Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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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).

My year's fishing.

Nobody wants to read long emails at Christmas so I thought I'd just do a summary of the past year in pictures. Most of them you'll have seen over the twelve months but even I had forgotten quite a few (despite the fact that I caught many of the fish). My highlights were probably the thinlipped mullet from my local river. Some of the big chub and seatrout were also pretty exciting and perhaps best of all was to see my son Richard catch big thicklips on my fly gear - fantastic! Of course there were many more memorable fish - large pike almost in the dark, my pal Bill's first salmon, mirror finish leatherjackets from a Brazilian beach, snook in Tobago, plus the biggies that I lost - a huge salmon on a little plug, big tarpon, jacks and an eagle ray on my bass spinning tackle and so on. The images will stay with me for ever. Of course there were many other fish - bass, pollack, mackerel, carp, perch, snapper, you name it and even the blanks were good fun.

Anyway, I'd just like to say "Thanks!" to all my correspondents and "See you soon!" to my good fishing mates. Have an excellent Christmas and I hope that we all have plenty of memorable trips in 2014.

All the best,

Mike

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

Grayling.

A good way to start the year.

Nice common.

Early season carp.

Tagging pike.

My pal Rudi tags one of my pike.

Pollack.

Not big but one of the year's first..

Bill.

Me and my pal Bill Fagg - cheerful but fishless.

Brown fish.

Bill is still not a fan of wrasse.

Fly gear.

more anglers should try fly fishing in saltwater.

Thinlip.

I spent a fair bit of time trying to catch thinlips in fresh water.

Feeding thinlips.

Fascinating viewing in the clear chalkstream water.

Chub.

Plugging for big chub is great and effective.

Salmon.

Even when they're 'accidental' they are beautiful fish.

Bass.

The old J11 Rapala is still as effective as ever.

Carp.

I have a soft spot for carp - even if they are brown.

Richard.

My pal Richard Gardiner unhooking a pike.

Redgill.

These lures are as productive as most for bass if there's not too much loose weed.

Rob.

Another mackerel bites the dust.

Mackerel.

Still one of my favourite fish. What colour! Forget the feathers.

Thicklip.

Unless the celebrity chefs latch onto them these fish will always provide amazing sport.

-- another chub.

Can't resist a picture of a nice chub.

Whoaaaa!!!!

Even little pike can be exciting.

Nigel.

Another good fly-caught mullet on its way to the beach.

Pike.

A cracker on my 'seatrout lure'.

Daniel.

My youngest son has a dabble for wrasse at Worbarrow.

Joshua.

My grandson. More interested in the sand than the fish at the moment.

Bait.

Nigel plays a bass taken on a freelined bait - I blanked.

Sluggill.

My pal Bill's weedless development, alternative to the Slandra.

Pike.

Always amusing, even if the plug wasn't intended for them.

The Fly.

I do enjoy catching pollack on the fly..

Another chub.

I seemed to catch a lot of these last season.

Seatrout.

This one was caught in the dark.

Thicklip.

Another beauty on the fly gear.

Bigger.

My best seatrout this year.

Rich.

My third son, on a visit from Brazil, into a big mullet.

Rich 2.

With a mullet.

Rich 3.

with a bass.

Nice pike.

This one took a real fish.

Dave.

My pal Dave Box with a nice pike.

Bigger pike.

This one took a Slandra.

What a mullet.

Another stonker. This one took a Redgill!!!!

Slandra.

Another pike on the soft plastic.

Bass.

A good December bass on a Redgill.

Sandy.

Alan Bulmer's wife Sandy with a cracking porae.

Kahawai.

A sort of cross between bass and mackerel in my book.

Alan.

Alan Bulmer with a Tongariro rainbow.