Snook Fishing in Panama - December 2016

My wife and I spent the winter months volunteering at a guest house on the Caribbean side of Panama. When I was lucky enough to get some time off I was able to indulge in the fantastic fishing that's available. 

We were situated on a tiny island in the Bocas Del Toro archipelago, ideally placed to explore the inshore fishing. Within an hours boat ride there are many different environments available to the adventurous angler. Mangrove swamps, sand flats, huge tranquil lagoons, giant estuary systems and small tidal creeks to name but a few. It's a veritable anglers paradise and home to Tarpon, Snook and huge Jack Crevalles. 

Caribbean Vibes!

There are no roads in the archipelago and everyone gets around in their own private boat or by water taxi, it's a really lovely way of life. Consequently, finding a boat and a Captain for my days off was no problem. All of the boats are fiberglass pangas of between 15 and 25 feet, kitted out for transporting the locals and tourists around. Not your regular kind of sport fishing boat, being full of bench seats, but seaworthy enough which was all that mattered.

My captain, Roberto, was a lovely old boy in his late 60's. Born to an indigenous mother and black father, he was a typical Panamanian of mixed race. It's a melting pot of ethnicity's in Panama. The history of the country is really very interesting, if a little harrowing at the same time. He loved to fish for tuna and wahoo with his trolling gear when the ocean was flat. The inshore fishing was not really his thing but he agreed that if we wanted to find my inshore species then the estuaries, creeks and bays would be the best place to look. It sounded good to me!

My friend Bob fights a Snook way up a jungle river

Snook are a hard fighting species that hold great appeal to me. To find them we'd need to head deep into the mangrove swamps through the maze of channels that they create to a spot right at the back of a huge lagoon. There were a series of small rivers and creeks that run deep into the jungle here, it's proper backcountry fishing.

My 'go to' Bucktail Jig

My 'go to' lure in this situation is usually a Bucktail Jig with a rubber grub attached to the hook. This lure has served me well everywhere. I find the combination of the profile, the pulsating action of the bucktail and the vibration of the curl-tail grub to be irresistible to most species, it looks so lifelike in the water. It can be fished fast or slow, down deep, along the surface or bounced along the bottom. It really is the most versatile of lures. My favourite colour to use is white but green or yellow can be good some days.

Roberto insisted that the way to catch the Snook was to troll small rapala lures up and down the river. I wasn't exactly convinced, thinking that the engine noise would put the fish off.  We gave it a try but couldn't get a bite. I then asked Roberto to drift down with the current quietly so I could stand up front and flick my Bucktail Jig into all the likely looking spots instead. This proved to be just the ticket!

My biggest Snook of the trip

Fishing the lure sink and draw style brought three small Snook in quick succession and seemed to be just the presentation they wanted. The fourth fish proved to be an absolute belter and the specimen I was hoping for. The fight was spectacular with the fish leaping and thrashing it's head about a couple of times before boring down under the boat. Thankfully, I managed to keep the line away from the hull and soon had my prize on board. 

Estimated around 17 lbs I was made up with this fish, a very special creature. To catch it way up a tiny river in the jungle made it all the more special. Fantastic fishing!

Click on the below video for full footage of 
catching 2 Large Snook

Turbot and Rays - September 2016

Heading out of Brighton on a sea of glass aboard 'Brigand'

There is one fish that has been on my wish list for some time now and that is the Turbot - Scopthalmus maximus. Being the largest of our flatfish species along the South coast, a big Turbot is a formidable sight. With their distinctive shape, beautiful markings and cavernous mouth they make for some truly stunning trophy photos and some even better eating. Highly prized by chef's and anglers across the land, many would argue that they are one of the best eating fish in our waters.

Being as rare as hens teeth from the shore here in the South-East, the best chance of catching one is by getting afloat. In recent years, some productive Turbot marks have been discovered within range of the South coast charter fleet local to me. There are skippers running out of Brighton, Newhaven and Eastbourne that now target these wonderful fish.

Paul shows his simple baited Turbot rig

I recently got a call from an excitable Paul Harman, one of my fishing buddies. He had been offered a couple of places at short notice aboard the boat 'Brigand' skippered by Steve Green out of Brighton Marina. The plan was to head out to the shipping lanes, mid-channel and drift the banks for Turbot and Rays. There had apparently been plenty caught on his last run out there and the forecast for the next few days was looking about as good as it gets.

After hearing all of this, I immediately re-arranged my work schedule so I could take the next Friday off, it was too good a chance to miss. You really do have to grab the opportunities and weather windows when you can with this boat angling lark. It looked like I may get a shot at my first Turbot after all.

Two days later, 'Brigand' pushed out of Brighton Marina on a sea of glass with myself, Paul and an enthusiastic crew on board. The weather was fantastic, not a cloud in the sky and barely a breath of wind. It felt more like mid-summer than late September. Steve informed us that we would be heading way out to a series of sandbanks that we would drift over in pursuit of the Turbot, our primary target.

It was a fair old run out to the banks and there was a great atmosphere on board as everyone got to know each other. With a continual stream of tea and coffee from the wheelhouse, the time flew by as everyone readied their tackle and rigs. Before we knew it, we were creeping up on the mark.

The first task of the day was to gather the bait. Strings of feathers were deployed all around the boat and thankfully the mackerel were very obliging with 'full-houses' coming over the gunwales regularly. We filled a couple of boxes pretty quickly which is always nice, there's nothing worse than struggling to get enough bait for the day. Within no time, a large number had been filleted by Steve and his deck hand John with the fillets placed on ice to keep them in top condition for us.

I'd chosen to use the tackle on board for the day and was supplied with a quality 12-20lb class boat rod and multiplier loaded with low diameter braid. the rod had a nice soft tip which Steve recommended as being best for spotting the Turbot bites. I like to keep my rigs and end tackle simple and fishing for Turbot was no different. My rig was basically a running ledger on a slider with a spoon incorporated in the 30lb trace for added attraction and some coloured beads just above a 4/0 hook. My trace was around 4 feet long which I find gets nailed to the deck nicely, is manageable and tangle free.

Skipper Steve and I

Opinion is divided as to whether the bling in the form of the spoon and beads are necessary for Turbot, some swear by them others shun them. Personally, I don't see that it can do any harm and it may just induce a fish to pounce on your bait, buying you an extra bite or two.

As Steve set up the first drift of the day, he explained to us all what the sandbanks deep beneath us were like. There was a gradual incline all the way to the peak of the bank where it suddenly dropped away at a steep angle for some 40 feet or so. The Turbot like to sit the other side of the bank on the steep slope sheltering from the tide, waiting for it to bring prey over the top to them. this is where the Turbot bites are most likely to come and it's critical to keep your tackle in touch with the bottom as you drift over the bank and down the slope. If you're not feeling your lead on the bottom then there's every chance your bait is way out of the reach of the Turbot.

Reading the bites when they come can be quite tricky and it takes some skill and patience to get it right and hook up. The trick is to give a little line as soon as the first bite is felt, in much the same way you would when targeting plaice. This gives the Turbot time to really get a hold of the bait. When the second bite comes then give a little more line and as the third bite comes then just very steadily lift into the fish until the weight is felt and wind it up slowly. Gently, gently is the way to go when winding up a Turbot.

The preferred bait is the silver belly section of the mackerel fillet and on the first drift I dropped a piece around 4 inches long down to the sea bed, concentrating on keeping in touch as we went over the top of the bank. To my surprise, I had a bite straight away and gave some line. The rod tip then pulled down very positively and I lifted the rod, perhaps a little prematurely, into nothing. Upon inspecting the bait after winding in, it was clear to see a Turbot had made it's way up the bait with it's teeth marks just shy of the hook. A promising start!

Things went a little quiet for me after my near miss. The rest of the guys on the boat were having it away though, there were all manner of fish coming up. One of the guys had a couple of small Turbot and a nice brill, Paul had a thornback ray into double figures, a small gurnard and his first Turbot too. There were some huge greater weevers caught and a very impressive blonde ray that was weighed at 22lb along with a few smaller specimens. Just before slack water I finally hooked up, but unfortunately for me it must have been the only 8oz pouting on the banks!

Things were very quiet for a good while over the slack, as is often the way. I took some time out for a coffee and a sandwich until one of the guys caught another huge blonde ray which prompted me to get a bait back in the water.

And I'm glad I did, the tide had picked up again and I soon got a bite which screamed Turbot, it had all the classic marks of a big flattie bite. I went through the routine of patiently giving line until there was an unmistakably solid pull. I lifted into a nice solid weight this time. It felt good and I just hoped that this time it was the Turbot I'd been waiting for.

It took a while until I could see some colour, but when I did there was no mistaking the shape of my first Turbot rising up through the water, it was a good one too! Straight into the net it went and at 8.5lbs, the biggest of the day. It was a cracking fish and exactly what I had hoped for. It's nice when a plan comes together and a new species for me to tick off the list too. It was turning out to be a red letter day all round.

The icing on the cake came on my last cast of the day though. Steve, the skipper, had agreed to stay out for a couple of hours extra until dark for no additional charge, I think he was enjoying himself! it was just as the sun was slipping over the horizon that my rod bent over and kept on going. My strike was met with solid resistance and the familiar feeling of large ray kiting across the tide. It took some time to get it off the bottom but after that I gradually pumped it up to the surface and it was a beauty!

Easily the biggest blonde ray I have ever caught, well over 20 lbs, quickly unhooked, photographed and returned. It was a fantastic end to an incredible day. there were big smiles all round as we made the long steam back in to Brighton.

I'd highly recommend a day out on 'Brigand' with Steve Green from Brighton Marina, his infectious enthusiasm and hard work really paid off. He did a great job putting us on the fish, not your average charter skipper and very eager to please. Nothing was too much trouble, very refreshing indeed! Give him a call on 07572 065543 - he's taking bookings now. You won't be disappointed! Tight lines!!

Inshore Saltwater Lure and Fly Fishing - September 2016

September is a time of plenty and certainly one of my favourite months for saltwater fishing. All the summer species are present and the winter species are also starting to show. Generally speaking, there are a lot of fish around.

With the settled weather we've been having, the water clarity has been very good inshore. To me, this means one thing and one thing only......it's time to get the lures and flies out. The reefs to the East of Brighton tend to be plagued with dirty water most of the year thanks to the chalk on which they sit. It's often like a milky pea soup down there. We really have to make the most of those times when the fish are tuned in to hunting by sight. I particularly enjoy catching Bass along there and even more so using lure or fly tackle. You never know what else can turn up either!

Nice Bass on a top water lure

My selection of lures, poppers, flies, metals and plastics

My buddy Paul Harman has a boat based in Brighton Marina and he loves to get out after the Bass whenever he can. For him it's all about fly fishing, if the conditions will allow. There's not really much to beat catching a nice Bass on the fly from our Sussex waters in my opinion.

I have been out with Paul a couple of times just recently with the lure and fly gear and we've had some reasonable success. Drifting close inshore over the reef systems is always fun with the fly rod. An 8 or 9wt set up with a sinking line is required to get the fly down where the fish are. We've always found a simple clouser fly to be more than effective in a white, white and green or white and olive pattern. The heavy dumbell eyes on these flies are just what you need to keep it down in the bite zone. Very effective!

For lure fishing, a 10 - 40g spinning rod with a small fixed spool reel loaded with braid is all you need. A fluorocarbon leader and spinlink clip finish it off nicely. Successful lures for us have been Fiish Minnows, Savage Gear Sandeels, Rapala X-raps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Sammy Top Waters etc....

Pollock, Wrasse and Gurnard all taken on lures inshore

Inshore over shallow water, we like to cast away from the boat as we drift, covering specific marks or hot spots. For hard baits, then a straight retrieve with the odd pause or twitch thrown in is just fine. If I'm fishing the Savage Gear Eels or Fiish Minnows it's a bit different. I find jigging/bouncing the lures back to the boat along the bottom to be very attractive to the fish. The bites nearly always come as the lure is dropping on a tight line.

Greedy Bass - 2 x fish on 1 lure!!

In deeper water, over reefs or wrecks, then jigging the plastics vertically on heavier jig heads is the way to go. A nice fine braid is essential for this, especially if there's a good tide run. Your lure needs to be working directly beneath you in the bite zone, down near the reef or wreck. It's no good if you're getting 'strung out' with your line streaming out behind the boat as the lure is then working where the fish are not.

This technique of fishing the plastics vertically can be very effective. It's successful for Bass and Paul's had a few Cod later in the year doing this as well. Over the reefs then Pollock, Wrasse and Gurnard will often oblige too. To prove that you never quite know what to expect when fishing lures, Jeff Smith had a Bonito in his boat off Littlehampton last month too! Who'd have thought it! Global warming? Either way......a nice catch for Sussex!

Fishing in Holland - September 2016

Fishing the big Dutch rivers for Zander with soft plastics

It's got to be said that the internet has changed my fishing forever. Being connected to and being able to talk to anglers all over the world at the click of a button has enabled me to make like minded friends in interesting places.

One such friend is Dutchman, Tim Puts. He's a dedicated angler living in Central Holland and is literally surrounded by water and great fishing. His fine angling skills first came to my attention when I started to notice the giant Perch that he was catching with shocking regularity through the winter months. I've honestly never seen fish quite like it! They were huge.

Tim with one of his giant Perch!

His speciality is catching them from a float tube on light lure fishing tackle. I was so impressed that I got in touch to chat it all over with him and we found that we had an awful lot to talk about with regard to our fishing. He was super keen, his enthusiasm was infectious.

Eventually, we agreed that we needed to meet and Tim very kindly invited me over to Holland for a long weekend of fishing in late September. I'd never caught a Zander, an Asp or an Ide before and Tim reckoned it would be a bit of fun to see if we could tick them off my list. Chasing species and new adventures is my kind of thing so I gratefully accepted his offer and booked up a ferry.

When the weekend arrived, Holland was in the grip of a late summer heatwave well in to the 30's. The fishing was going to be tricky, especially for the predators. Conditions were far from ideal!

Big or small - we love them all :)

Undeterred, I jumped on the ferry and made the drive down there. I instantly hit it off with Tim from the get go. The plan was to spend the first day trying for Zander and Ide from the shore. Day 2 was to be spent after the predators on a boat with his friend Synco and the last day we'd play by ear. We planned to fish the Rivers Waal and Issel and the mass of canals and lagoons that interconnects them all.

Tim agreed that the predator fishing would be tough in the heat but that the Ide fishing should be perfect. They respond well to high pressure and sunshine making it possible to take them off the top with breadcrust. It all sounded like lots of fun and I was itching to get going.

We started on the Ide as Tim reckoned this would be the easiest one to catch. The bright sun made the fish tricky and they weren't responding due to a lack of flow on the river. The weirs had been turned off due to low levels and without the flow the fish were reluctant to feed. Other than a very nice roach/hybrid? for Tim we didn't catch anything else that morning.

Is it a Roach or is it a hybrid? Hard to tell, either way...a cracking fish!

In the afternoon, we tried another much bigger river and this was a different story. We started here fishing soft plastics and I was fortunate to get my first zander, nothing massive but a new species for me and the first target of the trip met. Success. It was great to learn Tim's subtle technique and tricks for fishing these tiny baits in such a large, powerful river. Every day's fishing is an education. We never stop learning.

As the sun mellowed a little, we then started introducing bread into the quiet water between the groynes on the river. It didn't take long before some very nice sized Ide started slurping down the freebies. It was a great sight and really got my going, I love the visual aspect of this kind of fishing. After a while of cautious feeding, the fish were confidently taking the bait. It was time to start fishing for them.

Hooked up to an Ide on floating crust

Simple freeline tactics were all that was required as we had the fish within 20 feet of the bank. I'm not going to pretend that it was tricky fishing because it wasn't. The Ide were happy to take the crust and we both enjoyed some brisk sport taking several fish between us. It was a lot of fun but what was most impressive was the size of these Ide, they were serious specimens! I was chuffed to bits to have caught a few and tick another new species off  my list. It really was very enjoyable fishing.

Specimen Ide

The surprising thing about these Ide is that Tim and his buddies often catch them on small soft plastics when perch fishing, so they have some predatory instinct. This interested me immensely. I had a fly rod with me in the van and made a mental note to bring it with me next time. It had been a great, sweltering day. We returned back to Tim's place, ate and prepared for the following days lure fishing on Synco's boat and then hit the sack.

Tim getting in on the Ide action too.

We were on the water by first light with Synco in his impressive boat, the target was an Asp. He had a couple of spots in mind but the low light was key, so we headed straight there. Second cast in and Tim had an Asp swipe at his lure right by the boat, so we were in the right place. A few more casts and he hooked a fish, the Asp we were looking for. A very nice specimen but a baby compared to some that are caught in those waters. Either way, an Asp is an Asp. It was the only one we managed to catch mind you.

Tim and Synco with our only Asp of the weekend

The rest of the day was spent drifting all of Synco and Tim's favourite spots on the river. We fished hard with all manner of lures and had a great day. The fishing wasn't on fire, again due to the excessive heat, but we all managed a few Perch and Zander to keep us entertained and had a cracking BBQ. What more could you want?

Tim with a Zander

My final day with Tim was another scorcher. Back on the banks again, we started close to a large weir trying for an Asp in the half light. Neither of us even had a touch so we moved back to the other river and got back on the Ide and Zander trail. We caught plenty of Ide and a couple of more small Zander too. I tried with the fly rod and a bread fly but the Ide just would not take my imitation. It was very frustrating, they'd slurp up every bit of bread but ignore my fly. They knew.

More monster Ide

That drew my time with Tim to a close. It had been great to spend time somewhere new and swap ideas with a forward thinking angler like Tim. It's great to make new friends in new places and I'm sure we'll get together again at some point in the future...maybe when it's a little less hot!

That wasn't quite all the fishing over though. I had 5 hours to kill the next day as my ferry wasn't until late in the evening from Dunkirk. I got up and left with Tim on the Monday morning, said my goodbye's and headed straight back to the river. I had a bee in my bonnet and had to catch an Ide on the fly.

We had a few Perch but no monsters

I'd thought about it a lot and chatted it over with Tim on our last evening together. I decided to give the 'bread fly' a break and try using a 'proper' fly and appeal to their predatory instinct. I had a box of trout flies with me and there was a selection of lures and nymphs within. This would be my angle of attack. I knew where the fish were located having caught them in good numbers on bait so it made sense to return to the same spot and try my flies.

Specimen Ide on a Wooley Bugger Fly

I sat and watched the water as I rigged up my fly rod. I was fishing a #6wt setup with floating line, to the end of this I attached a 12 ft tapered leader with a 6lb mono tippet. As I was doing this there were several good boils in front of me, the fish were there. They were quite a way out though.

Given that Tim had caught them on small soft plastics before I went for a lure to start with and picked out a white Cats Whisker fly with a weighted head to get it down a little. I went about casting all over the swim, concentrating on the still water between the groynes as he fish seemed to like it here.

The Wooley Bugger does it again!

My fly was unmolested unfortunately, so after 15 minutes I changed it to a large black Wooley Bugger and gave that a few casts. I was allowing it to sink right down and then retrieving it in short sharp jerks to get it jigging through the water nicely. To my surprise, several casts in everything went tight and I had a fish on. I knew it was an Ide straight away from the familiar nodding fight.

and again!

It was a good size and hooked fair and square in the mouth too. I was made up, it's just a shame that Tim wasn't with me to share in the experience. This gave me the confidence and I fished on for the remaining couple of hours taking two more large Ide on the fly before the open road was calling.

That wrapped up the trip very nicely and I returned home happy having made some new friends, caught some new species and got one hell of a sun tan! Holland....I'll be back :)

Mullet on the Fly - September 2016

Catching Mullet on a fly rod has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Dr Mike Ladle first popularised the idea some years ago by catching them off the Purbecks in Dorset using a maggot fly. When the weed built up along the shore and started to rot, he was quick to notice the mullet would arrive in numbers when this was occurring. They would gorge on the maggots washed into the water from the decaying weed. He tied a simple 'fly' from a small hook with a wee bit of polystyrene on it, threaded on a few maggots and cast this with a fly rod at the feeding fish......with great success. Fly fishing for mullet was born.

In recent times, a dedicated fly angler by the name of Colin Macleod has worked hard at tying patterns that imitate the natural food items of mullet. He has now created many successful flies (tied in the traditional sense) that have proven their worth time and again. They imitate the small organisms that are the natural diet of the fish and have brought many fine mullet to the net. Well done Colin!

Mullet Maestro Colin Macleod - down in Sussex on my mullet marks

Sight fishing for mullet in the UK with these patterns is about as close to 'Bone fish' angling as we will ever get here. Given the speed and strength that our mullet have, they make a very worthy quarry on light fly tackle.

The selection of flies Colin has created can be seen and purchased by clicking on this link....

Click here to buy Colin's Mullet Fly's

As you can see, the majority seem to imitate small sand or mud shrimps, tiny ragworm, corophium and invertebrates. They have been proven successful by Colin and many others anglers now.

My most successful fly - Red Head Diawl Bach

I purchased a few of these flies a couple of years ago and have tried without any luck to catch a mullet. Eventually, I contacted Colin Macleod himself and got to discussing the finer details of the technique and feeding habits of the mullet.

They are not easy to catch on these flies, but if you're in the right place at the right time Colin assured me it's possible to catch. It's all a question of perseverance and observing the fish. They will switch on to feed at very specific states of the tide in certain locations. He told me that the key was being able to tell when this was happening and making sure you're there with a fly in the water when it does.

'Flashing' mullet on the feed

The give away signs are when the fish are rolling and flashing on their sides and when you can notice little puffs of silt being blown from their gills. These are good indicators that they are feeding. Very often we see mullet and they are just cruising around or on the move. They are said to be almost impossible to catch on a fly when they are behaving like this.

I took on Colin's advice and put in the hours at one of my mullet marks. It holds many thin-lips at this time of year so it seemed a good place to start. I stuck with the red head diawl bach and the red tag fly as I have had mullet follow these before but never take them. 

Through lots of observation, I was able to work out when they were feeding 'properly' and discovered that they ran like clockwork. Always feeding on the same spots, at the same state of the tide. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together.

Eventually, it all came together completely and I got my first take. I was so surprised when the mullet charged down the fly and actually hit it that I struck as if I were trout fishing....and fluffed it. Big mistake, a small strip strike is what was required.

Fortunately, I got another bite at the cherry and didn't make the same mistake twice. The thin lip fought well in the shallow water and I was finally able to beach my first mullet on the fly. It was an amazing feeling I have to say, they really are the most challenging of fish to catch with fly tactics.

I got back in touch with Colin and thanked him for his advice. It had been most helpful. We then decided to get together and I invited him down to Sussex to have a go on my mullet marks. Needless to say he managed to catch a few fish and thoroughly enjoyed it!

It's always good to make new connections in the angling world and I was able to learn a lot from Colin. We plan to go on some more mullet fishing adventures next summer, so I look forward to seeing how that all develops. It's infectious fishing....I like it!