Jan-Mar 2009

Despite the lack of time I managed to get afloat last night for a very quick evening session. Tide was right and sea conditions were perfect so we went to target some Tope. Nothing much beats a mini shark tearing line of your reel heading towards sunset, great sport. Unfortunately nothing too big with 5 fish in the 25lb to 30lb region but we did have a nice double figure Bull Huss.

A cracking weekend weather wise which enabled one local boat to get afloat. Andy Bosman took his boys out for a bash at the Pollack on the reefs and found fish to 5lb which also saw Tope chasing the Pollack to the surface. Armed with the necessary terminal tackle the following day they managed to hook Tope to around 30lb odd, cracking day was had with sport all day.

Dick was back out last night and the following is a post made on a forum which I just cut and paste so it is in his words:

As the weather was nice I went and had another go for the bass, but this time with a bit of an experiment in mind.

Sure enough as soon as it was dark they came on the feed. Not quite as mental as before but bites were within a couple of minutes. Time to experiment!

One rod was baited with local dug worm, the other with an 'alternative'.

As I was reeling in a bass on the worm I noticed a pull down then slack line bite on the other rod. Success to the 'alternative' came as a schoolie was pulled in. Thereafter it was an even 50/50 split between the two baits. I even gave up with the ragworm and used the new bait exclusively.

A total of 12 bass were landed in a short hour session, all schoolies up to 2 1/2lb.

These 6" ragworm substitutes come in a pot of oily attractant, are nice and tough (I only used 2), and look just like rag.

They were fished on a running ledger, static on the bottom, not reeled in to make them more attractive.

Maybe the amount of fish feeding made it a success, but the bass had no qualms about eating it!

Berkley Gulp is something I can't seem to get my head round. It clearly does work under the right conditions though as Dicks session demonstrates so if you want to give it a go we have plenty of stock but on a trial basis if you quote the above we will do it at £2 per pack! That's good fishing under any conditions so well done to Dick for getting out there.

Latest shore report is 15 Bass in one rod session for top local angler Dick Smith whereby the bait didn't sit on the bottom for longer than 30 seconds before a bar of silver came along and snaffled it up. The only reason why there was 'only 15' was because Dicky run out of bait! Best fish 3lb 8oz, smallest was 1lb 8oz.

Just a little snippet of info I got from Nigel this morning. Actually so much good news comes from Nigel this page might become Nigel's own diary! He is a very good angler and thinks outside the box, also he isn't 'working' so is able to try lots of different things which most of us don't have time for. Anyway, given how bad the nights have been he has been out drowning worms during the day and in two trips has managed amongst other things half a dozen Plaice. Unheard of, and if he wasn't fishing it would still be unheard! Best fish went 2lb 4oz which was the only one taken home for tea so there is still at least 5 Plaice out there. He also managed a 6lb 8oz smoothhound.

WE'RE BACK!!!! And what a great time we had. The bulk of the time we were staying at Paul Whittalls new holiday home in Thailand, rather than me tell you what we got up to take a look at his site www.paulsthaihouse.co.uk and go to his blog page, having said that I don't why I am directing you there as I seemed to get absolutely slaughtered most days by him! It is a fabulous set up and Paul is a fantastic host as he is a mine of information of things you can do.

Obviously we have come back to a pile of work, thanks to those of you that have ordered from our Mail Order Pages and thanks too for your patience on dispatch times. One anomaly I have my end is from a Mr. Wilson on 0174??????? if you could contact us as I missed your order on the answer phone, pressed delete instead of replay.......I'm so out of touch!

Fishing wise I am told it is pants at the moment but rumour has it there could be a few Turbots on the banks, I need to find out more about that. The first couple of weeks we were away there were still a few Bass to plugs, worm baits saw some Red Mullet, odd Sole and Black Bream. Nigel Bowditch managed a couple of double figure Bull Huss with the best tipping the scales at 11lb 4oz. A few nights later he also managed a cracking Bass of 8lb 1oz but lost a bigger one at the net. Mullet showing but not in any size or numbers so you've not been missing out on my reports. Having done my bit to destroy Tourism to the island I will endeavour to scourge out some decent fishy reports over the next couple of days, one thing we can look forward to though is the impending boat fishing.

End of the month we have the Alderney v Jersey shore match, a weekend of specimen hunting, for details contact myself at the shop on 01481 824884 or Jeff Ceillam on 07781 401166.

Last week petered out with a couple of Sole, some Red Mullet, plenty of Bream and one or two Bass. Now the snow is here everyone has put their rods away and got their sledges out!

No reports on here till 12th March as we are away on an extended holiday. The shop will be open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings only 9.30am till 1.00pm, if you ring outside that time then leave a message. Alternatively my mobile is being manned and you can ring that. Due to the length of time we are away I will be monitoring emails so no problem there. Hopefully we will have some fishy stories to tell you about on our return, for the first three weeks we are off to sample the fishing and diving that Paul Whittall has got in to with his Thailand adventures. I keep getting emails like 'bring some heavier line', sounds like the fishing you want eh?

Steve Ace with the best Bass of the week and a PB for him, 8lb 4oz. Himself and the other lads have had some cracking sport on short sessions with the plug with catches of up to 9 fish with the average size falling around 6lb. However tonight they did have their first blank, on a night I chose to go and I fell in!! Last night though I had some better luck with my first ever Blonde from the shore so well pleased with that.

Have done plenty over the last two days and nights. The last two nights have seen 4.00am finishes and I have had three sessions. One session was a blank for me but the lads I was with managed a Huss and an Eel. The next session followed immediately after with a midnight start on one of the low water marks for some Bass of which I managed 13 plus two Smoothounds and a Dogfish. The lad I was with managed 10 Bass and a Red mullet. I returned on my own last night and managed 8 more Bass and a Red Mullet. In between all that I got afloat in a R.I.B. of all things. Not great for the Bream, I tried to find those Couches again but no joy but we did find half a dozen Black ones too 2lb 8oz and a Pollack. We moved off to a Ray mark and managed two Blondes to 16lb and a Bass.............Happy Days!

Other lads that are over managing to find fish too. Plugging sessions have been finding fish but yesterday the lads had a good time with up to 4 fish per rod, best fish around 5/6lb but Steve Ace lost a bigger one which would have been a PB. Mullet seemed to have totally disappeared, something which the Commercial lads seem to confirm. I'm told we have a calm but cold week next week so they may well show again, hope so! Others are finding Bass on the bottom baits too plus plenty of Bream and a few Red Mullet.

Good tides all week this week so I got my butt out and did a bit. Drowning worms due to them 'ageing' was the order of the day and it paid off with a mix of Bass, Red Mullet and Pollack, nothing over 2lb though. Loads of missed bites which I suspect were Red Mullet. Elsewhere one rod managed 2 Huss in to double figures and 6 Eels to 28/29lb but his best fish was lost at the edge, a very nice 8-10lb Pollack. Another set of Bristol lads across now, 3 of them this time. They managed a good bag of Black Bream to 2lb 8oz and a couple of Bass in the 4/5lb region. The downside though is the Mullet fishing is pants, large swells here which might be keeping the fish away from the shoreline but with calmer weather this week there may well be an opportunity to target some if they can be found.

It is always disturbing how our sport and free time is under threat. I do believe most of us worry about conservation and where we are all heading with regards to fish stocks, and what will be left in the sea for us and future generations. Well worry not because if I read correctly if the following goes ahead we will be legislated against anyway and our fishing is still under threat irrelevant of our fish stocks. Brussels are making attempts to licence each and every one of us. What a load of baloney if it goes through. I believe anglers are responsible for 1% (if not a very low %) of fish caught from our seas around the UK and they want to legislate against that. Forget the bycatch, dead undersize fish, not having protected areas, not having closed seasons for spawning fish............................yes it can go on can't it. Anyway, follow the link below and sign up to the petition and read more, it is down to YOU to protect your leisure time and rights that we have had since time began. If allowed then this is the thin end of a very thick wedge for our generation, a wedge that will be forced and is not the answer to the problems that exist.

Its been hard because of the weather but there are still a few bits about. Over the weekend the lads that are here from Bristol and a couple of local rods have managed Red Mullet, Sole, Dogs, Bream, Smoothound and Bass. The best fishing has been with the Bass on plugging gear with fish to 6lb.

Weather is about to go against us here with winds of 50mph forecasted. Some lads over from Bristol had a good result this morning with 10 Bass between them to 6lb on the plugs. They had a demoralising day yesterday so fair play to them for getting up early this morning while we all laid in bed! I keep meaning to go but this thing called work keeps getting in the way. Maybe tomorrow night.

Cracking first half to the weekend weather wise so a couple of trips were planned. I ignored the full moon and the brightness that affects our fishing here and went looking for something that was going to put a bend in the rod with Nigel Bowditch from the shore. Tope was our first priority with a Ray or two as a back up. We have had a fair run of Small Eyeds here recently so we should have been be ok. No runs from the Tope but the Ray as expected did show up, Nigel was first in with a Small Eyed off around 8lb and I was fairly quick to follow up with a cracking Undulate Ray of 12lb 9oz. Elated and with very few other bites we decided to head home, mainly though because I wanted to be up at the crack of dawn to get out in the kayak.

I awoke to a mill pond! Had to pinch myself because this was a Winter scene that you just don't get here. I launched as the deep red sun broke over the horizon in the freezing cold and made my way to the first mark a mile or so away down the coats. On arrival it was slack tide and the plan was to tuck up up behind a reef in the lee of the imminent ebb, however the reef hadn't shown enough on the drop and rather than chance it I opted to go back nearer where I had launched. I noticed a series of nest laid down and thought I would fish on the outside of them and pick of any fish swimming around them. Boy what a plan. I had around 40 or 50 Black Bream up to 2lb and a bit plus Scad. Cracking fishing. However the best was to come. I needed a break so headed for shore and Dick Smith was on his way to launch and thus we would go otu together in the afternoon on another mark. with legs stretched and a food/wee break we headed out a bit further on to some mixed ground. Immediately we were in to Bream but not black ones, Couches!! My first fish was over 3lb and fishing a two hook rig the trace had snapped, absolutely convinced I had two one. Couches have teeth like Wrasse and very hard inside, they also fight like tigers. Not the distinctive dives and rattles like the blacks but dives and thuds! They were a long way back so I kept trying to bounce my tackle back but couldn't due to to many Blacks, Scad and Pollack but when I did I hit the Couches. Another dropped one, then landed another over 3lb, it was great. Meanwhile Dick was getting his fair share, he managed the best one at 3lb 7oz. Then I hit something big on the bream gear, I just knew it would happen. Conger live and dead baits had been down but you just know they are going to hit the light gear. He wasn't on long and I shouted back to Dick as by now I had moved to get closer to the Couches. five minutes later he is belly laughing and his 12lb class rod is bent over and fight on. When the Eel surfaced he shouted out 40/50lb but it is so hard to tell. Once he had the big black thing alongside he opted for the conservative '30lb and a big plus!' approach as it didn't really matter. We had an absolute ball. Tide turned but before it increased too much we got out as it was a massive Spring tide which would run to around 5/6 knots once it had built. My intention was to go Saturday night too as the weather was so perfect still but I couldn't muster the energy.

Even if it does use all my bandwidth up for the month I just had to include all of Dicks fight with the Eel, it is amusing. Even more so I am leant out of my yak facing backwards and he is around 40 yards uptide of me!

Not a lot of fishing went on elsewhere but I did get a call to photograph a 9lb Bass which JC caught, the only bite of the night but well worth it. Also have a picture of the 11lb 2oz Small Eyed caught by Russell Welch reported recently.

A weekend of woe for me but elsewhere there was a bit of fish. Mullet and Small Eyeds seem to be the order of the day with Bass, Pollack, Bream, Codling, Wrasse thrown in for good measure. Saturday night saw Fieona and I clambering over rocks in search of a Ray. On what was to be the coldest night in the Channel Islands for 12 years we failed to produce but Jersey angler Russell Welch fishing not to far away managed one of 6lb 11oz. This fish came early in the evening which gave us false hope. For a change (and no sympathy towards her please!) Fieona blanked whilst I managed 3 Bream and 2 Pout. An early 'ish finish around 11pm as I was to be up fairly early for a kayak session in the morning on the promise of some decent Mullet fishing.

Mullet had been congregating in one of the bays for a few days with some nice fish sighted. There are now 2 large shoals of fish around the island. On meeting with Dick and Matt at the launch point we saw zero fish jumping. Not good. However Alderneys Mullet expert/record holder Mr. Smith stated '....that the fish will turn up'. With those words ringing in my ears we launched in to the surf across the rocks. Not an easy task without getting wet or damaging our gear but accomplished with relative ease. I then looked back and saw I'd left half my gear on the beach. I paid the price for this with a wee soaking trying to retrieve it which wasn't the best thing to do. Thinking I was going to freeze to death I need not have worried. I've beat on about these before but if you get cold then buy yourself some Shimano thermals, the Breath Hyper XT........absolutely superb and well worth the money. Anyway, we re-grouped and with a horrendous swell out to sea we gave it a bash with the 'experts' words ringing in my ears. Did they turn up, did they hell like! After a couple of hours we decided to run for it, beaching the yaks in the surf again and this time although Dick and Matt got out unscathed I did manage another soaking getting caught dilly dallying in the surf having made the perfect 'dismount'! Just remind me why I bought the kayak?

This morning, I was up well before the larks for another go at the Rays, no joy again, not even a bite. I can't even say it was a pleasure to be up before the larks in a NE 4/5 and zero degrees! Still don't worry my weekend isn't a reflection on the current fishing which is in fact pretty good.

Here we go again, another year of fishing to look forward too. Not knowing what's around the corner is great about our sport, at anytime you could be catching a fish of a lifetime but more than likely struggling to find one for the pot. What if you had one more cast? What if you go out tomorrow night as well? What if you leave the bait longer? What if you changed it more often? What if........? What ever you do though just enjoy it and take it for what it is, a leisurely pastime and hobby. Happy New Year and hope you make lots of memories.

There's a fair bit of fish here in Alderney, shore sport has seen plenty of Mullet with a couple of shoals now circling the island in various bays. Fish to 6lb easily caught with many bigger fish spotted. One or two in the clutches of the seals though! Small Eyeds have shown on some of the marks, Bass, Bream, Pollack and a few Codling al reported over the last few days. One or two Eels about too. Plugs have been working for the Bass with fish to 6lb 11oz. I am sure if we had more rods here then we would have more too report.

I've been guiding with a young lad whose Christmas present was a couple of Congering sessions with me during the Christmas and New Year break. Strong SE winds made life a little difficult but we achieved our objective, 4 Eels to 20/25lb were managed on the first session. The following night we unfortunately had to pick the same venue and the result was just the one and we dropped two fish. Last night I went for some squid for bait for tonight but despite lots of enquiries I didn't land any. Unfortunately it would appear there a diesel spillage during the day and I think this stopped the squid confidently taking our jigs. Out tonight, kayak tomorrow so hopefully lots to report Monday.

Send mail to chris@alderneyangling.com with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: April 14, 2009

Send mail to chris@alderneyangling.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: April 14, 2009