Alderney
Angling.com
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September 28th I can't update the fishing because no-one is out there! No boat anglers on the island, no visiting shore anglers because of the impending festival and local anglers are getting their baits and rigs ready. So if you are coming over be sure to pop in the shop and take a look at some very special clearance offers. Mostly boat gear but it includes the following: SUVERAN BOAT RODS £100! ABU 7000 £90! FLADEN FLOTATION SUITS £50!! MAXXIMUS BOAT RODS £30 MAXXIMUS 10' SUPER SENSOR 3 TIP £35 PLUGS (that are already VAT free!) BUY 3 GET ONE FREE!! FEATHERS/SOFT LURES HALF MARKED PRICE That's just to taste you, there are loads of other bargains so think of your mates too, tell them and maybe you could grab them an excellent deal. Don't forget Christmas is literally just around the corner too. 2nd October 21 hours of the Festival gone and already there are some good fish on the board. With better tides to come in the week expect a full board. The concept of the Festival is one of conservation. There are 6 categories whereby each individual fish has a qualifying weight which is appropriate for the waters of Alderney. There are 5 places to fill on the board, once all 5 places have been filled then to get on the board each competitor has to then beat the fifth placed fish. The categories and their qualifying weights are as follows: Bass 6lb Ballan Wrasse 6lb Black Bream 3lb Conger Eel 28lb Plaice/Sole 2lb 4oz Thick Lipped Mullet 4lb 4oz Best fish with qualifying weight over 5lb Best fish with qualifying weight under 5lb (so these two categories include any other species but each individual species has their own qualifying weight) Best Garfish/Mackerel 1lb 2oz There are team, pairs, ladies, top UK and top Channel Islands angler prizes too, plus daily prizes etc. So on the board so far: Bass 1st 10lb 7oz, 2nd 9lb ?oz, 3rd 6lb 8oz Thick Lipped Mullet 1st 4lb 8oz Over 5lb. 1st Pollack 6lb 1oz (qualifying weight for Polack is 5lb) Under 5lb This section dominated by Golden Grey Mullets which have a qualifying weight of 1lb 8oz. 1st 2lb 8dr down to 5th which is 1lb 11oz. I can't remember all the specific weights! Early days yet as I mentioned. Weather has been poor. Clear skies with heavy showers when they come across in a NW to N force 5 to 7. 3rd October Day 2 completed in dropping Northerly to North Easterly winds with broken skies. Overnight the wind has dropped from a force 4 to a 2 to 3. Quite a bit of fish have come out, lots of Bream with a few of them getting on the board, no Conger Eels on the board but small ones have been landed and returned. I managed to wet a line yesterday, started out on the Golden Greys but without joy. Then had a little go on the Breakwater on the outside but picked a snaggy mark due to a lack of space and opted for an early finish. With 130 anglers fishing I'm finding it hard to get on the marks I know after closing the shop that don't involve a trek which would be my best option. Results after Day 2: (Look for criteria and qualifying dates under 2nd October) Wrasse: 1st 6lb 7oz Bass: 1st 10lb 7oz 2nd 9lb 2oz 3rd 7lb 12oz 4th 6lb 5oz Bream: 1st 3lb 6oz 2nd 3lb5oz 3rd 3lb 4oz 4th 3lb 3oz 5th 3lb 1oz Over 5lb: 1st Bull Huss 10lb 10oz 2nd Pollack 6lb 1oz Under 5lb: All Golden Greys 1st to 5th range from 2lb 5oz to 1lb 12oz 4th October A few more fish have gone on the board including a new Alderney Shore Record. Two Couches Sea Bream have been weighed in that beat the existing record which stood at 1lb 13oz. Kevin Frain got the biggest one which scaled 1lb 15oz and Alistair House caught the other which was 1oz lighter. There is a £500 prize for beating this record as well as whatever is claimed if these fish finish the week in a placing within their sections, on this occasion these fish fall in the Under 5lb category. A 42lb Conger eel was the first Eel on the board, that was caught by Bill Scott from Southampton. There have been lots caught under the qualifying weight of 28lb so it is a relief to see this one. Steve Harder caught a nice Small eyed well over the 7lb qualifying weight, 10lb 12oz. In the Over/Under 5lb categories the different species are decided on the % of the Alderney Shore caught Record for their placings. So the new board looks like this: Wrasse: 1st 6lb 7oz Bass: 1st 10lb 7oz, 2nd 9lb 2oz, 3rd 7lb 12oz, 4th 6lb 5oz Bream: 1st 3lb 6oz, 2nd 3lb 5oz, 3rd 3lb 4oz, 4th 3lb 3oz, 5th 3lb 1oz Over 5lb: 1st Bull Huss 10lb 10oz, 2nd Small Eyed Ray 10lb 12oz, 3rd Pollack 6lb 1oz Under 5lb: 1st Couches Sea Bream 1lb 15oz, 2nd Couches 1lb 14oz, 3rd Red Gurnard 1lb 6oz, 4th Golden Grey Mullet 2lb 6oz, 5th GG 2lb Conger Eel: 1st 42lb No Plaice and Sole beating the qualifying weight of 2lb 4oz but there have been quite a few Sole caught around the 1lb 12oz mark which is promising, more than last year when the Sole seemed a bit thin on the ground. Garfish and Mackerel category also remains empty. Last night I managed a few hours on the Breakwater, 6 Pollack about 1lb 8oz whilst having a go for Scad, and a 1lb 12oz 3-Bearded Rockling for my efforts. Weather has been kind, North Easterly 2 to 3 last night so this makes choosing a mark easier in as much as all the marks are available to fish. 5th October Some cracking fish added to the board in the last 24 hours none more so than the 5lb 1oz Bream caught by Jason Le Noury from Jersey. In the same section was a 3lb 15oz fish which gives this category a whole new look. The Sole category looks healthier now too, fish of 3lb 2oz and 2lb 9oz were caught, Peter Loveridge getting the larger and Steve Bunn the other. A 6lb 9oz Wrasse has taken the lead in that section, this fish fell to Bill Scott, his second on the board for the week, in fact it was his second fish in 12 hours for the board. Lastly my brother Darren's patience paid off, he has got there with a 1lb 8oz Couches Sea Bream which pushes a Golden Grey off the board with his 3rd place fish. No more Eels added which is a surprise but tonight and tomorrow tides will probably change that. Winds from a North Easterly direction about a 3, sometimes a 4. A really good forecast for the next 3 days with light winds albeit not from an ideal direction.
6th October Two and a bit days to run now and there is a lot of tired anglers out there. The fishing not so hot but still quality fish are being registered on the board. Hoping as the winds swing to the south tonight this might improve the fishing and fill those last remaining spaces. Sole were the dominant species last night, three were added to the board with the biggest at 3lb 10oz caught by myself.................1st chuck!! I then fished for Eel till the early hours fishing two venues but no signs of any. The other two Sole went 2lb 10oz and 2lb 13oz, there were others caught below the high qualifying weight. More Couches added to the board so that section has 3 at 1lb 10oz, all separated by just a few drams with the top two being those record fish reported earlier. A Thick Lipped has been added and taken top spot, a fish of 4lb 10oz so that's three now over qualifying weight. They've been hard to come by which is a surprise because prior to this week there were enough around to suggest that this section would be very competitive.
Paul Blehs with his 2lb 10oz fish and myself with the 3lb 10oz, both fish were thinner and slimmer in comparison to the smaller ones which have been caught his week. 8th October My apologies for missing an update yesterday but I was out their putting some hours in as I deservedly should after fluking that Sole earlier in the week! Gosh it was painful having to fish proper long sessions! My reward was some rod tip action with half a dozen Pollack to 2lb 8oz , 5 Bream to 2lb, half a dozen or so Wrasse to 3lb and Garfish but there was neither the quality or quantity. Not great for 18 hours fishing on Friday and 10 hours the night before, but hey others have put loads of hours in. I spoke to Danny from Jersey this morning and he had only 3 hours kip in 48 hours and others are walking around zombified!! Now on to the prize presentation for a great craic and in to the evening booze up. Oh guess what? Not everyone is going to the evenings entertainment, nope.................some lads are off Sole fishing!! Part of me can understand it and part can't, after literally a whole weeks fishing with less sleep than David Blaine they are going to have one last crack at the Sole, which has seen some very good fish. There was another 10 to a dozen or so last night with the best 2lb 10oz, over qualifying weight but too small to go on the board. The night before there were a few more topped of by another cracker for John Dunster, a fish that was dead equal to mine.....3lb 10oz and 10dram!! So the top 5 for the week stands between those two down to 2lb 13oz. However slight twist to the tale, as I was walking up the Breakwater to do litter duties (unknowingly as we were walking the dog to find his frisbee and there was litter in bundles at certain fishing stations! I fished here the night before so I know who it all belongs too! Tell me this guys what does it take to take your rubbish back to one of the skips you have parked your bloody car next too!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or do the same people insist on spoiling the safety and beauty for everyone else!!!!!!!! I also filled a couple of carrier bags from Goat Island and there has been numerous complaints from many fishing stations around the island. Come on guys, wherever you go and wherever you fish take it ALL home and stop damaging the wildlife, environment and giving the rest of us a bad name with all those not connected with our sport.........that's off my chest...sorry for those that didn't need to be read that, back to the slight twist), with just a couple of hours to go Matt Pitter managed a fine Plaice over 3lb so we'll have to see if that sneaks in and knocks one of the Sole off the boards (That is for the Plaice/Sole category). In all the other categories not much change, a lovely Pollack of 9lb 13oz for Dave Saunders, another Wrasse over 6lb. So with just the rest of Saturday morning to go it has been a fine week with plenty of quality to show, probably not the quantity we would like to see especially towards the end of the week but fished in really good weather with a tremendous spirit and friendship. I will put the full list of winners up sometime on Monday. Meanwhile out in the boats Peace and Plenty and Offshore Rebel have reported excellent fishing with the Bass, Brill and Turbot. The numbers with the quality would blow your mind with both skippers saying that in all the years they have been coming here they've rarely seen it as good. Their trips this week is also there last of the season because of the uncertainty of the weather so they don't take bookings however if anyone fancies a go don't forget there is a charter boat here called Alderney Felix skippered by Stuart Trought (01481 823934 or www.alderneyangling.co.gg ) which is operational till Christmas. There is also good mixed fishing with Eels, Blondes and Huss as well as Bream amongst other species. Paul and Chris' last trips is also sad for me. As it signals the end of their season here it is also the last time till next March when they start again that I will see them and of course the many other skipper that come over. To Paul, Chris, Glen, Colin and all the other skippers who help and support me through out the summer many thanks for your company and often good humour. It is thoroughly refreshing and enjoyable and something I look forward too every week during the summer season and over the next 5 months I will miss it all. Here's to you all and hope you have a great winters fishing. 11th October The final morning of the festival saw more fish go on the board although the quality of the fishing was poor. Of the three weighed in two fish fell to two Channel Island anglers competing for top spot in the Best CI Angler category. Danny Le Merrer from Jersey who had just 3 hours sleep in the last 48 caught a Garfish of 1lb 6oz whilst elsewhere on the island Dick Smith, (fished 25 of the last 30 hours!), landed one of those elusive Mullet having been given some cosher information. Dicks fish went 4lb 11oz and with a tense wait for the presentation neither angler could be sure whether they had done enough or not. The winner was Danny so congratulations to Danny for a fine win in trying circumstances but congratulations to both anglers for a fine effort and for providing that close finish. In the category for the Top UK Angler that was close too and after 18 years of coming to Alderney that award went to John Dunster, edging out Bill Scott, John who also won the Veterans cup. Congratulations to John on his achievements for the week and his perseverance over the years. The other fish landed on that final morning fell to local lad James Butel who landed a fine Bream of 3lb 7oz which put him fourth in that category. For the full results look in next months Sea Angling News which is out around the 2nd November I believe. From here on in it will be difficult to give you boat reports because the visiting charter fleet have now finished their trips for the year. So with just a few local anglers, whose numbers will diminish rapidly as the weather deteriorates, and myself the reports might not show a true reflection of the fishing available. My trip Sunday was pretty good. A late start because the of the previous nights jollies meant I didn't get a bait in the water till about 11.00am. I was however straight in to fish and the first 3 hours produced 1 Turbot, 3 Brill, 3 Bass and due to my lethargy I missed at least three bites I should have connected with. I moved off to have a plug around some rocks close to the shoreline and this paid off too with some excellent sport with the Bass fishing. 6 fish hooked and to the boat and 2 dropped, one through utter stupidity! Best fish was 12lb 14oz which was a personal best for me. The only other report I have is a local boat having success with the Bream on the bottom.
13th October I'm shut on a Wednesday now as we head in to the winter season so guess what I did yesterday? I tried to do a repeat of Sunday but with a southerly 5 opted not do the Turbot fishing. Had a go for some Bream which after anchoring three times wasn't very successful. I managed just the one which went around 2lb 8oz, half a dozen Pollack to no size, 2lb at the most but had a heap of fun with a Conger Eel on Bream gear. In 55 feet of water it was a good test of my gear which in the end I came out on top. Bass were still feeding well on the plugs. I had 11, dropped a few, nothing under 4lb with the best fish around 8lb/8lb 8oz. Nice and breezy with some rain gave me a taste of what is to come...........perish the thought. 18th October Easterly winds and bright moon has hampered the fishing but there were some fish on the build up to the Spring tides. Johnnie Reeves managed good numbers of Bream to 3lb odd from the back of the island. There have been a few Plaice reported which is also a good sign and a surprise 4lb 1oz Brill which took sand eel in daylight for Paul Driver. One or two Mullet caught, best fish around 4lb 8oz but not many. There have been a few Bass to 6lb on plugs and spinners too. one or two Sole still being caught, all around 1lb 12oz to 2lb. My boat trip on Sunday worked out ok. Bass were hitting the lures consistently throughout the day, best fish up around the 9lb mark, average around 6lb or 7lb and had 10 in all. I went out on the Saturday but conditions weren't favourable, Easterly 5 to 6, loads of weed in the water and after an hour with no sign of a fish I headed for the mooring where I probably should have been all the time! 22nd October Better reports of Mullet now coming out. Best fish around 6lb but good sightings of far bigger fish and bigger shoals. Normal stuff coming off the bottom with Bream, Pollack, Bass and Sole at the fore front of most reports. One Tope caught........wait for it................about 25" long. No other reports of missed fish or any sort of signs that they are there. This is the last report for a while, I'm off the island for 2 and a half weeks. No emails will be dealt with till I get back and shop will be open mornings only. If you are visiting and I haven't spoken to you then bait isn't a problem, it is all there and the lads running the shop will organise the live worm. For those of you coming over on the next set of Springs, good luck and let me now how you get on. On a bad note, I have just had a lady in the shop concerning her dog picking up a discarded hook, baited with a mackerel head and joined to a length of mono. Dog is ok thanks to the vet, she has a hefty bill and the onus is back on us anglers again to keep it tidy. It doesn't look good when we as a group of people turn up on a rock or beach mark that is clean and serene and then leave it looking like a tip. It is only a minority as most are pretty good so will the minority catch up with the rest of us!! 11th November I'm back!! Fully refreshed and recharged. Fishing wise there is a few bits and pieces about but the weather is really hampering any sort of decent sorties. The Breakwater is invariably out of action and those liking a bit of firm footing finish up fishing on Commercial Quay which doesn't produce the same sort of results but even there, there are Red Mullet, Black Bream, the very odd Sole, some Bass but not the biggies, the odd Eel and of course the obligatory Pout.....or slobbers as everyone seems to be calling them!! There are a few decent squid coming from the quay too. Elsewhere, on the east side of the island a local angler was float fishing for mullet, had one and several Bream to 3lb and lost an even better fish. Another local angler landed a Small Eyed Ray last week which was fished for, and last night a couple of local lads had a reasonable session given the conditions where they landed an Eel, a couple of Huss, some other bits I think but on the theme of lost fish they dropped what they believed was a very good Bass, it could though have been a small Tope. Jury is out on that one. Not much boat action due to the weather but in the bay in the harbour plugs have found Bass in reasonable numbers. For those of you looking ahead to next years boat fishing and haven't booked a trip yet there are a couple of new boats on the horizon. Our local boat Alderney Felix is being replaced by a forty foot craft with a centre wheelhouse which is going to give 100' of gunnel space, ideal for drifting. Take a look at www.alderneyangling.co.gg or www.deepsea.co.uk go to angling boats, then Alderney Felix for details. If you don't want to cross the channel from a south coast port then you can fly in. Book soon because after Christmas the available dates left will go pretty quick. Another is Smuggler V from Exmouth. Skipper Colin Dukes in the next few days gets his new catamaran delivered, these are phenomenal craft capable of handling the seas you encounter around the island making the best of your time available to get you fishing. You can find out more about Colin's progress on www.deepsea.co.uk and below for a taste is a couple of pictures. Incidentally take a look at his site anyway and go to the movies...well worth the visit. The other site I looked at today which was impressive was Paul Whittall's Offshore Rebel which you'll find on the same site amongst others.
15th November News of a Tope hook up this morning from Plattes Saline just as dawn was breaking. The anglers concerned were fishing the high tide for Bream and other bits and pieces when the hook up occurred. The trace was bitten through just as the angler was seeing the last of his line. It could the start of a good run, it could be an isolated incident. The tides are right and the water temperature is now comparable to when we had the Tope in last year. None of the lads over at the moment aren't that interested in fishing for them. One group is targeting Sole, Bream and Mullet. Not huge successes, Sole have been hard to come by due to the weather although it has sat down a bit now, Bream are generally small with the odd better fish. The Mullet are there but not in big numbers, best fish 5lb 12oz. The other group of lads seem to be targeting Bass and they're getting a few to plugs. I had a little go of the quay last night for squid, I managed two. That's my first ones ever and they tasted gorgeous. Only small but there was one caught down there over a 1lb. Good forecast wind wise till next week so lets see how things shape up. 20th November Good forecast isn't materialising, looks like we will have Easterly winds 4/5 for a few days.......typical. I managed to get afloat yesterday afternoon and was well pleased to see the Bass still on there marks. I managed 7 plus a couple of Pollack and one Gar, all on plugs. Fish not as big as last month with the best around 5lb 8oz to 6lb. Stuart was in his boat (Alderney Felix) and he managed a few but his highlight was hooking a tremendous fish whereby he needed to take to the helm to steer up on the it. He eventually lost it to the kelp and rocks but he believes it was a Pollack well in to double figures. From the shore there has been a few Mullet, some better Bream and loads of Wrasse and Pollack. 21st November Anglers over from England seeing plenty of species but with the exception of a Wrasse over 6lb not much quality as we would like. Bream are running to 2lb, Mullet to 5lb 12oz, Bass to 3lb so plenty keeping them occupied which I guess is good news. Easterly winds not helping the cause. I've had two sorties in the boat since my last report. Saturday I had two other anglers aboard, one blanked whilst his son managed a beauty of 10lb 12oz. Four were caught in all. Yesterday I had the whole day and the boat to myself and only managed three along with some other bits. Smaller tides, easterly winds and fat finicky fish not wanting (or needing!) to chase the plugs, all making it not so easy as it was last month! Good forecast for Wednesday so I shall venture out in the Channel to take a peek. 23rd November Its Wednesday and I'm certainly not in the Channel! Forecast not reliable yet again, currently blowing NE force 4 but scheduled to drop so I may go out this afternoon/evening but with a change of plan. Mullet to 5lb from the shore and the usual other bits. Take a look on the Gallery page where I've added two more photos. The last one is from Mike Spiller who caught an unidentified fish. Looking at the photo it looks as if it is a cross between Wrasse and Rockling.........well that's the best I can come up with! I don't know yet Mikes views on it but it would nice to get some feedback from other anglers. 24th November Thanks to everyone with there replies for the request to the identification of the 'unidentified ' fish. It is looking favourable that it is a Giant Goby, if it is with a record of only 9oz in the Channel Islands it looks as if it would have broken it. Now we're going down the goby route I can't quite see how I got the Wrasse/Rockling combination.......:-). Got some good fishing news for you. Dick and Matt Smith had a couple of hours on the back of the island after tea last night and managed a Huss each. Matt had his first one ever which went 8lb 12oz whilst his Dad redeemed himself from last weeks stuffing on the Bass by beating that with a great fish of 11lb 8oz. They dropped a fish too and had a LSD. I never did the boat thing yesterday. The wind did drop enough just, but I'd waited all day and got in to repainting my pirks, servicing reels etc but I did go squidding. The result of that was I shouldn't have! 29th November Tried to do an afternoon evening session in the boat yesterday on one of the many sandy/gravelly banks around Alderney. I was trying to target Smoothounds. They pass through here on both passages of migration but don't hang around long. Nobody seems to fish for them but it is a fish I miss catching from my own Solent area where I am from. The Guernsey record is only about 12lb so I want to make it a target of my own to try to beat. The other two targets I am trying to go for is the Blonde Ray record and the Thick Lipped Mullet. The ray record is respectable enough at 35lb but I know there is some terrific fish here and again no-one fishes for them. Shallow water, light gear.....I can't understand why not? The Mullet, well despite the record being only 5lb 14oz from the boat it will be difficult to beat but it sounds easy enough. The hard bit will be getting the boat close enough to the Mullet on a calm day to get them to feed with out them moving off. Anyway, I got the Smoothound, not a big fish but it was located, had a couple of Pout and a couple of Bream, one Eels about 20lb and a lovely Ray which jumped my scales between 28lb 8oz and 29lb 8oz so I am giving myself 29lb on that one. An increasing wind curtailed the session and I decided to call it off on the slack water to give myself an easier passage back to harbour before the ebb tide got away quite happy with my 3 hours fishing finishing at 7.30pm. 1st December Shore sport consisting of the odd Sole (at least they're there!), Red Mullet, Black Bream, Bass, Pollack, Garfish, Wrasse and Mullet. There is enough to keep the rod tip knocking and generate some interest. Bream are running to around 3lb tops, Red Mullet up to 1lb 8oz and not sure on the Sole. Plenty of Mullet being caught with the best around 5lb 8oz. There are a few squid around the quay. I'm starting to put a few bits to clear on the mail order page.....need to generate some money!!! Some good offers will be appearing over the next few weeks in the first part but also I am going through and repricing my reels, rods etc to make way for next years stock. 5th December Quite a bit of fish came out on Saturday. One session for lads from Teignemouth produced a good number of Bass to squid and there have been odd fish all round the island. A few Mullet came out but again not big although good Mullet were spotted so it seems it could be starting to build now. The next few weeks will probably see some good Mullet fishing. Other species were Black Bream, Couches Sea Bream, Red Mullet, Sole, Dogfish, Red Gurnard which were the ones of note but there was also Pollack, Wrasse and Pout caught. And then on Sunday through to this morning wasn't so good. The same sort of species were coming out but in far fewer numbers. There were though last night two Conger Eels from the Breakwater, best went 30lb. 9th December Not good numbers of fish being caught. 15 dedicated anglers have been on the island and with the quality on the end of the rods you would have expected more fish to have been caught. The only piece of glory was a session for two lads on Plattes Saline where they had a couple of Red Mullet, some Bream and 5 Bass around 1lb 8oz to 2lb. Mullet fishing has been difficult but Roy Repton managed a good session yesterday, '..plenty of Mullet to 6lb' were his comments. We're in to a calm spell now so lets see what shapes up. 12th December Achieved one of the winter targets yesterday, on my boat the Channel Island record for a Mullet was broken. It has stood since 1989 at 5lb 14 oz 2 drams but we managed a fish of 6lb 3oz 4 drams. We had 5 all together on a dawn session. Noticed I keep saying we so I can take some credit for it!! :-)! Seriously, Roy Repton caught the fish but luckily he missed all the bigger ones, so now he has gone home it leaves me to crack it again now that he has shown me the ropes!! I had two other trips as well during the weekend. Saturday night I anchored a sand bank. Sea was messy and it was a challenge just to keep 'mal de mer' at bay. I managed half a dozen Bream and two Red Gurnard, one was a cracker at 1lb 8oz.....nice eating too! Dropped a good Ray. And yesterday afternoon I fished the same area with another angler on the boat, searched around for the best bits which never produced really but we finished up with a dozen or so Bream to 2lb, a Red Gurnard, and a small Blonde which Dave got, his first ever. 15th December Still slow for most species but Mullet and Conger are on the agenda. Some lads from the SW have just arrived and found a shoal of Mullet immediately. Best fish landed was 6lb 10oz so that's a good indicator that maybe the fish are getting bigger. They saw bigger as we did on Sunday. Conger Eels are on the prowl. A couple of lads from Southampton have had at least one which was 29lb on the float!! They have had 6 other runs that were missed. The bit I can't remember is how many Eels they landed, it got lost in the float conversation and the missed fish! If they did land any it was something like 1 or 3 ...........rambling now. Other than that there isn't a great deal of fish. There is an issue on the netting around the island. One or two are worried as to the effect it is having on the current fishing. They're not taking the fish, they are having a crap time of it too. There is also far fewer nets than previous years, one boat has down sized considerably and is selling direct, one netting boat has been sold, two potting boats have been sold, one is out of the water, one is still potting and not gone on to the nets yet. The fish have either been and gone as September was pretty good or as indicated by the Mullet activity they're not here yet. Talking to some stalwarts who visit regularly the belief is that by January we should be on good form, if not before. 17th December Night sport for bottom fish still slow. A few bits about but its not Alderney fashion as we know it. The two lads from Southampton had 11 runs on the Eels this week but never hooked one except the one on the float. They are good Conger anglers so the fish must have been finicky. They had a few Wrasse, best fish about 5lb 8oz and they had Mullet. The other group of lads are fairing well for the Mullet. They are getting a fair few fish with the best falling on the float at 8lb 4oz. They have had around half a dozen Bream too on float to 2lb and Wrasse on the same method to 5lb 8oz. At night on Plattes Saline in not favourable conditions they had half a dozen Mullet to 7lb 8oz and Bass to 3lb 8oz. 19th December Over the weekend a few more Mullet have come out, those boys have gone home happy! Martin Larkins had one over 10lb which was on the float, he had another of 8lb 6oz. Scott Smy also had a cracker last night caught off the bottom which went 9lb 9oz, another of 6lb was caught along with Bream, Pollack and other bits were mentioned in conversation. The 5 days the lads were here produced loads of Mullet over 6lb (and of course loads under!), 2 7lb plus fish, 2 8lb plus fish , the 9 and a double figure. Terrific fishing..............I think we can say the Mullet have arrived!! 28th December Stiff, cold North Easterly winds have curtailed any decent amounts of fishing with anglers opting to stay indoors rather than brave the elements. Plenty of Mullet about though with best fish reported in the mid 7lb range. Also plenty of squid down the quay if you need a change from Turkey and cold meats! I'm away for a few days so no updates till next week. Happy New Year to you all and thanks for reading throughout the year. |
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Jason's 5lb 1oz Black Bream
More pics on Gallery from Festival, many thanks to Alastair House for them. He,
along with team partner Andy Hedger, had a fair few species in the festival
including the Cuckoo Wrasse, Trigger fish and an Undulate Ray too. Top middle is
a fantastic shot of the back coastline. And the very average looking Pollack?
That's there because along with several other fish during the festival it was
caught on Gulp! I can hear what you're thinking, me too! But it works for sure.
