smooth- hounds

[mardenq]

can anyone give me info on fishing for the hounds.im off work for 2 weeks from 8th july and each year i think of going but end up not so this year im going.wheres the nearest place with a good chance of getting one.any advice on casting range ect and best state of tide plus do people drive down,fish the tide then come back or would it be best to have a sleep in the car and fish a couple of tides.fresh crab for bait? and are pully rigs used/size of hooks ect
cheers

[david.northeast]

I have a mate that's been fishing for hounds with great success from Blackpool sure hell be using crab baits. Not sure on the rig choice but cannot see you going wrong with a pulley rig. He's also not a great caster so don't think distance is required to catch them. Hope this helps mate

[mardenq]

I have a mate that's been fishing for hounds with great success from Blackpool sure hell be using crab baits. Not sure on the rig choice but cannot see you going wrong with a pulley rig. He's also not a great caster so don't think distance is required to catch them. Hope this helps mate

thanks for your reply,
last year i got told the fish are bigger on that side but not there for long,on this side they are here longer,dont know how true that is mind,ive read bits on forums about flat sea,s being best ect but probs best to get as much info as i can before going for it
cheers

[mardenq]

I have a mate that's been fishing for hounds with great success from Blackpool sure hell be using crab baits. Not sure on the rig choice but cannot see you going wrong with a pulley rig. He's also not a great caster so don't think distance is required to catch them. Hope this helps mate

looking back i put a post on last year for advice and think you put a pic up ,i was going to use spod rods but never got round to going down.i still fancy light rods mind and would use my yuki q5,s. the thread just ended up more about the carp rods than any advice so ill see what comes this time--lol
there is a bit of info on chapel point and hilston on here so ill look through them

[BIG HITTER 1]

try this m8 http://www.whitbyseaanglers.co.uk/smoothhound-fishing

[cod magnet]

try this m8 Smoothhound Fishing

good link mate

[mardenq]

try this m8 Smoothhound Fishing

cheers mate

[OuTkast76]

First off will be the weather, best on a warm day with calm seas, Single hook rig with crab baits are best also they hunt in packs so once you get one get your bait back out as soon as possible, make sure you set your drag right or have the ratchet on as even a 4lber will say bye bye to your rod lol, The holderness coast should see them arriving very soon if not already

[david.northeast]

looking back i put a post on last year for advice and think you put a pic up ,i was going to use spod rods but never got round to going down.i still fancy light rods mind and would use my yuki q5,s. the thread just ended up more about the carp rods than any advice so ill see what comes this time--lol
there is a bit of info on chapel point and hilston on here so ill look through them

Yeah mate I remember the post although its not the same lad and venue I've mentioned this time. The last thread you put up I mentioned about Bognor Regis
Here's the photo

[Stewart 1971]

First off will be the weather, best on a warm day with calm seas, Single hook rig with crab baits are best also they hunt in packs so once you get one get your bait back out as soon as possible, make sure you set your drag right or have the ratchet on as even a 4lber will say bye bye to your rod lol, The holderness coast should see them arriving very soon if not already

Agree with most of this but I've had plenty of hounds in crap weather on the south coast and night tides are definitely best. Stick to one rod and make sure your drag is set, you don't need big baits - half a crab on a 2/0 will do even for the bigger hounds, I always found a proper paternoster got more hook ups than a pulley and there is absolutely no need for a pennel set-up (indeed most serious hounders frown upon pennels as they can damage the fish).

Don't be scared to hoy the same bit of bait straight back out after unhooking - I once had three hounds all over 6lb on the same bit of crab (though it was well and truly trashed by the third fish!), don't stray far from your rod as even with the drag set a half decent fish will have your tackle half way to Denmark before you know it. When returning hounds give them a chance to recover and keep an eye on the beach up-tide from you as they can often beach themselves rather than swimming off out to sea.

Finally going light seems a good idea but on a busy beach you will make yourself very unpopular, especially if fishing with braid. If you hook in to a fish that is anywhere near double figures it will take line off you even using the beach gear and it will take you up and down the beach. Fishing light may be fun but it could also mean some serious tangles with the lads fishing near you unless the beach is pretty quiet.

[snatcher]

They are being caught over in Luce Bay off the shore now on crab. Not my field of expertise though as have only caught one and that was from a boat in Luce Bay.

Last year some lads on our caravan park were getting quite a few during darkness.

John

[mardenq]

Agree with most of this but I've had plenty of hounds in crap weather on the south coast and night tides are definitely best. Stick to one rod and make sure your drag is set, you don't need big baits - half a crab on a 2/0 will do even for the bigger hounds, I always found a proper paternoster got more hook ups than a pulley and there is absolutely no need for a pennel set-up (indeed most serious hounders frown upon pennels as they can damage the fish).

Don't be scared to hoy the same bit of bait straight back out after unhooking - I once had three hounds all over 6lb on the same bit of crab (though it was well and truly trashed by the third fish!), don't stray far from your rod as even with the drag set a half decent fish will have your tackle half way to Denmark before you know it. When returning hounds give them a chance to recover and keep an eye on the beach up-tide from you as they can often beach themselves rather than swimming off out to sea.

Finally going light seems a good idea but on a busy beach you will make yourself very unpopular, especially if fishing with braid. If you hook in to a fish that is anywhere near double figures it will take line off you even using the beach gear and it will take you up and down the beach. Fishing light may be fun but it could also mean some serious tangles with the lads fishing near you unless the beach is pretty quiet.

cheers mate,ive read about the single hook and not to used a pennel,ill have to look more into the marks and hope for a beach thats not full if that possible

[big phil 123]

cheers mate,ive read about the single hook and not to used a pennel,ill have to look more into the marks and hope for a beach thats not full if that possible

They will be showing as soon as the sea settles for a period and it warms up you dont need the west coast brid and areas around it are the best in the north ffor smoothound best to fish to rods one with crab one with sand eel or other fish baits for a chance off a ray

[Ant]

They are being caught over in Luce Bay off the shore now on crab. Not my field of expertise though as have only caught one and that was from a boat in Luce Bay.

Last year some lads on our caravan park were getting quite a few during darkness.

John

PM location please John? Definitely up there 19th, might head up on the 18th after graft though!

[Stewart 1971]

A Cautionary Tale

They will be showing as soon as the sea settles for a period and it warms up you dont need the west coast brid and areas around it are the best in the north ffor smoothound best to fish to rods one with crab one with sand eel or other fish baits for a chance off a ray

A few years ago, back when I lived on the south coast, I was fishing a summers evening on my local beach at Eastney. This is not a renouned Smoothhound mark, in fact they are very rarely taken from there. I was targetting Bass, Black Bream and Red Mullet, fishing two rods with two hook flapper rigs, size 1 hooks and ragworm tipped off with a sliver of squid for bait.

It was a canny session; I had a couple of Schoolies and a fair few baby Bream. About 11pm (well after dark) I was reeling in my closer in rod when out of the corner of my eye I saw my distance rod (CME, 6500 mag) suddenly fly out of the tripod and go horizontal to the beach. I was very lucky, I was stood right next to the tripod when this happened and was able to grab the rod with my right hand and quickly put the other one down. This all happened incredibly quickly and I have no doubt that if I had been more than 5 yards away from the rod it would have been in the sea and half way to France before I could react.

This was the culprit, only a baby really weighing in at a smidgeon under 11lb:


As I wasn't expecting Smuts I didn't have the drag loosened off on my reel but even so a double figure hound is a very powerful fish and will empty whats left on your reel pretty quickly unless you are nearby and ready to grab your rod as soon as you get a run. Every year lads on the south coast lose their rods and reels to smuts taking them out to sea when they weren't paying attention. Fish two rods if you wish, it is not a risk I would take and also bear in mind that Smuts will take fish baits, they move in big shoals so if you get one one one rod you may well get a take on the other at the same time...