Not a wave in sight - lets hope the fish don't notice...

Sunday dawned bright and clear and although I’d been out the night before and lost an hours sleep due to the clocks going forward I arrived at the chosen venue, Fleetwood Channel, in plenty of time for the 2nd BLAS sea fishing match of the season.

Nine of us fished into the estuary channel of the River Wyre a couple of hours down to low water and a couple of hours back up again using predominantly peeler crab as bait with the odd try of Lug, Mackerel or Squid.

Once again I was first in with a fish, a plump little Flounder of 33 cms which went safely back then, as per last week, I had to wait ages for a second while people either side of me caught but eventually I did catch another Flounder of 31 cms which was a relief – I was starting to think that I was only being allocated one fish per match by the sea fishing gods.

A few other species were caught such as Codling (all undersized), a Plaice (again undersized) and a Long Spined Sea Scorpion (I think) of 20 cms. Almost everything was caught using Peeler Crab which seems to be the only bait of worth at the moment.

Flat calm on the River Wyre estuary looking towards Knott End

Great weather, good company and some fish – if there’s anything better I’m not sure I know what it is…

While chatting we did notice a bottle floating by and when it was washed up next to us we found it was a genuine message in a bottle, with a wax sealed cork. After struggling to get the paper out we found a note written by someone called John on 25/9/10 and thrown in the sea at Aberystwyth – which is an ‘up the coast’ journey of about 175 miles.

Not a genie in a bottle but still, a little bit different.

Next week proper beach fishing from Rossall – time to break out the long range stuff.

I’ve not had much luck here this year either due to weed, weather or just being a bit crap but I was determined to catch. The sea was flat calm but there was no sign of the rafts of weed that have plagued us recently and the temperature was at least above zero (just).

The only drawback was lack of fresh bait due to the cold snap earlier in the week so armed with frozen Black Lug, Squid and Mackerel I set up opposite a small gap in the sandbank hoping that the smelly May 2009 vintage Black Lug and Squid cocktails would tempt a few Dabs.

Eight of us fished to the right of the slipway while the Fleetwood club, also having a match, set up to the right and the wait began. Shacky was first in with a double header of undersized Dabs  and soon everyone except Dave had caught some of these little flatties. As well as an in size Dab I managed a small Flounder on Mackerel (too small dammit) and Tom managed to snare a half decent Whiting on his last cast.

I had a great afternoon with good company which was made even better by finally breaking my run of bad luck, admittedly it was only a Dab but damn – it was good to catch a fish. I even came third and this being BLAS’s only cash match won a whole… wait for it… TEN pounds.

This is one of the reasons I love being a member of Blackpool and Layton Angling Society, there is some stunning silverware to be won and some of the anglers within the club are exceptionally skilled but being part of BLAS is all about mates, matches are realistically just a good excuse to get together and catch (pardon the pun) up.

The Fleetwood club set up to our right

I’d love to say that our time spent on the beach in sub zero, almost flat calm conditions, paid off and we all landed huge amounts of fresh run Cod, Whiting and Dabs but out of the 8 BLAS members that braved the less than ideal conditions plus all the other sea anglers we met on the beach no-one got a bite let alone a fish.

It was great to be out and chat to the guys but on the Lancashire coast an easterly wind really does kill the sea fishing although not to have anyone catch was unusual.

Another blank… it’s getting to be a bit boring now.

Next match is Perch Rock on the Wirral in a few weeks where we’ll also be holding the Christmas Cup match again so I’m hoping for a few westerlies to liven things up a bit before then.

Although the forecast wasn’t too bad the wind was bitterly cold sweeping down the beach from the north and by the time our black lugworm baits were in the water we were wondering if this was such a good idea after all. This was confirmed as after 5 minutes our tackle was loaded with weed and was almost impossible to retrieve. After a few more casts Wendy decided to sit it out for a while to see if the weed situation improved while I launched my baits as far a possible, setting the rod high on the tripod and hoping to keep the line out of the weed.

After a couple of hours of this, Wendy rejoining our struggle against the weed we’d had enough and just to drive home the point I lost my terminal gear on the final retrieve as the line parted under the pressure of the amount of crud on the line.

It was interesting though to be on the beach after such wild weather, there were literally hundreds of Starfish washed up with all sorts of crab including a few Hermit Crabs (I tried one as bait) and the odd Masked Crab which you hardly ever see on the beach. There were also a lot of Sea Mouse, which look like something out of a cheesy Sci-Fi movie.

It’s a shame that the conditions beat us as the report by Shacky shows the conditions and fishing improved, we probably should have stuck it out longer but after looking forward to the trip all week the weed just killed off our enthusiasm for the session and after a couple of hours we said our goodbyes and made our way home where the only cold thing I encountered was a beer while watching the TV.

The Sun sets over the surf at Rossall

With the wind in the West we decided on a late night sea fishing session up at Rossall near Fleetwood last Saturday to see if any Bass were out playing in the surf.

On arrival and after a fly by from the Red Arrows along the promenade we had a quick look at the state of the sea and although it looked a bit rough it seemed fishable enough so we quickly set up the gear and launched some black lugworm baits just behind the surf.

Initially this seemed to work well but contrary to the forcaste the wind seemed to pick up and as high water approached it quickly became evident that there was far too much weed in the water to make sea fishing feasible. You can see how windy it was – the bags hanging from the tripods in the photo above are full of rocks to stop things blowing over. This was quickly demonstrated in my last two casts where one bait ended up snagged round a groyne about 30 yards to my left – dragged there by the weed (I lost that one) and the other bait ended up on the beach with about 4 pounds of wed attached to it.

We gave up at that point…

A shame really as the sea looked very fishy but sometimes it’s just impossible to fish it and you don’t know until you give it a try.

Looking across the River Wyre to the Bowland Fells

The second match of the Blackpool and Layton Angling Society (BLAS) was held at the estuary of the River Wyre at the North side of Fleetwood. We’ve fished Fleetwood Channel a few times before and it’s fairly straightforward, helped by the fact that you can park your car on the esplanade, almost on the fishing mark itself.

Even though the seasons this year seem a few weeks behind, the weather was almost identical to that of last years match even if the wind was a little cooler. Six of us braved the glorious sun and tried desperately to get an early tan until the sun hid behind a few clouds and the chill reminded us that Winter has only just retreated.

Low water on the River Wyre, tactical discussion...

The fishing proved to be difficult and the baits, various mixtures of Black Lug, Mackeral, Squid and Razorfish were coming back in almost the same condition as when they were cast in – a sign of lack of crab activity, which in itself is a sign that the season hasn’t really kicked off yet.

Me, happy to catch a Rockling

Sven got an plump Five-Beareded Rockling (Ciliata mustela) at low water then it went quiet for a while until after going for a walk to the lifeboat pier to look for Mussels I reeled in another monster Rockling from the deep. Not quiet as big as the fish Sven got but still quiet large for this species.

The rigs we were using were standard 2 hook rigs armed with size 1 fine wire hooks as we were expecting Flounder and, although the flatties never showed up and the hooks were a little large for the Rockling, on the final cast of the match Shacky managed to land yet another – the same length as Sven’s hence tieing the match with me coming in third.

So overall the fishing wasn’t to great, in fact it was grim, but the weather was lovely, the company and banter entertaining as always and the views across Morecambe Bay of the Lake District Mountains fantastic. (Sorry about the image quality – for some reason I had the camera set to 800 ASA, I must have nudged the button in the shock of seeing a fish)

The third match is here again in a couple of weeks – hopefully someone will tell the fish…

Talking Tactics - Fleetwood Channel

With South Easterly winds and the weather playing silly buggers I didn’t hold out much hope for today’s sea fishing match up at Fleetwood but still, it’s always worth a go – with sea fishing you’re never 100% certain what’s going to happen or what you’ll catch.

As I’d successfully given Wendy my cold I arrived on my own and met up with a few like minded fools that were daft enough to brave the weather. And boy did we have some weather, cold winds from the SE and then about an hour before the end of the match the heavens opened, it was incredible and I was just thankful I’d decided to take my waders else I’d have been soaked.

Compare the picture above with the ones taken a month ago – how can the weather be worse now than it was then – looks like we’re in for a typical British summer.

Unfortunately the fishing for me, Millsy and Dave  turned out to be just as bad as I’d predicted with no bites let alone any fish but to either side of us Shacky, Sparky and JP managed a few Flounder, Eels and the odd Rockling. Looking back at it now there doesn’t seem to be any reason for our failure to connect with fish,  lack of peeler crab for bait may have had a bit to do with it but then Dave blanked and he was using the same Peeler as Shacky who eventually won the match.

Fishing! It does your head in!

Undoubtedly the best part of the day was seeing a small Porpoise swimming up the River Wyre and then a couple of hours later swimming back out again. I’ve seen them in North Wales but never in Lancashire so that was definately worth getting up for.

Fleetwood Channel - Looking East Towards Knott End

We woke this morning to a truly stunning day and as we made our way to Fleetwood to fish a Blackpool and Leyton Angling Society (BLAS) match the weather just seemed to get better and better. Shacky and JP were already there and not soon after Sparky and Millsy arrived so we made our way down to the edge of the channel. Fleetwood channel is actually the estuary of the River Wyre and is kept clear (and deep) as Fleetwood is a working port with regular sailings to Northern Ireland and The Isle of Mann

We cast just to the edge of the faster moving water so that our baits could stay anchored to the sea bed rather than be dragged out to sea by the swiftly ebbing tide and, where we were hoping the fish would be hunting in the back eddies for food.

A Small Flounder for Wendy

It took a while for bites to start but a slight shift in wind (more like a light breeze) direction from East to West resulted in Wendy landing a very plump rockling, shortly followed by Sparky.

Then it developed into a two horse race as Shacky landed a Flounder, then Wendy, then Shacky again, all the while myself and the other guys congratulating their success, honestly.

Shacky finally landed an eel which with the other fish won him the match, with Wendy coming 2nd and Sparky third.

It was hard fishing, we tried all sorts of baits; Lug, Squid, Mackerel, Peeler Crab and it didn’t really seem to make much difference – Wendy was catching on Lug, Shacky on Crab.

But what a lovely day to be out, blue skies, light breezes and flocks of birds taking to wing opposite us whenever they were disturbed. There was even a seal swimming around in the channel that every so often would vanish then a few minutes later appear somewhere else with a fish in it’s mouth. Sometimes fishing is better left to the natives while we just watch.

The venue has produced some good fish, and in quantity, which is why the BLAS guys picked it for this time of year, but for some reason the fish just weren’t playing today…

…at least not for me.

Looking West Down Fleetwood Channel

Double Shot of Whiting

Last night we had a quick trip up to Rossall near Fleetwood, Lancashire to see if we could snare a few fish before Christmas and to get away from the mayhem that seems to arrive at this time every year.

The weather was by no means ideal and when we got there the sea was flat calm with a mist rolling in. It’s always a bit strange being on a beach during the night but with hardly a ripple on the sea and visibility down to 100 meters it was a little odd, but damn it was good to be out sea fishing after so long.

Hi-tide was about 1 o’clock so we fished from about 10.30pm through to 2.00am.

Bites were a little slow in coming to me during the run up to high water but Wendy was getting plenty of interest in her lug worm baits but just couldn’t connect with any fish. Then as high water arrived she started landing a few Whiting then proceeded to show me how it’s done by catching 2 at once.

A Flounder from Rossall

It was another of those sessions where I was out fished by Wendy, 6 fish to 3 although I did manage a Flounder as well as 2 of the smallest Whiting I’ve ever caught. I’m beginning to get used to it but it didn’t matter and all too soon 2 o’clock came and it was time to pack up.

Another great session sea angling on the Lancashire coast and just what we needed, a bit of peace and quite, the sound of the sea gently lapping against the promenade and a few fish – fantastic!

Robbie the Reindeer

Isn’t Christmas great?

There was no fell walking, sea fishing or birding last weekend, as it was Christmas tree buying weekend! As usual we ended up chopping over a foot off the top of it to get it in to the house – it happens every year but we just can’t help it. It is now in position and decorated with lights and baubles. It looks great and smells wonderful.

On Sunday we went up to my parents to get some Holly for the table decorations where we had a good chat, a wonderful diner and a drink or two which was very relaxing.

But what about the weather? The wind along the Lancashire coastline these past couple of weeks has been unbelievable and, looking at the forecasts for the coming weeks, is set for some time.

During the Christmas break we’re hoping to go sea fishing up towards Fleetwood as well as do a bit of fell walking so hopefully the weather isn’t going to be quite as bad as predicted.

If nothing else the storms are good for birding as all sorts gets blown of track and ends up a little closer to land than is usual so we’ll probably have a couple of trips out to the coast without fishing rods.

Now that will make a change!