It feels like I haven’t put up anything new for a while now, although I know it was only April I last posted. I suppose this must be because I’ve been busy ever since then for a couple of reasons; a) college work (my degree is all finished now, just waiting for the results) and b) I’ve been trying to get out fishing as much as possible while I’ve been having a decent run of good fortune. This little run seems to have extended from my last couple of days in Norway and, give or take a few blips, is pretty much still going. I’ve had a few dodgy sessions here and there but what I’m happy about is that I haven’t let any knockbacks affect the amount of effort I’ve been putting in and I think the general standard of my concentration whilst fishing has been pretty good. I think it’s important to take that away even from duff trips; if I fished good but didn’t catch particularly well, that’s still better than having fished like a plum and not caught. Of course, I’ve fished like a plum and caught good fish before but that’s not really the point. Sometimes the difference between pitiful failure and roaring triumph is one bite and if I’m thinking about making sure that my bait is in the right spot when the fish are ready for it, then I give myself every chance of getting the better outcome.
I’ve made a couple of changes lately that have helped, I think. Firstly, I’ve been consciously making sure that I always have a spare rig baited and ready to go. I know this is standard for a lot of fishermen but it’s generally a tactic that I’ve only used off and on, depending on how seriously I was taking the session. Lately though, I’ve been thinking about keeping things efficient and I’ve come to the conclusion that, especially with frozen baits and crab, it really is worth it. I’ve even made a few adjustments to my gilthead fishing set up to accommodate the spare rig approach and I reckon these tweaks may have scored me one or two extra bites. The value of the spare rig was also proved to me on a recent ray fishing trip. I had a good take and missed the fish (I think this may sometimes be caused by the ray settling on the bait and getting the hook nicked lightly in the wing or something like that), wound in and recast the spare rig right on the same spot. Within a minute the rod went again and I landed a good small-eye as a result. If I had messed around cutting the old bait off and lashing on a fresh one, that fish could easily have moved off on the tide by the time I had gotten a cast back out there. You may argue that the fish I caught could have been a different one perhaps from a small group, but the ray were very patchy that day and I really did feel like they were moving singly, hence I am convinced that it was the same fish.
The second change that I’ve made is to do with my casting. For a long time I’ve used a very simple cast with a medium-length drop that has served me quite well everywhere that I’ve used it, but lately I’ve changed to a longer drop and a wider swing that improves distance by some measure. What is also a bonus is that this new technique doesn’t ‘shock’ the rod and is effective on my lighter reel-up rods, meaning I can cast these hard without fear of a crack-off (which could happen using my old style on these rods). This has really opened up new and enjoyable possibilities for me, using the lighter rods at longer range, as well as getting consistently good distances with my heavier rods, where casting is not too hampered. I would go so far as to say that if I hadn’t changed my casting style, I may not have caught my three best fish of the trip over in Norway as all of those were taken a fair way out, casting a 200g lead and bait in a strong side wind. I’ve still got a more abbreviated cast as a backup that comes out somewhere between the proper cast and an overhead thump distance-wise, but where possible, I’m using my new style whilst fishing and I’m definitely pleased with how it’s working for me.
The vast majority of the fishing I’ve been doing over the last couple of months has been for ray and giltheads. Giltheading is standard for me at this time of year and I generally start out my season trying a couple of different spots to see which one will produce the goods. This year I had a good hit first time out, catching three fish with the best one going just over 5lbs and the other two both being decent ones. Strangely, all these fish came after dark, which is a rarity for me. I’ve often caught bream in the evening but I’ve never had proper ones after sunset before, although I must admit, I’ve not really tried that much for them in darkness. Needless to say, I’ve been back to this spot a good few times since and had a couple more tidy fish, although I’m not sure that this is as good a mark as I was hoping for. I compare every new spot I ‘find’ to a certain one I fished a lot and did well at in 2014 (that has now changed for the worse). I had fish of all sizes from 2-6lbs from this mark and at nearly all stages of the tide, usually in the early morning but at other times of the day too. Other spots I’ve found have been a lot more specific in their most productive times: one I’ve got only fishes in the two hours up to high and not on the drop; the mark I’ve been fishing this year only seems to fish from high tide back a couple of hours. Another spot I’ve got fishes either side of low, but all the fish I’ve caught there have been comparatively small: in the 2-3lb class (although it does throw up nice bass as a bonus).
In any respect, the goal is always the same: to catch a gilthead in the 7-8lb class from the open coast. I’m sure that the fish are there but I think they spend a lot of time holding up in inaccessible areas and/or choose to live over harder ground than their smaller counterparts, who are more willing to run the surf. I’ve also had third-hand information from spear fishermen that have seen big bream in the area that they seem to hang around with bass of the same sort of size, forming small groups. It could be the case that these groups may not share the habits of the regular shoals of smaller fish and might have behaviour and feeding patterns all of their own. Catching the bream out of them may be a whole different angling proposition to catching the normal fish in the usual way. Whatever the situation, the rub is that big (7lb+) bream are highly likely to be resident inshore on the north coast of Cornwall through summer but are rarely (if ever) caught by anglers. The biggest confirmed fish that I have seen have been in the 6-7lb category, although if someone has caught a better one and can prove it, I’d really like to hear from them!
Along with the giltheads has been a healthy dollop of fishing for small-eyed ray in the last month or two. Small-eyes are a funny one for me; I’ve caught lots of them and a good few doubles but I’ve not had a twelve pounder and I think it’s about time I caught one. I’ve given myself to the end of the year to sort one out and hopefully, if I’m smart and lucky, I’ll be able to make good on that deadline. Unfortunately, it’s clear that in these current times, the north coast of Cornwall is just not a great place to hunt this species any more. The famous old ray marks that line the coast from Newquay to Padstow are hardly worth fishing for them these days, although commercials I’ve talked to say that they still catch plenty in the area. Whether the drastic decline is due to reduced numbers, reduced food availability or a combination of both is impossible to say but the bottom line for me is that in recent years it can be tricky to even catch a small-eye on the north coast whereas on the south, it’s quite easy to catch a double. Anyway, I’ve done pretty well so far in my renewed interest in ray fishing this year, with plenty of good ones to just shy of 11lb. I won’t cry if I don’t get the 12 pounder but it would be nice; a big ray is a majestic beast and worth hunting.
Along with the small-eyes, I’ve fished a few sessions on the Fal when the weather has ruled out other options and I’ve had a few spotteds and a thornback. The funny thing is that three out of those four ray were by far the smallest I’ve ever caught in the Fal: a miniature thornback and two tiny spotteds, all less than a pound in weight. I was especially surprised at the spotteds as they were females; usually a female spotted in the Fal is a 4lb+ fish. Fortunately, before I got too confused, normal service was soon resumed with a spotted of 4.12. This fish had an eggcase showing and I had a nice little moment releasing her quick and watching her ‘fly’ away underwater to go and finish her business. I had another session in the Fal recently and was treated to something I’ve not had for a while, the good old Trefusis blank. Luckily my mate Roy caught a huss right at the death to make sure we didn’t lose face completely but I had to laugh, even when you’re having a pretty good run of luck, Trefusis always has the potential to rain on your parade.
My most recent trips have involved a bit of spinning; I bought a new spinning reel last week, a Shimano Sedona 3000. This model is in the ‘cheap, but not too cheap’ category which I generally find (with Shimano reels) virtually guarantees a good year or two’s service with little-to-no maintenance. It’s a fantastically smooth performer and although I wasn’t overly impressed with the line lay at first, it has yet to spit out a tangle of 20lb braid in my face so I’m pleased with that too. The drag is also very good so far, it got a thorough workout with a particularly dogged mullet a couple of days ago which it handled with great aplomb. Time will tell whether the reel is a long-term success but so far I like it better than other Shimano spinning reels in the same sort of price range that I own; Catana, Nexave and Exage. I’m pretty pleased with the 3000 size too, I typically choose either a 4000 or 2500 for spinning but the 3000 was recommended to me by a bass lure fanatic and seems to fit an 8-9’ lure rod perfectly, far better than the smaller or larger size.
I’ve also bought one or two new lures to try lately. In particular, I took a punt on a Savage Gear Line Thru Sandeel, the 125mm, 19g model in the yellow back pattern familiar to those who routinely use the Savage Gear Sandeel. I must say, I’ve only used this lure a couple of times and already I’m impressed with it. It doesn’t really look like much in the water but on my first trip I caught a couple of mackerel and a nice little pollack on it when other lures weren’t getting hit at all. I’ve yet to try it on bass but I’m sure it will work. I particularly like the fact that it casts well, can be worked slowly, and seems to hold its depth well. Working it faster seems to encourage a little wobbling action to the lure but I have a feeling that slow and steady will prove to be the way with this little beauty. The only downside is that it is pretty darned expensive, mine cost me £9.99. I would have baulked at the price if I’d seen it first but by the time money came up, I was committed and I had to have one. That’s a tip for tackle shops, if you want me to buy an expensive lure, only tell me the price when I’ve already got my wallet out!
My fishing plans for the next month or two pretty much involve a good bit more mulleting and hopefully some more ray and gilthead action before I start thinking about where I might catch a decent smoothhound. My intention to be strict about going and fishing a lot of ‘new’ spots this year hasn’t really worked out as I planned but I am still going to new places and messing around with new things so as far as I’m concerned, it’s all good. Most importantly I’m enjoying my fishing a lot and I don’t feel particularly tied to any one thing, so I can change course entirely if I feel like things are getting stale. 'Til next time!
I’ve made a couple of changes lately that have helped, I think. Firstly, I’ve been consciously making sure that I always have a spare rig baited and ready to go. I know this is standard for a lot of fishermen but it’s generally a tactic that I’ve only used off and on, depending on how seriously I was taking the session. Lately though, I’ve been thinking about keeping things efficient and I’ve come to the conclusion that, especially with frozen baits and crab, it really is worth it. I’ve even made a few adjustments to my gilthead fishing set up to accommodate the spare rig approach and I reckon these tweaks may have scored me one or two extra bites. The value of the spare rig was also proved to me on a recent ray fishing trip. I had a good take and missed the fish (I think this may sometimes be caused by the ray settling on the bait and getting the hook nicked lightly in the wing or something like that), wound in and recast the spare rig right on the same spot. Within a minute the rod went again and I landed a good small-eye as a result. If I had messed around cutting the old bait off and lashing on a fresh one, that fish could easily have moved off on the tide by the time I had gotten a cast back out there. You may argue that the fish I caught could have been a different one perhaps from a small group, but the ray were very patchy that day and I really did feel like they were moving singly, hence I am convinced that it was the same fish.
The second change that I’ve made is to do with my casting. For a long time I’ve used a very simple cast with a medium-length drop that has served me quite well everywhere that I’ve used it, but lately I’ve changed to a longer drop and a wider swing that improves distance by some measure. What is also a bonus is that this new technique doesn’t ‘shock’ the rod and is effective on my lighter reel-up rods, meaning I can cast these hard without fear of a crack-off (which could happen using my old style on these rods). This has really opened up new and enjoyable possibilities for me, using the lighter rods at longer range, as well as getting consistently good distances with my heavier rods, where casting is not too hampered. I would go so far as to say that if I hadn’t changed my casting style, I may not have caught my three best fish of the trip over in Norway as all of those were taken a fair way out, casting a 200g lead and bait in a strong side wind. I’ve still got a more abbreviated cast as a backup that comes out somewhere between the proper cast and an overhead thump distance-wise, but where possible, I’m using my new style whilst fishing and I’m definitely pleased with how it’s working for me.
The vast majority of the fishing I’ve been doing over the last couple of months has been for ray and giltheads. Giltheading is standard for me at this time of year and I generally start out my season trying a couple of different spots to see which one will produce the goods. This year I had a good hit first time out, catching three fish with the best one going just over 5lbs and the other two both being decent ones. Strangely, all these fish came after dark, which is a rarity for me. I’ve often caught bream in the evening but I’ve never had proper ones after sunset before, although I must admit, I’ve not really tried that much for them in darkness. Needless to say, I’ve been back to this spot a good few times since and had a couple more tidy fish, although I’m not sure that this is as good a mark as I was hoping for. I compare every new spot I ‘find’ to a certain one I fished a lot and did well at in 2014 (that has now changed for the worse). I had fish of all sizes from 2-6lbs from this mark and at nearly all stages of the tide, usually in the early morning but at other times of the day too. Other spots I’ve found have been a lot more specific in their most productive times: one I’ve got only fishes in the two hours up to high and not on the drop; the mark I’ve been fishing this year only seems to fish from high tide back a couple of hours. Another spot I’ve got fishes either side of low, but all the fish I’ve caught there have been comparatively small: in the 2-3lb class (although it does throw up nice bass as a bonus).
In any respect, the goal is always the same: to catch a gilthead in the 7-8lb class from the open coast. I’m sure that the fish are there but I think they spend a lot of time holding up in inaccessible areas and/or choose to live over harder ground than their smaller counterparts, who are more willing to run the surf. I’ve also had third-hand information from spear fishermen that have seen big bream in the area that they seem to hang around with bass of the same sort of size, forming small groups. It could be the case that these groups may not share the habits of the regular shoals of smaller fish and might have behaviour and feeding patterns all of their own. Catching the bream out of them may be a whole different angling proposition to catching the normal fish in the usual way. Whatever the situation, the rub is that big (7lb+) bream are highly likely to be resident inshore on the north coast of Cornwall through summer but are rarely (if ever) caught by anglers. The biggest confirmed fish that I have seen have been in the 6-7lb category, although if someone has caught a better one and can prove it, I’d really like to hear from them!
Along with the giltheads has been a healthy dollop of fishing for small-eyed ray in the last month or two. Small-eyes are a funny one for me; I’ve caught lots of them and a good few doubles but I’ve not had a twelve pounder and I think it’s about time I caught one. I’ve given myself to the end of the year to sort one out and hopefully, if I’m smart and lucky, I’ll be able to make good on that deadline. Unfortunately, it’s clear that in these current times, the north coast of Cornwall is just not a great place to hunt this species any more. The famous old ray marks that line the coast from Newquay to Padstow are hardly worth fishing for them these days, although commercials I’ve talked to say that they still catch plenty in the area. Whether the drastic decline is due to reduced numbers, reduced food availability or a combination of both is impossible to say but the bottom line for me is that in recent years it can be tricky to even catch a small-eye on the north coast whereas on the south, it’s quite easy to catch a double. Anyway, I’ve done pretty well so far in my renewed interest in ray fishing this year, with plenty of good ones to just shy of 11lb. I won’t cry if I don’t get the 12 pounder but it would be nice; a big ray is a majestic beast and worth hunting.
Along with the small-eyes, I’ve fished a few sessions on the Fal when the weather has ruled out other options and I’ve had a few spotteds and a thornback. The funny thing is that three out of those four ray were by far the smallest I’ve ever caught in the Fal: a miniature thornback and two tiny spotteds, all less than a pound in weight. I was especially surprised at the spotteds as they were females; usually a female spotted in the Fal is a 4lb+ fish. Fortunately, before I got too confused, normal service was soon resumed with a spotted of 4.12. This fish had an eggcase showing and I had a nice little moment releasing her quick and watching her ‘fly’ away underwater to go and finish her business. I had another session in the Fal recently and was treated to something I’ve not had for a while, the good old Trefusis blank. Luckily my mate Roy caught a huss right at the death to make sure we didn’t lose face completely but I had to laugh, even when you’re having a pretty good run of luck, Trefusis always has the potential to rain on your parade.
My most recent trips have involved a bit of spinning; I bought a new spinning reel last week, a Shimano Sedona 3000. This model is in the ‘cheap, but not too cheap’ category which I generally find (with Shimano reels) virtually guarantees a good year or two’s service with little-to-no maintenance. It’s a fantastically smooth performer and although I wasn’t overly impressed with the line lay at first, it has yet to spit out a tangle of 20lb braid in my face so I’m pleased with that too. The drag is also very good so far, it got a thorough workout with a particularly dogged mullet a couple of days ago which it handled with great aplomb. Time will tell whether the reel is a long-term success but so far I like it better than other Shimano spinning reels in the same sort of price range that I own; Catana, Nexave and Exage. I’m pretty pleased with the 3000 size too, I typically choose either a 4000 or 2500 for spinning but the 3000 was recommended to me by a bass lure fanatic and seems to fit an 8-9’ lure rod perfectly, far better than the smaller or larger size.
I’ve also bought one or two new lures to try lately. In particular, I took a punt on a Savage Gear Line Thru Sandeel, the 125mm, 19g model in the yellow back pattern familiar to those who routinely use the Savage Gear Sandeel. I must say, I’ve only used this lure a couple of times and already I’m impressed with it. It doesn’t really look like much in the water but on my first trip I caught a couple of mackerel and a nice little pollack on it when other lures weren’t getting hit at all. I’ve yet to try it on bass but I’m sure it will work. I particularly like the fact that it casts well, can be worked slowly, and seems to hold its depth well. Working it faster seems to encourage a little wobbling action to the lure but I have a feeling that slow and steady will prove to be the way with this little beauty. The only downside is that it is pretty darned expensive, mine cost me £9.99. I would have baulked at the price if I’d seen it first but by the time money came up, I was committed and I had to have one. That’s a tip for tackle shops, if you want me to buy an expensive lure, only tell me the price when I’ve already got my wallet out!
My fishing plans for the next month or two pretty much involve a good bit more mulleting and hopefully some more ray and gilthead action before I start thinking about where I might catch a decent smoothhound. My intention to be strict about going and fishing a lot of ‘new’ spots this year hasn’t really worked out as I planned but I am still going to new places and messing around with new things so as far as I’m concerned, it’s all good. Most importantly I’m enjoying my fishing a lot and I don’t feel particularly tied to any one thing, so I can change course entirely if I feel like things are getting stale. 'Til next time!