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).
Christmas 2024.
Have a good Christmas and let the fishing be first class for everyone in 2025. All the best, MIKE.
Last year (2023) was not my best, so I have been trying to get back to some serious fishing. Progress was a bit slow but it is gradually comimg together -
Last january was spent with in Brazil with Richard, Ana and the girls. Rich and I did as much fishing as possible. Mostly we spun from the rocks and the sandy beaches with the main objective being snook and jacks. It was not exactly hectic but we did pretty well with fish on most sessions. We (mostly my son) caught a variety of species including, catfish, puffers, a foul hooked sting ray, and some small barracuda as well as the two target species and the odd lost tarpon.
A sea catfish for Richard.
One of our barracuda (a small species)
A puffer - they have a vicious set of teeth and make short work of softbaits.
A nice jack from the beach.
Rich into another hard fighting fish.
Even though we fished together, for equal amounts of time, I caught least and was mostly the photographer.
He's in again (jammy little toad!).
...and another decent snook.
We also did a fair amount of night-time fishing from the kayak. It was anly about fifteen minutes from the front door 'til we were fishing, so pretty good. We generally free-lined with circle hooks and fish baits. The usual action came from sting rays but there was also the occasional catfish (4 species), remoras and (yuk!) moray eels.
After our return from Brazil it took some time before I got back into proper fishing but, in April, I had my first carp off the top followed by a few more in May. My tactics, (like me) were simple with a hook tied direct to the end of the line, baited with a big chunk of bread crust and allowed to float on the surface.
A carp in the net.
...and another!
...and another.
In June I was able to venture to the River and I had a few pike and chub - mostly on lures. None of the fish were of any great size but it was good to be catching again after my long lay-off..
A small pike.
A plug-caught chub.
With half of the year already gone it was a massive relief to be back on the shore with my pals Bill and Nigel. You can't imagine how thrilled I was to see the little, crawling, white maggots in the rotting middens of seaweed (I'm easily pleased). Of course the bass and mullet had, as always, managed to locate the food source on the high water mark of the Spring tides and all three of us caught bass in numbers, if not in great sizes.
That's what we like to see - seaweed fly maggots in abundance..
It was good to feel the rod bend again.
A typical modest bass on a soft plastic, weedless lure.
...and a nice one for Bill.
In July I also resorted to my tactic of free-lining fish baits close in. The tactic has often produced a better class of bass for me than the use of lures. One of my first trips was with my grandson Marcel. He mostly fishes for chub and pike with his Dad but he'd tried a few dabbles for bass with his mates and they had caught some small ones. Anyway, we had not fished for long when we saw one or two fish, tailing as they moved in with the tide. It was only a few minutes before he had the typical fast-running take and, doing everything right, landed (and returned) a cracking fish, almost big enough to have eaten his previous PB. An excellent first attempt with the tactics.
Marcel's first free-lined bass - nice one!
A better picture - ready to go back.
To be honest my own bait fishing results were disappointing, but I caught the odd decent fish and the excitement of the catch was as good as ever.
One nice bass on bait for me.
A second fish. Could have been worse.
Despite my bait-fishing efforts I have not given ups spinning altogether and the couple of trips I did with my mates produced the usual crop of smallish bass - mostly on weedless softbaits. They are so versatile that I wish we had used them in my younger days.
The Maggot Club.
One for Nigel.
A smaller one for me.
Yet another for Bill.
I even managed a mullet or two on the fly tackle - just for old time's sake. I often used to carry three made-up rods - float, spinning and fly - just in case. Those were the days.
A thicklip on the maggot fly.
For six weeks in the Autumn we were visiting the Australian branch of our family, so there was effectively no fishing for me. After my return in November I resorted again to freelining, supposedly for bass. By this time we were into the succession of low pressure and storms of wind and rain. I fully expected the bass to bite every time the sea flattened after a blow but no! Even though Bill continued to catch bass on his lure fishing sessions, the only things interested in my baits were conger eels. Almost all the eels, one or two of a decent size, came unstuck from my circle hooks. I decided that this was a function of the circle hooks and the eels swimming backwards - that's my excuse anyway.
A pathetic conger on my bass bait.
Just to end on a brighter note. My son Richard, who lives in Brazil with his family, is on holiday in Costa Rica. He has managed a few early morning and late evening sessions with the spinning gear and, although he's had nothing big (as yet) he did manage his first ever rooster fish from the beach along with one or two jacks. He also caught several bonito while on a snorkeling boat trip with his daughters. He said it was like fishing in a fish farm - almost too easy!
A Costa Rican beach.
One of Richard's jacks.
Rich with a bonito from the boat.
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