Latest Fishing Reports: Silver Spray II
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02/2019
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Feb 2019 by Sam Cumming
Although it’s usually our quietest period of the year we still manage a few trips out in late January/ early February. The offshore banks are starting to hot up with plenty of spur dogs, nothing monstrous yet, fish up to about 20lb so far, but I’m sure we will get a few bigger ones on the neap tides in March. We have also had a very good start to the year with rays of all different varieties, always welcome to get a good bend in the rod. As February pushes on we will mostly see blonde rays and a few undulates until the water warms up. We have snuck in our first wreck trip early this year and were rewarded with some fat spring Pollack up to 13lb. As seems to be quite common at this time of year we had a nice visit from a large pod of dolphins half way through the day which really is an amazing sight. The video of this encounter is on our Facebook page. Over the next month we will be mostly wreck fishing with a few days on the banks for spurs here and there.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray II -
01/2019
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Jan 2019 by Sam Cumming
First report of 2019 and I’m pleased to say we have already carved out a dozen trips since Christmas. Fishing has been steady with the highlight being some really cracking whiting coming aboard, some fish well over the 4lb mark. As the weather improved after the festive period we managed to double our catch of cod for the winter that brings us up to 2. Although we haven’t had the best winter cod season, like most boats in our patch of water, we have seen some cracking Pollock, usually taking the top hook of a whiting rig. Ben Cannings was happily surprised one such day when he managed a 18lb 8oz Pollock on just size 3 hooks, by far our biggest ever inshore Pollock. Further off on the banks we have had the first of the spur dogs mixed in with some good sized bull huss. We got a shock on New Years Eve when fishing 10 miles out we managed to hook a shark of some description on the spur dog gear, a first for that time of year. Having buoyed the anchor off we chased it around for 15 minutes but the 100lb trace could only hold out for so long and eventually the fish won the battle. In the coming weeks we shall be looking for our first days out on the wrecks for the Pollock and more spur dogs and blonde rays on the banks. We still have space on our 3 and 4 Day trips to Alderney Guernsey and Cherbourg next year from July onwards, only a couple spaces left in June.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray II -
12/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Dec 2018 by Sam Cumming
This month’s report isn’t quite as exciting as last month I’m Afraid. As you can imagine we have only been to sea a handful of times because of all the storms lately. In November we made the journey down the Northney Marina for the 2 day Northney cod comp. We forgot to invite the cod however so fishing was mostly congers whiting and a few rays. Big thanks to Bex and Ian of Kelley’s Hero Charters and Zac and Glen Cairns from Valkyrie Charters for organising and most importantly providing the bacon rolls. We will be back down there next year to have another go on 14th and 15th November. Elsewhere the best fishing has been for the bass. When conditions allow we have had seen plenty of hard fighting fish on light tackle including Craig Newman’s first ever bass of 10lb 4oz, that’s going to be hard to beat. Ian Memish caught our biggest bass of the year so far (still a few days left to beat it) after a solid 10 minute fight the fish hit the deck unharmed with the hook lightly in the top lip. After a quick photo it was back in the landing net to oxygenate the fish and watch it swim off for another day. Definitely our best catch and release of the year, the fish would have weighed around 14lb if we had taken the time to put it on the scaes. In the bay the fishing is good with some nice whiting, rays and of course the ever abundant congers. The cod are thin on the ground as mentioned earlier but sometimes they come on late in December and continue on into February especially further west off Poole. A massive thank you to everyone who fished with us on Silver Spray Charters in 2018, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and tight lines for 2019.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray Charters -
11/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Nov 2018 by Sam Cumming
Although the weather has limited the amount of trips we have done over the last month we have managed a good variety when given the opportunity. All the excitement from last month’s shark trips encouraged us to have another go which proved very fruitful. Tony Lees boated is first porbeagle shark weighing around 200lb, the fish fought for an hour and a half and as usual was returned unharmed to terrorize the bream for another day. We figured we had had our luck for the day until 1415 when we started to catch a few small mackerel on feathers by the surface. Within five minutes of putting one of these tiny things on for bait we had our second run. After getting all our other gear out of the water it became clear just what we had hooked into as an enormous thresher jumped clean out of the water 100m behind the boat. After a couple more jumps, one of which we caught on camera and you can see on our Facebook page, and 3 more hours we managed to get the boat alongside the fish as it swam along at 6 knots and touch the trace to confirm the catch. It’s tough to estimate the size of a creature like that as it’s the biggest thing I have ever seen on rod and line by a long way. The anglers and I all agreed it must have been between 500 and 600lb. What a monster. Also on our last shark trip Karston Murray landed not one but two Atlantic bonito at the same time on feathers whilst fishing for bait. A first for us on Silver Spray. Elsewhere the bream fishing on the offshore wrecks seems to be getting better and better with just a short session over slack producing a good 50+ fish to 4lb. Inshore the winter fishing has begun with the first cod and whiting hitting the deck along with some early season spurdogs as well. Although the weather hasn’t been great for them we have managed a couple of goes for the squid with some success as well. Over the next couple of weeks we shall just be inshore focusing on the cod and also some drifting for bass.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray Charters -
09/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Sep 2018 by Sam Cumming
We have just got back from our last Alderney trip of the year, crossing into Poole harbour safely just a few hours before storm Ali batters the south coast. Strong south westerly winds kept us in sheltered waters to the north of the island for 3 days. The main target species was couch’s sea bream which every angler on the boat managed catch, Jed leaving his until the last minute just as we hauled the anchor up to come home. A surprise catch came in the form of our first and second ever trigger fish landed around the Channel Islands. Andy Armitage’s fish weighed 4lb and was quickly released as it looked to be a female in season. Fishing at anchor mid channel has also been fruitful with plenty of black bream tope and congers on the wrecks. We are seeing an abundance of porbeagle sharks just like last year, although they are proving tough to hook on the correct tackle usually favouring hooks meant for bream. In Poole bay plaice fishing has been brilliant of late with fish averaging around the 2lb mark and all the way up to 4lb. I’ve noticed it has been worth sitting it out as they can sometimes be a bit picky about when they come on the feed, sometimes changing from one day to the next. Elsewhere at anchor the ray fishing has been good also with good numbers of small eyed and undulates about. We are even seeing turbot and brill at anchor regularly which is never a bad thing. It’s well worth bringing frozen mackerel from now on as the they are becoming unreliable to find for bait. We have spaces in the first week of October to target porbeagle sharks as we are going 5 days on the trot in an effort to keep track of them. Call on 07787 375386 to get booked up.
Silver Spray II -
07/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Jul 2018 by Sam Cumming
What a difference it makes having a summer for a change? Flat calm mornings and just a slight sea breeze in the afternoon have been the conditions of recent weeks and it has led to no cancelled trips at all. Its amazing how much wildlife you see with a sustained period of good weather like this, thresher sharks jumping out of the water, pods of dolphins showing off their best tricks and sunfish splashing around on the surface to name but a few. With the smaller tides we have mostly been fishing long distance from Poole either wreck fishing or multi day trips. Notable fish include Barry Gollop’s 19lb 4oz Pollock which took a mackerel flapper at anchor, the biggest I’ve seen since 2012. We managed 3 John dory’s in a week with the biggest going to Steve Lysaght at 5lb 8oz, interestingly enough the first one we caught and Steve’s fish were 76 miles apart in total, quite some distance covered. Skipper Sam managed to break our own coalfish record for the second time this year fishing on a 100 gram slow jigging rod for Pollock. The fish weighed in at 16lb and gave an epic scrap on the lighter tackle. Closer to home the inshore fishing has been brilliant with plenty of mackerel around for fresh bait. The quality of the tope fishing has been outstanding with fishing averaging about 20lb and up to 45lb. We have some big fish days coming up next week if anyone is interested in getting stuck in. On the bigger tides of this last weekend we had some fun on the bass, although disappointed not to be able to keep a couple for the table we managed plenty of good fish for the sport of it, Kevin Griffiths equalled his PB with a nice 8lb 8oz fish. Using circle and weedless hooks we minimised damage to the fish to zero with all fish swimming off strongly for another year. Looking forward to the plaice fishing picking up next month and some more sessions on the tope, it won’t be long before we are also targeting the porbeagle sharks which are showing in abundance in other parts of the country.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray Charters -
05/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
May 2018 by Sam Cumming
I hope everyone is making the most of all this decent weather we have been getting lately, after a winter as hard as that it’s like living in the tropics at the moment. Bream fishing has continued as it started off in last month’s report. We are finding good numbers, several days managing over 100 fish. Although the size hasn’t quite been as good as the last few years I’m sure the bigger ones will arrive shortly, on light spinning gear they are all good fun to catch regardless. With increased demand on inshore trips we have only done a few trips out into the channel on the wrecks, still a bit on the quiet side but now producing more cod than Pollock so it’s heading in the right direction. We managed our first trip over to Alderney of the season but unfortunately it was the week before bank holiday and the weather was testing at best. Well done and many thanks to the guys who came with us and managed a safe and fun trip in far from perfect conditions. Fishing on the banks was good with brill and turbot both in good numbers and plenty of bait to be had on the feathers. One of the highlights of the month has been some quality plaice fishing which we have fitted in on our bream days. Fish up to 4lb have been hitting the net which is always welcome. Hoping for more good weather over the coming months as our offshore stuff picks up more. Thanks to everyone for fishing with us on Silver Spray and out of Poole over the last month.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray II -
04/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Apr 2018 by Sam Cumming
I hope everyone is enjoying the hot weather over the last week r so, long may it continue. Spring/ summer fishing is properly underway now. Inshore we have had the first black bream of the year, more should arrive on the next spring the first weekend in May and then some bigger ones shortly after. On the drift we are getting some cracking early season plaice as they start to feed after they have finished spawning. Tim Davies has the biggest so far at a whopping 4lb 8oz. Turbot and brill have mostly been on the small side so far but Phil Folkes did manage our first double of the year at 11lb just to prove the bigger ones are down there. Out on the wrecks the big Pollock are still plentiful although we shall shortly stop winding the lures and start bouncing to target the summer cod. In the last week we have seen 3 decent sized john dorys which is always a welcome bonus. You don’t always see 3 in one year let alone 3 so close together. The biggest went to Russ Orchard at 5lb 9oz. Evening trips start at the beginning of May to target the bream and plaice.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray II
-
03/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Mar 2018 by Sam Cumming
With all the wind, rain and snow we have been having over the last month this is going to be a brief report. We have managed 4 days afloat since mid February, thankfully the quality of the fishing has more than made up for the lack of opportunities to get out there. We have focused our efforts on the wrecks mid channel and that has paid off with good numbers and some quality fish making appearances. Biggest so far is around the 15lb mark with average sat at about 8lb, a key ingredient for success seems to be a very long trace sometimes as much as 15 feet. We managed to beat one of our longest standing boat records in early March as Pete Knight battled a 9lb 8oz coalfish to the surface. The record has been at 6lb ever since Silver Spray 1's first trip to Alderney in 2006. Elsewhere we did have a couple of hours on the spurs whilst doing some filleting one day and they are still on the grounds in abundance with a few blonde rays thrown in for good measure. Over the next month we shall see the arrival of the flatfish on the banks and the bream on the reef grounds.
Sam Cumming
Silver Spray II -
02/2018
Fishing Report by Sam Cumming
Feb 2018 by Sam Cumming
Highlight of the month so far has been the arrival of the spur dogs in good numbers. Even on the bigger tides when we can only head offshore to target them a couple of hours either side of slack water the fishing has been full on. The best rig to use is a simple 5 foot flowing trace made of about 80lb mono and a 4/0 circle hook baited with mackerel, sandeel and/or squid. Biggest so far has gone 22lb 8oz but I'm hoping there will be bigger to come in March. Inshore things are quietening down a touch with plenty of whiting left but mostly small fish and some rays dotted around on certain marks. Over the next week, weather permitting, we shall do our first wreck trips out in the Channel to target the big spring pollock. Alderney and Cherbourg trips are filling up fast so drop me an email at info@silverspraycharters.com if you would like a list of remaining dates.
