I followed a link I found on anglersworldlive channel and came across this video. Now fishing gives me a buzz but hey look at this you need to have big balls to do this don’t you think. I’ve used a surf kayak on a sunny beach in Cornwall and I know they now say the sharks are back in that part of the world so perhaps get me a new wetsuit and give it a whirl…..But then again perhaps not !
Just subscribed my youtube channel to the ANGLERSWORLDLIVE channel where you will find some good cod fishing movies and others. Not too sure about the fishing from the kayak but then I float tube for trout so would consider having a go, perhaps.
Here is another flash clip from their channel and the above link will take you straight to the other movies.
This is deffo on my bucket list to catch cod like this one that John Wilson lands while pirking in Norway. I fish for cod quite regularly both summer and winter cod and the largest I’ve had is just over 18lbs which is live bait for some of the cod out of the ports in Norway.
Have a look at this youtube flash clip and see what I mean and then call your wife/partner and shout down the phone “Get The Chips Ready” still haven’t worked out how they get the fillets back to the UK yet !
Our wreck trip in November out of Weymouth may produce cod and anything this size will soon be vac packed and in the freezer for some great eating. I will have the new HD camera with me too so hopefully I can show us catching cod this big to you, we’ll see.
Just added a second clip to this post of an earlier trip John Wilson did to Norway and believe it or not the time there is just after midnight and the sun is still shining, the sea is oily calm and they’re catching cod like these, wicked eh.
I have a wrecking trip planned for early November and one middle of the month and possibly one towards the end of the month so the Cod and Pollack had better look out. We will be fishing mid channel and with pirks 14/16 ounce plus our bighead and bullet head jigs.
Obviously with any wreck trip you need to prepare yourself for tackle losses subject to the states of the wreck so along with our sales stocks I am gearing up this month with a bucket full of styles and sizes plus the raging rattling shads will be getting a bashing too
The Nordic pirk works well in the way it drops on a jig so they will be setup with 6/0 trebles with 8/0 and 10/0 on hand if there are large cod about. I will also be using our
Lumi tubes on the lower trace. My simple wrecking rig will allow for additional weights to be added at the snap link above the trace. Our Nordics are only 14oz so if the tide is heavy or wind against tide causes issues with the jigs I can at least try and balance the drop.I will also have our Scaly Fish pirks as they are in two sizes so that will help if tide is heavy
If the pirks are streaming away from a vertical drop because of tide I will change to the Bighead jig with a muppet and 6/0 treble with the lumi tube on the trebles shank inside the muppet. Our bighead jig is available in various sizes but again I can add more weight at the snaplink.
If the pirks and jigs aren’t connecting then the raging rattling shads will go on again with a lumi tube on the nose of the shad and if just pollock the worms will come out as I carry a box of mixed pre-hooked worms so they can be swapped very quickly.
Rods I am going to use my new Xtra Flexx boat as it performed well on the last bass trip so going to see if I can break it when wrecking, plus it’s versatile enough if we end up coming inshore to drift the banks if the weather turns or the wrecks just aren’t playing.
Reel the Vantage 300 with 35lb braid will be back on the rod again it’s a new reel and it’s being tested in a variety of fishing conditions. It handled the large bass last time out so should deal with decent size cod and pollack.
I always take spare rods and reels loaded ready to fish so if I do have any issues with any new gear there is standby kit. Weather should be seasonal so I expect it to be cold fortunately I have a full flotation suit jacket and trousers and the boots are designed for trekking in the snow so thermal and with great grips. I always work on the basis that you can always take kit off but if it’s not there you can’t put it on and there is nothing worse than being cold and wet on a bouncing boat.
I fish all the year round and enjoy winter fishing as much as the summer and winter cod, whiting and pollack always look good in my freezer and taste good on the table, so as long as the winds stay low I’m fishing. Not sure if I will get out this month as it’s a busy time at the moment so unfortunately fishing trips have to take a back seat.
Recent order request from Ireland, although we only usually ship our fishing tackle to clients in the UK we can ship to anywhere in Ireland, Isle of man and channel islands. However in saying that it is costly and if you’re contemplating an order from these locations please mail us first so we can give you a best price example of shipping rates. We use all of the main shipping companies incl the Royal Mail and in most cases orders can be collected by the couriers same day proving it’s here to us before 12-00hrs so we have time to pack it.
If the item is not in stock we will give you an approximate date for delivery so always contact us for updates and advice. sales@catchseafish.com
Just added new fish dish in the Fish Recipes page, great tasting easy to cook food for virtually any white fish … Enjoy !
Getting mackerel in the winter gets costly and even sometimes during the summer so here is my solution to the problem. I always ask the skippers I fish with for the last hour of the trip in the summer to be used for some mackerel fishing so I have plenty to take home for not only to eat but to build my bait stocks.
Fortunately I have my own personal chest freezer for our fish stocks not only for our meals and we eat fish at least three times a week, the freezer is also divided off for bait mackerel and squid. Now most people will tell you freezing mackerel just doesn’t work and when I see big bundles of frozen mackerel on a skippers boat then you know that lot is pretty worthless apart from what the skipper will charge you for it.
The solution is to Vacuum Pack the fish and that is all fish, edible and bait. Prepare your fish idealy same day as the catch, mackerel just gut them and leave the fish whole with head on. Fish for the table, prepare it how you want to eat it and in the portion sizes you want. Don’t just freeze down whole fish unless that is all going to be eaten on the day you will be de-frosting it.
Mackerel as bait do the same vacuum pack and freeze down what you need to use, however as it’s bait, de-frosting and re-freezing is not an issue but don’t break the vacuum seal on the bag until you’re ready to use it. A small domestic vac machine starts around £35.00 and a 5m roll of the bag tube is about £5.00 at the time of this post. I paid £80 for mine and I use it for meats and veg as well as fish, even vac pac fresh nuts and they last ages.
I put two mackerel per bag and as the vac bag roll is such that you can cut what size you want to I would normally get 3/4 bags per metre so the cost of vacuum sealing is approx 35p per two fish. May be cheaper on smaller fish so it’s not an expensive project or really time consuming to do. You will see when you de-frost and open the bag the fish has stayed firm and as fresh as when you caught it, oh and it’s lost virtually no flavour either.
Fish frozen like this will last indefinately in a good freezer, fish I keep for the table is all eaten within a couple months of catch and then I have to drag myself out on another trip to catch more ! shame eh. Bait fish I do get through it quickly too as I supply bait for our crew when we are out winter fishing but they do assist in the catching of it obviously. So if you want fresh tasting fish and bait all year round then get Vac packing.
I have a short video planned to show just how quick and easy this is to do but for the time being these images will confirm this post.
Bass fillets ready for the table. Click to enlarge, Esc to close
Bait fish mackerel. Click to enlarge, Esc to close
I didn’t have time to finish this post completely yesterday so let’s put this one to bed now. Here are a couple of images of the resolve to using the interlock swivel and the lumi tubes.
Again to clarify the lumi tubes don’t go onto the main line they are fitted on the trace just above the lure connection and I don’t mention the use or promote the use of the open style trace clips.
If you’re concerned about tangles with fellow anglers braid main line then this will prevent them if it is an issue. In the Image you will see the lumi tube kit comes with spare silicone sleeves and the larger size is ideal to slip over the interlock swivels two clip ends and just slide back when you want to open the clip.
The lumi tube itself just add another sleeve and each end is then closed off to prevent any chance of braid or mono sliding down between the tube and the trace. A simple solution at no cost to what I personally don’t consider to be an issue.
Note: Text links click to access image, Esc to close it.
I had this posted in one of the comments section on the blog from a fellow boat angler.
“You have an excellent website with good information, unfortunately I cannot say excellent information, in my opinion you are suggesting the use of clips and some other accessories that are a complete no no when wrecking.
As you are well aware, most boat anglers use braid, lines invariably cross each other, when a clip is used e.g. the type that you suggest and all others, the braid locks itself in the clips and can cause catastrophic tangles. Likewise by clipping one of your Lumi Tubes to the mainline will have a similar effect, braid from another angler could lock itself between the Lumi Tube and the line”
Ok fair points so let me reply why I like to use an interlock swivel and our lumi tubes over many of the conventional options and BTW I’m not advocating the use of the open style hook on trace clips. First off why an interlock swivel ? purely for speed and setting up rigs when drifting a wreck. Many times have I seen anglers lose one even two drifts because of the time it takes them to tie new knots. The design of the interlock swivel and why this angler condems them, take a look at this image of the Interlock Swivel and you will see two angled bends in the clip these are approx 3mm max on a size 1/0 and smaller on the size 2.
There is a 3:1 chance the braid on another anglers rig will slide down the side were the clip angles are also take into account the clip angles are not exactly hooked in shape to trap line braid and hold it locked in place. Here is an image of my simple Wreck Rig it shows one of our bullet head jigs but it could be one of our pirks, shads or jellies. You can also see where I position one of our Lumi tubes on the lower part of the trace by the lure and it’s not on the main line as suggested. The No No comment says the braid line could become trapped either side of the tube, yes it could but again a 3;1 chance of that happening and on the lure trace itself, what is the chance of that happening ?.
As I have used this rig for some years without it being a boat anglers nightmare fishing near me, infact it has been quite the opposite in helping to quickly break down the rig to release a tangle without cutting lines. But if an angler is really anal about this rig causing tangles and the said user being made to walk the plank you have options to solve both No No issues.
We use silicone tubing and have sizes to A: slide over the two clip angles on the interlock swivel and easy slide back when you want to open the clip. B: the lumi tube is supplied with two sizes of silicone tube and there are 10 in a pack of 5 tubes, simply apply two sleeves one for each end of the tube so there is no gaps to trap line.
Now look at the other rig options that are likey to snag up on other anglers braid. This image of the Zip Slider ledger rig quite often used, take out the interlock swivel and tie knots onto the swivel but you still have substantially more chance of this rig sliding down another anglers braid and causing a tangle as the physical size if far larger that a size 1/0 interlock swivel.
Look at the boom options often used example the Heavy Sea Boom even with using knots to attach this to your traces again a hell of a lot more options to snag a tangle on the guy next door on the boat, same with French booms or even the most used tube booms that create the flying collar rigs.
So I appreciate the comment that has prompted this post and hopefully offered some justification as to why I like my simple wreck rig. I expect someone will come back as to why I don’t fall foul of tangles when the rig drops down to the wreck/reef, well that is down to technique and controlling the drop and not just allowing a free fall. All you have to do is set your spool drag on your reel as you would to stop over runs when casting.
You will also notice No Rubbing/Shock leader on my Simple Wreck Rig as I use an easy quick to tie double loop onto the braid and attach the interlock swivel to it and make sure my star drag is correctly setup ready for the snatch. Ok what about abrasion issues, yes could be a problem but for the time it takes to check for any braid failure or fraying and cut back and re-attch the interlock swivel and the fact that the rig is far more sensative to bites I’ll stick to my way for the present time. Failure rates NIL, tangle issues far less than conventional rigs.
Oh and when you’re taking good sized Cod from drifting the wrecks with my simple rig I must be doing something right.
Well what a day I have now edited the movie shot and published into the Charter Boats page so use this link and enjoy, we all did.