Sea Fishing & Walking in the UK

Queens Park, Bolton – Amphibious Assault

Frog spawn at Queens Park, Bolton

It looks like Spring is in the air up here in Lancashire as I spotted this clump of frog spawn in a small pond while walking through Queens Park, Bolton, during lunch time today.

Not many birds visible but you could hear them calling in the trees. The weather forecast is for a drop in temperature in the next few days but the signs are there for all to see – spring is on the way.

Checking Out The River Douglas Ready For Summer

Small Creek on the River douglas

As the weather was fairly good today I went for a walk along our the local River Douglas, a tributary of the River Ribble that is easily accessible from an anglers point of view at Hesketh Bank. Although the river is very close I hadn’t been along it’s banks for a while as it tends to get very muddy in the winter due to the banks flooding with the higher tides, cows grazing on the salty grass and the sheer volume of water the low lying banks seem capable of holding.

I started my investigation at Douglas Boat Yard where I was hoping to get a look at one a completed Predator 165 – their newest small, purpose built angling boat, but it being sunday everything was locked up. Never mind – I continued along the public footpath that runs along the bank, heading North towards the Ribble.

I know that in the past Thick-Lipped Grey Mullet have been caught in the Douglas and the Ribble using a net from a boat, drifting with the tide and netting the fish as they travel upstream. As far as I’m aware this method of fishing is no longer done hence giving the angler with a rod a chance at catching these fish, if they still travel these waters. The other thing that gives hope (what would anglers be without hope?) is that Mullet have been caught during the past few summers in the River Mersey – which is only just down the coast a few miles.

What I was looking for was a bit vague – even to me.

I was looking for a place to ambush the Mullet as they nose upstream looking for food. Somewhere that I can lay down some bait on a regular basis to draw the fish to a specific area so they get used to food being there. Then when I fish for them, at least I’ll know they’re there – at least that’s the theory. Now the problem is the Douglas has a strong tidal current so any bait put into the river will be washed out almost straight away so I was looking for a creek or eddy – somewhere that would look interesting enough for a fish to investigate and be made more interesting with the additional of some mashed up bread and Mackeral into the area.

River Douglas Creek

Mullet are deceptive and take small baits and hooks as they sift through the mud looking for small worms and shrimp so oily fishy bread fished using light float tackle with a small hook is going to be my weapon of choice.

Walking up the river I managed to find a few such areas as can be seen in the photographs – as well as coming across a few anglers fishing for our old favorite – the Flouder. The guys I spoke to seem to have been having a good afternoons sport with up to half a dozen fish weighing up to 1.5 pounds – all caught on Black Lug.

I can see a few lazy days are going to be had spent on the banks of our local River Douglas. Even if we don’t manage to snare a Mullet, at least the Flouder will be there. Now all we need is some sun to dry the banks out a bit.

Fishing in Thailand – Monster Stingray Landed

Ian Welch with the giant stingray. Photograph: BNPS.co.uk

It has been reported throughout the angling grapevine that what is believed to be the largest freshwater fish landed has been caught by British angler, Ian Welch while he was visiting Thailand helping in the tagging programme for these huge fish. Tagging the fish helps marine biologist track their movements and hence helps in the study of such wonderful creatures.

The giant freshwater stingray, weighing as much as 350kg (772lbs, or about 55 stone), was said to be the size of a garden shed and so cumbersome that Ian Welch had to enlist the aid of 12 other people to get it out of the water where it could be tagged safely and measurements taken before being released.

You can read the full story at the telegraph.co.uk website – British biologist catches 55 stone, record-breaking stingray

Not exactly sea fishing but damn – that’s a big fish!

Angling Addicts and Busy Bloggers

Well it looks like the weather has finally got round to remembering that Spring should be arriving soon. During my lunchtime walk today I saw so many different bird species in the center of Bolton it was like walking into an aviary – I know they haven’t just arrived but it does make you wonder where they’ve been hiding all this time.

The spring flowers are just starting to show and the buds are beginning to swell on the trees and I can’t wait. I know it’s spring proper when i can drive home without my lights on – a couple of weeks till then but still, it’s on the way.

In the meantime I’ve found a few more blogs that are worth looking at;

Henry Gilbey – the world of fishing – I’ve mentioned Henry’s blog before but if you haven’t yet visited it it’s certainly worth a read.

Moniar’s Fishing Diary – Recently (last year) taken up sea fishing from a Kayak, Moniar is getting some great results and photo’s. Moniar was on the beach fishing with his son when we had a fantastic session catching small eyed rays during October 2006.

MrFishJersey – Only just found this blog about lure fishing (primarily for Bass I think) in Jersey. One day I’ll have to get to the Channel Isles it looks amazing.

Musing from the Anglesey Photo-Artist – Some amazing photo’s from an artist who’s gallery I must have driven past hundreds of times without realising it’s there. I must go in for a proper look.

Oil Slick Drifting Towards Ireland and Wales

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, with Europe trying to push through legislation to limit our sport, it seems a Russian aircraft carrier has accidently spilt an estimated 1000 tonnes of oil into the Irish sea. We can only hope that the oil will disperse out at sea before being washed onto the Irish and Welsh coasts causing untold environmental damage to these beautiful areas.

A couple of links on the breaking story can be found below.

Sky News: Russia Denies Oil Spill Threat To Ireland

BBC News: Oil slick drifting to Irish coast

The Dab and Rockling Shuffle, Blackpool Sea Fishing Scores

JP with a Blackpool Flounder

After visiting the RNLI the BLAS (Blackpool and Layton Angling Society) guys made their way onto an area of Blackpool promenade named ‘North Wall’ for the last sea fishing match of the season.

I went along to keep them company and to see if I could temp anything out of the perfectly coloured water which had a bit of a ‘chop’ to it to it looked promising.

To say the angling was tough would be an understatement and although I tried various baits, rigs and distances I managed to come away without catching anything. Not that it mattered much, I wasn’t in the match I had a good chat with friends I hadn’t seen for some time and the sun came out – finally.

All that came out were a few Dabs, some (only just in-size) Flounder and a few Rockling.

Shauns' matching winning Rockling

The match was eventually won by Shaun, pictured here with a small Rockling – doesn’t look much does it but this fish and another of similar size won him the match.

After chatting to the guys last week and today they’ve been telling me that this winter the fishing on Lancashire coast has been terrible, not only have Codling been in short supply but so have Whiting which is very unusual. We’re putting it down to the lack of storms churning up the sea bed and dislodging food for the fish to come in to shore and eat – at least that’s what we’re hoping…

Thankyou RNLI

RNLI Blackpool

After last weekends drama on the beach and the timely intervention by the emergency services a few of us anglers (and some not so local) got together with Bill (our friend that was rescued last week) and visited the RNLI station in Blackpool. It was great to see the guys who so often put their lives on the line to save many, many lives and we all had a good chat and a look round the station – they’d been out that morning, just practicing thankfully, so a lot of the guys that helped rescue Bill were there.

Presenting the RNLI with the Cheque

We’d had a bit of a collection and although I have no idea where a lot of the cash came from we managed to get just over £500 which Bill handed to the guys. We waited around a while for the local newspaper photographer to arrive so that the RNLI got as much publicity as possible. The more publicity we can get them the better, preferably without calling them out of course.

RNLI Blackpool - Small Life Jacket

While we were chatting one of the guys mentioned a life jacket that was small enough to fit in anyones tackle box, I’m not sure what it’s called or where to get it but it is definitely something I will be looking into.

I must just say a quick thanks to Henry Gilbey as well. Henry is a well known angling addict who as well as taking some stunning photographs has written a few books and been on TV. Last week he put a link up to here, which again highlights the work the RNLI do and helps us all stay safe.

Random piece of Blackpool trivia I picked up today: The 3 Victorian Piers; North, Central and South were made that way so the upper class ladies and gentlemen could take the sea air at the North pier, the middle class at Central and the working class at the South Pier, hence the classes wouldn’t have to mix. Victorians – they thought of everything, thankfully we’re not Victorian but it makes you wonder how they policed it…

ICE – In Case Of Emergency

I was sent the following information in an email today – completely unrelated to the weekends drama but very timely.

ICE – In Case Of Emergency. Most of us carry a mobile phone with names and numbers stored in its memory. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn’t know who to call.

The following advice was provided by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. The ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency) Campaign aims to rectify this. The concept of ‘ICE’ is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. All you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents there were always mobile phones with patients but they didn’t know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognised name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialling the number you have stored as ‘ICE’.

For more than one contact name, simply enter ICE1, ICE2, ICE3.

Sea Fishing Cleveleys Beach in the Snow and a Warning to Everyone

Cleveleys Beach, Lancashire

As I hadn’t been fishing for a long time I decided to join a few guys on the beach at Cleveleys. They were holding a match and although I wouldn’t be participating I needed to get out fishing. The forcast was cold with maybe a touch of snow.

You can just make out two of the lads walking to the sea, waterproofs and warm clothes clearly evident, and boy was it needed. As I got down to the water after crossing a couple of gulleys (more on these later – you can just see them in the top photo) a blizzard started, whipping up the beach from the south (left to right) and the temperature dropped so much I could hardly feel my fingers.

Winter Fishing - We Must be Mad

They say anglers are mad and I’m inclined to agree but damn, it was good to be out after so long. Good company is worth a little hardship and if we didn’t fish in rubbish weather we’d never go out in the North West.

Normally I’d be re-baiting every 15 minutes or so but as my hands felt a lot better inside my pockets I left my bait out longer than usual so I could chat to the guys and catch up on gossip, and keep my fingers warm.

I was using Mackeral as bait as the cold weather had driven the lugworms deep into the sand making it almost impossible to gather them even for the professional bait diggers.

The usual banter was had with dave trying to convince us he could see a bite developing, we were convinced it was wishful thinking on his part but, as is not uncommon with Dave, he proceeded to reel in a lovely little Dab.

Dave lands a small Dab

This put the pressure on the other guys that were fishing the match – I was just glad to be there as by now the snow had stopped and it didn’t seem to bad after all.

I was started to regret not bringing my serious waterproofs though as they’re a lot warmer than the top i had on yesterday. I wasn’t cold as I had many layers on but my other top is padded, it’s just not very waterproof anymore so it was a case of increased warmth verses fully waterproof. With the snow at the start I guess 100% waterproof was the best choice.

I walked along and chatted to a few of the other guys then wandered back to my rod. If fished competitions before where every second counts but today I was just enjoying being on the beach with a bunch of friends.

Imagine my surprise when, after reeling in I had also caught a Dab – I just hope this is a sign of things to come, local knowledge and skill are very important – but you can’t beat luck.

As the tide turned we made our way back over the gulleys, we know that they fill quickly and it’s hard to see them in the dark – as I was only wearing wellies, all be it with fully waterproof salopettes, I was first to cross followed by the others. The first gulley crossed we fished for another 1/2 hour or so before I made my way back over the final gulley. I noticed that it was filling quickly and called to Dave who was next to me (wearing full chest waders) that I was shifting ‘camp’ to the other side of the gulley. Dave called to the rest of the guys then waded over himself.

A Small Dab For Me

By this time it was dark and as Dave reached me the water was up to his waist. What we couldn’t see was one of the other guys had become stranded on the sand bank on the seaward side of the gulley. He was not alone but he only had wellies on but he’d left it a little to late and his boots had filled with water. Ian stayed with him as long as possible then waded across futher up the beach to get help.

Then we noticed the light was still on, on the sand bank. Our friend could not get off, he was starting to get very, very, cold and the water was getting deeper and deeper. Only one thing for it, call the coast guard. Someone from the prom had spotted us and brought down a rope with a bouyancy aid attached but Dave got swept off his feet as he tried to make it across the now very deep gulley, thankfully the rope was firmly anchored on our side and he made it back but still our fried was stranded and getting increasing desperate.

But we couldn’t see Ian anywhere. Thankfully he’d found an area to wade across and rejoined us on the landward side of the gulley. He told us later his heart sank as, from a distanc,e he saw someone’s light as they attempted a rescue knowing that the water was to treacherous and yelled at them to stop but couldn’t be heard. Thankfully Dave was wearing a floatation suit that is not only warm, but bouyant.

Time stretched and it seemed ages until the coastguard showed, our friend was getting desperate and was shouting that he was going to try and swim. Remember how cold I said it was? We yelled for him to stay put and just as it looked like he’d given up the light from the RNLI’s inshore boat could be seen, he couldn’t see it as the water was up to his chest by now but we could. We shouted at him to listen for it, anything to give him the strength to hold on and just stay put then they arrived.

From what he says the water was to shallow for the boat so two of the crew jumped in and swam to him and threw him on board. After a brief trip to the station and a cup of tea all was well but it could have been so much worse.

Now we are all very experienced anglers, we fish this coast a lot, we know the dangers and we know when to come off the beach when the tide turns. Looking back at it now I can see what went wrong. It was a very big tide so the flood (when it turned) was very powerful and came in quickly. The wind from the South made the tide flood even faster than usual. It was dark and it’s difficult to see the gulleys fill behind you. It was very cold and although our friend fishes a lot he is not as spritely as he once was, he says his strength just went once his boots filled.

So, needless to say after last nights adventure and looking back on all those times I’ve thought “just one last cast” I will no longer fish this area at lo-water on anything except the most moderate tide heights and during the day. And although I never do, it just goes to show you should never sea fish alone.

This was a lesson learned – thankfully with no lasting harm done. It was reported in the local paper – not entirely accurate but close enough – Blackpool Gazette

Here is the link to the RNLI and I encourage anyone who does anything anywhere near the sea to visit and perhaps make a donation – without them I’m not sure our friend would be here today.

No Sea Fishing or Walking – Decorating Takes Precedence

Parlick, Bowland Fell, Lancashire

After two weeks of living in the spare room we finished decorating at the back end of last week so we’ve moved back in too our bedroom – it’s weird but it felt like I was on holiday it, new colours, new bedding, new cupboards, in fact almost new everything except same old me of course.

I almost managed to get out today, not fishing exactly, but the BLAS (Blackpool and LAyton Angling Society) guys had a sea fishing match at Blackpool but just as I was about to go I managed to pull a muscle in my shoulder tidying up of all things so that messed that up. Looks like they had a good time though as you can see from this report; Sunday 1st Feb – Blackpool North Wall.

Nuthatch

I did manage to do a bit of walking last weekend thought when we spent a bit of time up at my parents ‘dog sitting’. Only had time for a quick stroll up the road as Megan (black labrador), at 11 years old, is no longer as young as she was and now saunters rather that charges up the hill but I did manage a quick snap of Parlick as we meandered up the lane.

What never ceases to amaze me though is the wealth of bird life in that area. Whether it’s the food Mum puts out for them or just the fact that they live in the country – the garden is constantly full of the sounds of all kinds of birds. There is certainly no evidence of decreasing bird life up in Chipping and after standing watching for a while I managed to snap this photo of a Nuthatch – as per usual, upside down.