Tweet
Well Me, Dave and Graham have had this trip booked from the 11th of February and it soon came around, after wiping out the wrecks and rough ground from the Tyne on Wedensday we thought it was time try our luck on the west coast.
As with our coast the season is 3-5 weeks behind and our main target species i.e Tope, Smoothounds and thornback rays along with the mackerel required for them was just not showing in any numbers, Infact no mackerel reported and only 2 tope reported in the 3 weeks leading upto our trip so expectations lowered to "any fish a bonus".
We had planned to leave Newcastle at 4am, head up for our trip at 8.30am, fish all day followed by 1 night in the B&B then fish all day again and drive home on the Sunday night and that is what we did.
So fishing time.......
Got to luce bay, met up with our skipper and jumped on the boat while the tractor lowered the boat into the water.
From there it was a quick steam out to try for some fresh bait, we all plugged away for about 1 hour but we only managed 1 mackerel and 4 big herring on the first day along with whiting and gurnards.
With not much chance of filling the buckets with bait we started our steam out to the tope marks and after about 30mins the boat was stopped and the anchor down. We sep up 1 rod each with a full or half mackerel bait and 1 rod each with some smaller biats such as a mackerel fillet or a couple of peeler.
The sun was blazing down but we had a very cold SW wind of about 15mph with us most of the day. We soon started getting the doggies comming in along with more gurnard with the best being about 2lb Red and 1lb Gray and some small whiting.
Then out of no where my rod doubled over and line started flying off the reel, i was using a 20lb class maxximus and tld15 reel and expected a canny battle but the water depth was only 80ft and once the fish had done a few runs and dives i turned it and it came up quicker than expected.
My first tope for 9 years, not a big one at 15lb but i was well please, after a couple of pic's (very hard to hold onto so pic's poor) it was sent back to fight again.
After that the wind started to get up and make this mark hard going
The charter boats sister ship was reporting smoothounds and they also had just landed a tope of 18lb a few miles away, so off we steamed to join them.
Graham was next into a tope and had a great run but the fish bite the bait in half and never came back
Next was Dave he was into a hard fighting smoothound of 8lb on one of them new rods that look like they should be used for course fishing but it handled the fish well and he was chuffed as it was a new species (pics to come i am sure)
Then that was it for day one.
Day 2
Up early at 7am to a nice cooked breakfast with fresh eggs, we know they fresh as the B&B had chickens running around the grounds
We could not fault the B&B and will be back in a heart beat
View from our room window
So down the boat again and same again, launch from beach, try for bait then off to tope grounds.
We stopped on a drop off and into full houses of herring between 6" and 10", never ever seen a herring shoal as big with such sized herring. We filled a bucket in no time at all and even had 3 mackerel chucked in with them
We moved to the grounds and same again, doggies comming in regular. We had aload of runs and tope picking up and dropping baits, 1 of my poor live bait herring came back with one side missing as a tope took a hit and run at it.
Dave started pulling in smoothounds again taken 3 in no time at all between 6lb and 9lb and i also followed with 2 smouthounds.
Then my tope rod went screaming off and i struck and at last a firm hook up, the fish went round all 3 lines and it was a scramble by all to try and free it up with the tope diving and zig zagging all over.
Once again not a big tope but a 20lber and only my third ever.
After that all i was getting doggies and Dave the same....now it was Grahams turn as he hit into a solid take down and after a battle up came great looking thornback ray about 8lb (pics to follow)
That was the last big fish landed and with time ticking on we headed back in for our long drive home.
We got home at 8.40pm with a sun tann and a canny trip really based on the previous reports. Because not of us yet have been lucky to hit the "pack tope" that you hear so much about we have already decided to book up in 3-4 weeks and go again.
Dave and Graham will upload their pics i am sure soon.
As with our coast the season is 3-5 weeks behind and our main target species i.e Tope, Smoothounds and thornback rays along with the mackerel required for them was just not showing in any numbers, Infact no mackerel reported and only 2 tope reported in the 3 weeks leading upto our trip so expectations lowered to "any fish a bonus".
We had planned to leave Newcastle at 4am, head up for our trip at 8.30am, fish all day followed by 1 night in the B&B then fish all day again and drive home on the Sunday night and that is what we did.
So fishing time.......
Got to luce bay, met up with our skipper and jumped on the boat while the tractor lowered the boat into the water.
From there it was a quick steam out to try for some fresh bait, we all plugged away for about 1 hour but we only managed 1 mackerel and 4 big herring on the first day along with whiting and gurnards.
With not much chance of filling the buckets with bait we started our steam out to the tope marks and after about 30mins the boat was stopped and the anchor down. We sep up 1 rod each with a full or half mackerel bait and 1 rod each with some smaller biats such as a mackerel fillet or a couple of peeler.
The sun was blazing down but we had a very cold SW wind of about 15mph with us most of the day. We soon started getting the doggies comming in along with more gurnard with the best being about 2lb Red and 1lb Gray and some small whiting.
Then out of no where my rod doubled over and line started flying off the reel, i was using a 20lb class maxximus and tld15 reel and expected a canny battle but the water depth was only 80ft and once the fish had done a few runs and dives i turned it and it came up quicker than expected.
My first tope for 9 years, not a big one at 15lb but i was well please, after a couple of pic's (very hard to hold onto so pic's poor) it was sent back to fight again.
After that the wind started to get up and make this mark hard going
The charter boats sister ship was reporting smoothounds and they also had just landed a tope of 18lb a few miles away, so off we steamed to join them.
Graham was next into a tope and had a great run but the fish bite the bait in half and never came back
Next was Dave he was into a hard fighting smoothound of 8lb on one of them new rods that look like they should be used for course fishing but it handled the fish well and he was chuffed as it was a new species (pics to come i am sure)
Then that was it for day one.
Day 2
Up early at 7am to a nice cooked breakfast with fresh eggs, we know they fresh as the B&B had chickens running around the grounds
We could not fault the B&B and will be back in a heart beat
View from our room window
So down the boat again and same again, launch from beach, try for bait then off to tope grounds.
We stopped on a drop off and into full houses of herring between 6" and 10", never ever seen a herring shoal as big with such sized herring. We filled a bucket in no time at all and even had 3 mackerel chucked in with them
We moved to the grounds and same again, doggies comming in regular. We had aload of runs and tope picking up and dropping baits, 1 of my poor live bait herring came back with one side missing as a tope took a hit and run at it.
Dave started pulling in smoothounds again taken 3 in no time at all between 6lb and 9lb and i also followed with 2 smouthounds.
Then my tope rod went screaming off and i struck and at last a firm hook up, the fish went round all 3 lines and it was a scramble by all to try and free it up with the tope diving and zig zagging all over.
Once again not a big tope but a 20lber and only my third ever.
After that all i was getting doggies and Dave the same....now it was Grahams turn as he hit into a solid take down and after a battle up came great looking thornback ray about 8lb (pics to follow)
That was the last big fish landed and with time ticking on we headed back in for our long drive home.
We got home at 8.40pm with a sun tann and a canny trip really based on the previous reports. Because not of us yet have been lucky to hit the "pack tope" that you hear so much about we have already decided to book up in 3-4 weeks and go again.
Dave and Graham will upload their pics i am sure soon.
Comment