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  • 07/2011 Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen on My Way 2 (Holyhead, Isle of Anglesey)

    Jul 2011 by Gethyn Owen

    Report on-board My Way 2

    It has been 4 weeks now since we have found the time to write a report on our most recent fishing exploits. We have though managed the most basic of website tasks in keeping the website updated with photographs and boat availability, sadly despite planning, daily or even weekly reports, time gets restricted and fishing comes first! More importantly in recent weeks, the weather has been far kinder and My Way has set sail on all but a couple days.

    This report starts in the middle of June when, we had a short period of cleaning and tying rigs owing to bad weather, so not really an awful lot to write about for those few days, moving swiftly on we were joined by a good crowd of seasoned mariners from Telford who despite the blustery conditions of large tides made the most of their time with us bagging a variety of species including a few pb smoothies, spotted ray and a first ever bull huss.

    The weather the following week tried it’s best once again to put the dampeners on our plans to sail, un deterred we set sail regular and our anglers were rewarded once again with an excellent mixed bag of inshore fish ranging from the ever present lesser spotted dogfish to 18lb smoothies and a great array of pb’s and angling firsts.

    It is also always a pleasure to take anglers out on their first time fishing, when planning days like this I much prefer medium to big tides, thus keeping us inshore, the water flowing and allowing us to help the angler get the most from both drift and anchor fishing. Putting someone new onto a mixed bag of species has a great effect on them and certainly helps heightens their desire for more.

    It is always a pleasure to take anglers out on their first time fishing, when planning days like this I much prefer medium to big tides, thus keeping us inshore, the water flowing and allowing us to help the angler get the most from both drift and anchor fishing. Putting someone new onto a mixed bag of species has a great effect on them and certainly helps heightens their desire for more.

    We were joined on a Sunday by My Way regulars from The Wirral, this report requires a page of its own to be honest.

    For the 4th year running the RAF Angling Festival was fished from Holyhead. This festival partners an RAF angling enthusiast with a complete novices. The aim is to encourage more RAF personnel to take up the sport and join in the fun both on a boat and also ashore. This year the event was won by an angler who was fishing aboard My Way!

    With rods, reels and rigs planned for the day, Rob caught steadily a mixed bag of fish learning how to bait up and the different methods to entice different species of fish as he went along. With the event returning sometime in 2012, it will be nice to see if Rob has continued with angling and been promoted to competent angler.

    Making our way into July – the sun was beating down, the seas were flat calm, My Way was fully booked and all this could mean only thing – spring tides! Seldom this year have we had such calm conditions on neap tides when a foray into Holyhead Deep has been in the plans!

    Never the less, large tides and calm weather simply offers us the chance to move around inshore and fish many marks for a variety of species. Drifting is something we do an awful lot of; pollack, codling and the various species of the wrasse family all our main targets. Whereas the pollack and codling are not monsters that you’d associate with offshore wrecking, ranging from a couple lb to around 6lb, with the odd bigger fish – they make for an interesting fight on light gear and relatively shallow water.


    Moving into July we are still seeing the odd smoothie landed on My Way, Rob Field fish with us recently and smashed his pb twice with hounds of 13 and 18lb, more reliable inshore are the huss, with Specimens often exceeding the 10lb threshold for a quality huss.

    July the 4th was another day to remember! With it being a day that people in the USA celebrate the declaration of Independence from the UK, we decided to pay our own tribute and celebrate ... My Way style. Yes, this meant only one thing Fish & Food, so it was off we set in bright sunshine whilst waiting for our breakfast of big thick ¼lber burgers to cook.

    Fishing did interrupt our food at times as doggies, huss, gurnard, whiting, dabs etc came aboard My Way from the 30ft spring tide. It was soon lunch time and I had planned some great big US of A hot dogs. Pete Chant, originally from Holyhead and now living on the Wirral brought along a massive pan of chilli – chilli dogs it was.

    As every munched down for lunch we made our way around to Trearddur Bay where drifting for wrasse and pollack made the agenda once again. Then on the sail home we rounded USA day aboard My Way with jam donuts and caawwfeee! Superb, great fishing, great food and certainly a great laugh – Oh yeah, Pete brought digestives!!!!!!!!!

    With July now in full swing our attentions were turning to fishing Holyhead Deep, where Monsters of the Deep where rumoured to be found. I say rumoured as the weather of late had failed to allow us to get out to these sacred grounds, our last venture being the end of April, although we did pass on a few chances early June in favour of smoothhounds inshore, with the deep waters west of Holyhead scheduled to produce the goods well into October, this was a decision easily made with the quality of hounds around this year. Our first trip to the deeps was a non-starter, the strong NW wind that blew the night before left a horrible swell in the sea, so it was the mussel beds and inshore species hunting the order of the day huss, rays, various wrasse plus many more giving all reasonably good day afloat.

    Fortunately though, the sea dropped off for the following day and inshore anchor, drifting and then the Holyhead Deep it was.
    The deep waters off Holyhead didn’t disappoint, for little over 3 hours all the rods aboard My Way bent double time and time again with numerous huss and spurdog, all of which averaged 12 to 14lb amazing and hectic fishing.

    Only one tope though graced us with its presence that day, this fell to the hook of Pete Minns, normally the dogfish king, Pete was on fire with a tope of 22lb, spurs to 14lb and huss to 12lb; finally the lessons are paying off!

    This report ends with the good weather continuing during the neap tides seeing My Way take part in the filming of the Welsh language fishing show Sgota!

    The original series screened in 2010 was a roaring success with many anglers both Welsh speaking and those viewing with English subtitles, raving about the quality of fishing and excellent presenting and information when compared with other angling related programs of late.

    The 2nd series is now being filmed and titled Sgota: The Islands of Western Britain.

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