Tonights Fishy Encounter

Finally got out after putting up with injured feet for months, beach didn't do one foot any favours, but its getting near the end of the summer season, so I had to.



Lovely Autumn evening, so even if we didn't catch it would be nice to get out.

I took my neighbour Steve, who has been keen to learn how to fish.



After about 45 minutes he caught his first ever Mackerell, and was thrilled to bits. I caught the next one, a lone Sprat.

Steve lost his tackle so took a few shots of me treading the fine line between fishing and standing on the beach looking like an idiot.





I said to him, it would be nice if I could actually catch a fish for him to photograph, and as soon as I said it, the line went tight,







And I landed my first ever beach caught Herring:yess:





Minimum landing size for a Herring is 20cm, this one was 41cm

All in all, not bad for an hour or so, would have stayed longer into dusk, but had lost 2 lots of tackle myself & didn't want to keep Steve there with no fishing gear.

 

Theres a moral to this fishy tale Zig
Always take a camera with you.
Looks like you enjoyed your time out and a great report of a grand outing.

 

nice!

but you need to use a different reel (like Abu) .... you will cast further/deeper



and a good graphite rod with a 7 ounce tip ...

bait up with a 5 ounce sinker to your rig ... read the sea .... aim for a channel or next to a sand bank ... and you will get an additional 60m distance when you cast

thats how we done it in south africa, and am sure it works world wide

 

That is a good size herring - thought you'd got a feather caught mullet in the pic with sand obscuring it:





I've caught herring at West Bex early May a couple of years ago during a session when there was more herring coming in than mackies. I've also heard of them being caught on feathers off Minehead harbour wall in April (or perhaps early May) when the James brothers were also catching them on the drift fairly close in.

 

I got a willow stick and a pin.....any good?

 

Hi Dim,

That is a £160 Abu fixed spool rod, no good with a multiplier reel as the eyes are set up differently. I get 120-150 yards with it, fine for beachcasting.

I find that multiplier reels don't give a fast enough retrieve for feathering.

 

I thought it was a Bass first off Scrunge, till I realised my hand wasn't bleeding from the spines.

Caught Sardines off the Chesil, only caught Herring from a boat before.

 

oops ... now I understand .... different from what I'm accustomed to

whenever I'm in your area, will contact and would love to learn how to fish in the UK

 

My preferred feathering rod is a (2 piece) Diawa Supercast fixed spool version, but if on a family holidays I tend to take 3 piece, or even multi-piece travel rods.

 

Are those the clogs that make you trip all the time?
Beautiful settings anyway...

 

Only thing i'm comfortable wearing at the moment:D Steel toecap boots were hell last week

My Brother just told me off for catching the fish:DOH: Ex fish eater, gone veggie now, he must think i've forgotten all the Kippers he used to eat

 

No oops, just a different method That would be great Dim, always good to meet up with a fellow GC member. Can't promise a catch, but always good to try & have a few beers

 

I intended adding the bit below some time ago but forgot:

Record catches as herring return in numbers to Bristol Channel

I was in Minehead at the time, staying about 30 metres from where that pic was taken when he caught them, and had some as was washing a barrel load with a hosepipe outside his home on the sea front, with a river of scales running down the street. Nice & fresh and worked out at only 10p each, that was my extra bait sorted out, plus breakfast when i got back home.

If the water had been clearer I might of had a go at feathering for them.

 

Thats good news Scrunge, I remember hearing that the Herring were almost extinct in the 1970's. Great to see them coming back.

 

here is a very good article showing some traces and techinques used in south african fishing ....

http://www.platannapress.co.za/PDF/Bait.pdf

my brother in law operates a deep sea fishing boat for anglers/tourists in Durban SA.... will definately be visiting him when I go there again on holiday