Alderney
Angling.com
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28th March Apologies for being off the ball with my updates, extremely busy completing the last knockings on our guesthouse which I am pleased to say is completed. I'll do a page soon with all the details. On top of that in all truthfulness there hasn't been a great deal to shout about. I've not wet a line since my last report but last weekend there was a competition between Alderney and Jersey. A good effort was put in to rod hours despite the not so kind weather and the rewards weren't high. Thick Lipped Mullet virtually non existent with the best fish at 2lb 4oz which was caught by Jersey angler Ian Le Blancq. There were bits and bobs caught but as it was a specimen competition they weren't appreciated. The other fish worthy of mention was a 6lb 8oz Ballan Wrasse caught by Bernie Gosselin, also from Jersey. Jersey walked the comp, however I think a 12lb Bull Huss caught by local angler Rob Blondin would have beat the Ballan and maybe equalled things up between the two islands if only Rob had booked in! Lesson learnt for next year.
Boat reports will start soon as they start to arrive for the Turbot and Brill. I'll be getting the bum scrubbed on the bottom of mine and hopefully get it in the water for the next calm spell, can't wait to get back in to it on a regular basis, not like last year when time was at an absolute premium. 15th March Poor weather generally and lack of anglers hasn't given me anything worthwhile to report. However the wind dropped off to just a very gentle breeze last night and I managed to sneak out with Roy. Very good session with plenty of fish. Lost count of the numbers of Bream, nearly lost count of the number of Bass but we think we had 9, also three Red Mullet and a lone Sole. Going back to last week three lads from Bristol didn't fair very well. Best fishing of their four day break were good numbers of Bass on plugs and lures, also Wrassing was good fun with some nice fish landed. Everything else for them was quiet. 25th February I had a good excuse to go fishing last night, our marketing lady had a journalist over for a few days who wanted to try the fishing out as part of any features he would do about Alderney. That got me away from the chores of home. We only fished a short time but luckily we managed a few fish combining Red Mullet, Pollack and Bass. He was made up by the fact that we could just turn up on the beach in February and catch quality eating fish almost at will. Even better that any fishing mark is only minutes from where you are based...........quality. 24th February Its a while since the last update but with very little activity taking place, and at the start of this period what angling was being done wasn't very well rewarded, gave me very little to inform you about. However last weekends Spring tides saw a succession of reasonable fishing taking place. Without doubt the highlight was local angler Dick Smith whose obsession with Thick Lipped Mullet reached a new level as he landed a 9lb 9oz monster. Beautifully conditioned it was returned alive after giving an excellent account of itself to the 'master'. Lets hope Dicks next biggie is the thoroughly deserved double. Sticking with the Mullet three anglers arrived from the UK this week and they have got amongst some fish as well, best fish to date 7lb 12oz for them. From the shore there are still plenty of Black Bream to 3lb 8oz, quite a bit of Bass reported with the top rod reporting 4 fish. If it wasn't for the quantities of Bream I am sure we would be seeing more Red Mullet and Sole. Best rod the weekend for the Red Mullet was four, all a decent size I am told and after a quiet period a couple of Sole have shown to 1lb 12oz. Not many anglers fishing though, night tides no more than 3 or 4 anglers so plenty of space here along our 10 mile of coastline if you fancy flying over.
I saw this petition on www.deepsea.co.uk this morning so I thought I'd pinch it and paste it here to make more of you boat anglers aware of it. Its an opportunity to express yourself if you believe it to be a problem, seems to be an increasing problem in my eyes. Downing Street petition on Wreck nettingPosted by Jonesthefish on Mon Feb 25 12:56:36 2008 Hi Guy's, I placed this petition on the gov site some time ago. It will be closing in 3 weeks time. Can you please take 5 minutes to read and put your names to it. I know some will argue that it is everyones right to fish but we and they know the damage they are doing for short term and sighted gain. For all those who have already put the fingure to the key! Cheers! JTF petitions.pm.gov.uk/BanWreckNets / I request that a ban is put on the netting of wrecks & reef's in UK waters. These net's are usually set at times of the year when breeding fish either visit our water's to breed or in transit to breeding grounds. They are usually set on neapish tide's and can result in the fish being left or trapped in the net for a number of day's. Also, they are susceptible to being inadvertently left on the wreck or reef area causing year's of damage to the area's breeding stock's. This can be caused by large ship's riding over the marker buoys cutting through the line, which then causes the net to fall or flop over the wreck or reef but can happen from the poor maintenance and length of time the net is left out due to bad weather. These structure's are used by recreational angler's who manage the fish stock on the marks so as to not decimate it. The material's that the nets are made of mean that they are there for ten's of year's.
11th February Cracking weekends fishing here. The spring tides have bought plenty of fish within range of the island. Bream to 3lb 8oz were caught from the Breakwater along with Red Gurnard, Dogfish, Bass, Pout, and Red Mullet. Anglers on the beaches faired very similar as well with good quantities of Bass and Red Mullet. Bass to 3lb 8oz falling to plugs as well. The lovely weather also enabled a bit of boat fishing with Wrecks producing Pollack to over 21lb. With the weather set to continue the same for the rest of the week the island should continue to fish really well. Plenty of spare places on the flights and accommodation if you fancy it! 7th February We have perfect tides and weather this weekend which run well in to next week, and as far as I know no anglers visiting so us locals have the island to ourselves. Hopefully some of them will manage to get out and have a bash, unfortunately I have other commitments so won't be able to which is a real shame...........or will I? Red Mullet still around as well as Bream and Bass. No doubt with more anglers we would get a better picture of what is there, for sure from what the Commercial lads tell me there is plenty to target but I'd get shot if I divulged those little secrets but there is a fair bit about. 2nd February Windy weather again now, winter has returned. Local rods still managing to find Black Bream, Bass and Red Mullet on the clean beaches. I went the other night down to the spot where the Huss were, scaled my hooks down to increase my chances of hooking smaller fish as well. There was no way I wanted another blank. Fieona joined me, conditions weren't as nice as they had been. First cast she managed a dogfish, we then endured a biteless session until my last but one cast which was another LSD. I tried not to be too joyous about it but somehow was relieved that I managed to catch something. The Huss never showed for us, as is typical you can never catch what has already been caught. 29th January I ventured out again last night. Cracking weather, no wind, smooth seas and it was pretty warm too, hard to believe we are nearly in to February. Fishing wise it was another blank for me, big baits for big fish was the order of the day but nothing materialized. Further along the coast one of the local anglers had a run out for a couple of hours fishing and caught one of the fish I would have liked for sure, a fine 10lb 3oz Bull Huss. Two others were dropped as well, so there's fish there but not for me. Another couple of pictures from the weekend. Martin Larkins with a 6lb 14oz fish on the left and Paul Burnett with a 6lb one as well.
28th January A weekend of mixed fortunes really. This time of year the main focus is the legendary Thick Lipped Mullet, wily and shy make them difficult to catch but given the vast numbers that winter over in Alderney we are fortunate to be able to have a good crack at them. Local angler Bill Walden managed a personal best of 7lb 9ozs in glorious weather conditions. Other fish were landed but nothing came close to this specimen, 3-5lb seemed to the normal run of the mill. Red Mullet still featuring from the cleaner beaches with fish to 1lb 9oz reported. One or two Bass about too and Black Bream returned in good numbers on these Spring tides. Fish to 3lb 8oz were landed. I went Saturday night, tried 3 marks up and down the cliffs looking for Huss and Eels. Not even a sniff but my partner in crime managed a small Bass. As promised I got my hands on the picture of the large Mullet reported a few days ago. It was a personal best for Dominic Johnson of 8lb 9oz, that's on the left, centrally is fanatical mullet angler Martin Larkins with one of his fish on his trip here, this one wasn't his best but a fine fish nonetheless at 5lb 2oz. RHS is Bills PB of 7lb 9oz.
24th January Visiting anglers got amongst the Mullet yesterday. Fish of 8lb 9oz, 6lb 14oz and another 6lb odd were the better of 7or 8 fish landed. Pictures to follow if I can get my hands on one. 23rd January Not much happening really due to the lack of rods on the island. A couple of local anglers had a go for those Red Mullet last night. Confirmation that they are still about as three fish to 1lb 6oz was caught and one small Bream. The lads caught the fish on some really smelly ragworm, worm that I gave to them as they would have died anyway (the worm that is, not the lads, they could have though.......it was that smelly!!!). Which leads me on to that as from the end of the month we will be tanking worm so you always have the best quality available and then if you want it dead then it can die in your fridge rather than mine! Also it means we will always have a constant supply which is better for you and easier for us to manage. Below is Nigel Bowditch with the shore caught 10lb Pollack he caught 10 days or so ago.
18th January No visiting anglers here at the moment, the last lot of fish they caught were a mix of Red Mullet, several Bass to 4lb 14oz, Pollack and another couple of Sole. One or two local anglers have tried their luck this week with varying results. Red Mullet and Thick Lipped Mullet featuring in their catches, a single Bass for another pair of rods too before they got swamped off their mark. 14th January Still plenty of Red Mullet to 1lb 8oz, top rod last night was 10 fish. Also one or two Bass have fallen to lures, as well as Pollack. A few more Sole have been caught as well, plus Codling. One of the best sessions from the last couple of days was had by Nigel Bowditch. Fishing on a mark on the south side of the island he managed to land several Bull Huss to 10lb 3oz, 4 Conger Eels to 30lb and a 10lb Pollack. The amazing thing was he lost two bigger ones at the waters edge, one was 'significantly' bigger (my words not Nigel's, his words are unprintable!). I'll take my hat off to Nige for what he is doing, along with his mate Dodge because neither can drive they are doing everything on foot, I know the island is small but this no mean task. Fit as a fiddle I reckon. 11th January Poor weather hampering sport but when able to fish there is a bit about. Lots of Red Mullet showing with best catch on one rod is 7. Bass, Sole, Pout, Pollack, Bream all featuring. I fished last night in poor conditions to start with, lashings of rain around tea time and squally winds. We got bombed out with weed in the end and no fish. Packed away to go home and by the time we got there the wind had miraculously died away. So off we went again to another mark and if the swell was ok it would be fishable. Venue looked good so we gave it ago. Not terrific fishing, I had a couple of Pout and a couple of small Bass, Dodge managed a couple of Pout and jammy Nigel had a 2lb 1oz Sole which made the effort worthwhile.
7th January After Saturdays relative success I had a Sunday of woe fishing wise. Two sessions in three venues for Mullet produced diddly squat for me, a couple of missed bites. Roy Repton and Wayne ? was with me. Wayne blanked too, but Roy managed two smallish fish, 3lb I guess which he got both in a 10 minute spell. The day started perfectly weather wise but conditions deteriorated and fish were hard to locate. A couple of local rods, one of them being Bill Walden, landlord of the Bonjour Guesthouse, managed two, one went 5lb 5oz. Also Gars were caught. Night time I went to Plate Saline and caught a solitary Pollack. The other lads stayed on for a bit and managed several Red Mullet and Pollack. Elsewhere that evening Sole, Bream, Bass, Rockling and other odds and sods were caught. 6th January Had a few hours last night to use up some worm on the turn. Managed 3 Bass and 3 Red mullet. Another angler on the beach had 2 Red Mullet. Elsewhere there were Dogfish, Smoothounds and Bass for another two rods. Best Mullet reported the last couple of days was 6lb 11oz, not too many around though. Usual Pollack, Wrasse and Gars caught too. 3rd January Got my first trip of 2008 under my belt last night. My excuse to get out was that I have my brother over with a mate of his, Namibian Guide Johan Burger, so off we went to see, if any, what our first species of 2008 would be. After aborting our attempts at the first mark which was unfishable we headed for an easier location. On the 2nd chuck I had my first species for me for 2008 which was a Bass, same as the last species for 2007! I also had a Poor Cod and a Black Bream. Johan unfortunately blanked, he did keep laughing at the size of the fish we were going for, even here there is very little that is going to drag him all over the beach as he does on a regular basis in his home country. Diversifying his website is well worth a look at the fantastic fishing that we all hear about in his country. It's not over priced neither, currently it is cheaper than when I went 4 years ago! Take a look on http://www.westcoastangling.com/index.htm Anyway, back to last night and it was Darren that caned our backsides with 4 Red Mullet, a Bream, Pollack and Sole. 2nd January 2008 Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you had a cracker and lets hope we have as many fishy tales to tell this year as we did last. Apologies for the site going down over Christmas. Without throwing more money at it, which I wasn't prepared to do for the sake of a few days, there was no short term answer. Long term I have taken some good advice on board and it is things that I will be able to implement as we go along over the next couple of months. Fishing wise we managed to get out a couple of times over Christmas. One session was back on the Mullet. I restored some faith by handing out a thrashing to Fieona, 2 Gars and a Mullet to her blank! Yep, I did call it a thrashing! It involved fishing two marks, one down a cliff mark where we blanked. On our way out we got the car stuck in a ditch which took us an hour to recover. We carried on to our next mark and given the amount of bites and fish which were jumping we should have had a lot more fish. Then on New Years Eve we fished in the early evening for Bass and Smoothounds. Only the Bass showed, Fie had two to my one, stuffed again! That's three of the last four times that she has come that she has beat me, must be the pheromones.
Poor Fie doesn't look her best here, it was cold. Not to worry an hour later she was warmed up in the pub, and when she finished drinking 10 hours later, well beggars belief, can't publish those photo's!! Generally not a lot of fishing happening. there are though Smoothounds about with the best to date over 7lb, Bass to close on 6lb have been caught too. Mullet by day but they do seem to have gone a little sparse for now. |
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