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 several 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. As you see I also add the odd piece from my friends and correspondents if I've not been doing much. 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).

10 March 2006

Cabin fever.

I know! I know! I do lots of fishing for pike and grayling and so on but I want to go down to the sea. It only needs a spot of relatively mild weather at this time of the year to get me hankering after an early morning session at the coast. I even resorted to digging out a few slides of past trips the other day just to whet my appetite. Anyway, I thought that just to get things going I'd put the old slides on the saltwater page to remind me what bass fishing is about.

The first thing is to steel myself to get up early in the morning. It is already getting light at six o'clock these days so I need to be up at five and fishing by quarter to six. This gives me time to get dressed, drive down to the coast and walk to my chosen spot. The gear will be set up the night before so that all I have to do when I arrive at the sea is take off the bale arm and cast out. One of my favourite spots lies under a high cliff where I usually see a herd of feral goats. These are big animals and have lved on the cliffside for many years, effectively they are wild animals and it is quite tricky to get close enough for a good picture with my little 3x zoom lens.

At all times of the year bass often tend to favour areas with plenty of water movement so it will be on with the chesties and plunge into the foaming briney. If you know the ground this is not as hair raising as it may look and there's nothing quite like that first tug on the end of the line as a bass snatches at the lure. This weekend I have to go up to the B.A.S.S annual general meeting (always a good day out with excellent slide shows, videos, tackle stall, bookstall and the chance to chat to all the anglers that you haven't seen for a year or so. After the stimulation of a day talking bass fishing I shall be ready to give the real thing a serious try. Hopefully it won't be long before this year's first fish will appear on my saltwater web page.

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

Change of light.

Feral goats

Storm beach.

More surf

The object of the exercise