Sea Fishing & Walking in the UK

A Lazy Day Photographing Around Point Lynas

Labyrinth Spider at home in the Gorse.

After Tuesdays late night fly fishing excitement Wednesday was another day for walking around the coastal cliffs in our never rending quest for the perfect picnic spot. Point Lynas comes very, very close, no people, fantastic views and blazing sunshine – yep, almost perfect.

Another good excuse to take out the ‘big’ camera where I spotted a few Labyrinth Spiders (Agelena labyrinthica) which people (myself included until recently) mistakenly identify as Funnel Web Spiders. Labyrinth Spiders aren’t harmful – they just look a bit mean sitting in the entrance of their web in the Gorse.

A few photos of the stunning wild flowers around Point Lynas, all taken using the standard ‘mini zoom’ that came as part of the ‘kit’ with the Canon EOS 450D, the Canon 18-55mm IS.

Sea Thrift on the rocky cliffs at Point Lynas, Anglesey

A few half decent shots – now I’m getting the hang of using an SLR again, all be it digital, I’m finding the quality of even the cheaper Canon lens optics far out perform any compact style camera for close up work although I’m still a bit reluctant to take it when I go fishing.

Fly Fishing in the Rain at Llyn Alaw, Anglesey

Our first fish on a fly - Rudd

Ah, I remember what we did on Monday now. We went for an explore into the center of the island, mainly to find where to get day tickets for the massive man made reservior Llyn Alaw.

We’d not really been in this area before and I was amazed at just how rugged it is in the open spaces. We kept seeing a Buzzard on telegraph posts in front of us but no matter how sneaky we were I couldn’t get a good shot of it.

We arrived after paying at the visitor centre car park and made our way over to the opposite side of the lake and set up our 6 weight fly rods with floating line and a few flies that looked like the bugs in the lake – I’m sure they have proper names but I’ve no idea what they were (the flies or bugs). We’d learned on Monday from another angler that it fishes best from 8pm onwards so the plan was to go from about 7:30 till 10pm.

After about an hour and a half of what I’d like to think of as casting practice (catching trees, my hat, etc.) the weather payed us a little visit and it hammered it down for a good half hour. Thankfully we were wearing waders and waterproofs tops so it didn’t matter that much but it was odd standing in a lake, in the dimming light, in the rain.

Finally the Buzzard sat still

Not long after the rain stopped I heard Wendy yelling from a bit further down the lake. I’m sure they could here her all the way up to Holyhead.

Rushing back to shore, or as ‘rushing’ as is possible in waders, I grabbed the camera and dashed over to grab a picture of her prize.

Not a trout but a small Rudd (or Roach – I think it’s a Rudd). Did it matter to Wendy that it wasn’t our target species for the evening? Did it hell! This was our first ever fly caught fish and although the weather had been a bit pants we were elated.

Happy with our first successful catch we made our way back to the cottage for a well earned brew.

We drove up that way a few more times in the couple of weeks we stayed on Anglesey but the best photo I could get of the Buzzard is still not very good – but at least I got him.

Lazing on the Rocks at Llanbadrig

Long Spined Sea Scorpion from Llanbadrig, Anglesey

Not sure what we did on Monday but we got up early on Tuesday and headed up to Wylfa to have a go at the mini Bass and Mullet that hang around the warm water outflow from the power station. I’m not sure what time some people get out of bed but I thought we were quiet early and yet when we arrived all the rocks suitable for fishing from had people on them – as you know we’re not the social type of fisher-people so we moved clockwise round the island a few miles and ended up on a very comfortable mark at Llanbadrig.

A small Pollack on the float

I was first into a fish for a change although it wasn’t a monster by any stretch of the imagination, a small Pollack (or Colin as I seem to remember Sainsbury’s are wanting to call them for some reason – sheesh…) taken on a Ragworm fished under a float.

We’d fished here before and knew the bottom was a tackle graveyard so although there may be some monsters lurking around in the depths we elected to play it safe and have a bit of light tackle fun with the spinning rods and some floats.

I managed to catch the angriest, spikiest fish in the sea – a long spined sea scorpion, which is not venomous although it looks lethal, just a bit prickly while fishing straight down the rocks below my feet, again on a small Ragworm and for once I was ahead in the fishing stakes.

And then it all went Wendy’s way as she produced Wrasse after Wrasse with a few Pollack thrown in for good measure.

I also had a go at spinning and lure fishing, hoping to snare a bigger fish as the tide started to race past our protected little cove but after loosing a few soft plastic lures and a few leads decided that our choice to float fish was definitely the best thing to do.

A Wrasse for Wendy

I did finally get to use the landing net, which we’d bought years ago specifically for rock fishing as it has a long telescopic handle. Was it for a denizen of the deeps?

Was is heck, Wendy had got snagged on a rock and broken off and as one of her trademark pink floats made a bid for freedom I sprang into action – more like casually climbed down and netted it but the result was the same, one saved float although I’m not sure about her choice of colours…

We spent a very pleasant afternoon where catching small fish reminded me of when we first started sea angling, when every fish was fantastic and new.

I’m glad to have re-discovered that feeling, sometimes I think I get a bit blinkered in the search for bigger and better quarry and forget the sheer enjoyment of fishing and watching the world go by.

Catching a Few at Cemlyn, Anglesey

Sandwich Tern returning to chicks with a Sandeel, Cemlyn

We arrived on Anglesey with two weeks of doing anything except work in mind and thats exactly what we did. Sea fishing, walking, photography and bird watching, Anglesey has never disappointed us and these past two weeks have been no exception.

Sunday started with blue skies and after discovering that there was a supermarket just up the road from where we have stayed for years we made some sandwiches and went for a short walk at Cemlyn Bay to see if the Sandwich Terns were still there. As you can see from the above photo not only were they still there but they were still flying backwards and forwards feeding their young.

There were hundreds of them and even when we walked around the headland you could still hear them calling and see them diving into the sea in search of Sandeels.

Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey

The bay itself is fairly steep and covered in shingle rather than sand which keeps away all but the most hardcore sunbathers so we almost had the place to ourselves. As you can see – hardly a ripple in site and we decided to come back later and have a go at fly fishing in the sea for the first time, more on that later.

Six Spot Burnet Moths on Ragwort

All along the edge of the beach and cliffs the Ragwort was flowering and covered in both the moths and caterpillars of the Six Spot Burnett (Zygaena filipendulae), the caterpillars look identical to the Cinnabar Moth ones I’d spotted in Bolton during the previous week (yellow and black stripes) but where the moths have a red stripe and a dot the Six Spot Burnett has six spots on each wing. Sometimes the simple beauty of our countryside and wildlife amazes me and this first proper day on Anglesey was turning out to be one of the best yet.

A small whiting for me

Later that evening we came back to Cemlyn for a spot of sea fishing.

The fly fishing, although not a total disaster proved a bit troublesome in the evening breeze but we’d brought our light beach / bass gear with us and as the sun set cast a couple of juicy crab baits to the ‘gutter’ formed where the shingle meets the sand which in theory is where food is washed by the tide and hence the fish are to be found.

A lad fishing down the beach from us told us his father had had a few Bass there the previous evening but as per usual this was not ‘last night’ and the Bass didn’t show for us or him.

I managed to save a blank with a greedy little Whiting then a darkness settled we made our way back to Ty Cristion.

Crazy Coloured Caterpillars

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillers on Ragwort

Found a few of these little beauties devouring the Ragwort near the car park during lunchtime. They’re caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) and even though they are bright yellow and black are surprising hard to spot while the wind is blowing the vegetation all over the place.

The moth itself is a beautiful deep green / black and ‘cinnabar’ red and lays about 30-60 eggs on the underside of the Ragwort leaves. These then hatch all at once and the caterpillars are so voracious that it’s not unusual for them to either die due to lack of food (they eat so much of it) or turn cannibalistic. I’d not heard of caterpillers eating their egg mates but I suppose in a strange way it ensures the survival of the species.

The yellow and black colouring is, as normal, a warning that they are toxic and “do not eat me” which they gain from the Ragworth leaves.

Paving The Way to Fishing Anglesey

A tenuous title at best I know but it was the best I could come up with. Finally it stopped raining enough for Phil from thenakedgardener.com (yes ladies – he will garden naked for an extra £60 per hour) to finish off the paving to the rear of our house today.

This first photo is before anything was done, as you can see it was in a bit of a mess and needed sorting but it was one of those things things that never rated high on the ‘must do list’ until this year.

The second picture shows the first sections of Indian Sandstone being laid on the hardcore base. One option was always going to be for us to do the clearing but with the amount of junk they removed and the hardware needed to clear I’m glad we let Phil sort it all out for us. As mentioned earlier, the weather played ball today and Phil managed to get it finished. If you need any garden landscaping done it’s worth giving him a call, very reasonably priced, good service and a job well done – cheers Phil.

All done, now all we need are some pots...

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a lot better, although a little bare. We intend to put a lot of pots and tubs full of all sorts of plants, some of them native wild ones to help out the local wildlife.

As for sea fishing, or any other type of fishing for that matter, we’ve not been out much as we’ve been saving up to go to Anglesey for a couple of weeks, can’t wait. Even though we’ve been many times before it’s still as exciting as the first few times we went.

On a completely unrelated note I saw some Cinnabar Moth caterpillars feeding on the Ragwort in the car park today so if I remember the camera tomorrow I’ll try and take a few photo’s as they’re quiet spectacular in their yellow and black stripes.

Blooming Hot Orchids in Lancashire

Bee Orchid on the edge of a lake at Mere Beck

The weather here in Lancashire has been truly fantastic this last week and even though we’ve had a few very heavy showers we’ve managed to get out a couple of times. One mini walk round Mere Sands Wood nature reserve where the Marsh Orchids were flowering in the ‘meadow walk’, not much bird activity as I guess it’s too hot for them.

The other trip was last Saturday evening where we went to Mere Beck to have a quick practice with our new fly fishing gear.

With the weather being so hot and humid we were convinced there would be a hatch of all kinds of bugs on the lakes but it was strangely quiet – almost as if it was too hot even for these tiny creatures.

I did spot this beautiful Bee Orchid on the edge of one of the smaller lakes and although I only had the smaller camera with me I still manage to get a pic before the light faded completely.

I’m sure most of photography is being in the right place at the right time – better equipment cannot make an image that you didn’t take, it’s can just make a better image. Obviously there is a skill in ’seeing’ the image in the first place and the technical aspects of getting the image into the camera but my moto is still “be in the right place at the right time”.

Marsh Orchid in 'The Meadow' at Mere Sands

Not sure what we’re doing this weekend, the paving at the back of the house is almost complete so I’ve the side door in the garage to replace but I’ve a sneaky feeling we may go fishing, just for a change…

Photography Practice and Avocets at Marshide

Avocet at RSPB Marshside, Southport

As the weather has been so good this week we went for a quick walk to RSPB Marshside, Southport, to see if we could spot the Avocets and chicks that have started breeding on the marshes in recent years. As per normal we took almost every piece of optical equipment we owned assuming the birds would be miles and miles away.

Shock of shocks! There birds were on the rapidly drying up pond as close to the road as they could possibly be so our walk quickly became a good excuse for me to practice with the Canon EOS 450D I purchased a couple of months ago. The chicks were to far away to get a good photo but I managed to get a few others.

Although I prefer the top image of the Avocet it was a tough decision as the reflection of this other one and the birds profile go together so well.

Black Tailed Godwits being boisterous in their summer plumage.

After spending some time just watching the birds from the hides at the reserve we walked round the old sand reclamation plant where I did my best to take a few photos of the smaller birds that seemed to tease us where ever we went, eventually getting a shot of a male Linnet in the evening sun. I tried to get a few photos of the young rabbits but they were just too fast – even though there seemed to be hundreds of them.

After driving past the sands works so many times it was great to walk round it for a change. The amount of birds, animals, grasses and flowers that thrive on the marshes in the area is astounding and I’ll bet most people who drive past have no idea of the fantastic diversity on their doorstep.

Sometimes something as simple as grass can make an impact. Looking towards Blackpool in the distance.

Even more grass - I like the vibrant green vertical stems on this one. Camera practice - adjusting depth of field.

Micro Tope – Sea Fishing at Blackpool

Blackpool, North Wall - Looking a Bit Like Rain

After a weeks worth of truly dismal weather we joined the guys from BLAS (Blackpool and Layton Angling Society) for an evening sea fishing match, fishing a couple of hours either side of high water at Blackpool North Wall.

We met at the boat club on the prom where the weather looked like it was preparing to throw a few suprises our way, but the forcast was for the wind to drop so we set up and got on with it just as the incoming tide hit the bottom of the wall. The swell was fierce and although we had initially been hoping for Ray or Smoothhounds it was looking more and more like Bass were going to be coming out – conditions looked perfect, the bottom being churned up nicely and a nice big surf.

As it turned out no Bass were caught by us although we heard of a few coming out either side of our group – typical.

My First Shore Caught Tope

About an hour in I managed to snare a small flounder that had engulfed my crab bait and impaled itself on a size 2/0 hook intended for slightly biger quarry. I decided to try something different and as the swell seemed to drop slightly I cast a sandeel fairly close in to try for a dogfish – not something I’d usually target, but this was a match and a fish is a fish after all.

While preparing my next rig with a crab I noticed my line go slack and start to move downtide, assuming the lead had been broken out by weed or the surf I wound down only to find it continuing to move at a very odd angle.

A little thump told me something was on but I had no idea what it could be until I landed my first ever shore caught Tope. Not the biggest specimen by any stretch of the imagination but still a perfectly formed mini shark, forget the match – this was brilliant.

After chatting to a few of the guys who fish the wall regularly during summer (they live in Blackpool) apparently this is fairly common and you can usually catch them using baby squid as bait.

We didn’t have and squid but you can bet that Wendy launched a sandeel bait seaward in her effort to snare one of these little beauties.

Wendy's Second Whiting

That was it for me although Dave got another small Tope on crab, Millsy a Whiting, Sparky a Whiting and Wendy, after trying every trick in the book managed to land a couple of Whiting.

As per usual with these matches the weather played a huge part in our lack of success and no one managed to land an insize fish but the evening was great, with good company and, much to our relief stayed rain free even if the wind didn’t drop as we’d hoped.

That’s probably going to be our last sea fishing session until we go to Anglesey but we are going to try and get out and do some fly fishing next weekend as all the new goodies we’d ordered after our lessons at Mere Beck arrived last week.

We’ve sorted everything out (as you do) and have got a couple of 8 weight rods for salt water fly fishing and a couple of cheaper 6 weight ones for normal fly fishing – for those times when no matter how hard you try time, tide and weather are against you. I’ll chat more about the gear once we’ve tried it.

So next weekend the plan is to go back to Mere Beck for a bit of practice on a lake before we attempt fly fishing in the sea and maybe, just maybe, catch a trout.

Bolton Angler Rescued, Aberdaron, North Wales

It goes to show you can never be too careful while fishing as this chap found out last weekend. Apparently a wave swept him off the rocks near Aberdaron and he was in the water for an hour when the coastguard helicopter winched him to safety.

See the full story here on the BBC news website – Angler rescued after hour in sea

A reminder to us all – fishing is great and we all ‘push the limit’ every so often, but it’s not worth risking your life for.