BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS
HOSE who believe the seas around the British Isles can’t match up to other, more exotic angling locations are so very wrong.
In fact, if you’re up for an adventure, the opportunity is just waiting to be enjoyed close to home.
Hundreds of charter skippers, from the north of Scotland right down to Cornwall, are ready and waiting to help you catch a new species or learn a different fishing technique. Sea angling offers fresh air and quite literally new horizons. So gather a group of mates together and you’ll all have a day to remember for a relatively small outlay.
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One or more annual charter trips are always pencilled into my angling calendar, the target fish being anything from cod to sharks. I look forward to them all, so to give you further incentive to set sail and have fun I’ll recount my most recent adventure on the high seas.
The New Forest and its dense canopy gave way to a big sky and the seaside town of Lymington. Here, on the town quay, I met up with friends Wayne Little and Viv Shears. Viv is best known for the fish farming business VS Fisheries, which he runs with Simon Scott. Stunning coarse fish bred on site make many anglers’ dreams come true, but today carp were way off our agenda!
Viv has two jobs, the other being that of charter skipper and joint owner with Rob Thompson of South X Southwest Sportfishing.
This 23ft sports boat would be carrying us through the Solent and into the English Channel in search of bass and wrasse. There was no need to catch mackerel for bait because today lure fishing over the many reefs, rocks and sand bars was the name of the game. All I needed to bring aboard was my camera,
so with minimum fuss or effort we began the short journey to the rich fishing grounds.
As we motored out Viv explained how we’d be fishing. The rods were rated at 15g-42g and teamed up with 26lb J Braid. Leaders of 20lb fluorocarbon would allow our lures to behave naturally in the water. As part of the package we were supplied with lures – Black Minnows and Nitro Shads – along with rods and reels. With ‘all-in’ deals such as this the standard of the equipment can sometimes be suspect, but we had no such concerns. Nor did we have to waste time making our way to a distant mark, because we’d hardly had time to talk tackle before the engine was cut.
The sounder indicated a steep drop-off, and hopefully a home for bass.
The famous Needles and its lighthouse were just behind us, jutting out from the Isle of Wight in a classic scene instantly recognisable to all lovers of the British coast.
The wind dropped and the sky was like a huge china blue canvas merging into the grey sea around us. What could possibly go wrong?
We dropped our lures over the side and the first drift had begun. Viv told us how important it was to stay in contact at all times and never let too much braid out. If a bow formed in the line the lure wouldn’t work properly
– the paddle tail needed to be waggling frantically to get a strike, and a tight line was essential if we were to feel it and react.
All went well until what breeze and swell there was worked in unison with a running tide to push us along too fast. That meant we needed to pay off more braid, and inevitably I missed my first bite! Well, that’s what I told the lads, but they preferred their own version, which was that I was useless!
The storm of the previous days had added another problem – poor clarity due to a lot of
“Book a charter boat and benefit from the skipper’s experience”
sediment in the water. Lures really need to be seen by the fish to work properly, so this hindered our efforts.
Wayne did snare one bass, but I could tell Viv was hoping for so much more. The fortunate thing about a situation such as this is that when you book a charter boat you don’t only get the vessel for the day, you benefit from the skipper’s experience too. Viv had seen enough and declared it was time to move on.
Moving inshore, the water became clearer by the minute and by the time we reached another reef the smile was back on the skipper’s face as he declared: “We’ll catch here.” I never doubted it, and within a minute of the first drift beginning a wonderfully mottled wrasse snatched my tabby-coloured lure. I love these fish, which can change colour as readily as a chameleon.
The big brute Viv pulled up shortly after that was stunning, and to be honest I’d have been happy catching wrasse all day. But an agitated flock of gulls gave Viv the heads-up to reposition the boat, and the bass started peppering our lures faster than a pinball machine on overdrive – it was crazy. These weren’t big fish but the action came thick and fast – what more could you ask for?
All were treated with respect and returned, apart from two destined for my plate – the bounty from a fun day afloat.
I have a feeling that Viv’s skippering skills will soon be in as much demand as his carp, so don’t delay booking your own adventure with him in 2021. Like all the other charter skippers he’ll show you that there’s plenty to enjoy while riding the waves!
To fish onboard South X Southwest call Viv on 07843 306661 or Rob on 07725 563562, Instagram SXSW_SEA or Facebook South X Southwest Sportfishing.
lNGLING Times is celebrating the life of our greatest-ever angler with a special, limited edition John Wilson book.
Created with the blessing of John’s family, the 132-page book is packed with classic stories from Wilson’s lifetime in fishing, plus on-the-bank features, tips, his favourite venues, and interviews.
In his own words he explains how he started in the sport and recounts stories behind his Go Fishing years and his move to Thailand.
It also features some of his most popular magazine articles, amazing catches, and behind-the-scenes stories from his incredible career both in front of and behind the lens.
Angling Times Editor-in-Chief, Steve Fitzpatrick, has helped put the new book together. He says: “This is a true celebration of the life of John who many people, myself included, believe to be our greatest-ever angler. He inspired me to pick up a rod, and this book goes a small way to thank him for all those incredible journeys he
Aset us on and the memories we created along the way.”
The book will also help readers improve their own fishing, with a chapter containing some of John’s best tips from nearly 70 years on the bank. In a huge Where to Fish section readers can follow in John’s footsteps with guides to his favourite venues.
Proceeds from the book will help to create a memorial to John at his favourite River Wensum.