South Coast Tope Fishing - May 2016

Tope have to be one the more sporting fish found in our UK waters. They grow large, they run hard and thanks to their protected status, numbers are on the up. Known hotspots such as the Solent and the Isle of Wight, The Thames Estuary, Holyhead and Luce Bay to name but a few, all throw up good numbers of fish every season. This puts the Tope firmly within reach of most anglers as there are charter boats running from all of the aforementioned locations. With the British record standing at 82lb and probably bigger fish out there, they are easily the most accessible of our larger UK shark species.

One of my regular fishing companions is Jeff Smith. He’s a dedicated all-round angler, much like myself, and we share a lot in common piscatorially speaking. One of his passions is fishing for sharks and he regularly targets Tope in the summer from his Warrior boat in the waters of the Eastern Solent. I didn’t have to think twice when he recently asked me if I’d like to join him for a day aboard his boat ‘Jupiters Moon’ to see what all the fuss was about.

Business end of a pack tope

I’d never fished for Tope before so it was an exciting prospect and would also be an education for me at the same time. We had earmarked a particular weekend as the tides need to be just right for the marks Jeff likes to fish. Neap tides are a necessity as it’s the only time it’s possible to anchor and actually keep your baits nailed to the deck. Fortunately for us, as the date approached the weather and winds were in our favour.

The ground we were fishing over was a series of gullies and banks creating an undulating bottom in around 100 feet of water. The Tope like to lie in the bottom of the gullies sheltering out of the main push of the tide as it races over their heads. In doing so, it brings the food to them meaning they are getting the best out of the situation with as little energy expenditure as possible. Fishing for them is simply a case of some careful anchoring and then lowering baits down into the troughs where the fish are situated.

End tackle for Tope fishing is fairly simple or at least it should be, there really is no need to overcomplicate things. A running ledger is really all that is needed to catch these magnificent creatures. How you set this up is another matter on the other hand. All of these fish have to be released and as such it makes sense to fish for them in the most conservation minded way you can. There are a few things we can all do to make life easier for the fish and us as anglers.

The most obvious thing is to use circle hooks and a size 6/0 is about right for tope fishing. Due to the mechanics of how these hooks work, the fish is nearly always hooked cleanly in the corner of the mouth with deep hooking being very rare. It’s a ‘no brainer’ really, better for the fish and easier to unhook. I’ve used them all around the world on my travels when after big fish and find them to be very effective.

Some swear by using wire for Tope but Jeff and I agree that this is not really necessary. Sure they have sharp teeth but experimentation has proved that if around 2 meters of 200 lb mono is used, this is just as effective in preventing bite off’s as wire. The advantages to using mono are if the Tope is deep hooked or gets tail wrapped during the fight then this material is far more forgiving on the skin and mouth of the fish. Wire can cause cuts and lacerations. It’s also a lot safer for us as anglers to be handling mono when bringing the fish alongside the boat.

Jeff had a conger eel as bycatch

As far as rods go then Jeff had a 4-8oz uptider and a standard 30lb class setup with him to cover all eventualities. These he matched with quality multipliers loaded with braid. Reliable reels are essential when Tope fishing as these fish will run and fight hard putting your equipment to the test. I went for what is essentially stepped up spinning gear. I took along a 7 foot heavy spinning rod and matched it with a 7500 size Penn Spinfisher reel loaded with 50lb braid. This set-up is what I have taken abroad with me in the past whilst fishing for large tropical species such as Tarpon and Jacks, plenty of backbone for dealing with a hard fighting Tope. I just prefer fighting fish on spinning tackle. 20 feet of mono leader tied on to the end of the braid is essential when Tope fishing to prevent their abrasive skin cutting through the braid should they come into contact with it.

Our bait for the day was mackerel, it’s a proven Tope fishing bait and widely available. There is often debate as to whether fresh or frozen is better. Some swear that if it’s frozen then the Tope will turn their noses up at it, much preferring the scent and blood of a fresh one. Jeff’s experience is that frozen works just fine and he’s had many good catches using shop bought blast frozen fish. It’s a good thing too as the shoals hadn’t arrived yet on the South coast when we went out a few weeks back, so we were depending on the frozen option. In reality, both are very effective.

We fished our mackerel as half baits. For the tail end, the tail is cut off at the root before passing the hook through the tough area just below the cut. This prevents the bait spinning in the tide and messing up your trace. The head end is mounted by passing the hook through the point of the nose ensuring the point is left clear for good hooking potential.

We arrived at our mark with 2 hours of the ebb remaining and got our baits down as quickly as we could. Conditions were good as it was mild and overcast with light winds that made it comfortable. The tide was perhaps just a fraction larger than Jeff would have liked for his mark but it certainly wasn’t going to give us much bother until it really got going on the flood.

Bent in to a good'un on my spinning tackle

Straight from the off, we had interest in our baits and a succession of dogfish were wound up from the depths. Sharks indeed, but not the kind we were looking for! It’s amazing how they can manage to fit such large baits into their mouths, but manage they do.

Just as the tide was dropping off Jeff had a much more positive bite and his reel gave some line as a fish made off with the bait. He engaged the clutch and wound down into it while resisting the urge to strike, allowing the circle hook to do its job. As the full weight of the fish was felt he started to pump it back to the boat. The fish made a few spirited, short runs and he called it as the first pack tope of the day. Not a monster but a good sign. We still had the whole of flood tide ahead of us so things were looking up. The Tope were there.

Over the slack water things went a little quiet as they often do. A couple of dogfish were boated and Jeff had a very gentle bite that tuned out to be a Conger. The Tope were conspicuous by their absence over this period, much preferring a good tide run when they feed.

Once the tide got going again then the action really started to heat up. My reel was first to burst into life as a fish tore off down the tide with the clutch screaming. Screwing the drag down enabled the circle hook to take hold and then the fight was on. Undoubtedly my first tope from the way it was fighting and I have to say definitely the hardest fighting fish I have ever hooked in UK waters. It surprised me how well the fish was going and it was great fun on the spinning tackle too. I was over the moon, it’s always nice to catch a new species and estimated at a little over 20lb’s it put a big smile on my face.

Jeff was next away with undoubtedly a larger fish, it led him a merry dance running a good distance against the powerful tide and making several good runs throughout the fight. My jaw hit the deck when the fish surfaced, it looked huge to me! A beautiful long fish that was to be the best of the day. Easily unhooked with the T-bar, a few quick photos and the fish was released to fight another day. Estimated at up near the 40lb mark.

Jeff’s experience at handling these powerful fish was very apparent, he had full control over them when bringing them into the boat and was always careful to support them correctly. The biggest danger to man and fish is when they thrash around in the boat. Being confident and in control is essential and Jeff had it mastered. If we weren’t taking photos for this article, then all the fish would have been unhooked with the T-bar at the side of the boat as we did with most caught that day.

We went on to catch perhaps 10 or 12 tope between us throughout the day which was a great result, but it did get a little challenging when the tide was running at its peak. We had to go up to 20oz of lead to keep our baits on the deck which is exactly the reason that short tides are essential on these marks.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day afloat and . It was a thrill to experience their speed and runs, not what I was expecting here in the UK at all. It was much more like fighting some of the sporting fish I have found on my travels overseas. To anyone that hasn’t then I’d highly recommend giving it a try some time.