Do coarse anglers sea fish too??????

Massive generalisation here folks, but i would assume that if you are on this part of the forum we are strictly coarse anglers!!

Are there any FM members who also go sea fishing?

If not, is there any reasons that sea fishing would not appeal to you?

Just interested to hear your thougts on the subject....


I suppose i was brought up to appreciate both. My dad did not go coarse fishing , but enjoyed beach fishing and because we (myself and brother) were desperate to go fishing at any oportunity we would nag dad to death so he would take us!

Coarse fishing was more accesable as i lived on the doorstep of a river, but sea angling grew into a parallel passion. Joining a sea angling club, fishing open and club matches meant that at times sea angling was all that I ever did. It was all i had time for as I was fishing twice a week and needed to dig bait to keep up!

IMO sea fishing is technically more demanding than other branches of angling. In that, I mean it is difficult to kick up in a tackle shop, buy stuff (and spend a fortune on bait) and be sucessful. You can't practice on a comercial sea angling lake and 'bag-up'.....

Joining a club and learning from other anglers was a critical pathway to developing a passion for sea fishing. Tying rigs effectively (shop bought ones really are cr@p), sourceing the right bait for the right venue, learning to cast properly, building up a mental picture on how the tide effects fish movements - you really can spend a days fishing without so much as a bite and catch nothing which is enough to make anyone pack up and throw in the towel.

Then there is bait digging - there are some, well, very 'common-laws' regarding bait digging and secret special locations...... bait digging wars can make barbel wars look like a load of sissies on a forum spitting dummies out (well that was actually what barbel wars was) - look like a walk in the park. You can really end up with your car or van torched if you upset the wrong people....

I do, when I can get away, a fair amount of salt water fishing.

But I haven't fished in the sea around the UK since the 70s. I spent quite a lot of my time this year fishing along the New South Wales coast of Australia, which can be quite wonderful with a number of extremely hard fighting and superb eating species available.

Roll on my next trip!

A lot of anglers quit in the late 70's and 80's beacuse 'there were no fish'...... Sea fishing does not offer any garantees, but there are definately good fish to be caught...

when in the tackle shop we (shop staff) are very sceptical about reliable catch reports. just because soem are blanking does not mean the fish were not there to be caught in the first place.

sea fishing is something people think they can do.... Chuck it and chance it. Most coarse angler are far more knowledgable about their sport than the casual sea angler. A lot just kick up on the beach for a beer, bar-b-q and a fire. Not exactly condusive to good fishing.

Some do I suppose, but personally i don't have the time ot the inclination.

I fly fish from April to around early September when the coarse gear comes out, then back to the fly fishing in the Coarse close season.

My fishing time is limited due to work, travel and family so the Sea fishing doesn't get a look-in.

I did many years ago spend some time sea fishing but it seemed too much of a chuck it it and chance it method to be honest, that and the fact that I lived quite a way fro the nearest coastline.

Sea fishing demands probably more watercraft than coarse fishing on rivers. Like all angling, first find the fish.

The average plonker who goes sea angling will not know how to read waves, beaches, undertows, rock and weed formations which are all important in finding the species of fish you are after.

And most of all there is the time to go fishing. Sea species start feeding as the dawn breaks, or as the sun goes down. A hour fished just before it gets dark will often produce more fish than the whole day.

Spend the time in the day on the beach, but keep watching the water.

And as the light fades, grab your rod.

i used to beach fish when i lived on the coast in lincolnshire i wasnt very good at it but did enjoy it, never caught lots best fish i had was a bass that weighed 6.5lbs, i got some strange looks when i put it back, at times there were a lot of small undersize bass around but i saw a lot of anglers take them which i thought was wrong in fact some anglers took everything they caught. one thing about beach anglers i found was that they were always very willing to help a novice like myself which did help me to catch fish, one showed me how to "pump" bait at low tide which i enjoyed doing but never seemed to get as many as he did.

the blanker said:

i used to beach fish when i lived on the coast in lincolnshire i wasnt very good at it but did enjoy it, never caught lots best fish i had was a bass that weighed 6.5lbs, i got some strange looks when i put it back, at times there were a lot of small undersize bass around but i saw a lot of anglers take them which i thought was wrong in fact some anglers took everything they caught. one thing about beach anglers i found was that they were always very willing to help a novice like myself which did help me to catch fish, one showed me how to "pump" bait at low tide which i enjoyed doing but never seemed to get as many as he did.

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That's why I think we should have a sea angling licencing system in the UK with bag limits enforced on specific species.

In New South Wales they are years ahead of us in protecting their salt water species. You have to buy a licence, and you have to be aware of the species and how many you are allowed to kill. Not far from Cronulla on the NSW coast is a fish hatchery which maintains the populations of certain species along the coast. That's why its always possible in Oz to have a few hours fishing and bring home a nice fish to eat.

Would that it was the same here.

But Australia has far more of the where-with-all than this poor land, doesn't it?

Very rarely do I fish in the sea. When I have it has been because I've had no alternative or someone I know has organised a special trip. Normally I'm just not bothered with sea fishing of any kind. I suspect that the biggest issue is the fear that if I got into sea fishing I'd have yet another set of gear to store along with the carp gear, barbel gear, pike gear and general coarse gear.

Ron The Hat Clay said:

That's why I think we should have a sea angling licencing system in the UK with bag limits enforced on specific species.

In New South Wales they are years ahead of us in protecting their salt water species. You have to buy a licence, and you have to be aware of the species and how many you are allowed to kill. Not far from Cronulla on the NSW coast is a fish hatchery which maintains the populations of certain species along the coast. That's why its always possible in Oz to have a few hours fishing and bring home a nice fish to eat.

Would that it was the same here.

But Australia has far more of the where-with-all than this poor land, doesn't it?

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I would contest strongly the need for a new tax in the form of a sea fishing licence. Most serious bass anglers are very conservation minded and impose a self imposed limit.

This can be contensious - I have been given an earfull for taking Bass for the table. My opinion is that I am entitled to take 4 fish in a season..... why should I have to explain that to some do gooder....

Size limits are imposed for most sea fish with a comercial value. the aim is to preserve fish stocks from over exploitation by professional skippers. These also apply to recreational anglers. There are massive fines if anglers are caught taking under size fish. It is (ahem...) strongly enforced by some individuals if you know what I mean. I witnessed a polish anglers 2 piece rod being converted into a four piece when he disagreed about the future of a bucket of imature Bass.

For example, it takes a Bass 5 years to reach length of 42cm, and thus sexual maturity. Fish of this size only represent a tiny minority of the bass population. True specimens of over 10lb in weight may be over 30years old and are incredibly rare captures. Hand on heart, I could not kill one. I only take fish between 41 and 50cm in length. the others IMO command a lot of repsect - they have gone through a hell of a lot and deserve to pass on their successful traits to the next generation by being free to breed again.

Ron The Hat Clay said:

Sea fishing demands probably more watercraft than coarse fishing on rivers. Like all angling, first find the fish.

The average plonker who goes sea angling will not know how to read waves, beaches, undertows, rock and weed formations which are all important in finding the species of fish you are after.

And most of all there is the time to go fishing. Sea species start feeding as the dawn breaks, or as the sun goes down. A hour fished just before it gets dark will often produce more fish than the whole day.

Spend the time in the day on the beach, but keep watching the water.

And as the light fades, grab your rod.

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I guess that is no different everything in life; the average chef works at a Harvester pub, whereas Gordon Ramsay........ blah, blah.......
Why the f*** do you continually find the necessity to put others down, I for one find it pretty irksome, especially coming from one who in all honesty has a heck of a lot of knowledge to share, a real shame!

I do a fair amount of sea angling, considering my location is about as far inland as you get in the UK.
But yes, I'd say for most on this forum, coarse fishing is their primary (if not sole) interest. I do really enjoy sea fishing, especially for conger, wrasse and pollock off rocks. All offer something unique, whether it be the lightning quick bites of wrasse on worms, slamming takes of pollock on lures at dusk or the rattling almost pathetic plucks of a conger picking up and dropping your bait.
Though one thing I am sure of, numbers of ALL the fashionable species is in serious decline, worryingly so!

Though TBH, it offers a great aside to my preferred coarse fishing but even if I lived in Bournemouth, you'd be more likely to find me on the Stour chasing chub and barbel or Hatchet pond for tench and carp.
For me coarse fishing offers so much diversity, it detracts some of my need to look too the sea for new challenges.

Chav Prof, I found the idea of bait wars amusing, spades at dawn...mg:

When are the best tide times in Oz and NZ, or even SA Ron? I will grab my bag and head off........................:wh

I think angling is all about opportunity...

I'm predominantly a coarse angler because I live as far from the coast as it is possible to get .

Given the opportunity I'll fish for anything that swims but I rarely see the sea... all water inspires me to angle.

..........

There's definitely a lot more to sea fishing...it's much harder than coarse. For a start, some of the fish could really do you a mischief.

Coarse anglers used to stocked commercials with all the facilities, fishing the pads for tench would get a shock to the system standing on a desolate cod beach in a February storm Or steaming 20 miles out into the Channel on a bumpy sea to reach your 'swim'

It's far easier to continuously blank sea fishing so you really have to learn your marks, tides and migrations of the species you're after. And local knowledge is so much more vital than in any coarse fishing.

I like boat fishing....but boat fishing don't like me, Even when we went wreck fishing out of Dartmouth and the sea was like a mill pond I ground baited the English channel... I am ok going out and maybe the first 2 hours...but thats it until the engine starts again and we get moving properly

Was'nt too bad in the Gambia, Florida or the Dominican though

---------- Post added at 10:54 ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 ----------

Harvey said:

And icefishing at winter. Which is a cold affair, but has a distinct charm of its own.

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Just had a look at your web pages.... Excellent

I do all fishing, I live in Norfolk and one of the nice things about sea fishing is that although as has been said local knowledge and marks are key to success, it's the sea.

You can put in hours, days, months and even years looking for decent places. I reckon I've probably walked the Norfolk coast line many times of the last few years. Google earth and chats in lovely north Norfolk pubs also help. Finding out the hard way is half the fun and I think helps your fishing in the long run. That's not to say it's soul destroying at times but I see it as character building.

Try and walk the chalk streams of Norfolk and see how far you get? If your after trout it's not a question of being in the right club, having enough money etc. but who your relatives know. The sea does have a primeval pull that is hard to ignore.

Infact, just got back from fly fishing and while out organised a beach session for the first tide Saturday and could well be coarse fishing for last knockings.

Sometimes it just comes up roses.

Had a few goes as a teenager. From the beach fine, from a boat ..pure hell. Lowered the bait over the side and then had to go and lie down for four hours feeling like death and could barely reel in at the end of the day. Everyone onboard was ill that day, even experienced boat anglers. And a boat capsized a few miles away.

Heavy lines, crude bite indication, massive hooks,...bit like modern carping isnt it? Do they use bolt rigs, boilies and buzzers yet?

chub_on_the_block said:

Had a few goes as a teenager. From the beach fine, from a boat ..pure hell. Lowered the bait over the side and then had to go and lie down for four hours feeling like death and could barely reel in at the end of the day. Everyone onboard was ill that day, even experienced boat anglers. And a boat capsized a few miles away.

Heavy lines, crude bite indication, massive hooks,...bit like modern carping isnt it? Do they use bolt rigs, boilies and buzzers yet?

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Funny you mention some of these points - sea fishing does not have to be like many of the steriotypes already mention (and some fed in by me in the intro). Sadly, angler perception of beach fishing hasn't changed much in years - when presented with a shop full of sea fishing tackle - most select massive hooks, heavy gear and are actually missing out on a lot of fish and even blanking because of these commonly held misconceptions......

Funny you mention bolting rigs - modern sea rigs are designed to work with the tide and most fish hook themseves against the weight or tension in the line - just like in lots of course fishing applications. in contrast, Bass are capable of picking up a bait, breezing of with it and rejecting items with the finesses of a chub..... then there are mullet......

I learnt to sea fish properly when i started to fish matches - that is when you learn the value of fishing as light as possible and realise that MODERN sea fishing can be a very subtle art in-deed.

chub_on_the_block said:

Had a few goes as a teenager. From the beach fine, from a boat ..pure hell. Lowered the bait over the side and then had to go and lie down for four hours feeling like death and could barely reel in at the end of the day. Everyone onboard was ill that day, even experienced boat anglers. And a boat capsized a few miles away.

Heavy lines, crude bite indication, massive hooks,...bit like modern carping isnt it? Do they use bolt rigs, boilies and buzzers yet?

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Bolt-rigs - Like Chav P. says, many rigs use the tide to self hook and my usual choice cod rig is effectively hair-rigging a livebait; start off tying a size 2 hook baited with mackerel, infront of that tie a 2/0-6/0 hook (I use a carpy knotless knot, with a 2" hair), cast out, hook up a whiting and wait for a cod to hoover it up, works well.

Boilies - Never tried them, though I dare say they'd work, BUT I have used 16/21mm crab and krill pellets for wrasse, naturally they were hair-rigged, very successful it proved too!

Buzzers - I can't see a problem using them, I never have, nor have I seen anyone else, yet, but..........

Heavy lines - They are used in the main to combat the snaggy nature of the sea bed, not all about that though, go tope fishing over a sand bank using carp gear, you'll soon wish you had a bit more ummph...

Crude bite indication - Yes this is the norm but you have a tide/waves to contend with, but when that's not an issue, soft lure rods often rule.

Massive hooks - Bear in mind a 4" whiting can easily hook-up on a 2/0 hook and often big baits are needed to avoid nuisance species, what alternatives?

As for modern carping - Well if you think so.......... But I would happily use a 5/0 or 6/0 hook and 50lb line for big cod, say 20lbs, though for big carp (which fight harder pound for pound), I've never exceeded 18lb line and I think the biggest hook size was a size 1 hook.
That said for wrasse (often going 2lb+) I'd use a size 8 carp hook, no bigger than many use for a chub of the same size.

Rather a lot of stereotyping there.
Same as with all things angling; thinking anglers will/do change their tact to suit the target species and conditions, non-thinking anglers won't/don't, just sticking to doing the same old...