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).

Pollack on the fly.

It is good to have fishing friends. The other day I had an email from my pal Rob. He'd had an evening session with a pal and they'd landed quite a few pollack, a schoolie and a wrasse on the fly. Anyway, when the forecast was for flat calm no swell I decided to try a morning's fly fishing myself. In fact I took three rods - the fly rod armed with my usual tiny, white Delta eel, the spinning rod with a single hooked wedge to try and catch mackerel for livebait and the livebait rod to freeline with a circle hook if I managed to get a suitable bait.

At this time of the year there's no need to get up too early so it was getting on for six o'clock, cloudy and still pretty dark when I started casting the fly. For five minutes nothing happened then I felt a tug, which I missed. On the next cast I was in! A reasonable pollack plunged down into the kelp but was no match for the fly rod with an eight pound cast. Two more decent pollack on the next two casts - the best perhaps 1.5lb then it slowed down a bit so I switched to my wedge to see if there were any mackerel about. On the third chuck a bass took the wedge only inches from the rocks where I stood. It was just a schoolie so after taking its picture and dropping it back in the sea I went back to the fly rod. A few more pollack in quick succession then a livelier customer proved to be a mackerel.

The mackerel was photographed before doing duty as a livebait. It swam about manfully for about twenty minutes but nothing took it so I wound in and picked up the fly rod again. By now it was light but the pollack were still there in force and I caught almost one a cast until I stopped counting at forty fish. By now it was time to go for breakfast and by the time I got back to the car it was 07.45. Wonderful morning - thanks Rob!

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

Pollack.

Schoolie.

Mackerel.