Latest Fishing Reports: Galloper
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15/08/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
15 Aug 2022 by Scott Belbin
Another hectic and barmy week has passed already. We have enjoyed a mixture of trips, fishing and anglers and the weather has been consistently hot throughout! Despite a couple of breezy trips we managed to get our last run of offshore bass trips in with lots of fish and no need to cancel. Its times like those when working a big catamaran pays dividends. Of course we benefit on our inshore trips too by being more comfortable and therefore able to position the boat where the fish are rather than where the conditions dictate most of the time.
The offshore trips produced good numbers of bass to lures and bait depending on the day and conditions. It tends to be mostly bass on these trips although we do catch the occasional hound and other species too at times. We take it for granted that everybody will get their quota of bass to take home fairly quickly then we can concentrate on having some sport from them for the rest of the day. I have spaces on bass trips from as soon as this week through until the end of November. Please get in touch if you are interested.
Our general trips have produced a bit more variety. bites can be fewer at this time of year due to the lack of dogfish and whiting (you all miss them really). But what we do catch are often quality fish. mostly smooth-hounds and bass. The hounds have been coming in all shapes and sizes. The biggest from the last set of trips was 15.10lbs but there were several doubles on our trips. Other trips struggled for hounds but still found plenty of bass. The stamp is often smaller on our general trips than it is on the offshore bass trips however we have still had good numbers of table sized fish too.
A few odds and sods mixed in included an eel, thorn-back ray, baby tope and a dover sole.
The 4 hour trips are still producing well too. I get a different kind of buzz from these. Working hard to find people their first fish avoid weed and find something for the table all within 4 hours of leaving the mooring and within the estuary. its great seeing people catch their first fish or sea fish too and these trips often attract youngsters and beginners. Jamie booked a last minute four hour trip to make the most of the weather with sons Frank and Jack. The weather was spot on and the lads caught more on one rod on the first drop than they had on their last trip! After some fun with the little bass we set our sights on something for the table and were rewarded with not just one but two cracking bass for the table. I cant promise this every trip but it is a nice spend a few hours anyway. If you fancy a short trip then please get in touch as I may be able to get you out.
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap.
Spaces as follows
18/08-availability for full boat bookings or individuals
19/08-availability for full boat bookings or individuals
22-offshore trip 3 spaces @ £120pp
24/08-whole boat available for offshore trips
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 9 spaces @ £60pp
30th-02nd- Whole boat availability for offshore bass or general trips call for info
Later dates available but not advertised , other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call Scott on 07956411528 for more information -
08/08/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
8 Aug 2022 by Scott Belbin
Things have been very busy lately aboard the Galloper. The fishing and the weather have both been great so it has been full steam ahead with long days offshore. With that in mind I must apologies to all of you who’s calls and texts I’ve missed. It is hard to get back to everybody by the time I have signal.
Our general trips were producing some great quality smooth-hounds with plenty of low double figure fish mixed in. As ever the young guns showed us how its done with Ernie catching one just over 12lbs and Josh catching a double a few days before hand. Although Josh’s fish was pipped that day by a fish of 15.8lbs by John.
There have been plenty of bass falling to worm baits on our general trips too. The size and numbers very from day to day but there have been a good few keepers mixed in for the table.
Jason ended his trip with a lovely solid fish which nearly had the rod over the side while he was hiding from the sun and chatting with me. We didn’t weigh it to be honest but she must have gone over 6lbs.
If you want bass then our offshore bass trips are the ones to be on. These have been very productive. Depending on conditions we are catching on baits at anchor or lures. All sorts of lures will work. Hard plastics, soft plastics, metal jigs, surface poppers and feathers. I must admit a favourite of mine is the surface popper though these tend to get lots of follows and not as many takes. My go-to lure for catching with confidence near the surface is a 4-5inch hard plastic plug but the most consistent and effective would be feathers. I have room for full boat bookings and individual spaces on bass trips over the coming weeks as well as right through to the end of November.
The weather looks scorching for a few days yet and I have some availability so get in touch if you want to get afloat.
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap.
Spaces as follows
11/08 (this Thursday) - whole boat available for general trip
13/08 (this Saturday)- 3 spaces @ £60pp
15/08 Whole boat availability for general or offshore bass trips call for info
16/08
17/08-3 spaces @ £60pp
18/08
19/08-offshore bass trip 5 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
20/08/22-offshore bass trip 1 space @ £100pp
23/08-whole boat available for offshore trips
24/08-whole boat available for offshore trips
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 9 spaces @ £60pp
26/08/22- Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 2 spaces @ £60pp
28/08/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
30th-02nd- Whole boat availability for offshore bass trips call for info
Later dates available but not advertised , other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call Scott on 07956411528 for more information -
08/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Aug 2022 by Scott Belbin
Our 4 hour trips continue to prove popular at this time of year. With the blackwater estuary on our door step we have had plenty of great fishing to choose from over the last few weeks on them. The schoolie bass that we often expect were a little late this year. In stead our first few trips saw several roker and hounds as the best fish. a few years ago I would have been surprised at hounds so close in but we see them more often nowadays. Of course the bass did turn up and they have provided us with some great sport. Alex books an annual trip for himself, his father and his brother to enjoy out with us. the lads now expect to see string full’s of schoolie bass coming in and always hope to find a keeper amongst them for the table. This year we were lucky enough to have 4 nice bass along with countless schoolies and a couple of roker too. The lads were very pleased to have something for dinner as well as a nice trip out.
Ian booked a short trip up while visiting Mersea on a family holiday. His sons Olly and James joined him for a few hours fishing too. We were lucky enough to start our trip with string full’s of bass on feathers before some bait fishing. I could barely keep up with the rate of fish coming over the side to be honest. we put a move in to try and find something bigger for the lads before the end of the trip. James came up trumps first with a sizable bass for the bbq. Both James and Olly had roker next and Ian topped it all off with a stingray before we headed in. the lads were very happy with their trip, as was the skipper. I often say I get a different kind of buzz from taking out novices on trips like these and they help to keep things fresh amidst a busy summer.
If I get enough interest I will offer up a few more of these short trips so please get in touch and I will see what I can do.
Our general trips are producing hounds and bass as we would expect. Some great examples of each are showing. Offshore our bass trips have started off well and will keep us busy until the end of November. I have spaces on these (including this Saturday) on various days for full boat bookings and individuals. Please get in touch to get booked on.
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap.
Spaces as follows
06/08/22- offshore bass trip 1 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
11/08- whole boat available for general trip
15th-19th Whole boat availability for offshore bass trips call for info
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 10 spaces @ £60pp
26/08/22- Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 2 spaces @ £60pp
28/08/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
30th-02nd- Whole boat availability for offshore bass trips call for info
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
As our main tope season draws to a close I is about time I bought you up to date with our some of our tope trips this year. As with many things the tope were a little behind in places this year. Our first few trips produced some lost fish and small fish as well as a late pack of spurdogs. Denis managed the first decent tope of the season for us. it was his first ever tope and a fine male fish of 43lbs. we then missed a set of tides while I was away on holiday but I returned to a busy run of trips and improving tides. As ever with tope fishing things were hit and miss but we expect that. Some days saw only small tope, one or two roker or the occasional big bass amongst the dogfish. this is why I am selective with who I take tope fishing. everybody understands that we may be fishing for just one or two decent fish or none at all! Luckily it isn’t often that we blank totally on the tope and we can see some decent numbers.
Mick had the next decent tope, a new PB for him after several trips and seeing plenty of others landed he finally boated a 44lb female tope. I was very pleased to see his efforts rewarded as I am sure was Mick.
Tony Dunn and the lads had a good day on the tope. By all accounts the lads have seen some very decent fish in the past with Kev holding the record for the group. He must do something right as he got our trip started with a cracking brace of fish. firstly a 44lb fish then a 43lber. Graham wasn’t to be left out matching Kev’s 44lber him self and Tony had another decent fish of 35lbs. we had a few smaller tope too.
Our best day this saw 14 tope bought to the Galloper which is a good day by any standards but the stamp of fish really made it. the fishing was pretty steady and uncle Steve got things started for us with a couple of nice fish. Barry and Charlie had two decent fish both 41lbs. I was particularly happy to see Charlie catch a decent tope after adapting his tackle and technique to better suit our style of fishing and I paid off! When a decent fish is hooked we Normally tend to reel in any lines that may be in the way but towards the end of the day Charlie was playing a small tope and said there was no need for everybody to reel in. sure enough Rolf’s line got bitten off by Charlies fish as it neared the boat. With Rolf being a competition angler he lowered a spare rod down while he re-tackled his up-tider. The second rod happened to be a tubertini telescopic continental rod with a very light quiver tip on it. Uncle Steve hooked into a better tope and Charlie lent a hand trying to keep Rolf’s line out of the way while Steve played his fish. while he was holding the rod Charlie said ‘Rolf, you’ve got a bite here’ we dismissed it as uncle Steve’s fish had probably caught it. Charlie became more insistent that Rolf’s rod was going out of time with Steve’s. so Rolf took his rod back and sure enough we now had two decent fish on. Steve’s was to the boat first while we could just see colour from Rolf’s fish. we sorted Steve’s fish out while Rolf’s crept closer to the boat. As it did so I could see that this fish had far more girth to it as it held in the tide. it has to be said that the tubertini rod was performing as well as you might expect. however the lack of strength in the tip meant every time the fish neared the boat it only took one flick of the tail and it was back down again. There were several stressful minutes before I could finally get the net under her. She was a great fish and the best of the year at 49.8lbs. no mean feat on such a light rod. There are anglers and dangers though and after all you don’t fish for your country if you are a Dangler!
A special mention has to go to Ian too. He put some serious effort in once again this year. His best trip was when he hired the boat on his own. Thankfully the expense was justified with 4 decent fish and another lost. Two 30’s and two 40’s but these weren’t the biggest catch of his day oddly enough. Ian’s tackle was put to the test when he hauled several stone of rubbish up from the bottom! There was all sorts tangled together in what looked like some kind of modern art exhibition. This took a bit of lifting once on the boat so it really is testament to his tackle and knots.
All in all it was fun while it lasted but the tope will have to wait until next year for our attention now. We may pick a stay big fish up accidently but for now our attention will be turned to the offshore bass fishing until the end of November as well as a few other different trips with any luck. If you would like to join us for bass in the coming months, spurs through the winter and spring or next years tope trips then please get in touch.
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap.
Spaces as follows
06/08/22- offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
09/08-whole boat available for general trip
11/08- whole boat available for general trip
15th-19th Whole boat availability for offshore bass trips call for info
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 10 spaces @ £60pp
26/08/22- Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 2 spaces @ £60pp
28/08/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
30th-02nd- Whole boat availability for offshore bass trips call for info
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
weather has been great the last week. there have been plenty off bass showing along with other species such as smooth-hounds, the odd rays, and even some mackerel.
Adrian Sid and Kev hired the boat for a last minute trip in the sweltering heat and had more bass than they could shake a shiny thing at as well as a few hounds and mackerel.
i have a few spaces coming up including two tomorrow (Monday 25/07/22) if you fancy joining us then please get in touch on 07956411528 -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
This week I thought I would put together some pictures of some of the ladies who have joined us lately. I love the fact that angling can be so inclusive and try my best to encourage everybody to come out and enjoy it. its great to see ladies, gentlemen, young children and those of you in later years getting stuck in. it doesn’t matter if you are a complete novice or an international angler, as long as you have a bait in the water you are in with a chance. Of course I will do my best to guide beginners as do many of our friendly regulars.
The only problem is these ladies have a tendency to outfit the rest of us on a regular basis! Honey currently has the biggest bass on the year so far, Laura beat Sam’s PB hound, Abby pulled out a smooth-hound on her first cast in the estuary on an evening trip and the list goes on. As skipper I don’t care who catches them I just want to see fish on the boat though I have had my fair share of egg on my face with Stacey out fishing me on a regular basis. Lets hope Stacey is the one teaching Stanley to fish! I am fairly well booked up but I do happen to have spaces on this Sunday (24th) x 4 @ £60pp, Monday (25th) x 2 @ £70pp and the following Monday (01/08) x 8 @ £60pp as well as a few mid week boat bookings available.
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
The weather has been pretty barmy here in Essex lately. Luckily we have been out on the Galloper a lot and making the most of conditions. There have been a mix of species such as smooth-hounds, dogfish, thorn-back rays, mackerel and numbers of bass in places.
Pictured are Jono and his Dad had a nice brace of bass which came aboard at the same time. There were several more caught that day too.
I am fairly well booked up but I do happen to have this Monday and Tuesday available for full boat bookings. These look like the hottest days of the year so far so if you fancy getting afloat please get in touch.
I have spaces next Sunday (24/07) and Monday (25/07) too if its too hot for you this week.
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap
Spaces as follows
24/07/22-general trip 4 spaces @ £60pp
25/07/22-4 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
01/08/22-5 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
06/08/22- offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
20/08/22-offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 10 spaces @ £60pp
26/08/22- Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 2 spaces @ £60pp
28/08/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
Thought I would do an update of the last couple of months fishing excluding the tope which I will update separately in a few weeks.
The north-easterly winds and low temperatures in April affected some of our fishing this spring. It seemed to hold things up a little. The algal bloom (may weed/rot/tobacco juice) was late in comparison to recent years and consequently the water didn’t clear until later. This combined with successive north-easterly winds stopped us from catching bass on lures until quite late. Despite having had some mackerel back in March they too were delayed in their proper arrival by these conditions. The roker (thorn-back rays) kept us busy for a while along with the occasional bass on baits and the smooth-hounds were here around their usual time. Some were even early and always gratefully received. There were some decent fish on the first run as we would expect and young Grayson’s big female is still the biggest so far this season. I cant say what weight as he put her back before I could weigh her! The hounds continue to show in varying numbers and sizes from day to day. we have been seeing double figure fish mixed in regularly though. they will be here in numbers until September and are the main target of our general trips along with bass.
One bonus of a delayed spring was that the spurdogs hung around quite late. We missed a lot of trips towards the end of the season due to those winds. However those very same winds meant they stayed long enough for one last hurrah from them. I was expecting maybe one or two to show on a mark we were fishing but had a rather hectic 90 minutes with over 30 big spurs showing! They were all good doubles with the biggest falling to Barry wood at just over 20lb. things were so hectic we were able to get some group shots as a pack went through and I found my self not even bothering to net high teen spurdogs as they were so plentiful. By the next day the fish were gone, not even one which is often the way with these late season fish. it was great fun when we were in the right place at the right time though.
The bass have been pretty good again so far this year. As I mentioned earlier there have been some nice fish showing throughout the spring with numbers increasing on our general trips. The stamp has been great lately topped off by Honey Gage with the biggest so far. Some people put Honeys success down to her rather stylish lucky hat but I think its more than that.
Now that the water has cleared we have been catching them on lures too in places. Conditions have to be right for this but there is no shortage of bait fish around and plenty of bass too so things are in our favour. We run our offshore bass trips from now until the end of November, the main focus is bait fishing but when ever we can we will use lures too. They don’t need to be anything too advanced. The humble mackerel feathers are often the most effective though if we can we try to refine our angling a little nowadays and many of the lads bring light spinning rods armed with dexter wedges, soft plastics, diving hard plastics and surface poppers too. This year is shaping up to be another good one for bass so don’t miss out.
I will update you on our tope trips separately in a few weeks as well as any other offshore stuff we get up to this summer.
I have availability mid-week throughout the summer so please get in touch if you want to get booked in. its also worth keeping an eye out for last minute spaces with groups or where people drop out. I will list my current list of spaces but there are likely to be other dates so its always worth giving me a call. If I am out of signal range I will get back to you asap
SPACES THIS FRIDAY 15TH @ £60pp
Spaces as follows
15/07/22-general trip 5 spaces @ £60pp
24/07/22-general trip 5 spaces @ £60pp
25/07/22-4 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
01/08/22-5 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
06/08/22- offshore trip 3 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
20/08/22-offshore trip 4 spaces @ £100pp max 7 anglers
25/08/22 Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 10 spaces @ £60pp
26/08/22- Clacton air show trip fish while they fly 5 spaces @ £60pp
28/08/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
There continue to be some great hounds and bass showing lately. The hounds are in big numbers at times and really keeping us busy. There have been a lot of small fish around but if you kiss a lot of frogs there seems to be the occasional prince among them. Most days have seen hounds into double figures which livens things up in between the smaller fish. a few decent bass showing most days too and they soon get the skipper reaching for the net. Many of our trips have seen small tope showing too, these vary from just born to 7-10lbs on our general trips and have been quite numerous at times. Also a bit of a pain for biting through hook links! Our offshore trips are the best bet for the bigger fish and I still have a few spaces on these including this week
One or two rays are still showing along with a few dogfish and whiting here and there. Other species will turn up too.
I only have a few spaces left on tope trips this year including some this week on Wednesday (6th) and Thursday (7th). If you are interested then please get in touch on 07956411528
Keep an eye out for other spaces or boat availability at essexseafishing.co.uk or find us on facebook
My next spaces offshore are for tope. These are for experienced anglers only and I don’t offer hire rods for this fishing. I only have a few suitable tides left for tope fishing this year offshore trips will mainly concentrate on bass after that. Spaces as follows
06/07/22-2 spaces @ £100pp
07/07/22-1 spaces @ £100pp
08/07/22--7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
15/07/22-general trip 5 spaces @ £60pp
16/07/22-general trip 2 spaces @ £60pp
18/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
19/07/22-4 spaces @ £100pp
20/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
22/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
25/07/22 (Monday)- 4 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request please call 07956411528 for more information -
07/2022
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
Jul 2022 by Scott Belbin
There have been some great bass coming out lately. These bristling bars of silver are always popular to catch and sort after for the table too. Although some of the best sport we have with these will be on our offshore trips they are great fun to catch any time. Some fresh rag worm is a great help on our general trips and will pick up other species too like those hard fighting smooth-hounds.
Honey Gage has a knack of finding the big fish and there seems to be no exception when it comes to bass. Honey has caught the biggest so far this season with a lovely chunky bar of silver. Although big bass can turn up at any time, they often show up on our tope trips at this time of year. They seem to be a more popular for of by-catch than dogfish for some reason? I only have a few spaces left on tope trips this year including some this week on Wednesday (6th) and Thursday (7th). If you are interested then please get in touch on 07956411528
Keep an eye out for other spaces or boat availability at essexseafishing.co.uk or find us on facebook
