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| A beautiful mullet from my local estuary |
I consider myself to be a true all-round angler. It's the huge variety of species, different methods and locations that this wonderful obsession takes me to that really appeals. Be it salt water or fresh, running water or still, the sight of it's scaled inhabitants below the surface quickens the pulse and gets me going. Being able to see the fish I'm targeting is a big part of the whole angling experience to me and the mullet rarely disappoints on this front.
The sight of them effortlessly gliding through the surface layers leaving their tell tale wake behind them makes me weak at the knees and has me running for my tackle bag! Combine the visual aspect to mullet fishing with the different methods used to catch them and their legendary fighting qualities then you have a sport fish par excellence in my opinion.
Light tackle fishing allows a delicate presentation and gives the fish a chance to show off it's fighting prowess. This is where it's at for me. There's no pleasure in winching fish in with heavy lines and drag. Fair and balanced tackle giving the fish a chance and the angler a thrill is surely the way to go. Mullet fishing really scratches the itch in this respect and ticks all the boxes.
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| Thin-lip Mullet browsing through the mud for microorganisms and algae |
I nearly always fish for mullet in the running waters of my local Sussex estuaries and creeks. I prefer the active style of trotting a float downstream and feeding by hand. It keeps me busy and focused and is always a preference to sitting behind a quiver tip rod and static bait. That's just me, I like to keep busy when I'm fishing. Having grown up spending a lot of time fishing in freshwater rivers I have a real passion for the art of trotting the stream, it just feels familiar and comfortable.
My mullet tackle usually consists of a 13ft freshwater trotting rod, either a small fixed spool or centrepin reel loaded with 5lb mono, a drennan loafer float and a strong size 12 hook. I never leave home without a pot of vaseline either and always keep the line well greased. I like to use a really good quality sliced white loaf for my hook baits, I find it is softer and stays on the hook better. For the groundbait then I go for the cheapest sliced white the supermarket has to offer. This is usually whizzed into a crumb in a liquidiser for hand feeding.
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| A fine Mullet caught over 7 miles upriver from the sea |
I had caught small palm sized mullet as a child whilst on holiday in the Med with the family but it wasn't until the August bank holiday weekend of 2007 that I seriously set out to target one local to me. My friend Dave had been having some success with them on the River Ouse at Newhaven and persuaded me to join him on a blisteringly hot Saturday morning. At the time I had the bass blinkers on and was having some success on the local beaches with a string of quality fish (i'm sure there were lots more around back then!) so it was nice to have a change of pace and try something different.
The idea of latching on to a truly wild, muscle bound, ocean going fish on my regular freshwater float fishing gear was very exciting to me. Dave had already filled my head with tales of epic battles and screaming drags......who wouldn't be excited by that!
We opted to fish from a floating pontoon just downstream from the swing bridge in Newhaven Town. The beauty of this spot was that with the pontoon going up and down with the tide we were constantly at the same level as the water. So there were no long drops to contend with giving us better control of the float tackle and a far superior presentation.
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| A nice Thin-lip Mullet taken on a baited spinner |
We chose to fish with an onion sack full of mashed bread and mackerel flesh as our groundbait. This we weighed down with a couple of bricks to keep hanging below our angling position in the current. The technique was to simply run float tackle down the tide from our position above the onion sack, shaking it regularly to allow a constant stream of feed for the mullet to home in on.
We arrived at the top of the tide and prepared our tackle, waiting for the ebb to pick up a little pace before starting. It was a small tide around the 5 metre mark which is preferable at this location. Any bigger then the water rushes through incredibly fast making the fishing uncomfortable and rather tricky. We have a big tidal range to contend with in Sussex which always adds an extra dimension and challenge to the fishing.
For the first hour it was pretty slow with just a few lightning fast bites but nothing to show for it. We could see the odd mullet cruising around and drifting past every now and then. With this in mind we kept the floats running through and giving the onion bag a good shake every few minutes. Surely it was just a matter of time until the mullet turned on to our feed?
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| Another Thick-lip Mullet falls to a pinch of bread flake in the docks. |
2 hours must have passed and still nothing. Then I had the misfortune of an over-run on my centrepin whilst trotting the float down. I was trying to untangle the birds nest that appeared when I suddenly felt the rod tip pull round. I was fortunate that the unseen fish hooked itself against the curve of the rod because I was busy paying attention to the tangle at the time. Panic then set in as I realised I had a running fish on and a jammed reel! Not good news!
Thankfully, Dave came to the rescue and unlooped the line from around the pin, freeing everything up. The unseen fish was putting up a lovely scrap on the light gear, regularly ploughing down for the bottom and taking line. Dave was convinced that it was no mullet from the way it was fighting. When it eventually surfaced we were treated to the sight of a beautiful Shad - a first for me! After a couple of last minute lunges it was in the net and ours. Not the target species but a very welcome and unusual diversion all the same. A great fight on the light tackle too and just a little bit lucky!
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| A cracking Shad intercepts my mullet bait |
Once the photos were taken and the shad revived and returned it was back to the trotting to see if we could connect with a mullet. It took a further half an hour of trotting and feeding before I finally had a positive bite and struck hard. The rod hooped right over against the weight of the fish and just stayed there for a second or two before the fish realised it had made a mistake and tore off. It was an incredible run right out across the river in a couple of seconds flat. The centrepin did it's job beautifully, burning my thumb in the process. This was clearly a decent mullet and it was doing it's best to get as far away from us as possible. It then came up to the surface and we got a good look. It was a cracker!
Realising that I was connected to a rather substantial fish meant that the pressure was on, I really didn't want to lose this one. So when it came tearing back over towards us and dived for the wood work along the dock, I cringed as I piled on the side strain to keep it from snagging me and cutting the line. I really thought the hook would pull as I gave the fish as much as I could. Fortunately, everything held and the fish begrudgingly came back towards us.
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| A fine looking Thick-lip Mullet |
Eventually after a few more short runs, the fish tired and I guided it into the waiting net with a great feeling of relief. I was completely gob-smacked. This mullet was huge in my eyes. Having never caught one bigger then a pound or so this was like a giant. My first proper mullet. I didn't have any scales so have no idea of the weight but that doesn't bother me. I fish for the thrill, the experience and the satisfaction. That was an incredible mullet.
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| My biggest Mullet to date |
After unhooking and a few photos I slipped the fish back to fight another day and watched it swim strongly away. I didn't fish any more that day, I was suitably content with my lot. It doesn't get much better. That experience has stayed with me to this day, I will never forget the epic battle with that fish.
I have specifically fished for mullet many, many times since that day and have never caught a fish close to that in size or strength. Some might call it beginners luck and they'd probably be right. There's always an element of luck involved in fishing and that's what makes it so great.
It's seeking out another experience like this one that has me regularly up to my knees in sloppy estuarine mud every summer. I have been fortunate enough to travel to India and Central America in recent years to pursue my love of fishing but there's not much that can beat the thrill of hooking a sizeable mullet on light tackle back home.........and that is why I keep on doing it!
