TomBettle Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Just been chatting to me welsh mate "Lewis the Fish" who has just returned from a few days Cod fishing in Norway. His best fish was a 54lb beauty with loads of 30lb + fish. All caught using the new style of Japanese pirks with a single hook hanging free at the top. I was chatting to him about joining me for a Bream fishing trip in May, but I have to say the thought of joining him in Norway is a little more tempting! You need a lot of chips for one of those babies! Anyone fancy it late '06 / early '07? It isn't exactly cheap, but will almost defnitely be the trip of a lifetime. If we can get an idea of numbers and hopefully some deposits, I may be able to get us a group rate and some pretty good coverage for the club. If this is more than a pipe dream then please let me know and I will look into it properly. FYI: Lewis the Fish runs organised holidays to a number of somewhat warmer climates too so if this isn't your cup of tea let me know as I may be able to get you into Bill Fish, Shark, Tuna, GT whatever you fancy. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Would that be Lewis the fish of Sea Dangler fame? I would be interested but my amount of enthusiasm would of course depend on how much the trip will cost Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Y Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 My brother and I would be interested Tom Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Would that be Lewis the fish of Sea Dangler fame? I would be interested but my amount of enthusiasm would of course depend on how much the trip will cost Martin I only this welsh man as "Lewis the Fish". Martin, you know me far to well to name drop or anything like that..... although he may have written a line or two for one of the lesser liked publications known to this forum, but this could be a nice way to get the club mentioned..... If I can get a good idea of numbers then I can work on price. And if we feel we can get a better deal ourselves then we could always sort it. At the moment I have no idea about price, save to say it will amost certainly be dearer than Alderney, but a 100% new experience to most of us. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I looked at a brochure for Norway last year, prices started at around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Just saw the title and realised you are talking about winter. The downside fishing in winter is that the hours of daylight is very short. Much better to go just before or just after the summer holiday. My friends went last Sep, caught halibut which was taller than him (well he's a short arse 5'3"), cod over 60, wolf fish, torsk, etc. They ate nothing but fish they caught the whole week. Nightlife was non-esixtence, couldn't afford to get p*ssed with their beer prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Beer is extremely expensive tho. Two pints of beer and a packet of crisp, don't get much change out of 20 note. Any plumbers thinking of going? Beer on tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I'd be keen to go if it fitted in with school holidays....... ..... otherwise I'll have to wait a few years for retirement [ now it looks impossible this year ......... sob, sob !]. Alun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 amazes me how you lot can own and run your boats and still afford to go on such trips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Duncan, why else do you think I'm selling my boat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Tom, I am not too sure if Alderney will go ahead in 2007 after the avarage take up this year - so this could be a possibility if enough wanted to go - would also give me a break from the organising!! A few of the guys have mentioned about doing something a bit more exotic though, so a trip for Bone fish, GT etc, etc may be worth looking at - I would like to see some costings? I also have another TS trip up my sleeve for next summer for a small number - details to follow. Christ - with my wedding next year as well it gunna be busy - best to get it in though while I still can!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Adam, just choose a fishy looking exotic place for your honeymoon, the lads can come along for the fishing trip, 2 birds with one stone or what?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 if you go in 2007 i would definately be interested and i would be working by den and i still wouldnt have to worry about beer prices. and i will be in sixth form and get 10 week holidays through the summer sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Sam, Would that be year 12 or 13 ?? After Year 12 summer ...into 13 shouldn't be more than the usual 6 weeks !! After AS exams, don't you go back to start A2 courses ?? Work .. v. fishing .?.........a battle never won ! Alun. [ Sir. !!!] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 if you go in 2007 i would definately be interested and i would be working by den and i still wouldnt have to worry about beer prices. and i will be in sixth form and get 10 week holidays through the summer sam Sam Who's this den bloke you will be working alongide....has Charlie vetted him yet Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 That's disparate Den from the Sith Ifrican comic the Beno is it Sam? Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Deller Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 tom put me down as a definate for any trip either hot or cold climate(beats spending time with the wife) phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Tom, I am not too sure if Alderney will go ahead in 2007 after the avarage take up this year - so this could be a possibility if enough wanted to go - would also give me a break from the organising!! A few of the guys have mentioned about doing something a bit more exotic though, so a trip for Bone fish, GT etc, etc may be worth looking at - I would like to see some costings? I also have another TS trip up my sleeve for next summer for a small number - details to follow. Christ - with my wedding next year as well it gunna be busy - best to get it in though while I still can!!!!! I love fishing in warmer locations. Been a long time since I could do it regularly, but I would certainly be up for soemthing if we can combine it with a holiday for the Mrs too. Having done an awful lot of game fishing I would strongly suggest a location with a really good mixed bag of species. The only reason is that if we go on a "Marlin Fishing" holiday, 95% of those who go will be dissapointed. If we go on a fishing holiday that has a chance of a Marlin then that may just be the icing on the cake of a great trip. I have a number of contacts for both hot and cold water holidays and will be happy to see if I can help should you want it Adam. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afishionado Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 I have to agree with Tom in that Marlin fishing is highly overated, in fact unless one is fishing the Gulf of Cortez between Mexico and Calif' the chance of any one particular person on a bill fish charter trip of landing one is extremely remote as the the number of strikes in a day is very low, maybe only one or two, therefore with a 5 man charter 3 will never hold a rod! The problem is that bill fishing is at the glamorous end of our sport and is a lot of folks 'dream' so there is a clamour to 'go for Marlin' , it is only at the end of an expensive day with nothing but a sea trip in return that they realise that it aint all it's reckoned to be. Rough ground bottom fishing with plenty of ground bait/rubberdubby in an area with Grouper, Snapper, Triggers etc can wreck your arms after a coupe of hours, infact a big Grouper can take upwards of an hour to bring in. Mad Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Quote Mad Mike the chance of any one particular person on a bill fish charter trip of landing one is extremely remote as the the number of strikes in a day is very low, maybe only one or two, therefore with a 5 man charter 3 will never hold a rod! End Quote Mike You got as many strikes as that!!!!? I used to charter the boats for myself and the best ever was three strikes in one day. Of those three strikes the longest the fish stayed attached was about 10 minutes. It was quite an awesome sight with the biggest "A grander" taking the lure in the wash of the boat, but not worth the tens of thousands I threw at it. I have to say, one of my favourites is Tuna on medium / light tackle (depending on species). All of the tuna species have an incredible brute strength and dogged resistance with an amazing turn of speed. Even a 10lb Bonito on the sort of rod you may use for Pollocking will put an enormous smile on your face. If Billfish are a must then it has to be Cabo San Lucas for Striped Marlin. Here you are "almost" guaranteed a fish or two, with other species to keep you busy. Another location becoming hugely successful is Guatemala for Sailfish. The fish average about 60lb and on 12lb / 20lb stand-up gear or the fly are hugely fun. Using tackle any heavier and the spectacular leaps and short sharp bursts from the fish are lost as it will lose stamina far too quickly. Apparently anglers are getting as many as a dozen fish a day here. For general allround fun with a good mixture of brute strength bullies and super fast mini species Key West is a good bet as is Cuba. Another rapidly growing Bonefish location is the Seychelles. Finally, if price is a big issue and you want to tie in with a sunny Family holiday then the Canaries are always top dog for a mix of fish. It is where I got the bug for Big Game and landed my first ever Marlin. As mentioned, avoid the advertised "Marlin" trips and book one of the smaller boats. Fuerteventura is a great location with a couple of really old ex sailing catamarans. They take you out and catch your bait with a throw net or similar then you will go and drift or sometimes anchor for all sorts from Bonito to Barrcuda and 5 foot long Garfish to Snapper and Moray on the bottom and there is always a chance of a Yellow Fin, Wahoo or even a shark. Haven't been there for a few years, back then the cost was 5000 pesetas. Even with inflation it is still less that the price of an individual space on a charter here. Tackle for this is a fairly light spinning rod. Either freeline or hang off a float your livebait or drop to the bottom. Lunch is normally thrown in and consists of a Canarian style salad with some fresh fish. Ohhh, I am dribbling just thinking of all the fun i had when I had a real job and could afford to do these trips regularly. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieannear Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 The only real boat fishing I have ever done was off Tokamaru Bay, New Zealand where the hook was barely in the water before the fish were fighting to get on the end of it. Not sure if my hoying over the side (bit of a heavy night that ended about 3 hours before we went out) was attracting them, or if it's just heaving with fish down there. Or both! First bite about 5 mins after getting to the mark was a shark, which took me over half an hour to bring in (the skipper was convinced I had a huge lump of coral on the end and was just being a Whinging Pom) and for the rest of the day I was bringing in Grouper, Snapper, Barracuda and all sorts of other lovelies. The cost of the trip was that the skipper let me keep one of each species (which we barbied up that night. Yum!) and he had the rest of the catch to sell (to the local pub) which made up for the fuel and time spent out. Got a photo somehwere... Apologies if that little tale was a bit irrevevant but I've been waiting since January to tell my one and only fishing story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMac Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Adam, dont know whether your interested, but a mate of mine has a house in Cape Coral, Florida. Its a 4 double bedroom(2 en suite) house with swimming pool, air con and all the other mod cons you would expect. Cape Coral is on the west coast of Florida about 70 miles south of Tampa. Best of all, the house comes furnished with a 23 foot walk around Skiff with a 175hp Yamaha on the rear. On arrival at the house (2 hours drive from Miami or 20 mins from Ft Myers Airport if you use an internal flight) there is a phone number of a guy called Captain Bob that comes round for two hours, takes you out, and tells you how to operate the boat where the channel markers where to get fuel etc. Then your on your own!!!!!! Within ten mins of the house there are Tarpon flats a plenty, fish run up to about 200 or so and 100 pounders are reasonably common. 20 minutes in the other direction and there are some deeper spots full of Tarpon, Bull sharks, Nurse sharks and Black tip (or spinner) sharks. The Tarpon average 100, the bulls and nurses up to 300 or so. This is still in the Caloosahatchee River. Half an hour from the house is Sannibel Bridge And the exit to the Gulf. 20 miles off brings you into cobalt blue waters and the possibillity of just about all the major pelagics except billfish. Groupers up to God knows what size, (you can see em on the sonar as your playing them) lost most of the biggies but landed one of 350. (have posted a pic of Carl, owner of house, leaning over the boat to one we guess at 500 plus) The hammer heads go up to 1000lb or so but generally hang round Boca Grande Pass waiting for anglers tired Tarpon caught by the fleet of boats that fish there. I've been there 5 times now and it really is fantastic. Took Rupert and his missus last year, he had a nurse shark of nearly 300, a lemon shark of the same size and a Tarpon of 140, his missus had a Tarpon of 120 and I jumped about 20 but never got one to the boat The house costs about 900 quid a week, not a lot split between 3 or four couples. Just flights and a hire car required. If your interested I'll put you in touch with him. Only lives in Ferndown. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Al, You bet Im interested!! Can you PM me the details. I live in Verwood so only round the corner for me! Ta Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.