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1st May 

Weekend boat report consists of slow fishing at the Schole Bank but closer to the island better Turbot are showing in better quantities. More Bass are showing coinciding with the large amount of sandeel and launce around. Pollack up to 8lb easy to come by on the local rock marks. Some good Brill have turned up in the catches too, fish around 6-8lb. Alderney Felix had it's maiden voyage and the crew had plenty to take home for tea, Bass to 7lb, a couple of flats and a box of Pollack. Alderney Felix is linked to this site. I managed two turbot for a long day, both around 5lb, and some pollack and dogfish.

6th May

Atrocious weather has put paid to the visiting charter fleet leaving the harbour for two days this week. Some did fish inside the harbour but very little was caught. Last two days boats have ventured out a bit. With boats targeting different species obviously result have been different. The crew aboard Glen Cairns Valkyrie had a bash at the wrasse and pollack and through that salvaged a bumpy day at sea. Meanwhile on Sundancer bass were the target and 8 obliged plus a 15lb Turbot. On Colin Johnson's new cat, Shogun, some bass and flats hit the deck too.

From the shore it died a death which shows it doesn't matter how good a venue is, it will have duff days. A few Garfish and Pollack for a party of anglers I took out. The same for others with reports of Bass to 3lb and Wrasse. Mackerel have gone quiet. 

10th May

The weather eased down the weekend so some fishing took place but too late for the unfortunate skippers and crew that visited last week. Turbot and Brill are the obvious targets and although there are very few blank days, there are neither many days when fish numbers exceed double figures. Chris Tett's crew on Peace and Plenty reported good return of fish however but last week was such a difficult week for one and all. Bass are featuring more and easier to target especially on the spring tides. A pleasant afternoon for myself was spent on Alderney Felix in which we landed a couple of Bass, 5 Pollack and a small Blonde Ray. Mackerel and Launce for bait were easy to come by.

No shore reports as of yet. 

12th May

Here we go then!  The rocky headlands and breakwater have switched back on, well with the Pollack and Bass they have anyway. Chris Dowden has had some great sport with Pollack to 7lb and up to 9 decent ones a session on spinning techniques. On the beaches Chris has been out with Dave Young and have had plenty of fish including Sole to 2lb 8oz. Norman Butel has been amongst the Pollack and Bass. Some good sessions amongst the Pollack, again spinning is the way to do it. This morning I was speaking to Norman on Commercial Quay whilst setting up my tackle store, off he went to fish. Twenty minutes and two casts later he was back with a gleaming 7lb Bass, gloated and then he was off again to work and lay carpets.  Garfish are showing well too.

Bessie Vee skippered by Spike Spears reported 13 Turbot and a Brill. Other boats in port include True Blue, Out of the Blue, Peace and Plenty, Top Cat, Offshore Rebel and one or two others and they're all reporting flatfish from the banks with Brill and Bass too. These that are going out to the wrecks are getting plenty of Pollack with a sprinkling of Ling and Cod. My good mates Lee Whitcomb and Pete Reynolds are here too on Lee's old boat, Flying Fish. First day 4 Turbot and a 5lb Brill........it's that easy!! 

13th May

Good mix of fishing had from the boats. Tope to 40lb, Congers which biggest was only 25lb from the reefy ground which was also where some good Bull Huss to double figures were landed. Along with Pollack, Wrasse and Bream made an interesting day. Other boats kept in pursuit of the flats and most charters got in to the mid teens with the Turbot and most boats again managing a Brill or two. My buddies had their fair share of Flats, thirteen I think between Pete, Eric and Gary whilst Lee had a 'great' day with his one dogfish and a flukey flat at the death which saved him from a humiliating time at the bar! 

14th May 

Much the same as yesterday with the mix of fishing. Of the best reports that came in Bessie Vee seem to have the better of the flats, 13 fish but most were in or heading towards double figures....best was 16lb. Offshore Rebel had notable catches too.....30 Turbot and Brill. My mates on Flying Fish went for the mixed fishing, had conger and bullhuss and some bits. Lee lost the best conger due to his tremendous and renowned ability to tie 'knots'! They then went off for the afternoon for some flats which they succeeded in doing.

On the shores everyone is having a good go at the Pollack and Bass. 

15th May

Tiger Lily got amongst the Tope The crew enthused about the day they had having tussles with Tope to 45lb in the racey tides on reasonably light gear, they just wish they landed the bigger ones that were dropped and lost! Reports of a 20lb plus Turbot lost on the surface but I forget which boat that was on, and the Turbot numbers remain the same. Quantities for every boat in too double figures with the better boats getting 25 plus fish which include the odd Brill. No Bass to talk of though but as the tides increase I am sure there will be.

On the shore there are still good reports of Pollack. The juniors congregating on the Breakwater after school are doing the business with Steve Lawton getting the better fish to 4lb. Bass to 3lb are being landed too. Plenty of Wrasse if that's what you're looking for.

17th May

Cracking weather persists enabling boats to get to the marks they want to fish, and to fish them properly. Once again most boats having a go at the flatfish fishing resulting in boats getting to double figures with the largest reported at 13lb. Peace and Plenty reporting the most at 19. Odd Brill in the catches too. Alderney Felix, our local charter boat had a good day amongst the Bass with double figure fish landed. Also plenty of Pollack.

I got to the casquet banks, dropped one on the first drift but later in the tide had one of 11lb which I was well pleased with. He was a really thick fish..............no not thick cos I caught him, thick in the sense of fillets!! After the my plotter failed which made drifting the bank difficult in order to drift the right part so with confidence suffering I first went to the lighthouse itself to Pollack fish and then to Burrhou Island where I managed 20 or so around 3lb to 4lb, the biggest went 7lb 8oz. Great sport in 50 foot of water on light gear plus I was surrounded by Puffins which made the day even better. Now to fix the plotter...... 

19th May

Slower boat sport for the Turbot and Brill with the best report I have is 19 flats aboard Arthur Savage's Private Venture. Most boats are landing between 5 and 10 flats. The general opinion seems to be that the spring tides don't produce the same as the neaps due to the reluctance of the Turbot to chase the baits and exerting unnecessary energy. However the flats are of good quality, the best which will be ratified as a NEW CHANNEL ISLAND RECORD, fell to Bournemouth angler Mike Whitehurst aboard the Poole boat Random Harvest skippered by Andy Adams. Mike was fishing the last drift of a hard day, whereby their reward was just the one Turbot of 6lb, with a 7' Technofish boat rod, ABU 7500 loaded with 30lb braid. End tackle was the standard 6' trace with a large live launce. And the fish weighed.....a whopping 28lb 2oz. Congratulations to the skipper and crew for persisting on a very hot day. The other fish of note was back on Arthur's boat which was a 19lb 12oz Turbot.........so they're out there.

Elsewhere Roger Bayzand's Sundance had a 72lb Tope amongst their caught and released fish, a very fine fish indeed. I have heard bigger ones hooked up and lost too. 

Bass are being caught in numbers when shoals of fish located.

On the shore, well its the same as before, plenty of Pollack to 5lb, Bass amongst them and hey presto we are now getting more mackerel. 

20th May

Arthur Savage was amongst the Tope yesterday, around a dozen fish to 48lb were landed with many more lost due to inadequate tackle. Ray Withers caught the largest which went 48lb. Flatfish fishing slow still but Bassing is improving with the spring tides topping out. One for His Knob was the best reported boat I heard of with over 40 Bass landed plus 3 Turbot.

28th May

Sorry it's been a while since the last update.

The boat fishing is much the same consistency as have previously been reported with exception to the Tope fishing. Chris Tett's Peace and Plenty in amongst the thick of it with up to 70 fish for a days fishing!! On Tiger Lily there is more exceptional fishing with Tope to 55lb and Ian Goff's Shande II were also hitting Tope galore and had a pick-up from a what was probably a rather large Porbeagle Shark which after a 15 minute scrap bit through the 200lb nylon trace. Apparently if it hadn't done that then it would have emptied out the angler's spool. As I said the flatfish fishing, bassing and wrecks are as they were so if you're coming over take your pick. Don't forget if you can't get on a visiting charter then we have a local boat too. See my links page for further details.

I managed to get out Wednesday afternoon and in what was an interesting few hours anchored on the back of the island I managed to get some Pollack to 5lb, a rather large and pretty Red Gurnard and a 16lb Blonde Ray which I was looking for.

On the shore, well that's hit and miss. Fishing on a mark one evening will give you good sport with Pollack to 7lb, Bass to 5lb, plus Wrasse, Gars and Mackerel; then you go back for some more the following evening and the fish don't turn up.

4th June

Boat fishing has remained the same really. Turbot and Brill numbers have probably averaged around 5 to 8 per boat with occasionally better  and yes, sometimes fewer. Most fish are in the 6 to 8lb bracket with the better fishing happening on the neap tides. Bass are becoming more reliable with fairly regular reports of 30 to 40 fish on a boat. One local boat has done particularly well for double figure fish but in the main every catch has a fish over 8lb with most in the 3 to 6lb range. Tope fishing has been really good fun on the slack tide. Tiger Lily reported one of 78lb released alive in a rather large catch of fish. In a 3 hour session think nothing of getting 30 to 40 fish to the boat.  Other catches are Conger, Bull Huss, Ray etc. On the wrecks Pollack to 18lb, quite a bit of cod and ling showing too.

Shore fishing has seen plenty of float fishing, spinning and plugging happening resulting in Pollack to 5lb, Bass to 8lb, Wrasse to 4lb plus Mackerel and Garfish. Bottom fishing has produced Conger off the back of the island and the Breakwater. Some good fish have been lost as well. There were reports this week of a small conger caught in the inner harbour on ragworm to one of the juniors on one sunny afternoon this half term. Also Ben Sugden caught a nice Bass of Braye which went 6lb 8oz whilst spinning. 

Myself, well on Wednesday we (my brother Darren, over for a few days), were looking at a bit of a blank session till we got in behind Clonque Rocks and using the tide and eddies managed a productive time with Pollack to 5lb, Bass, Wrasse, Gars, Mackerel all caught on light gear making it fun and worthwhile. Once satisfied we drifted away so Darren could get some more mackerel for an evening session congering when he hooked in to a bigger than normal 'mackerel'. Once surfaced we could see it was a Couches Bream which when weighed went 2lb 12oz, 4oz short of the Guernsey record. For those that have not seen this fish they are a red, like a red bream, but with beautiful tinges of blue around their dorsal and other parts.  

8th June

Out in the boats the weekend saw Brill to 12lb, Turbot in to double figures just, Bass, Conger, Huss and Tope, of which didn't turn up in the usual numbers. Alderney Felix saw some Turbot and Brill for the local angling club with Jasper getting a personal best of 9lb 8oz. Norman Butel landed a nice Brill of 6lb too. I was out on my boat on the local banks. A day of two halves really. Turbot to 6lb 8oz, Bass, Gurnard, Dogfish, Pollack and Mackerel were boated in small numbers for each species in the morning, and then in the afternoon I went in the Race looking for Bass and although I dropped a good fish I didn't have another take. A thirty four pound Cod came aboard Tiger Lily from a wreck on the way over and in general all visiting boats reported good fishing on the way across.

On the shore the following morning, up at 4.00am with two holiday makers who wanted to do some plugging so I took them up round the lighthouse where the Pollack were kamikazing themselves on the sandeel that the Bass were rounding up. It was great to see fish in that frenzy mode as teaching the anglers then became easy for me. Mullet were there for the taking too. Other catches of note were two fine Wrasse on Douglas Quay. One was landed which estimated weight was 4 to 5lb, and a bigger one lost at the side which a weight of 8lb was given! Elsewhere its the usual with Plattes still giving Sole which is worthy of mention but in general there is plenty of fish to target around the island.

10th June

Quality day aboard Steve Porter's True Blue yesterday. 17 Turbot, 9 in to double figures with the best scaling 19 and two at 17 pounds!! The larger fish was landed by Richard Ellicott from Poole using a Shimano Technium, Abu fixed spool reel loaded with braid which was fishing a live launce. Hope to have pictures for the gallery soon.

11th June

Steve's boat was back on the same mark agin yesterday. Landed 7, dropped three but no double figures this time. As we all know two days fishing are rarely the same. Tiger Lily skippered by Chris Caines was there too and they managed 11 Turbot, a Brill and a couple of Bass for their persistence. I'm not sure as of the moment what the weights were.

I had a little go on Dog Rock with a couple of visiting holiday makers. We managed Pollack and Mackerel which made a fun session and fish for the barbeque.

15th June

Ian Goffs' Shande II is the only recent report I have. His crew managed to catch 6 Turbot and a Brill on one day. The Turbot were around 5lb with the exception to a 13lb 8oz fish and another of 18lb 4oz. Then they went for the Tope which went crazy, biggest was around the fifty mark. On the way over they had Cod to 34lb and plenty of Pollack to 18lb.

Plattes Saline beach threw up plenty of Bass for Carl Pringle and Anna Olausson. In 3 hours they managed to beach 15 which were all around the 2lb mark as well as 4 dogfish and 2 pout. All the fish were caught on ragworm. 

17th June

Shande II amongst the fish yesterday. Bass to 12lb 8oz, a few Turbot around the 5/6lb mark, some Black Bream to 2lb 8oz and Tope finishing off the day to around 30lb. Most boats have been having a crack at the wreck fishing with mixed reports but in the main it's Pollack to 18lb, Ling and a few Cod. Offshore Rebel had a go at anchoring in Hurd Deeps, that hard part was successful but having done that the fish showed on the first couple of drops with Ling coming to boat and after that didn't want to play no more. Paul then took his crew to the banks though and finished up with Turbot and Bass.

I managed to get out again yesterday, how could I not on such a flat day. Taking my light gear off in search of the Bass I managed 8 between 3 and 6lb. Over the slack I had a go for Turbot and dropped one......stupidly I wanted to get the feathers, which were fully loaded, in!! Then  I had another go for the Bass which didn't show so I finished the day Pollacking around the headlands with around 20 fish to 7lb and a very peach coloured Ballan Wrasse which was around 5lb. Cracking days sport and a topped up tan! 

18th June

Several shore caught Bass have shown the last couple of days. One fell to Steve Lawton whilst testing a 100g pink reflective lure for me. It weighed in at 6lb 8oz and was part of a bag of fish that also included mackerel and pollack. Other bass have come out on plugs, most in the 2 to 4lb range.

Another 6lb 8oz Bass was caught in Braye Harbour by Tim who crews for Chris Tett on Peace and Plenty whilst they were on their moorings for the night. A quick couple of casts before bed done the trick. 

1st July

No update for a while. My apologies for that. Due to fish reports being much the same and having been  away for a few days. From the shore mackerel and garfish have been increasing all the time, especially from the Breakwater and headlands on the south side of the island. Good numbers of Bass to plugs and spinners generally at low water from the rock marks, but have shown amongst Breakwater catches when Pollack have been the target. Expect fish in mainly the 2 to 4lb bracket but up to 7lb have been reported and at any time that lunker could turn up. Other species to target are Conger, Ray and Bull Huss, all at night time and mainly on the south side of the island. Plattes Saline has seen its variety of fish. Black and Couches Bream, Sole to 3lb, Bass to 5lb on bottom baits and spinners, Dogfish, Pout and the norm. Dog Rock nearby has turned fish up too on float and spin tactics. Lights have seen a couple of plaice and some Couches showing.

From the boats, well this is where everything is the same other than an increase in numbers and quality of Bass. Fish to 13lb have come out on live Launce, lots between 4 and 6lb from the Race. There are Tope, Conger and Huss on the rough ground, Pollack, Ling and Cod on the wrecks and if you persevere on the sandbanks you will get Turbot, Brill and Bass. Watch out for next week because our local boat Alderney Felix is having a crack at the shark fishing around here.....let's see how it goes.

7th July

Shore fishing still producing good numbers of surface feeding fish with the Breakwater showing good catches of mackerel, garfish and pollack  with the odd bass thrown in too provide eager anticipation. Float fishing and spinning with sting silvers being the best methods. Same can be said of the fishing on the Slides and at The Raz. Slides producing at last two hours and the bottom of the tide whilst The Raz doing the business on the early flood.

Boat action has been curtailed this week by the poor weather but good fishing was had by most boats on Monday  for Bass and the flatfish and for those that gave to a go some good numbers of Tope were caught. Tuesdays action was a lot slower, maybe to do with the low pressure arriving causing the easterly winds, but the same species were still caught but not in any numbers. On my boat we managed 3 bass to just over 5lb, plenty pollack to 5lb 8oz and the usual baitfish. For half a days fishing we were quite happy with that.

12th July

Fishing still pretty good although boat action continues to be curtailed. However one private party aboard Tamar Lady managed some reasonable fishing yesterday anchoring on one of the many sandbanks. Quite a lot of bites were missed due to too many 'experimental' rods being fished!! Besides that they managed 7 species which included Blonde Ray too 19lb, Bass, Red Gurnard, Black Bream just short of 3lb and some other bits.

On the shore there is plenty of fun to be had with Pollack on most marks with the Breakwater at the end being the easiest to fish and one of the most productive. In with these you will find Garfish, Mackerel and Bass if you vary your depth of fishing. A popular mark on the South East side of the island produced 9 species for Chris Dowden on a lure called the 'silver stinger'!! And from Cachlierre Pier there have been mullet, Bass and Pollack landed. A warning for those of you coming over to fish the Impot, please note the footpath has been changed to fall in to line with health and safety which now takes you around the back of the tip, down the eastern side to meet up with the original path. PLEASE ADHERE TO THIS otherwise the consequences could be that it is closed all together!

23rd July

Time for updating the website is becoming a premium so my apologies if you've logged on a number of times and not seen new information. Shore fishing is very good for Pollack with good numbers coming from most rocky headlands and the Breakwater. Mackerel aren't so plentiful but the Garfish make up for that on the sport side of things. Any of these headlands throw up a bonus Bass, as does the Breakwater, but the better Bass fishing is done on plugs and normally early in the morning. The better marks are the Lighthouse and Braye at low water. Other shore fishing just doesn't seem to happen this time of year because the concentration is lure fishing for the aforementioned species, however Conger, Ray and Bull Huss will always be on the cards. No reports from Plattes Saline but again that will always provide mixed fishing for Bass, Sole, Mullet (Grey and Red), Gurnard, Dogs and small shoal fish. 

Out in the boats some good packs of Tope have been located but never stay on one mark for long. Valkyrie from Langstone hooked in to two Porbeagles which took 8lb Pollack but both were lost. There must be someone who would want to exploit the shark fishing potential here. Blues, Threshers and Porbeagles are all possibilities. There are still a few flatfish for those wishing to catch a Turbot or Brill. Having said that two anglers on Tiger Lily IV managed the Alderney grand slam this week, this is where an angler catches a Turbot, Brill and Bass in one trip.  Bream are showing in good numbers, this will only improve. Bass in the boats, mostly appear to be on the small side but there were a few around 7 or 8lb this week. 

The only fishing I have managed with exception to guided shore trips was a late afternoon/ evening trip last Friday. With the company of one of the local juniors, Steve Laughton, on my boat we stayed fairly close to the back of the island where on lightish gear we caught two Blonde Rays in the mid teens and 6 congers to 35lb. We missed a few fish, the best somehow dropped my bait with no marks left on the mackerel flapper. My suveran 20/30 was well tested over the five  minutes I had the fish on and I can only assume I hooked it in the outside of the mouth when the hook hold gave out. I am convinced it wasn't a Tope or Conger, and with the way it fought I would say possibly a large Ray or even a very mighty Bass. It certainly added to the excitement of a fine evenings sport anchored just 200 yards offshore. I wonder where I'll be tonight??

Send mail to chris@alderneyangling.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: January 06, 2006