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SPECIES CAUGHT IN 2016:
Pollack, Cod, Pouting, Mackerel, Conger, Dogfish
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Saturday 20 February - Valkyrie 7
Blown Off
Saturday 12 March - Valkyrie 6 Club wrecking trip out of Hayling Island aimed at Pollack and Ling. Left marina at 8.00 on a very low tide, the weather was sunny and clear with a very light easterly breeze. We headed due south for 40 miles out and started our first drift at 11.30 am, but after 4 drifts and no fish to be had we moved over to another wreck being fished by Valkyrie 7. After two drifts I landed a nice 10 lb Pollack, which was shortly followed by a few smaller ones from other anglers. The tide was beginning to slacken off at high water and the catches slowed, but eventually the fish re-appeared and some nice Pollack were being landed to 15 lbs. The wreck was very ‘snaggy’ and numerous lures an weights were being lost by all anglers. At 3.30 pm the Skipper suggested that if we wanted to get back to the Marina by 6.00 pm we would have to leave now, but as the tide was now ebbing we could stay until 5.30 pm and catch the flood tide as we reached the Marina, otherwise we may get stuck in the mud. We all agreed to stay out and carried on fishing, hopping from wreck to wreck on our way back. We arrived back at 8.00 pm, but got stuck in the mud for 15 mins at the entrance to the Marina. In all this was a very good trip with calm seas and sunny all day. The fishing was good, but could have been better for the time of year. We ended up with over 30 fish on board, best at 15 lbs, my tally was 4 Pollack to 10 lbs.
Saturday 16 April - Offshore Rebel
Offshore Rabble wrecking trip for Pollack and hopefully some early Cod. We were all on board (9 anglers) by 7.45am and left with calm sea and clear blue sky, but there was a cold north-westerly breeze. We reached the wreck at 9.30am and started our first drift on a slow ebbing tide, but after 4 drifts nothing had been caught, and with the tide gone we anchored up to try for Ling or Conger. A 15 lbs Ling was soon landed, followed by a Spurdog, Bull Huss and 2 Congers. As the tide picked up we started on the drift again and eventually an 8 lbs Cod was landed followed by small Pollack, but the going was hard so it was decided to move to another wreck 30 mins away. Again the fishing was slow, but eventually Pollack started to appear and several to 12 lbs were landed. We packed up at 4.30 pm and headed back in the bright sunshine with 15 Pollack, 1 Cod, 2 Ling 1 Bull Huss and Spurdog 2 Congers and numerous Pouting. My tally was 2 Pollack, best at 8 lbs and 1 Pouting. In all not a very successful day, but the weather was pleasant although cold.
Saturday 14 May - Offshore Rebel
On holiday so dropped out
Saturday 18 June - Offshore Rebel
Offshore Rabble wrecking trip for Cod on the drift. Only nine anglers on board due to a last minute drop-out, but his space was filled by a Salt Water Boat Angling Magazine Journalist to do a report for his magazine. We left at 7.45 am on the last of the flood tide, weather was sunny with light north-east breeze as we headed southeast to mid channel. We arrived at our first wreck at 9.30 am and immediately hooked into some nice Cod up to 12 lbs in size, but after 3 drifts the tide dropped away and so did the fish, but we had landed over 12 fish. At 11.00 we moved 19 miles to the west to a small wreck which gave us another 12 Cod, but again the fish dropped away. We again moved about 10 miles west to another wreck and after 2 drifts we began to hook into Cod an Pollack and were rewarded with some nice Cod to 15 lbs and Pollack to 17 lbs, We also witnessed a rare sighting of a Sun Fish on the surface about 10 metres away. We finished at 3.30 pm and were back in port at 5.30 pm with over 70 Cod and 10 Pollack. My Tally was 5 Cod to 14 lbs, in all a good day’s fishing (at last).
Saturday 25 June - Valkyrie 7
Club Conger Competition out of Hayling Island. Left marina at 7.00 am on an ebbing tide, the weather was sunny and clear with a light north-easterly breeze. We headed due south for 2 hours and arrived in time to catch the last of the ebb tide and anchored up. It started very slow but eventually a small 22 lbs Conger was landed, shortly followed by a few more to 47 lbs, a large Dogfish and a 15 lbs Ling. After about one and a half hours the tide began to pick up so we moved away west to another wreck to try for Cod and Pollack and it wasn’t long before the first Pollack was landed. I, on the other hand was the only angler to land a Cod weighing in at 13 lbs, I also had a Pollack at 12 lbs 8 oz. At ab out 2.30 pm the tide dropped away so we set the anchor for Conger again, but it was very poor and I was the only one to land a Conger at a poor 12 lbs. We packed up at 4.00 pm and were back in the marina at 6.30 pm. This was a very disappointing day as it was scheduled as the Club Conger Competition, but only two and a half hours were spent Conger fishing, the rest of the time was trying to fill the freezer. I don’t think I shall be doing this again with the club.
Saturday 23 July - Offshore Rebel Offshore Rabble wrecking trip for Cod. Ten anglers on board as we left Weymouth at 7.30 am, the weather was flat calm with a thick sea fog which was expected to clear by 10.00 am. There were reports of Bass being caught in 'The Race' so it was decided to catch some 'joey' Mackerel to use as live bait. After rounding Portland lighthouse we began feathering for the Mackerel and soon had a plentiful supply of small Mackerel which was unusal for the time of year, but ideal for live bait. We tried several drifts through The Race, but unfortunately there were no Bass to be had so we moved on.The fog was now clearing as we headed southwest for about 25 miles to our first wreck and tried a few drifts using live bait, but nothing was taking so we moved on to the next wreck and tried using artificial lures and soon we were landing some Pollack and Cod. The tide was reaching slack water so we moved on to another wreck to catch the last of the ebb tide and we started to land some decent Cod to 14 lbs, but just as fast as it came the catches dropped off to nothing. We persevered for several more drifts with no success and as it was getting near time to return to Weymouth we fished a few wrecks on the way back. It was an enjoyable day with lovely calm sunny day. The total catch for the day was 15 Cod and 2 Pollack with my tally being 3 Cod, best at 14 lbs. Wednesday 10 August - Friday 12 August - Supanova II Annual three day Conger Competition fished out of Weymouth with 7 boats taking part. Left jetty at 7.00 am and stopped off at the entrance to Portland Harbour to catch Mackerel for bait before we set sail for our intended wreck 30 miles due south. We arrived at 9.30 am and after about 30 mins of setting the anchor we got down to the matter in hand of catching some Conger Eels . Eventually after45 mins we had the first Conger hooked, but nothing of any size. We persevered until slack water and then tried drifting over the wreck with light weights and I was into the first Eel of the day, but it only weighed less than 20 lbs. We then anchored up on the flood tide and soon everyone was catching Eels,but it was hard going, and eventually we had caught a total of 61 Eels, best at 45 lbs, my total being a poor 5 no. all under 20lbs, not a good start. I did manage to hook into a larger Eel at the very end of the day, but another angler had also hooked into the same Eel after me, so this one didn't count!There were also some Cod, Pouting and Ling caught on the Conger traces. The best Conger of the day was landed on Atlanta at 77 lbs 12 oz.
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