Anchoring A Bank?

[Adam F]

A topic which I guess we all had to consider when we fished for rays last weekend - and hopefully one that will spur a decent and interesting thread.

 

My take on it is thus (mainly based upon watercraft gained freshwater fishing) and is not meant to be a right or wrong way, but just a base to begin from.

 

Take a big bank like the dozens of offshore banks we have around Poole/Christchurch and Weymouth. It comes from 110' up to 80' and then back down to 100' within 500-1000 yards.

 

Where are the fish/rays likely to be? Will they be at the front of the bank (many fish like a bit of tide - bass for example) will they bit at the top of the bank catching food as it reaches the highest point of the bank, or will they sit in the slacker deeper water at the back intercepting food as it is washed over and sitting in the slacker water expending less energy?

 

Over the years I have taken fish from all parts of banks / reefs and therefore havent really come to a conclusion - what do others think?

 

Discuss....

[Bob F]

Taken from our Blonde Ray article, with input from local charter skippers...

 

"The Blonde is a very powerful fish, and uses this power to remain active across the whole range of the tide. Unlike other rays, it does not seek shelter from the tide, so do not confine your fishing just to the down-tide side of a bank. The larger females are often caught on the uptide side of the bank in the direct tidal flow."

 

My approach on a new bank would be to anchor uptide of the bank and then drop the bait down and slowly creep the weight across the bank (by lifting and dropping), until you locate the rays. Once found, send the bait back to the same area.

 

The problem I was having on Sunday was holding the damn botton at all!!!

 

Little Rob just left his where it was and caught spotted's!!

 

 

BF

 

[Deep Sea Dean]

We have always dropped the hook well up tide of a bank and trotted back sinking the hook as the bank starts to come up on the sounder.

 

When the tide is running you are then trotting back as bob says fishing from the top of the bank all the way to the bottom. Having always fished that way I cant say that fishing in to the bank wouldn't work but I would certainly prefer to fish the downtide side.

 

A lot of fish will patrol the top half of the bank waiting for food items and small fish to be swept over the bank by the tide/caught in the turbulence just behind the banks peak.

 

On the other hand I suppose you could say that the fish will be were the food is and if its elsewhere they will be too.

[duncan]

great question as usual Adam. Charlie and I spent a good hour discussing this Saturday night and concluded that there are so many other factors that there can't be one answer (we thought!)

 

my belief is that if the bank has one tidal face, ie a short steep slope facing one tide and a smooth long slope facing the other then I would look to fish the top of the bank behind the short face when the tides hitting it and the gulley the other side of it when the tides coming up the gradual slope way. However in both cases the speed of the tide must influence where the fish are going to lie as any eddies etc will move relative to the features. Equally at slack water the fish will be heading for emerging food - sand crabs, eels etc - rather than those caught in the flow. Both of the above lend themselves to searching the bank/ground as Bob outlines clearly.

[Bob F]

so that's downtiding sorted.

 

How would you anchor a bank if you intended to uptide it? Do any of you fish uptide style on banks?

 

BF