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).
Makes a change - a few bites but a puzzle.
This year, when I was able to fish, I persisted with my tactics of free-lining for bass with large, circle hooks and fish baits. For much of the time the tactic was not very successful probably because I was not in the right places at the right times, and so I had few bites. However, I stuck at it, despite the fact that my pal Bill, fishing similar places, was doing reasonably well with his tried and trusted softbaits and spinning approach and has continued catching fish well into November. I suppose that I'm simply hoping, as always, that something much bigger may take one of my baits.
An example of Bill's recent catches.
...and a second!
...and a third!
In my pig headed fashion I'm as keen as ever. Recently, I thought that the recent storm 'Bert' might have stirred things up and offered me the chance of a good bass as the seas settled down. So, despite the fact that my wife said I was mad, I decided to have a morning at the coast as the storm was subsiding. I was wrong because, at 03:00hr, as I left the house, conditions seemed OK, but by the time I parked the car at the coast it was clearly far too windy for my unweighted tackle tactics and probably too dangerous for me to fish, so I turned the car round and went back home to bed.
The next day I was pretty well convinced that it would now be fishable so, the following morning found me standing on the shore in the dark and lobbing my bait a few metres out from where I stood. I began operations at 05:15 with an 8/0 circle hook baited with about six ounces of mackerel head and shoulders, lightly lip-hooked. It would be about two-and-a-half hours before low water of the small neap tide. The water temperature was 13.0 degrees C and there was a very slight onshore wind. In short, it was much calmer and less windy than the previous day. After five minutes or so I felt a slight rattle on the line then the line slowly tightened. I reeled in to find the bait draped in weed. On the next cast the same thing happened again. The third cast was undisturbed for perhaps ten minutes then I felt the line pull to a slow, dragging bite. No run developed but I could still feel something on the end so I tightened gently and found myself playing a reasonable fish. Clearly it was not a bass although it took a metre or two of line. Then the line went slack and I was left with only the head of the bait on my hook. 'Conger!' I thought. I replaced the head with most of a herring, again lip hooked. Shortly after casting I had another bite. This fish came to the surface and I played a larger (c.20lb), definite, conger for a short time, before it came off, again leaving me with just the head. I put on a scrap of herring tail-end and then lost yet another conger on way in. My last-gasp-cast was baited with the remaining, pathetic mackerel and herring heads, on a smaller, size 6/0 circle hook. I had another bite and this time landed a 5-6lb conger. Success! (of a kind). When I packed in it was at 06:30. No more bait and no bass, so I went home.
My small conger has freed itself from the hook after being landed.
A closer look at its head.
The following day I decided to try the same place in the evening. I started to fish at 18:15. Conditions were similar to the previous morning. this time I only took one bait (silly bugger) and used a short wire trace, expecting conger. My bait was a large mackerel head-and-shoulders. At 18:20 I had a heavy, tugging bite. I waited a couple of minutes before tightening, and the conger, a decent one, fought briefly at the surface before removing my entire bait from the hook. I uttered a few curses and left for home.
The next morning I went again. Took several baits. Fished for an-hour-and a quarter, and didn't have a sniff.
I thought about what had happened. It generally felt that the fish were well hooked and often taking line before they came unstuck. However, congers don't behave like bass or indeed like most other fish, Instead of turning and swimming away after they feel the line tighten, they swim BACKWARDS as I play them. The outcome of this may be that the circle hooks don't swivel round and catch in the scissors as is the case with bass or pike, but they simply pull back out of the mouth. In other words they behave like a blunt J hook. I emailed my (few) fishing pals for comments and they more or less agreed. Possible solutions would be to use a Pennel rig or to revert to J hooks + a strike. For sure both would result in more gut-hooking of both bass and conger. Not good for me or the fish.
I could, I suppose, try tweaking the line in an attempt to induce the congers to swim away with no tension before tightening or, alternatively, try reducing the size of the baits in relation to the gape of the hooks. Neither idea has much appeal. The best solution was probably the one suggested by my pal Richard who said I should put up with the losses and be grateful that I don't have to unhook many congers. I suppose occasionally I will have to get the pliers out or even cut the odd trace to release them but it may be the most satisfactory choice.
PLEASE TELL YOUR TWITTER (X), FACEBOOK, EMAIL FRIENDS ABOUT THESE BOOKS.
THE SECOND WAVE
Written with Steve Pitts this is a SEQUEL TO THE BESTSELLER "Operation Sea Angler" IT'S AVAILABLE ON PAPER FROM -
HOOKED ON BASS
Written with Alan Vaughan. NEW PRINT OF THE ORIGINAL: IN PAPERBACK. Copies available from all good book shops RRP 14:99 -
ANGLING ON THE EDGE
Copies can now be ordered (printed on demand) from Steve Pitts at 34.00, inc. Royal Mail Insured UK Mainland Postage.
To order a book send an E-MAIL to - stevejpitts@gmail.com
FISHING FOR GHOSTS
Written with David Rigden. Copies from
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