Who fishes?

Robin

Robin

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I haven't fished from the boat for over 20 years other than as we all do occasionally with a mackerel spinner on a handline & paravane.

Now I've bin and gone and dunnit and bought a boat rod & reel and a spinning rod & reel plus all the bits like I used to have with a view to making even more use of the on board barbie (Q not doll). Now I have to remember how to do it all!

OK so the question is, who out there are the experts at this and what is the best way to do it? I'm not so much thinking about deliberately setting out on a fishing trip, more about taking opportunities as they arise. We like anchoring and are headed for S Brittany in August, so will be anchored a lot in some fishy locations judging by the numbers of French angler-hopefuls we see. What to do about bait without spending hours hunting for it or risking the wrath of SWMBO by keeping some frozen sruff in the fridge? All ideas greatfully received!

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
weel noo
we have a wee shipmate wha does his best tae fush. As para himself wid tell ye though - ets a wee bit ae an Olumpic sport - mair ra takin pairt than ra winnin
cast_off.sized.jpg

an ye can see fra ma burgee that there's a price tae pay fer damage done - that wiz new jes three casts afore ra photie wuz taken

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
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The nice man in the shop said that was why I shouldn't try casting from the boat! I thought I caught him stifling a chuckle too...

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
Ohhhhhh gawd, not the uptide casting on a boat argument. I used to have long heated fights with my late uncle who insisted on the pointless practise of casting from a boat into 40ft+ of water.

If you are looking to fish at anchor in anchorages you are prolly looking at flat fish and will have to dig your bait (lug or rag) before leaving.

My 2p, catch your mackerel as bait and set yourself up for some tope and roker fishing in deeper water. But you are going to need wire traces and some decent weights, a good reel and something to get the blood off the nice white decks!

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

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The casting would be for spinning maybe?

Got all the necessary goodies for deeper water use as well as some feathers for bait mackerel but don't have yet the wire traces and I haven't yet thought of a solution to keeping the blood & guts off our pristine white decks! Current thinking is a plastic chopping board adapted with some side fiddles maybe and used on the stern scoop steps? At home we can easily obtain most baits, we have a tackle shop within walking distance that sells most and we can dig/gather near our berth too, but where we go in S Brittany is not mud territory, generally rocks or hard sand. Keeping the bait alive & fresh on board is not so easy, within the confines of remaining married....

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
Have a look round the sand for signs of worm activity, particularly near the water's edge at low water. A garden fork is ideal for digging worms. Another 'killer' bait is peeler crab which you may find lurking under the rocks. Do a few google searches on peeler crabs, lug and rag worm and you'll find loads of hints and tips about finding and using them as bait.

You could probably keep live bait fresh for a few days by keeping it in a bucket of sea water (or for crabs, a bucket and some damp seaweed) and freshen it up regularly plus keep it somewhere shaded and as cool as possible.

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I am in a similar position to you, I used to be a keen angler at one point I took fishing parties out in Liverpool Bay. Until all my gear was robbed off the charter boat, I have never replaced it but have decided of late I would like to start angling again.

I am worried about the decks though, and the smell. Have worked hard to get the boat clean and nice to be on, for sunbathing etc. I remember how much mess we used to make on the angling boats and think I may be a bit anal when it comes to cleaning every drip of blood immediately. Would all the fun go etc....

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

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Yes I have used peeler and soft crab way back and caught a sizeable bass in surf off Cornish rocks with it, that certainly is an option. Somewhere cool and shaded is not so easy in S Brittany in August though! I'll go and google now for bait...

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
I'm on the other side of the world but like to combine sailing and fishing. If your depthsounder shows the bottom shape, or better still is a fishfinder as well, you'll often find fish around a bit of foul on the bottom. Sometimes when there is next to no wind we lower the sails and drift with the anchor ready to be deployed if we get onto something. There are baitboards available here that drop into a rodholder so that waste falls over the side. Being a Tri my boat has plenty of deckspace so we have a bucket of seawater next to each fisherperson for rinsing hands ,bait boards, knives etc.

The more fishing you do the better you get at it and there is more chance that you will be there when they are really biting. I find overcast days better as too much sun seems to put them off, so you should be ok in that area in Britain.

Evening or early morning is when the serious fishermen are out there. Local knowledge is one of the best things to have . What do the locals use for bait, where do they go etc.

Good luck

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All thieves should be keelhauled (if you have one of course) IMO.

The clean decks thing is going to keep me awake now. Definitely has to be done on the stern steps, we have a locker there too that might get used plus we can reach the water easily and indeed have a freshwater shower there. I think too I will finally find a use for the newspapers SWMBO insists on buying every day.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
If you can catch some mackerel thats as good a bait has you could want! Eat some and use the rest for bait.
For flatties use thin strips of bait.
For larger fish (bass, tope, dogfish, etc, use a whole fillet.
And if your really feeling brave and want to try for Conger then use a "flapper" but just be careful if you hook one and manage to land it. One angery, mean Conger and a small cockpit don't mix to well?
Sure if you can find worms or peelers then use them but if your just out for a quick, didn't really expect to fish type of trip then just use fish bait.

Peter
Ex commercial fisherman.

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Like Chippie we are a world away and like to fish also. We do not go out of our way but is nice when cruising around to have an objective for the day, sit in the sun with a can of beer or three. As you have probably found, there are many internet fishing sites to visit to get ideas.

To keep the boat clean we have a bait board with a lip around it for baiting and for filleting (hopefully) and put a plastic fish box on the side deck by the cockpit to swing the fish into (if they fit /forums/images/icons/smile.gif). A deck wash pump is useful for the end of a catchy day if you have one.

For holding fish so they do not go flapping off around the place when trying to get the hook out, an old wet towel or cloth is handy.

Yachts are not a great fishing platform, but I have 2 friends who big game fish from their yachts for marlin and tuna - one of whose yacht is a beautiful masterpiece (designer/boatbuiulder's own boat) and he manages to keep that nice despite the big fish.

Tight lines.

John

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Good advice there from the Boatman.

Out of interest Peter " Well being nosy really " what line of fishing was you involved in ?

Spent a few years myself, working my own boat on both the north and south coast of Cornwall.
Potting mainly in the summer months out of Hayle mainly single handed, use to work a couple of bins of net for Monk Crays Turbot and Brill "all the money" fish on the neaps, Tried my hand at longlining one winter for Spurdog, back then it was fetching around 50p a stone so going back a few years, never forget those bloody Spurdog, lol, use to shoot short lengths 20 hook bolters until they started catching, then shoot the main gear away, cup of tea and a bite to eat then straight back to the other end and start hauling it all in again ! one winter was enough of that !....
Spent the next few winters off Falmouth potting and netting, back to Hayle for the summer months.
Good life if you can stick it, and bear the cost of losing gear to French beamers every so often ! Dunno what its like these days but back then they would run in close at night on the way home, not giving a shite for other peoples gear. Some scallopers were just as bad !
Oh what fun we use to have exchanging points of veiw with them !

My apoligies for reminising, had a glass of wine or two !...........

Mike [ Ex commercial fisherman ]

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Thanks John

As ever we seem to be on the same wavelength. I will try and make a baitboard/filleting table from a plastic cutting board with some edge lips added, we have a folding plastic box that will make a catch holder and you have reminded me to take a couple of old towels or rags as well.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
Thanks Peter.

Yes the man in the tackle shop gave similar advice re mackerel as bait so I stocked up on feathers for use if we stop and fish for them and we already had a handline/paravane set up for going along.

I looked at one site on the internet last night that suggested some alternative baits that in some cases they thought were underated, including cockles, clams and mussels. I think I might prefer eating the first 2 if I had enough of them but certainly where we go in S Brittany the mussels are plentiful on the nearby rocks. I'm a bit doubtful of their effectiveness but hey it will be worth trying if we have nothing else.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
Thanks Chippie, early and late is when we will most often fish probably so that fits in OK, but we do live in a sunny part of the UK - contrary to world opinion they do exist, and S Brittany on the west coast of France is very much a sunny area where we head next month!

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
2 points

1 If you land anything sizeable and its thrashing around, one easy way of putting it out of its misery is to hold it upside down and pour a few drops of alchohol into its gills. Kills it in a couple of seconds. Vodka doesnt affect the taste.

First time I landed an albacore, I tried to kill it with a hammer. Very messy, very bloody, and hammer head came off and lodged in its eye! Yuk.

2 I usually trail a lure when under way on any passage more than say 20 hours outside the channel. At 6kts you only catch the fish which fail to get out of the way and are speared. But when the speead dips below 4kts - even momentarily - there's a good chance of big fish catching up with it. Since you often lose sight of your boat trim at meal times, most fish I have caught have interrupted my food. (Maybe thats because I tend to eat in the morning and evening.

A muppet on a steel trace will lure many fish, and is particularly good in Biscay for Tuna (and if you get lost on the way to S Brittany, Dorado!)



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I had heard about the alcohol trick but have real reservations about wasting good on board tipple! The hammer idea doesn't appeal either though, so maybe the cheap French gin might be an answer, or wrap it up in an old wet towel, in a box, and look the other way...

Now as a fan for years of Kermit & Miss Piggy I would hesitate to use them as bait /forums/images/icons/smile.gif so you must be referring to a plug lure called a muppet? How do you set up for trailing a lure on a long passage, is it heavier tackle/weights etc? We have a (weighted) paravane on a handline for mackerel but as you say boatspeed makes it ineffective so we don't bother unless we drop below 4kts and we have never used it for anything other than mackerel using the usual silver spinner.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>
 
Who fishes - I do

I spend a fair amount my time fisihng in my fishing boat and also catch fish from Rival Spirit. A few of points I 'd add to the above:

1. Whilst mackerel feathers do catch, the modern hokai and shrimper rigs will catch when feathers don't. The favoured spot for any mackeral fishing is a where you find a join in the current with at least 30' of water, like those around Hurst Point. Favoured time is a couple of hours either side of highwater slack.
2. Try heaving to rather than sailing if you are going use feathers. I do this off The Bridge by The Needles. Currently the fish seem to be sitting on the 60' contour at depths from 10 - 50' down.
3. I'll off the S Britanny myself and have already earmarked a drift or two through the Raz de Sein and off the steep too bits off Belle Isle and Isle de Yeu. Altohugh I'm fairly sure that I'll catch mackeral, pollack and possibly bass off rocky bits including those that are well below the surface.
4. There are tuna to be caught on the move and whilst I agree with spacewaist about the technique, you don't about have to slow down. I've caught tuna, whilst travelling at hull speed on Rival Spririt and at 1o plus knots from big game boats. However, you might need to make a detour to get into the oceanic depths (100m+) where the tuna usually live.

Finally, don't forget the pushpit barbie, might see you there.

Chris

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