Latest Fishing Reports: South West
-
07/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin McKie
on Size Matters (Plymouth, Devon)
Jul 2019 by Kevin McKie
Report on-board Size Matters
I honestly don’t even know where to start, we are over the moon with the results of our latest adventure.
Phil had booked Size Matters for four days to get a chance to fish a place well off the charts, sadly the weather to do this was not in our favour.
So it was time for Plan B Thresher Sharks and Flip Flops.
On the first day we stayed close to Plymouth and fished a mark only a few miles from shore that had produced a few porgies on previous trips.
Sadly we blanked but did top up our bait supply, we then steamed well over 100 miles through the night to our chosen area to fish for Threshers.
We knew this was going to be a challenge because none of us had ever seen a Thresher before let alone caught one.
Five hours into the first day we got a screaming run Phil was up and once the drag went up the shark went air borne, it was a Thresher around 200lb.
After about a 20 minute fight we had it about 20 meters from the back of the boat, it then turned and spat the hook, we where all gutted.
The rest of the day we where trying to figure out how it spat the circle hook out, normally once a circle hook is in it stays in.
I was changing hooks all the time, keeping them sharp and changing baits regularly.
We never got anymore interest from Threshers just lots of small Tope 10lb to 20lb stealing baits and trying to bite our chum bags at the side of the boat.
When it went dark the lads went to sleep and I carried on fishing though the night trying all sorts of Sword fish lights to see if they would attract the Threshers during the night.
They sure did look good but the Tope loved them especially the green ones.
As soon as daylight started to brake I steamed the boat back to the area where we got the first run the day before.
I had just put all the rods out, John had just woke up and was on deck with me, with in 5 mins one of the rods had a short run I said to John it’s another Tope, as I picked the rod up and started reeling in it took off and jumped 4ft clear of the water it was a Thresher I was screaming at the other lads to wake up.
I had no butt pad on, flip flops on my feet and the fish was heading to the bow of the boat, I jumped up the side of the boat with the rod in my hand then fought it for 30 mins on the bow.
The problem was my mono leader had a nick in it so I needed to be extra careful, eventually we got it in, an incredible shark when you see them up close, this one was just over 100lb, I was well chuffed.
Then a few hours later we missed a good run then about 20 mins later Phil had a run and was back in the game with one that looked around 250lb smashing through the surface for about 25 mins.
The hook hold looked good and was coming to the boat perfect, then the same happened again it turned and spat the hook.
Again we where trying to work out what we done wrong, then we started to do things a little different.
Next up was John and he tested out our new approach to hooking the Threshers and bang it worked after a 40 min fight he landed a cracking fish around 150lb.
Then it was Tony next and again the new system worked, he landed one around 60lb.
Phil was back on the rods but once we started to lose daylight the Tope moved in and the Threshers disappeared.
It was now home time and we steamed through the night back to Plymouth.
Please note all Sharks where handled with extreme care, we used our Scottish National Heritage Skate sling to lift the Sharks just 10 inches from water to the deck of the boat supporting there whole body, we then used buckets of water to keep the sharks wet and release them as quickly as possible.
If you love Shark fishing or just love Sharks then make sure you go out of your way to see these fantastic Sharks up close and personal, they truly are an amazing creature.
This now means the Thresher Shark is the 7th species of fish caught on Size Matters over 100lb in UK waters.
As always our Shimano rods and reels done us proud and never let us down, the
Speed Master Dendou Maru 1000 20/30 rod is one of the finest sharking rods I have ever used with bags of power in the blank and teamed up with a Tiagra 30 it’s one hell of a combo for sharking.
A massive thanks goes to Phil, John and Tony for there team work and taking the opportunity to try something new.
Thanks
Kevin Mckie
Size Matters (Plymouth)
07999628511
#Shimano
#Mckiesfishingcharters
#Plymouth
View Boats Page
-
21/07/2019
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
21 Jul 2019 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
The Flamer IV Big Fish Competition took place on a lovely day in July, we did sessions at anchor on Banks/Reefs to the east of Weymouth which produced plenty of Rays (Blondes, Undulates, Small Eyed and Spotted), Congers, along with Black Bream, Tope, Smooth Hounds etc. Andy Collings won the competition with 283 points, Runner up was Paul Milkins 252 points, Third place was Robin Amor with 210 points. Andy Collings caught a new Personal Best Black Bream weighing 3Ib 12oz. Peter Minns landed his first ever Undulate Ray and Brill.
The next Flamer IV "Big Fish" Competition is on September 5th - Don't Miss Out - Book your place.
Pictured - Peter Minns 15Ib Undulate Ray, View Boats Page
-
07/2019
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
on Silver Spray II (Poole, Dorset)
Jul 2019 by Sam Cumming
Report on-board Silver Spray II
Where to start with the last 4 weeks? It seems like we have done so many different things, this variety is one of the strengths of fishing from Poole. We will start inshore and the arrival of the mackerel in better numbers seems to have encouraged the rays to come on a bit stronger. Undulates and blondes being the main target with a few other spotties and thornbacks dotted about. One short evening trip saw us land so many undulates we broke the golden rule and moved off the fish, only to be rewarded with even more rays at the next mark. Many of the inshore marks for rays are covered in tiny bream at the moment so you should check your baits frequently as often anglers are just left with skin on the hook after the bream have pecked all the meat off it. Good for the future stocks of one of our main species. On the drift the plaice fishing has been awesome with fish coming to the net regularly to the 3lb plus mark, this type of fishing should continue until October so plenty of time to get booked on if you fancy a crack at them. Last week we had such a frantic day that we fished until we ran out of bait. The plaice fed pretty the whole day long, even when we were drifting at 2 knots. Great fun on the spinning rods and good to see the lads putting so many back for future trips. Bass fishing continues to show signs of improvement this year with plenty of fish still taking the lures on the banks, again good fun on lighter tackle when accompanied with a couple of hours fishing at anchor for the tope with the heavy stuff. Freelining and float fishing has also started well with Tony Methvan landing only his second ever bass at just over 8lb, we will be doing more on the floats and freeline in the coming weeks. The shark fishing is under way for this year and we have a few spaces on trips starting in early August, all our encounters so far have come on tope or conger gear so you’re never guaranteed to get the fish the surface. Hopefully we can hook into one on suitable tackle soon. Tight Lines for the coming weeks!!!
View Boats Page
UPCOMING INDIVIDUAL SPACES ONBOARD Silver Spray II
View Full Charter AvailabilityTue 25/02/2025 1 Space 11 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for pollock with turbot fishing over the slack £160 7 anglers max. 1 space Pollock / Turbot / Blonde Ray.View details Wed 26/02/2025 5 Spaces 11 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for pollock with turbot fishing over the slack £160 7 anglers max. 5 spaces Pollock / Turbot / Blonde Ray.View details Fri 07/03/2025 2 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 2 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Sun 09/03/2025 6 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 6 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Mon 10/03/2025 3 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 3 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Fri 21/03/2025 5 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 5 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Sun 23/03/2025 4 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 4 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Mon 24/03/2025 4 Spaces 9 Hours £120.00pp Banks fishing spurs blondes hounds tope huss congers £120 4 spaces 7 anglers max. Bull Huss / Conger Eel / Smooth-hound (Common) / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Wed 26/03/2025 6 Spaces 10 Hours £160.00pp Wreck fishing for big pollock maybe a session at anchor to fillet the fish - £160 6 spaces 7 anglers max. Pollock / Spurdog / Blonde Ray.View details Fri 04/04/2025 4 Spaces £160.00pp wreck fishing pollock cod etc maybe a session at anchor - £160 7 anglers max. 4 spaces Cod / Pollock.View details -
21/07/2019
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
21 Jul 2019 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
The fishing on the Reefs and Banks has beed really good and producing species like Brill,Turbot, Black Bream,Rays,Tope,Conger ,Bull Huss etc. Pictured is Andy Collings with his new Personal Best Black Bream weighing 3Ib 12oz which also wins him a coveted Mission accomplished Badge from Sea Angler magazine.
My next Reef/Bank Trip with places avaialable is on August 5th - Don't Miss out, View Boats Page
-
19/07/2019
Fishing Report by Kevin Wyatt
on Obsession (Mevagissey, Cornwall)
19 Jul 2019 by Kevin Wyatt
Report on-board Obsession
Hello it’s lee here The month of July report We started off down in looe in Cornwall winning the shark festival which was a very good outcome seen some nice sharks whilst down in the Cornish waters . after the festival we headed back to Brixham had a shark trip out of Brixham which was a fantastic day had some very nice sharks couple over 100 lb mark 10 sharks in total range in different sizes very good start to the shark season .On the wrecking side of stuff The inshore wrecks have been very good on the Conger eels seeing around 20 to 30 a day and chucking up the odd black bream .The last week the skerries bank has been fishing very well on the plaice Just yesterday we had a nice 4 pound plaice come to the boat nice to see and a turbot lots of Plaice between the pound and 2 pound mark but a bit plumper this time of year and the odd free pounder . On the blonde Ray front down the Skerries Bank been a bit slow due to commercial fishing pressure netting hopefully that will pick up again it normally takes a week or so to pick up. The fishing conditions have been very good to us we had some very good hits on the mackerel in the bay But have been very thin on the ground the last week .The bass have just turned up and this Month so have that to offer but still only a one fish per person day unfortunately due to the regulations we hope to be running a few more bream trips this year on rough ground But As you all know we can turn our hand to anything and try and fit you all in and different types of fishing to cater for you all take care and hope to hear from you all soon tight lines .thanks lee
View Boats Page
-
18/07/2019
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
18 Jul 2019 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
Nick Collier on his first trip on Flamer IV landed a "Grand Slam" of flatfish, catching his first ever Turbot a Plaice and a Brill. Nick is pictured with his 4Ib Brill. Nick and his friends caught a variety of species while drifting the famous Shambles Bank which included Turbot, Brill, Plaice, Blonde Ray, Lesser Weaver, Dogfish, Mackerel and a Conger which we don't catch very often on that mark. The successful baits were a combination of Mackerel and Squid strips and Launce fillets.
My next trip with places for individuals - are on August 5th and 6th, View Boats Page
-
18/07/2019
Fishing Report by Matt Forrester
on Silver Halo (Torquay, Devon)
18 Jul 2019 by Matt Forrester
Report on-board Silver Halo
Wow the weather has really improved and we are having some great fishing!!
Im still recommending the long range trips for the serious fishing as it always gives more options but the inshore fishing is defo getting better with the summer bass starting to arrive in numbers!
Good numbers of summer pollock are also keeping us busy, these are generally smaller than the double figure winter and spring fish but with sizes upto around 10lb are still good sport.
We are still seeing occasional cod of the wrecks but not as many as in May and June.
The shark fishinh has been ok with a fe blues coming to the boat, its a late start so fingers crossed we have a good late season with these great fish.
Bookings have increased with the Summer Holidays but theer are still a few mixed group and free days open. Its also a good time to book ahead for Sept and Oct as we have really good bass fishing with the biggest fish showing.
I only take small groups of upto 6 so perfect for a private family or friends charter. Quality tackle and tuition is provided. Please see my facebook page and group for regular update and my website for more info. Thanks Matt, owner and skipper! View Boats Page
UPCOMING INDIVIDUAL SPACES ONBOARD Silver Halo
View Full Charter AvailabilityThu 08/05/2025 2 Spaces £165.00pp Need 2 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers, offshore wrecking with jigs and luresView details Wed 28/05/2025 2 Spaces £165.00pp Need 2 more for trip go-ahead. MAX of 4 anglers, offshore wrecks with jigs and luresView details Thu 29/05/2025 2 Spaces £165.00pp Need 2 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers offshore wrecking with jigs and luresView details Fri 30/05/2025 2 Spaces £165.00pp Need 2 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers, offshore with jigs and luresView details Mon 09/06/2025 3 Spaces 9 Hours £165.00pp Need 3 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers, offshore wreck with jigs and luresView details Wed 09/07/2025 3 Spaces £165.00pp Need 3 more for trip go-ahead. MAX of 4 anglers, offshore wrecks with jigs and luresView details Wed 30/07/2025 3 Spaces £165.00pp Need 3 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers, slow pitch jigs and lures, offshoreView details Sat 11/10/2025 1 Space £165.00pp Need 1 more for trip go-ahead. max of 4 anglers offshore wrecking with jigs and luresView details -
16/07/2019
Fishing Report by Philip Higgins
on Mistress Linda / San Gina3 (Poole, Dorset)
16 Jul 2019 by Philip Higgins
Report on-board Mistress Linda / San Gina3
The settled weather we are having has improved the fishing with excellent catches of Plaice up to 3lb 4 oz, last weekend the Albion team managed 109 Plaice in 4 long drifts only keeping 18, along the beaches are also producing fine catches of Plaice with a few small Brill and Turbot as a bonus. The only downside of Poole Bay at the moment is the bumper year crop of tiny Bream which devastate the baits within seconds. On the outer banks Rays dominate the fishing with young 78 year old Colin getting a double shot of Undulate Rays weighing 10lb and 14lb on their own are good fish but together poor old Colin had to have an early nightcap (Brandy from the hip flask) to ease the pain. Today we saw our 2nd Sunfish of the season and plenty of Dolphins which again killed the fishing.
Tight lines
Phil View Boats Page
-
07/07/2019
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
7 Jul 2019 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
Flamer IV teams did the quadruple winning all four annual competitions this year. They won the flat Fish competitions against Meerkat and Supanova II, The three boat competition against Meerkat and Supanova II which was for the biggest Cod, and the Plaice competition against Top Cat. I am proud to be pictured with all four awards. Well done to the Flamer IV teams.The 2020 dates are set and are showing on my Competitions page on www.flamer4fishing.co.uk
View Boats Page
-
01/07/2019
Fishing Report by Colin Penny
on Flamer IV (Weymouth, Dorset)
1 Jul 2019 by Colin Penny
Report on-board Flamer IV
The fishing on the Banks has been productive for Rays, Turbot and Brill on mackerel,launce fillett and squid baits.
Pictured is Bill Walton with his 13Ib Undulate Ray. Bill was unlucky loose a Big Blonde Ray just a few feet from the boat.
My next Reef/Bank trips with places available are on July 22nd. , August 3rd, 5th, 6th, 10th,Don't Miss Out. View Boats Page
