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).

Hardly any bass.

The spring tides have come round again and one or two recces have shown that there is maggoty weed in a few spots. Rob, Nigel and Andy were all keen to get down to the coast on the first 1.9m tide (a height that gives a fair chance of maggots, mullet and bass). As Autumn approaches the window of opportunity for a spot of evening fishng where the tide and the failing light coincide gets narrower and narrower. Anyway, we were all on the beach by about 17.30hr armed with a variety of spinning and fly gear. At first the mullet were thin on the ground but it was so tempting to have a go at them that three of us picked up the fly rods. After twenty minutes of fruitless flogging Nigel and I joined Andy and started plugging. After ten minutes Nigel caught the tiniest bass of the year - scarcely any bigger than the plug he was using. Rob persisted with the maggot fly but it must have been very frustrating.

Things continued in the same vein until Andy pointed out a small shoal of 'mad on' mullet right in the margin. Within minutes Rob was into a fish on his maggot fly and after a struggle he beached his three pounder. I picked up the camera and wandered along to see if I could get any pictures. The fish were still cruising about and mopping up maggots with their fat, pink lips half out of the water. I took a few pictures as Rob was unhooking and returning his fish, he baited up the little poly-fly with a bunch of maggots and began to fish again. The mullet were still going berserk only a metre or two from the edge of the sea. I saw his fly line twitch as a mullet mouthed the fly, a lift of the rod and he was in. What a battle! The fish made run after run and often the rod was bent almost into a circle. It must have been five minutes before he slid his five pounder onto a handy flat ledge. Fantastic!

Soon the sun reached the horizon and the light began to fail so I set off for home but in the gloom the mullet were still feeding madly and my last view was of Rob still flicking out his fly in search of another hard fighting fish. His email this morning tells me that he had another mullet and that Nigel also had a good fish on the fly.

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

Mad on!

Hes in!/P>

Still going!

At last!