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).

Tiny bass.

I took the new Mag Pro reel for another outing this morning - I believe in giving my gear a good work out. To be honest the tide was nothing special(half ebb going down) and the water was flat calm and gin clear - although I couldn't see that when I arrived on the beach at 04:00hr. Anyway I was very surprised when my first short cast with a large pearl Evo Redgill (a bit of a tester just to loosen the line on the spool) resulted in a bite before I'd even begun to wind. I played the fish in and after taking its picture returned it to the sea before casting again. Blow me down I was straight into another bass of similar size to the first one. Naturally at this point I was expecting to catch a fair number of fish but it was not to be. For the next half-hour I didn't have another bite then, after changing to a J9 Rapala, I did get one and it turned out to be a small ballan wrasse of about a pound.

I fished on for a further biteless twenty minutes then I set off back to the car. Just before climbing back up the cliff path I decided. to have a couple of chucks with the little plug and again much to my surprise I did get another bass but it was by far the smallest one I've seen this year. No more than about ten ounces. I suppose beggars can't be choosers and at least the reel performed well again. From the pictures you'll see that the spool is very well filled (I'd usually think it was overfilled) with Nanofil braid but the line lay appears to be so good that I've not had any problems at all.

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

Bass number 1.

Wrasse.

Cute.