Home | News/Events | Catch Reports | A Personal Best Mullet for Mark

A Personal Best Mullet for Mark

By Mark Wintle 28/07/2009 05:18:00

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font
Mark and his new PB 5lb 11oz mullet Mark and his new PB 5lb 11oz mullet

Mark Wintle puts his roach fishing skills to the test with big grey mullet, fish that fight like bonefish!

Big grey mullet can be the most frustrating of fish; incredibly hard fighting, shy biting and possessing the ability to melt away, it’s hardly surprising that few rise to the challenge of the grey ghost. I’ve long enjoyed fishing for them on an occasional basis as it combines my roach fishing float skills with playing something more akin to bonefish!

I’ve been catching them from Dorset waters since 1972 yet beating my long-standing PB from 1981 of just 4lbs has remained a dream until last weekend.

The omens were good; a couple of weeks ago I had a nice thick-lip over three pounds plus a smaller thin-lip on the Stour. Then on Thursday, I had another thick-lip of 3-10 from Poole Harbour, which was a new second best. Early Saturday morning, armed with plenty of bread, including a bag of liquidised, I yomped out to the joint estuary of the Stour and Avon near Christchurch hoping for mullet.

The incoming tide brought loads of dace and roach but no sign of mullet. As the boat traffic increased, it was time for a change of swim to quieter waters. There were signs of mullet in a quiet backwater that looked promising. Patient feeding with mashed bread brought the first tentative bites on flake on a 12 but it was an hour before I saw action. Not on my rod though! Another nearby angler took twenty minutes to subdue a big mullet. A couple of minutes later though and it was my turn.

The waggler float slid under and I found myself attached to something big and unstoppable. Attempts to pump it back in were only partially successful as it tore off to my left. Then the worst possible outcome as the mullet kited round towards the bank and a big Norfolk reed bed.
mwmullet511.jpg
At first, it kept moving before going solid. It was time for a clear head. Lifting the line clear of the reeds, I walked to the other side of the reedbed and managed to get the mullet free. After a few more trips in and out of the reeds and realising that the landing net was still at my fishing position I persuaded the mullet to swim back out into clear water before retreating to where my net was. I then pumped the mullet, which had kited back into the reeds, back to the original fishing position, utilising every last ounce of power in the match rod. Everything held and I netted the mullet first time.

A quick weigh registered 5lb 11oz, then a photo, and back she went.

I vowed to use more than 3lb Maxima main line with 0.12 Silstar Matchline hooklinks in future!







By the Same Author



Rate this article

4.50




Comments (24 posted):

Graham Marsden on 28/07/2009 06:07:26
avatar
Well done mate, great fish that. Exactly the same weight as my best mullet I caught from Anglesey about 15 years ago. Saw some much bigger fish but getting them to take a bait was one hell of a job. We would stand on the footbridge and watch them come up the river, as they spotted us on the bridge they'd shoot under it like bats out of hell, leaving massive bow waves in their wake. Trotted flake and spinning with a small Mepps with a red tag were the best methods. For some strange reason putting maggots on the treble hook of the spinner seemed to make it work better.
Ron The Hat Clay on 28/07/2009 07:01:40
avatar
I have never caught many mullet, mores the pity, but can confirm that they are incredible scrappers, where ever you catch them in the world, and they can be found in most countries around the harbours and estuaries. Well done Mark. Don't forget your fly tackle next time you go for them.
Michael Brough on 28/07/2009 07:39:41
avatar
As a a lad I used to fish for mullet in tidal creeks on an incoming tide with my match rod with float fished bread flake. My best was 31/2 lbs but I can still remember the fight these fish gave. It was only when I became a born again angler a few years ago that I caught a fish whose fight compared and that was the barbel. Well done Mark. PS I was staying with friends who have just moved to Wimborne the other week and had an hour walking the Stour at Camford. Lovely looking river. I must take up thier invitation to stay so I may be asking for some advice on where and how best to fish it.
Graham Whatmore on 28/07/2009 08:05:35
avatar
Mark, if thats the same yomp that Nigel took me on then you deserve a medal for just turning up, the walk that day with chest waders on in temperatures over 30 degs is something I have nightmares about even now, and I fell in filling my reel with sand, oooh! the pain :) I loved the look of the place and if only you could hire a boat to make things easier I would do it again anytime, a place to die for - literally in my case hahaha! Nice fish by the way Mark.
Peter Jacobs on 28/07/2009 08:10:39
avatar
What a great fish Mark; well done.
Rickrod on 28/07/2009 13:53:46
avatar
Well done Mark nice mullet and its 3oz bigger than my best
Claudia Crowther on 28/07/2009 14:00:47
avatar
What a great fish, very well done Mark. I know just too well how fustrating mullets are and I'm looking forward to go hunting them with you in the near future. Let's hope the mullet are oblidged then for us too.
S-Kippy on 28/07/2009 18:13:10
avatar
That's a cracking fish Mark,well done matey.
Neil Maidment on 28/07/2009 18:38:06
avatar
Class act Mark! Well done - you must be fitter than you look!It's many years since I chased mullet on the lower Stour or harbour, must give it a go soon.
slime monster on 28/07/2009 20:56:01
avatar
Well done Mark ,a few heart stopping moments you had by the sound of it..great fish.
captain carrott on 28/07/2009 21:26:21
avatar
well it is about time you got a new hairdo well done
Dicky (Angling Trust PAC) on 29/07/2009 09:06:28
avatar
Great mullet Mark well done! I was intrigued by your comment that "it combines my roach fishing float skills with playing something more akin to bonefish!" I'm not very familiar with bonefish... What do they fight like (and don't say mullet!!)? Where do they come from? And what's your pb?
Mark Wintle on 29/07/2009 11:27:30
avatar
Bonefish are ranked one of the hardest fighting fish in the world, pound for pound, and found in shallow water in the Bahamas. They are famed for sizzling runs. I've never been near one but know that mullet can be frustratingly hard to beat.
Peter Jacobs on 29/07/2009 11:46:53
avatar
Dicky, Bonefish fight like a Rainbow Trout on steroids and crack! I caught a few off of the Florida coast on a fly rod. In fact, one of the party had a 6# fly rod snapped by a bonefish. I've only caught a few Mullet, but I think Mark's description is very accurate.
Dicky (Angling Trust PAC) on 29/07/2009 12:27:08
avatar
Cheers for the bonefish info chaps. Sounds like another species to add to my wish list:)
Mark Wintle on 29/07/2009 12:33:35
avatar
I took Steve Spiller on a South Coast river roach hunt last night but out of the blue a large shoal of mullet appeared. Steve tried flake shallow and hooked one even though they weren't really feeding (his first encounter with one). At first he didn't rate the fight but after about three minutes the mullet calmly smashed him with a head shake in a split second! I think the mullet was playing Steve!
Sean Meeghan on 29/07/2009 15:27:39
avatar
Nice one Mark! Thats a fish I'd love to have on my list. Dicky, you can catch bonefish all over the Carribean and in the Maldives. Fishing for them in Florida can be incredibly frustrating as they are somewhat pressured there. Can't see why you'd want to fish for them myself as the places that they're found in are pretty crappy. :D
peter crabtree on 29/07/2009 16:28:57
avatar
Many years ago(70s)I worked in Antibes harbour in S France.I spent hours,which turned into days,then weeks trying to catch a mullet.I used big breadflake on a float rig,sometimes the float would bury,adrenaline rush,strike,bottocks! missed another one.I never did get one and have never tried again. Nice fish Mark,patience obviously paid off for you. I recognise that bridge in your avatar,I was in the same swim for a week in march this year,the BIG roach evaded me,but I will be back,are there any mullet in that location?
Graham Marsden on 29/07/2009 17:10:36
avatar
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8u9bygLV50[/ame]
Claudia Crowther on 29/07/2009 18:00:10
avatar
I took Steve Spiller on a South Coast river roach hunt last night but out of the blue a large shoal of mullet appeared. Steve tried flake shallow and hooked one even though they weren't really feeding (his first encounter with one). At first he didn't rate the fight but after about three minutes the mullet calmly smashed him with a head shake in a split second! I think the mullet was playing Steve! Haha that'll teach the Spiller man to underestimate the mullet, however I bet he wasn't as gutted as he would have been if it would have been a 2lb roach ;) Mark, I was thinking (and yes it did hurt ;)...maybe I should bring a fly rod when we got mullet hunting....what do you reckon?
Steve Spiller on 03/08/2009 21:12:31
avatar
Lovely fish Mark and more since then too. I won't say where we fished, but you slightly 'downed' the 'shoal' of mullet thing. I've never seen so many mullet following a rising tide up a river, there were thousands of them!!! I would imagine they ranged from 2lb to over 6lb, they were a foot under the surface and went from my feet to the opposite bank! I shallowed up thinking one of the silly buggers would be hungry (law of averages) 1.7lb bottom was no match for what looked to be a fish of about 4lb. Claudia was right, I was gutted, but had it been a 2lb roach that smashed me, well...... Anyway, 6lber next then Mark ;-)
Dave Slater on 04/08/2009 08:21:41
avatar
Fabulous fish Mark. Well done mate and very well deserved. I have never seen a mullet that size on the bank. It must have looked really impressive.
MarkTheSpark on 05/08/2009 07:53:02
avatar
Cracking mullet, Mark. My best was 5lb 8oz. But I took a mate to try for mullet on the Deben Estuary and, first attempt, he had one 5lb 12oz! In all my years mullet fishing I rarely went below 4lb line; 2 1/2lb hooklengths were just broken by the big fish, and those were the ones I wanted to catch. I suspect super-soft HPPE braids would work very well as hooklinks, as it's my opinion mullet reject baits because they feel the line on their lip. HPPE wasn't invented when I last went mullet fishing! My best catch of mullet was 13 fish in a two-hour period, best 4lb
Mark Wintle on 05/08/2009 11:09:06
avatar
It's been the same old story with a PB for me - takes years to beat it (4lbs in 1981) then beat the old PB within 8 days with another of 4-10 from another venue. On this other venue, there are wooden beams to contend with; I've settled on a 10ft telescopic spinning rod, old Aerialite bakelite 'pin, 8lb main line and 6lb Silstar Match line hook links which seem to do the job.


Add a comment

  • Email to a friend Email to a friend
  • Print version Print version
  • Plain text Plain text

Tagged as:

No tags for this article

Follow FishingMagic!