Latest Fishing Reports: South West
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08/01/2012
Fishing Report by Tony Harrison
on Optimist (Portishead, Somerset)
8 Jan 2012 by Tony Harrison
Report on-board Optimist
The first trip out of 2012 went pretty well, with five anglers on board and eighteen cod in the fish box at the end of our trip. Everyone caught, which is always good news.
Fished about 1.5 miles from Clevedon on pretty calms seas. The amount of weed, and the number of tree-trunks and branches flowing down on the tide was amazing!
A couple more months of cod; still hoping for the really BIG day....!
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01/01/2012
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
1 Jan 2012 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
FLAMER IV 2011 short review - 55 different species caught.
FLAMER IV FISH of the YEAR FOR 2011 - LES WHITEMAN 7Ib 14oz plaice(pictured).
Don't Miss out - book your trip/s,place/s on Flamer IV for 2012. View Boats Page
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29/12/2011
Fishing Report by Dave Pitman
on Atlanta (Weymouth, Dorset)
29 Dec 2011 by Dave Pitman
Report on-board Atlanta
http://www.madpolka.co.uk/29dec2011.html
madpolka.co.uk
www.madpolka.co.uk
Sea Fishing News Discussion and Reports View Boats Page
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12/2011
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
Dec 2011 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
DECEMBER 2011 - Mark Towner age 59 from Winchester enjoyed his first trip aboard Flamer IV.Mark caught plenty of whiting on a three hook hoki rig baited with strips of Ammo mackerel and squid.On three occassions a conger grabbed his whiting baits and broke one of the hooks off.Mark rigged up with a stronger trace baited with whole calamari squid and caught the conger an eel of 20Ib which was released.Mark also caught the usual dogs and pouts but his best fish of the day was a 14Ib 8oz spurdog.The big spur was weighed,photographed and returned alive.Mark is pictured with his spurdog.
Mark sent me an email which read "Thanks Colin,I really enjoyed my 1st trip in the area,and I got a good taste of the fishing Quality.I look forward to booking with you again in the spring". View Boats Page
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12/11/2011
Fishing Report by Dave Pitman
on Atlanta (Weymouth, Dorset)
12 Nov 2011 by Dave Pitman
Report on-board Atlanta
Unseasonable Breaming
This will be a slightly unusual diary entry as it has no photos of fish! Not because we didn't catch any and not because I forgot my camera, but because the frantic fishing and the challenging sea conditions made it impractical to stop to take the shots!
Last month I posted a photo of a Black Bream which I confidently predicted would be my last of the season. With my next trip on the 12th of November I was certain the Bream would have moved on and we would concentrate on Winter species such as Whiting - how wrong this proved to be.
The venue for the day was Dave Pitman's Atlanta out of Weymouth. The weather forecast had looked a little dodgy but as we got closer to the day they were predicting a definite window for the Saturday (an excellent stroke of luck).
The crew was made up of me and Pops plus Mick, Jack and Mick's son from Lightwater, plus a young lad called Tim with his Dad and Uncle, and two late joiners from London.
We slipped the dock at 7.45 and there wasn't a breath of wind. Whilst mist clung to the hills on land we were greeted with yet another fabulous Autumn sunrise over a very calm sea.
Oh what a beautiful morning!
As we headed around the bill to start our journey West however, we met the first of the residual South Westerly swell left from a few days of high winds. The water wasn't rough but there was a significant rise and fall in the water although this was made easier by the long intervals between waves. Fortunately the wind was with us and despite the motion in the boat we stayed dry and warm in the glorious sunshine.
As we came around Bill Point we got an excellent view of where these large swells were breaking on the Western shore. Trying to take a photo, not drop the camera and not get thrown over the side by the 'beam on' sea was a challenge!
Lumpy Water
As we headed in to Lyme Bay the swell eased a little and throughout the day it calmer and calmer until it was 'slight' at most.
We motored a few miles West of the Bill and Dee set the Anchor. Dave and Dee had explained that the Whiting hadn't really shown up in any numbers however the previous week-end had delivered a good catch of very late Bream and this was what we should target, with maybe an odd Cod thrown in for good measure.
I set up with my standard Bream rig (a 2 hook size 4 Wessex Rig). I baited each hook with a ringlet of squid tipped with half a squid head.
Well it only took a matter of seconds to find the first fish. Young Tim wound in to an athletic fish that proved to be a nice Bream - we were off and running! I also had an instant bite but only managed a small Dogfish. The fishing proved slow at this mark for most of us. A few Bream were caught (I had a couple and Pops had three) plus some Dogfish and the odd poor cod. We persevered for a couple of hours during which the highlight was a 3lb 8oz Bream for one of Tim's trio. I would normally have photo'd this fish but with a full crew and a fairly lively sea I decided it would cause more trouble than it was worth!
At around 11.30 in the morning, with no signs of improvement, Dave called for lines up and we trotted a few more miles to the West to try and change our fortunes. Now this was a great call by the skipper. No sooner were we on anchor then we hit the fish. No plague of Dogfish here, just lovely plump bream.
In a two hour session Pops and I managed around 30 Bream between us with many returned to fight another day. Tim showed he was top rod by catching them two at a time and netting a nice 3lb 6oz specimen.
Towards the end of the session a couple of Pollack showed up as well with Pops and I each having a fish of around two to three pounds and one larger fish (around 6lbs) coming to the starboard side of the boat.
We also saw one large fish break a line attached to an over tightened drag before one of the London guys leaned in to something very heavy. He started to fight the fish with lots of advice for the novice angler coming from all quarters. I decided to break from the frantic Breaming to get my camera out ready for the fish to surface. I was obviously the 'kiss of death' as the fish threw the hook and was gone - very disapointing.
Saddest sight of the day was a Gannet who had managed to get a piece of old rope twisted round it's beak which it couldn't shift. It had obviously happened recently as the bird was still in good condition. The rope would undoubtedly prevent the Gannet from feeding and it was fated to starve we guessed. I don't think you can necessarily level any criticism at people for discarding the rope either as it looked like something that could easily have been washed overboard by accident or come from lost gear on a commercial boat - just bad luck I guess.
With a full box of fish Dave called for lines up and we started the long trip home. This time we were punching in to a stiffening South Easterly and it suddenly felt a lot more like Winter than Autumn. Maybe it will be Whiting next time I'm out and the Bream will have remembered to migrate to their Winter homes!
Start of Winter?
Contact - steve@madpolka.co.uk View Boats Page
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02/12/2011
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
2 Dec 2011 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
DECEMBER 2011 - The Flamer Friday Fishers Species Leagues last match and presentation took place.The fishing produced 14 species which is very good for a trip in December it included whiting,garfish,mackerel,bull huss,conger etc and even some black bream.
The 2011 final league results - Champion - Richard Ferre 67 points,Runner Up - Peter Collings 66 points,Most Species = 1st Steve Clements and Richard Ferre with 29 each,
Best Specimen - Peter Collings 125%,Most Improved Angler - Mick Nunn,
Pairs = 1st Andy Selby and Robin Amor and Peter Collings and Richard Ferre both with 30 species each,Weakest Link - Andy Selby.Pictured are the lads enjoying themselves at the presentation.
End of an era - the species league will not run in 2012 but has been replaced with a Flamer IV Flatty League and numerous and various competitions through out the year. View Boats Page
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13/12/2011
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
13 Dec 2011 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
DECEMBER 2011 - A reef trip produced plenty of whiting up to 3Ib 8oz also several congers and spurdogs.Jamie Watts also landed his first ever Undulate Ray which weighed in at 14Ib 4oz.Jamie from Southampton was using 20Ib class tackle with a pennel rig baited with Ammo squid and Mackerel.The ray was weighed,photographed and returned alive.Jamie is pictured with his Undulate Ray.There are lots of whiting around at present.SO DON'T MISS OUT
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04/12/2011
Fishing Report by Tony Harrison
on Optimist (Portishead, Somerset)
4 Dec 2011 by Tony Harrison
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Over the past week the whiting have been almost an epidemic, snaffling even the biggest baits intended for cod. Many of them are a good size, and have been taken for the pot.
Still some good sized thornbacks being boated, and a few codling although I suspect the cod are still chasing the abundant sprats in the upper channel. The sport will get better soon as the sprats thin out.
Whole squid seems to have the edge bait-wise, but by the time you read these words things may have changed, but that's fishing! View Boats Page
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04/12/2011
Fishing Report by Ash Bailey
on Optimist (Portishead, Somerset)
4 Dec 2011 by Ash Bailey
Report on-board Optimist
Another good day out on the Optimist; the fishing was hard going but the company was good! The coffee, bacon butties and pasties kept coming!
Fish of the day, Martin "Fat Bloke" Donovan's Thornack Ray of 10 lb 14 oz, another Thorny of 8 lb was also boated. Both released. Plenty of pan sized whiting thoughout the day, and a couple of coldling up to 4 lb or so.
Nice day out, great company on lumpy seas! See you all again soon. View Boats Page
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29/11/2011
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
29 Nov 2011 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
NOVEMBER Report - The inshore reef and bank trips produced plenty of black bream,brill,turbot,rays,bass,cod,whiting,gurnards and many more different species.Wreck trips saw pollack and bass caught on a variety of lures.Bass and cod were caught on drifting trips in the Portland race area.55 different species have been caught on Flamer IV in 2011.Flamer Fish of the month for November was awarded to John Bickford for his 7Ib 8oz Bass(pictured).
DON'T FORGET TO BOOK YOUR TRIPS/PLACES FOR 2012.All sorts of trips and competitions are planned for individuals and boat charters. View Boats Page
