Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

SEA FISHING

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over several years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. As you see I also add the odd piece from my friends and correspondents if I've not been doing much. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff).

16 June 2006

A number of people have asked me about the rubber prawn on which Richard Gardiner caught his bass the other week. So I asked him and here's what he said.

HI Mike

It’s a Storm shrimp not sure of exact model but look on the following link as they are a little cheaper and they have 2 different types if you scroll down and I am not sure of the difference.

http://www.tacklebargains.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Storm_Soft_baits_76.html

All the best

Richard

A bit more info just come in - Richard says that the colour is 'natural' and that he thinks the jointed shrimp is better than the unjointed.

Once again 'the flies has it!'

I'm often wrong when I try to predict where the fish will be. However, for once, on the last lot of springs I (and my pals) got it right. The storms of the previous weekend had cast up mountains of kelp and wrack along much of the Purbeck coast. The weather then settled into the warm, calm conditions that still prevail over much of the country. This is ideal for the breeding of seaweed flies. There are billions of the little buggers and unless we have somemore storms in the next two weeks I expect the flies to be present in abundance for some time to come.

Lots of flies means lots of maggots and maggots attract fish. It's not quite as simple as that because there are a number of factors that influence where the fish will feed and there is no substitute for a bit of experience and lots of walking to find out which are the current hotspots. I mentioned in the last tack-tics page the long, sweaty walks to our fishing spots so I'll content myself with a few words about some of the fish we caught.

The most effective fly seemed to be a lightly dressed chartreuse Clouser Minnow but, to be honest, most vaguely fishy looking flies caught fish. The biggest fish seemed to turn up on the earlier spring tides and as the days wore on the smaller bass and mullet seemed to increase in numbers.

The bass take flies with vigour but considering the number of fish that must see the flies results are pretty modest. I reckon inly one fish in hundreds actually leaves off its diet of maggots to sample a fly. Large lures, such as plugs or poppers, are even less effective under these conditions. The mullet, of course, are much worse from this point of view. They rarely look at a wet-fly and when they do take one it is a real bonus. There is more chance of foul hooking a mullet by accident than of one taking a fly or lure. This being the case I was chuffed to catch three mullet on my little delta eels in one evening. The fish have gone now so we will have to wait and see what happens in a couple of weeks time - suspense and anticipation, that's what makes fishing interesting.

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Coelopa frigida.

Up your nose, in your hair, down your shirt - seaweed flies get everywhere but without them we'd miss out on some exciting fishing.

Bass on a modified rubber eel.

I put some eyes on the back of the shank to turn this lure upside down - it was quite effective.

Plugging.

Not all the fish took flies and here Nigel plays a good bass on a taken on plug.

Mullet.

This mullet certainly had a go at my 'fly'.

Another mullet.

.....and so did this one.