Fishing-blog Reader question – When I am Salt water fly fishing for Bass what leader length should I use?

This is a hard one to answer as it depends on many things which include the following,

• The length of your Fishing rod

• Your saltwater fly fishing casting ability

• The conditions on the day

• Clarity of water

Ok so how do these factors effect the leader length when Bass fishing

The length of your Fishing rod – A simple one but over looked. If your leader length is longer than your fly rod you have two simple problems, the last one being the biggest problem. When you want to inspect your fly or change it you need to pull the leader into the rod rings. This can make it hard work to get the line back out again. When you hook your prize Bass, you play it for 20 mins. In a small swell, you win the fight and bring the fish towards you on its side. To get the fish close you have the rod high and you pull the line in, the Bass sees the shore and has one last bid for freedom. SNAP! The leader caught in the rod tip because once again you had to draw it into the eyes. With modern leader joints these should not cause you too much grief, but I do not like doing it.

Your saltwater fly fishing casting ability – Put very simply the better you are at casting a salt water fly, the longer the leader you can manage without air knots.

The conditions on the day – Very similar to the above point. When you are salt water fly fishing for Bass the slightest breeze will effect your cast and your ability to manage a longer leader, combine that with your profeciency and use manageable leader lengths.

Clarity of the Water – The clearer the water the longer the leader and the better presentation required. The more cloudy the water the more you can get away with shorter leaders for Bass fishing.

So in conclusion I would never go longer than the rod you are using, I would use as light a leader as you can 6 – 12 lbs max and I would use a product such as floro carbon which is ment to be invisible to Bass in the sea!!

Whenever salt water fly fishing wear protective shades!! You don’t want to be casting your eyeball to the schools of Bass, do you !

Please don’t laugh but consider this about mackerel.

I have been prompted to write this after reading a few UK sea angling forums and reading what people have said about our humble mackerel.

The Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus is a pelagic fish (mid water) which shoal in great numbers around the UK coast in late spring. Huge numbers can be caught from boats and the shore, the warmer the water the better.

I find this amazing, but I read on wikipedia that they can live to be 20 years old! So consider that first when you bring them up 5 on a string!!

The largest rod caught mackerel was 6lb 13 oz – wow, that would be a great fish!!

They can swim at 20mph faster than most of us can run!!

The fish makes a great all round bait for Shark, Conger, Bass, Ray, Huss and almost anything else that feeds in the sea!!

They also make for good eating and can be served in many ways, baked, boiled, smoked, steamed, BBQ’d, salted you name it!!

The most common method for catching these fish would be using 5 lures / feathers on one line, dropping this to the seabed, then pumping the rod up and down, then after a few mins. At this depth, wind the lures up 5 feet and try again. Keep doing this until you catch some, then next drop get to the same level and you will catch more,

but …………….

Considering the above why not consider them a sport fish, use light tackle or fly rods and enjoy what they have to offer. This is a power packed fish, a sprinter of our seas!

Come on people lets see some RESPECT for the MACKEREL in 2007 !

I am going to add a new category which will be for Sea fishing shore marks.

I have great knowledge of marks in Devon, Cornwall, The Isle of Man and Dorset so that’s where I will start. However when it comes to the rest of the country, I am starting to struggle.

Ramsgate, Dover, Sea Brook, Fleetwood, The Tyne, Whitby, Lowestoft are all areas I hear of but know little about so I will have to research them unless you can write them for me and have a chance of winning the £40 on offer on the fishing-blog competition.

This feature will add a great new dimension to this fishing blog and I hope it will help some of its 100 daily users.

The future

The focus of the blog is also turning more and more towards Sea angling and its many facets, so I feel that some of the coarse fishing and carp fishing articles will take a back seat for a while.

Kayak fishing is taking off in the UK and our users of the site seem to indulge many hours in the kayak section here on the Fishing blog, so there will be a focus on bringing more information forward regarding this method of sea angling.

Thank you for your support

Fishing-blog

I must share the greatest fishing site I have ever found ,

I quote

Bass

Probably the most sought after sea fish in England, Bass are big (sometimes), and silver (always), and greedy (at tea-time). Young Bass are known as School Bass until they graduate and become qualified Bass.

Bass like places where there are a lot of critters such as crabs, worms, baby other fish etc… Local anglers are usually quite cagey as to the exact locations of good marks, therefore the best places to go are often rocky, weedy, shallow and secret.

For more fun visit The Fishing SITE

another quote

Cod

Cod are primarily a deep sea fish from the North, you can tell this by their strange accent and the way that they tend to stare at you. The best time to catch Cod is when it’s cold enough to freeze your bogies, the cold weather draws them closer to the shore at certain points usually where the beach looks out onto deep ocean water. A good ocean facing beach is Chesil Beach in Dorset although they do often appear off other beaches by mistake.

I have invested in a Vision Koma for my salt water fly fishing.

It has a great drag, really accurate and the control knob is of a good size so easily adjusted with cold hands!!

For a value for money large arbor reel you cannot beat this in my opinion as it comes with a free spare spool. Due to its diameter it should relive line coil allowing longer more accurate casting.

Having spoken to the supplier they state if its well rinsed it should not be a problem to use this for saltwater applications.

Here is what they say about the reel

A True Large Arbour featuring a powerful drag system with unparalleled smoothness in a beautiful lightweight Aluminium structure.
A blazing retrieve rate and generous line capacity ensure you have the upper hand in any situation. Anodised to a lustrous Titanium finish, this reel not only looks the part but also will out perform any other reel in its category. Di-cast and Machined technology. Lightweight, full Aluminium construction. Micro-adjustable progressive drag. Silent retrieve. Quick change spool runs on sealed bearings.
Easy left/ right hand conversion. Soft PU handle.

Have a look here Sportfish - Online Fly Fishing Superstore and type in the search box Vision Koma

To increase your chances of catching from the sea you need to be there when the fish are hunting.

Generally larger tides induce more fish in to feeding, because stronger currents scourer food from the sea bed and higher tides flood beaches and rock dragging food sources into the sea. Also higher tides are often when other sea creatures mate and give birth hence a lot of planktonic food stuffs in the water column. For example mysis shrimp are found in my experience in greater numbers when there is a full moon, hence spring tide.

I would suggest as a rule of thumb the last hour of a rising tide and the first two hours down are the prime times, this said some marks fish best at low water, or just on the flood so you will need to try and see what fishes best.

Another factor is daylight. The bigger predators generally hunt closer to the shore as it gets dark, so a spring tide in the evening or early morning would be you best option for a first attempt at a new mark.

Hope that helps!!!!

I went to Rinsey on the 17th to do a spot of salt water fly fishing. It was more to help me get back into the swing of things after my session at Meadow tree trout fishery a few days ago.

I bought a few salt water flies from Sportfish and took a couple of my own patterns. It was a bit windy to say the least but armed with a set of shades to protect my eyes off I went.

To be honest the conditions were poor, but I had 2 hours to waste so it seemed the best use of my time all things considered.

It’s a bit early in the season to stand much chance of a Bass and most other likely species are still not around. Some fine weather next month should see an increase in fish numbers (I hope).

I used a 9wt shooting head to punch through the wind, but to not much effect. I also need to invest in a line tray as the loose line was flying all around and knotting up!

To my surprise I did connect with a tiny wrasse. I was using a Flexo crab pattern on a 8 foot fluro carbon leader with a dead slow retrieve on a floating line. The fly line is old and the first 3 foot was sinking so I was about 9 feet down I would estimate.

The important thing to remember is to was your gear off well after a salt water session, I forgot this and regret not having done so as it took a lot longer to clean up after everything had dried on!!

There is a whole range of fishing kayaks now available on the market. You can fish from any kayak but some are better than others for the job in question. I will cover 3 of the makes and models here.

Ocean Kayak Prowler 13 Angling edition – This is possibly the most popular fishing kayak on the market at the moment. It is a sit on top kayak which has been designed around the fisherman. The basic package comes with 2 flush mounted rod holders, padded seat and back rest. There is also a tackle box. This kayak weighs 54lbs and is 13’4” long. Retail about £559. It’s a proven boat and highly regarded as the King of fishing Kayaks.

Wilderness Syatems ride 135 – A new kayak for 2007 boosting a very stable hull design which is well suited for angling. This design also has a lot of free board (the height from the water to the top of the kayak) making it a dry boat in most conditions. Its also a fast boat allowing you to cover distance easily when heading off to your fishing grounds. This has a safety implication in my opinion meaning it quicker to get you out of trouble if you are stuck in a tide! Again there is storage and flush moutned rod holders. This kayak weighs 64lbs and is 13’3” long I cannot find a price for this boat yet!

RTM Disco – This is my favourite. It’s a sleek kayak which tracks very well and has a good level of stability. There is a built in back rest and front hatch and the angling version has flush mounted rod holders. There is a large well in the rear which can hold tackle boxes and other angling equipment. The articles I have read testing this Kayak out rate it highly stating it’s a dry silent boat well capable of use in the sea!. This kayak weighs 50lbs and is 14’ long. £420 - £480 for the fishing type.

I would like to add that you can cut and add hatches to most Kayaks, but take care. You do not need to buy the FISHING model, you can get the standard version and adapt it yourself.

I really like the disco, its fast, a little cheaper than similar designs, lighter and looks sleek. This is the Kayak I am going to be buying soon, it will be ideal for Bassing. Plugging, bottom fishing, reef fishing and fly fishing are all suited to kayak angling – I will keep you updated with my trials.

I spent about an hour today at Meadow tree trout fishery, having a lok at the shop and the 2 waters they have.

The top pond is stocked now with fish of about 3 lbs. There are Blue, Rainbow and Brown trout as well as a few tigers. The stock pond is holding some really nice fish. Lots ready to go in at about the 3 – 5lb mark. They are healthy and have good clean fins, ready for the fight.

The lower pond is where the real whoppers hide out. I understand it stocked with fish in the double figures. It’s a great Dry fly and Nymph water.

Both ponds are gin clear and you can see fish moving which are looking strong and fit.

The recent rain has not effected the water too much and I was informed that small nymph are fishing well now the water has settled. Over the past few weeks strong reds and Oranges have been seeing the best result.

Located in the grounds is a high class tackle shop. I spent ages looking at some quality tackle bags and Fly rods. All the names are there including Hardy, Orvis, Greys and some great tackle bags from an American company called Fishpond. Fishpond have built real functionality in to their products and if you haven’t seen the product line they offer you should have a look.

Here is a link to Meadow Tree Trout Fishery

Please contact them as they have an online tackle shop, even better pop in and look at the range they offer.

Well reading the local sea angling reports it seems that quite a few codling have been caught this season. There are concerns about the lack of winter species being caught off our shores!

Lugg and squid are the best performing baits for Devon and Cornwall however peeler crab is still up there.

How have you been getting on this season, I would love to know and you have the chance of winning £40 if you are quick.

The term fishing refers to the act of hunting fish and other aquatic animals such as shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles and frogs. However hunting of whales is not included in this category. The art of fishing can be traced back to about 10,000 years during the Mesolithic period. Though our ancestors used fishing as a main source of food, now it has become not only a sport but also a favorable pass time. The age old techniques are replaced with modern technological advancements. The different modes of fishing are hand, spear and bow, kite and ice fishing, dredging, electro fishing, fishing nets and traps. Trained animals, toxins and explosives are also used for fishing.

Hand fishing is an ancient method of catching fish using hands, without any gadgets. This practice is illegal in Kansas of the United States. Conventional Spear fishing is limited to shallow waters. Speargun and tridents are used to improve the efficiency. Fishing nets made of artificial polyamides, nylon, wool and silk are used to trap the fishes. In Trawling, fishing net is dragged through the water behind the boat. Once the fish gets hooked in the gillnet, at its gill covers, the mobility of the fish is completely stalled. Hooks and bait are used to trap the fish in Fish lining. The commercial method is used to hang many baits from a single line. Kite fishing originally from China is used to explore and navigate in shallow water bodies and reef rich area which otherwise is impossible. These areas are abundant in fish. Ice fishing, practiced by hunter-gatherers is an interesting technique where in lines and hooks are introduced through a small vent or opening in the frozen water body.

Cormorant fishing is the traditional method of fishing followed in China and Japan. In this mode, a metal ring fixed around the bird’s neck stops the fish being swallowed by it. Sometimes poisonous such as cyanide and toxic substances are employed to suffocate the fish and paralyze them. This is illegal. Dynamite or blast fishing is also an illegal method of fishing which affects the coral reef and destabilizes marine environment. The fish can be collected either from the bottom or scooped from the water surface.

Recreational fishing that is used for competition or entertainment follows conventional rules, licensing limitations and laws that specify the ways in which fish could be caught. Usually in recreational fishing, baits are attached to rods or lines to catch the fish. On the other hand commercial fishing is aimed at supplying fish across different continents. The species fished include tuna, cod, shrimp, clams, squid, crab and salmon. Laws governing commercial fishing markedly differ from that of recreational or sport fishing.

Fishing should never be carried out in unauthorized waterways. Life jackets should be worn while fishing in a boat. It is advisable to carry safety devices, maps and torch while fishing. Care has to be taken while baiting and detaching the hooks. It should be noted that carbon monoxide is not built up around the houseboat. Speed limits have to be maintained and enjoy fishing without disturbing aquatic fauna and flora.

also known as fishing pole is a device used to catch fish originated in ancient Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. This is usually used along with nets for angling. The fishing rod is a long and flexible advanced casting tool fitted with line guides. An ideal fishing rod gradually tapers from butt to tip and tight at all joints. The taper has to be smooth without any ‘dead spots’. The increase in the length of fishing rod aids in casting.

Initially fishing rods were made of light and tough materials like Calcutta reed and also ash wood. This is now replaced by sophisticated fiberglass and graphite composites. Cork, wood or wrapped cane is used for making handles and grips of the rod. The butts are made of maple with bored bottom.

Today’s fishing rods made of cork, steel and titanium grip are classified based on their weight and action. The different types of fishing rods available in general are Carbon Fibre Pole, Bait Casting, Spin Casting Rods, Spinning Rods, Ultra-light Rods, Ice Fishing Rods and Surf Rods.

Fly fishing rods are long and thin rods that are made to cast a fly line. It has a hook tied with fur, feathers, foam, or other lightweight material so that it is easy to cast. Weight of the fly line for is used as a basis for casting in fly rod. A monofilament segment called a “leader” is fixed at the end of fly line. Fly rods consist of single, large-diameter line guide or a stripping guide and many smaller looped guides or snake guides. This helps to regulate the movement of the comparatively thick fly line. The choice of the right size of the rod is based on various factors like wind and water conditions, weight of line and the fish type.

Fly Fishing Lines

Fly-fishing lines are made of woven synthetic strands coated with several thin layers of plastic; three different types of lines are formed. The various types of lines are the ones that float, that sink gradually and the lines that sink immediately. The type of line is chosen based on the nature of casting. A double-taper fly line is noted by its smaller diameter at its first and last 8 m and a larger diameter all through the rest of line. Contrary to this Weight-forward tapers are designed in such a way that, they have a larger diameter in the front portion than rest of the line. Sometimes fly lines are heavy and cumbersome to cast. To ease this problem fly-fishers fix a small sized monofilament line at the end of the fly line. This is called leader and is much lighter than the fly line. This facilitates the angling without causing any disturbances or turbulence on the surface of water. This invisible attachment draws attraction of the fish. The leader makes the lure more natural and protects them from being damaged.

Braided Lines

Braided lines derive their name from the way they are braided with fibres into strands of lines. The usual material used is Spectra or Micro-Dyneema. They are so strong that fish can not easily tear it apart. It also resists abrasion to greater extent. Most of the anglers do not prefer braided lines for fresh water fishing. This is because braids are more blatant in clear water. In an attempt to attract the fish using the bait, the fish should not be harmed. While using a braided fishing line care has to be taken to ensure that it can handle the rod well. Sometimes the braid cuts into the cheap guides. The braids have a small diameter. These weightless fishing lines are the best option for topwater baits. Braids are too tough and can be cut only using scissors.

Monofilament Line

Monofilament is preferred over other fishing lines as they are user friendly and can be designed to adapt to the changing fishing conditions. Polymers in definite proportion are heated till they turn into a fluid of desired consistency. This hot fluid is then extruded through very small holes to form strands of line. The diameter of the line is determined by the size of extrusion hole. This is then cooled quickly. The ingredient that goes into the making of Monofilament fishing line determines the features of line such as limpness, strength, toughness and casting. Stiffer lines hold the shape of the spool. They are cheaper to use. However the costlier versions are more durable and have consistent strength, color and diameter. This has amazing potential to stretch. The wider range of stretch becomes more flexible when big fishes get hooked and at same time it’s difficult to hook. The degree to which the fishing line can be stretched depends on the amount of additives that goes into the making.

It is a means of providing something to free the mind and body of the worries of the day. It has also been proven to help in mentoring troubled teens, replacing negative thoughts and activity with more positive traits and pursuits. Overall is truly a wholesome sport.

The use of all types of equipment has added something that no other feature could possibly accomplish. Thousands of youngsters are enthusiastic to learn how to cast a fly or plug bait.

These youngsters have an interest in fish and fishing and they desire to fish in a lawful and recreational manner.

Boiled down, fish and fishing may be considered one of man’s essential resources. It is hoped that further realization of it as a hobby will develop the necessary knowledge of the true recreational value of the sport, the fish, and the general conservation of all natural resources as well as the value of good sportsmanship and developing good citizens.

Many people consider that fish are just a source of food; yet there is another angle that is little known. The manufacturing industry deals with more than two 2 billon pound of fish and fishing tackle per anual. Which is slightly more than is used for food.

What most people do not know is that fishing has become one of the most popular sports in Europe, and anglers are growing everyday

As an interest it is rapidly growing and that is why the estimated number of anglers who purchase a rod license each year is more than twelve million.

Moreover, surveys show that for every pound spent for a license, there are sixteen pounds spent for equipment, such as tackle, food, clothing, and transportation. There is more money spent on equipment than on any other hobby in existence.

What you can expect to catch in January

This is now the peak month in the most of the UK with Cod and Whiting coming off most beaches.

Bass, Dogfish and Huss should come in as well as many of the flat fish species.

We are heading towards the season when many fish head off shore to spawn so get fishing now while its still good.

I would simply like to thank all my new readers.

The site has only been running for a few months and already we are soring with traffic. The past 2 days has seen over 100 uniques a day.

I will do everything I can to make this the best blog going on fishing over 2007 and with your help it will be, easily.

Here’s to a top 2007 for Bass fishing, Carp fishing, fly fishing, beach casting or whatever you practice.

Ye haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for reading my words about “fishing” and the feed back I have received from many of you.

I look forward to next year with great anticipation. GOOGLE has indexed the site well and we are in the top results for many fishing related terms. My Fishing guide is coming along well. A few teething problems have been ironed out and I will be heavily promoting it in the next few months.

I Hope all you followers of Beach casting, Fly fishing, Course fishing, Boat fishing and all other disciplines got what you needed/wanted for Christmas to help you better your chosen sport in the following months.

Good luck to you all,

Tight Lines

Dicentrarchus labrax - The Bass is a silver fish with 8/9 spines on the dorsal fin.

British Bass records are about 20lb in weight.

The size limit is 36cms in length. ( I think ! )

The Bass breeds of shore in spring. Young bass return to river estuaries, harbors etc to mature. Many nursery areas now prohibit fishing for Bass unless fishing from the shore.

Bass live in shoals while they are youngsters and are known as School Bass at this time. As they mature they become solitary fish.

Prawns, Shrimp, Crab, Squid, Fish, lice and larva are all eaten by Bass. They have a huge mouth which can engulf surprisingly large prey items.

Bass grow very slowly so please only keep what you will eat.

Before you start fishing just wet your net. This will help the net sink when you put it into the water to land your prize fish. This also makes the net more friendly to your fish, less stiff and abrasive.
When you play your fish and it’s ready to be netted, lower the net with your free hand into the water below the fish. Draw the fish towards and over the net and then lift it quickly catching the fish in it. You also need to pull it towards you and lift the end of the handle at this time enveloping the fish inside. Don’t drag the fish up the bank but lift it clear of any obstructions.
It’s a good idea for the protection of the fish for you to wet your hands before handling it to protect the fishes slime.
Above all, even if you decide to keep the fish, make the netting process clean and swift so as not to stress your catch and onlookers.

The english fishing guide is well up and running with ten resources including trout fishing, carp fisheries, sea angling marks and charter boats. If you want to add your chosen angling mark or other resource please get in touch via the english fishing guide, its free!!

Sadly the weather has been against me recently so I have not had chance to drown bait in search of those winter species so I have posted a few angling tips and ideas as well as some possible christmas present ideas.

A friend of mine had 18 bass a few days ago on lug from a cornish surf beach. Nothing of great size but great sport. He wont tell me the exact location yet, but I am working on that.

I have been looking at simple ways to improving catch rates, and finally I have got an answer. It’s really simple, and you can do it from your living room, on stormy days.

I have been reading about scents that recreate pheromones to induce fish bites, which work by replicating natural scents of prey or possible mates of the fish. However, there is some concernover the use of these products, and the effect on the natural world. You can buy desk top diaries which you can load all you fishing data onto. These take into consideration the moon phase, tide and weather, and allow you to identify similar conditions to find your fish. The down side with these programmes is that they take a long time to set up and get enough data to be of value.

There are many other examples of these “Catch more fish” ideas but be careful and asses how much advantage they really offer you.

My idea is simple and free, as long as you have an internet connection. On the www.englishfishingguide.co.uk go to a resource page, and click on the map option. From here select satellite view. You will now see the location you want to fish, in an actual satellite image produced by GOOGLE. If you press the – (minus) button you can qsdworld. This can also be done using http://maps.live.com/

How is this going to help me catch more fish? If you focus on the area you want and pan in, you will start to pick up detail of the coast line where you fish. You can now see the gullies on your local beach which hold fish. You can see where the clean sand runs into broken ground. Pipes, reefs, just about everything can be found and used to your advantage. The advantages are endless. Have a look at google local. On the goggle map if you find the area that really interests you hit the “link to this page” and the URL that produces will give you the latitude and longitude for your chosen area. Enter this into your GPS and go fishing! If you do not have a GPS you can use features from the shore to line up, pin pointing the location you require.

This simple method is being used with great success by many anglers across the globe. Combine this information with your local knowledge and you have a true recipe for improving your catch rate.

Airflo Tapered braided leaders provide great transition of energy from fly line to tippet resulting in a perfect turnover. The extremely light floating and intermediate models allow gentle presentation and the choice of five additional colour coded sinking densities opens up a new world of techniques not possible with traditional tapered leaders.

Recomended for lines 5 - 9 and tippets of up to 12lb. Tacklebargains have various lengths available which are for the actual braided section ready for you to add tippet as required so for example a 4 ft braid leader will typically make a finished leader of between 7 and 9 feet (no tippet material is included).

This is a limited clearance offer with savings of 40 % off the normal RRP.

To check sizes and to order Click here

Click here to learn more about leaders and tipits

Taken at about 1440 hrs 3rd December 2006 after winds reached about 75-80 mph over night.

3 More photos after request

These two places are great fishiing marks so I thought I would go and check them out after the worst part of the storm. The waves were massive, I would suggest the wave you can see in the fourth image was about 25 foot high, its still a long way off in that photo and they were breaking when they got closer due to the massive backwash. If you know Porthleven you could see the waves clearly out to sea from the far end of the inner Harbour, over the stone built walls. They were huge and sadly these images do not capture thier size.

As you know I would like my KAYAK to fish from. This will add a new dimension to my regular fishing. But I want to make my fishing as pure as possible.

By pure I want to make it more precise, go searching for species using tackle as light as possible and really target fish. I want to say good bye to casting a laden rig out and hoping for the luck of the night.

I started fishing as a 5 year old but really consider my self as a fly fisherman./ Bass fisherman. I plan on getting my rods sorted out. A nice 9.5’ to 10’ quality spinning rod, my Carp rod and the old trusted 9 foot fly rod and really start hunting for species.

On thing I like about fishing light and precise is really feeling the fish. Not having a 6oz lead deadening the fight through a 13 foot stick.

Bass, Mullet, Pollock, Bream and flounder will be my chosen selection and I want to catch them all on fly. I know, flounder on fly? it can be done.

I will keep beach casting to keep my hand in through the winter, but roll on spring.