Fishing - more than mackerel

[lakelandterrier]

Whiling away these long lock-down evenings I thought I'd like to learn a bit more about more about fishing from the boat. With traces / feathers all I ever catch is mackerel - and the occasional Gurnard (no disrespect to Donny) which is very tasty. I do enjoy mackerel, but it would nice to find and land some other species too - I've never caught a bass for example. I have caught pouting....defo not worth it!

Are there any decent websites / books around where I find some simple quality info? I don't want to turn the boat into a mass of rods & reels, but what works - 1 rod, 1 reel, what sort of lure / bait / depth / weight, seabed conditions / areas, techniques to get different fish.

I'm not intending to wrestle large congers into to the boat but being able to d spend an hour so hunting a different supper from mackerel would be nice.

Anything I've found so far seems to be about beachcasting or fishing of a pier.

[spartacus]

In terms of sites, World Sea Fishing is probably the best. There's a boat section on there too. Now be warned, it's pretty hard core. These folk love their fishing, so couple of unwritten rules.

1/ Don't ask for the locations of the best fishing marks
2/ Don't ask where to dig for bait

Its not about kit, that's for sure. Bait is half the battle, so if you thought it was expensive running a boat, just wait until you partner finds king rag, peeler crab and bluey in the fridge!

Most folk that fish are only too happy to talk about fishing, so strike up a conversation and see what's local to you.

[Oldman2]

I do enjoy my sea fishing and find this guy is really interesting and skilled, just watching his exploits will show you a fair amount of new ways to fish.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnf...-BG6-vzoLU1fSw


This guy has a very low down basics approach to showing you how to fish and worth watching too.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TAFishing

[paddlers]

A running trace with an eel lure or mackerel strip can be successful . Anchoring with bait on the seabed can bring multiple species if you can avoid the crabs.

[jeffstevens763@g]

I'm not an expert but you need to find out about the area you fish everywhere fishes differently IME i use to fish Whitby quite a lot we found fishing was really good on the flood tide and just stopped on the ebb that was fishing on the 20m contour 1/2 mile out with a myriad of lures. fishing wrecks with jigs seems to produce good results and big fish.
we did have some success with chum bags too but its dirty

[paintman]

The two links in Oldman2's post above are excellent & the Fish Locker is just round the corner from where I've been going for years. You'll get pretty much all you need to know from them.

I would say over the last 20 years I've gone from cut bait (mackerel strip), frozen sandeels & worms to plastics.
Mainly shads & eels.
Redgill evolutions are excellent, they're weighted & very good for cast & retrieve on their own as well as jigging in the 115mm & 178mm sizes.
I do get the odd mackerel on them - usually bigger ones - but mainly bass, pollack & cod.

Generally drifting - where some local knowledge & a fishfinder/chartplotter pay dividends - or casting & retrieving, the latter is good for bass & for that I'm usually within long cast of the shore line (rocky as it's Cornwall).
If the locals aren't forthcoming then watch where they go - a pair of binoculars can be very handy

I've also moved to lighter rods.
6' boat rod with mutiplier to handle drop-to-bottom-retrieve 10 to 20 turns-repeat bottom fishing with heavier leads. Find the multipliers better for that.
For cast & retrieve I used to use one of my 12' carp rods but now use a jigging rod which I bought for Rutland. Around 6' & a casting weight of up to 70g used with a fixed spool. Fixed spool doesn't risk the bird's nests you can get with multipliers.
No reason why in shallow water I couldn't use that the same way as the boat rod.
The carp rod is 2.75 lbs test curve & makes a very good light beachcaster.

Both used with braid (PowerPro green) in the 60lb+ sizes. More chance of getting gear back if you get caught up. Thinner than 15lb mono & you need less lead to get down.
If you use braid & get caught up DON'T use your hands to pull for a break. Take several turns round a piece of wood so it forms a 'T' & pull that. I carry an old hammer handle for use as a priest & that does both jobs.

If you're after flatfish & are over sand use worm or thin mackerel strip hard on the bottom. Slow drifting dragging across the bottom with a plaice rig can be deadly

[Oldman2]

Excellent advice and write up Paintman, you almost had me getting my gear out, nothing better than a wrasse or pollock on a light spinning rod. I also use a light carp rod with 5LB test to fish with sabiki's for mackerel from harbour walls.

[Pikey Dave]

We mainly catch mackerel, fortunately it’s our favourite fish, we prefer it to bass. I’ve had good success using Black Minnow lures for Bass. The thing is, mackerel tend to be ubiquitous, whereas Bass are very particular where they hang out, and that’s the secret; knowing where they are. I’ve had many codling off the bottom at Whitby, but I find they’re more faff than I can be bothered with, so it seems a shame to take them.
To give a bit of variety with mackerel, try smoking them in one of these. About £40 online.

[paintman]

Forgot to mention.
I do occasionally take friends out who find the drop & retrieve a bit too much like hard work Don't catch well if not worked.
For them I use a 4 hook silvers or feathers trace with the lead at the bottom end & mackerel strip on each hook.
It can sometimes be a problem getting it down past mackerel but it can just bump the bottom by lifting & lowering the rod & can be very effective.
We've had cod, pollack, pouting (bigger ones), whiting, gurnard & the odd small ling. One had a 15lb ling which fought like a good 'un & when I lifted it into the boat he went as far away as he could get from it
I do find that I get a better stamp of fish with the plastics & drop & retrieve.

[ribber]

From the boat, drifting, cast and retrieve and keep repeating for Bass.
Or very slow troll with line out behind.
Best incoming tide, quite near to shore. Watch for seagulls feeding frenzy chasing the small fry with the mackerel in pursuit.

I use a telescopic rod, which when collapsed, fits in locker. 'Sidewinder' lures, light coloured sparkled ones that catch the sunlight a bit more than the darker ones, I find works for me.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Sidewinde...04XVQIUS&psc=1

[lakelandterrier]

Thanks for the advice chaps, I'll have a look at the links.
It's not something want to "heavily get into", but it's another way of enjoying some quiet time on the water, on a good day
My current kit / technique is a 6' boat road with multiplier and generally a 4-6 hook glittery plastic / rubber trace, an a 4-5oz weight and simply bump the bottom whilst drifting.
not sure I'll ever plan ahead enough to go bait digging....that's time I could be on the water!

[treerat]

I carry one of these in the console and have a lunch box full of lead weights, feathers, lures, spinners and plastic eels.

It really is good fun, especially with a decent size pollock on the end. Plenty of rough spots off the South coast to go play, I usually watch where the day boats are when out playing to know here to head when it's fishing time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fladen-12-4...=sports&sr=1-5

[diver 1]

I primarily use the rib for fishing trips, however by no means any good at it!

I few things I've found:
>Lighter longer rods seem to be better from a small boat. I'm favouring 12-20lb 7-8ft rods now rather than the 6ft 20-30lb class rods I started with
> Having those diagonal pattern kevlar imprgnated wear patches stuck on your tubes makes a convenient surface for gutting / unhooking spiky fish.
>A bilge well with a lid is a great place to keep squid / cuttlefish without making to much mess
>Drifting is usually easier than trying to fish from anchor unless only using 1/2 rods.

[jonp]

We fish and spear from our ribs targeting anything from mackerel up to tuna, marlin and sharks. We tend to use soft light rods with spin reels on all species big and small.

My biggest concern is using braid line (which is all we use) as this can easily cut into a tube if its allowed to pull hard against the tubes.

Unlike fishing in a boat with deep sides, in a rib you literally have nothing to lean against when battling fish, so keeping the floor clean of blood or anything slippy is important.