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).

15 August 2007

The spice of life.

Despite the livebaiting I've managed a few minutes with the fly gear. I decided, after seeing shoals of largish sprats in the water, that I ought to try upping the size of my Delta/Redgill flies. They don't weigh much anyway so they are still easily castable. The main problem, I found was that the new ones (plain white) were too long in the body to fit easily onto my stainless hooks. I had to cut the heads (and eyes) off the eels to get them to sit straight on the hook shank. Again I used superglue to stick them on but another minor problem arose. They would not stick very well. The answer was a whipping of thread to thicken the hook shank before adding the superglue. Anyway it seemed to work.

For the next session, as usual, Ben and I arrived just before first light and I began fishing in the total gloom. I couldn't see the fly line or the eel. Eureka! Second cast I was into a fish. The fight was unusual - not the plunge of a pollack nor the racing, vibrating rattle of a mackerel. A bit of surface splashing - could it be a small bass? No it was a nice scad. One up for the new, headless eel. After taking my picture next cast produced a bass, then a pollack, then another one and finally a mackerel. The latter went on as livebait and that was the end of my catches for the morning. I find this the hardest part of fishing to be honest when I have to stick to my appointed method whatever the other options may be. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run. Ben continued fly fishing and had a number of pollack on his smaller Delta eels. All in all a very pleasant session and a good variety of species.

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

Scad.

Bass.

Small pollack.

Another pollack.

Mackerel.