The eel deal
Reader Wayne Phillips sings the praises of the Ogmore Deeps
AUTUMN and winter fishing in South Wales usually involves catching loads of whiting and dogfish, accompanied by predatory conger eels, cod, rays and bass, while there are plenty of plump flounders in the river estuaries.
At this time of year, one of my favoured marks is the Ogmore Deeps, near Portcawl, especially when seeking conger eels.
Getting prepared for conger fishing is fairly simple. You need some heavy end tackle, such as 100lb rig bodies and 50lb snoods, with some coated wire at the end for extra assurance that their teeth won’t bite off the trace. Hooks should range between size 4/0 and 8/0, and I like the Sakuma Manta Extra pattern.
Best baits for congers are usually mackerel, squid or crabs. Don’t ignore using a livebait rig because anglers often get hooked whiting bitten in half or chewed by eels.
CONGER SESSION
One of our trips with my two fishing buddies, Andy Bunston and Scott Davies, was on a crisp and clear night, which prompted high expectations for some good fishing.
If the congers were not feeding, there would be plenty of greedy dogfish and whiting to keep us busy. The rods and rigs were set up and cast out, one with the livebait rig and a small bit of lugworm under my size 5/0 hook to tempt a small ‘prey’ fish, and the other with fixed paternoster or dropper rigs.
It wasn’t long before the livebait rod was twitching and the trap was set. I watched for 30 minutes in anticipation of a conger or ray grabbing hold of the hooked whiting, but it never did. I retrieved the rig to find a small whiting had taken my worm. I unhooked it and baited the hook again, in hope that another one would take it. Soon the rod was twitching before it sprung back suddenly.
I picked up the rod and wound in the slack line before leaning back into a fish. I knew immediately it was decent fish because it pulled back and made off in the tide. Andy came over with the net and soon the fish came to the surface not far from the edge. Andy climbed down the ledge to net it. Unluckily for me, the top hook got tangled in the net and the fish spat out the hook.
The next couple of casts produced dogfish and whiting until about three hours before high tide when Andy hooked something better. After playing the fish for a couple of minutes, it came to the surface and was our target species, a conger, but only a small one of a 5lb.
Next, my rod with the live whiting showed a bite and a fish began taking line further out to sea. This time it was a bigger eel of 12lb 12oz.
That was the last of the congers, but we continued to catch a steady stream of dogfish and whiting throughout the night .
Ogmore Deeps is a fantastic mark and has the potential for some very good specimen fish. Always be careful when visiting here, especially if there is a wind blowing because swells are known to wash over the top ledge and could sweep you out to sea.
I can’t wait until my next visit to this magical place.