and conger which kept us busy for a couple of hours.

The tide had then come round to the east run. The sea flattened and the sun came out but the fish disappeared. We had a move closer to Gilkicker but it was still quiet with just a couple of doggies a big spider crab and a starfish. Time to move again and we decided on Horse Tail for a couple of hours before we head in. We had smoothound ,doggies a thornback of 10lb and a nice undulate ray weighing in a around 15lb  on the boat scales. We were back in at our mooring around 17.30. Not a bad days fishing but no cod yet!

Sea Angling News October

Some of the reports from this site have made it into Sea Angling News this month! I am now writing the Langstone Harbour Area Boat Report  for SAN from reports sent to me here, from Southsea Marina Angling Club and Eastney Cruising Association.

Autumn has come

The summer is definitely over and autumn is here, in fish terms. Rebel Runner is back in the water after the annual antifoul and leg service, so I went out to see if these reports of cod were true.  No cod for me , although a number have been caught locally. One lonely mackerel and a few scad showed that summer has only just passed, and the first whiting of this season showed that autumn is here.  Bass seem to shoal up over inshore banks at this time of year and if you spot birds working, sneak up on them and drift down with lures – you will be in for some good sport. I caught about ten in the one to two pound range before finally catching one bang on 42cm. Fiish Black Minnow was the winning lure, the lighter shore version cast well away from the boat and zig-zagged back. The fishfinder was alive with bass  (above) but I only caught on the top of the water, not down where the fish were showing. I wonder why?

First whiting

Another Bank Holiday Bash

Like most others the bank holiday gave a good chance to get out for some fishing as the weather calmed. A few stops for mackerel, and some Scad, and we went out to some banks off Selsea to drift.

Each drift brought  bass. Nothing large – biggest 4 pounds but before long we had caught 8, kept the requisite 1 each and were putting them back. We ran out of bait but were catching the Bass on Mackerel and Scad. So we carried on drifting with the feathers over to try to get some more bait and Roland had three bass on the feathers. Well he was using some fancy ones (see pic).

Pretty lures

No more bait though, so off we went to catch some more bait and anchor up at slack tide in a hole south of the nab. A range of fish came on board including a 10lb Bull Huss and a couple of Thornies to 8lb and finished the day with a few Smoothhounds on hardback crab at our third location, just between East Nab and Selsea. What was annoying was the smaller bream here, constantly attacking the fish and squid baits.  We eventually got a couple on board on very light tackle and small hooks but none worth keeping. On the upside – no doggers.

PS Roland

On the bank holiday Monday we went off in the boat for lunch with friends. On the way back we stopped off for some Mackerel. My Godson Tom, aged 7 was on his first fishing trip. I had a  4ft rod and small multiplier for him and attached a string of feathers. Looking around we found a mass of feeding gulls and in the middle we found the mackerel easily. It’s great to see the enthusiasm of youngsters catching fish. So a few drifts and a bucket full of mackerel for the BBQ and then suddenly, Tom caught a Bass, on the same feathers Roland had used a few days before. Something about them! Only about 1½ pounds but he was so excited. That went back and off we went to eat the spoils. Nothing to beat fresh mackerel from the sea, BBQ’d an hour or two later.

Had a couple of hours free on Saturday so nipped out in the afternoon with some hardbacks crabs. Just went out to the east of Bullocks. Caught a couple of  Mackerel as bait. Roland was quickly into smoothies, to 10lb. 3 and a lost one, great sport on light uptide tackle. I, on the other hand couldn’t get them but did manage a 6lb small eyed ray and a couple of dogs. But for 2 hours it was a bit of fun and fitted in between doing some chores and taking the FPO out.

Quick one from Steve of Spoonbill

Four smoothhound at Utopia on Sat 2nd Sept: 14lb, 14lb, 8lb, 6lb. [nothing else, no doggies..] Managed to get to the Overfalls earlier in the day when it was flat calm – my furthest trip out to date…

No bass for me over the banks, but exciting stuff anyway in that mixed water! Two other boats and a charter there too, who may have had better luck and skill – but didn’t see anyone else catch.

Steve

Perfect Bank Holiday Fishing Weather

After a wet and windy few weeks we all enjoyed an amazing sequence of calm sunny days over the August bank Holiday. I was out soon after 6am on Sunday, and quickly stocked up with mackerel for bait on the the way out. Mackerel and bass always seem to feed best at dawn and dusk within a couple of miles from shore. First stop was New Grounds – small bass, a selection of rays and countless dogfish.  I noticed one of the Thornbacks was host to a number of  pontobdella muricata leeches (I looked it up!)

Leeches

Next stop at Sandown Bay produced small conger and a lot of lost tackle as I must have positioned myself over a net. Another mark produced little so I headed back to a bank on the way back in, to drift for bass. The first (and last) drift produced a 5lb beauty – above.

Bank Holiday Tope

“Thinking we was off to a bad start sitting in loads of traffic things rapidly changed when we got on the water and hit the mackerel straight away. Dropped anchor and put 3 fresh baits down.
Within 5 minutes the first one went off – it took literally over half the spool before deciding to stop. And that went 32lb to Charlie a first for him !! During that my rod starting ****ing line out back towards the shore resulting in a 30lb tope. Beaming we were by this point, the boat being trashed by tope. We managed to weigh photo and return safely . Then just to make matters even more joyful,  the 3rd rod goes screaming off resulting in a 42lb tope, a pb for me – absolutely buzzing. Then a small hound and a nice ballan wrasse for Charlie. Also we saw a pack of either dolphins or porpoises…which was good to see! Another 30odd lbr that got away up the side although a hand was on the hooklength!” – Josh and Charlie

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Phil’s August Report

Thought I’d give you an update as weather had kept me away from the boat for two months, well away from fishing anyway.

The sight of a flat calm forecast, the first when I was free to go fishing for a couple of months so Roland and I set out in the morning, not too early as it was a Sunday after the Saturday night.

First stop mackerel, no gulls working to help so went to Dean Tail – few Scad there, then off to the nab, nothing there so not a good start. Went out to a hole south of the nab. One thorny about 8lb and a few doggers later and we decided to move at slack tide to a nearby wreck.

We had by now picked up a couple of mackerel but the first surprise was a 12lb Bull Huss on a whole small Scad, then a few more dogs and some pouting along with some large mackerel. A re-anchor as the tide turned and a very large mackerel came on board from a bottom hook, approaching 2lb, but nothing exciting – oh and more dogs. A move to East Nab as the tide grew but nothing there (well dogs of course) so went towards Selsey, between East Nab and the Medmerry.

Action started quicker here – a flapper gave a resounding bite and line screamed off the real – ahh tope of course, well no actually, a Smoothhound about 14lb. Then another 7lb Thorny followed and a further 3 smoothhounds, this time on more conventional hardback crab.

We’d kept the feathers over and occasionally a small shoal would come through and we’d freshen up the bait stocks. We weren’t exactly wiping them out but came back with some 30 fish for table and future baits.

Nothing exciting but a range of fish, the last couple of hours topping off the day and making it reasonable with good sport on light tackle up-tiding with crab for the smoothies.

A calm Sunday at last

After a month of breezy weekends we finally had a day where the weather and a weekend coincided. Sunday 13th August dawned clear and calm, and after over-nighting on board I was in a great position for an early start. At 06:30 I was heading south from Langstone Harbour, and first stop was a bank a couple of miles out which usually has a good stock of mackerel hanging about. This morning the sea was alive with splashing baitfish, mackerel and seabirds. Within a few minutes I had plenty of mackerel and some scad for good measure. I find smaller fish skin feathers size 6 tied to 20lb mono to be consistently effective, especially if used with a 25 gm or heavier lure as a weight to give a flash and a flutter.

I spent the morning at New Grounds, and although I caught a couple of very nice ray, I was plagued by dogfish and small tope. Tope are annoying because you either accept the many bite-offs or scale up to wire or very heavy mono and cut down your chances of catching anything more finicky. I decided to move instead, and headed to Sandown Bay.

I ended up slightly off the mark I was aiming for, but nevertheless still had plenty of action with strap conger, small bream, more ray and scad. No tope or dogfish thank goodness.

Home via the bank again, in the hope that bass may show but I was too early, the bass tend to feed on the banks either at dawn or dusk. Never mind, I have plenty of winter bait in the freezer now the mackerel are plentiful.

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