Bull Huss for Wendy from Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey

We’ve just spent the last week on Anglesey sea fishing and generally relaxing where, much to Wendy’s amusement, I was out-fished in both species and size.

The week started well and after after chatting about possible locations for fly fishing and picking up bait from Menai Angling we spent the first day doing nothing. On the Sunday we made our way to a mark where Bass have been caught on lures and spend a couple of hours salt water fly fishing. After a while it became evident that we need more practice with the heavier rods and the fish not showing any interest we called it off.

That evening though, armed with some great Peeler crab we made our way to Cemlyn Bay to try for Bass. It was flat calm, and I mean mirror flat. Not a Bass like surf any where to be seen but the Dogfish kept us entertained until Wendy, after a bit of a struggle landed our first shore caught Bull Huss of about 9lb (the scales died on us).

We had a go at another couple of places. At Sandy beach in some truly horrid weather we spend a couple of hours down to low water and an hour back up in the vain hope that an early Smooth Hound may make an appearance, needless to say  I caught a Dogfish.

Then the weather turned for the worse until the end of the week when we tried fishing with lures at the South West end of the Menai Straights until sun set when we used the last of our crab to catch, you guessed it, Dogfish.

So species wise I managed Dogfish while Wendy got Bull Huss, Dogfish, and Eel and a ‘doesn’t count’ Spider Crab and size wise I was truly beaten by the Bull Huss.

Am I bothered? Not really, it was just great to get out and about and although we didn’t catch much we had a great time and learnt a few things about lure fishing, both conventional and fly, which we’re going to work on for the next couple of months because in less than 8 weeks we’re going back and we can’t wait.

Salt Water Fly Fishing, Anglesey

With the weather producing freezing rain and wind in truly biblical scales we haven’t done any sort of sea fishing or fly fishing these past few weeks and even venturing outside to do a little bit of gardening has had to timed between downpours so like any other angler what do I do when I can’t go fishing? Look up places I want to go fishing when the weather improves of course, and it was during such a search that I came across this short clip of a full length film called “Tapâm – a flyfishing journey“.

To say there is some remarkable fishing involved is to seriously underestimate just how good this is and the photography / camera work is amazing. This takes sea fishing, fly fishing and salt water fly fishing to a whole new level.

One day I hope to be able to do this sort of thing… one day… but in the meantime watch the trailer, it’s worth it.

In this guest post Amanda from sykescottages.co.uk tells us why we should holiday and fish in the UK, thanks for a great read Amanda.

The UK is an angler’s paradise. With lakes galore, extensive canal networks, and hundreds of miles of pristine coastline just begging to be fished the UK is a great place for the fishing holiday of a lifetime! Whether you are a fresh faced beginner, or a well seasoned fisherman you will find the perfect location to challenge your skills and learn the tips and tricks needed to make the catch of a lifetime.

Fishing 101

Whether you are heading out on your first dedicated fishing holiday or are just interested in giving it a try while you’re away there are a wealth of opportunities for you right across the UK and Ireland. The best option is to sign up in advance and take a course with an experienced guide who will be able to teach you all you’ll need to know to be successful. Working with a fishing holiday company will also eliminate the need to bring along equipment as they will supply you with all you need. Should you be travelling with children who want to give fishing a try there are some great fisheries around the country where you can rent a rod and give it a try in a safe environment. Some fisheries even offer cottages for fishing on site, which means you won’t need to travel far for some early morning action!

Out on the Open Sea

If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous then consider heading out on the ocean. You’ll find numerous charter companies operating out of towns and villages along the coast who will be thrilled to take you out on the open waters to land the biggest fish of your life! These charter trips generally last anywhere from 3 hours to a full day and will include all of the gear needed and often a freshly prepared meal on the longer trips. While they can’t guarantee what or if you’ll catch something, your chances are greatly increased as you’ll be benefitting from the experience of your local guide, many of whom will be from families who have fished the waters for generations. Not only are they keen to give you the best possible experience, but also to pass along their knowledge and give you the most memorable fishing experience of your life.

Fishing on the Fly

For many there is no more relaxing an activity then standing alone in the middle of clear river waters with a fly fishing rod in hand. With so many beautiful rivers across the country the UK is a great destination for fly fishers, beginners and experienced alike. If you’ve brought along your own equipment then all you’ll need is you licence and some local knowledge about where to go, but if you’re a beginner or looking to upgrade your skills then head out with a guide. As all fly fishermen know, fly fishing is more of an art then a science and local knowledge of the conditions are vital for upcoming your chances of coming home with the goods.

Should you simply want the opportunity to try a bit of fishing while on holiday Sykes Cottages have a number of holiday cottages with fishing facilities included, whether it is a nearby fishery or just a private pond you’ll have access to. If you’re looking for a great UK fishing holiday cottage head over to www.sykescottages.co.uk to check out the selection of cottages they have on offer.

After such glorious weather it was almost inevitable that the weather for the Easter bank holidays would be grim as we turned up for the Blackpool and Layton Angling Society (BLAS) Match at Fairhaven, Lytham. This was to be leg one of the Estuary Cup and the target species sea fishing at this venue is Flounder. The tide races in and out here and if you are fishing off the wall as we were you’ll generally only get about 3 hours of worthwhile fishing unless you want to follow the tide in, up to the wall and back out again.

Six people braved the bitterly cold North West wind and at 11:15am 6 rigs armed with various baits were launched seaward in the hope that the Flounder would show. Baits for the day were frozen Crab, Razor, Mackerel and Blow Lug as we couldn’t get fresh Peeler Crab but it wasn’t long until the first fish came to Sparky who was also using Prawns.

Then it was my turn with the first of 3, double headers. it was one of those days where everything went right and it didn’t seem to matter what bait combination I used, the Flounder would greedily scoff down anything I threw at them.

The only reel quiet period came at high water but once the tide started moving again on the ebb the fishing picked up resulting in everyone catching a few flatties.

Time was called 3 hours after we started with me being top rod of the day, my first ‘win’ for a long time, with a total length of 238cm. Wendy managed 2 fish even though we were fishing next to each other and using identical baits – it was just ‘my day’ for some reason and it felt great.

You can read the full report and results on the BLAS website, posted by Shacky, here.

The great thing about this match was it was the first ‘proper’ fishing session I’ve had with my new rod since I’ve had the reel seat moved by Gerry’s of Morecambe. Do I like it? Yes – it’s fantastic.

I wasn’t 100% sure about the ‘continental’ style of a longer / softer rod with a fixed spool reel but this setup casts a bait a very long way without the stress of a multiplier potentially exploding line everywhere and has amazing bite registration.

My new gear is the Tubertini Boomerang with the Shimano Ultegra XSB 10000 loaded with Berkeley Whiplash Pro braided line in 30lb breaking strain. Gerrys have done a fantastic job of moving the reel seats (I’ve got 2 rod and reel combo’s) to a more comfortable position which helps casting and I’m looking forward to a lot more stress free sea fishing.

I don’t know when our next sea fishing session is but if we can keep this form up it promises to be a great angling year.

This years target species for sea fishing is the Mullet, thin or thick lipped, we don’t care. We’ve tried and tried to get one of these and we’ve been so very close but this is the year , I can feel it. We’ve a fairly good ‘Mullety’ type river near us, the River Douglas which I’m convinced will produce Mullet as the tide floods into the small creeks but the water isn’t very clear so we’ll have to ‘cheat’ and use float fishing techniques.

Our aim though, and it has been for some time now, is to catch one of these beautiful fish on the fly, and it didn’t help my obsession one bit when I came across this video by Matt Dunkinson with support from Orvis called ‘Against the Tide’ – enjoy…

So the burning question is where… where is the water clear enough for the Mullet to see the fly and undisturbed to give us fair chance of not spooking them. The answer is of course North Wales and Anglesey. We’ve seen them, dammit we’ve almost trod on them they’ve been that close but this year we’ve done a bit more research into what flies to use and in May, when we visit Anglesey for the first time in 2012 we’ll be hunting out likely spots ready for our main 2 week holiday in the summer.

We’ll be well prepared but whether we succeed only time will tell, but it won’t be for lack of trying.

I’ve made a fairly drastic decision in my sea fishing recently and that is to go down the ‘continental’ style of beach / shore fishing where the rods are longer and softer and used with a fixed spool real. The reasoning behind this is that although I love my 2 Century Tip Tornado’s coupled with the 6500 Mag Elite multipliers unless I’m going out fairly consistently my casting with these rods (pendulum style) goes to pot.

With a fixed spool set up casting is generally easier, and new rod technology means the newer continental style rods are a lot better and are now suitable for fishing UK beaches.

After visiting Gerry’s of Morecambe last weekend and talking to Chris who was very helpful, and handling a few different rods I came home with a Tubertini Boomerang, a lovely looking rod of 14’5″ long (4.4m) and last night was the first time I tried it fishing.

Having loaded my old Penn Surmaster 70 fixed spool reel with some Berkeley Whiplash Crystal braid on 30lb (but only 0.1mm!! thick) and a suitable shock leader I was ready to go and launched a bait a long way, in fact it went a very long way with no effort at all. Now sea fishing at this time of year is a bit rubbish as we wait for the summer species to arrive but all I needed was one fish to see if the setup, with braid as recommended, was as good as it was said to be. Then a small knock, another – leave it to develop as braid is far more sensitive than mono, another knock and hey presto – a small Dab.

For such a small fish to give such great bite indication from what must have been close to 100 meters range was amazing so overall, the night was a success. The rod was great and bite detection with the entire setup amazing. One small gripe is the reel seat is too high up but I’ll get that moved when I get another one.

So I’ll definitely be getting another Tubertini Boomerang with a couple of the newer wider spool fixed spool reels, possibly the new Penn Affinity 8000′s but they’ll have to wait a while.

Regular north west sea anglers might have already been to fish off Cleveleys beach, just outside Blackpool. The main promenade has been rebuilt in recent years and offers a brand new stepped revetment down the the beach, where angling takes place at high tide, and of course off the beach at low tide.

Just past the end of the new development, heading onto the northern end of the town and a shingle beach, is where you will find the majority of sea fishing and the regular competitions, organised by West Coast Tackle. There are pegs marked out on the sea wall, such is the regularity of the events, which draw sportsmen from all over the UK to some large matches.

If you fancy a spot of sea fishing at Cleveleys you might want to check out the website all about the place, www.visitCleveleys.info. It’s privately published by a local company and shares local information, views and all kinds of quirky stuff, and welcomes contributions from readers. Send in photos of your catches, or the views you take while you are there and see them on the site. During the course of this Spring, www.visitCleveleys.info is all set for a major redesign, and also to be joined by interlinked sites that cover the rest of the coast.

Thanks go to Jane (the managing director of a local Fleetwood based agency) for writing this article, who not only helped redevelop the new Cleveleys website but also lives within spitting distance of the beach front – not that I’m jealous you understand…

For a change, and because the weather has been truly dreadful recently so we’ve not been out, this post is by Daniel P. and gives a brief overview of the sea fishing potential in the rest of Cardigan Bay – thanks for the post Daniel.

If you’re a keen angler, the UK has some of the best spots to go fishing. Wales, in particular, has miles upon miles of beautiful coastline which are ideal for the keen fisherman. Cardigan Bay in North Wales is a great area to try sea fishing. In this article, we’ll be looking at the best places to go fishing in Cardigan Bay and how to make the most of your time there.

Let’s begin by looking at some of its many beaches, where you can catch Bass, Mullet and Cod in winter, and the many rocky shores where Pollack, Wrasse, Mackerel and Conger lurk.

Tresaith Beach is a sandy beach between Aberporth and Penbryn and is a good place to spot Seals and Bottlenose Dolphins in the water. It is named after the River Saith, which ends in a waterfall over the nearby cliffs and offers two beaches for beach casting and shore fishing. The first is the main sandy beach and the second is a rocky beach found by going under the waterfall. Be careful of the tides. The beach is a good place to catch Mackerel and it’s best to fish at night during the summer months when the tourists aren’t swimming in the sea. There is also a cafe, a first aid post, a corner shop for essentials and The Ship Inn pub, which serves some great grub.

New Quay (Cei Newydd) has another great beach for the fisherman. A popular tourist town, thousands of visitors flock here every summer, attracted by its sandy shore. There are lots of café’s here and boats are available if you want to fish in the Irish Sea. The pier wall is a good place if you’re after Conger Eels, and the rocks are great if you’re after Mullet and Bass. Be careful around the rocks since they can get very slippery. If you don’t have any luck with fishing, there are some wonderful pubs here. The Wellington Inn serves some great locally caught seafood whilst the Penwig has a great range of beers to try.

Mwnt is a sheltered sandy cove owned by the National Trust. There are a few steps to get down, so be careful. The fishing here is ideal for beach-casting and fishermen have reported catching Dogfish, Mackerel, Pouting, Pollack, Tompot Blenny and Fivebearded Rockling. There aren’t many facilities here, though, just a cafe and toilets. Dogs aren’t allowed here, so be aware.

Llangrannog Beach is another good area for fishermen. The spectacular Ceredigion Heritage Coastal Path leading right to the beach produces some wonderful views. There are plenty of mackerel to be caught off the rocks and nearby Ynys Lochytn offers opportunities for crabbing and the odd Bass. There are lots of pubs in Llangrannog and a convenience store.

If you are interested in catching Sea-Trout, try the Dyfi estuary near Aberdyfi. Boat fishing is illegal in the area because it is a nursery area for fish, so return any young. Flounder and Mullet can also be found in the brackish waters. Note that the area is popular among tourists in summer, so it’s best to come at a quiet time in autumn or winter.

There are lots of opportunities to catch some wonderful fish in Cardigan Bay. Always remember to be responsible and release what you’ve caught. Look after the environment and be rewarded for years to come.

Written by Daniel P who works for Wish.co.uk - find out more about their short break experiences here

Our annual September visit to Anglesey coincided with some truly horrid weather this year – payback for a beautiful 2 weeks in July maybe. In fact it was so bad that our first nights sea fishing was cut short, the wind and associated weed was so bad that even huge leads couldn’t keep the baits in the water for any length of time. It doesn’t look it in the photo above but trust me, it was horrid.

Saturday, according to the weather forcast didn’t look so bad so we arrived about 2 hours before high water and made our way to the small ‘bay’ formed by the bend in the ‘river’ between Holy Island and Anglesey proper. There were a lot of anglers fishing the beach to our left but with the tide racing in and out on such a flat beach it can be a bit of a hassle moving all the time, and since we were on holiday, we wanted something easy.

Actually we always fish this spot – it’s been good to us in the past and once again it didn’t let us down. As normal there wasn’t much action during the flood and realistically the weed was a bit more of a problem than we anticipated but we wanted to get there early to get our favourite spot.

Once the tide started ebbing the weed vanished and fishing began in earnest. An hour into the ebb my rod gave the tell tail bend, which just kept going, and I struck into what was obviously a good fish. It put up a fair scrap in the surf but eventually a lovely female Small Eyed Ray was beached, weighed at 9lb 3oz, photographed and returned to fight another day.

Unfortunately that was the only fish of the weekend and once again the weather came down, making fishing impossible for the rest of our trip but after a few days on Anglesey even the weather can’t stress you out.

A wonderful island with great fishing which we will continue to visit as long as we are able, in fact we’re already planning next years visits.

The last time we went boat fishing was in October 2008 off the West coast of Ireland where it was apparently flat calm – flat calm in the Atlantic involved a 4m swell and we were both sick and didn’t catch much except a lovely Cuckoo Wrasse for Wendy, so now we don’t do much boat fishing and are firm believers of keeping something solid under our feet. Wendy even gets sea sick even standing on a pier…

I do have a few mates who have small (and not so small) boats who fish all along the coast of Lancashire, Merseyside, down into North Wales and around Anglesey and the one thing they need to be able to rely on is a good engine.

Honda invented the world’s first 4-stroke outboard engine in 1964 and have recently launched a new campaign featuring documentaries covering how people use their new Honda C4 outboard. The latest follows Ben on a night fishing trip where he uses luminous lures to catch many different species.

More information on the Honda documentaries can be found here, where as well as seeing how other people use Honda products you can take part and maybe be featured in the latest documentary.

Post Sponsored by Honda