Sea Fishing – Alan Yates’ Monthly Diary

Now that's what you call a Dover sole!!

It may not feel like summer at the moment but shore sport can be in the Doldrums during the next month but don’t worry, Alan has a number of tactics to keep you catching

During July and August shore sport along the English Channel coast can suffer from the mid summer doldrums. Many of the major summer species are ranging further north nowadays and after the excitement of the spring and early summer many of the big or popular species of fish have passed through and are now high up in the North Sea getting towards the extreme extent of their range.

Those hot sultry balmy days of summer (when and if we get them!) can be a frustrating time for southern shore anglers and what little darkness there is usually the best time to fish. It’s also time to hit the deep-water marks, especially the piers or cliffs where a spot of boom hanging or float fishing can start to pay off.

The standard sliding float is a very versatile way to fish clear water and you can catch everything from garfish to wrasse and bream. Depth is the important factor and it pays to keep an eye on the tide and adjust the depth you fish the bait to suit. A couple of stop knots on the main line also allows plenty of adjustment and a spare stop if one gets damaged. Movement is the key to success for a lot of species so let the float drift the bait in the tide and occasionally stop it so that the bait lifts and flutters - deadly!

One method I have been trying with some success in recent years is to fish a freelined head-hooked ragworm in the tide alongside the wall, or behind the pier legs. Fished deep, near the bottom if you can avoid the mackerel, it catches pollack, scad and the odd flatfish, but fish it near the surface and bass come into range. Using a softish quiver tip or sea match rod the suspended ragworm offers excellent sport and some good results. Beware though, although the odd fish will take a chewed up or piece of ragworm, a free swimming one is more deadly, watch for the tail nippers though because when the tail goes the bait loses its attractiveness, especially for bass.

 
There has been a lot in the press about catching wrasse on the small American soft plastic lures that are used for freshwater bass. Now it has been known that wrasse will take lures for years, and a few old timers used plugs effectively, but don’t think that you will go to any venue and catch wrasse on lures – bait is often far more effective and it is the case that most of the wrasse lure features are made from the Irish rocks where wrasse are more plentiful and less fished for.

The species is prone to being decimated by anglers on the popular easy access venues because they are a localised species and don’t roam the tide like most others. Sit on a wrasse mark and you can catch fish after fish until you have caught them all and that’s why the remotest wrasse rocks are usually the best.

However, if the lure fishing tactic does have one big plus it's that you can fish with very light gear and if you can’t catch on a lure you can always use the freelined, head-hooked ragworm mentioned previously, far more deadly that any lure on the wrasse marks I fish. For the giant wrasse nothing really beats a small, live hard backed crab just nicked on the hook and that can be fished on a light spinning outfit free lined too!

If you are at all nocturnal then the species to fish for this month, and next, is the sole; this small flatfish may not set the pulse racing for its power, but it tastes good on a plate and can prove elusive to catch, something of a challenge. Best time are the hours either side of dawn. Some sandy venues produce sole, others do not, and that is perhaps why the sole is on the decline nowadays - it has been exploited by netsmen. Tactics once you have found a venue that produces them is to fish fairly close in, the species also has a small hooked shape mouth so small hooks are advised (4s) with a small worm bait, usually lugworm or ragworm, best.

Now these are definitely the months for bass fishing. Lure fishing is popular, but it still only accounts for the school bass on a majority of occasions and if you want a really big bass then stick on a mackerel flapper, head or side fillet. If you need proof just look at the catch reports in the national angling magazines, schoolies on lures, specimens on bait and that’s from both boat and shore.

Essential if you are going to use mackerel for bass is that its fresh, no older than a couple of tides, with the blood still running to help the scent trail. Lots of piers around the country have a population of big bass, especially those that attract the mackerel feather fishers. These anglers gut their catch and toss mackerel entrails and heads into the sea and the bass lie in wait. If you use a head then make sure you put it on a big hook, a 4/0 can easily get lost and a 6/0 is best. In my experience the first of the flood tide when the mackerel entrails start to drift along the pier is the best time. The method also works on many beaches at dusk and after dark, but don’t cast too far, the biggest bass are rarely further out than twenty yards.

Summer Fishing Tips

• Fish at first and last light if you can, sea fish are just like their freshwater counterparts, very active on the edge of darkness.

• Take a set of the smallest feathered lures with you when you go afloat or fish from the shore. The tiny Sabiki and Shrimper type lures catch lots of small species, including sandeel, which you can use for bait.

• The sunshine and heat can quickly ruin your bait, and your catch, in summer so keep it in a cool box or bag with an ice pack. A great tip is to freeze half a bottle of water as a cooler and then you have a cool drink as well.

• Chum, ground bait - or in the Channel Isles they call it shirvey – is a great way to attract the summer species into your swim. Mash up boiled fish (mackerel etc) and stale bread, bran, even a tin of pilchards will provide an attractive fishy oil slick. Species that can be attracted by such tactics include garfish, mullet, pollack, bream, scad and bass, I have even had a double figure conger in a ground bait slick!

• Have you ever tried boom hanging at night from the local pier? Fish your baits on or just under the surface because species like scad, pollack and bass feed on the surface in darkness. Add a beam of light to your swim and the scad will line up, but take care any light shone on the sea does not interfere with inshore navigation.