COALFISH A SPECIES TO SAVOUR
In part two of his coalfish feature Mike Millman focuses on the amazing catches of coalies that were to follow through the 1970s and 1980s
Incredibly, between 1972 and 1986 the coalfish record was broken a further five times. e next incumbent in 1973 was Bristol’s Tony Harris, with another fish from JJ McVicars’ June Lipet, tipping the scales to 30lb 12oz. One of the most memorable trips of mine was with JJ aboard June Lipet to a wreck more than 30 miles from the coast. We left Plymouth Barbican at 7am and were abeam the Eddystone reef 50 minutes later. It had long disappeared from view when the Decca numbers brought us to the wreck. It was a ‘fishing for the boat’ trip and “use killer gear” was the instruction, with two or three snoods carrying RedGills, also known locally as e Mevagissey. e first drift showed clearly what was in store: big coalfish and pollack – and they were big!
Roger Hosking had a pollack of 25lb to set a new British Record and on the second snood was another of around 18lb. I was fishing next to him and had a coalfish of almost 22lb and a pollack to match, but not together. Other members of the party included a 15-year-old tackle dealer to be, Clive Way, who had several pollack in the heavy weight class and, as I recall, a coalfish of 21lb.
By 2.30pm the fish hold had become full, with an overflow on the deck. With all those miles to travel back JJ called it a day. Catches like this were fairly commonplace in the 1970s and early 1980s and will never be repeated.
e record rested until early in 1980 when Lloyd Saunders, skipper of Saltwind of Dart, operating from Dartmouth and fishing on his own account, took a fish of 33lb 7oz at a Lyme Bay mark. He held on to it for three years when his father Bill took it away with a coalie just 3oz heavier.