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).

Not bait.

This weekend I would have liked to continue my experiments with big baits freelined in the margins but things conspired to prevent me. On Saturday the early weather forecast was dire (but as it turned out wrong) and later I had a grandson/birthday visit. On Sunday I was booked to go on an archeology trip with my wife so my only chance to fish was early morning. I looked up the tides to find that it was going to be the first of the ebb - not auspicious conditions for how I'd hoped to fish. Anyway, I was determined to give it a go so I opted to try spinning an 18cm Evo Redgill, always reliable.

I set the alarm for 03:00 and by the time I got to the coast at 03:40 there was just the first glimmer of light in a cloudy sky. There was not a breath of wind and it was pretty warm for early morning but as I opened the car door I could hear the crashing roar of a big swell - good for surfers but perhaps not so good for me??? I trudged along to a relatively sheltered spot to find the water slightly coloured and full of little fragments of weed. Perhaps the Redgill was a bad choice? I had a cast or two and it was picking up slivers of weed every other cast. I might have been be worse! I thought. I contined to fish without changing the lure.

For perhaps three-quarters-of-an-hour I flogged away without a bite then - was that a tap? I was fairly convinced that I'd felt something tug the lure. Three more chucks and rat-ta-tat! A definite missed bite. Must be small fish I decided. Encouraged I fished on and suddenly there was a vicious take and I was in. Clearly it was no monster but it pulled hard and dragged off a little line against the tight clutch. I reeled the fish in and slid a bass of perhaps two-and-a-half pounds ashore. Nip and get the camera, try to focus in the gloom (forgot I was wearing a headlamp), click, click, take the hook out and slip the fish back - magic!

Half-an-hour and six more bass later I was well pleased with my morning. None of the bass were any bigger than the first one but they were all spirited little fish. Then the bites ceased so at 05:15hr I wound in for the last time, slipped the hook into the butt ring of my rod (I know I shouldn't do it) and set off home. A much better morning than I could have hoped. I'll enjoy the trip to the Roman Villa.

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

Bass number one.

Another.

---and another.

Close up.