TEN MINUTES WITH…
One of the most popular and experienced charter skippers ponders the changing face of the charter fishing scene
Leading charter skipper Colin Penny.
A British boat anglers about the best venues will turn to Weymouth, the Dorset port that serves as home to the largest fleet of charter vessels anywhere in the UK. It will only be a matter of time before someone mentions one of that port’s veteran charter skippers, Colin Penny, and his famous charter boat Flamer. Having fished with Colin on many occasions, I rate him as one of the very best skippers in the UK. Recently I had an opportunity to ask Colin about his life as an angler.
Q How old were you when you first started fishing and particularly boat angling, and what do you remember about your first trips?
Colin Penny: “I was about 12 years old when I went of my first boat trip. It was out of Weymouth aboard the charter vessel Sea Fisher, a wooden hulled, locally built Berry Boat, owned and skippered by Burt Randall. I remember we sailed in a strong south-westerly and had to fish in Balaclava Bay, in the lee of Portland Bill, in order to fish in comfort. It was good mixed fishing and we caught thornback rays, dogfish, pout and tope. You wouldn’t see tope in this area these days. “Our shore fishing was mostly in and around Weymouth Harbour, notably the Stone Pier where we used to catch flounders, mackerel, garfish, pollack, whiting, various species of wrasse and pouting. When I was a little older and had learned how to beach cast, naturally I graduated to nearby Chesil Beach, then and now a Mecca for anglers.”
Q Which species of fish used to feature most frequently in your early catches?
CP: “The commonest species we caught over the various reefs and banks that we used to fish were congers, turbot, mackerel, pouting, dogfish and thornback rays. When I first started fishing in the early 1970s, we used to catch lots of red bream off Portland Bill, using nothing more technical than brass paternoster booms with hooks baited with little chunks of mackerel. The red bream were mixed in with black bream, which we still catch, but in all of the years I have run a charter boat I have only seen three red bream caught.”
Q If or when you fish those same early marks or areas today, how does the fishing compare and which species do you catch?
CP: “Those early marks are in many ways still very similar to what I remember from my early days. We see more black bream, and while we catch as many turbot they are nowhere near as big as we used to see, even though back then we used to fish for them at anchor. We only ever used to catch an occasional cod fishing inshore, but on occasions in slightly later years we have caught lots. More recently most of our cod have been caught fishing the wrecks during summer, but the numbers have diminished.”
Q Over the decades that you have fished the English Channel, what have you noticed have been the biggest changes?
CP: “Some species have all but disappeared or are seen not very often, but on the other hand there are more variety of species around now.”
Q Are modern boat angling tackle and rigs more efficient compared to the tackle available when you began fishing, and how do the skills of the average angler compare?
CP: “Modern tackle in general is much better than when I started fishing. Today’s tackle is more sporting and fun compared to the solid-glass boat rods, hefty lumps of lead weight and thick line we used. Certainly, there is much more finesse to charter boat fishing these days. In particular, braided lines allow us to fish where we never tried before, unless we resorted to using ridiculous amounts of lead weight. I think the invention of braided line has been the most important factor and this ,when combined with modern tackle, would undoubtedly have had a huge impact on the fishing I experienced back in the day. It is interesting to note, though, that the skill of the average angler is about the same.
Q What would be the single most important piece of advice that you could offer to anyone starting charter boat angling today?
CP: “Find a good skipper, who is helpful and friendly, and stick with him or her. Regardless of how much experience you have fishing elsewhere around the country, always listen carefully and be prepared to follow local advice on tackle, bait or techniques from the skipper and, of course, local tackle shops.”
Q How has the club angling scene changed in the UK over the years?
CP: “The club scene has gone downhill drastically, especially over the last 10 years. There are very few clubs these days which is such as shame because, at one time, probably a third of my charters used to be from clubs who used to book the whole boat on a regular basis. Now the majority of my charters are made up from small groups or individuals.”
Q Do you think that fishing competitively helps improve the overall skills of an angler?
CP: “No, not really. There are those anglers who like competitions, and those who like to fish for pleasure without too much stress, and I see anglers with a full range of skill sets from both groups. Competition anglers are invariably more effective when fishing for small fish, such as when species hunting, due to formats of most of today’s competitions. Likewise, I have several anglers who are only interested in specimen hunting or targeting certain species, at which they are very skilled. At the end of day, the best anglers are always those who listen to advice from the skipper.”
Q A lot more boat anglers travel abroad for their fishing. Does the experience make them better anglers?
CP: “Not really, but I think it is good for anglers to broaden their horizons, it helps them to maintain their enthusiasm and overall enjoyment of our sport, which of course is so important.”
Q Being one of the most consistently successful and popular charter boat skippers I have fished with, what is the biggest reason for that success?
CP: “Working hard for my customers to make sure I always give them a pleasant day out. I have 26 years’ experience as a charter skipper, and I regularly crewed aboard a charter boat, the original Flamer, for eight years before that, so I do know the local fishing grounds very well. I have always been a very keen angler and really enjoy passing on my experience to others.”
Q Do you keep records of your trips and, if so, do you think these help you in the long term?
CP: “I keep a record of every trip and it helps to refer back to them, especially when the fishing is tough.”