Latest Fishing Reports: Galloper

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  • 06/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    Jun 2022 by Scott Belbin

    We have seen a fair variety of weather on our trips from flat calm (occasionally) to squally showers. Thankfully it has been sunny and warm for the most part (as you may tell from the colour of my nose and my panda eyes). With various directions of wind we have been grateful that there are plenty of fish to be found in most places. Our general trips have been mostly targeting hounds and bass. Although plenty of other species have made up the numbers including thorn-backs, dogfish and even numbers of small tope. We have seen other species too including tub gurnard and a few silver eels. Tim and the boys had a great day the other week. Tim may have missed the sun but he and the boys had some great fun catching rays, dogfish, bass and some decent hounds. There was no shortage of energy and enthusiasm from the boys who did their best to keep me on my toes as usual. The biggest hounds went into double figures which put a smile on all of our faces.


    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.

    please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk for more information, availability and regular reports or call 07956411528

  • 05/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    May 2022 by Scott Belbin

    summer is now in full swing on our general trips. we have been seeing increasing size and numbers of Smooth-hounds and bass over the last few weeks. both will make up the staple of our summer trips. the thorn-back rays are still present and numerous in places too. the dogfish and whiting are still keeping us busy but our catches will also see some other species such as tope, eels, stingray and more mixed in over the next few weeks too.
    We have a few spaces this coming week due to drop outs, the weather looks promising and fishing is on form. The last few general trips have seen a nice mixture of smooth-hounds, bass and thorn-back rays as well as dogfish, whiting, dabs ect.
    Spaces
    Sunday (29/05 4 @ £60pp)
    Friday 10 spaces @ £60pp or full boat from £490
    Please call 07956411528
    Aboard the Galloper from West Mersea, Essex

  • 09/05/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    9 May 2022 by Scott Belbin

    Our general trips are keeping us busy at the moment. There is certainly plenty of action out there at the moment with bites one after the other. dogfish are in plague proportions still and there are still unseasonable amounts of whiting and even pouting showing too in places. These keep the rods going in between the other species like thorn-backs and hounds. It makes for some impressive numbers on some groups matches. The Suffolk lads had a busy trip the other day with Andy having the winning catch once again. I cant tell you how many points he scored but I know he was on 99 fish after around 7 hours of fishing. Adam wasn’t far behind him either with another impressive score. Clive had two of the biggest fish with a decent ray around double figures and a hound of over 11lbs too.
    The summer species are really moving in now. We have seen a marked increase in numbers of smooth-hounds on our trips. There are lots of small hounds around and they are pretty widespread too. We have also seen some bigger fish in places too. The other day Started off well for Stephen Clarke with a couple of nice double figure hounds in quick succession. We had steady fishing throughout the day on hounds of all sizes, lots of dogfish, whiting and bass too. The biggest hound fell to young Grayson who was out giving his grandad John a much needed fishing lesson. Grayson played the big female hound to the boat like a professional and was a natural at holding them too. I took some pictures and headed off for the weigh sling and scales as Grayson promptly released the fish! we have no accurate weight but she was definitely over 15lbs. Grayson was very happy with his first ever hound although I did remind him that one or two of the other lads on the trip had fished for many years and never had one that big! I have a few spaces on some smooth-hound trips coming up. Including this Saturday 14/05 and an evening trip on 28/05. I can also offer spaces and boat bookings for smooth-hounds throughout the summer if you fancy catching these hard fighting fish.

    Please take note, I have listed below my current individual availability until the end of June. As you can see weekend Dates are limited.
    I do have availability mid-week for individuals and groups if you fancy a trip out.
    Not all dates are advertised, please contact me on 07956411528 to discuss midweek dates.





    14/05/22-2 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers

    21/05/22-1 space @ £100pp offshore trip max 7 anglers

    28/05/22- evening trip (16.30-midnight) 4 spaces @ £70pp max 7 anglers

    18/06-22-2 spaces @ £100pp offshore trip max 7 anglers

    19/06/22-4 spaces @ £100pp offshore trip max 6 anglers

    26/06/22-1 space @ £70pp max 7 anglers

    Please call me for more information on 07956411528
    Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077


  • 05/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    May 2022 by Scott Belbin

    A quick update on our offshore trips so far this year aboard the Galloper. We have been lucky enough to get lots of trips offshore so far this year. Unfortunately many were cancelled or changed to inshore trips due to weather but that is the nature of this kind of trip. We started off well with numbers of spurs and hounds from our very first trips. Although most of the hounds were small to start with they make a welcome change from the whiting and dogfish that eagerly robbed our baits throughout each trip. We had spurs on all but two trips and they varied in size and numbers from trip to trip. I often say that I am relieved when the first spur comes aboard the boat each trip as I know many other local boats don’t catch them at all or have just happened upon one or two here and there. So once the first one is aboard I can breath a sigh of relief. With consistent numbers showing early in the season and seeming to built it was a good reminder not to take them for granted when we had a couple of blanks on them. This is why I call them offshore trips rather than specifically spur trips. thankfully there were smooth-hounds, bass and thorn-back rays off there too to keep us busy. There were several ‘Spurgins’ who joined us this year and broke their ‘spurginity’ aboard the Galloper. Their new personnel bests are something to try and beat next year now. As ever there were lots of big pregnant female spurs showing. The biggest of which fell to Wayne Bennet at 18.8lbs and was one of 30 spurs we had that day. we were kept busy in between with lots of dogfish and whiting as well as a few thorn-back rays and smooth-hounds too.
    As I mentioned earlier although it’s great to catch them, its not just about the spur dogs. These trips can produce all sorts of surprises and that’s what keeps it interesting. One set of tides they were off the feed so we had a look around to see what else was about. We tried one of our offshore bass marks and could see loads of fish showing on the fish finder. We only hoped they were feeding. We sent down an array of lures although feathers seemed to be the most productive as it turned out most of the marks were herring. We had several long drifts here and filled two buckets with them. We didn’t just catch herring though as several bass did show as well as some launce, whiting and pouting and least expected were the 15 or so mackerel that were either very early for this year or late for last year! We did manage to get some fish at anchor too towards the end of the day. Dave had a nice sizable bass, a few small smooth-hounds and a roker showed too. Wayne also pulled a spur out on the last cast too. Happily the next time we got off there the spurs were playing ball again. Stephen Clarke started us off nicely with one of 17.8lbs. several more spurs came out as the day went on. Barry Wood stole the lime light that trip though with a lovely blonde ray of 14.8lbs. these are pretty rare off of the Essex coast so it was notable that this was the second blonde Barry has caught aboard the ‘Galloper’ in the last two years. he must be doing something right! This set of tides also produced some more nice bass too. These are always a welcome sight and hopefully a sign of things to come. I am currently arranging and offshore bass trip for this week (06/05) if you fancy joining us please get in touch.
    That’s about it for the spur dog trips this year. We will have to look forwards to next years trips. If you fancy joining us then please get in touch and I will put you on the list for next years trips.
    As I mentioned I am running an offshore bass trip this week but after that we are looking forwards to the tope fishing for our next run of offshore trips. 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. Spaces as follows
    21/05/22-2 spaces @ £100pp
    23/05/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    25/05/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    18/06/22 2 spaces @ £100pp
    19/06/22-4 spaces @ £100pp
    22/06/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    05/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    06/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    07/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    18/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    19/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    20/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    22/07/22-7 spaces @ £100pp or full boat hire from £700
    23/07/22-4 spaces @ £100pp
    Please call Scott on 07956411528 if you fancy an offshore or a general trip
    Follow us on facebook or visit our website for availability, prices and regular reports

  • 08/04/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    8 Apr 2022 by Scott Belbin

    It looks as though the weather will improve for sunny Essex over the next few days. Fishing has been great of late with the spring run of rays well under way. There have been some big females showing regularly as well as plenty of scrappy males to keep us busy. Chris Bull has caught the biggest so far this season at over 16lbs. The dogfish and whiting have been in biblical proportions with some unseasonably large whiting mixed in. there have been several around 40cm long and the biggest at 43cm (17inches) long. As If large whiting aren’t exciting enough on their own we have still been seeing the odd baby codling too.
    Prior to this cold snap things were warming up nicely so we were catching increasing numbers of smooth-hounds and bass on our trips. Worm certainly seemed to help attract the bass and there have been some decent fish coming out already so hopefully this bodes well for the coming weeks and months. Barry Wood had the largest of several bass the other day with a fish of 4.12lbs that made his day.
    Over the coming weeks I expect to see plenty of rays on our general trips. Hopefully the short blip in the weather wont affect the Bass and hounds too much. We will see plenty more mixed in on our general trips until all of a sudden they will be here in force marking the start of our summer fishing.
    If you fancy getting out aboard the Galloper then please keep your eyes open for spaces that come up. I have a few individual spaces as well as availability for full boat bookings (mainly mid-week) as well as the occasional evening.
    For regular updates, reports and availability please visit www.essexseafishing.uk
    Find us on facebook or call 07956411528

  • 03/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    Mar 2022 by Scott Belbin

    There have been steady numbers of roker coming in over the last few weeks. There are still plenty of fighting fit spring males there and a few big girls mixed in too.
    With plenty of fish around we don’t have to worry about loosing many days to weather for a while. We have seen some busy fishing at times and as ever the occasional surprise aboard the Galloper.
    The other Day Andy was playing a decent female ray to the boat and as she surfaced we could see why she was fighting so hard. She wasn’t alone and in fact had a male ‘attached’ to her. I have seen this several times before over the years and normally as they hit the surface the male lets go and swims off leaving her to face the music. However this time they surfaced right next to the boat and I was able to net both fish at once. I have had double shots of roker before and even a treble shot (after a few attempts) after being challenged to do so by fellow skipper John Rawle to do so. This however is the most roker I have seen boated on a single hook rig!
    Another nice surprise this week was when Kev caught the first inshore hound of the year. We have had quite a few offshore where they can be caught all year round but this was the first one inshore and quite close to home too. She was a nice fish of around 7-8lbs which explained the lively scrap she put up on the way in.
    The weather looks good for the week ahead and I have spaces Friday (18th) and Saturday (19th) @ £60pp if you are interested then please get in touch.


    Please call me for more information on 07956411528
    Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077

  • 03/2022 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    Mar 2022 by Scott Belbin

    The last couple of months have been hard work at times inshore. A large influx of sprats moved in around mid-January and along with unsettled temperatures this stopped a lot of the fish feeding. However, we have plucked away and found a few thorn-back rays, whiting, dogfish and flatties to keep us occupied. We had a nice surprise the other week when Barry snuck out a coalfish in under 10ft of water. This certainly wasn’t what we expected and livened up the day for us. I hate the thought of missing out on good fishing so I like to get out once or twice a week to see how the fishing is doing. unfortunately we lost the best part of two weeks to the series of storms that ran through causing havoc. Thankfully by the time the weather had broken we got back afloat to find the fish to be feeding again. The last few trips have been producing good numbers of rays, dogfish and whiting for us. there are plenty of males ideal for the pot and some cracking big females ready to lay their eggs (obviously returned).
    Pictured are Billy-Roy and his Dad Carl who found plenty of rays feeding the other day, as ever Billy-Roy had the most fish with several double shots of whiting and some dogfish too.
    At this time of year as the sun get higher in the sky and temperatures rise, the fish are feeding and us skippers have most of our job done for us. I would expect thorn-back rays to be our main target inshore for the next few weeks or more. We have already seen a few hounds showing in places so it will only be a matter of time before these, along with the bass move in too. I have a few spaces this weekend and later in the month so get in touch if you fancy a trip out aboard the Galloper.
    My next spaces are
    05/03/22-3 spaces @ £60pp
    18/03/22-2 spaces @ £60pp
    19/03/22-4 spaces @ £60pp
    For more information, regular reports and availability please visit
    www.essexseafishing.co.uk
    or follow us on facebook
    or call Scott 07956411528

  • 12/2021 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

    Dec 2021 by Scott Belbin

    The last couple of trips have produced lots of whiting, Dabs, thornback rays and dogfish. the mild weather is helping keep the fish active and making for some enjoyable days afloat. I still have spaces this week if you wish to get out. If not there’s plenty of space as we head into the new year.
    I will be arranging one or two trips for flounders in the new year. Last time we had a play for them we had flounders, dabs, whiting, the odd rockling and even a sand goby so if you want the catch something different then get in touch and we will sort something out for the new year.
    I do have availability mid-week if you fancy a trip out. Please contact me on 07956411528 to discuss availability.
    NEXT SPACES
    Not all dates are advertised, I have some midweek availability please contact me to discuss midweek dates.

    30/12/21-spaces
    31/12/21-spaces
    01/01/22- boat from £420 less than 6 people larger groups welcome max 10 anglers
    02/01/22-boat from £420 less than 6 people larger groups welcome max 10 anglers
    03/01/22-boat from £420 less than 6 people larger groups welcome max 10 anglers
    09/01/22-boat available

    Please call me for more information on 07956411528
    Dad (Stuart) has availability on the ‘Razorbill 3’ please call him on 07850234077

  • 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

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