WHAT WILL YOU CATCH?
Sample the variety of fish on offer in the Bristol Channnel
Spring fishing in the Bristol Channel.
To some, the image of the Bristol Channel is nothing more than a troublesome length of fast-flowing mud, and in some areas they would be correct. Having spent the past 30 or more years chartering here,
I consider myself qualified to make an attempt to dispel this theory.
By carefully selecting your tides, target species and skippers, you could be pleasantly surprised by what the seasons have to offer.
I know it is still early in the year, and we should still be pulling out all the stops in an effort to bag that elusive 30lb cod before she disappears over the horizon for another season. Indeed, many of us are, but it will do no harm for us to take stock of what we have to look forward to in the Bristol Channel.
SERIOUS TARGET
It will soon be time for us to change tactics and target one or two of our spring visitors. As the days draw out and the weather hopefully begins to settle into a friendlier pattern, we will start to plan our assault on our first serious target – rays.
Our most common species of ray has to be the thornback, which is caught almost any time of year, although it’s in the spring that these fish are in their prime. Fish to the better part of 20lb are not uncommon, with bags of more than 50 fish reported each season.
Strangely, it’s in the dirty waters that this species seems to thrive best of all. The shallow, muddy grounds to the east of the Bristol Channel usually produce the best results, although thornbacks can turn up just about anywhere.
On the shallow patches, my favourite tactics invariably involve uptide casting. A rod with a casting rating in the region of 4-6oz and a suitable reel, either fixed spool or multiplier, is ideal. For terminal gear you won’t go far wrong with a simple running leger arrangement with a 3-4ft length of 50lb mono with a size 4/0 to 6/0 hook.
The species can be taken on a variety of baits, but the most consistent is a fillet of fresh mackerel, herring or Bluey. This can be tipped with a strip or even a head of fresh calamari. Bites may be slight, and though it pays to allow a little time, too much waiting will enable the fish to take the hook down deeply. The fish might also wrap the trace around its tail, making retrieving it very difficult, especially if there is a lot of tide running.
On landing your thornback, let the skipper do the unhooking because the fish will more than likely be armed with a fair selection of sharp thorns, which can inflict a nasty injury to the unsuspecting. If the thorns don’t get you, beware of those crustacean-crunching jaws
Next on the list of spring visitors, and one of my own personal favourites, has to be the smalleyed ray. It differs from its cousin the thornback in many ways, and should not be considered as just another skate.
The small-eyed prefers the cleaner, sandier areas where its favourite food, the sandeel, may be found. Of the many vast sandbanks littered across the whole of the Bristol Channel, there can’t be many which will not produce a small-eyed or two.
Again, uptiding tactics will do the trick, though the sandeel will always outperform any other bait choices. Small-eyeds to specimen weight are regularly taken by charter boat anglers on both sides of the Channel, so all you have to do is select your port and skipper.
Once your small-eyed is hooked, you may be forgiven for not recognising it as being a ray. Its spirited dives and runs belie its family reputation of being poor fighters.
The Channel also holds good numbers of the mighty blonde ray, along with spotted and the occasional cuckoo. Maybe we’ll take a closer look at these fish another time.
HUNGRY SMOOTHHOUNDS
As the springtime runs into early summer, we change tactics slightly when our target species will become the smoothhound.
Many specimen-sized fish are landed in the Bristol Channel, with individuals regularly reported to well over the magical 20lb mark.
As with the rays, the hounds can best be taken on uptide gear, though a light boat rod and reel loaded with good-quality braid will give you a fight to remember. A peeler crab is traditionally the number one bait for the hungry hounds, but don’t discount the old calamari or a fresh hardback crab. A whole squid will often out-fish crabs in my part of the Channel, especially for the larger fish.
The trick with both crab and squid is to wrap it on the hook with elastic cotton. This holds the bait firmly on the shank of the hook, preventing the point and barb becoming masked. This is very important with a fast, bait-snatching fish such as the hound. ■