Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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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).

'Bass' tackle in the tropics.

We're just back from our two weeks holiday in Tobago. Naturally the activities had to be a bit of a compromise but fishing was my main objective. I always take a couple of spinning rods (mostly in case one gets damaged - it never has up to now) and a fly rod to allow for all contingencies. I'll describe my kit in a bit more detail after I've told all the fishing tales from my recent trip. Essentially, these days, I only take my four-piece rods that will (only just) fit in my suitcase - a Surepopper, a 4Surespin and a Surefly. Exactly the same rods that I use, week in week out, for bass fishing here in Dorset.

On my first morning I was up at first light and fished the beach at Crown Point - a pretty reliable spot for jacks, tarpon, snook, etc. Not a sniff. Later in the day we went to Grange beach. Amazingly, we were the only people there. I missed (as usual) a few bites from houndfish and eventually caught one of my favourites - a lizardfish. That was my total for the day, not a good start.back at the hotel I saw a local chap spinning from the beach just outside our room. I asked if he ever caught jacks there and he said 'Yes!' but he had nothing on that occasion.

Encouraged I was up fishing the beach behind the hotel (about one minute from the door of my room) at the crack of dawn. I chose to use a heavy Toby because the wind was straight in my face. After about ten minutes I had a fierce bite and found myself playing a heavy fish which (typical jack) took lots of line before cutting the 20lb nylon trace on a rock or coral head. Bugger!!!! I packed in and returned to my room for a rethink.

Forget the rest of that day. The following morning I was down on the beach again with the gear beefed up to a 40lb Amnesia trace and a big Yo Zuri slider. Sure enough, ten minutes after starting, there was a mighty boil and the lure was taken about ten yards out (as before). What a battle! This time I managed to land my first decent fish of the trip - a sixteen pound crevalle jack. Fantastic! Not bad for starters. Later that day the wind increased even more, the beach where I caught the jack was covered in weed and remained unfishable for the rest of my holiday. That's fishing! I'll save the other stories for later.

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

Grange beach.

Beautiful, often unproductive, but I've got something.

My catch.

The hated lizard fish or sand diver.  Not my favourite species.

Bait.

Local fishermen cast netting for baitfish just behind our hotel.

Weed.

It really was unfishable.  The arrow marks the spot where I hooked both of my jacks.

Nice fish.

My sixteen pounder.  What a wonderful fish.