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).

03 October 2006

Modest success at last.

The last couple of Saturday morning trips with Ben have been fishless. The problem is usually one of deciding where to go under the prevailing conditions. As a rule I've been somewhere during the preceding week and this gives us some idea of the prospects, however, the weather has been pretty changeable lately and each time we've got it wrong.

Last week I'd caught a few fish at Swanage and when we met on Saturday morning the wind seemed to be more or less offshore so we decided to give it a go again. As it happened the tide was much higher than it had been on my previous session so we could not get to the spot I wanted to fish. Conditions looked pretty good with a bit of a chop on the water and a fast running ebb current but despite us both seeing some fish (probably pollack) striking at the surface we couldn't get a sniff on the poppers. I was using a TC Pencil and Ben was fishing with a skitterpop.

We flogged away for an hour or so then we decided to work our way back to the car fishing as we went. I was still quite optimistic although Ben was beginning to mutter phrases includin words like 'Jonah' and 'jinx'. We were just about back to the lifeboat slipway when suddenly Ben's rod arched over and he was into a fish. Not a big one but nevertheless a bass and certainly a jinx breaker.

I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures as the bass was landed and released. Before I could pick up my rod Ben cast again and I saw a good swirl by the lure as he had another take. This one missed the hooks and basically that was it. Not another bite between us. It's amazing how conditions change from day to day.

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

It's on!

There it is.

Landed.

Ready to unhook.