Latest Fishing Reports: Galloper
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15/02/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
15 Feb 2023 by Scott Belbin
I thought I should get around to writing a round up of last years fishing aboard the Galloper before we get to far into 2023!
The year started slowly, as seems to be the case nowadays. When we did get out, our inshore trips saw a mixture of flatties, whiting Rays and dogfish at first. Then as the sprats moved off and the water started to warm up more rays moved inshore, the dogfish came on the feed and everything came to life.
Further offshore our main target are spurdog at the start of the year. Although when fishing is slow inshore it is nice to see anything decent put a bend in the rod. We catch smooth-hounds 12 months of the year off here nowadays and they always put a bend in the rod. Although at times we have to fight our way through the dogfish we can see a nice variety off there to start the year and 2022 was no different. In our first few trips we saw varying numbers of spurdogs and smooth-hounds, thorn-back rays, bass and even a blonde ray for Barry wood of 14.8lbs. of course there were countless dogfish in between along with several whiting and pouting too.
As spring progressed our inshore trips continued to improve. The numbers of rays picked up although they were well down on previous years. I believe this is undoubtably linked to increased commercial pressure over the last few years which is of real concern to us. thankfully we still found enough to keep us busy though we had to work a bit harder for them. as we would expect there were plenty of whiting and dogfish mixed in with the rays and some of those whiting were an impressive size. It was also nice to see a few little codling showing in places too. These were only small (6-8inches) but perfectly formed and gave us a glimmer of hope that they aren’t totally extinct! Barry woods pulled another rarity out of the bag on a general trip too. We were fishing very close to shore when I hooked a very lively fish which at first I thought to be a bass. Imagine our surprise when a coalfish popped up from just a few feet of murky water!
Nowadays we may expect to see hounds and bass offshore 12 months of the year but they do leave the inshore waters for a few months. The water temperature fluctuates far more in the shallower coastal waters. That said both arrived early in the year inshore too and numbers increased as we went into April. By the end of the month we had already seen our first double figure hound of the year. May saw the main influx of smooth-hounds move inshore to coincide with the first malt of the crabs. These are great fun to catch, particularly on our shallow water marks where action can be hectic and their fights are explosive. Grayson had what was probably the biggest hound of the year on his first trip for them. it was a fine fish in well in excess of 15lbs which he caught early on in the trip and released before I could weigh it such was his confidence of an even bigger one! The bass numbers picked up at the same time too which meant our general trips saw some nice variety.
On our offshore trips our thoughts were turning towards early tope but not before one last decent hit of spurs. It turned out to be one of our best hits of spurs of the year. There were a lot of high doubles and several around and over 20lbs on weight. It all happened at once as a pack passed through. we had numerous multiple hook ups and to be honest I couldn’t keep up with the net so we ended up casually hand balling several double figure spurdogs aboard as if they were dogfish!
We had to drag ourselves away from these fish as it was well past home time by now but we headed back the next day. experience prevented me from telling the lads about the previous days fishing and I was very glad of that as the pack had moved away overnight! We didn’t see one single spur the next day although we did catch other fish and it certainly wasn’t through lack of effort.
Towards the end of the spurdog season they seem to spread out and move inshore. this is often when I see reports of other boats catching them. we also had a few mixed in with our general trips as well one or two unsuspecting anglers being bitten off by them.
By mid-summer the general fishing was well under way, there can be some great mixed fishing at this time of year although the thorn-back rays do eventually thin out. The warmer weather brings the stingrays to the Thames estuary and after a couple of heat waves it was no surprise we had some aboard Galloper. Stephen Charles had has second ever sting ray from the same mark as his first came from the year before! These fish are always great to see this area was famed for producing some very big specimens and they love our shallow inshore waters.
Further offshore our attention had turned to tope fishing by now, they seemed to be on the drag a little compared to recent years but we got off to a nice start with the first decent one being a male of 43lbs. I must admit we missed my favourite set of tides as I was away on holiday but thankfully we found a few when I returned. We had a couple of days where we had over 10 tope to the boat. Our best was 14 with some cracking fish amongst them. we saw several over 40lbs and the biggest going 49.8lb for Rolf Marschalek. Rolf caught the fish on a Tubertini match rod while he was retackling his uptider!
Tope fishing often produces some big bass as bi-catch and 2022 was no different. There were several fine fish caught and one of the biggest fell to Honey Gage. Honey has a knack of catching decent fish and I think her secret could be her snazzy hat! I am seriously considering investing in one myself!
Ian Hewett had one or two decent bass too, he certainly put enough time in for the tope last year. We had a really enjoyable day when he hired the boat on his own for a tope trip. I helped him keep 6 rods fishing on a day which started out slowly. Ian’s tackle had a thorough test when he hooked into what turned out to be a tangled mess of rope and metal from some sort of commercial boat. It must have been rolling around on the seabed for ages accumulating more rubbish along the way. This made it pretty heavy and it filled most of a 7stn fish box so is a testament to Ian’s knots and gear in general that it reached the boat. We pulled it out of the bag at the end of the day with a couple of 30’s a couple of 40’s and some dropped fish in the afternoon.
Back inshore the general fishing was mostly made up of hounds and bass. There were a couple more runs of decent hounds and although none seemed as big as Grayson’s early season fish there were still some big fish amongst them. young Ernie looked very pleased with his first double figure hound. As did john with one of 15.8lbs.
The heatwaves did seem to slow some of the fishing down a little but the settled weather meant the mackerel shoaled up so we had a few plays with those. The bass also used this settle weather to shoal up the whitebait and so our offshore trips changed focus to bass for the rest of the summer and autumn. A lot of the summer was spent chasing bass with lures when conditions suited and when they didn’t suit lures we caught them on bait in stead.
One of our first offshore bass trips of the summer was with Jon Bish and the lads. After a prolonged settle spell the bass had shoaled up all over the place as far as the eye could see. We were spoiled for choice on where to fish and they were competing some much for our lures it wasn’t hard work catching them. we caught vast amounts of bass that day and had some great sport on light gear. It was one of those days when there were more bass than we could shake a shiny thing at! In fact we ended up steaming away from them to try for some mackerel as the lads were completely based out!
We had a lot of very good bass trips throughout the summer and autumn and far too many to mention but I am sure everybody enjoyed them selves. hopefully we get to do it all again this year too. I also enjoyed seeing some slightly different lures and methods used to great effect when the fish weren’t feeding as hard. I look forward to learning more about those methods this year.
We only managed a couple of days in the land of no fish last year. Either the weather didn’t play ball or I was already booked which prevented us heading off there. When we did go we managed some different species such as pollock, blonde ray, great weaver and black bream to name a few. I always look forwards to these trips and cant wait to try some new things this year if we get the opportunity.
As we moved into autumn the rays moved back inshore and we even had one or two codling showing. Those fish we saw at 6-8 inches in the spring were now 14-18 inches long and always a welcome sight these days. The smooth-hounds stayed inshore very late in the year and the dabs turned up early! Everything seems different to what we used to expect nowadays.
10 years ago I would be hoping for the first one or two double figure cod by late October. Instead last year I was catching big numbers of bass until the end of November and have no doubt they were still there until the end of the year.
I mentioned Jon Bish’s party earlier and how they enjoyed some fantastic bass fishing on lures on their first trip of the summer. We spent the next trip bait fishing as those autumn fish got their heads down and scoffed our worm. We had some cracking chunky autumn fish on our baits. They had another trip after this fishing lures again but this time in the deep water where the lads got amongst more bass using another different method in another area. We even had a nice pollock to boot!
We had a couple more trips here to finish off the offshore bass fishing for 2022, the last of which was in late November and you can read about that in this months sea angler magazine.
As the year came to an end there were still a few codling and thorn-backs to be caught inshore as well as the usual whiting and dogfish plus a dab or pouting here and there. Further offshore the hounds were still showing as they did in every month of the year.
Moving into this year things are already under way. Those codling that we saw in the autumn have been gorging them selves on sprats for the last couple of months which fattens them up for the spring. There are a few thorn-backs showing already and we have started targeting spur dogs on our offshore trips.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming months if you want to get out.
Please be advised that a steady trickle of dates are filling up for 2023 so please get in touch asap if you require a specific date.
It has been a very busy week with some cracking weather, the phone is ringing a bit more with every week that passes so please get in touch if you require specific dates for later in the year. The forecast looks good for a little while yet so don’t miss out. I have a few spaces in the next week aboard Galloper. I will try and find time to give you something more to read next week.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
18/02- 1 space £60pp
19/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
25/02- 9 spaces @ £60pp or 7 spaces offshore @ £100pp
26/02- 8 spaces @ £60pp or 6 spaces offshore @ £100pp
05/03- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
12/03- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
08/02/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
8 Feb 2023 by Scott Belbin
It has been a very busy week with some cracking weather and getting the Galloper back in the water. there are early signs of spring everywhere as the daffodils poke their heads up which usually means the spring run of thorn-backs isn't far away. last trip we had a few rays and expect their numbers to increase over the coming weeks as well as hoping for a little showing of codling too.
the phone is ringing a bit more with every week that passes so please get in touch if you require specific dates for later in the year. The forecast looks good for a little while yet so don’t miss out. I have a few spaces in the next week aboard Galloper. I will try and find time to give you something more to read next week.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
12/02 (this Sunday)- offshore trip 1 space @ £100pp
15/02- offshore trip 2 spaces @ £100pp
18/02- 8 spaces £60pp
19/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
25/02- 9 spaces @ £60pp or 7 spaces offshore @ £100pp
26/02- 8 spaces @ £60pp or 6 spaces offshore @ £100pp
05/03- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
01/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jan 2023 by Scott Belbin
Just a quick one for those of you who are interested. Please check out this months Sea Angler magazine for (among other things) my article covering our 2021 trip to Plymouth aboard the Galloper. We had a great time with new experiences as well as a new crew member in the form of our then 6 week old Son Stanley Belbin. Of course there are plenty of other great articles and reports in this issue too. We have got this years big adventure planned already and I’ve no doubt there will be others too along the way. Please get in touch if you want to be involved.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming months if you want to get out.
Please be advised that a steady trickle of dates are filling up for 2023 so please get in touch asap if you require a specific date.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
05/02-individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
12/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490 possible offshore trip upon request
18/02- 8 spaces £60pp
19/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
25/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490 possible offshore trip upon request
26/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
05/03- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
01/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jan 2023 by Scott Belbin
Last year (2022) we had such a busy summer we struggled to find time to head off to the land of no fish (some of the marks a long way offshore) but we did manage a couple of days when weather, tides and people made it possible to go exploring. We had been busy bass fishing on a lot of the suitable tides and this had been prolific. Even when we did manage to get off to the land of no fish we were distracted by bass. We passed loads working on the steam in and out but chose to ignore them or we wouldn’t have time for everything. On the first day we headed in one direction with a plan for mixed fishing on wrecks, drifting for flatties ect and some bass on the way home. We started on the drift and the lads sent various rigs to the bottom trying to entice a plaice. Most of the lads were new to this so rigs and set ups took a little refining through the day. I got some feathers out to try and add some fresh bait to the table. It soon became clear there was no shortage of bass around as the first fish to come up on feathers and baits were bass. We picked a few mackerel up along with the odd gurnard, launce and horse mackerel. We decided to steam a little further and try some other marks we had drifted towards in the hope of some more mackerel and other species. We had some pouting, whiting and scad before setting another drift up for flatties. The tide was just coming right for the plaice but as we drifted down I could see a mass of birds working. We may not have been here for bass but the lads didn’t need asking twice if they wanted to go and catch some more. I set the boat up for the first drift on a blisteringly hot, flat calm sunny day. we drifted towards the boiling mass of fish and the lads sent their lures towards them. they were all into fish immediately of course and as they played them to the boat the mass of bass followed the exited fish towards us. the water visibility was at least 10ft that day and as we looked beneath the hooked fish the water was thick with countless bass under them. most fish were 4-7lbs but there were several doubles amongst them. it was like gazing down into a koi pond teaming with bass and the shoal was huge, stretching as far as I could see! what was the funniest thing though was the lads reaction. I often say that fishing seems to turn a 60 year old man into an excited schoolboy again but on this occasion some middle aged men were screaming at me like over excited girls. ‘I’ve got one skip’ was the first cry then ‘ I’ve hooked a cracking bass off the surface skip’ which turned into everybody going ‘look at them, there’s bass everywhere! Look at them look at all those bass!’ As if I don’t have eyes myself of course. It was amazing to see and the stuff of a bass anglers dreams. suddenly I found myself needing 6 landing nets all at once. We had a series of drifts through these over the next couple of hours we had several more drifts and lots more bass, a few mackerel and some scad. The bass were finicky at times and it seemed they were switched on to small bats that matched the whitebait they were feeding on. Several of the lads had great success on strings of mini sand eels with a slow pitch jig on the bottom. This would often result in 4 chunky bass over 4-5lbs coming in at a time though! The other lads persevered with surface lures and caught on all manor of lures. Although the fish were still feeding I did remind the lads that we had spent over 2 hours chasing these bass and if they wanted a shot at something else we should probably make a move. Although it was hard to drag ourselves away we did just that and I set up a drift for flatties again. The lads added dogfish to the list of species and shortly after some plaice too along with more gurnards and several pesky lesser weaver fish. as the tide got going we tried a few drifts on another mark on the way home. This produced more bass before we made tracks for the day. the bass had somewhat taken over our trip but they had been great fun, we had seen well in excess of 100 of them through the day and some cracking fish too. Of course the lads only kept their 2 per person and on days like this the bag limit is both a blessing and a curse. Some may say it is pointless catching so many without keeping them but to me that isn’t what angling is about. It’s best to fish for what’s there and the bass were there on that day for sure.
The next day were headed back offshore to the land of no fish again. This time I wanted to try and avoid the bass so headed so an area 10-15 miles away from the previous day. the weather was spot on again as we steamed out past yet another mass of birds working over bass. We ignored them in order to save time as we had even further to steam today. Plenty of yarns were shared and tea was downed to pass the time as the lads tackled up. I planned to fish an area we have caught several turbot, brill and blonde ray from but try fishing at anchor today. I was hoping this might allow us more time with our baits where the fish are as well as improving the chance of more rays. We had some mackerel left from the day before to start off but Fresh mackerel were plentiful here anyway so I could top up the bait as the lads got fishing. unsurprisingly the first fish to come out on our fresh mackerel baits were some dogfish and whiting. While feathering for mackerel myself and Alex also had horse mackerel, launce and Alex had a greater weaver! This is only the second one I have seen from the Essex coast. Alex’s dad Steve wasn’t left out either as he caught a small blonde ray. There were also a few tub gurnard caught before the tide began to ease.
We decided to take a run to a wreck over slack tide. we had 3 nice slow drifts of the wreck which produced several species. Near the surface there were still plenty of mackerel, as they neared the wreck there were lots of pouting and a few horse mackerel mixed in. the lads were mostly fishing baited feathers and a couple fished sidewinders. Steve Canham had a little codling while Alex had a pollock, uncle steve had another pollock as well as himself and dad managing to find a black bream each among the barrage of pouting. As the tide seemed to have turned we decided to drift another mark a few times before we had to head home. Aside from a few bites and small fish we didn’t get any turbot or brill which was a shame. All too soon we had to head home, unfortunately that long steam limits our fishing time. There were some bass feeding on the way home but they were a bit out of our way and it had already been a long enough day so we had to ignore them. It hadn’t been an electric day but it had been fun .it’s always nice to see different species, it’s just a shame that there weren’t a few more of them and a bit bigger size.
We had a few more runs to the land of no fish in 2023 but were mostly distracted by bass each time. They were generally a great stamp and numerous in places. We also had some more scad, pouting, mackerel, gurnard and pollock. The biggest going 5.8lbs.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming months if you want to get out.
Please be advised that a steady trickle of dates are filling up for 2023 so please get in touch asap if you require a specific date.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
05/02-individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
12/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490 possible offshore trip upon request
18/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
19/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
25/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490 possible offshore trip upon request
26/02- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
05/03- individual spaces £60pp or full boat bookings from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
22/12/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
22 Dec 2022 by Scott Belbin
This week I thought I would focus on the coddling we have seen over the last couple of months on our general trips. since their disappearance 8 years ago we have all-but given up expecting to catch these fish. however this year has seen a slight improvement in their numbers even if the stamp isn’t huge. I have said the last few winters that I would be happy to average one per trip throughout the season. This may seem a low target but even this hasn’t been achievable of late. So I am pleased to have averaged just under 2 per general trip. Not bad considering we spend so much time chasing bass and even when we were on general trips we couldn’t always reach where to codling were due to weather or tides. Obviously these numbers are still woefully low in comparison to years gone by but hopefully it is a sign that all is not lost yet. Of course in between there have been numbers of thorn-backs, smooth-hounds and bass. Let alone huge volumes of whiting and dogfish interspersed with pouting and dabs at times. Keep an eye on the next few months offshore trips when our attention will turn to spur dogs, thorn-backs, smooth-hounds with a chance of bass or even a cod. Please get in touch if you want to have a go at these.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the Christmas period if you want to get out.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22- 7 spaces @ £60pp
29/12/22-offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
12/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Dec 2022 by Scott Belbin
As we head into spurdog season I thought I would give you all a gentle reminder of what our winter offshore trips can produce. This time I will look back at what we had earlier this year in anticipation of what may be on its way.
Trying to arrange offshore trips at this time of year is always a bit of a lottery. Getting those ducks to line up can be a real pain at times. Not only do we need enough people willing to head offshore on a long trip but we need them to be booked on the right tides and we need suitable weather. i ended up cancelling more trips than I have done in the past last winter and spring. Unfortunately after several years of commercial pressure the thorn-back rays weren’t as numerous as they had been so we had lost our ‘get out of jail card’ if the weather was marginal. Luckily a catamaran like the Galloper is more comfortable than most boats in a bit of weather so we can still get away with a lot.
Even so our eyes remain fixed on the weather each time the tides come around. Hoping that out of the unpredictable barrage of weather systems pushing through there may be a window for us to nip out in search of something different. Luckily the many sand banks within the greater Thames estuary afford us a lot of shelter from the right wind direction and they also break the seas up pretty well so swells can die away very quickly here.
Although we have got among some packs and seen some big numbers of spurs at times in the past. I am still happy when I see the first one on board each trip. Although the spurs have become our main focus on these trips I try not to make it entirely about one species. After all I accidentally bumped into these fish while chasing cod the first time. We continue to see some great variety on these trips and although the cod are pretty rare around here currently I still hold out hope of seeing one of these too.
Our first trip of last season was a nice little warm up to ease us in. as usual heaps of hungry dogfish wanted our baits and if we fished through these then we could catch the occasional whiting! Thankfully it wasn’t long before the first spurdog found its way up the scent trial to the boat. We sat it out and picked a few more up as the day went on. Over slack tide I decided to try another mark for the last hour and picked up a few more spurs, a couple of rays and a smooth-hound before home time. A lot of the spurdogs around here are double figure females and very fine looking fish too. Definitely worth catching.
We managed a couple more trips as the weeks passed by and we got closer to springtime and the hope of some slightly more settle weather. a few weeks into the season and we had a nice steady days fishing despite the wind and tide doing funny things. The spurs came thoughout the day. a small pack would pass through and result in a few more decent fish to the boat between the dogfish. of course there were smooth-hounds mixed in too. These may not be as big as some we catch kin the summer but are a welcome sight on a winters day. what the hounds lack in size the spurs make up for and with several doubles throughout the day the biggest fell to Wayne at 18.8lbs. this was one of over 30 spurs we had that day and the lads even snuck a couple of thorn-back out too.
I don’t know where I got the idea of springtime coming and with it more settled weather but it didn’t work out that way. When the weather was good the tides didn’t suit offshore. Every time the tides came around another weather system would push through. over a month had passed since our last trip offshore when those ducks did eventually line up. By then things had changed somewhat, the water was warming up and the fish were on the move. We had a few days on the bounce offshore and although we did find a few spurs they were mostly small males. Thankfully there were plenty of other species to be had. As well as the usual whiting, dogfish, thorn-backs and hounds wee saw several nice bass, a lot of herring and even quite a few mackerel for our efforts.
It would be easy to write off the spurs now but I have spent a lot of years chasing these fish now and have a fair understanding of their habits. The next opportunity came around and we found ourselves back out there looking for something different. As ever those lesser spotted dogfish were ravenous but the lads worked hard to get through them. Thankfully they were rewarded with some nice spurs to 17.8lbs plenty of hounds, thorn-back rays, pouting, whiting, bass and a fine blonde ray for Barry.
We lost the next set of tides to weather and with the water now getting quite warm and the fish spreading out I had all but written off the spurs. Towards the end of the season they are very hit and miss. Anybody can luck on one or two but just well they could miss them. As luck would have it we managed a couple more on general trips but they had one last hurrah for us. we were on an offshore trip with very little to show for our efforts. I thought we might luck out a spur but things weren’t looking great as the morning turned afternoon and afternoon turned to home time. Just as the tide came right Wayne (yes the same Wayne) leaned into a decent fish. it fought well and made our day as it was another high double figure spurdog for him. While we were unhooking this another rod leaned over. Before too long the lads were playing 4-5 double figure spurs at once. It was madness for the last hour or so with multiple hook up after multiple hook up. I simply couldn’t keep up with the net and disgorger. The lads were having to deal with the fish them selves as I tried to grab a couple of pictures and weigh the bigger fish. it was so busy that often their baits were barely touching the bottom before the rods were arching over! Barry (yes him again) managed the biggest at over 20lbs and many more were around the same size. It was a very busy hour or so to end the day with over 30 spurdogs and a great way to end the season.
As I mentioned earlier not every day is a red letter day like this and our winter offshore trips aren’t all about spurdogs but they tend to be our main focus currently. We will be running trips like this from now until the end of April and I have spaces this week (weather permitting) on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th. Next spaces after that are over the Christmas period. Please note I wont report on this years spurdog trips until I have finished fishing for them as too many people want to let me do the leg work for them. If you would like a trip out there either as a group or individual then please get in touch and book with me.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
10/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
16/12/22- offshore trip 4 spaces @ £100pp
17/12/22-offshore trip targeting spurdogs, smooth-hounds ect 3 spaces @ £100pp
23/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
24/12/22-
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22 7 spaces @ £60pp
29/12/22-offshore trip 6 spaces @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
05/12/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
5 Dec 2022 by Scott Belbin
Our general trips remain productive, with a constant run of bits coming through. the whiting are on the baits instantly with the dogfish close behind. As ever in between we are catching rays, pouting, even late bass and a smattering of codling too. The easterly winds stopped us heading offshore for a couple of trips last week but we changed tack and kept the rods tips rattling inshore. the estuary is still loaded with whiting and dogfish the same as everywhere. The lads changed down to some flattie rigs and found snuck out a few dabs too. These were a welcome change in between the other fish on a windy day.
The Petley family and friends joined me for their pre-christmas get together and were un-detoured by a grey, December day and strong easterly wind. we crept a little further out to start with to make the most of the tide first thing. I warned the lads we may have to head closer once the tide died off but luckily the Galloper sat lovely all day. the fish even played ball too with 3 rays on the first cast! We kept plugging away all day with a couple of moves in between and a constant stream of bites and fish. Gary had set his sights low as he never has much luck on the boat. He told me on the way out ‘I will be happy with one fish Scott’. Now I must admit I like a low bar, it takes the pressure off me but I was sure he could do better than just the one fish. he ended the day with several ray and a codling as well as countless whiting and dogfish throughout the day. between them the lads had 11 rays and 4 codling with all of the other bits keeping us busy all day. I know it’s not going to break any records but surely better than being stuck inside watching TV?
Please note I have full boat availability both days this weekend (10th and 11th) and spaces offshore the week after.
Our next offshore trips will aim for spurdogs, smooth-hounds, rays and who knows what else as these trips can produce all sorts of fish. As ever I will hold back reports on these until after the season finishes in the end of April. If you want to get on board one of these trips then please get in touch. I have spaces for full boat bookings and individuals.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
10/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
11/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
17/12/22-offshore trip targeting spurdogs, smooth-hounds ect 4 spaces @ £100pp
23/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22 7 spaces @ £60pp
29/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
30/12/22-offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
28/11/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
28 Nov 2022 by Scott Belbin
I thought I would give you a break from banging on about the bass fishing and report on how our general trips have been lately.
The bites continue to come thick and fast, there’s certainly no shortage of fish to be had. As ever the majority of our catches have been made up of whiting and dogfish. something worth mentioning is that there is no way around these. Its not like carp fishing where you can use boilies to avoid the nuisance fish. you just have to kiss a lot of frogs to win a prince! Those that fish hard and find their way through the whiting and dogfish are rewarded with more whiting and dogfish! as well as a few thornback rays, codling and even the occasional bass or smooth-hound.
The codling havnt been in huge numbers or size but are more than welcome of course. We have seen a few each day on the latest run of general trips. Les’ group saw the most codling with 6 for the day along with same thorn-backs, loads of whiting, loads of dogfish and a few pouting. The pouting seem to be around in fair numbers too. They may be a pest at times but its nice to see something different come aboard every now and then.
Hopefully we will continue to find the codling over the coming weeks. When the tides are right I hope to target some dabs again soon. These can make for some good fun on a winters day in the estuary and are great eating too.
I have a few spaces remaining on our last bass trip of the year this Wednesday (30/11) after that our offshore trips will aim for spurdogs, smooth-hounds, rays and who knows what else as these trips can produce all sorts of fish. As ever I will try and hold back reports on these until after the season finishes in the end of April. If you want to get on board one of these trips then please get in touch. I have spaces for full boat bookings and individuals.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
30/11/22- offshore bass trip 4 spaces @ £100pp worm required at extra cost
10/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
11/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
17/12/22-offshore trip targeting spurdogs, smooth-hounds ect 3 spaces @ £100pp
23/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
29/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
30/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
21/11/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
21 Nov 2022 by Scott Belbin
I thought I would share a few pics from our latest offshore bass trips this week. I have spaces this week and fishing has still been very good despite us being so late in the season now. at times the water has been very clear which allows us to carry on lure fishing too when conditions suit. The bait fishing kept us busy on the last set of tides too and we did manage one or two other species in between the bass. Dan posed with one of the sand eels that were coughed up by the bass or caught on our weights that day. one bass even coughed up a very freshly eaten dragonet. Robert had us all in suspense when he took an age reeling in something heavy. It was obvious why there wasn’t much life once it was in sight as his lure had hooked a rock. He asked me to estimate the weight and I said it looked like a stone to me!
Closer to shore there are still hoards of whiting and dogfish to be had. In between them we have still been catching thorn-back rays, codling and even smooth-hounds.
These fish are likely to feature in next months offshore trips when our attention will turn from the bass to spur dogs for the next few months. Please get in touch if you want to have a go at these.
We have one last set of tides left before we stop our offshore bass trips this year. They are still showing in numbers and I have individual spaces and boat availability if you wish to join us.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
27/11/22- offshore bass trip 4 spaces @ £100pp worm required at extra cost
10/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
11/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
17/12/22-offshore trip targeting spurdogs, smooth-hounds ect 4 spaces @ £100pp
23/12/22- Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
27/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
28/12/22 Whole boat or individual availability for general trips
29/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
30/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
31/12/22-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
01/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
02/01/23-possible offshore trip @ £100pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
14/11/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
14 Nov 2022 by Scott Belbin
We have had a fair mix of weather over the last week or two. The temperature has been up and down though still pretty mild. And the wind has varied from strong northerlies to light southerly breezes. We have managed to find fish and keep everybody catching in all conditions though.
The whiting and dogfish continue to make up most of our catches on general trips. things are often slow to start but once we have a scent trail down its pretty hectic fishing. I kept an eye on the clock the other day while the lads were fishing hard and a couple of lads were catching 3 fish each inside of 10 minutes! To be honest they can become a little annoying when we are targeting other species but they keep the rod tips going in between the better fish like codling and rays.
Those afore mentioned codling and rays are still showing in places too. Some days we have to work harder to find them than others but its worth it to get a better bend in the rod. There has still been one or two late hounds mixed in too. These are a welcome surprise in between the whiting and dogfish when suddenly something starts pulling line off and doing a lap of the boat! I can only attribute their presence inshore so late in the year to the mild weather we have had. I do expect to continue catching smooth-hounds offshore mixed in with our spurdog trips from next month. However for now we are still chasing those bass offshore. They have continued to provide great sport for us on light tackle and some great numbers too.
Most fish are being caught on worm baits or lures when conditions suit but to mix things up a little we have been using whiting for bait now and then. Its funny how often we think big bait therefore big fish and how often this is not the case. To be honest I have seen dogfish take live whiting numerous times now so I don’t hold my breath any more. This time of year though I am happy to try a spare rod with whiting live bait as the bass can often be seen feeding on them. We had several on whiting baits the other day and I have pictured Kieran with one of them that was only a few inches longer then the whiting it was trying to eat! This was far from the biggest fish of the day but another one added to the many bass caught.
We have one last set of tides left before we stop our offshore bass trips this year. They are still showing in numbers and I have individual spaces and boat availability if you wish to join us.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
20/11/22- 7 spaces @ £60pp
27/11/22- full boat available for general trip or offshore bass. Individuals welcome
11/12/22- full boat available for general trip or Individuals welcome
17/12/22-offshore trip @ £100pp weather permitting
27/12-02/0123 Whole boat availability for individuals on general and offshore trips please call if interested
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528
