Would you be interested in a forum here on the fishing blog??

It will be mainly targeted for the beginner to Sea Angling, but would require some knowledgable anglers to assist.

Anyhow, the poll is over on the right — >

This post is going to be a growing list, a dynamic post where I want to detail fish finders used on Kayaks.

I would like you to comment on this post or send me an email with the fish finder you use on your fishing kayak, detailed with why you have chosen this particular model of fish finder, why you chose it, if you would recommend it and what advantages has it got over other models. I would like to build a review list for people searching for the best kayak mounted fish finder.

• Here is a past post on how to fit a fish finder to your kayak

• Here is a big-game prowler kayak with all the additions – Prowler fishing kayak

• Here is a list of fish finders to buy from amazon

Fish finder list

1. Humminbird Matrix 47 3D fishfinder – A great, very popular fish finder with large clear display and excellent functionality.

Rapala sea fishing lure

Best sea fishing lures

I was recently asked this question via email, regarding the best spinners / lures for sea fishing.

Hi I’m a complete amateur when it comes to spinning . Was
just wandering which are the best all round spinners and lures to to use on the south coast.

Well the answer is not so straight forward, I need to know a few more options first, like.

• Do you mean in the UK?
• Boat fishing or Shore fishing
• Any species in mind
• Have you got a budget for your lures?
• What tackle and rods have you got already?

Anyway, I will try and answer your question -

1. If you are looking to get the fastest results and are new to sea fishing in general I would recommend using mackerel lures on a light beach caster from a local pier / deep water mark. You will find Mackerel one of the easiest species to target. It will produce good sport and hours of fun and is a great way to progress your casting technique.
2. From a boat, it depends if you are looking at wrecking – jelly/hook tail worms work well. Bassing – trolling rapala and casting a dexters wedge can provide good results
3. Different species are attracted to different lures to get best results. But always fish a larger lure than you might think.
4. If you have got spinning tackle then have a look at this article – Saltwater lure fishing. You should find most information you need there.

But, I must say, budget no problem and for the best quality, most successful salt water lure in my opinion I would go for the Rapala range of lures. They are strong,, swim well and take a good beating. Just change the hooks regularly and tie them on well using a recommended technique.

I hope that helps. Anymore questions please reply by email or commenting on this post!

Image from: andycoan

The “Short Arm” belongs to Corus Steel in Port Talbot is accessed by permit only. I understand the current cost is £27.50 for the short arm and £46 for the long arm. Permits are available via 08706 096699 for the short arm and 01639 871111 est 3368 which is the British Steel Sports Club.

Both sea fishing marks are breakwaters and offer comfortable fishing venues. Lure fishing, float and bottom fishing techniques work well here for a range of sea fishing species.

Corus species

Summer species include, Bass, Mackerel, Garfish, Pollack, Wrasse, Mullet, Dogfish, with flatties, conger eels and Ray making an occasional appearance, winter species include Dogfish, Pouting and Whiting.

Like many pier marks anything is possible, so fish hard!

Bait & Fishing methods

The ground a short distance out is clean and all methods work well. Frozen Mackerel / Squid work well for the Rays, Conger, Bass and Doggies. Worm and Sand Eel will produce flatties and Bass. Bread and fish mix for Mullet on light float gear. Lug works well in the winter months!

Welsh Sea fishing Team

Welsh Sea fishing Team

Northumberland based fishing tackle company Greys, are pleased to announce they are official sponsors of the Welsh sea fishing team.

Greys will be sponsoring the team with products including a selection of sea rods, G-Mag reels and Apollo Extreme clothing.

These products will be used at events including the World Championships in Croatia in 2010 and the Home National event in Wales in July this Year. The team will provide Greys with feedback on these products and ,  prototypes currently under development.

The Anglers to represent Wales in the World Championships are Franco Attanassio who has experienced success previously in World Championships in Portugal, Joe Arch, former individual world Champion ,  who has also had major wins at many events home and away, Alan Price who is former World champion from 2002 in Belgium. Pete Corker also joins the team – an excellent all round performer who narrowly missed out in an individual gold medal in Portugal and James Fraser who continues to produce the results when required ( team gold in 1997.)

Andrew Hutchins is the reserve for the event and will participate midway through the championships. Andrew has continued to show commitments and development in his career in angling and is being rewarded with a place on the team.

Team manager, Mike Flynn said;

“We are very proud to have Greys as our official sponsor. The Welsh Sea Angling Federation pride themselves on the method of qualification for the National team that allows all Anglers an equal chance of qualification. The facts are clear in adopting an open method of selection and we have continued our rise up through the rankings to fourth in the world with the use of the best fishing products from Greys.”

Floats and bait are not the only combination. You can very successfully lure fish using a float. Read on for a few more float fishing tips.

Types of sea float

• Bubble Float - Clear plastic floats that allow water in to add ballast and casting weight to the float.
• Weighted Cigar – As above, but self cocking.
• Pop bottles -  Yep, good old fizzy drinks bottles. Mount a swivel into the lid and add water to cast and cock. You can cast them miles.
• Cork -  From a bottle of wine.
• Match Floats -  Coarse fishing floats.
• Slider floats -  Large cigar shaped floats, very popular for pier fishing.
• Balloons -  More often used for boat fishing for shark, but has other applications.

How to use floats for sea fishing

What I am trying to do hear is open up your mind to approaching old and new fishing marks with new ideas. We often do the same thing every trip, coz it works, but are you getting the most out of that mark?

Another great advantage with float fishing is you can balance your tackle to your species, enjoying the fight and the whole experience of catching fish. I hate just winding fish in like clock work with heavy gear and small specimens.

Anyway, here goes, a few tips for using floats to improve your sea angling experience,

1. Surf fishing for Bass – If you can get on a pier or rock outcrop and cast into the back of the surf, use a bubble float with live prawn / sand eel / crab. Allow the float to be carried in the current, you will cover loads of ground.  The bait will stay preserved as it wont be dragged across the bottom, perishing it.
2. Lure fishing in saggy ground – Again, employ the bubble float. Use a leader length short enough to prevent the lure catching the bottom and you can work a heavy sinking lure tight to the rocks and into the gullies.
3. Long range Mackerel / Garr – If you use a pop bottle and mackerel feathers, you can fish at long range to find deep water. Using a knot on the line, you can adjust the depth the lures work at to find the fish. This is called a running float.
4. Light match floats – Mullet fishing employs a lot of light coarse fishing gear. Typical float fishing gear is used to great effect to capture mullet.
5. Flounder – Flounder like a moving bait as they are aggressive hunters. Using any of the floats above with a long leader allows the bait to gently move around on the sea bed. Spoons, beads and sequins can be used to great effect. You can also keep the bait just off the bottom to keep crabs off your bait. Try small live prawns.
6. Balloons – Great for fishing larger live baits for Bass. Again you can fish at different levels and at huge ranges.
7. Corks – You can always find one on a beach and they make a great make-do float. If you are fishing and decide you want to target Wrasse over rocky ground, use your cork – hey presto!

Sea fishing with floats can add a whole new dimension to your sea angling. Look at your mark and consider other ways of presenting bait in a natural way. Consider, if required how to cover a lot of ground, seek out the fish, don’t be static, work for your fish. Game anglers spend a lot of time moving and trying to calculate where the fish are likely to be in the current weather / water conditions. Do the same! and enjoy your fishing.

Let us know what other situations you can use a float for to imparove your sea angling.

Image thanks to Izik

I have recently had this question sent to me via email. I enjoy answering questions and helping people out, it also gives me inspiration to write and think of other articles. So please fire some questions at me.

Anyway, Mick has asked -

Hi, i am staying in a cottage which has access to the above river. This is in May, if possible i would like to know what fish are in the river and tips on how to catch them. Also do i need a licence to fish the river.

To answer your question Mick in revers order. As I understand it a Rod Licence is required when fishing for freshwater fish, eels, Salmon or Sea Trout anywhere in England or Wales as well as out to sea for up to 6 miles. So unless you are seeking these species you are in the clear, fishing the estuary (up to the region were tide still has an effect).

There are some tips regarding species and technique here in the beginners guide – Here is the most pertinent Estuary fishing also you might want to check out Kayaking fishing in the Helford. There is also another article here for Mullet fishing in the Helford

Okay a quick resume here for you,

• Mullet – light float fishing / spinning gear – bread for bait, ground bait with pilchard and bread mash.
• Mackerel – Spinning gear, small lures – best in warm conditions nearer the mouth of the estuary.
• Bream – light tackle – float fish but near the bottom – shell fish as bait, prawns, mussel etc
• Bass – DO NOT CATCH & KEEP – the Helford is a Bass nursery!!
• Pollock – beach casting, lures, floats – Generally smaller specimens – fish nearer the mouth.
• Wrasse – Light gear for best sport – Rag worm, near the rocks, again closer to the mouth.
• Dog fish, Ray, Flatties and Conger can all be caught with heavier beach casting gear and rigs.

So, I hope this helps. Please comment if I have missed something or you would like to add something.

I finally worked out a way to get the best out of my catch! I brought a Fish Smoker – and put in some herring, left it to smoke with the wood kindling for a wee wile and hey presto – dinner! It’s perfect for picnics, at home, riverbank and also for other things like smoked cheese and meats. Light the two meths burners, sprinkle some sawdust on the base of the smoker, add your food and put
the lid on. That’s it. There’s room for two 3-lb trout, which would take about 15 minutes to cook through. Steak and other meats taste great cooked this way too. This model is stainless steel, so resists corrosion much better than cheaper imitations. For transport, all the components stow inside the main compartment.
compartment.

Really simple to use, works great with trout and easy to clean.

Buy your Fish Smoker from Ronnie Sunshines Below:

Fish
Smoker For £28.99

Discovery Shed will be the place for men who like good old practical activities to escape to. Watch Matt Hayes’ Greatest Catches on the channel from Friday 20th March at 9pm and 9.30pm, Bob Nudd’s Right Angles follows at 10pm and 10.30pm.

There seem to be good catches of Pollock coming in from reefs and pier marks around Cornwall. Worm (lug) seem to be getting the best catches, although I would be tempted to try a Dexters wedge to intice one.

These shore caught Pollock are not of any great size – upto about 1lb in weight.  But matched with the right gear tehy can be great sport and returned un harmed. However, they are very sweet eating at this size, I would keep a couple for the table.

For some more inofrmation about Pollock fishing follow this link

Sea fishing tips

Remember the following:

• Get local knowledge on where to fish
• Read the fishing press to get an idea of what should be happening
• Look at your records to see what you were catching last year at  this time
• Start making records if you are not!!
• Speak to your local tackle shop to get good local advice
• Fish hard.
• Have plenty of FRESH bait
• Try some new ideas Read my guide for beginners to sea angling

I have cured the problem now and all should be good! Finger crossed everyone………..

Despite contacting most sea fishing tackle manufactures, very few have added me to new product lists – hence, bringing you the latest fishing tackle will be a challenge, but I have a few ideas.

I intend to increase the “Sea Fishing Marks” section of the site and bringing more “beginners guides” to the site. These are the two most popular areas of the fishing blog.

I am looking into getting a list of UK charter boats. I intend on really increasing the user satisfaction of the site in 09 and taking it to the next level.

Thank you for taking time in following us here – Roll on 2009

Unhooking the catch

So you are new to sea fishing and you manage to catch your fish sea fish. You land it on the beach, now you must unhook the fish, ready to catch another. I will assume you want to return the fish to the water unharmed.

Handling sea fish

When handling fish, be mindful of the fact they are covered in a slime that protects their skin from harmful bacteria. This protective slime is damaged if fish area allowed to thrash around on pebbles, and worst of all is handling them with dry hands. Always moisten your hands in some sea water, best of all is to cover the fish in a damp cloth, covering the eyes will calm them down.

Try and place them on a something soft. Carp anglers use an unhooking mat to lay the fish on, this keeps them in tip top condition. Carp are caught and returned many times and our sea fish deserve the same consideration – they are a valuable asset and treat them with respect, sea fish numbers are declining!!

Beware of species that have spines on their back, gill coverings etc. They need handling with care and attention. Knowing your species will help avoid stings and painful “pricks”. Dog fish and eels are a pain. Hold the doggies tail in a curve close to the head in one hand. it will relax and allow easier handling. Eels are just awkward, there is no easy way to keep hold of them, a chamois leather or towel may help!

Tools for unhooking fish

There are many tools available to assist you when unhooking fish. The best all round piece of kit is a pair of forceps. They can be purchased from many outlets – google “forceps” to find out! Your forceps will work well for most species caught from the shore and are far better for deeper hooked fish than your fingers. They also offer you protection from teeth and hard mouths.

Bigger shore caught species like Conger, Tope and Huss will require something a bit stronger. This is where a pair of long nose pliers comes into play. They are also very good if you embed a hook into your self (push the hook point through and cut the barb off and thread the hook back out – I have done it and it hurts!!!)

How to unhook fish

Okay, lets get to the bare bones of unhooking fish. This is hard to explain as it depends on how the fish is hooked and where it is hooked. The basic method is to grip the hook by the bend and push it gently in the reverse direction it would require to set the hook. Keep the fish still with firm but proportional pressure using wet hands or a cloth as mentioned above. Generally keep grip on the head area as this is the best area to prevent them from moving too much and allowing you best access to the mouth of the fish.
Once the fish is unhooked, return it to the water asap. I will pass on more tips for returning fish unharmed soon.