Imax Ocean Thermo Smock

While buying my new beach rod at Keiths Sports in Saltburn I made the snap decision to follow through on a purchase I'd been mulling over for a while and buy a more suitable jacket for sea fishing. I decided on the Imax because it has a thermal liner so reduces a thick base layer but is flexible and light and surprisingly the hood actually fits without either strangling you or constantly blowing back.

 Clothing Features:

• 100% durable polyester peach shell fabric
• 100% waterproof TPU lamination of 8000mm
• Taped seams
• 120gsm thermo insulation of 100% polyester for great warmth
• 100% polester taffeta inner lining
• Strong water repellent front zipper protected by wind fillet
• 1 big zipper front pocket
• Adjustable at the hem
• One water resistant side zipper for easy access
• Attached hood adjustable at height and width
• Wide elasticated cuffs with velcro adjustment
• Reflective piping at front

With an RRP of around £65.00 it makes a very attractive deal, a quick search on the internet and I'm sure you could find a great deal.

Marske Holes 2

Its been flat for the last week so not a lot has been happening off the beach, last night however I noticed from the charts that the sea was starting to build. I grabbed my gear and headed to my local beach to target a hole I'd been watching and it looked perfect,. I tackled up my new Vercelli Besta T and waded out onto the sandbar from where an 80 yard chuck put me into the gulley.
I had already spooled up a shallow spool with 30lb braid tith a short 60lb nylon shock leader which I hoped would give me some extra distance over the thicker 60lb braid. With the thicker braid I was reaching 85 yards with a decent sized bait and 6oz lead. With the thinner braid I reached...... well exactly the same! However its true to say its not all about distance , the thinner diameter gives less resistance to wind and current.
Anyway the end result was a small codling caught on the ebb, not a large fish but my first cod from Marske beach. Its been a winter season of firsts.

Vercelli Enygma Besta T

I was in the market for a new rod for several reasons, firstly a stiffer rod was needed to handle the bigger leads and baits, then the fact that my current rod was shorter and ringed for multiplier use. A friend of mine suggested the Vercelli as it has the backbone whilst still maintaining a sensitive tip action.
It comes in 3 pieces and has a casting class of 150g to 300g which is 5 to 10oz in old money. I used it last week coupled with my Vega Squadra fixed spool reel and although I blanked it increased my casting distance by around 50%.
www.evia.es

Marske Holes

I live 10 minutes walk from Marske beach, the middle section of a 4 mile strip of sand so flat that they used to race cars along it in the 1930's. Infact I believe the land speed record was briefly held there. Every now and again deeper holes or drop offs develop and it was a few of these that I targeted one evening last week and one of them  turned up a couple of small Coalfish known locally as Billet. 

The hole is just beyond the low water mark and I'll definitely be back to try again.

 

On The Cliffs

I can honestly say that fishing off the North Yorkshire coastal cliff was like nothing I've ever done before. The field edges slope steeply to the edge of the cliff which then drops vertically 200 feet to the rocks below. to say I was nervous of the cliff edge was an understatement and I lost my first cod due to not getting close enough to the edge to be able to winch the fish up the cliff face with minimal impact on the rocks. Its a long way to lift a couple of pound of cod.
In the end I managed to land 2 cod of a couple of pound each and I'll definitely be back.

Cliff Expedition

The plan is to head out on to the cliffs tomorrow afternoon and then move onto the beach to follow the tide out on the beach. The foul weather has passed and unfortunately the sea is rapidly flattening off but the spring tides will hopefully make up for that.. The main problem for fishing off 200 foot high cliffs is my absolute fear of heights! As Martin pointed out, the only thing to remember is don't fall off because you'll only do it once!

Strippers

Bait strippers to be precise. On an awful wild night I headed to Teesmouth with some more cod fishing on my mind. I launched big baits on big hooks into the darkness and repeatedly reeled in to find my baits stolen. I had an idea what might be to blame when the snood was tied up in a big knot.
Sure enough eventually a rockling managed to hang itself whilst in the process of tying me up in knots. After a couple of hour of standing in the freezing cold, driving rain and howling wind I admitted defeat and went home to get warm.

Fixed Spool For the Beach

To go with my new braid I aquired a new fixed spool reel. Under guidance from the staff staff at Keiths Sports in Saltburn I opted for a Vega squaddra 75. It comes with a regular spool and a shallow spool and holds 370 yds of 0.40mm line on the regular spool. The line lay looks good and flat and has a nice smooth action. The 4.3:1 retrieve means I have a better chance of getting my gear back over the rough ground.

Spectra Extreme Braid

As part of my sea fishing outfit I got some braid (under advice) to go with my new fixed spool reel. I opted for Spectra Extreme Braid which appears to have been a good choice. I went for 60lb breaking strain to deal with the rigours of rocks and weed which has a diameter of 0.40mm. At £12.50 from Amazon for 500m its a bargain option and the only drawback is the month it took to arrive from China!

The Cod Father

After climbing down a steep cliff path in the dark and trudging along the base of a very high cliff with the surf lapping at my feet we arrived at a mark below kettleness on the North Yorkshire coast. My friend and mentor for the evening set up my gear, baited up for me with a mixture of crab and mussels and and cast out for me into the surf. The result was a cod of around 2lb, my first cod ever and a cod that has me hooked!

New Horizons

A friend of mine and very accomplished cod angler has offered to take me beach fishing tomorrow night. Luckily he's supplying all the kit so all I have to do is turn up and do as I'm told.
Watch this space!

DNA Baits

https://www.dnabaits.com/shop/

Fox Spikey Shad

After a bit of research I think I'll return to the method I used last year of twitching one of these in particular back along the bottom. I bought them in inch and a half length. I will be trying jigheads of maybe 5g instead of 2g.... I'll keep you posted.

The Lure of Lures

With winter approaching its nearly time to hang up the carp rods and go in search of some predators. With this in mind I've been honing my light lure rod, I swapped my reel over to a lighter spinning reel loaded with 10lb braid and extended my lure box.
I think my old pal Jay is heading onto the River Swale in the next few weeks so I'll see if I can get away for the day with him.

Step in the Dark

After tips from my friends on the bank I decided to strike out on my own last night and find a new margin spot for myself. With limited time on the bank I'm usually loathed to waste time exploring but last night I decided enough was enough. The reservoir I fish is basically a square hole in the ground with sloping concrete banks so its often difficult to see which margin swim will produce and which won't.

I chose a spot with a warm wind blowing straight in my face and positioned a bait a few metres out from the bank to the left and right and baited up quietly to avoid the attentions of the pesky ducks.

Happy to say that the trusty DNA Baits S7 did the business and irrors of 15lb and 17lb 12oz graced the net.

Lazy Night

I was back on my local water and tucked away on the far side in my favourite margin swim with a rod tucked tight into the bank to the left and right. I'd like to say it was an unusual lazy action but its not and I chucked in with last weeks rigs. After bumping off fish on both rods I took a grip of myself and tied up new rigs and was rewarded with 2 carp of 17lb 12oz and 11lb 4oz..... and a bream both coming to my left hand rod.
I'm still kicking myself over what could have been a cracking night but its hard to be disapointed with the result.

Get Ready

Its been a windy old day and I'm looking forward to my weekly evening session tomorrow.

Gone In a Blink

Isn't it funny how fast things can change? I was on my local water on Tuesday night and made the fatal decision to bait up while the ducks could see me, to say they drove me to distraction was an understatement. Constantly diving on my baits, I'd scare them off but as soon as I looked away they'd be back. On top of the duck problem I'd also baited up in the margin with some old spod mix I had in the freezer and my confidence was rock bottom.

By dusk I was promising myself I'd be packing up soon... by 9 o'clock I was packing up any time soon... by 9.30 I was questioning the whole point of being there... by 9.55 I was definitely packing up... by 10.15 there was a 18lb common in the net and and in the blink of an eye I loved this sport again.

Perch In The Rain

Whilst waiting for my new delivery of DNA Baits Secret 7 I decided to go after some perch this evening. Being a bit short of time I invested in some cooked prawns and headed for the reservoir. I set up my waggler rod and centre pin and fished a prawn on a size 10 under an insert waggler.
I cant say I had great success but I did manage a couple of small perch to about 6oz before heavy rain brought the dusk early.
A big perch is definitely on my wish list along side a river carp.

Satisfaction

Everyone has their favourite moment of fishing but amongst mine is watching them slip back into the water.

Back Again

I managed a short evening session back on my favourite hole in the ground again. After a false start where I was forced out by ducks I decided to simplify things a little and fish a rod down each margin. It always amazes me that if you stay back from the rods you can catch without actually casting out, which is great for me because I'm terrible at it! Dropping the baits in the edge has the advantage of accurately positioning the baits with full confidence.
Anyway I managed to put 3 fish on the bank of 13lb 10oz, 18lb 10oz and17lb14oz. Luckily for me given my short sessions the weather played ball with a mild wind pushing in to the corner where I was fishing.

Fishing Drought

Due to a series of events I haven't made it onto the bank in quite a few weeks. Hopefully next week will bring a renewed start to the season.

Here's hoping.

Ranking

Tinkas

My local water was stocked with tench last year and some of them are finally putting on some useful weight. many years ago cormorants targeted the water during the winter and wiped out the hibernating fish. The tench now are at the size where they can get their mouths around boilies and hnv baits and I expect them to start packing on some weight... as long as they can avoid the cormorants.

Secret Spots

I  was back on my local water last night and ran into my old mate Kev, whilst talking about this and that he told me about his secret spot which was very close to Cliffs that I caught off last week. I ended up back in the same peg with a rod down the left margin to Cliffs secret spot and a bait down the right hand margin to Kevs spot which was tight into the bank and only a few yards from the rods and to say I was sceptical is a large under statement. A third rod was cast about 25 yards straight out.
As the evening went on I had a few small stock carp around 3 or 4 pound and some small tench and my optimism for a decent fish was starting to slide. Shortly after dark and with me sitting well back my right hand rod roared off and after a dogged fight I was relieved to slip the net under an 18lb 4oz common, a critically balanced snowman accounted for its downfall.
With time ticking on I decided to give it another 20 minutes before I packed up, to save time I flicked the same bait back onto Kevs spot expecting any further runs to  come from one of the other undisturbed baited areas. 15 minutes later the same rod flew off again and after a slightly shorter fight I had a 19lb 4oz common in the net.
Since restocking last year all the fish are down in weight by a few pounds.

 18lb 4oz

19lb 4oz

At long Last

I returned to my favourite concrete hole in the ground, life seems to have conspired against me and its been too long since I wet a line. I picked my spot in a quiet corner and dropped a bait in each margin and the middle rod about 25 yds out. other than a few twitches all remained uneventful.
Around 6 in the evening (it was an after work session) my old pal Cliff turned up and we had a long chat about this and that as you often do on the bank. Finally he said he'd show me a secret spot. It was around 2 foot off the bank on the sloping bottom and a few yards from where I'd been fishing. In addition to the new spot I tied up some fresh rigs using new Fox Arma Point hooks and Korda Kickers to give the hook a more aggressive angle.
Almost immediately I had a couple of pasties on each rod before finally connecting with a 15lb common from my new secret spot. It was a relief to say the least to put a decent fish on the bank.
In the mean time Cliff had put 4 doubles on the bank caught off the top in half the time it took me to catch my common.
Amongst some of the things we discussed was hook sharpening, I'm now on the lookout for a hook sharpener and jewellers eyepiece . watch this space.

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Tursdale Pond

I visited Tursdale Ponds on Tuesday as my luck on finding decent carp this year seems to be eluding me this year. Its a small complex close to Coxhoe in County Durham that has been brought back to life by a new owner. Fishing needs to be prebooked but the details can be found on Facebook.
A friend of mine fished it around 30 years ago and it produced some decent fish but the carp seem to be more than a little elusive now though reasonable eels and big bream have been turning up.
Needless to say I blanked but I will be back.

Here we go again

I made it on to my favourite concrete hole in the ground last night for an evening session for carp. Other than running in to my old friend Cliff the night was fairly uneventful however it was really nice to be back on the bank with the sun on my face.

Spring is Coming

The new season is almost upon us, for the hardier guys the season never ended I suppose. I have some new line on order, 15lb GTHD then it can all begin.