Mackerel on the fly and Sole after dark - Aug/Sep 2017

It's always fun catching mackerel! Not only are they great to eat but they provide fantastic sport on the right tackle too. My favourite way of catching them when conditions allow is on the fly. There were some perfect days in late August with glassy seas and clear water. When it's like this I enjoy getting on the shingle just before first light and fishing for an hour and a half before work.

It's all about the change of light. As soon as it creeps in to the east the mackerel often head right in to the shingle, herding shoals of fry up against the bank. It's a fantastic spectacle to watch and chasing the shoals along the beach with a fly rod is tough to beat in my opinion. It usually over as quickly as it starts though, once it gets fairly bright the shoals retreat back in to deeper water. I usually find a few scad and schoolie bass mixed in with them, even once caught a flounder doing this. Great fun.

Sole are another species I like to have a go for at about this time of year. They're tricky customers at the best of times but following a few simple little tricks certainly ups your chances of finding a few. Now as much as I'm a conservation minded angler, I do fish for the pot too. It is possible to do both believe it or not. I managed to catch 2 this year and they made for the most fantastic fish supper. In my opinion, dover sole is about as good as it gets in the culinary world with regard to our UK fish stocks.

As for those 'little tricks' then I always fish after dark, ideally just after it's all settling down after an autumnal blow.....reasonably calm with good colour to the water. Small hooks are essential and I favour a size 2 loaded with lug ideally, but rag will suffice. Pinning the rig down to the sea bed by using a small back-lead or split shot on the snoods all helps. This is the soles domain after all.

I find sitting on your hands essential when sole fishing, the bites are a funny affair. The first indication is usually a few twitches and nods as the sole starts sucking on the bait, there's no mistaking when they take it down and hook themselves though....the rod usually lurches right over! They're amazingly strong and muscular, a most interesting and curious fish. I love 'em!