Sea Fishing Portishead Marina

Sea Fishing Friday 30th March 2012
Now, I may get some stick for this. But I am big enough and ugly enough to take it.
There are, in my opinion, three types of fishing:

• A. Pond
• B. Game
• C. Sea

To go with the types of fishing, there is a level of excitement to each one:

• A. Paint drying
• B. Mildly titivating
• C. Exhilarating

It does not take much brain power to work out that the A’s go with A’s and B’s go, well you get the picture.
For me being a sea fisherman and living on the edge of a really extreme type of fishing, being sat around what can only be described as a “pond”, did not fill me with the usual feelings I associate with worm drowning.
Small hooks, small gear, small fish, small brain experience was what I had volunteered for on this particular day. Well, the weather was hot, the scene is not bull rushes and grass like you would expect with a pond, but houses and flats that have a small seaside fishing village appeal. And coupled with the fact that the pond in question is not fresh water or mildly brackish, but pure 100% sea water. My kind of fishing.

Catch Sea Fish with an Early Start

Early start as usual with these planned occasions turned out to be a mid morning start after Terry had to have his car MOT’d. So we started late, but got to a really nice spot on the marina with a vista of the whole marina laid out in front of us looking towards the lock and out in to the open channel.

My daughter accompanied us and with only a few fishing trips under her belt, for a thirteen year old, she is not squeamish of squid, rancid of rag nor put off by any other nasties that she has encountered. She can also tie a mean half blood knot after only her second attempt.

I researched the marina and asked locals about hook size and the like. The rule of thumb was to use a size 10 hook. I said a 10/0 is a bit big don’t you think to the tackle shop owner. He laughed and said no, size 10. Now I was the one laughing and said you are joking mate? So after purchasing some size 10’ and being parted with some cash, I was optimistic about the day if not a little confused.

Terry on size 2/0, my daughter Ellie on 3/0 and me with a size 10. We used mackerel and squid and to be honest, it is bloody hard work trying to lash mackerel on to a small hook!

We used breakaway leads simply because we did not have any thing smaller but used the distance to try different parts of the area in front of us. Terry struck it lucky with two flatties in ten minutes from roughly the same spot and was keepers too. The first ones for Terry in more than a year and he was given permission to look smug for the rest of the day.

Not sure if that is a smug look or constipation Terry?

With renewed enthusiasm, Terry thought that he was in for a good day. I thought he was going to fall in again like in my first blog and ruin his mobile. He has only just got a new one.

Dinner time came and we had sandwiches and cake washed down with gallons of tea. All quiet on the rod front.
I went after a change of bait. I decided to use locally grown bait and the marina is full of mussels. This is really odd, because the area of the Bristol Channel either side of the marina does not support the growth of mussels and you have to go a good distance south before you find any?

So, opening the mussels and lashing them on to my new sized hook, 3/0. None of that course fishing rubbish, size 10, I ask you!
Using squid as a carrier, I lashed a couple of mussels on with light cotton elastic. This got a mixed reaction among the fish in the marina and returned a couple of knocks on the rod.
Ellie on the other hand was having more luck than me and reeled in a small Whitting on her mackerel size 3/0 pennel pulley with a 110g breakaway.

Watch this space, she will be writing her own blog soon and catching more than me!

As the afternoon wore on, a few more knocks on the rods were all that we received.
All in all, a good day was had by all, good weather, three fish and still in sea water, result.

The marina is located at the same spot as my last blog. Instead of carrying on out of the car park and turning right, turn left and the marina is laid out in front of you. We fished at the top of the marina furthest away from the locks, on the right hand side as looking at it from the locks.
If you need food, there is the burger van at the locks and a Lidl and Waitrose close by. These are visible from where we fished. Toilets are in the sports centre just to the right at the top of the marina too. There is a fishing tackle shop on the marina called Reel fun that caters for all your needs. If you require any bait from there it is a good idea to ring before hand to secure, as Steve supplies the charters that run out of the marina.
So, good mark, good views, good facilities, what are you waiting for? And it is still sea water!

Cod head