What am I doing wrong

[dave007]

HI to you all

 

Finally took the boat out from Baiter the other day when the yellow thing was out, lovely day, tide rising.

 

I only seem to be able to catch macs.

 

I was fishing with my son around Poole rocks and was able to catch about 25 macs using feathers, changed over to a pennal rig with rag and squid but no joy also tried strips of of the mac (the only one we kept) but still no joy and also just a single hook with enough weight to hold bottom .

fish finder was definitely show fish in the water at various levels.

 

if any one can help I would be most grateful as not only do want to catch something different, I also want to keep my son interest. as he gets fed up only catching macs and wants more sport and I need to keep him to crew!

 

cheers

 

Dave

[makena]

Hi Dave

 

As a beginner I have been feeling a lot of the same frustrations. I have been targetting Bream and I have had lots of mostly convincing advice from club members that has led me to use small hooks on long virtually invisible lines attached to weighted booms. It works sometimes but more often I get a load of pollocks, a wrasse or dogfish. Yet it seems like some (maybe everyone except us) in the club go out and catch just the fish they target each time...unless they only tell us what they were fishing for afterwards....no I don't really believe that...I have looked closely into peoples eyes when they tell me how they have been doing! There must be something we are doing wrong - something that we have missed...

 

Maybe it is the marks - thanks to the club I have a good long list of these now but it doesn't tell me anything much about what I should find in each one. For example, Poole patch the other day didn't seem to have any bream.

 

john

[Newboy]

Where do I start?

There are millions reasons for not catching fish, an easterly wind, months with 'r'......

 

However a few main reasons are usual why.

 

1) there's no fish where you were.

2)fish just not feeding.

3)you are targeting the wrong fish, i.e., you are using gears not meant for fish there are there, wrong size hook, wrong bait, drifting/ anchoring, is your bait on the bottom when anchoring? It might have been 5 mins ago when you trotted out the line, but is it still hard on the bottom now?

 

If possible go out on one of the many club boat and see how the otheres do it. I'm sure many of the 'established' skipper won't mind helping a fellow club member.

[Neal]

As Kam has just said, put your names down as crew or ask for crew.

 

I am sure you will get some nice friendly club members to help.

 

Try putting yourselves up for the 48hr competition Bank holiday weekend.

 

Come along to a club meeting if possible and speak to a few members to see if there is anything you can do to improve your chances of success.

 

Neal

[Graham Nash]

Agree with the advice above.

 

I struggled to catch anything decent till I went out with the grand master, his son and the chef .... their tactics were alien to me but i have adapted my tactics and rigs and seem to do pretty good now.

 

I'm still rubbish on Poole patch tho!!

[Rob]

 

Indeed - crew for an Old Salty Sea Dog, there are loads in the Club!

 

Get to crew or offer to take experienced crew and try for rays off Ballard - that'll give you son something to get his teeth in to - though, it might feel like he has hooked the bottom for 10 mins!

 

 

Rob

[great white]

Now if you were fishing in May and June your tactics would no doubt have got you some Bream

 

Later in the year the bream spread around to other marks and the patch returns to the fish that you mentioned. [Even in the main season you will also get those]

 

Its a huge learning curve, in a massive area of sea

 

My advice would be the same as others, come along to meetings to chat to Members and if possible fish with a few to let them show you a few things to do.

 

No sure fire methods to get it right, but if you keep trying better fish will come.`

 

Its all down to time at sea really

 

Good luck

 

Charlie

[Barney]

Im no expert but my best advice is keep it simple.

 

zip slider

4ft hook length

3/0 or 4/0 hook

baited with mackerel sqid or rag or a combination of them.

always works for me for general fishing in the bay when im not bothered what i catch.

Make sure you have enough weight to keep you on the bottom.

 

this time of year 90% of my fishing is done with the mackerel i catch whole fillet little strips or just chunks,

 

Dont get me wrong there are lots of different ways to fish and finesse and targeting particular species involve different tactics but that can all come later. as others have said fish with someone that knows what they are doing. theres nothing worse than not knowing if your doing it right or not.

 

Just keep at it and enjoy,

 

Mick

[great white]

Dave

 

Having read my earlier reply again, it did not come over as intended.

 

I stick with what I said, about time at sea and learning from others, but may now have time to help more.

 

We catch most bream on a two hook rig with a small bright bead just above the hook.

or simply cut a feather rig in half and use that after baiting the feathers with worm squid or bits of fish.

 

As you say your son wants to target more exciting fish than Mackeral, go to an area that holds plenty and maybe try differant tactics on each rod.

 

catch a few mackeral every now and then for bait and to keep him busy.

Treat them well [put in cool box] and at the end of the day take those left over home for tea, [they are about my favorite eating fish.] Or freeze a few for winter whiting baits.

 

Maybe try Southbourne Rough, the outer end of Christchurch ledge on a small tide or the depper water outside of the Dolphin bank

 

Ref Gear/outfits if you have a selection

 

try a light one with baited feather rig, bounced back with the tide, or fished "Uptide method"

 

Mid weight outfit with the rig Barney discribes, or your pennel rig baited with mackeral fillet, fished hard on the bottom for Tope, eels, rays bass etc

 

and a heavier rod

again just a single hook rig, but on stronger trace line, big hook, whole "Flapper" mackeral, fished hard on the bottom but bounced away behind the boat untill it stops, to await congers and tope.

 

 

You will need to look for features and anchor the boat uptide of them to position your baits in your chosen hot spot, it can be tricky. But get it right and the fish will come.

If you get it wrong, do not sit in the wrong place for hours, pull the anchor back in and try a short move to reposition the boat [something we nearly always do when the tide changes direction]

 

Good luck and very tight lines

 

Charlie

 

[ChrisE]

Can I add another twist?

 

If you are on your own where you have dropped your hook then there's probably a good reason! I learnt the few marks that I know anything about by following the crowd.

 

In the short term you'll be amongst others and can see if they're catching anything which is useful to see if you are alone in catching nothing!

 

In the longer term you can work out what works and what doesn't.

 

Whatever you decide best of luck.

 

Chris

Edited August 15, 2012 by ChrisE

[fisherman1055]

Never be afraid of finding a mark on the sea bed and trying it out

there are many contours, ridges, lumps about that have the opotential to produce fish. Try them and you will be surprised by what you catch

The trick is to set your boat against tide and wind to fish on to the mark, not to the side or in another area.

Gheting your own marks in your chart plotter will help you more that borrowing marks from others

 

tony

[Paul J]

it's sometimes funny how others think you know what your doing and join you on a spot.

Happened the other day, i dropped the anchor to have some lunch and was soon surrounded.

I chuckled to myself as i wasn't even fishing,it's still good advice to join and watch others though

 

PJ

[makena]

Thanks everyone - there are lots of useful tips here and some that most of you probably take for granted that I hadn't though of at all. I'm still a bit puzzled about being careful to be uptide of the mark - I had imagined a 'mark' was the centre of a larger area than this suggests. But doesn't this make it a bit of a nonsense joining others on a spot? Surely if it is that small, and they have it then you won't!

 

I guess it makes a difference if you are talking about a wreck mark or a broader 'patch'. BTW I don't know if it has been the particular wreck marks I have been going to but I find them surprisingly difficult to identify with my fishfinder...

 

I take the point about it being the time at sea (experience) that really counts but with the weather we have had this summer I hope you will forgive those of us who sometimes get a bit impatient for progress...and when its wet and windy there is a lot more time to moan about it online.

[Graham Nash]

I had imagined a 'mark' was the centre of a larger area than this suggests. But doesn't this make it a bit of a nonsense joining others on a spot? Surely if it is that small, and they have it then you won't!

 

I guess it makes a difference if you are talking about a wreck mark or a broader 'patch'. BTW I don't know if it has been the particular wreck marks I have been going to but I find them surprisingly difficult to identify with my fishfinder...

 

I have a "mark" that is so specific that 50 ft either side of it is useless, so there are definitely spots that, from my experience are that specific.

 

As for wrecks on the fish finder; I am nowhere near an expert on wrecks and have only fished a few but I have had my best results in locating them with a good quality inboard transducer, often finding that the wreck is not on the exact numbers advertised and sometimes the wrecks are so flat that they hardly show up anyway!!

 

Keep at it, longer traces, dont scrunch your bait onto the hook so it stays on there as this looks un-natural and encourages deep hooked fish (on the rare occasion it catches)

 

good luck

[Martin.C]

Hi like yourself I have my own boat and my catch rate wasn't very good, it's not as simple as finding a mark and chucking a bait over.

I've been going out with a few old sea dogs( sorry mike and nigel ) and it's mind boggling all the different tactics - winds - tides -baits - rigs etc all that cant be learnt in one day. These guys have many years experience ( you can tell buy the wrinkles ) so my advice is to get a few trips out with a wrinkled one and gain some of there skills.

I now catch some amazing fish thanks to these guys

[great white]

Hi again

 

even in well known fish holding areas like the patch there are hot spots.

 

groups of pots give an indication of where they are as you approach, but it is well worth looking around using your sounder to spot real features such as rocks , banks gulleys ect.

If you are lucky you may see fish on the sounder as well.

 

Again anchor uptide and cast back to "the spot"

 

 

 

 

If you are struggling to see wrecks you may be looking for ones inshore that are buried in sand or your numbers may be wrong.

 

If you want PM me the names of the wrecks you are trying to find and I will try to give a bit of info on them, you can add your numbers if you want and I will check them.

I hope that this will help you to weed out some that are best left alone.

 

My usual advice it to pick a well known one that is easy to find and practice on that.

even if that practice is just finding it and not fishing, to get confidence up

 

Charlie

[dave007]

Thanks to everyone for the many ideas,

 

I will keep an eye on the weather and hopefully put out a crew or buddy boat request soon.

 

Thanks again to you all

 

Dave

[Paul D]

it's sometimes funny how others think you know what your doing and join you on a spot.

Happened the other day, i dropped the anchor to have some lunch and was soon surrounded.

I chuckled to myself as i wasn't even fishing,it's still good advice to join and watch others though

 

PJ

PJ,

 

Learnt a long time ago you didn't know what you were doing

 

( Only kidding ! )

 

 

[plaicemat]

I'm afraid there is no shortcut to success, even with a bucketful of good advice. At the end of the day, the more hours you put into your fishing, the better and 'luckier' you will get. A few years ago I was out walking across the fields with 8 of my gundogs, all walking to heel without slips. I spotted someone walking towards me with a golden retriever tugging away at it's lead and, as the owner passed, he said how lucky I was to have such obedient dogs. I replied that, funny old thing, the more time I put into their training, the luckier I got. Same principle applies.

 

Terry.

[dave007]

You are right Terry but unfortunately the 2 1/2 drive to the coast does tend to get in the way.

 

Cheers

[dave007]

Hi all

I notice that severall of you launch at Mudeford, What restrictions are there tide wise, thought I might try out the Ledge that has been mentioned .

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[pirky]

You are right Terry but unfortunately the 2 1/2 drive to the coast does tend to get in the way.

 

Cheers

I can relate to that even though I only live in Ringwood ....

 

a) trip to boat 45 mins

fuel up, load up and get into water 20 mins

c) trip from Rockley through harbour to entrance 40 mins

d) trip to mark and "getting set" to fish time.....

 

plus ....Add the level of family and home commitments, the preference for crew, the necessary weather and tide windows.

 

Because of the above and particularly the weather (so unpredictable, planning is difficult) I have been out a total of 15 times so far this year. Most of those have been "solo" and sometimes for as little as 2 hrs fishing for a lot of effort....

Fishing has not been very good for me this year .... hoping things improve!!!

 

I was a late starter at the boat owning and fishing too ... loads to learn and so little time to do it.

 

Dave

[Rob]

 

For a Mudeford launch you probably want 0.75m of tide to go out against the flow.

 

Now..........here is the (multiple) BUT!

 

If there is high pressure this can effect it - not by much but it can depend whether you are going with or against the tide.

 

If the bar moves (from some heavy swell) there could be a requirement for more water in the run.

 

Depending what the tide is doing can dictate as to whether you can get out the run. If you are"going with the flow" then no problem, if you are against the flow on a big tide in either direction (Ebb worse obviously as the 2 rivers are emptying at the same time) you can struggle as you may have to lift your prop and then you can't get any\enough speed! (take my word for this!, a member has also smashed a gearbox trying the "I can plane through that" approach)

 

There is a cost to launch if the hut is open - usually 8am I believe. (I nearly had a heartattack when he arrive at 05:30 one morning, luckily he was going fishing before work!). There is no cost to retrieve, so feel free to come back in any time without cost.

 

The parking is expensive - I paid

[plaicemat]

Being in Oxfordshire, same applies to me, Dave. You have to get your priorities right or, like me, retire.

 

Terry.

[plaicemat]

Although the tide question is still the same, though under normal circumstances not too difficult, you do have an alternative. Due to my location with a long drive home, I launch at Wick, Christchurch. There is no launch fee, reasonable parking fees and, being a bit up river, the water is virtually fresh. Engine gets a rinse out and you're not dumping your trailer in brine, thus reducing maintenance costs. Simples!

 

Terry.