How's the mullet fishing?

[Ken Davison South Wales]

I am heading south on Tuesday, have three charters booked with Colin Penny on Flamer Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he still has a couple of spots for Wednesday and Thursday.

 

The I was thinking of trying my arm at a bit of mulleteering or some shore fishing any where from Bournemouth Bay to Chesil Saturday and Sunday, so was wondering how the local fishing was?

[barry luxton]

I am heading south on Tuesday, have three charters booked with Colin Penny on Flamer Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, he still has a couple of spots for Wednesday and Thursday.

 

The I was thinking of trying my arm at a bit of mulleteering or some shore fishing any where from Bournemouth Bay to Chesil Saturday and Sunday, so was wondering how the local fishing was?

 

 

I have seen huge shoals of mullet around the boat moorings this year.

[norfolk_lass]

Talkin of mullet, I have a question you two fellahs might be able to help me with.

 

On my way back from shore fishing tonight i saw some fish cruising the surface but couldn't identify them and was hoping for some help.

 

Tide was well in but an hour from high (tinights was quite a big tide but not massive). This was like a back arm in a salt marsh....20 to 30 feet wide with depth up to 10 feet maybe but averaging more like 4 or 5 feet. The flow was just OUT rather than in as the the recent rains meant the marshes were still draining.

 

Now these fish reminded me of carp cruising the surface, taking and nudging things in the surface flotsam and with a very distinct and large bow wave, again just like a carp.

 

There was too much colour to actually see them despite the fact they came within a few feet on more than one occasion. There seemed to be about 4 or 5 separate fish. I tried for a while with lures but had no takes but the movement in a couple of the wakes suggested I might have had a little bit of interest. The lures crashing in the water very close to these fish didn't seem to spook them though.

 

Any ideas???? Could these have been mullet? if so do i target them with surface bread like carp?

[Phil the Fish]

I'll stick my neck out and say .. sounds like classic mullet behaviour to me.

 

Mullet have an inquisitive nature and will follow a lure -- indeed its not unknown (puts hand up ) to think that the "bass" chasing ones lure was in fact a nosey mullet .... only thin lipped mullet however are normally caught using small spinners.

 

If you're used to carp fishing then sure you should certainly try the surface crust/bread either free line or with a small surface controller (or similar suitable method).. not spooking them today may not be the case tomorrow - mullet have more moods than some peoples wives (mine not included) ... and you may well have to "educate them" to the fact that bread is a yummy food to be eatten rather than just nudged or ignored!!

 

Phil

[Leon Roskilly]

Yep Mullet!

 

Mullet often gather the surface film which contains lots of micro-organisms and nutritious detrius (well to a mullet anyway).

 

Often in shoals of four or five fish, playing follow my leader, usually with the biggest fish being the leader, sucking at the surface.

 

Fly-anglers especially will chuck fluff in their direction when they observe this behaviour, believing that they are feeding on flies on the surface, but ending up frustrated and putting the behaviour down to some kind of spawning behaviour.

 

It isn't of course, but when mullet are feeding on the surface film, they will ignore everything else, driving anyone attempting to target them slowly mad with frustration.

 

Lure-following is another of their wind-ups!

Edited August 18, 2008 by Leon Roskilly

[Vagabond]

Fly-anglers especially will chuck fluff in their direction when they observe this behaviour, believing that they are feeding on flies on the surface, but ending up frustrated and putting the behaviour down to some kind of spawning behaviour.

 

It isn't of course, but when mullet are feeding on the surface film, they will ignore everything else, driving anyone attempting to target them slowly mad with frustration.

 

Ah, Leon, but sometimes, just SOMETIMES, a mullet will take a fly - once that happens - Meltdown! Well worth the long odds against a take. Playing a mullet on a #5 is the nearest thing to bonefishing the UK has to offer. Having had the privilege of catching both mullet and bones on fly I am happy to be able to make that comparison.

 

...and BTW when fly fishing I look for mullet cruising about a foot down (rather than surface sippers) and my favorite fly for such is a nondescript nymph such as GRHE or Pheasant Tail.

[norfolk_lass]

thanks fellas. will have a go at driving myself nuts later on in the week

[corydoras]

I'll stick my neck out and say .. sounds like classic mullet behaviour to me.

I'll stick mine out too and concur.

[Phil the Fish]

well its not Weymouth but I thought this thread would do

 

Went down to Littlehampton today .. hadn't really decided where I was going ... Folkestone.. Rochester.. or Littlehamptoon ... but the weather and the tides decided for me...

 

Got down around 6am .. fishing the ebb by 6.30 .. and stright into a 5inch bass!!! uuuum!!!

Saw a few mullet around the pontoons but either out of range or had the flow against me... still nice to know the little buggers are about though, sort of lifts the spirit some.

 

The forecast was right.. and the heavans opened .. but I was fairly snug wrapped up in waders and a waterproof top .. just had to keep the hook bread dry....

 

Fished on the mud once the tide had dropped.. and could see mullet upstream .. had thought about getting to them but the way my feet started to sink in the harbour mud suggested otherwise .. so i gritted my teeth and hoped they would join me

 

I was trotting down a large eddy pool just after 8am and I was just about to retrieve at the end of a run when the float shot under .. hit home and into something a little larger than the micro bass of earlier .... turned out to be a hard fighting mullet of 3-07lb 45cm (snout to fork)

 

The mullet to my left had grown bold ans were splashing around in no more than 8" of water and feeding off the algae on the pontoons .. but still too difficult for me to properly target .. I did have a couple of bites but missed them with the slack line due to the direction of flow - ie they were up stream .. so I settled back to trotting in my eddy pool in front of me.

 

Around 9.30am and at my feet almost -- a mullet starts swirling in the groundbait cloud I've just flicked out .... retrieved the tackle .. rebaited and popped it just up stream for it to come bobbing down past the mullet .. no second invitation was required .. I watched as the mullet took the bait (some 16 to 20" below the surface) and my float shoot under at a crazy angle ... struck hard and hit home.. and stayed attached even with the subsequent head shaking ... actually apart from the head shaking the mullet seemed to put up no resistance... and I thought I was going to have it bagged within the minute .... NO ... the mullet saw the net... about 20cm away from netting it.. and it was off like someone had put a firework up its bottom ... it crash dived into the main flow taking line as it did so ... tried to slow it down with my thumb on the rim of the centre-pin .. result - one burnt thumb!!!

After a while I managed to get the upper hand and just decided to bully it on the basis that if it went too far down stream I was going to loose it.... turned out to be a slightly larger fish of 3-10lb (48cm snout to fork) Took pix and popped it back...

 

Swim died a bit after that ... could still see the mullet upstream so knew all was not lost. Started getting a number of missed bites and just after 11am pulled up 3 small bass (under 10") on the trot ... the float went down yet again around 11.30am.. and I thougth it was going to be an other bass .. but no .. this had a bit of uumph to it .. small mullet of over a pound I guess .. took at pic after measuring it (35cm) and popped it back.. and I was forced off the mud by the now rising tide..

 

Had some more small bass and missed bites to keep me occupied, but I couldn't see any mullet.

Decided to change depth to 5ft rather than 20 odd inches from the surface...

 

1.05pm .. Float shot under and I struck home.. into something that didn't like it.. and zoomed off towards the fast flowing main part of the channel and at depth.... again i decided it was best to bully rather than loose the fish to the pontoons or by having the flow and its weight combined (trust me.. the flow is very strong once its started to run).. well to cut a long strory short I battled, the fish fought... but I managed to hang in there and eventually net it ... and as luck would have it another nice mullet.. better than the previous ones 52cm snout to fork - 4-08lb Again took some quick pix and craddled it in the water until it was ready to move off ...

 

Fished for another hour .. again missed bites and a couple more tiny bass .. largest being all of 11"!!!

 

Drove hope with a big smile

 

Phil

[Leon Roskilly]

I love it when a plan comes together Phil