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).

19 August 2005

So much for my hypothesis!

People who have been looking at the website for some time may remember a little experiment that I tried last year. My idea was to compare black and white flies (rubber eels) as I fished through the change of light at dawn. My first attempt was totally convincing. Using two flies at once nearly all the fish at first (while it was dark) took the black fly and later on (as dawn broke) they seemed to take black or white indiscriminately.

The other day I decided to repeat the experiment (always a mistake). Anyway, to cut a long story short, ALL the fish took the white lure - even when it was very dark. Rarely are these things 'cut and dried' when it comes down to it. Of course, in most cases you are only fishing with a single lure so it is very difficult to do any sort of comparison or control on your tactics. If there are two of you fishing you can each use a different lure but no two anglers fish in exactly the same way. Even with my 'black and white' experiment the position of the 'fly' on the cast may have an effect (whether it is on the point or the dropper).

The only exceptions that occured (I landed five pollack and five mackerel on this occasion) were one pollack foul hooked in the tail wrist on the white lure (it may have had a go at the black one on the dropper). Also I had a fine battle with two mackerel at once (one on each 'fly' of course).

In truth I should really keep up the experiment: try the test time after time and then do some statistics on the results but I don't really want to spend a whole summer fishing for mackerel and small pollack - entertaining though it is. The outcome of this fiddling about is to make me even more sceptical (if that's possible) of the many claims such as "red eyed, chartreuse, blue spotted shads are the ONLY lure for coalfish over wrecks," etc. etc. etc.

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

A pollack on the white.

Mackerel.

Another.