Shore Tope

[warren]

Has anyone any advise or experience on how to caught tope from the shore

[warren]

sorry about the spelling.

[LING_BASHER]

Big baits, deap water,sandeel,mackerel etc, wire traces,dog fish free area and pray.

[Topecatcher]

Where abouts you trying Warren? I\'ve had several on the holderness coast, use standard beach gear with a heavy leader and a 150lbs wite trace rigged pully style. Use fresh silver eel section as bait cos the crabs don\'t like it (fish baits are shredded in minutes) and the Tope do, sandeel and mackeral are very good depending on the crab activity. Be prepared to let a fish run under a moderate drag setting, try to bully a tope and it will roll up your leader and break the line. 15lbs main line is best for clean beaches as the thinner diameter line leaves plenty left on the reel to cope with a first run that could be well over 100yds!!

[warren]

Topecatcher

I fish in N.Ireland the type of ground i would fish would be fast tide and very deep-20-40m what type of rod, reel, line and rig would you use.

ps have you ever used live bait

[warren]

Topecatcher

What time of the year did you catch your fish ,i hear a 60lb fish was caught on a whitting flapper this month in Greystones beach near Dublin (see seaangler at the back).

[Topecatcher]

With them depths I take it you are fishing rock marks so forget the light line and use a bigger reel as with them depths I take it there is no real need to cast any great distance. Use your standard rod and the pully rig. The topeing I\'m used to is for shallow beaches in less than 20ft and often in less than 6ft! Livebaits are good but not essential we don\'t bother using them on the boat (there\'s no difference in catches)and its not possible to cast a livebait the distance we need. Whiting and dabs can be good baits it depends on whats common in your area ie if the area is full of dabs the tope will certainly be feeding on them. Our tope arrive in late may and leave late sept although davy holt was fishing for tope in oct/nov out of oban so I suspect the season is later in your neck of the woods.

[warren]

Thanks Topecatcher

I would be using a Ron Thompson Axellertor
and a 535mag loaded with 35lb and a live bait rig you know one small hook to catch the bait one very big hook to hook the tope.

[macky]

eer!! topcatcher

i was wondering if there was a possablity of a tope of spurn point in the summer
if i heared right from tony burmant here was a lot in the humber this year and with the depth of water on the point thought it might be worth a go.

what do you reckon????

macky

[Topecatcher]

Hi Chris
I reckon spurn piont would be a dead cert for Tope in summer one of those places I\'ve been gonna give a go for years but never have. Theres plenty of Tope in the mouth of the Humber and are caught regularly on the boats. There\'s alse a good population of silver eel entering the river among other fish for the Tope to feed on. People just don\'t seem to believe they are there and seem stuck in their ways ie lugworm/crab /rag etc so they will never hook a Tope and even if they did would almost certainly be bitten off instantly. Was on the beach a couple of years back when this bloke approached and proceeded to tell me all about somebody who reckons he\'s caught Tope off the holderness beaches and what a load of bo*****s it was of course I nodded my head and agreed
Don\'t forget we had a good double figure Halibut 300yds off the beach last year

[macky]

well i thought about the eels in the river and thought do the tope follow them in....

i dont see why not as the water quality in the river is improving
and there was fish caught at the z bouy (i think it was)
not sure how far up river this is but i was told it was around immingham area??

this summer i will be spending a few nights on the point with tope baits on....

ya never know there is deep water there..

macky