Latest Fishing Reports: Grey Viking
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17/03/2015
Fishing Report by Chris Mitchell
17 Mar 2015 by Chris Mitchell
Ray had a plan and we stuck to it.
Result 8 very happy anglers including some novices.
Everyone caught fish, everyone had a brilliant day, 64 pollack a couple of bass and a gurnard plus a few pout.
Good boat, great skipper, good value.
Thanks Ray.
I'll be back - again and again. -
12/2013
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Dec 2013 by Ray Burn
It's been a very hectic summer having been the hottest for years with day after day of calm seas, so it's been a while since I've had a chance to write a report here on CBUK.
However, now we are well into the winter Cod season that hot summer seems like ages ago!
The sea temperatures are higher than normal so far this winter and the inshore Cod season seemed to suffer a late kick off. But as we got into November it started to take off and in the last few weeks we've seen some very good Cod and personal bests landed in the mid double to upper 20lb class, with very few smaller Codling putting in an appearance.
The marks that are producing for us are not plagued to death by Whiting and Dogfish which is a bonus when hunting down those big winter Cod. That said we've seen Bull Huss, Conger and a handful of double figure Smoothhounds fall to our Cod baits so it's been an interesting winter so far.
We've had a couple of days when the Cod haven't wanted to play but mostly we've landed some memorable fish on most of the trips.
The best Cod landed aboard Grey Viking so far this winter fell to Matthew Strowger on the 11th December and weighed in at a very respectable 28lbs, so as you can see the rewards can be high! Needless to say Matt was over the moon as in 5 years of trying on his native East Coast his previous personal best Cod was all of 4lbs, so he's smashed that one out of the park!
Looking ahead if you want to try for a big winter Cod of a lifetime I have availability in January (December is now fully booked) and I expect the Cod to be on the ground throughout January. We will also start mid channel wreck fishing in January on the drift with lures after big Pollack and Cod so there will be plenty to fish for in the weeks and months ahead.
If you fancy booking a trip please have a look at my availability calendar here on CBUK (which is updated at least twice a day) or call me on 07850 171722.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and tight lines for 2014.
Ray -
04/2013
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Apr 2013 by Ray Burn
Well the weather has been frustrating with this unprecedented cold spell and more windy days than usual for this time of year. The good news is that we've been on the Pollack since before Christmas and when we are able to get out the fishing has generally been better than the last few years with more Pollack about. They are bigger too with double figure fish commonplace and 8lb is the new small! All good stuff!! We've had at least one personal best on each trip and you can't ask for much more than that.
Looking ahead to April and beyond I think the cold water temperatures will extend the season for big Pollack by at least a month - certainly into May (the May Rot will be late) Cod will be showing on the wrecks soon too.
Inshore the Plaice fishing was good in February and will be back on top form as soon as this cold spell ends. We normally start Bream fishing mid April but again I suspect they will be late and May/June will be the time to target them this year.
As soon as the Mackerel show we will be doing plenty of mid-channel Turbot trips. These will be longer 10 to 11 hour days and limited to 7 anglers with their own tackle (braid essential). We will mix these day's up with some wreck fishing too.
Give me a call and we'll get you booked up on a trip soon. -
07/12/2012
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
7 Dec 2012 by Ray Burn
Well the winter Cod season here in Brighton is hotting up so just a quick report to keep you up to date. The weather has been kind and we've been out 8 days of the last 10, almost unheard of in winter!
A few Cod are putting in appearance most days but as always some days are better than others. Most of the fish are good doubles with some smaller ones too, in fact I can't recall a winter throwing up so many different year classes of fish, which has to be good for the future!
Highlight of the week has to be the 27lb 8oz fish caught by Chris Mitchell last Friday, one of 5 landed that day. We also did well yesterday landing 5 good doubles to 17lb 8oz and unfortunately losing 3 more! This to a charter of 2 lads so quite a result!
You stand a VERY good chance of seeing a personal best so pick up the phone and book a trip, you'll catch nowt sat indoors!
Call Ray on 07850 171722 to book a trip. -
11/2012
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Nov 2012 by Ray Burn
The Cod came inshore from the wrecks quite early this year and we've been catching consistently since the third week in October, with most of the action only 4 to 8 miles from the Marina. So the Winter Cod season is well under way!
We've had a fair few mid doubles in the 14lb to 16lb class and the best so far was caught on by Mike Pile on the 11th November, a proper "mud pig" of 24lbs. So if you are seeking a personal best Cod now is the time!
There are also some smaller Cod about in the 6lb to 8lb class which we've not seen this last couple of winters and that's a good sign for the future.
Our normal winter tactics of fishing big cuttle baits on 8/0 pennel rigs has been working well but this year we've also found scaling down works better some days. This means using black lug tipped with a strip of cuttle on a 6/0 hook.
In addition to Cod there are still a fair few decent Plaice and Bass around plus Whiting, Gurnard, Pout and the like. The other day we had a specimen Tub Gurnard of 4lb 2oz so you never know what might turn up!
If you fancy a crack at a personal best give me a call on 07850 171722 -
08/2012
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Aug 2012 by Ray Burn
Well we are now getting longer stints at sea with periods of settled weather at last, which is just as well as the wreck fishing is in good form at the moment. Cod and Pollack are still responding to lures on the drift but the best action is at anchor with bait, Cuttle and Mackerel flappers are doing the business. In the last few weeks we've seen more Ling than anyone can remember in recent years with one day alone producing 12 on the boat. The best went 22lbs and there are bigger still about. Plenty of summer Cod about in the 4lbs to 10lbs class but this week saw a cracking specimen of 24lbs on the boat, which is exceptional for a summer Cod. The Congers are playing too with specimens up to 65lbs so far but there are plenty of bigger ones down there. Pollack are taking bait too with doubles still being landed and baited feathers are producing very good Black Bream too, the best just over 4lbs in recent weeks. So, if you want to book a trip wreck fishing get in quick, I have a handful of dates left this year on suitable tides and they are going fast!
-
02/2012
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Feb 2012 by Ray Burn
Well the weather is getting much more settled and the fishing is better than this time last year with some good Pollack on the wrecks to upper doubles and many in the 8 to 10lb class. If you want a personal best Pollack now is the time to go, before they spawn in April. I've not got to the Cod wrecks yet as the weather has been wrong when the tides are right but we'll get there soon! Another surprise is how good the Plaice fishing is already, it could be a vintage year for Plaice following on from last years bumper catches. Looking ahead as the weather warms up we have Bream fishing to look forward from late April and I'm also doing a lot more PREMIUM DAYS limited to 7 anglers with own tackle only. These trips will be on the very best tides either wrecking offshore or species hunts in the general direction of Selsey - see my calendar on CBUK for details and dates.
Hope to see you soon !! -
01/2012
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
Jan 2012 by Ray Burn
Well it was a funny old winter! I returned from holiday in the third week in November and we managed 5 days on the trot for inshore winter Cod, it was so warm we were down to teeshirts one day! The Cod were playing ball and we had quite a few in the 16lb class and the best that week went 19lb so I thought "here we go" ... lining up nicely for another good winter season.... But then December arrived, the wind came and it stayed for about 8 weeks! We only managed to nick the odd day here and there when a brief lull in the wind presented itself and it was the worst winter for rough seas I can remember!
The wind finally fell and went northerly marking the start of this cold snap so we got out to the Pollack wrecks on the 29th and 30th January. (The tides were wrong to target my winter Cod wrecks). It's a bit of a gamble looking for decent Pollack in January but we managed a decent catch both days with 5 anglers getting personal bests and 3 of those fish were in the 16lb class, so I was quite happy. On the second of those trips we were unusually short of crew with only 6 anglers aboard and my mate Nick Coster asked me to have a fish myself and try his 6lb class rod for a bit of fun (I dont normally fish myself when wrecking). Anyway, first drop and bang and my personal best Bass of 10lb 4oz soon graced the net... Happy days!
As I write this Grey Viking is out of the water for 10 days for her annual winter maintenance and we are back fishing from the 15th February, weather permitting and the Pollack season should be in full swing by then and there should still be some Lunker Cod in certain areas too !! We also have the Plaice fishing to look forward too which was truly superb in 2010 so tight lines and hope to see you soon! -
21/01/2011
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
21 Jan 2011 by Ray Burn
Friday 21st January - Red Letter Day for start of 2011 Wrecking season on Grey Viking
Well the wrecking season for 2011 got off to an amazing start today aboard Grey Viking, with some of the best early season wreck fishing we’ve ever seen. Today was a speculative trip originally planned as an inshore Cod fishing trip but I decided to offer the crew a go out on the wrecks based on a good weather window and a hunch. Boy did that prove to be a good decision today. If only all days could be as good (I wish) !!
The distances involved to my chosen area meant we had 5 hours of steaming and 4 hours of fishing, with a 45 minute slack in the middle, so it was a small fishing window. But the crew of 8 (including 5 newcomers to wreck fishing) were up for it, so we went for it!
Well, we ended up with 27 Cod including a 30lb 3oz monster, a 25lb, 22lb, 19lb and loads in the 15lb to 18lb bracket. Alongside this we had a few smaller Cod plus 3 smallish Pollack giving a haul of 30 fish in total with a total catch weight in excess of 450lb !
Seven of the eight anglers aboard recorded a personal best as follows:
* 30lb 4oz Cod – Warren Slatter
* 25lb Cod – Dan Dice
* 22lb Cod – Clive Marshall
* 19lb Cod – Gary Tidd
* 18lb Cod – Dan Batchelor
* 18lb Cod Ben Waddington
* 15lb Cod – Gazza Tidd -
05/12/2010
Fishing Report by Ray Burn
5 Dec 2010 by Ray Burn
A truly memorable day aboard Grey Viking yesterday, with some decent Cod to over 20lb, a 2.5lb Whiting for 13 year old Callum Sturrock and the day topped off at last knockings with an absolute stonker of a Cod at 34lb exactly for 14 year old Tyler Hallett. Wow, way to go Tyler - your first ever Cod too!
Thanks also to Dave Grinham at The Tackle Box for verifying the weight once we got ashore!
