A long time a coming…

Well I haven’t been out for coming close to a couple of weeks due to other commitments and it has certainly been at the forefront of my mind just how long it has been.  I had planned a trip out on Friday evening but as is often the case with weather predictions, the weather warning for rain actually turned into a dry night with no rain until 3am, so needless to say I was disappointed at being influenced by the prediction.

So Saturday night I decided it was time to get out and wet a line before I forget what it was like to do so.  I went to Hamstead with regular cohort Mark Barton with a variety of baits and some hope for a bit of sport, given the chop on the water and a nice colour present too. 

 Hamstead has been good to us this year for fun fishing

First cast I lobbed out peeler crab bait which I froze on the rig from my last trip (never being one to waste bait!).  After about 20 minutes my rod was tapping away and was what I thought would be weed on the line, given Mark advised me it was present earlier that evening.  I felt a weight clinging to the bottom, until it got to the surf and I saw splashing and kicking.  Thinking it was a small ‘Smut’ I went down to collect my fish, only to find the biggest lobster I have ever had, just shy of 5lb.  Needless to say I was more than content with that and rung my wife to say we were set for tea the following day!

 The biggest Lobster I have had, 4lb 14oz, my first from Hamstead

Fishing was really hard down Hamstead, the wind was pretty intense, the weed was pretty consistent but more disheartening was the absence of bites.  I had one Smooth-hound of about 3lb at the top of tide caught on a beauty of a cocktail; ½ Ammo Peeler and about 6 Slipper Limpets lashed together; however, that was all I had.  Mark had a Wrasse on worm (around 9oz) and a ‘Smut’ pup (ounces) before I arrived, but nothing after.  It’s probably my last trip to Hamstead this year, but it has given me a fair share of sport fishing this year so I cannot grumble.

A 3lb 'Smut' was all we could manage between us... 

Peeler crabs usually great for a number of species, 

this time landing a sizeable Lobster...

Ammo Slipper Limpets, a bait I am keen to keep trying, especially in cocktails.

Fugu you!

I received my 4 spools of Fugu this week and stripped all my reels and refilled with it.  It really is my favourite line on the market at the minute and is great value for money.  I hope it stays around as I don’t want to change, so I may have to stock up just to be sure I have it to hand!  Fugu is available from Mushiki Tackle which can be found through Google or via Facebook.

Out with the old, in with the renewed!

In these time of austerity where the majority of us are feeling the pinch, its not as easy to just go out and buy new equipment as often as we would perhaps like to.  I recently had a rod rebuilt, as it is fair to say it was well beyond its prime, but I couldn't bare to see it scrapped.  So I passed my Conoflex Vampire II to Bait and Tackle (Ryde) for their rod building / repair services, to give her a good going over.  She needed the works; the spigot was shot, eyes were damaged, finish on the blank was simply gone...What I got back was fantastic, a return to glory; spigot rebuilt, blank finished beautifully, new eyes whipped on in classy red & silver and stiffened back up a little, I am really happy!  She was also re-christened last night with my small 'Smut' and the Lobster, she will be a permanent feature in my rod bag from hereon.

 

 A return to glory for the Vampire

Angling Trust

I have had an email from the Angling Trust Chief Executive to say he will be collating the responses to my queries as the Head of Finance and Business escalated it to him.  I will share with Wight Lines followers any responses I get.  It appears I have stirred things up a bit with my comments about the lack of faith or effectiveness perceived by sea anglers around the AT.

Competition!

The Wight Lines / What Fish? Competition is in its final leg so if you haven’t entered I suggest you do so, there is a prize of £40 plus worth of EcoGear lures etc to be won.  You need to procure the WhatFish? App for your smartphone, to find the answer to the question.  Good luck!

 Get the WhatFish? App on your phone and stand a chance of winning £40 of gear!

Holy Mackerel!

Well it has arguably been a shocking year for feathering from the shore for Mackerel.  Its likely a multitude of issues are leading to the lack of presence this year, but one thing is certain, there will be a lot of people buying Mackerel this winter as bait freezers remain empty.  Sea Raider Fishing Charters (Jason Lovell Owner/Operator) have been having some stonking Mackerel trips in the boat, which indicates that they are there, just out of reach for the shore angler. 

Sea Raider Fishing Charters Skipper Jason Lovell has been putting people on the Mackerel day time, 

night time providing some stonking Bass, Ray and Conger fishing (Call 07507 535 971 to book). 

Struggling with my J-Pop Mission...

I have to confess, this round of the challenge with John Popplewell (Total Sea Fishing, 'All at Sea')  has proven harder than I gave credit to.  A 3lb or heavier Bass is all that is needed.  Doesn't sound too taxing, but the lack of bars being caught and how both of us haven't drawn the round to a close goes to show its not as easy as first perceived.  At the minute anyway...

Soon be Autumn

Perhaps unlike some others, we are quickly approaching my favourite time of year for fishing.  I love the Autumn, especially for Bass fishing and it is usually the time of year certain marks pick up pace, for me anyway.  September through to late November has generally been quite good to me, so I need to stock the freezer up with Ammo baits, plan my diary and get some serious hours set aside.

Autumn is a good time of year to me, being generous with the silver bars last year.

Tight Lines

Adz

The power of FUGU

Independent Tackle Review

Wight Lines

Sea Fishing UK ©

The premise of Fugu line is simple: to be a quality line developed by anglers, for anglers. The products strap-line of “Designed to be deadly” says it all really. When presented with the opportunity to try this out for an independent review, I was keen to see whether it could live up to such a bold tag line.

About

The line was developed by a family run business within the EU, with the assistance of Mushiki Tackle’s owner Chris Wainwright. The company is a member of the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) and was founded in 1996, so hails 17 years of experience in the business. The line is made from Japanese raw materials, using German technologies and is tested for strength, characteristics and more by a European university, so it’s fair to say Fugu line is an international affair!

Packaging & Details

The line comes in a smartly presented Fugu box and gives the immediate impression of a quality product. This review was performed on the 18lb ‘Orange Fluro’, with the spool bearing 950m of line. The 18lb is 0.35mm in diameter which for a number of other brands would only equate to 15lb breaking strain. The low diameter means that it’s ideal for casting whilst giving reassurances of a stronger than average breaking strain.

Initial Feel

When removed from the packaging, you can tell from the first feel that this is a quality line. It has a supple, smooth finish and the initial memory test off the spool indicated that it would be relatively memory free.

 

Casting

In order to see how the line felt on different reels, I loaded up my Penn 525 Mag Xtra (Mk1), Abu 6500 Rocket and Akios 656 CTM. When loading the spools the line was bedding down nicely, which you immediately associate with its suppleness.

The first test came in gale force winds and would tell me a lot about the line during rougher conditions. Belting out 7oz grippers in 30mph winds would always reduce casting distance, whilst also creating great bows in the line during flight. However, I have to say that it felt like a

knife cutting through warm butter, the line flew out of the reels and despite adverse conditions the lead was still travelling around 80% of a normal cast, not something I am used to in such conditions. The line was smooth casting from all three reels and most forgiving during casts after the conditions created slack line during retrieves etc.

The next test was in almost completely contrasting conditions; no wind whatsoever. The line absolutely soared out of the reels and I feel quite confident that the combination of slimmer-than-average diameter and quality of line led to my casting further. Unfortunately all I a managed to catch was 9 dogfish and missing as many, but I found myself winding in more frequently than normal just because I was enjoying the feel of the cast!

Abrasion / Stress test

The line showed resilience to various abrasive grounds; however, anglers should bear in mind that it is 0.35mm and irrespective of breaking strain, the diameter could place it at risk of shearing in particularly rough / snaggy grounds. During the field test, a clump of weed of around 14-15lb was landed which gave indication of its ability to hold its own when under stress.

Knot Strength

In fairness, although fish-wise the heaviest landed during this test was a 2lb 2oz Dogfish, a mass of weed around 14-15lb was landed and did not seem to trouble the 18lb line or weaken any knots. A physical test performed indoors showed it was nigh-on impossible to break by hand.

 

Memory

I would suggest that the line has a negligible amount of memory, which means that it re-beds onto the reel nicely and won’t cause you any problems casting wise. In the field tests it was used in some adverse conditions, subjected to masses of may-rot and other weeds, which applied intense stress upon the line, which didn’t lead to any ‘birdies’ or weak spots.

Value for Money

The line retails at £7.99 a spool with the minimum postage charge being £3.25, totalling £11.24 a spool. However, if buying up to 10 spools the postage remains £3.25 (as its based on a charge for up to 1kg postage weight); therefore the more you buy the less postage is incurred against each spool. Working on the basis of most people loading up around 200m of line on each reel, you can at minima load 4 reels from each spool, costing an average of £2.81 per reel, with 150m of line left for rig snoods, smaller reels or fixed spools etc. When buying quality line, comparatively this is very good value for money.

Availability

Fugu is available from Mushiki Tackle in Kent, or ask your local Tackle Shop / Dealer to become a stockist by making wholesale arrangements via Mushiki.

Conclusion

Although not tested in this review on a Fixed Spool, I am confident that all anglers will be happy with this product should they try it. Its good value for money, a quality product and in such a competitive market will give some better known brands a real run for their money. I for one will be getting some more of this line in!

Further Information

Contact Mushiki Tackle on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mushiki.tackle or call 01304 249 462.

Wight Lines Independent Review – if you want an independent review of your goods or services contact WightLines@Hotmail.com

Hounds around, but alas no bass...

Well in my view it continues to be tough fishing...

So the idea was to go off in search of Wrasse to hopefully base a feature on.  In order to achieve this I decided to pair up with Aaron Morley and hit the Bembridge area early one morning.  I took a variety of baits; crab, fresh Ragworm, limpets and new to me Isome worms.  Other than a few dots of rain the conditions were fine and we both were hopeful of catching a few.  After surveying an area unfamiliar to us both, we decided we would hit Whitecliff Bay as we were entering the last of the ebb and we could fish there for around 4 hours or so.  It’s a fair trek to blank at, so we both hoped it would pay off.  In short, it didn’t!  Aaron had a baby Ballan of around 6oz and I didn’t even see my rod tip move.  However, it wasn’t a total bust.  What we did both learn was the depth of the water off the ledges into the bay, to our amazement it turned out it was only about a foot deep, much shallower than we ever thought it was.  Although the bay itself is deeper, it gave us greater insight considering we had both only fished it under darkness.  

 

 Arron seeking Wrasse at Whitecliff Bay

 Fishing off the ledge can be prime for Rays and Bass

 Fishing in daylight afforded us a chance to survey our surroundings

So we decided to move to Wheeler’s Bay, Ventnor, fishing off the rocks.  This was a place where Aaron cut his teeth as a young angler, bagging up on Wrasse, Eels and Plaice.  Sadly all it produced were two small Ballans again, both around 6oz.  It was bemusing the pair of us, where were the fish?  Walking back up to the Car Park we were asked the usual by a passer by “catch much?”, of course, we were overjoyed [sarcasm] to say “nope”, her response “well did you at least see the pair of seals in the bay? They were really close to the shore”.  Mystery solved!  I need to get out again and hit the Wrasse scene, but after a serious rethink…Although I didn’t catch on this occasion using the Isome, I will definitely persevere with them, perhaps at a Sole mark instead.

 Beautiful but not our target weight, being about 3lb (at least shy)!

"well did you at least see the pair of seals in the bay? They were really close to the shore”

 So with the remaining worm I decided I would go for a few chucks at Totland (I bought a 1lb of worm, only using about 4 during the Wrasse sessions).  I Set my Abu Enticer rod up with small hooks and lobbed it about 50 yards out in search of Sole.  Basically fishing out of the car, I went to the boot and upon returning to my rod I found it nodding quite excitedly.  I picked it up and felt the fish was on; could it be a Sole already?  No, it was a 1lb School Bass who had nailed my bait.  It was the only fish caught in about an hour trip and means I need to return there soon to give it better chance.

 Isome Worms, I can see the potential but I need more experience with them

 Ammo Crabs: Prime bait which can make the difference

So comes the fourth day of trying to use up my 1lb of worm.  After commenting on Facebook that I was off out, regular cohort Mark Barton said he was up for wetting a line.  We agreed on going to Hamstead to use up the worms and try some fish baits for any passing Rays or Bass.  I had a few Ammo Peeler Crabs in tow also.  Arriving in the car park (clearing) I spotted Arron Morley’s motor and decided to drop him a text.  He had already gotten into a couple of Smuts and Schoolies with his regular fishing buddy Ricky Parr, so Mark and I were ready to get fishing!  After setting up I got a text from Arron to say he was well into fish, landing more Bass around 2lb and another Smut.  Whilst on the phone I had a fair knock and hooked into a fish.  To my disappointment it was a snotty (Silver Eel).  It was unhooked and returned swiftly, although I think the fact that each time I use worm I seem to catch one is an indicator the species is in recovery.

 A Silver Eel takes a bunch of Ragworm

 Peeler Crab, ready for a Smooth-hound or Bass

About an hour into the flood I decided I would put Crab bait on.  In under 60 seconds of being in the water I had a Smut like bite, bang-bang-slack, which when I struck into it I knew it was a smaller fish, but was better than a blank!  I landed a 2lb 11oz Smooth-hound, a quick pic later and she darted off into the night.  After about six more texts of catches from Arron, I decided it was nap time and had a kip.  Waking up freezing cold Mark and I decided that if we had no fish within an hour we would pack up (around 2.30am).  Re-baiting up with more Crab, I cast out and again in under 60 seconds a bite on the go, this time it slack lined me and then went veering off to the left, knitting my other line and one of Mark’s rods up.  After a short fight I landed a nice 6lb 4oz Smut, very welcome and woke me right back up!  Repeating the baiting up of Crab, I cast out and in under a couple of minutes I had another bite, it was another Smut of 4lb 2oz.  Happy Days!  I had beaten the blank and enjoyed the nights fishing, although sadly Mark didn’t get a single fish.  He did leave with ½lb worm though which was still as fresh and feisty as the day I bought it 4 days ago.  We were both impressed with the quality of Bait & Tackle [Ryde] longevity! 

 

 First of the hounds, a young one weighing 2lb 11oz

 

 A welcome sight, another Starry of 6lb 4oz

Last of the night, yet another Starry at 4lb 2oz

The weirdest catch of the night though went to the leadless rig I got tangled in, which I lost to a snag about 6 – 8  weeks ago!  What are the odds on me coming back and retrieving it from the brine…All night long we were blessed with an incredible view of the meteor shower which had both of us in awe.  All in all, a good nights fishing, although there was one fish I really wanted, but despite all my trying I just couldn’t dig one out…

Hounds around, but alas no (3lb) Bass…

Tight Lines

Adz

Its a funny old game...

It has been a funny old month and it’s only the first week!  The fish seem to be about in fewer numbers, with just a few specimen fish being landed, in comparison to the number of hours invested.  The Rays and Hounds seem to have moved on with mainly Spotted’s being the Rays still putting in an appearance.  Very few Bass are being caught, which may be linked to the lack of bait fish showing from the shore.  Notwithstanding, Drew Garrett proved somewhat to the contrary with landing his nineteenth double figure bass from Ryde Pier!  Further concreting his status as a top bass man!  It’s worth popping into Drew’s shop for a chat, Bait & Tackle, Victoria Arcade, Ryde, where he is usually happy to share how he did it.  Although shore caught Mackerel seem to be in very short supply, reports from Jason Lovell’s Sea Raider Charters indicates that things are picking up for the boats, so I think I may have to book myself a trip soon!

8lb Bass caught earlier this year from Sandown, I haven't caught another since!

So it seems to be the case that we are now waiting for Autumn, which in fairness is my favourite time of year to fish anyway.  As those who are following the group or John Popplewell’s ‘All at Sea’ will know, our cross-country challenge continues with this round requiring the catching and evidencing of a Bass in excess of 3lb.  John almost had me, but the fishing Gods were on my side, he forgot his scales!  The saga continues and who knows what mission will be next!  I am hoping we can get something into the media about our escapades, as both John and I really enjoy the challenge and we are hoping to include a home and away match too!

Only smaller hounds seem to be around now until the late run

A few friends an I (Mark Barton, Dougal Martindale and Tim Dyer) visited Totland for the first time this year, because I had a feeling there might be Sole around.  I was right!  I think all too often we ignore gut instincts when actually listening to them can really pay off.  Tim was the first to catch, after an extensive break in his fishing life and this being his first Sole, he was chuffed and I was really pleased for him too.  Mark managed to catch a couple of smaller Wrasse at last light and he was next to catch a Sole, followed by a Silver Eel.  I had a Sole just before dawn when we were just taken back by the beauty of the sunrise, quite a way to see in a new day.

 Mark Barton waits for a bite at last light.

 Tim Dyer restarts his fishing career with his first Sole!

 Mark is next to catch a Sole, a fish which he actively pursues and is my guru!

 Breaking the Blank! I managed an average sized sole

 What a beautiful way to see the day in...

The latest copy of TSF is out shortly and there are some cracking features and great reviews.  I really enjoyed reading Gareth Davies hunting hounds, Shaun Cummings Solent Ray feature the Bass How To…Also as always a spot on Editorial from Barns.

Something I have particularly enjoyed of late is trying to help a friend of mine get back into sea fishing after a break of about 20 years.  He didn’t have much joy on the first couple of trips, so for a guaranteed catch we went to Blackgang.  As those who have been there will know, it’s a hell of a trek to blank, so I hoped that something would put in an appearance.  It was worthwhile in the end, as although only Pouting put in an appearance, the look of joy on his face was humbling.  I did miss out on a monstrous bite; however, the mission was accomplished nonetheless.

Blackgang: quite a trek but aesthetically perfect

Something else quite magical to me was taking my little girl fishing down East Cowes seafront with her little pink rod.  She was casting and winding in for herself and doing a good job of it too!  She isn’t allowed to bait up as she is only 4, but I hope she will be my fishing buddy when she is big enough.  She has been trained well, she can already identify a majority of UK shore caught fish, even being able to differentiate the different Ray and Wrasse species!  Time like this with her is precious to me and makes memories we can both share.

It would appear that the disjointed and fractious relationships within our community are continuing to prevail.  This formed a part of my recent commentary in the Total Sea Fishing blogs.  It saddens me that in modernity, with all the tools available to us, such as social media and instantaneously connecting technologies, we remain without cohesion and making the most of our interconnectedness through shared interests.  I have formed the Wight Lines group around the principles and framework of zero tolerance for any behaviours indicative of bullying, or harassment towards fellow anglers.  The idea is to foster an environment which makes people feel safe and confident to post pictures, stories or queries without risk of harassment or degradation, an enabling environment if you will.  This has been mostly successful, with the majority happy with what we are doing.  With over 800 members, this is testimony to creating a safe haven for all.  Due to the ever growing membership I have had to recruit more admins to help with the sizable task of monitoring the group.

Finally, those who have been following my to-and-fro with the Angling Trust will be aware that I sent a secondary round of queries which are still awaiting a response.  I have had an interim response which is requesting a little more time in order to collate information and hopefully negate the need for tertiary queries.  I will post responses to the group for my peers to review.

That’s it for now, may your catches be bountiful!

Tight Lines

Adz