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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!
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 [... read rest of post]
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. [... read rest of post]
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 [... read rest of post]
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 [... read rest of post]
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 [... read rest of post]
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 [... read rest of post]
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 [... read rest of post]
Almost every angler who’s been sea fishing for a while will have caught a few Flounder in his or her day but there are still people out there that rate this fish as hard to find. Once you’ve figured out where they are – catching them is relatively straight forward and doesn’t require any special tackle although if you fish with a the lightest set up you can get away with these usually overlooked flat predators can put up a [... read rest of post]
Now I’m not usually one for shouting about anything even vaguely political and to be honest I normally steer clear of anything remotely involving the policies of our government or the EU but there is a growing threat on the horizon from Brussels (just for a change) that all recreation anglers and sea fishermen should be made aware of. Imagine having to pay for every single fish you caught while out enjoying your favorite outdoor activity or to prove that [... read rest of post]
