Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

SEA FISHING

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over four years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff).

29 October 2005

Interesting blank.

I went to Swanage the other morning to try an hour's spinning. On about my third cast in the gloom the lure got hung up as I retrieved. I was quite surprised as it was clearly high water and I thought that the spot was snag free. After a couple of minutes pulling this way and that, to my relief, it came free. I walked on a bit to avoid the snag (whatever it was) and continued fishing. For once (unusually) there was nothing doing, I did not even have a touch despite what appeared to be excellent conditions.

On my way back I saw a local fisherman launching his small boat from the slipway. I said "Hello!" and walked on. As I approached the spot where my lure had snagged in the darkness, about twenty yards out, I could see a row of sausage shaped white floats - a gill net - that explained the problem and I was amazed that the lure had managed to free itself from the headline.

By now the chap in his small boat had motored on through the pier supports and when I got back to the sea front I could see that he was lifting another gill net. It was obviously full of fish and I could see him dropping them back into a box behind him as he removed them from the net. Out with the little binoculars and have a look to see what he was catching. I expected to see school bass but in fact, as far as I could tell most of the fish were pollack of a pound or two. He must have had the best part of a hundred as I watched. Certainly there were one or two fish in every couple of metres of net. There may have been some bass too but I did not see any that I could recognise. Presumably the catch was mostly used for pot baits.

Of course this sort of thing can be a bit depressing when you haven't had a sniff but it was interesting to see the numbers of fish in such shallow water over a fairly clean bottom. It's filed away in my mind for future reference.

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Snag.

Gill netter.

Again.