Species Specific Articles – Page 2

Fishing for species

Springtime Rays

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

Around the world there are over 500 species of rays. Related to the shark family these cartilaginous fish are of extreme value to the recreational angler, from both boat and shore. Sadly though, the numbers of rays being landed either commercially or during recreational angling has dwindled vastly over the last couple decades. According to the Shark Trust there have been 15 species of ray recorded in UK waters, of these only 5 of them are relatively common around the north Wales coast. These are the blonde ray, cuckoo ray, spotted ray, small eyed ray and thornback ray; I have […]

Tope from Holyhead Deeps

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

Most of the charter fleet off the north Wales coast benefit from a fairly consistent run of big tope. Holyhead is no exception, with the current Welsh record for a boat caught tope, 79lb, being caught and then released aboard My Way in August 2005 by Nottingham angler Anthony Meli. These big fish tend to move inshore late July through to October. Above, Antony Meli and his Welsh Record C&R tope It is though firmly believed though that there have been even bigger fish hooked over the years that have proved far too powerful for the anglers to keep hold […]

Winter Whiting

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

Years ago I read an article on how to catch winter whiting from a popular estuary mark and a friend of mine piped up, “next month they’ve a feature on how to get wet in the bath”. Needless to say that is something I am keen to avoid here, whiting fishing is certainly no dark art! They shoal and when they are in any great number in your waters you cannot fail when afloat. When you set out for a good day’s general fishing later autumn or in the depths of winter, the humble whiting can offer some great sport. […]

Dab Fishing

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

At a guess, as boat anglers and regardless of their sweet taste, dabs are not quite near the top of our target list when planning a great day afloat. Dabs are the smallest of the UK flatfish and despite weights recorded in excess of 2lb are generally widespread in the 8oz bracket. A dab that exceeds 1lb would correctly be considered a great catch and although they’re not unheard of around our shores over the magical 1lb mark, they do not appear to put in too regular an appearance. Your best chance of a 1lb+ dab is early spring through […]

Rough Ground Conger

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

This article was written for Boat Fishing Monthly magazine and can be found in the November 2012 issue. Conger fishing, especially for the bigger specimens approaching 100lb is best undertaken along the south coast of the UK, fishing into some of the big sunken wrecks in the English Channel. Many eels however are caught from around the North West Wales coast and from the wrecks in the Irish Sea and Liverpool bay on a regular basis. The current British boat record for a conger eel stands at 133lb taken from Devon in 1995. Whilst the Welsh boat record pales slightly […]

Holyhead Deeps Spurdog

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

Through the General Fishing articles I have tried to write on the merits of different fishing rigs to help us all get the most from a day afloat, whilst at the same time not needing to set sail with everything but the kitchen sink packed away in the tackle box. All too often you see anglers with a seat box, on which sits a top box on which sits a winder box, too many rigs it gets far too confusing at times. With a small selection of rigs and a few bits of tackle, you are adequately prepared for most […]

Wrasse Fishing

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

In Holyhead the months of March & April signify the arrival of the big spurdogs, and then with May we have the classic period where double figure smoothies are the norm aboard My Way. June however is the month when I consider the year really gets into full swing and offers both boat and shore anglers immense variety and certainly increased quantities of fish. Through late spring, summer and often into late autumn Holyhead is seemingly blessed with a never ending amount of quality smoothhounds, bull huss and good rays, along with spurdogs, congers, even bigger huss and also some […]

Smoothhound Fishing

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

North Wales has long been associated with some very good catches of smoothound. The fish have been targeted by both boat and shore anglers with some good results. Smuts as they have become more affectionately known to many anglers can be found around many boat marks off Holyhead, Trearddur Bay, Llanddwyn and Whitebeach. All these marks have given anglers some quality specimen fish over many year, the very same areas also offering shore anglers the opportunity to hook into this hard fighting species. Fishing for smoothies in waters relatively shallow at only 45’ can be a very exhilarating experience. Wigan […]

A Load of Pollacks

Posted on 12th October 2016 by David

Pollack can be caught off the wrecks around north Wales throughout the winter period, however during this time it’s the weather that tends to knock the odd trip off from targeting these all of these hard fighting species. With us now heading into April, Easter will soon be upon us and with the days growing warmer and longer, the weather should continue to become more settled. As well as the inshore action we will be looking at setting sail a little further from port in search of bigger specimens. Being a distant relation to the cod, pollack is as highly […]

Tope Fishing

Posted on 12th October 2016 by David

One of the largest draws that the charter fleet of north Wales has for the numerous boat anglers around the UK is a fairly consistent run of big tope. Holyhead is no exception to this rule, with the current Welsh record for a boat caught tope, 79lb, being caught and then released aboard My Way in August 2005. The fortunate angler, Anthony Meli, is pictured here with his massive catch. It is firmly believed though that there have been bigger fish hooked by many anglers, these have proved too powerful to beat – for now! Tope can be found all […]

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