7 GREAT WAYS TO ENJOY BOAT FISHING
SUMMER BASS FISHING
The summer opens up a world of fishing possibilities. When it comes to bass fishing, I like nothing more than getting aboard a small boat at 4am and fishing surface lures for bass close to the shore.
There are plenty more ways to catch summer bass. You can fish live mackerel or sandeels over shallow water reefs, wrecks and sandbanks, or you can work lures in 100ft of water over similar underwater features.
You can fish fresh peeler crab baits at anchor, or a head-hooked ragworm, whole squid, mackerel head and guts and the like. How about float-fishing with live prawns? The list goes on, and all of these methods are employed from boats the length and breadth of the country.
SCREAMING REELS
During the summer we have access to some amazing rod-bending, reel-screaming sport with tope and smoothhounds.
These two species are often found in very close proximity, and there are various ways in which you can catch them. For instance, you can target hounds with spinning rods and 2oz leads with live crabs, or you can target the tope on 20lb-class tackle with circle hooks and small baits – both providing heart-stopping runs as yard upon yard of line is torn from your reel during the epic fights.
GETTING WRECKED
Fishing lures over wrecks for cod, pollack and ling on the drift is extremely popular in the UK. Nothing beats the thrill of slowly winding in a lure, only to have the rod nearly torn from your hands as a fish grabs the lure and heads back to the safety of the wreck.
Then there’s the challenging method of fishing a wreck at anchor for conger eels and ling. Often carried out in depths between 100200ft, this style of fishing gets your muscles pumped and, yet again, it’s the thoughts of the unknown that makes these days so special.
CATCH MY DRIFT
Another of my favourite types of summer fishing is drift fishing for turbot, brill and plaice.
There’s something about catching one of these species on the drift that gives a euphoric sense of achievement. It’s by no means an
THE BIG GUNS
easy task to catch flatfish consistently, but when you get into the zone you’ll understand the feeling that I’m talking about here.
There are some true monsters of the deep that lurk in UK waters, from 100lb-plus conger eels to 200lb-plus common skate, and, of course, porbeagle, blue, thresher and mako sharks.
There are boats and skippers that specialise in these species, and if you persevere, it’s really not that hard to catch your first big one – the thresher and mako will take some doing though.
LAZY ANCHOR AFTERNOONS
Both the uptiding and downtiding methods of fishing (we’ll cover these in depth later) are done at anchor, and this is one of the most relaxing forms of sea fishing there is.
You just sit there, enjoying the scenery and banter, watching your rod tips for signs of a bite. The moments of near self-induced hypnosis are broken by heart-pumping, adrenaline-fuelled action as you do battle with a thornback ray or double-figure bass.
Pretty much every species of sea fish can be caught at anchor, and that’s what the bulk of UK boat fishing is all about.
WINTER WONDERLANDS
Uptiding and downtiding for big winter cod and whiting isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but for many it’s the highlight of the boat fishing year.
Sitting on a boat in the freezing cold can be rewarded with the cod of a lifetime if you put in the hours. If you can stay warm, it’s a most enjoyable day out.
Then there is the winter bass and pollack fishing, which is usually done on the drift. This is the time of year when you stand the best chance of hooking into something really special, with double-figure bass and 20lb-plus pollack on the cards. Next month: We take a look at the all-important fishing tackle, with the focus on rods and reels.