Mid-Winter Piking Session on the River Wey.

Finally, the snow melt has started to ease off in the rivers and they are gradually returning to normal levels thanks to the lack of persistent rain and the presence of high pressure just recently. This weather pattern set the alarm bells ringing in my head last week and I desperately needed to get out on the rivers to see if the Pike were in an obliging mood. My fishing itch has not been scratched for a good couple of months and an optimistic forecast from the Met Office saw me straight on the phone to my friend Scott to see if he fancied braving the frosty weather for a dangle.



He was predictably keen and it was agreed that I should head over to his place on Saturday afternoon for a spot of dinner and a beer or two with the plan being to spend all of Sunday out on the river tracking down the Pike.

As the alarm sounded and I woke early on the Sunday, a quick peek out of the window revealed a hard ground frost with ice everywhere. Not perfect conditions, but better than rain, floods and dirty water! Certainly worth a crack! Full winter clothing was undoubtedly the order of the day to keep the cold off.

We made the 25 minute journey up the A3 towards Guildford and the river, the first view of the running water had us both making approving noises as to the levels and colour. It certainly looked good for a fish or 2 and much better than either of us had anticipated. This of course filled us with hope and spurred us on as we made the trek across the waterlogged fields towards our chosen part of Surrey's River Wey.

There is a particular spot on the Wey that has been kind to us in the past when the river is not at it's best. With this in mind we chose to head to that area first off to try our luck. It's an arm off the main river where there is plenty of shelter and steady water so in times of flood and high water the prey fish move in here to seek refuge. The pike naturally follow the food and can therefore also be found holding up here in midwinter. We have had pike to mid-double figures from this area in the past so were hopeful there would be some in residence.



We settled down into our spot and readied the rods with a warming winter sun casting a delicate glow upon us. It was great to feel the sun on your skin, I can't remember the last time I felt that - roll on the Spring! The sun soon melted the frost away though and within 10 minutes we had cast our tackle out into a couple of very pikey looking holes and sat back with a coffee enjoying the morning. We fished simple float/ledger tackle with the deadbaits hard on the deck as the fish would undoubtedly be laying up in the silt.

I went about taking a few photos and was wandering up the bank when Scott yelled to me exclaiming that one of the rods was getting an enquiry from a fish already! I ran back and watched the float....sure enough it started bobbing enticingly before sliding from view under the surface. At this point I wound down and lifted into the fish to feel a nice bit of resistance and the first bend in my rod for 2010. It was clearly only a small fish but it gave a good account of itself for it's size and was soon on the bank being admired and unhooked by Scott and myself. I was rather pleased as the conditions and weather seemed to be against us somewhat and to have a fish on the bank in such a short time was a result in my book. It definitely put a smile on our faces.



This fish had taken half a mackerel, so I went to grab another bait when I noticed the float on Scott's rod bobbing away. It was now my turn to yell to Scott this time. He was on the rod sharpish and had a lively little pike running all over the place, it fought hard and with the attitude of a fish twice it's size! The fish was soon on the bank posing with Scott for a couple of trophy shots before being unhooked and returned back to it's watery home.

With 2 fish in such a short space of time and so early into the session we thought perhaps a red-letter day was on the cards. It was all looking good so we quickly rebaited with a smelt and a mackerel before repositioning the rods. Within another 10minutes or so Scott's Rod was off again and he was scrapping with another lively pike.......then the hook pulled and it was game over........thats fishing for you! You can't win 'em all!

We tried several more spots and likely looking holes throughout the day but could not buy a bite. All the action came in our first hour and it really was hard going for the remainder of the session. Pike are well known for feeding in short and often hectic spells so perhaps that was it for the day in the morning, either way I'm glad we caught them on the feed when we did. They were not the biggest fish as it goes but when you've been trapped indoors for weeks on end due to horrendous weather then any fish is a good fish. So with both of our 2010 ducks broken and a couple of healthy bends in our rods we returned home rather pleased with ourselves.



Hopefully, the weather and fishing should improve now as the days are starting to stretch out once again, heading towards the spring. Tight Lines and Happy Fishing!

South Coast Black Bream Fishing

The Black Bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) has got to be one of the prettiest seasonal visitors to our shores. With it's stunning cobalt blue, silver and black markings there are few fish to rival it's beauty around our coasts. They can be found in our waters from the spring right through until the end of the summer. They migrate north from Spanish and French waters in the spring to move on to their breeding grounds.

The Black Bream happens to be a fine table fish, one of my favourites, and according to the Marine Conservation Society is on the list of fish that are within sustainable levels. This makes them a worthy quarry and there's no need to feel bad about taking a few for the pot.



The Kingmere Reef which sits a few miles off the coast of Littlehampton is a well known and protected breeding area for the Bream and every year many hundreds of anglers make the trip out there to tangle with these incredibly hard fighting fish. May/June is considered the best time to get out on the reef as the fish are shoaled up. If you catch it right then some brisk sport can be expected.

They can of course be caught from the shore too but these fish tend to be smaller, for the best chance of a real specimen then heading out to the reef is the best bet. It is quite conceivable to catch fish in the 4-5lb bracket and possibly bigger which is a cracking bream in anyones book and will give you a good run-around on the right tackle.



For their size the bream fights very hard indeed, continually crash diving and shaking their heads. Using light balanced gear is the way to get the most out of these lively critters. I would recommend a light boat rod in the 6-12lb class range if you can get away with it and a low profile multiplier spooled with 20lb braid. This will give you splendid sport.

Bream are renound for having small mouths so your choice of hook size is critical to ensuring a good days sport. If your hook is too big then the bream will simply not be able to take your bait. I favour a strong size 4 aberdeen style hook or hooks from the carp fishing market.

As far as rigs go then I favour using 1 x hook on a long flowing trace (5-6feet) on a standard sliding boom. My trace is made from 12lb fluorocarbon which is nice and discreet too. It pays to use just enough lead to be able to bounce your tackle downtide from the boat by gently raising and lowering your rod. This has the effect of allowing the bait to waft up and down which seems irresistable to the hungry bream. It's worth having your drag set sensibly too with regard to the tackle used and the breams scrappy reputation.



As far as bait is concerned then you'd be a fool to leave home without some squid, mackerel and cockles. I have found these 3 baits to be irresistable to the bream, but some days they definitely have a preference for one particular type. It's worth ringing the changes until you find what's working best on the day. Other baits worth a try are ragworm and small chunks of peeler crab.



The bites you get when bream fishing are often a series of hard taps and they can be incredibly fast. It pays to allow the bream a little time to take the bait properly, there is'nt really much point in striking at the taps, it's best to wait until the fish hooks itself and pulls the rod over. Remember, they do only have small mouths!




They may not be the biggest fish in our waters but when you consider their fighting abilities, beauty and desirable qualities for the table then Black Bream fishing is well worth a crack. If you've not tried this then I would highly recommend it. Get in touch with the skippers that work out of Littlehampton and get your name down for a trip to the Kingmere Reef in May/June time. You won't be disappointed - trust me on this one!

Happy fishing!

A couple of sessions off the Brighton shingle

Well.......the clocks have changed, it's cold, it's dark when you get up and dark when you get home. Not my favourite time of year. I'm sure I suffer from S.A.D (seasonal affective disorder). Living in practically perpetual darkness just does'nt do it for me.

Having said that, it's not all doom and gloom on the fishing front - it does mean the cod are creeping along our coastlines and the bass are feeding hard, fattening up for the lean times of winter ahead. The winds have been blowing fairly steadily from the south-west so conditions just lately have been ideal for both the aforementioned species.

I have been rather busy just lately and fishing has had to take a back seat, London and the lure of it's splendid 24 hour entertainment has sucked me in. The mother of all halloween do's and a couple of rather entertaining techno parties have been a minor distraction. They say variety is the spice of life.....and I've certainly had some good variety just lately!!

I've managed to get out fishing 3 times in the last month, the first session was on freshwater to open my account with the Sussex Pike for the season. I have returned to the running waters of the tidal Sussex Ouse this year and my first attempt was rather successful. In a 6 hour session I managed to catch 3 nice pike, the biggest was just shy of 14lbs and the other 2 were around the 5-6lb mark each. All were taken on float-fished frozen mackerel baits caught from the beach during the summer. I forgot to take the camera that day so there are no pictures I'm afraid. It was a lovely day though!

The second session was a spur of the moment idea. I had a friend, Pete, staying with me for a week as he had just finished a years contract working and living on a big yacht in the Carribbean (Lucky Git!). He had been following my blog whilst away and was keen to have a go at some fishing now he was back.

We purchased 4 x wraps of black lug and a box of squid from the tackle shop and I suggested we try locally along the shingle for the chance of a cod. We went about as locally as is possible - which if you draw a straight line from my house to the coast, ends up slap bang in the middle of Hove seafront.

It was a fairly blowy night with a good swell running up the beach, I chose to fish a single size 2/0 clipped down paternoster rig on both rods. Each was baited with 2 black lug and a strip of squid then blasted to the horizon. Pete had a go at casting, but being new to this sort of fishing did'nt do to well. So in the end it was agreed I would cast 'em out and he would reel 'em in! Seemed fair to me!

Pete reeled in around 7 or 8 whiting througout the session but the cod were not having any of it. It was'nt until bang on high water that one of the rods bounced enticingly and then sprang back with some slack line. Pete was on it in a flash and wound down nicely into the fish. It came in as a dead weight until it neared shallow water and then started plodding around a bit. I charged into the surf and scooped out Pete's prize for him in the shape of a very respectable codling and certainly dinner for 2 the following evening. I was made up for Pete as it was his first cod ever, it's a great feeling to be able to take someone fishing and actually produce the goods, so it was big smiles all round.

- Pete with his first ever cod -

The only other session I have managed to squeeze in was a bait fishing session for the bass along at Brighton. This was just last week and the winds had been blowing steadily from the south-west creating ideal conditions for fishing a big bait in close after dark. With low water at 7pm that day it was decided to fish the first 3 hours of the flood to see if there were any hungry spikeys cruising the tide line.

My companion for the session was Barry, he planned to fish worm baits at range while I concentrated on whole squid baits in the gutter. There was a distinct deeper area along the gutter which was clear to see as the white crests of the waves disappeared as they went over the gutter indicating deeper water. It was here that I felt was the ideal spot to present my bait, no more than 20 yards from my feet.

Barry managed to catch a succession of reasonably sized whiting and a couple of small schoolies as I stood biteless. It was'nt until the tide had started to push up the shingle a little that I got my first bite. The rod quivered in my hand and nodded once, it really was'nt positive enough so I let the bait remain. There were a couple of more dinks on the rod and then eventually a good solid pull. I struck this time and connected with the fish, it did'nt feel very big and was thrashing around 15 yards out in the breakers. It did'nt really fight as such, it just appeared to be panicking in the turbulent water. It was'nt until I slid the fish up the shingle I realised it was infact quite a respectable fish and as fat as a barrel! It went 5lb 6oz on the scales and was very welcome!



- 5lb 6oz of fat Sussex Spikey.

With the mild weather we've been having I predict that the bass will be around for the rest of November and possibly into december too. With the best of the cod fishing upon us now aswell, November could shape up to be a good month....Tight Lines!

Offshore Fishing Out Of Littlehampton.

A trip had been arranged with Mark and Pete to take their two boats out for a days fishing offshore of Littlehampton and as the day approached the weather was looking perfect. Incredibly light winds and sunshine were to be expected and with this in mind Mark suggested we get out as far as we could to try some of the less frequently visited spots. The target species were primarily rays and bass with the outside chance of a tope or cod.

We met at the waterfront at 7.30am and were heading out of the river by 8. The first task was to try and acquire some fresh mackerel for bait which proved rather tricky as the first few stops all proved to be fruitless. On the fourth stop I was thankfully straight into the mackerel with a full house on my first drop down and it was'nt too long before we had all the bait we needed and headed out to the chosen spot.



- Kingfisher One

We steamed out to the 12 mile mark and dropped anchor on a lovely looking area that consisted of a large number of big sandbanks with a huge reef just to one side. The fishfinder was showing a series of deep troughs and banks which funnel the food and fish into condensed areas which would be the hot spots in which to drop our baits.

With baits in position as the tide reached the bottom of the ebb it was only a matter of minutes before my rod banged over and I was into the first fish of the day. This was a beautiful bass that put up a spirited fight before being quickly netted, unhooked, photographed and returned.



- Bass around 5lbs in weight

Within 10 minutes, Karl was into fish number 2 which was another shimmering bass. We were off to a good start and hoped this would be a sign of things to come as the day progressed.



- Another beautiful Bass falls to Karls rod

As the tide slackened right off we had a quiet hour with just a couple of dogfish putting in an appearance. Pete, the skipper, suggested that once the tide picked up again there was a good chance the rays would come on the feed. Like clockwork as the water started to move again, my rod nodded a few times before then bending right over as a fish tore off downtide. This felt like a ray for sure, it was making short, fast runs and using it's wings to hang in the tide. As it approached the surface it was clear to see this was a blonde ray - and a good one too! It was a first for me and a new species so I was rather chuffed.



- My first Blonde Ray

We continued to catch several more rays with Karl picking up a real beauty. By this time the breeze had dropped right off and it was like a mill pond with the surface of the sea being flat and glassy as far as the eye could see - perfect conditions for being offshore.

We fished on and had a quiet spell or two interupted with a couple of small tope coming to the boat and another bass to Karls rod. At one point there were several large splashes as big bass were taking prey on the surface which is quite amazing considering we were in over 100 feet of water. It's most unusual to find bass working on the surface in water this deep.



- Tope



We were in radio contact with Mark whose boat was around 50 metres off our starboard side and he informed us that they had boated a monster blonde ray that pulled the scales down to 26lb. What a clonker! (see below)

As the sun started to sink we then motored over a few wrecks and spent some time working jigs and lures around the structure whilst on the way back in to port. This proved totally unsuccessful for us today as the fish either were'nt on the wrecks or just not in the mood to chase the lures. It was no bother anyway as we had all got into a few good fish and returned to Littlehampton victorious and sunkissed.

Brighton Saltwater Flyfishing

In the last few years we have repeatedly been having a good spell of weather in the month of September. This weather has in the past been characterised by northerly and easterly fronts and prolonged spells of high pressure and sunshine. We've had a repeat performance in the last 3 weeks and I've been fortunate enough to have some time off work to enjoy some fishing and the fine weather - Hooray!

As a consequence of the largely northerly winds, the waters along the coast have been flatened off and calm for a prolonged period. This has the effect of allowing all the sediment in the water to drop and become beautifully clear - perfect conditions for saltwater flyfishing.



- A deserted Brighton Beach (just how I like it!)

With the breeze coming over your shoulder and the fish fully turned on to hunting by sight the conditions could not be any better really. The clear, settled seas are favored by the mackerel and it is in these conditions that they can be found herding fry into corners and pushing them up onto the shingle in a feeding frenzy. It's an amazing spectacle to watch and is comparable to mass slaughter on behalf of the mackerel.



Mackerel are great sport on a light flyfishing outfit and very tasty on the barbecue too making them them a good target species. If they grew to 10lbs in weight I think I'd fish for little else, pound for pound the mackerel gives a really good account of itself and is a fine sporting fish.

With the extended spell of favourable weather I have been down to Brighton Beach on numerous occasions at dawn and dusk whipping them out on the fly, joined by my equally fish obsessed friend Dave. The sessions at dawn were far better than those at dusk, it was always possible to catch a few as the sun went down but at dawn it was like fish soup down there at times.

Hundreds of fish all topping and chasing fry as the light starts creeping in to a new day is enough to get any fisherman drooling in anticipation.



It was'nt just mackerel that were happy to oblige as our catches were peppered with hard fighting School Bass, Scad (Horse Mackerel) and even a solitary Flatfish (Flounder) that took a liking to my fly. The Scad are similar to mackerel just less colourful, with larger eyes and nocturnal. There was often a crossover period as the light either came or went when it was possible to catch mackerel and scad side by side. The bass seemed happy to hit the fly no matter weather it was light or dark.



- The Scad / Horse Mackerel

On a couple of occasions I arrived an hour or so before the first signs of light appeared in the east and both times was confronted with fish leaping and splashing around. These were the scad - in their element feeding in the dark. They were coming in one a chuck until the light got too bright when they disappeared and were replaced by the mackerel and bass. These in turn would hang around until the first rays of direct sun hit the water and then it was game over. Almost like flicking a switch.



- Bass on the fly

I do so love to cast a fly and have been in fishing heaven just recently. I guess it makes up for all the wind and rain during the early summer that put the brakes on the usual summer fishing techniques. Better late than never, anyhow that's that itch thoroughly scratched for a while!!



Tight lines amigos!

Lure Fishing on the Thames and Wey

With the shortening days and cooler temperatures of September come some good conditions for freshwater lure fishing. The weed growth is starting to die back and the waters are still running clear before the first floods of winter arrive. This is a time of plenty and the predatory fish often have a good feed up in preparation for the lean times of winter ahead. The freshwater lure angler can do well at this time as the fish are feeding hard and very active as the water temperatures are still up.

And so it was, last Saturday at around 5am with a slight autumnal chill in the air that my good friend Scott and I left his house on the Hants/Surrey border. We were meeting Rhys, another of Scotts friends, who had a small boat and the plan was to head up to the River Thames for a morning of lure fishing with the hope of some pike or perch to put a bend in our rods.

We travelled up to Weybridge and launched the boat before heading upstream to a lovely looking weirpool to start fishing. Pike love weirpools and are often to be found in the deep swirling water on the look out for unsuspecting prey fish to ambush. Rhys told us of some pike in this pool that were more than happy to oblige on previous visits so there was every chance of a hit or two.



Things were a little slow at first with a few small perch coming to the rods of Rhys and myself when Scott hooked into a better fish that put up a fair amount of resistance. As I peered down into the clear water I got a glimpse of a pike flashing deep below us and it looked to be a good fish, at least a scraper double. The fish soon tired and was wallowing on the surface, it had taken a large rubber perch replicant lure with a curl-tail. It was a fine looking fish with lovely markings and very welcome indeed.



After having worked the pool thoroughly we moved on and started to fish the areas of overhanging trees and moored boats on the main river by drifting past them with the current and carefully casting our lures. Conversation turned to the Zander, a predatory fish that was introduded to the UK and is infact an alien species. None of us had ever caught one before and although the Thames is known to have a population of them, very little is known about their numbers or locations. We all agreed how great it would be to catch one though - something new and exciting!

Now, fate and the tempting of it is not something I usually take much notice of but what happened in the next 20 minutes may make me rethink this one! We were busy fishing away between some moored boats when Scott got a take on his lure, the fish stayed deep at first and then swirled at the surface. I caught a glimpse of a deep body and the back of its head and it looked to be a good fish. It flashed once more and Scott shouted "It's a ZANDER!!!" and indeed it was - a good one too! We could not believe it, especially as we had just been talking about how nice it would be to catch one minutes previously!



The fish was soon netted and we took it over to a mooring platform to get it unhooked and snap off a few frames for the album. It was an old fish by the looks of it, covered in scars and scrapes and a very reasonable size for your first Zander. Scott was chuffed to bits as were Rhys and I, the circumstances of the capture of this fish were quite extraordinary and special after all.



We fished on for a few more hours and took another small pike and some perch before heading back to Weybridge. It had been a great morning out and nice to do something a little different as most of my freshwater angling is generally done from the banks. Fishing on a river like the Thames you just never know what is going to turn up, as the monster Zander proved. There must also surely be the chance of a few huge pike too, in a river of that size they've got to be there somewhere........we'll be back!

The remainder of the weekend was spent on foot, roaming the weirpools, canals and streams of the Wey Valley in Surrey. We wandered miles in search of various predatory species and managed to come across the usual pike and perch along with some cracking chub all taken on spinners. The weirpools really are very productive spots and by carefully covering the water with our spinners we were able to take fish from just about every one we fished. It's a lovely way to fish with just the rod and a pocketful of lures.....nice and mobile.











At one spot we stumbled across a couple of crayfish traps that someone had set and pulled them out to have a quick peek. They were stuffed with the red signal crayfish - yet another alien species - and it just goes to show how bad the infestation is becoming in some places. These crayfish should not be here as they were illegally introduced from the USA and now they are at plague proportions. They upset the ecosystem and cause all sorts of havoc in the food chain, their only saving grace is that they are pretty tasty.....





We also spent a little time trotting maggots and worms under a float for trout and grayling at a couple of spots. At one spot in particular we could see a small group of around 5 or 6 grayling all competing for our maggots in the crystal clear water and it was lovely to see their reactions. They were'nt very easy to catch though, totally ignoring our bait at first. It was'nt until I scaled the hooklink down to 3lb breaking strain and a size 18 hook that we got a bite......but I lost the fish. Then almost straight away I got another bite but it turned out to be a little brown trout doing a good impression of a grayling! Scott then took the rod and promptly hooked the biggest in the shoal.....and lost that one too! Thats why it's called fishing and not catching!! Not to be outdone though, we tried at another spot and eventually took our grayling along with some exceptionally good looking dace.







To sum up, it was a cracking weekend in great company with some excellent fishing to match. In fact, the fishing far surpassed our expectations with the Zander being the high point of the weekend. I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all. The only disappointment was that we did'nt come face to face with a big perch or 2, but hey - that's fishing! Tight lines!