Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

Freshwater 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).

Seatrout and time of day.

It's time that I caught up with the fishing I've done since my computer went critical six weeks ago (it's fixed now). This page will be a sort of seatrout montage and covers some of the fish taken on three short trips round about last light. I tend to start fishing as the sun is going down and I quite often catch one or two perch, pike and trout while I can still see what I'm doing. However, the cream of the seatrout fishing is usually after it gets dark. The trick, at this point, is to cast without catching the grass or bushes on the other bank. The 20lb braided line and lightweight plug that I have been using recently will easily reach beyond the far bank so some care is needed particularly if there is a breeze blowing. Of course if you are fly fishing it is pretty easy to fish with a fixed length of line out but the river that I fish is more or less unwadeable, has steep, unstable banks and fences, trees, head-high growths of nettles, cow parsley and so on all designed to snatch at the passing fly. Also, I find that it pays to keep moving in the search for fish so the distance to the far bank constantly varies. Of course it is possible to simply cast down (or up) the middle of the river but this wastes a lot of water as the lure only covers half the available width and for a fair amount of the time the best bit is on the opposite side.

On these sessions I generally wear wellies, overtrouses and a plastic jacket as a sort of anti-nettle outfit. I also wear a headlamp which I only resort to after I've packed in so I can avoid accidentally plunging into the river as I trudge back. On the odd occasion I switch the lamp on when I need to see to unhook a fish, tie a knot or clip on a new lure. Generally I can get away with cautiously feeling my way about in the gloom.

It's great fun fishing for seatrout and nine times out of ten they explode from the water when they feel the hook. A fair proportion of the fish are likely to avoid being hooked at all and others escape quite quickly when their aerial antics dislodge the lure from their mouths. Some fish will jump time after time while others, often the larger ones, make strong clutch-screaming runs. On dark nights it is really exciting to feel the rod yank round and hear the following crash and splash as the fish flings itself into the air. If the fish is any size it pays to play it out until it is fairly quiet before trying to net it as there's always a chance of the lure stuck in the net and the fish still outside it. Ideally it is best to try and lead the hooked trout to a slow flowing spot as holding the net in a strong flow and trying to persuade a big seatrout to slip into the meshes can be a little difficult.

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

A five pounder in the net.

The same fish ready to go back.

Lure hooks catching in the net can be a problem. I normally unhook the fish before untangling the lure.

Another good trout on the little Rapala. I was able to beach this one to avoid using the net.

This fish, caught before dusk, had unusually large spots.

Not the biggest but it was interestingly marked.

A better fish taken well after dark.

Unhooked and ready to return.

... and yet another nice fish that I managed to beach.