We arrived at Ilfracomebe harbour to catch the boat, a catamaran called Bluefin, at 10 o'clock. These trips are really an introduction for deep sea fishing for novices who haven't deep sea fished before. Lee falls into that category, so it was the ideal start, and in all honesty, I was expecting to catch a few dogfish as the sea around North Devon is full of them. We were each given a rod, a Masterline rod with a Penn multiplying reel, sound equipment and, unusually, in good order for a charter of this type. Lee selected the older rod with the wooden handle as he likes fishing with vintage tackle.
We positioned ourselves at the rear of the boat, normally the ideal place as the fish approach from the rear scenting fresh bait. After leaving harbour, we headed westish and anchored just off Lee Bay (on the road to Woolacombe). I gave Sandy and Lee a few pointers on the use of multiplying reels, which for this type of fishing are very easy to use.
Using strips of mackerel for bait, Sandy was first into a dogfish (lesser spotted) and found the fight quite long as he had to be brought up from about 60'. Then Lee had his first, and as we stayed there for just over an hour, these proved to be the first of many as there was a steady flow of fish onto the boat. All were unhooked and returned. By this time, we all fancied trying for other species, and everybody had become competent with the tackle, and so the skipper headed about 4-5 miles out to sea where the chances of getting other fish improves.
After a few minutes we had our first fish which was......another bloody dogfish, and so it continued until the tide eased. The the most unusual thing happened. I was winding in yet another dogfish when I noticed a tope following it to the surface. I left my fish in the water just behind the boat, but the tope kept circling it. In reality, the fish may have been a little too big for the tope to eat.
I pointed this out to Lee who quickly dropped a fresh bait alongside my fish. The tope first turned away and then came back and took his bait. Lee struck firmly, and the tope then turned and surged away...snappng Lee's rod in half! It broke through the wooden handle just above the reel fitting, with the broken section heading out to sea following the tope. To his credit, he didn't panic but continued to play the fish using the reel as a glorified hand line, and eventually got the fish back alongside the boat where the skipper released it. It was about 20lb, but what excitement!
Then it was my turn. I put a larger bait on with a piece of squid and as soon as it touched the bottom I felt a strong thump. I struck and the rod gently arched over. As I tried to raise the fish, I managed to move it up about 4' before it tore off line stripping line from the reel. I pumped the fish up again and the same thing happened. I just couldn't get it up in the water, and then the line broke. Whether this was the fish rolling on the line and biting it, flicking it with its tail or cutting it off on rocks I'll never know, or how big it was. However, in true fisherman's style I told Lee it must have been twice as big as his!
As the tide stayed slack we caught a few more dogfish, I had a nice mackerel on a retrieved hook, and Lee finished with a nice bull huss and a small whiting. Sandy found fishing further out in 100' foot of water in a strong tide with 2lb of lead hard work, and decided that she liked enjoying the sun and watching the events more.
The mackerel was taken back fresh for tea.
I really can recommend these trips if you fancy this type of fishing, or just to try it out. The skippers are really helpful and can teach even non-fishermen how to catch fish. There were 9 people fishing, some had never fished before and everybody caught fish. If you are interested then contact Bluefin Charters at Ilfracombe harbour. Contact: John Barbeary
Main Tel: 07968419897 www.charterboats-uk.co.uk/bluefin/
Notes from a Fishing Widow’s Journal
by
Sandra Armishaw
The fabulous weather we’ve been experiencing has meant that my other half has been able to do more sea fishing and he’s developed a real taste for ‘a life on the ocean waves.’ So, rather than be left at home dusting and polishing (not!), I decided to join Keith and our son Lee on their recent bait fishing trip and I wasn’t disappointed.
Now and then, I try my hand at angling, but fishing with a great lump of lead in deep water and hauling up a ‘pack’ of dogfish is not something I particularly enjoyed. So, unsurprisingly, I soon lost interest in what I was doing and settled down to watch my ‘shipmates’ as they landed fish after (mostly) dogfish. That is, until Keith yelled for me to join him at the back of the boat.
I’ve never seen a tope before and you can imagine my fascination as I witnessed a decent sized fish chasing Keith’s dogfish which he was reeling in. But the little beggar was greedy; it couldn’t make up it’s mind whether to take the live fish, or munch on the mackerel bait Lee had dangling from his rod, so when it turned at the last minute and clamped it’s jaws around the stinky fish bait, Lee’s reflexes kicked into action and so did the rod as it parted company from the butt and reel! Have you ever watched a shark being hand-lined - because that’s what happened next? Being his Mom, I was very proud of Lee’s cool approach to his catch which I estimated to be around five metres in length. It seemed huge but I’ve never been spatially aware and was assured that it was actually around 1.5 metres! Still, ‘that’s my boy’ I thought as he handled the reel and line with great deftness.
Everyone stopped fishing to witness this fabulous catch and as Lee calmly brought the tope to the back of the boat, with a sideways view, we watched its eyelid roll shut as it opened its mouth, revealing a neat row of very sharp teeth. We were all glad the Skipper had the job of releasing it which he did with ease.
I’ve never liked seeing a fish on a hook, even though I have at least two fishermen in my family and our lives are steeped in angling, but one of the things I do enjoy about the sport is seeing the different species of fish they catch. However, I wasn’t too impressed to see a decent-sized bull huss which was destined for someone’s dinner, scouring the bottom of a bucket with its rasping skin, so when a larger bull huss was caught later in the day I negotiated a trade with the Skipper and had the privilege of releasing the first fish back into the sea. I was more than happy to watch it swim into the depths of the ocean amidst cries of ‘Free Willy’ from some of my fellow ‘shipmates’!