Welcome to the Sea fishing blog

Can you help Steve out. He sent the fishing blog the following e-mail and we are happy to help find buddies. Its a great safety net going out with a buddy on your Kayak and should be considered by everyone

Hi.
just bought a malibu pro fish&dive tandem,have got a nice 2002 small camper with lock up trailer,done a lot of holiday sea fishing but never been on the sea except in the med or with a skipper. I live in the midlands but i can travel at short notice ,i am very aware of the dangers of the sea so dont want to venture out on my own to start,very aware that the buddy system is the safest way to go and would love to join up with some experienced guys. I am planning two trips for the near future, west coast of scotland, and spain and would like to find a partner to share expenses, used to go camping and fishing, but depended on expensive campsites, but with the camper and trailer am totally independent, plus no wet tents in the morning so if you can suggest anything i would be grateful,i am a very experienced fly fisher and tyer,but i got bored, my true love is the sea, all comments answered.
kind regards steve.

To reply, please comment below

Just a very quick post…. Do any of you fancy a Kayak fishing trip to the Manacles? I have fished it a few times by my self ( here is one link to sea fishing the Manacles on a kayak) but some company would be great. Get in touch by commenting on this post or e-mailing me through this link - Contact the fishing blog

Fridays, over the next few weeks would be best for me. Come on lets get at least 5 yaks out there. The pollock and Wrasse fishing is great!!! and beginners are very welcome!

I must say in this daft age of litigation - the fishing-blog, its users or contributors will not be held liabable should any accident or injury occur and all participants join in and take part at thier own risk. This is not an orgaisned event, just a meeting of like minded people and by taking part in this trip you are happy to sign an agreement as stated above.

Further to the above - If you are interested in increasing your kayak safety knowledge and learning how to sea kayak with a degree of proficiency then pplease contact the fishing blog here as I am looking to organise some deals with local instructors.

Calling all you saltwater Fly fishing enthusiasts, let us know what gear you use and why. Include the species you target and the platform you fish from; i.e. Kayak, Boat, wading or pure Shore. Sea fishing in the UK can be a lot more sporting than you would imagine! Mullet, Garr, Mackerel, Pollock, Flounder, Wrasse and Bass can be caught on a fly without too much problem. I have heard of sea anglers fishing for Cod and Plaice on the fly….

I started SWFF (salt water fly fishing)  with a Normark Silver medallion ATMF # 8 -9. This rod is about 15 years old, using old fashioned technology, but a worthy rod! I teamed this with a cheap plastic reel, as it wouldn’t matter if it became salt encrusted. the reel was a small arbour reel and caused terrible line memory.

I have since upgraded to the Cortland CX490, a 4 piece 9′ #9 rod (this fella gives this salt water fly rod a nice write up - salt water fly), combined with a large arbour reel, the Vision Koma.

For mackerel from the Kayak it is a little heavy, I would rather a 7 ft rod with a # 6-8 line. I have since borrowed one like this from my brother, for the oncoming season. Its a boron brook trout rod and will provide great sport for Mackerel, small Pollock, flounder and Garr.

Let us know what gear you use and why. There is lots to learn about Saltwater fly fishing!! and it’s a great aspect of modern sea fishing

Well fellow sea anglers, guess the species is really hotting up. I am not going to give any clues yet because we need more people to guess. Come on there are 400 of you a day looking at this picture, so join in and have a go, or are you to shy????

If you are new or old to sea fishing you should be able to get the sea fishing species………………………..

There is nothing to loose, apart from your personal rep! have a go and guess the species here - What fish is it

OK, if we get at least 50 comments i will stump up a prize next month worth at least £20 for UK addresses, well what are you waiting for.

Tony sent me this message regarding questions from Roger and Delboy about using peelers and coloring prawn. Thanks Tony for your time to conatct us!

Tony said about Prawns and Peelers:

crab cannot be induced to peel although put under the exact conditions to peel over a long period of time may induce them too, but i have tanked them, and fed them with pellets to try this with no success, as to colouring prawn, it is as easy as food colouring and i then vacuum pac them, normally red or green.

Delboy wants to have a few answers from you regarding this question about peeler crab. He has been fishing for many years and finds his top bait to be the peeler crab. Can you help him out?

There must be someone out there that can help? I have been sea angling for over 40 years and the best bait I have found is peeler crab. But finding them when they are about to peel is the tricky bit.

I have found thousands of shore crabs over the years but finding themready to peel is the hard bit!. Can you induce the peelers to peel byany means? ie popping them in the fridge for a time then bring them
in the warm or popping them in warmer waters, what is the secret andis how do you do it???.

I have caught more fish on peeler crab than any other bait. Bass loveit, dogfish howl for it, smooth hound snap at it, wrass whack it, rayrave it, flatty flap at it, Cod, whiting and pout gorge on it. Its agreat bait when you can get it, and its only certain times of theyear you can find them and fresh is best.
Any help will be greatly received.
Kind regards
Delboy!

Roger, a long time reader and forumm member wants some help with his bait and anybody out there who can help should please comment on this post. He asks

Talking about collecting and PRESERVING bait, does anybody know how to preserve prawns and colour them red or purple. I’ve experimented but am only halfway there. I tried borax ans salt and food dye. Any body know the elusive secret of the ones you see for sale in little poly bags at about £6 for ten.

From fishing-blog: I thought that food dye was the way to go after talking to a Salmon angler at Tree Meadow trout fishery about this question.

I find setting goals is a good way to drive forward and improve in anything, sea fishing included. The main sea angling and kayak fishing season is apporaching fast down here in cornwall, but have you set goals to strive forward.

Improve your fishing

Here are some ideas you might consider to set as goal’s

1. Select a species - rather than going on a scratching mission, choose a species and learn all about them. Where they feed, how they live etc. Immerse your self with all the facts about your chosen species and become an expert in that species. Fish, fish and then some until you manage to hook your selected species, then hone your skills.

2. Your casting range - are you finding that leads fly into the distance when you push harder, trying to reach longer distances…. not connected to your reel! Maybe investing some time and money into casting practice would be of value to you. long range casting is not the most important skill on many marks, but for some it will mean a fish when others will blank.

3. Your fishing time - Tides and weather are important, but rather than sitting on your arse get out there on a set day everyweek as long as it SAFE! I know the excuses: “it’s rainning” “the tide is low” “I can’t get fresh rag” “no peelers” the list goes on. Set a day and fish, use what ever bait you can get, Mackerel from tesco, frozen bait, bread….. You will never catch a fish from your lounge! and you might be surprised.

4. Collect bait and have a stock - Make it your goal to learn how to collect your own bait, preserve, store and harvest. This will allow you to fish when you want (see above) and will give you an understanding of the prey fish hunt out and it’s life cycle and habitat.

5. Read more books - make time to read some books about sea fishing. There are some fantastic titles out there, in fact most of the are here for you. Absorbe, re-read and learn, then put it into practice and catch more fish.

6. Try a new method - If you are a hardened beach caster try spinning. Trying new methods will allow you to again expand your knowledge and hopefully approach the sport in a new light with an open mind.

Maybe you have your own goal not mentioned here? let us know by commenting on this post, tell us where you see your angling going in the rest of 2008. It would be great to hear from you.

Have a look over at the fishing-blog forum where Christo caught this beauty and tells of the gear he used to catch her. Christo was a guest on the fishing blog a while back an wrote this very interesting post about shore fishing in South Africa

If you have any photos you would like published here, or a story to tell then please contact us

Here is an abstract picture of a fairly common British species targeted by many sea anglers across the UK. Have you got any idea as to what it is?

Comment on this post with your thoughts and ideas, I will let you know soon who is right! If we gets lots of responses I might even find a prize for the next abstract sea fishing image.

Good luck!