Latest Fishing Reports: Galloper
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12/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Dec 2021 by Scott Belbin
The cold weather seems to have thinned out the dogfish inshore. this means the majority of our catches are made up with whiting now. There are some better ones mixed in the catches and still vast numbers of them eating just about any bait we can throw at them. On the right tides there are good numbers of dabs to be caught. The lads kept a few for a feed the other day, the smallest we kept was over 25cm long and of course we returned lots more to fight another day. there are still a few roker to be found here and there to put a bend in our rods. Hopefully this mild spell will help get the rays and dogfish feeding again.
Some times it can feel a tad predictable when whiting and dogfish are in biblical proportions but you have to be in it to win it. Steve Canham was very pleased he made the effort the other day as he caught his first ever haddock. These fish are not a common sight around here although we did have one a few years ago on a trip in the river blackwater. The odd small codling is showing amongst the whiting too and you wont catch them from the sofa.
I have space on the 18th (this Saturday) and a group on Sunday who are struggling for numbers too. if anybody is interested, after that I will be looking to fill my remaining spaces over Christmas. I will probably take a look at the weather the week before and arrange trips to suit. If you wish to join us then please get in touch and I will get you booked down somewhere.
I do have availability mid-week if you fancy a trip out. Please contact me on 07956411528 to discuss availability.
Please call me for more information on 07956411528
Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077 -
11/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Nov 2021 by Scott Belbin
As we come to the end of another great season chasing bass offshore It seems a good time for a round up of our trips. We had already enjoyed some good sessions on the bass as part of our tope trips in June and July. As the end of July approached and the tope moved off we turned our attention to the bass for many of our offshore trips. Most of our bass trips are based on bait fishing at anchor with worm baits over various sand banks. However, when conditions suit we will try to find a few fish on lures too. Some times the bass have balled bait up tightly and we only get one or two drifts through before they scatter then other times we find our selves chasing them around for hours until we have to head home. We had one or two trips in the height of summer when we couldn’t go wrong. One such trip saw us stop on the way to our planned mark and spend an hour or so catching bass on various lures. Strings of feathers were sent out on the first drift or two and after they came back with several bass at a time the lads soon had their quota. After this we started to mix it up a little. Luckily nowadays many of my regulars now bring a light lure fishing outfit along for such an occasion. On the next drift the lads sent out some Dexter wedges, surface plugs and poppers into the feeding frenzy. This slowed the catch rate a little but improved the sport for the lads who were now fishing on a catch and release basis. We managed several more drifts here and countless more bass before the tide went off and we continued to get anchored on our first mark. The tide was just getting under way here and although we were catching fish here it was a bit of an anti climax after the first few hours sport. Once the tide was under way we decided to move and try a mark close to where we had started this morning. This was a wise move, the fish were feeding well on the bottom now. The lads started off with 2 rods each but couldn’t keep both in the water as bites were coming thick and fast. There were plenty there and they were certainly hungry too. After couple of hours more chaos at anchor we decided to finish the day off on a high and went back to lure fishing for the last hour or so. The fish were once again in a feeding frenzy as we drifted through them with lures on light tackle. I even managed to nick a fish or two myself, I took great pleasure in christening Barry’s surface popper for him! It was as if the fish was waiting for me to cast it out as I only gave it a couple of pops and a bass burst from the water as it inhaled the lure. The fish were still feeding when I had to call time. With fish showing in numbers like this its hard to say how many we had. There were six good anglers on board the boat and I stole a fish here and there too. With 4 separate sessions on the fish and all of them productive it was certainly our best day numbers wise of the year. To say the lads had 50 odd bass each would be pretty conservative as the first couple of drifts saw them catching 5 at a time on feathers. All i can say is that at a guess we had 200-300 bass that day. the following day saw around half that amount as the fish weren’t feeding as well and seemed to have spread out.
Of course not every trip can be the same and we never know what stamp the fish are or where they will be from one tide to the next. Thankfully we had good numbers of fish in most trips. The stamp was fantastic for several trips in October. There were lots of fish around 5-6lbs coming out, these are hard to beat for sport in just a few feet of water on light tackle. Typical numbers were 60-100 bass per trip with a couple of anglers on 20+ bass for one rod. I had a two person charter one day which saw the lads catching around 35 bass each. Despite having plenty of room there was only time for 1 rod each that day. the fishing built to a beautiful crescendo as the lads kept improving on their best fish. Keith set the bar at over 7lb and over 1lb better then their previous biggest but Stuart (Dad) pulled the best fish of the day out at over 8lbs. not to be sniffed at on a spinning rod!
The last few trips saw a smaller stamp and fewer keepers but the lads were pleased to see 40-50 bass on a lovely day at the end of November. We often commented how we wouldn’t have been targeting them this late 10 years ago.
Although I am sure I could still find some bass next month, I doubt we will target them again while the lads cant keep any. Most of the lads accept the size limits and quotas nowadays but it can seem silly for the lads to return fish while there are boats illegally bass netting around us at times.
Our next offshore trips will be targeting spurdogs. Although I already have lots of days booked in for these please drop me a message if you wish to be on my contact list for upcoming dates.
The General trips have been pretty close inshore of late. This is party due to weather and partly because that’s where the best general fishing is. The Blackwater estuary and surrounding area’s are alive with whiting. When they are feeding its hard to keep a three hook rig down there for more than a few minutes before every hook is full! Besides the whiting there are still numbers of dogfish most places and numbers of Dabs if we try for them. Thankfully there are still a few roker here and there to put a decent bend in the rod although some times we have to work for them.
I have a few spaces in December including this Saturday and plenty of availability next year although prime dates are going quickly so please get in touch -
11/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Nov 2021 by Scott Belbin
Sorry for the lack of reports on here lately. I cant believe I havnt done one since July! Things have been a little hectic since then with the arrival of our first child amidst a very busy summer of bookings.
An average late summer trip produced hounds, rays and bass. Mixed in would also be some dogfish, baby tope and the occasional eel. We had a couple more stingrays as they moved out of the estuary too. The fishing was great, we had some nice mixed fishing inshore which kept our anglers happy. Although most of the hounds moved out in early September, we have still been catching one or two inshore until very recently. This is surely a sign of the times.
There were good numbers of thorn-backs around in places throughout the summer. These are a great standby and popular for the table too. The average stamp can be a little small throughout late summer and early autumn. However the fish we are catching now tend to be a better size.
The bass fishing has been great again this year. We started our offshore trips for them as the tope were leaving and we are still heading offshore for bass now. The size and numbers of fish have been great so far and we hope to continue targeting them offshore until the end of the month. Our general trips have produced a few here and there throughout the summer. Just like the hounds these fish have hung around inshore later than we would traditionally expect. We have still seen one of two of these mixed in with our general trips recently. Catching a sizable bass puts a smile on any anglers face after all.
Most of our general trips now see us catching vast amounts of dogfish and whiting. These little bait robbers keep us busy In between the thorn-back rays. We have already seen some nice dabs showing in the estuary too. These provide a welcome break from the whiting and dogfish on a windy day in the blackwater. The bigger ones taste great too and numbers should improve over the next few weeks. On the right tides these will give us something else to target over the winter. As I say each year, the blackwater is our biggest asset particularly at this time of year. We can enjoy sheltered fishing in most wind directions and save you cancelling a days fishing. we are often worth a call if you have been cancelled else where and still wish to go fishing for the day.
I daren’t mention the ‘C’ word! Obviously, I don’t expect to see any numbers of cod here over the coming months. I will happily eat my words if they turn up in vast amounts but its doubtful. There were one or two showing last winter when we were allowed out. Hopefully this year we will be able to continue with trips throughout the winter which will give us the chance to catch one or two more.
I have a few spaces and available days over the next couple of months if you wish to get out. Not all bookings are advertised but you can always ask via my mobile. I will try and update next years calendar soon but it is starting to look quite busy. If you want to book a specific day or type of trip then please get in touch sooner rather than later.
For my availability, regular reports and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or call 07956411528 -
07/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2021 by Scott Belbin
Despite being busy on our general trips lately we have still made time to head offshore in search of tope in between. It can be a risk for a skipper to set aside certain tides for fishing like this but thankfully they were all filled quickly. The weather has been kind to us this season as well as the boat meaning we could work more weather when we wanted to. This meant we only lost one tope trip to weather and there’s no substitute for time when it comes to this type of fishing.
Our first trip of the year started well with a 39lb male fish for Richard. Not a bad fish to start the season. This would have been followed a while later by a very lively fish that managed to clear 300yards of braid from Deans reel in 3 powerful runs! With all the other lines in I started to haul the anchor but it was too little too late as it had already straightened his 10/0 circle hook! I reset the anchor for one last cast and Dean re-tackled while licking his wounds. Luckily he had another run soon after however this fish was different gravy to the one he had just lost. Still a nice fish to start his season with as it was a male of 33lbs.
We ended up chasing another fish on our next trip too. This was a decent fish although no monster. The reason we gave chase was a rather dodgy jerky clutch on Martins antique reel. I think the whole boat was relieved to see that fish in the net after such a nerve wracking fight in a strong tide.
After a strong start, we managed to find a few fish on most trips. Some times we had to work harder than others, moving around or staying later to get the best of the tide. most of our trips we were lucky enough to see fish to over 40lb if not just shy of it and we found steady numbers too. Tope fishing around here is often a waiting game nowadays so it is important to make the most of any fish that come our way. Using circle hooks has meant fewer missed bites and the majority of fish made it to the boat once hooked. Of course loosing fish is part of angling and we did our fair share of that too. A few fish were lost through hook pulls mid fight. I put this down to an unlucky hook hold most of the time. There were some gear failures too which are frustrating as many are preventable. These include people using mono rubbing leader that were too light as well as mono bite traces which were bitten off when the fish took the circle hook deeper than expected. Some are just unfortunate though Stephen Charles has had his fair share of bad luck tope fishing. on one busy day when we had a total of 13 tope he had a cracking bite which hooped the rod tip over before going completely slack. The bait must have been laying back up the mainline which meant when the fish took the bait it bit straight through his mono leader too! Shortly after I found my self berating Stephen Clarke instead as he had just lost a fish. I must confess after seeing several fish lost to tackle failures I can be a little fussy with the lads, I check tackle, traces and clutches regularly to try and prevent lost fish. Stephen is one of the lads I don’t worry about normally. He hadn’t long returned a fish of over 30lb when his reel screamed into action over slack water. With a bit of sea running the boat had already started to sheer on the anchor rope and the other lads soon reeled in out of the way when he hooked up. The fish went on some seriously powerful runs at distance which is better than waking up on a short line. one of the other lads even had time to pop to the loo and return with the fish still fighting hard then suddenly after some more head shakes it went loose. We assumed the hook had pulled however it turned out the fish had pulled through his double crimped trace! It seemed the previous fish had weakened his trace and a decent tope wont give you a second chance with weakness’s in your tackle. After this we took extra care to change traces after each fish to avoid loosing another decent fish. the following day I was joined by more regulars and we had another busy trip. No tackle failures although we did pull the hook on a decent tope. Andy had bought his daughter Honey with him for her first tope trip. Honey has fished with us several times over the last year and I have mentioned before how she is a natural angler. We were all keen to see how she would handle her first tope and we weren’t disappointed. Honey managed two decent tope. One at 27lb and one at 35lbs. her Dad Andy just pipped her with a 37lb male, one of several fish that day. Another young gun I was pleased to see amongst the tope was one of our other regulars Alex Canham. Alex has fished with Dad and myself since he was very young so to see him set a new PB tope of 39lb at the ripe old age of 15 was a pleasure. His Dad Steve said he enjoyed seeing Alex catch that fish more than he enjoyed catching his own PB of 47lb a few weeks earlier. Steve’s fish was joint biggest of the year. He shares this honour with Chris Bendall who now had also has a new personnel best to beat.
Other notable fish included a tope with a bent dorsal fin for Stephen Charles. It resembled the captive orca from ‘free willy’. Paul Willis had a tope with half of its tail seemingly cut off? Also a recapture of a fish that had already been tagged a fair while ago by somebody else. There wasn’t much info on the tag other than an address in leatherhead. If anybody has heard of this project please let me know and I will pass on the relevant info.
Although there is a chance of us picking up one or two more stray tope this summer we have finished our run of tope trips for now. For the next few months our offshore trips will consist of mainly bass trips with a few other special trips thrown in too. Please book these trips in advance where possible as they often require certain tides.
We should see plenty more hounds and bass over the coming weeks as well as sneaking some other trips in too. If I cant get you out soon then please remember the bass will hang around offshore into November so please ask to get the best tides.
i have individual and full boat availability from October onwards although my father Stuart (07850234077) on the Razorbill may have spaces before hand.
please call me on 07956411528 for more information -
05/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
May 2021 by Scott Belbin
Although I never rule anything out with sea fishing, it is safe to say our spring season on the spurdogs is now over. Due to the lockdown from Christmas onwards we lost a large chunk of our season this year. However the northerly winds throughout April bought the water temperature down and helped keep them here long enough for us to find a few.
To be honest Stacey and I couldn’t resist heading out on our own during the lockdown. We had a lot of work done to the Galloper while we couldn’t operate. Once she was back in the water we wanted to give her a good run to check everything was ok which was a great excuse to head offshore. As well as finding vast amounts of dogfish and a few roker we located the spurs too. Of course Stacey had the biggest at 17.8lbs shortly before we headed home.
Our next trip was with a group of lads from Norfolk, the lads have all fished with me before various times. Some have been off for spurs with me before and others like Tom were one their first trip. Tom told me he would be happy to catch a 2lb spur as that would be his first and therefore a new personnel best. After a good steam out we arrived at our first mark and the lads sent their first baits out. First cast and Tom had a bite, it was fighting better than a dogfish but wasn’t of any size. As luck would have it he had a spurdog on his first cast! It wasn’t much bigger than that 2lb but it was a start. this wasn’t the only spur around either as one or two others started to come out too. Billy was fishing next to Tom and soon pulled in the first double of the day. this was a lovely fish of 16.8lbs in weight. A couple of other double figure spurs followed for Tom, Dean and Steve but Billy must have trodden in something as he was finding the big girls. We had a move in between but billy had a great run of double figure fish starting with one at 16.8lb followed by a 17.6lb, 18.4lb three at 14lb and a 15 before I stopped counting! A couple of packs of big females passed through after which everybody had double figure fish including Joe and Ian. After Toms modest target of just catching his first spur of any size he went on to crown the day off with a cracking fish of 22.6lbs! this was obviously a PB for him but also a new boat record for me on the Galloper beating Stacey’s long standing fish of 21.3lb from back in 2007/2008 some time.
We finished the day off with 37 spurdog, several roker, hounds a few whiting and plenty of dogfish. our next few spur trips didn’t disappoint either. We had to work harder to find them on some day than we did on others but we still found some good fish. one of our regulars Leon Saville has tried a few trips for spurs over the last couple of years without much luck. However his persistence paid off with a lovely double figure fish on his first trip this year. The same day produced some big for all on board including Neon with a mid-double and Dave with a beast that just broke the 20lb mark. The next trip saw Russells crew boat even more Spurs with several more mid doubles up to 18.8lbs.
Our best trip of the year was when all the ducks seemed to line up. The weather was typically snotty on the way out although it settled a bit during the day. our first mark produced very little appart from a few roker but a short more made all the difference and the fish came steadily throughout the rest of the day. As is often the case when there are numbers we had a lot more smaller ‘pack’ spurs but there were no shortage of big girls out there too. At times I was nothing short of carnage as a pack passed through and several fish went banging away down the tide. once again there were lots of mid doubles mixed in and a couple of upper doubles too including two over 19lb for Steve Hill and Stephen Clarke.
After seeing all these big female spurs It was hardly surprising that our next trip produced a lot of tiny pup spurs. I would wager some of these were not long born. despite struggling between adverse weather and tides we did still find some spurdogs and the biggest fell to Ian Hewett at 15lb. we were now getting very late in the season for spurs and we failed to find any one trip. It wasn’t the last we saw of them though as they had one last hurrah and a few found their way closer inshore before migrating for the summer.
Its not only spurs we see on our offshore trips and we have been lucky enough to catch a few hounds and roker each time. We caught one or two of each into double figures too mixed in with the spurs. There have been lots of dogfish and a few whiting as well as a few other species here and there as we try different marks depending on tides and weather. We had a few bass, a codling and a coalfish, a nice brace of pollock and even a spotted ray. This fishing is not for beginners and to be honest I wont take bookings from just anybody for these trips. The fishing can be challenging, the conditions can be tough (we were offshore on days other boats cancelled) and it can be hit and miss. As long as we are allowed to operate as normal this winter I will be running my first spurdog trips from January next year. For now my offshore trips will concentrate on tope and then from July right through to mid-november my offshore trips will be targeting bass. These are better suited to anglers of most abilities although the sea conditions can be a little testing for those without sea legs.
I don’t really have much availability for tope but I can offer plenty of spaces for offshore bass trips over the coming months. Please remember we encourage catch and release but you are allowed 2 bass per angler in line with the current rules.
NEXT SPACES
I have plenty of midweek availability please contact me to discuss midweek dates.
Weekend spaces as follows
05/06/21- offshore trip 1 spaces @ £90pp max 6 anglers
19/06/21-offshore trip 1 space @ £90pp max 6 anglers
04/07/21-3 spaces offshore trip £90pp max 6 anglers
18/07/21-6 spaces offshore trip £90pp max 6 anglers
25/07/21-6 spaces @ £70pp or boat £400 max 6 anglers
Please call me for more information on 07956411528
Stacey is still operating the ‘lady grace’ on a bookings only basis both mid-week and weekends at the
Moment but and is likely to fall under the same restrictions as me. so please call her on 07791859624
Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077
COVID-19 UPDATE
We have now had confirmation that the large deck area on Galloper we have some good news. we are able to accommodate up to 8 anglers plus the skipper as of 17/05/21.
This is great news for anybody planning a full boat booking as they can try and keep the cost per person down a bit.
However we are keeping any existing bookings as 6 anglers plus the skipper for now and I will only take bookings for later in the summer on this basis. I would rather leave the date open for now until we are out of the woods with covid. It wasn’t much fun re-arranging things last year and I hope to avoid it this year if I can help it.
If you wish to book a trip with more than 6 people at short notice and the guidelines are still the same then I will gladly take you. -
04/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Apr 2021 by Scott Belbin
Although I am pretty sure I know the answer I thought I would play ‘name that species’ with this one.
I say it’s a spotted ray, Sam had it the other day and its only the 2nd one we’ve had on Galloper and the 3rd one I’ve heard of within the thames area.
The spots don’t reach the edge of the wings and this male is clearly sexually mature despite being quite a small fish so I don’t believe it to be a blonde. Please give me you’re answers on a post card.
These may be uncommon around here but there have been plenty of thorn-backs, a few smooth-hounds and some early bass showing the last couple of weeks.
NEXT SPACES
I have plenty of midweek availability please contact me to discuss midweek dates.
Weekend spaces as follows
25/04/21-1 space @ £70pp max 6 anglers
03/05/21-1 spaces @ £70pp max 6 anglers
30/05/21-5 spaces @ £70pp or boat £400 max 6 anglers
31/05/21-4 spaces @ £70pp (poss offshore trip at extra cost) max 6 anglers
27/06/21-4 spaces @ £70pp max 6 anglers
Please call me for more information on 07956411528
Stacey is still operating the ‘lady grace’ on a bookings only basis both mid-week and weekends at the
Moment but and is likely to fall under the same restrictions as me. so please call her on 07791859624
Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077 -
04/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Apr 2021 by Scott Belbin
Like many charter boats throughout England we have enjoyed a busy (if belated) start to the season since the easing of lockdown. Fortunately we were welcomed back to sea with glorious weather, favourable tides and a few fish too. Our first trip produced plenty of thorn-back rays (roker), dogfish whiting and even a small codling for Frank. Both the weather and the fishing have been a bit hit and miss since then. However we are lucky enough to have some great sheltered marks that produce good fish at this time of year. Barry Wood caught 21 rays including this nicely marked fish to make up one of his best days on rays. Most of the other five regulars on board that day had similar numbers of rays which kept me busy in between the banter. There have been a few hounds showing too in places, our best day last week saw 13 hounds and 42 rays along with heaps of dogfish and whiting in between. These northerlies have knocked the water temperature down at the moment so they have pushed a little further off for the time being but will be back soon enough. In the mean time there are plenty of rays to keep us busy and the same northerlies that have pushed the hounds further off should help to keep the rays inshore for a while yet. They are showing all over the place so we can find sheltered fishing in most conditions at the moment if you are keen to get afloat.
Over the coming weeks I would expect to see plenty more rays while the hounds and bass increase in numbers. I am pretty well booked for weekends but will list what dates I have spaces. If you wish to book the boat mid-week then please contact me for availability as I may be able to help you out.
COVID-19 UPDATE
We have now had confirmation that the large deck area on Galloper we have some good news. we are able to accommodate up to 6 anglers plus the skipper as of 29/03/21. I will honour existing bookings as they are unless you wish to change them. If you are booked as an individual and would rather book on a trip with 6 @ £70pp then please get in touch.
I understand this could be due to change after 17th of May but I am not willing to take bookings for larger groups until the rules have actually been relaxed on this.
That means that until further notice I will taking bookings on the basis of groups of up to 6 people.
Please call me for more information on 07956411528
Stacey is still operating the ‘lady grace’ on a bookings only basis both mid-week and weekends at the
Moment but and is likely to fall under the same restrictions as me. so please call her on 07791859624
Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077
-
01/2021
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jan 2021 by Scott Belbin
Unfortunately we ended 2020 in tier 4 here in mersea so like much of the year we were unable to take out our planned bookings and forced to cancel due to the latest covid guidelines.
I know I am not the first to observe it was a strange year and not what any of us anticipated at all. If you had told me how the year would pan out I wouldn’t have believed you, not even until a week or so before the march lockdown.
I am sure most of you understand how awkward it has been to try and run a charter business within the ever changing rules this year. It was painful to see a healthy diary full of bookings melt away through the first lockdown and even once the lockdown was eased and limitations on group numbers meant more bookings were cancelled.
We have had to adapt to suit the guidelines as they have changed and unfortunately this put us out of some peoples price range. I am sorry to those who couldn’t make it this year and hope to see you when things get back to some kind of normality. I am very grateful to those of you that have still been able to come out. I know it has worked out a bit more expensive per person and I appreciate your support. Although it may have worked out more expensive per person I have tried to meet somewhere in the middle with prices so we have taken a hit too.
I think we all owe a lot to both the Angling Trust and the Professional Boatmen’s Association for firstly working hard to make sure angling has been allowed since the first lockdown ended and secondly trying to make sense of the ever changing guidelines for us all. Much of the work carried out by these organisations is on a voluntary basis behind the scenes by people who love the sport and simply wish to give something back so please show them some appreciation.
2020 started well for me aboard the Galloper. January can be a hard month to fill for a charter skipper. The weather and fishing have a reputation for being poor and money can be tight for our anglers post Christmas. Luckily for me there are a few keen anglers who still wish to get out fishing and I have had some great days at the start of the year. We are fortunate enough to have some great fishing within the shelter of the blackwater estuary at times and 2020 started particularly well. There were several thorn-back rays to be found in a few places around the estuary. this meant we could get out and catch decent fish almost regardless of the weather. Our best trip was with over 40 rays and we had some decent fish too into mid-doubles.
When the weather and tides suited I was also able to head a long way offshore in search of some different species. The lads had a few spurdogs and smooth-hounds each time along with rays and other species such as the ever popular dogfish. Shane Ashby got our winter offshore season off to a good start with a nice brace of double figure fish first cast! We headed offshore as often as we could in between the winter storms.
Meanwhile inshore the fishing gradually improved as the water temperature started to increase. As we moved into march things were really starting to pick up and in 4 consecutive trips we had a total of 285 rays (72,40,93,80). As usual the vast majority of the fish were released with just a few males kept for the table. Unfortunately we didn’t get to enjoy this sport for long as suddenly the country was put into lockdown. A phrase I had only heard for the first time just a week or two before hand and suddenly it was our reality.
Happily, angling has been one of the activities people are allowed to take part in since the first lockdown ended. Due to this and people seeking outdoor socially distanced activities, the sport has seen a rise in participation. This helped to balance out the bookings we had previously had to cancel and meant we were as busy as we could be.
With all of these people wanting to come fishing it was lucky that there were a few fish to be caught. By the time the lockdown eased in may we caught the tail end of the spring run of thorn-back rays. After such a mild spring it was no surprise that the summer species had arrived in our absence. The first trip I did post-lockdown was just my wife Stacey and I. the weather was spot on and with great tides we headed out for the afternoon and into the evening. We started out with a nice mix of rays, dogfish, smooth-hounds and bass (the bass seemed to be in good numbers and widely spread). We were a little spoiled for choice to be honest and after a couple of months without fishing we were trying to fish for everything at once. We even had some dabs and a tub gurnard before chasing some bass we had seen working for some time. After catching a good few bass we got the anchor down and targeted the hounds. We had a busy couple of hours with plenty of fish into low doubles before heading home. It was a nice way to get back into it after such a long time being stuck at home.
In late may and early June the guidelines meant we could only operate with myself and one other person on board. Fortunately for me the weather and the fishing at that time of year were enough to temp a few single person bookings out. I think people were desperate to get afloat and the lads put the money they had budgeted for trips cancelled trips during lockdown towards hiring the boat on their own. We had some successful trips for smooth-hounds, bass and tope at this time. Stephen Charles had a new personnel best hound of 18.8lbs on an evening trip with me. I was joined early the next morning (and admittedly bleary eyed) by Alec who had a successful trip too. We caught all sorts including bass, rays, whiting and an eel although the smooth-hounds were our main target. We easily had 40-50 with many double figure fish on a glorious sunny morning.
By June we were able to operate with a few more people on board which made things slightly more affordable for the lads. Most trips were 5 anglers plus me which would be the new ‘normal’ for the rest of the year there after. We carried on targeting the smooth-hounds when tides suited as well as tope when conditions suited and often catching bass in good numbers all over the place. The best tope fell to Ian Hewett at 47lbs. this was one of 5 we had that day and many we had that season. There were several others over 40lbs including a new PB for Wayne Bennett of 44lbs, a PB for Fred Young of 41lbs and another 44lb fish for Stephen Clarke. Our best trip for tope was somewhat of a mixed trip that was planned as more of a ‘taster’ day for Tom and his group. We started off for bass and found a shed load of fish which we were able to drift through for several hours. As midday was fast approaching and time ran away with us I dragged them away from the bass which were still feeding to try for a tope for the last few hours of the trip. I hoped to see one fish as we had a short session on a mediocre tide on a mark I hadn’t fished for years. we had a run on the first cast which was promptly lost. I thought we had lost our only chance but as it happens we had a good run of fish over the next few hours. We had a run on most casts and ended up boating 8 tope and loosing 5 before we headed home. Most of them were around 30lbs with Mark (a regular who had organised the trip) catching a new PB of 37lbs.
As we moved into July we continued our offshore trips and had a few more tope but our attention turned more towards the bass. There were good numbers all over the place but some of the sport we enjoyed offshore was fantastic. We found some huge shoals in places which were great fun on lures. Although at times they would take anything we threw at them we had particular fun with surface lures at times. Poppers proved to be a fun (if a little frustrating) way to pic out larger fish. When the conditions weren’t good enough for lures we bait fished at anchor and had some impressive catches throughout the summer and well into the autumn. The biggest bass we had all year was at anchor bait fishing and fell to Stephen Clarke. It was a new PB for him at 10.7lbs and was returned after a quick weight and photograph.
Throughout the height of summer our inshore trips continued to prove successful. There were often plenty of bass here too but they were joined by numbers of smooth-hounds and a few thornback rays among many other species. We have been using more rag worm on our general trips over the last few summers. These help for the bass and have also accounted for several stingrays and even a few soles last year. We didn’t have any giants of either species but its nice to see some variety on our trips.
On the subject of variety we have several anglers who like to try for different species than may be expected from an Essex charter boat. Several of these people join me to target spurdogs in the winter. However in the summer we have the potential to catch many more species with suitable anglers if conditions are right.
My father ,Stuart spent a lot of time fishing the offshore wrecks for cod, ling and pollock. He tried for other species too as well as accidentally catching several other species along the way. Naturally he passed this information on to me and I have been able to build upon his knowledge over the years. with the advance in boats, navigation and fish finding technology in the 30 odd years that have passed since he first went off there things have changed a fair bit. We no longer see the big catches of cod and ling but I can confidently head off there and target fish like plaice and bass as well as trying new areas for new species. Last summer I concentrated my efforts on a new area I had fancied for a few years. I had marked it out as ground that could hold turbot and brill which we don’t normally target around here. We managed a few trips to this area and tried new marks each time. We stopped on a few new wrecks and had a few small pollock, coalfish and cod mixed in with heaps of pouting, a few scad and mackerel. We tried drifting the marks I fancied with relative success. On the first trip we tried on our way home for an hour or two. We had the usual whiting and dogfish along with the odd red or tub gurnard as the tide got going. As the tide notched up a little Stephen managed to sneak out a turbot! We should have been heading home by now but to prove it wasn’t a fluke (no pun intended) we had 2 more drifts and this time Stephen Charles had a turbot too.
We were now desperate to get back off there and try out the rest of the marks. Thankfully the weather was kind to us and coincided with decent tides on a few more occasions. Not everywhere was productive or even existed anything like our charts suggested but that’s part of trying new things. We managed some more turbot and brill as well as a couple of blonde rays and a greater weaver (which I was very pleased with). I cant wait to get back off there this summer to further the knowledge we gained last year.
After a heat wave at the end of August the surface temperature in our creek was as high as 23’c. this heatwave ended suddenly and as September arrived northerly winds bought the surface temperature in our creek down by 10’c within a couple of weeks! Although the main stock of hounds and bass moved out we still caught a few here and there for several weeks.
Stacey and I managed I holiday (of sorts) in September too. We took the Galloper away to the south coast for just over a week and were joined by several of our regulars throughout the trip. I will report on this separately at some point. We used a couple of weather windows to make our journey each way as comfortable as possible and returned just before the weather turned.
By now there were good numbers of thorn-backs inshore once again to keep us busy. When weather and tides permitted we made our way offshore in search of the bass that shoal up on the banks before migrating. This helps extend our bass season by some time. We had some great trips for bass throughout October and right up until the day before the November lockdown came into effect. The Galloper had to earn her keep in some less than ideal conditions in October. I must admit she took it all in her stride, at times we were comfortably catching bass in conditions I would have endured in many other boats. Numbers of bass were really good and they were still showing well until our last trip when we had over 120 bass!
We only managed a few inshore trips in the late autumn as lockdowns and tier systems meant many trips had to be cancelled. When we got afloat there were still fish to be caught. The whiting were in vast numbers on most trips. The mild conditions meant there were still several dogfish and thorn-backs to be had too. We only managed one try for dabs for a few hours and they seemed in good numbers. We even managed a few codling too, it’s a shame we were stopped as we averaged over 1 per trip which is a vast improvement on the last few years.
Hopefully we are allowed out again in time to try and sneak a few more codling out among the rays, whiting and dogfish that will be present. I also hope we will be able to get some of you offshore in search of spurdogs and other winter offshore species too.
Looking forward to the year ahead we expect good numbers of rays throughout spring. From April onwards we should see a few bass and hounds arrive and numbers pick up as we reach may. June and July we will expect nice mixed fishing including the tail end of the rays with numbers of bass and smooth-hounds inshore. Offshore we will target tope until they more on when our offshore trips will mainly be targeting bass. These should be around until late October if not into November over the last few years.
I also hope to get some more do some more trips offshore for the turbot and other species as well as squeeze in another south coast adventure. All in all we have a busy year planned when we are allowed to get you back out there again.
Once again thanks to those who have been able to get out with us throughout this strange time and apologies to those who couldn’t get out with us. hopefully we will be able to get you all out again soon aboard the Galloper. Tight lines for now.
If you would like to get something in the diary for this year then please call me (Scott) on 07956411528 -
12/2020
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Dec 2020 by Scott Belbin
Merry Christmas from the Galloper. Apologies to those of you who were booked on trips next week that I have been forced to cancel. It is frustrating although thankfully I hadn’t quite ordered worms when it was announced we are going to be in tier 4 as of boxing day. this means I have cancelled the rest of this years trips and I hope we get a chance to get some of you out in January.
I am still allowed to take single person bookings so if anybody is keen to get out on their own then please get in touch. Last couple of trips were spent in the river where whiting were in plague proportions at times. Dabs were numerous in places with some decent ones mixed in. the mild weather meant there were numbers of dogfish and a few rays. We even had a tiny bass and a goliath pouting.
If you wish to book a single person trip you can hire the Galloper for £400 for a full day (10 hours) or £200 half day trip. Get in touch if you wish to get out. If not I hope to see you aboard next year.
NEXT SPACES
Any date between 26th of December and 3rd of January 2021
Please call me for more information on 07956411528
Stacey is still operating the ‘lady grace’ on a bookings only basis both mid-week and weekends at the
Moment but and is likely to fall under the same restrictions as me. so please call her on 07791859624
Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077 -
12/2020
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Dec 2020 by Scott Belbin
It was nice to get out the other day with a single person booking. Dave hired the boat for the day which was nice after a few weeks ashore. It was good timing for me too as it meant I could get a feel for how its fishing before the lockdown is eased. The weather was spot on so we started a fair way down and had thornbacks from the first cast! Between the rays whiting were thick and fast with a bite every cast. We moved around a bit as the day went on and found some areas showing more dogfish with the whiting and a couple of pouting too. Unfortunately we didn’t find any codling but I have heard of a few from the shore and private boats over the last few weeks. We were lucky enough to see several before this lockdown. Although I doubt there will be loads of cod about things were certainly looking better than the last couple of years and I am sure we will see some more over the next few weeks.
I have had a couple of spaces come up this weekend, 1 space on Saturday and 1 space on Sunday. Both at £80pp max 5 anglers. Please call me for more information.
I have more spaces around Christmas and into the next year although bookings are trickling in so don’t leave it too long.
For more information, regular updates and availability please visit
www.essexseafishing.co.uk
follow the essex sea fishing page on facebook
or call 07956411528
