Boat fishing the Bristol Channel
Boat
Fishing
Sea fishing from a dinghy accompanied by an experienced boat handler, or our Club boats, or even a sea anglers' charter boat is a very good way to savour exciting angling over mysterious depths, the thrill of anticipation and reeling in a prize specimen. Even catching a little one is a joy to behold, never mind the big one that got away.
Personal boat launching
What to do before setting off
- Check the weather forecast
- Check on the local conditions e.g. tide times, underwater obstructions, by-laws
- Ensure your engine and equipment is well maintained
- Always use fresh fuel
- Wear a life jacket
- Park your vehicle and trailer with care and consideration. Do not obstruct access for other users, particularly the Emergency Services
- Carry flares or other devices for raising the alarm
Be safe afloat
- DO NOT drink and drive! It is as dangerous on the sea as it is on land
- Leave details of where you intend to go and estimated time of return
- Stay at least 100m from shore at the popular bathing beaches. No launching/recovery of craft at Langland or Caswell unless in emergency
- Observe speed limits
- Connect the engine shut-off lanyard if applicable
- Do not allow young children to be in control of powered water craft or speed boats
Fishing basics
Fish shoals often follow regular routes across the seabed to established feeding grounds/marks. Known marks nearly always provide good results. Marks favoured by fish depends on the species and marks may be seabed areas of sand, sand/mud, shell-grit, rocks, reefs, deep holes, hollows, gullies, troughs and wrecks.
To learn boat fishing and locate marks for species fishing put to sea with a knowledgeable person such as our club members and boat skippers. They can show beginners all the fish catching tricks, put together a fishing expedition that ensures the joys and rewards of expertly supervised boat fishing a low cost.
Inshore fishing
Sea angling from a boat within 3 miles of the shore is considered to be 'inshore fishing'. A small boat, dinghy (close inshore), small fishing motorboat, or the Mumbles Belle is normally okay for this type of fishing.
Inshore fishing near sand or sand/mud river estuaries can produce fair-sized bass, dabs, flounders, mullet, plaice, thornback rays etc.
Rocky, rough inshore seabed is good ground for coalfish, conger eels, bull huss, pollack, pouting and wrasse.
We do a lot of drifting for plaice & dabs on Mumbles Belle in the summer, & we drift the rough ground off Rotherslade for Pollack, and the Mixon Bank on the flood, we find it a productive method when we use bling. This is a good an alternative to sitting at anchor all day, and you don't find new marks unless you go and look for them. So we give drifting a try now and then.
Deep sea fishing
Once 3 miles or more from the shore is deep sea fishing, regardless of the depth of water under the boat. A purpose built sea-going boat, like the Oystercat, is essential for deep sea fishing.
Larger fish are caught from deep sea marks, such as big cod, coalfish, conger eels, halibut, ling, pollack, rays, skates, tope and turbot.
Tips
Do not drink much alcohol the night before, have a good night's sleep, eat a light breakfast and dress as appropriate for the weather, it is often cooler at sea so include some warm clothing, spare pullover and waterproofs or sea angler's flotation suit.
Pack a hearty lunch and a flask of hot drink, if not provided on the boat.
Tackle ought to include, a blunt instrument (priest),sharp filleting knife, protective gloves and sea angler's hook disgorger or artery forceps, a long handled, large frame landing net to help board the fish. These are all provided on the Club boats.
Take plenty of bait, a board on which to cut the bait. spare hooks and weights.
After fishing, clean and tidy the boat, leave everything 'ship shape and Bristol fashion' and you'll be welcomed back, especially on the Club boats.
Safety Hints
Wear an inflatable life jacket, a flotation suit is a wise investment for some fishing trips.
Never wear thigh boots in a boat they easily fill with water. Wear rubber soled walking boots or calf high rubber boots, and kick them off as soon as possible if you should go over the side.
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The most popular bait for fishing in
Swansea Bay and the Bristol channel is a worm and squid cocktail, big
lug or king rag baits, squid works well both as a tipping bait, or
whole for the bigger Cod and Bass.
Ragworm tends to be the most
available and most used, this bait will take a good range of species,
nearly always tipped with other baits to make up a cocktail. Lug
worm: the blow lug (brown) and black lug (bigger, darker in colour).
Black lug is preferred for the winter cod. Usually tipped with a
bother bait to make it more appealing.
Squid is used as a tipping bait for
Rag and Lug worm and is used whole on a pennel rig forcod and bass in particular.
Sandeels are good bait for bass and
deadly for most ray species. Peeler crab are used for bass and
smoothound. Edible and shore peeler crab is better for bass and
smoothound over rough ground.
Mackerel is a good all round bait and
can be presented in many different ways.
Due to the silty waters, which ever
bait is used requires as much scent as possible coming from the bait,
the fast flowing tides wash out the bait of all its appeal quite
quickly, especially in Winter.
The most productive baits are: 1.
Lug/Rag worm and squid for the Cod. 2. Mackerel strip for the conger
eel, spurdog, smoothound and Tope. 3. Sandeel for Bass. 4. Feathers
will take pollock, mackerel, and many other species when fishing in
clear water.
Boat
Fishing Tackle
Due the the ferocity of the tides in
the Bristol Channel uptiding is normally preferred with 6 to
10oz leads, anything lighter may have difficulty coping with the pull
of the strong tide, using a multiplier loaded with between 18-25lb
line, preferably braid. If a shock leader is preferred then use
60lb line but keep it short. Most anglers choose a heavier line
because big fish will have to be bullied back against the tidal
current.

Downtiding requires much heavier
leads to hold the bottom, ranging from 12 to 18oz depending on tidal
conditions with a 30lb class rod and reel. The downtiding
method can be even more effective than uptiding for catching the
bigger cod by trotting (bouncing back) a big bait well downtide of
the boat. For both uptide and downtide fishing most
members tend to fish only a two hook pennel rig. The
pennel is used to present a large bait, such as a whole squid or
mackerel fillet, which would bunch up around the hook bend if a
single hook was used. Decent size Cod and Bass like large
bait and this rig presents the bait more naturally. Hooks need to be
placed out by a length of between 2 and 4ft.
Rods - need to be powerful stiff boat rods from 7ft to 8ft in length. Line class 20lbs or 30lbs.
Reel - multipliers or more suitable .
Line strength - from about 15lbs to 25lbs breaking strain for normal boat fishing with a 20lb line class rod. 25lbs to 35lbs breaking strain with a 30lbs line class rod, where large and heavy fish are expected.
Weights from 8oz to 2lb depending on strength of current, depth and sze of bait fished.
Fishing methods
Try sliding float, 2 hook running leger, 2 boom paternoster, boat leger, spinning, driftlining, jigging, trolling, feathering and even fly fishing inshore using fresh water tackle, techniques and large artificial flies - for fish feeding on the surface, especially bass, mackerel and mullet.
Benefits
of GPS for Fishing
GPS technology make your fishing
trips much more rewarding. More accurate than 'line of
sight' or other navigational methods, a GPS unit tells you where you
are and where you are going within a few metres. GPS is now an
essential item in the angler's arsenal.
A GPS is very handy and a good depth
finder is useful too. Finding these places still requires some
travelling time but good pre-planning with a map and GPS means less
wasted time. Combine the benefits of mapping with GPS by
getting digital charts or scan in paper maps with GPS mapping
software and then enter way points along your planned route.
There are always changes to the
bottom that are not on some older maps and these places can sometimes
be great fishing spots. Fewer people will know of these
places and therefore less pressure on the fish stock there. A
GPS unit can mark these fishing hot spots so that you can find it
again easily. If you share your hot spot information giving GPS
co-ordinates makes this easy to do.
Finding the right fishing spot isn't
the only consideration, finding your way back home again is another,
and your GPS unit lets you do that easily. It is better to
enjoy the peace on the water and see the fish biting without worrying
about the rigours of navigation. The GPS unit provides all
the navigational information you need, including position, heading,
bearing, speed, time to destination and more. |
Marine
Charts (Click on the chart to go to Navionics Charts website)
The best specialised maps are Marine
Charts. These offer information about shifting sands, sandbars,
reefs, ledges and such that can be critical for productive boat
fishing. Make sure your charts are up-to-date so that you don't
run aground or get lost. Once you have located the desired
place on the map, finding the location on the water becomes the next
challenge. |
GPS
as Safety Tool
GPS allows you to navigate safely,
even when caught in a heavy fog or other bad weather conditions.
It's easy to get turned around on the open sea, but no matter what
the visibility with a GPS you know where you are and which way you
are headed. In the case of s 'man overboard' situation a
GPS unit can mark the the exact place where the event occurred
greatly assisting rescue crews. GPS also allows you to
easily communicate precise positions to the Coat Guard if you come
across a boat in distress. In emergencies, swift navigation can
make a big difference. GPS mapping software helps to quickly
and safely navigate you to the nearest dock or port while avoiding
known hazards along the way.
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Boat fishing success
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Examples of GPS
Fishing Marks
Bream mark 51 33 745N
003 59 938W. Langland Reef (inside) 51 33 724N 004
00060W. Langland Reef (Outer) 51 33 209N 004 00 633W.
White Oyster Ledge 51 31
159N 003 59 325W. White Oyster Ledge (mid) 51 31 172N
003 59 210W. White Oyster ledge (midi) 51 31 189N 003 59
244W. White Oyster Ledge (West) 51 31 126N 003 59
486W. White Oyster Ledge (East) 51 31 228N 003 58
577W.
Inner Bank (1) 51 30
706N 004 06 361W. Inner Bank (2) 51 30 664N
004 06 350W
St Christopher Knoll (1)
51 33 277N 004 06 265W. St Christopher Knoll (2) 51
31 228N 004 06 265W. St Christopher Knoll (wreck motor
vessel) 51 33 217N 004 11 936W
Mixon Shoal 51 33 004N
003 58 002W. Mixon Bouy 51 33 N
003 58 008W
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