peterseafishing

Hi Looking at going pike fishing on Loch Ken has anybody been up there to fish for pike in the last 12 months. I am told that the creyfish have started to make dead baiting adifficult? Peter

Hi Getting fresh sandells is not always easy, I have caught them with a prawn push net off the yorkshire coast and scotland. In yorkshire on a few low tides in spring they just pop up as the tide turns after they have spawned. With practice you can flick them from the sand at low water by dragging a knife backwards through the sand but you have to be in the right location. I have always wanted to try a trow net but the cost puts me off. I tend to use good quality frozen or the plastic holigramatic type.

Hi All my fishing apart from for ling/conger is done with light tackle. Your carp rods are fine for lots of fishing but I would buy a cheap real as you do not want to use good carp reels in the sea. I loke to float fish and lure fish for bass and pollack. If you let me know what part of the coast you are fishing I should be able to give more help.

Jet Drives Has anybody any experience with jet drives? I have a 25 foot fishing boat fitted with a 75 hp ford and a Sonic stern drive. I am overpowered for the Sonic stern drive and am looking at alternative drive systems. I am bringing the boat home for a full refit at the end of the season so will have time for major alterations. I would like to get away from the complex Z drive system I know that it would be easy to fit a Volvo stern drive but am worried on reliability. I like the principal of a jet drive and have been looking at Hamilton Jet drives as they seem to be the leaders. The hull is a planing hull and a may re-engine to a more powerful unit in the future. Any thought or information would be appreciated. Pete

Fishing The Mull Of Galloway 20 July to 5 August 2006-08-06 First Trip Port Logan Started fishing from the rocks with float fished sandeel worked well with lots of pollack to 2 1/2 lb with all fish returned. When I had ran out of frozen snadeel changed over to 3D hologram type sandeel lure fished with a 1 oz bullet and a 3 ft trace. I had lots of follows but the takes were few (water very clear ) On the packet I noted it said to try free lined the lure. Off with the bullet and a long wait for the lure to sink with only a short cast along side the kelp. The first cast resulted in a 4 ½ lb pollack and a very good fight, I saw the fish take the lure about 4 feet out. The action on these free lined eels is the best I have seen. Bass Fishing Luce Bay I was disappointed with the bass fishing with only one 2 ½ lb fish from four trips. This fish was one the first session and it fell to a silver / blue mackerel pattern plug. I tried other plugs and the to 3D hologram type sandeel lure but no takers. Ardwell Bay Once again targeting pollack with frozen sandeel from the rocks with good sucsess on small pollack. I also took several mackerel and one billet. Changed tactic to close in fishing for wrasse for a change caught lots of ballen but non over 1 lb still good fun on light tackle. The gales start so Try The Mull at Tarbet The wind had picked up making port logan and ardwell bay unfishable. The mull looked OK but on climbing down I was disgusted to see what looked like months of beer bottles cans old line sandeel packes and general rubish that can only have been left by fellow anglers when will they learn to take home the rubbish. Tried to float fish but the wind had picked up and I was unable to stop the slack line catching on the rocks. Started to fish straight down a couple of feet out hey presto pollack and wrasse again nothing big but good fun. Back to Ardwell Bay Fished into a gale on the only sheltered part of the bay and the pollack were soon being caught on frozen sandeel. Soon ran out of bait so in desperation tried the to 3D hologram type sandeel lure as the sea was rough I think it put a good action on these lures and I continued to catch fish to 3 lb Next Year Next year planning for year of tope and bass fishing. I am taking the big bot out of Whitby (mooring cost to high) and having at least 12 months on a refit. The caravan and 16 foot ally tin bath booked in for the season. Money saved on mooring fees will more the cover caravan site fee and boat storage + fuel for several trips.

I am going to target bass in Luce Bay, in the past I have mainly used plugs and spinners. This year I want to try natural baits. I know I can trap prawns but am unsure if bass will take them and how to fish them. Thinking of float fishing them live?. Next is sandeel I have used frozen in the past but would like to try fresh either as live bait or dead bait. The problem is how to catch them. I have looked at throw nets but the ones I have seen seem to have to larger mesh. I have tried pulling a knife blade backwards through the sand but only got a couple. Can they be caught on hook or by traps? Any other tips. I am leaving then ally tin boat behind this year so will be shore fishing. Peter

Hi Dave Glen I have tried trolling and casting repalas also with not takes from bass did get some mackrel though last year. I want to catch some frech sandeel and try livebaiting for them. I have concidered joey mackrel but understand that the limit for them at Whitby is larger than the rest of uk. I will have a big push for bass later this year and may just target them. I keep saying I will also have a try for tope on day. Peter

I have had some good evenings on the pollack in past years. In Scotland on the Mull of Galloway I use both troll and slow retrive. I have tried trolling at Whitby but the fish do not seem to want to rise to the lures. I have had some sucsess with float fishing with sandell and belly strip from mackrel but the depths on the rough ground vary to much and I lost lots of gear. I learnt to fish from a Ian Burnett with the slow retrive and not to strike at the plucks at the bait or lure. With this method I use a small weight on a long boom running ledger with a seven or eight foot trace. Just lower it to the bottom in the tide and slow retrive to the surface. Now comes the hard bit for fast striking Yorkshire men DO NOT STRIKE AT THE FIRST PLUCKS AT THE BAIT OF LURE. wait until a firm pull is felt then tighten up. I kept four of the pollack for the pot but the flesh on the belly and part way up the flank was very wormy. Why do we get so many worms in cod pollack coalfish and whiting? . In future I will return all the pollack as I do not like wormy fish. I have had pollack to eight pounds a couple of years ago and they seem to be on the increase again.

FOOL-FISH or FOOL ME I have succumbed and bought a bottle of FOOL_FISH spray. When I put it on the lures it did not seem to make any differance to the apperance. Has anybody else tried this lure and bait enhance spray ?. Does it work ? or is it only anglers who are hooked by it . I am going up to Luce Bay soon bass fishing so will give it a try on my bass lures and baits.

On Saturday 15 July we were pirking with shads mainly in shallow water less then 20 m. The fishing was difficult with wind and tide together. On the sounder we kept marking fish at about 10 meters so set two very light spinning rods with small 2 inch shads. We just let them fish themselves whilst we pirked only to have them bend hard over ending up with a pollack of about 3 to 4 lb giving very good sport on light gear. I then stopped pirking and set two rods up to fish on the fast drift. Continued to catch the pollack and on cod by that method untill wind turned against tide. Funny how trying something different workd so well. The old cobble about 100 yds out from us continued to pirk with the standard 1 to 2 lb pirks and 30/50 lb class rods. Looked hard work and did not see them catch a single fish. So far this year I have only had one mackerel is it just me or are they missing from Whitby this year.

Look on EBAY i got two new ABU 5600 for £60 the pair . Also look at the factory reconditioned Penns.

I understand that my main dab and plaice mark has took a hammering from the comercial boys. I have yet to try it this year properly but will give it a try soon. The best I did get was over 2 lb but for last two years I have had nothing over 1 1/2 lb. I want to try for some bass this year from the boat and may also try for a tope off one of the headlands.

Does anybody else use light tackle for cod fishing. I fish out of Whitby from my own boat and for several years I have been using light spinning rods to catch good cod. Last Saturday I had the first 10 lb plus cod on my own boat, it was a 10 lb 4 oz and I caught it on a shad with 14 lb braid fished on a 40 grm spinning rod with a ABU 5600. The fight it gave in shallow water was so much better than using the normal 30 lb poker of a rod. On the Sunday we fished again and finished up with 12 cod to 8 1/2 lb again all caught on shads or 2 oz pirks. I am convinced that I hook more fish using small lures similar to the fish they would feed on. PLUS it is easy on the arms to jig small lures all day. Nearly all the cod we caught had pipe fish in the guts. One brought up several large one just as it was being landed with a couple still alive. I have seen reports of other people also seeing more pipe fish in cod.

Hi Went to Langdale Lakes had a good time fishing. The weather was against me as it was to warm. I did catch common carp to 10 lb and mirror to 7 lb plus lots of crusion bream and a tench. I will be going again. Thank you

Hi I am trying to find a caravan site in the lincoln area that has a course fishing lake. I would like a mixed fishery but with a good stock of tench and some carp. I require an electric hook up and a site that takes dogs would be prefered. Tight Lines Peter

I am looking at going to Tenby area for a couple of weeks in late June. I have never fished that area before and am just looking for general infomation on what shore/rock fishing is available. I would like to target bass so any infomation on tackle, location, tackle shops bait available would be appreciated. Peter

Hi I use shads for most of my cod pollack and coalfish trips. I normally use the storm type with built in weight in the head. If on clean ground fish with spinning rod 40 g with the shad tied to a 30 lb 6 foot trace and 15 lb main line braid. I find that short 6 inch jigs work best working hard on the bottom. If there is a bit of tide running I slide a 1 or 2 oz lead ball straight onto the head of the lure. I fish from my own boat so fishing this light is not a problem, if you are on a charter boat then you may have to use more lead. Tight Lines Peter

Tope is one of the fish I have been unable to catch. I saw a report in a newsagent shop that tope were being caught by charter boats from Bridlington. Has anybody caught any from there and if so what charter boat did they use.

Hi John I have just had a fair seasons for cod, the big differance this year was they were hard on the bottom and feeding on crab. Very few of the fish gutted held any fish at all and when they did they were whiting not sprats and sandeel. To me it looks as if the two primary food sources in the north sea are missing yet again. Is there enough crabs to feed the cod or are they eating the winter feed in summer? If the fish stocks are so low why are they still building new trawlers to fish for a dimishing stock? Was it Canada that stoped all fishing to allow stocks to recover? and when the did recover only allow close in fishing to be by long lines. This gave them a sustainable fishing method for the close in stocks. Peter

Last night whilst fishing my Lowrance 85 stopped working on inspection I found the cable to the tranducer broken close to the tranducer head. I have two old tranducers off other Lowrance tranducers of the same frequency and power rating but different sockets. Can I cut the cable and join one to my cable with the correct plug? (yes I know I can but will it work!). If I can what type of connector should I use.

There is no way I would buy one for that price demon they should be made from gold. Lets bit of square mesh in the garage, 100 lb momo in the boat crimps in the boat tie wraps to hold box together. Rod and reel in garage I have finally found a use for the redundent 30/50 lb class rod and pen senator reel , as I now use a spinning rod :cool: for all my cod fishing. I do have standard pots but thought it would be more fun and they would pack down easy + do they work :confused: .

I know this is a angling site but I was looking on ebay and found a lobster/crab trap for use at slack water and I love lobster :cool: .It was shown fished from a rod! so does this count as angling?. As the fishing I do tends to drop off at slack I was thinking of using one. The trap consisted of a small box about 3 inches square made from welded square mesh for the bait and about 8 snares made from heavey mono. Has anybody used one :confused: ? do they work :confused: ? Any tips

If only more people would try light tackle fishing. I am sure that I pick up more fish on the light gear as the lures are presented better. I lost two fish directly to light gear one when a rod broke and the fish came off. I was broke for the first time with a fish this year for the first time when a panicked and put my thumb on the spool instead of letting the drag work. All fish fight better on light gear if over clean ground there is no problem.

Over the last ten years I have gone lighter and lighter on the tackle I use off Whitby. The rods have dropped down from the standard 30/50 lb down to spinning rods. We have caught 15 1/2 lb cod on spinning rods and small light pirks and shads. The only time I use a 20/30 lb class rod is for ling off the wrecks. HOW LIGHT CAN I GO ? For the last two years all my cod fishing has been done with either a 40 grm or 60 grm spinning rod and 15 lb braid. I have just bought a pen rod and reel from Osprey tackle from ebay. Has anybody else used these little rods and multiplier reels. If so what have thet caught? I will try for a mackerel today if I can get out .

Hi I have only renamed one boat from RENOWN (I belive nthat was a nuclear sub may have spelt the mane wrong). It may be mumbo jumbo but on the sea I like as much good luck as I can have. A old Whitby fisherman told me to remove the name plates and put them in the builge then talk to the boat and explain why it is being changed. (just make shure nobody is looking or you will have bad luck!!! )