Saltwater Boat Angling — December 2017

helped bring him luck.

On one trip fishing on a bank, Richard

Smith hooked into something big,

which in the end turned out to be a

very large ray. After a hard-fought

battle of fifteen minutes it broke the

surface approximately 20 yards from

the back of the boat before throwing

the hook. We all felt gutted for him it

just could’ve been that memorable

monster we all want to catch.

Father’s Day fun

On a recent Fathers’ day weekend we

ventured out on a good tide. The

weather was, unusually, steaming hot

and the sea was like a mill pond for

miles around. In fact, it got so hot I

went for a swim to cool down. It was,

shall we say, bracing. (NB Editor’s note:

• we wouldn’t recommend doing this
  either when the boat is at anchor or at
  the drift – tides everywhere around our
  coast can be very powerful and even the
  strongest swimmer could get swept
  away before they had a chance to do
  much about it –in this case Ashley dived
  in at slack water and stayed close to the
  boat.) After this little interlude, we got
  back to the fishing and amongst many
  other fish Keith caught a nice
  thornback, right at the end of the day.
  He was so over the moon he was
  dancing on the deck with it before
  returning the it to the

42 Saltwater Boat Angling

water. I’m relieved to say that at least

he didn’t kiss it!

As a group of anglers in a new club

we have built up a great camaraderie

with lots of the usual banter. We’re

always willing to help each other

catch more, sharing tips and

experiences, it’s always one of the

best parts of starting a group like this.

Club members often take their kids,

boys and girls, out whenever they

can, to introduce them to catching

some lovely cod, ling, thornback and

mackerel.

Time to move

The Bristol Channel is great fishing

but the water is very murky so, after a

few trips from Penarth, we decided to

find some clearer water and a

different experience on the east coast.

We then found a mooring at

Hartlepool (or rather Phil did). It has

a gorgeous Marina, which nestles

on the Tees Valley in the North East

of England. The marina is ideally

placed for access to the open sea and

for fishing in the sheltered waters of

Tees Bay, offering picturesque

seascapes with the pretty back drop

of the Hartlepool Headland.

Bucket list

It wasn't long before we were on our

first trip, clear of the lock and out into

the open water of the North Sea. This

time, we were planning to use lures to

catch cod. This was something that I

had always wanted to do, it was on

my bucket list. My poor sea legs have

always prevented me from trying

wreck fishing, I just can’t cope with

that long on the water, but, this time,

it turned out well because firstly I

wasn't sick and, secondly, I caught a

number of cod, coalfish, and my very

first ling. (The ling was caught on a

mackerel flapper drifting over a wreck

rather than on a lure.)

Second time lucky!

What an amazing take and fight! I am

still on a high thinking about it. The

rest of the guys were really happy

"Captain" Philip

Hickling with a

nice Cod.

Ashley’s all

smiles

Ady Jukowski Nice Cod for the

Youngster

Ashley with a Spurdog John Roberts

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