Boats for deep sea fishing

As the trips are longer and generally non-coastal the choice of deep sea fishing charter is important. The choice of boat is especially important if you want to take your own weekend dingy deep sea fishing! Most pleasure anglers will have no boat qualifications and those that do bother are probably only going to be competent up to coastal skipper or day skipper. These qualifications are designed for coastal hopping and do not prepare a sailor for long trips that will be needed for deep sea fishing.

By using a reputable deep sea fishing charter you will be safe in the knowledge that you have hired an experienced skipper and his own crew.

Deep sea fishing tackle

Deep sea fishing tackle is somewhat different from even the heavy pike or carp tackle used by the land based angler. It is also much heavier than the sea fishing tackle used by the coastal boat angler. The reason for this is due to the depths being fished, the large baits being used and of course the chance of the very big fish that are being targetted. Deep sea fishing reels must be much larger to take a lot longer lengths of heavy line. When fishing at 100s of yards depth you will need to be sure that you can rely on your line. The rod must match the line strength and have the backbone to make headway with trhe biggest fish on – which may be measured in hundreds of kilos!

The great stress of pumping a large fish that has taken a kilometer of line means that a but guard for your rod strapped to the front of your body is essential – otherwise you might do yourself some damage!

Deep sea fish

So what species of fish might be your target if you go deep sea fishing? This of course depends on where you are in the world – you might be looking for giant skate off the north coast of Scotland, speedy sailfish off the East Coast of Africa or giant marlin fished from Madeira in the Atlantic. There are many species to go for but one thing is for sure – commercial fishing has been decimating the stocks over recent years and the little that each angler can do these days is to use sensitive handling techniques and a catch and release policy.

The fish was attracted by pre baiting swim number 12 on the 110 acre lake for four days before getting the bite. A bed of crushed hemp and boilies together with mixed seeds was used. To catch the fish three Solar Club Mix boilies on a long hair mounted on a size 1 hook were used. Martin’s bank of carp fishing rods were monitored with permanent bite alarms during the four days and supported pretty hefty line and end tackle with the monster carp in mind. The hook length was a hefty 85 pound length of Kryston “Ton Up”.

The 94 pound fish beat the previous world record of 91 pound also caught in France at a different site Les Graviers by Andre Komornicki in 2008. The monster 94 pound Briggs Fish was well known to visiting UK anglers. Rob Hales a UK fishery manager caught the fish weighing 90 pound in May 2009.

There is no doubt that catching such a big carp on dedicated carp tackle is a challenging task. Anglers will camp for weeks on end without a bite sometimes. Getting the carp fishing rods set up properly, the right ground bait mixture and the best end rig and bait usually tied to a well presented hair rig is not a simple matter and the difference between using a stiff hair and a hinged rig could possible mean the difference of that important single bite or nothing at all.

However, there is always a slight bad taste at the back of ones mouth when fishing for what amount to stew pond fish. These are carp that have been selectively reared and then introduced to lakes and ponds where the optimum conditions are known to exist. Yes they may have been introduced at a young age and allowed to grow naturally to their large size (with a little help from anglers bait!). The fact is that these fish are caught often enough to be named – and are not much different from pets.

My skills as a carp angler fa;ll well short of those of Martin, but I would personally prefer to catch a truly wild 10 pound carp from a never before fished and overgrown pond or lake that has taken me half a day to walk to from my car!

At times like these it is worth considering the smaller day ticket waters close to home. These are the ones that are overstocked with smaller fish for the match angler and during the summer months are normally crowded with anglers shoulder to shoulder. However, not all waters are the same. Some hold decent fish that have been allowed to grow on, and out of season when the weather is cold they are often deserted.

It pays to do your research and find a water that will suit. There will be more chance of some sport and the possibility that you can find a water with some decent fish in the 10 to 20lb range. Being a day ticket water means that you can have a good breakfast and turn up mid morning for 6 or 8 hours fishing before losing the light and the water closes. If you can manage a net of 30lb of carp in that time it should help cheer up an otherwise fish-less time of year.

There is no need for heavy gear. There will be no monster carp to catch and there will be little in the way of snags in a managed water. Take a couple of 12 foot rods with 2lb test curves – the sort you might be using for your barbel fishing would be great. Use your 10lb line on the baitrunners and keep the rest of the carp tackle to a minimum – tackle box or bag and a few bank-sticks, landing net, unhooking mat etc. I take a small bait bag that I can sling over my shoulder and walk round the water with when I arrive, looking for likely spots. A small handful of pellets or corn will go into about 5 or 6 swims.

A roving approach is usually needed in the winter, and spending around an hour at each swim can pay the best dividend. Try recasting one rod every 10 to 15 minutes if there are no bites. It is often the case that a swim will produce either nothing or a single fish – so the advice is to move on when you catch.

Remember when it is cold the fish often shoal together, and this may mean that large areas of a lake can be devoid of fish. You will need to use your watercraft to the full, seeking out likely lies that will be near the gravel bars and sunken obstacles – but of course you cannot see these from the bank.

A bright bait often works well – sweetcorn for instance mounted on a hair. Worms are a good bait at this time of year and can bring an occasional surprise in the form of a decent perch if you are lucky.

The good thing about a roving approach on a small water like this is that you will keep warmer in the bitter winter cold. The chance of catching a few fish is better and you are more likely to come away having had a short but comfortable and enjoyable days fishing.

I decided to concentrate my efforts on the River Derwent, that begins its life not far inland near Scarborough and winds its way through Malton, Kirkham, Stamford Bridge, Kexby, Sutton on Derwent, joining the Ouse and finally drains into the River Humber. There seemed to be a good head of chub and barbel in this river and this is what I set my sights on.

My first task was to select one of my rods that would be suitable for the job. I wanted to use the float mostly but knew that there would be occasions when only a ledgered bait would do. I only wanted to carry one rod with me anticipating a limited roving approach. By this I mean that I was happy to carry a moderate amount of lightweight fishing tackle, umbrella, seat etc but would move to perhaps three or four different swims over a mile stretch while I was exploring the river.

I decided upon a 12 foot match rod that was designed for fishing the new artificial still waters that were being set up everywhere at the time. They were being filled with one and two year old carp which as they put on weight would tax any match-man! Therefore my rod was a bit more than the usual match rod – it had more back bone. I had actually bought it because of its superb tip action while having enough body to cope with a reasonable sized barbel without too much bother. If I was seeking out the big ones I would step up to a stronger rod. However, this seemed just right. The river was reported to hold both chub to 5lbs and barbel to 10lbs. The expected fish would be around 3 to 5 lbs.

By the way I never intended using this rod for match fishing for little carp in a muddy puddle!

At the time I was using an old Mitchel Match reel with the deeper spool. For those that remember, this was an automatic bale arm version of the famous Mitchel 300 fishing reel. I remember paying £20 for it 33 years ago! It is still going strong and has beaten many barbel to 8lbs and countless chub of all sizes. I have newer - and in terms of technology ‘better’ – reels, but still find myself roving with a single rod and this reel.

With eBay you must exercise patience and caution. It is very easy to get carried away with the bidding and end up buying something you did not really want or paying too much. Countless times I have browsed through second hand fishing tackle items for sale by auction and seen the current bid at more than I could pay for the same brand new item from a tackle shop. On the other hand, careful inspection of the items on sale can reveal badly advertised gear that is worth much more than it seems.

Careful searching does pay dividends. For example I recently decided to upgrade my old plastic ‘bits’ box that sits in my tackle bag with a New Fox Box. A search on eBay revealed a number of shops and private sales for a all the different model variations - so I could choose exactly what I wanted from the Fox tackle catalog first. Choosing a medium double box I found two eBay sellers offering this item – both wanting instant sales of around £2 less than the normal retail price. With postage there was no saving to be made. I held back for a while and a few days later an advert for a ‘plastic tackle box’ was posted on a short three day auction ending on a Thursday morning. The poor photo did not look appealing – but I read the details because I was in the market for a plastic tackle box!

It was described in full detail as a brand new double medium Fox tackle box, with several small insert boxes – an unwanted present – starting bid £5. I watched the item over the next couple of days and on Thursday morning could see that a couple or people had raise the bid to around £8. About a minute or so before the auction was due to end I placed my maximum bid of £20 and waited. My action took the price to £10 and there it stuck – mine!

I was lucky, most people can’t take time to monitor eBay during a working day and so miss out on bids that end then. This is why it is not a good idea to have auctions ending at inconvenient times. By being in the position that I could take five minutes out to check eBay I was able to grab myself a bargain. It helped that the item had been badly described and photographed in the title space.

Bits and pieces come along all the time like this, and it pays if you are looking for something specific not to rush straight in. I enjoy buying used carp fishing tackle and new carp fishing tackle for that matter, to build up my carp tackle supplies. Remember, anything that you buy that turns out to be not exactly what you want can be simply re-listed and sold on – just remember to describe your item accurately!

The trouble is that it can take a bit of the pleasure from your angling to sit by the river or lake with what feels like a broomstick when you connect to a lively 10 pounder! However, it would be irresponsible to go fishing knowing that there is a chance of catching say at least a 20 pound fish equipped with a sporting one pound test curve spinning rod and five pound breaking strain line! There needs to be a happy medium of course.

Selection of the strength of your pike fishing tackle can add tremendously to the enjoyment of your sport.  I tend to go to my local water where I have caught pike up to 21 pounds with two rods, one with a 1.5 pound test curve and one of 2 pounds. I have a 2.5 pound test rod that I will use when fishing long distance with bigger baits.

My rods are relatively light as pike fishing tackle goes but I have found they will handle the fish comfortably while feeling responsive in the hand.  These rods are ideally loaded with 12 – 15 pound breaking strain (nylon – or equivalent diameter of braid or fluorocarbon) and will feel nicely balanced.

I use rods of 12 foot in length which I actually like unless I am stalking a river bank.  Then I will use my ancient fibreglass 9 foot ABU spinning rod that can lob a few ounces of dead-bait happily.

The reel is less critical in my opinion, as long as it is a good one – I use Shimano Bait Runners that will take around 200 metres of line.  This is more than enough.  A few years ago when I started specimen hunting for pike I bought one of these bait runners and paired it with an old Mitchell Match with automatic bail arm.  I used a deep spool of course – you could probably only fit 10 metres of suitably heavy line on the special match spool!  I caught many good pike, again up to 20 pounds in weight, with this rather make shift partnership – even though it is definately not designed for the job!

Once you have read all the brochures about length, test curve, capacity of spool etc – in order to choose the best rod and reel combination for you is to simply get your preferred combination in your hand.  Do you like them?  As a committed fishing tackle tart I must be in love with the gear. Then I enjoy using it and it therefore will do the job it is asked to. Of course I could not fall in love with a sea fishing rod to be used to catch roach – so my mind will have a say over my heart!

Remember what fishing is about – as long as the pike fishing tackle is up to the job the important thing is your satisfaction.

To be honest I do understand what the runners achieve, but for me I need a hobby that allows me the extra interest of collecting items associated with it. Fishing tackle ranges from expensive items to individual hooks and weights costing next to nothing. Therefore, it is a sport that can satisfy the tackle hoarding nature of everybody, rich or poor.

It is even a pleasure browsing through used fishing tackle on eBay or at car boot sales. I am always on the look out for items of value, that I can polish up and put on my shelf in my study. However, it is fishing tackle shops where the most pleasure is to be had. I can spend a morning in one, hoping that the shop is not busy so that I can bend the proprietor’s ear. I probably end up buying more items of tackle than I really need, particularly when I like to travel light when I actually do go fishing!

Although I am a coarse angler and occasional sea angler, my biggest preference is for fly fishing. Perusing fly fishing tackle gives the tackle tart the most scope. This is for two reasons – there are a lot of very high quality and expensive pieces of equipment on the market to drool over – and there are thousands of different fishing fly patterns each only costing a little to buy.

Choosing sport fishing tackle is a little like a child in a sweet shop! What to look at next? But it is the nature of the angler that has allowed the fishing tackle trade to flourish over the past few decades, even through a number of recessionary ‘blips’ in the economy. There is a huge industry now that has sprung up, particularly in China where a lot of high quality factories are producing some very capable equipment. However, the best fishing tackle by far is still manufactured in the UK and USA. The trouble is the costs in  these countries are much higher and the resulting retail prices are always so much more than the equivalent Asian imports. They still sell though, and this a tribute to both the quality of our home produced goods and the satisfaction of owning the best.

In my kit box I admit I do have an electronic Fox bite alarm and that I confess that I do use it. It is very useful when I have a clear target in mind and am happy to set up base camp for a few hours, sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery for a while.

However, when I am on the prowl I will often cast to a likely spot and then either hold the rod in my hand or prop it in a convenient stick or branch located nearby.

This means that I do not carry more than one rod, have no rod rests with me and therefore would find it difficult to set up any of the various different bite alarms and indicators usually used by carp anglers.

Therefore my bite alarm in these circumstances will be one of three different methods:

1. If the bait is a free lined crust or other visible floating bait I will use site as an indicator.
2. Alternatively I will hold the line in my free hand and feel for the bite – this is the method of fishing I grew up with when sea fishing using a hand line when living in Bahrain!
3. If the rod is propped – I will ensure that the run of line is free and then use a piece of silver foil folded over the line between reel and first line guide. I will ensure that there is slack in the line, so I can see both tight and slack line bites.

This is not the most modern carp tackle and I am sure it is not always the best answer for catching more carp. Using these methods are somehow enjoyable though, and I will continue to use them alongside other more “technical” techniques.