Showing posts with label Light Gear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Light Gear. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 July 2018
Sunday, 3 July 2016
Roker Pier 3rd July 2016
Anyone who keeps up to date with this blog knows I am in the process of educating my kids in the joy that is fishing,
My son has learned that fishing can be something other than an opportunity to get time with dad and eat sweets. I decided that he is now old enough to have a go at spinning for Mackerel and so as soon as I heard they were in on the local piers I planned an outing.
High Water was at 0300 today and so I had to get my son out of bed at 0145. Much to my surprise he all but bounced out of bed and got dressed (a good start)
We arrived at Roker Pier in Sunderland for around 0240 and got our gear together and headed along the pier as the sun rose. The conditions were perfect... flat sea and pleasant weather.
We set up with feathers on the spinning rods and got to work. After a few casts I hit into two mackerel and soon after a few more.
As Xander had not yet had any I handed my rod, complete with two crazy fish already hooked, to him to reel in.
The fish were fighting so hard they were nearly lifting him off his feet. Once we landed them he was "hooked" so to speak.
I had him casting himself and retrieving like a pro in no time.
After the sun broke the horizon the mackerel numbers increased notably. Most were taking feathers that resembled the small sprat that were swimming around the pier, others took Dexter Wedges and fluorescent lures.
I switched Xander to a lure and put a few casts out at a distance for him to retrieve. Soon after he struck into one fish but unfortunately lost it on the lift.
On his next cast he hooked into another and this time managed to land it himself!
We fished on for another 45 minutes and he landed a few more fish as did I. We left at around 0530 with a dozen big mackerel, having released maybe half a dozen more.
Xander was so pleased with himself he couldnt wait to tell his mum when we got home. He said he preferred this type of fishing (as I expected he would) and to be honest he was 100% focused on the fishing for a change. Not having to wait between casts kept him engaged and the fight from the fish kept the excitement ramped up for him.
Daddy goal for this month accomplished!
My son has learned that fishing can be something other than an opportunity to get time with dad and eat sweets. I decided that he is now old enough to have a go at spinning for Mackerel and so as soon as I heard they were in on the local piers I planned an outing.
High Water was at 0300 today and so I had to get my son out of bed at 0145. Much to my surprise he all but bounced out of bed and got dressed (a good start)
We arrived at Roker Pier in Sunderland for around 0240 and got our gear together and headed along the pier as the sun rose. The conditions were perfect... flat sea and pleasant weather.
We set up with feathers on the spinning rods and got to work. After a few casts I hit into two mackerel and soon after a few more.
I had him casting himself and retrieving like a pro in no time.
After the sun broke the horizon the mackerel numbers increased notably. Most were taking feathers that resembled the small sprat that were swimming around the pier, others took Dexter Wedges and fluorescent lures.
I switched Xander to a lure and put a few casts out at a distance for him to retrieve. Soon after he struck into one fish but unfortunately lost it on the lift.
On his next cast he hooked into another and this time managed to land it himself!
We fished on for another 45 minutes and he landed a few more fish as did I. We left at around 0530 with a dozen big mackerel, having released maybe half a dozen more.
Xander was so pleased with himself he couldnt wait to tell his mum when we got home. He said he preferred this type of fishing (as I expected he would) and to be honest he was 100% focused on the fishing for a change. Not having to wait between casts kept him engaged and the fight from the fish kept the excitement ramped up for him.
Daddy goal for this month accomplished!
Sunday, 17 May 2015
River Tyne 16th and 17th May 2015
After getting my hands on a half dozen peeler crab this weekend I decided to get the kids out fishing. I did not have a great deal of spare time and so we kept it simple and yet again hit the usual mark on the River Tyne.
My daughter has been wanting to get out for ages and so on the Saturday I took her out with the light gear in the Tyne.
It was really tough going due to a strong wind and even though we had no fish in the few hours we were out, she enjoyed herself. She was asking to go out again the next day but I would have had to tie her to the railings for fear of her being blown away!
When we got down to the mark a few hours before high water the tide had not flooded enough to fish here and so we spent the first hour on our usual mark opposite B&Q on Scotswood road. It was really windy today also which made using the light gear challenging. Nonetheless my son managed two flatties in this first hour and I managed a decent eel. Both taking fresh crab baits.
An hour before High Water we made the move to the bridge upriver. As expected the wind was worse here. We stuck it out for a few casts and I managed a parasite-ridden flounder of around a pound from the main channel.
My daughter has been wanting to get out for ages and so on the Saturday I took her out with the light gear in the Tyne.
It was really tough going due to a strong wind and even though we had no fish in the few hours we were out, she enjoyed herself. She was asking to go out again the next day but I would have had to tie her to the railings for fear of her being blown away!
On the Sunday I got out for an hour or two with my son to try a mark a little upriver from where we usually fish. Having stopped by yesterday at low water I was sure it would hold fish.
When we got down to the mark a few hours before high water the tide had not flooded enough to fish here and so we spent the first hour on our usual mark opposite B&Q on Scotswood road. It was really windy today also which made using the light gear challenging. Nonetheless my son managed two flatties in this first hour and I managed a decent eel. Both taking fresh crab baits.
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| Apologies for the bad pic. It's tough holding eels and taking a phone pic at the same time! |
An hour before High Water we made the move to the bridge upriver. As expected the wind was worse here. We stuck it out for a few casts and I managed a parasite-ridden flounder of around a pound from the main channel.
I am certain that on a calmer day this mark would be spot on for good sized flatties and eels although I think you would need to climb down the steep grass to fish to make retrieving the fish easier (definitely a no-no with the kids in tow)
We attempted to get another hour further down river out of the wind but by the time we arrived at a mark the tide had turned and the usual rubbish was hurtling down with the tide.
I decided against struggling on and so we left it at 4 fish total. Not bad for less than 2hrs.
Sunday, 19 April 2015
River Tyne (B&Q) 19th April 2015
After resisting the urge to head to the coast today by myself I decided to take my daughter out fishing for the first time.
As it happened she decided she would rather bake with her mum (after I had bought the bait!) and so my son decided he wanted to come instead.
To save time and ensure a comfortable session I headed to a mark I regularly fish with him opposite B&Q on Scotswood Rd. It was a beautiful day and conditions looked perfect.
I usually fish the same spot on this mark and to be honest I had always assumed that it was the same mud flats that most of the top end of the river was comprised of. I had swung by earlier just after low water to find that not to be the case. I snapped a few useful pics of the features in the area and I chose a few marks along this stretch to fish later in the day.
I decided to fish the light gear as I usually do on this mark, You can fish with beachcasters and multiplier reels if you wish but I have always found that if you do then you can't catch much when only the smaller fish are biting. With the light rods you get great sport no matter the size of the fish.
I was using my Shakespeare Alpha Bass and my son was using an Overload Spin (8ft) that I had purchased new for a tenner a few months back....bargain!
Both of us used small spinning reels loaded with 15lb. Rigs were kept as simple as possible with small hooks, small bomb weights and short snoods.
We started fishing a few hours before High Water in the first of two marks I had identified. Almost immediately we had bites. I started with a small codling of around 9 inches after 5 minutes and then my son had his first ever codling soon after!
This set the tone for the rest of the 2.5hrs we fished. We had 5 fish each and lost probably as many again. All were codling except from a flounder that my son had on his last cast. None of them were huge but all of them were great fun to catch.
The other guys on the same stretch had very little from what I could tell.
As I learned it really does pay to research some marks at Low water before fishing them at High.
As it happened she decided she would rather bake with her mum (after I had bought the bait!) and so my son decided he wanted to come instead.
To save time and ensure a comfortable session I headed to a mark I regularly fish with him opposite B&Q on Scotswood Rd. It was a beautiful day and conditions looked perfect.
I usually fish the same spot on this mark and to be honest I had always assumed that it was the same mud flats that most of the top end of the river was comprised of. I had swung by earlier just after low water to find that not to be the case. I snapped a few useful pics of the features in the area and I chose a few marks along this stretch to fish later in the day.
I decided to fish the light gear as I usually do on this mark, You can fish with beachcasters and multiplier reels if you wish but I have always found that if you do then you can't catch much when only the smaller fish are biting. With the light rods you get great sport no matter the size of the fish.
I was using my Shakespeare Alpha Bass and my son was using an Overload Spin (8ft) that I had purchased new for a tenner a few months back....bargain!
Both of us used small spinning reels loaded with 15lb. Rigs were kept as simple as possible with small hooks, small bomb weights and short snoods.
We started fishing a few hours before High Water in the first of two marks I had identified. Almost immediately we had bites. I started with a small codling of around 9 inches after 5 minutes and then my son had his first ever codling soon after!
This set the tone for the rest of the 2.5hrs we fished. We had 5 fish each and lost probably as many again. All were codling except from a flounder that my son had on his last cast. None of them were huge but all of them were great fun to catch.
The other guys on the same stretch had very little from what I could tell.
As I learned it really does pay to research some marks at Low water before fishing them at High.
Saturday, 26 July 2014
South Shields Pier 26/07/14
With some lovely conditions forecast I decided on a quick trip over to South Shields pier to see what I could catch on the light gear. The plan being to get over to the pier for sunrise and High Water (which fortunately were about the same time today) and fish a few hours.
I had my trip hijacked by my sister and her boys and we all met up and headed along the pier for about 0430. The water was like glass and I was hopeful of fish.
I had never fished this pier before and so did not know exactly what to expect. I managed a few mackerel and pollock on lures in the few hours we were there.
None of the boys unfortunately had anything but they enjoyed looking at the mackeral as I brought them in.
The end of the pier was packed with rods and it turns out that was because of the mackerel shoals around that area. I know for next time to head up and find a space to squeeze in!
Well at least I did not blank...
Thanks to Steve who took a few of these "rare" shots of me fishing for a change!
I had my trip hijacked by my sister and her boys and we all met up and headed along the pier for about 0430. The water was like glass and I was hopeful of fish.
I had never fished this pier before and so did not know exactly what to expect. I managed a few mackerel and pollock on lures in the few hours we were there.
None of the boys unfortunately had anything but they enjoyed looking at the mackeral as I brought them in.
The end of the pier was packed with rods and it turns out that was because of the mackerel shoals around that area. I know for next time to head up and find a space to squeeze in!
Well at least I did not blank...
Thanks to Steve who took a few of these "rare" shots of me fishing for a change!
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| The sun rose right over the last section of the pier |
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| Me....wondering where all the fish were |
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| Snaggy bottom....not great with light gear |
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| Shot by Steve with the DSLR |
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| Small Pollock that unfortunately was hooked by all 3 hooks on this Silver Minnow |
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| 3 Image Panorama taken with the Fujifilm 660EXR |
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