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We only have the Weymouth
boat report this month. Our reports come from
Sea Angling News and their website has been down for a while and
there is no mention now of the Chesil report this month.
Weymouth Boat Report by
Paul Whittall
Last month bass
fishing was not particularly rewarding and we were all hoping the bass
would turn up in November. On November 4th each boat caught just a
couple of bass and had to move off to other marks to search for
different species. On Saturday 5th the bass arrived….in force. I was the
lucky one as my customers insisted on ‘giving the bass a try’. Fishing
was manic. I phoned a few of my fellow skippers and some managed to get
back to the bass marks in time to join in and be amply rewarded. And
that’s how it’s been since then….every day a wild day on the bass.
Unfortunately, a few of the days have been very wild with only the
hardiest (or maddest) teams braving the conditions but, for those who
have dared, the rewards have been fantastic. Take a look on youtube…bassing
in the Race. Chris Caines, Tiger Lily, has submitted a cracking video;
well worth a look.
We expect the
bream to disappear at the end of October or early November at the
latest. Not so this year! The bream fishing is amazing; the best it’s
been all year with plenty of 3lb plus fish. Breaming slots in very well
with bassing as just as the sting goes out of the tide, anchoring can
take place and the bream come on the feed. By the time the tide has
swung round and picked up and the anglers are on the 12oz lead maximum
(??), it’s time to up the anchor and return to the bassing.
The bassing has
also produced a few cod which are usually double figure fish and fight
hard in 6 knots of tide.
The Shambles has
continued to provide a few turbot and brill plus a few Pollack and an
occasional cod. General reef fishing has been concentrated on marks to
the east of Weymouth from where bream, a few whiting, dogfish, small
conger and rays have come to mackerel/squid baits. Boats venturing west
of the Bill have enjoyed livelier sport with bream and whiting, although
the whiting are currently small. The real bonus is the amount of cod
spread over certain reef areas ‘westside’.
So, if the weather
permits boats to reach their marks, the fishing is brilliant!
Given that many
anglers clearly believe they are far better anglers than skippers (in my
case, that’s certainly true), the top anglers in the recent EFSA/WIBAC
competitions challenged a group of Weymouth charter skippers to a
competition on Wed 16th. With such a line up as Ray Barron, current
European EFSA Boat Champion, the legendary (almost) Perry Dack and
Festival Organiser extraordinaire, Andy Selby along with loyal side-kick
Mark Mockridge, it was understandable that the ‘Anglers’ team should
have wandered along the pontoon to board Richard English’s charter boat
Loan Shark with puffed out chests and an air of Greatness about them.
However, I have to
report the four Weymouth skippers, Messrs English, Clem Carter (Wild
Frontier), Lyle Stantiford (Supa Nova) and Peter Russell (Meridian
Express amongst others) did not just beat the illustrious anglers but
demolished them to the point where they were gibbering excuse ridden
shadows of their morning selves on return (see www.youtube.com under
excuses.mpg) or follow Andy Selby’s Facebook page for all info and
links! Fellow anglers may wish to listen to the tirade of pathetic
excuses coming from these ‘top anglers’ as they huddled together in
shame at The Sailors Return, Weymouth, for a post match debrief.
Such excuses as
accusing Clem Carter of scuppering their chances just because he
indulged in a bit of Super-gluing the anglers’ mainlines to their rods
so they couldn’t get down; or reels being reversed on the anglers rods
during the bouncy steam back uptide to re-set the bass drift etc etc.
And, just as a final fling, I am told that Mr Richard English not only
skippered the boat but caught 9 bass during the hour set aside for this
part of the competition compared to out top European Champion
managing…..one!!
And now, on a more
serious note, next year’s WIBAC five day event is all set to be a real
cracker with extra sponsorship from Fladen boosting the prize and cash
table significantly. This event is open to everyone and, with a totally
different event each day, is one in which everyone has a good chance of
getting into the prizes. The Weymouth charter boats will be carrying
entry forms and details of next year’s event or you can phone Andy Selby
of Weymouth Angling Centre (01305 777771) for details and an entry form.
It’s a great event and terrific fun with a number of social events
taking place throughout the week culminating in a final presentation
evening at Weymouth Angling Society’s impressive HQ on the harbour side.
Dates for the
event are Monday 24th to Friday 28th September 2012. Cost for the week
is £395 including entry and five days competition (bait supplied).
Anglers are welcome to email me and I will forward on the details as
sent out by Andy Selby. My email address is
pwhittall@aol.com.
And what will we
expect in December? The bass should continue right through the month and
hopefully into January. Maybe…but it is doubtful…the bream might stay
into part of December. If they do, it will definitely confirm the theory
of Continental Shift with the UK moving southwards into warmer climes.
The whiting will increase with many charters aimed at them. When whiting
fishing, it is well worth considering the chance of a good cod or two
with the amount that are currently around. Pack another box of squid and
load up with big baits on a 4/0 pennel rig when the tide is running….and
go for it!
The Pollack are
back on the wrecks. This could be an outstanding Autumn/Winter for them.
The wrecks have hardly been touched for months and they are holding good
shoals of Pollack. Even the inshore wrecks have plenty of Pollack on
them.
We may remain
fortunate in that the turbot will still provide some decent fishing into
November.
It all looks very
promising….thus it is with great sadness that I have to depart for
Phuket, Thailand, early next month with many of our angling customers
coming over to enjoy the amazing freshwater fishing over there as well
as participating in a live aboard fishing trips to the Similan Islands
out in the Andman Sea, 70 miles west of Phuket. Unfortunately I have to
put up with being in Phuket for four months of constant fishing and
diving and protecting visiting gentleman from some of the more dangerous
creatures that can be found in that particular part of the world. (If
you want to know more about all this, just email me pwhittal@aol.com for
links to my Thai website etc). But, never fear, the reports will still
be coming through courtesy of my excellent band of fellow skippers
proving me with accurate information to keep you all updated in the
coming months.
Thank you to
everyone for coming to Weymouth and supporting the skippers…I sincerely
hope you get a chance to have a crack at this amazing bass fishing…and I
wish you all a delightful winter. I shall of course be thinking of you
all during my time away
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