Author: Neville Merritt (Page 1 of 40)

This month’s report is rather restricted because firstly, the weather was mostly foul and secondly, when we could fish we had the SMAC Mandela Cup and Open Cod Competition which have already been written up separately.

However, I did receive a very interesting catch report from David Cox which is worth featuring here in full:

” I’ve not posted a report for a while but thought you would like to know that my last fish of the season was a Blue Skate. It was a Juvenile of around 10lbs. It was thin with little in it’s belly but looked in good health.  Caught not far from the Nab and went back safely. A great end to the season.

I hear the odd one has been caught along south Coast e.g Chesil. They are pretty rare and can live up to 100 years growing up to 300lb. They catch them up in Northern Ireland and Scotland. I remember as a little school boy on the Isle of Wight, some 60 years ago, of the odd one being caught off the end of Ryde Pier.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has come across them in the Solent area. This juvenile’s parents must be lurking in the Solent somewhere!”

That’s one that I haven’t seen yet on our SMAC Species Hunt list! Thank you for the report David. If anyone wants to contribute a catch report you are always very welcome. Just message or email me news@boat-angling.co.uk

Feature fish of the month seems to be bass, and plenty of good fish were caught. We have very healthy stocks in the Eastern Solent, and the catch restrictions on commercial and recreational fishing plus the protected nursery areas seems to be working. The Closed Season for bass fishing in the harbour nursery areas is now over until the end of April 2025 when it comes into force again.

We seem to be seeing more large Bull Huss this year. The Inter-Club Competition was won by Ray Plomer for LHFA with a Bull Huss of 12lb 10oz.

Most marks were plagued with dogfish and small conger, which seem to be as prolific as ever. A few whiting and even fewer codling showed up, and we are hoping there will be a lot more by the middle of November for the SMAC Open Cod Competition.

Finally, squid fishing is becoming more and more popular. Both squid and cuttlefish can be caught on squid lures from boats over broken or rocky ground, from harbour walls and even steeper beaches in calm weather. Some large specimens have been caught along the coast including Portsmouth and Solent approaches.

September was a very wet month although that shouldn’t matter on the sea which is already wet. However, wet weather is usually accompanied by windy weather which does matter because that’s what stops us going out fishing. You can tell when a lot of boat anglers are frustrated by the weather by the number of political memes circulating on our chat forums instead of fish pictures.

That sounds gloomy but there were fishable days and fish were caught. September is a strange month because the warm days feel like an extension of summer: plaice, mackerel and bream are still around whereas the colder days warn of the switch to winter species with the arrival of squid and a few early codling.

As a result, catch reports were a real mixed bag with the regulars of rays, bass and bull huss plus some plaice, gilthead bream, brill and even red mullet. Stray codling were reported as early as late August.

By October the mackerel will be heading off although some are usually still around until November. Towards the end of the month we should see some whiting although in recent years they have been arriving well into November. We have a good stock of bass which will still be active and shoaling around the baitfish over banks and harbour entrances. We usually have a visit from trigger fish which are always good for the species count. In fact, for the next month or two almost anything can turn up so have a go, and do share your catch reports here!