The colder months are out the way!

It's April can you believe it? Since I got into fishing April has always been a very exiting month for me, waters start to warm up fish start to become more active. Towards the middle of the month bait fish shoals have found their way into the shallows. With a bit of luck the predator fish are following them! 

So what have I been catching over the last 3 months? Well for the amount of times I have been fishing I have caught myself a few fish.

Well this one is certainly not a specimen sized fish, I think when you catch your target species especially on a cold January night it doesn't matter how big it is I still get happy! My first Sole of the year and probably my smallest ever Sole.

The good thing about fishing is you never know what is going to happen, I must of found myself casting my worm baits over a big shoal of Pollock. I was getting one a chuck couldn't leave my rod down for 2 minutes before it was bent double with a Pollock on it all taking the worm baits on the bottom. I managed alot over 2lb and managed a chunky 3lb 2oz,

 I put a bit of time into my Flounder fishing I have done two sessions with 1 Flounder caught this year, okay I might have got a bit lucky as it was a good one caught on Redcat worm at range using a size 4 Sakuma Hook.

2lb 9oz Flounder

I have done a few Conger sessions over the last couple of months. I seem to be finding the Eels but there is just no size to them. 

Here is a few picture's I got anyway - Managed a couple of eels this night was cold but the eels was feeding over high water. (Jersey's North Coast)

Jonathan Bailie with a Conger caught on Jersey's SW Coast on a whole cuttlefish.

13lb 10oz

Mark Le Huquet with a 14lb Conger caught down St Catherine's one night.

I am sure if we keep at it throughout the year we should find some bigger eels just need to be in the right place at the right time.  

First personal best for the year. I went down to a rock mark in search of some rays. My plan was to blast baits out at range (Well as far as I could chuck them) Hope that a big Blonde Ray finds my launce sandeel baits. Wasnt looking too promising after the first couple of hours with just a couple of dogs and pollock for my friend Jonathan.

As I was reeling in what I thought was just another average sized dogfish, I actually thought too myself when it broke the surface as my head torch lit up the water ahh its a small huss! But it wasn't just a new personal best dogfish weighing bang on 3lb! Still a dogfish but any PB is welcome :)

The tide was nearly forcing me from the rock I was standing on I thought to myself "where there is dogfish there is a ray" I always tell myself this literally every session, just gotta fish through them keep checking them baits and stay on the ball. My best fish of the session was this Undulate Ray which weighed 15lb 2oz which took my launce sandeel the cast after my big doggy! 

Bass Fishing Lure & Bait. 

We all know the winter months can be good for Bass fishing from our beaches using worm baits. Local angler Leigh Mullins seems to prove this over the last couple of years getting double figure fish both years in these colder months. Pretty much any beach in Jersey you could catch a big bass its just working out the tides & trial and error as too which beach is holding the most / biggest bass.

 I obviously didn't get it right the 2-3 sessions I did in terms of size of fish. But the first session had a couple of small ones. 2nd session I did manage 6-7 Bass but all schoolies. 

I had a brilliant lure session after work with Alex Plaster we reunited for the first time since he returned from tagging sharks in Bimini! We set the location and only planned a quick lure bash after work, so we got fishing by 5.30pm and I went for a hard lure three casts later fish on!! Felt like a good one strong head shakes and dives Alex just went around the rock (With the net) so I had to Gill this one was a struggle but I did it - Shouted to Alex he was gutted he missed the fighting action! 

70cm Lure Caught Bass

After some photos and weighing/ measuring 7lb 12oz & 70cm I put her back in. Chucked my lure back in the same place bang another fish on this one just a 49cm fish!

 Absolutely buzzing with this we carried on with confidence and at 6.30pm Alex had his last cast with his Savage Gear - Zzzzz fish on looked like a great fight and I got it in the net no bother pictured weighed and released 5lb 8oz! 

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 1st Lure caught bass of the year for me too haha! All fish returned.

Few days later we was twitching to get back out we decided on a early morning raid on the Bass Alex Plaster catching the only one during the short morning session.....A lovely solid fish weighing 6lb 14oz (65cm) Caught on a 42g White Pearl Savage Gear.

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🎣 Lure caught C&R!

 Boat Trip!! 

Went for a trip aboard Anna 2 the weather was not great at all with big swells and F5-6 winds. We tried offshore but was too much like hard work to fish properly. We ventured inshore and anchored a reef, we had a few fish I managed a couple small Huss the best fish of the day was caught by Alex Romeril and it was a Common Smoothound which was caught and released. Wasnt much caught apart from that and 1 small conger. I have heard the mackerel are in now and my friend has caught Turbot so get out there and give it ago!

A few other fish caught 

Session at St Caths nothing but dogs, pout and this Three Bearded Rockling weighing 1lb 3oz.

Pollock took the Ray gear one night again wasn't much happening on this session. 

My first wrasse session was only 1 hour long and stuck to the lures this time last year was getting a few chunky ones on blue soft plastics so I tried it again but the tide was wrong but managed a couple of baby ones. Next time I go will do the incoming tide and I think we should see some bigger fish!

Thanks for reading just thought I would try and keep up with my fishing a little bit more. Otherwise lots of sessions get forgotten about, Rumour has it the bait fish like gars & the odd mackerel are in now so we are likely to see a lot more fish getting caught!