May '16 monthly report

Our first trip to Alderney went smoothly, although the forecast wasn't great for 2 of the days this was one occasion that we were happy the weather man was wrong  as the wind got up to nothing more than a breeze.  The fishing followed suit with two enjoyable days on the banks targeting the flatfish, we were glad we took some frozen mackerel as the bait fishing could only be described as slow.  A big thank you to Mark Harding from Alderney Angling for all the hard work he puts in behind the scenes to make these trips such a nice experience for the anglers. The turbot fishing our side of the channel has also been ticking over nicely with Chris Stride boating our biggest of the year so far at 12lb. Fishing in Poole bay for the bream has continued to produce great days out. One or two fish around the 3lb 8oz mark are now starting to show along with plenty of smaller fish to keep the rod tips bouncing which are returned for another day. Finally it's off to the wrecks as we have seen the first of the cod and ling landed as the pollock thin out slightly. A bigger stamp than last year seems to be dotted around with our average size being around 10lb, enough to give a cracking fight on that light gear.  Special mention goes to 10 year old Finley Palmer who showed the older lads how it's done with a 13lb cod on his 12-20 suveran along with a few pollock.

Sam Cumming

Silver Spray II

April '16 monthly report

Fishing on the drift has been most of our days out over the last month, either on the wrecks or on the sand for the flatties. The abundance of herring spread out over the ground has been a good source of fresh bait to help target the turbot. Plenty of fish coming to the net but it's also good to see anglers getting involved in catch and release to keep numbers up for the future. We have managed our first bream of the year but for the first time ever it didn't come from the inshore reefs. It took a squid bait whilst anchored up on a wreck about 30 miles off, at 3lb 8oz it is probably one of the bigger bream we have had to open the season with. Elsewhere on the wrecks the pollock continue to provide good sport and we have also had the first few cod up to about the 8lb mark. Out on a flat calm day yesterday we were also treated to the rare sight of a coalfish amongst the pollock. Next week we shall be heading across to Alderney for the first time this season.

Sam Cumming

Silver Spray II

March '16 monthly report

Although it might still be pretty cold out at sea most days it's certainly starting to seem like the start of spring. It's always nice to see the dolphins around in the channel when the sprats start to move in on the wrecks. On our first wreck trip a couple of weeks ago a large pod of dolphins turned up at the mark we were fishing and we had to move as the pollock went right off the feed due to the dolphins chasing the sprats about. This was just a small speed bump on our first wreck trip of the year and we managed plenty of fat spring pollock well up into the double figures. Elsewhere we are still getting the best fishing I've seen in a long time on the banks for rays and spurdogs. This should continue into April before the temperature starts to rise slightly and the spurs disappear for another year. Our biggest to date this season is 25lb 4oz but unfortunately it was not overly keen on having its photo taken so we weighed and released her quickly. This Monday will see our first trip down to target the turbot and brill of this year and wednesday will be our first crack at the plaice with the light gear.

 

Good weekend on the spurs

February '16 Monthly Report:

Although we have mostly been kept in port with the weather over the last few weeks I've managed a couple of trips out to see what is biting. The banks are fishing well offshore with our first 20lb spur of the year hitting the deck (catch and release style) and a steady stream of congers rays and huss too. As well as the usual blonde rays we have been getting a lot of undulates and thornbacks , a welcome addition to what is sometimes a quiet time of year. We have pretty much seen the last of the cod now inshore for this winter season, a decent number landed but perhaps not to the usual size we are used to at this time of year. Looking forward to getting back out on the wrecks in search of the first of the years pollack in the coming weeks, providing we get some better weather.

Sam Cumming

Silver Spray II

February so far

January '16 Monthly Report

I have already done more trips this month than I managed in the previous two put together so I'm pleased to say I've got a bit more to report this time around. It is usually around this time of year I do the first trips out to the offshore banks to fish for spur dogs and blonde rays but due to the inshore fishing being so good I've only pushed off for a couple of half days so far. Both times have produced good size spurs to 18lb and blonde rays up to 27lb along with the usual huss congers and whiting. Dirty squid seems to be working wonders for the spurs.  As January pushes on I'll start to do more full days out there to see if we can make it 3 years in a row with a British Record beating fish, always released after a quick photo. As I mentioned inshore the fishing has been brilliant, possibly due to the lack on days float in December. Good numbers of cod are still appearing along with plenty of congers and whiting. We had the first 2 bass of the year a couple weeks ago at 9lb and 10lb 4oz, both taking squid and cuttlefish combination baits during the tide. The ray fishing inshore has been prolific with all 5 species coming in on the same day on some marks, not all monsters but good fun none the less.

Sam Cumming

Silver Spray II