Latest Fishing Reports: Celtic Wildcat

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  • 12/09/2016 Fishing Report by stuart cross

    12 Sep 2016 by stuart cross

    Me and my family have just returned from our annual shark fishing trip aboard Celtic Wildcat skippered by Nick O’Sullivan. Luckily for us we got all three days in with different conditions every day. Day one started with a mirror calm sea, not ideal but very pleasant. Our team consisted of me, my wife, mini me [aka Andrew] my mum and dad. Mum and dad are 76 and 74 but when there are sharks about more like 16 and 14!!. We were joined by Greg all three days who lives locally and helps Nick regularly. He is a cracking chap and a very knowledgeable fisherman. I picked up plenty of mackerel from Andy’s Baits in Portsmouth on Sunday morning which were packed in nice and tight in a large polystyrene box this was taped down and covered up ready for the Monday morning. These baits were still frozen Wednesday evening - amazing!. The secret being take out enough for the day 'ONCE' then fill the void so no warm air can lift the temperature and re-seal. If you look after your bait your bait will look after you!. No time wasted chasing the elusive baits and more time having your arms pulled off, lovely!
    The sharks were high in the water as predicted warming themselves up in the morning sun. A little lethargic early on but as our magic potion drifted further off in the tide they came on the feed.
    With our baits set up to 60ft most of the sharks came to the rods close in around 30ft, a few rug rats mixed in with nice fish to 70lb, then mini me lifted into a great big lump that made his 9\0 sing and put a lovely grin on his face. Fifteen minutes later and 110lb blue was on the deck-excellent a ton up fish the first day to my 13 year old son!.
    We had four rods out and my wife was on guard with the butt pad on. I see her reach for the close rod as the bottle float is semi pulled under, away it goes, a quick tighten of the clutch and she lifts in to a very good fish. She runs hard down deep and close to the boat, I know its a big fish so i give my wife gentle encouragement 'that’s a bloody big fish don't cock it up' .I then get the female stare so retire for a mars bar and a drink. Three good strong runs and my wife is holding her own 'your doing great carry on' i say the stare changes to a loving smile and I'm saved from certain death. The fish hangs under the boat out of sight- true characteristics of a big blue. My wife piles the pressure on and lets the bend in the rod slowly lift the fish. A couple of short runs and we can see colour- now we can see a bloody big fish! Nicks got the wire, she’s neatly hooked in the corner with the circle hook- ropes on and she’s on deck - wow - measured weight of 172lb. I can't believe it what a great fish! Family photo and she’s away. I'm very proud of my wife's efforts and skill. Many people would have lost that fish but she kept calm and landed the fish of a lifetime and I got a cuddle!!. A great family photo and we are all buzzing. We catch a total of 18 blues the first day.
    Day two and we have a fresh breeze, the sharks are deeper today not one seen on the surface. We set our baits accordingly and indeed the deeper far out baits take most of the fish. 17 blues today up to 90lb with a good few in the 60lb-90lb bracket. These fish fight hard and we all have our fair share. Now my dads not slow if a reel starts screaming so to combat this mini me held the rod on the bow and cornered Bri in so he couldn’t get to any rods (a cunning plan that kept my dad under control since he was suffering a severe case of ‘shark fever’).
    Suddenly Andrews reel started screaming at an alarming rate. The sound of a Penn 9/0 in full song is music to any fisherman’s ears. This was no blue, the spool nearly empty, he puts the clutch to max and the fish slows, turns and races towards the boat going very deep. Trying to keep up with a fish with an empty spool is impossible but mini me is cranking as fast as he can. 15 seconds and the fish is back on. He loosens the clutch slightly and now the fish is deep taking line rapidly. Disaster! The rod springs straight and the fish is gone.
    On inspection the 80lb main line is cut through clean. We all stand in silence looking out beyond the floats. The Megladon is gone ! We are gutted. It must have picked up the line with all the slack. I praise Andrew for his efforts as he did very well but it was not to be. What it was we will let you decide but it was VERY fast and big lifting Andrew off of his seat!
    We catch a few more blues and then its home time with the monster on all of our minds.
    Day three the forecast was lively on the way out but improving all day. We left mum behind due to the bumpy ride out .At 74 there is no point being bashed around. My dad was going even if we had to row there!.
    A young lad called Nathan and his dad joined us today. He had not caught a shark before so we soon changed that!
    A few rug rats to start with then I saw my deep rod bend more than it should before straightening. I hovered over it, everyone else said I was seeing things but the float slowly moved left on the surface and then gently bobbed. I called Nathan and as he grabbed the rod the ratchet sang. In gear, lift the rod shark on! This fish took line at range straight away, always a good sign. Now for someone that has only landed a 3lb trout before landing a 109lb shark is a fair effort. It put up a great fight and could easily have been lost under the boat but Nathan was having none of that, a great fish for his first one although it did cost his dad a beef and mustard sandwich! I missed out on my 100lb fish this year but it was worth it to let the lad have his. A couple of quiet spells followed by ‘shark soup’ as Nick would say.
    We landed about 19 again with me getting a fighting fit 90lb fish a cracking day. Now I am not saying my dads keen but we have all reeled in and started to tidy up, Nick is warming the engines and my dad still has a bait in ‘come on we are going home ‘we all shout so instead of reeling in he walks his bait from the bow to stern, bang shark on!- only a small one but he said Ah Ha- that makes it five each day for me!!.
    To some it all up a cracking three days, thanks to Andy for his excellent bait, RokMax for some quality terminal gear Greg for his tireless help and great company and to Nick for making it so good again. When you put good ingredients in your pie it tastes bloody good!
    Shark fishing is on the up with more fish are turning up year by year.When the horrible practice of finning is eventually stopped worldwide it will be a lot better. Please look after your fish, circle hooks set with a reasonable amount of drag is the way forward 90% of our fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth with the odd greedy small one taking it further back. With the barbs crimped down they will do no harm and be lost very soon.
    To look after our sport we must be sport fisherman and treat all our catches with respect.
    Stuart Cross.

  • 18/08/2015 Fishing Report by Kevin Glover

    18 Aug 2015 by Kevin Glover

    First of all my apologies to skipper Nick. I should have written this long ago. Secondly a huge vote of thanks to Nick from all the anglers aboard ...we left your boat stunned and extremely happy.
    Allow me to explain....In august 2014 myself and 4 other anglers had booked 2 days shark fishing aboard Celtic Wildcat, atrip that had been eagerly awaited. Nick duly took us out and we had what was for us all a trip if a lifetime. We boated 27 blue sharks over two days with everyone except one ( who shall remain nameless) catching at least one over 100lbs. Some even managed two over the magic ton with the largest weighing over 140lbs ( the exact weight being absent from my memory). It was a really good trip with plenty of banter, and with Nick providing copious cups of tea and coffee what more could you ask?.....except another trip. So with another trip booked we were all set for some more of the action the following year in August 2015. This time with 4 anglers on board, all eager with anticipation for the fishing ahead. So it was that we set out on the briny, with the sun shining and few white fluffy clouds overhead, with more than a little anticipation coursing through us all.
    Even when the rubby dubby employed and the first baits put out little did any of us reallise what a day we were in for.
    Almost immediately a bait was picked up and from that moment on the sharks just kept coming....one after another...all the time Nick wrangling them aboard and unhooking them, measuring where necessary and returning the fish.
    At the end of the day we had boated an incredible 32 blue sharks in 1 day. We were stunned and extremely happy. Unfortunately our second day was cancelled due to a change in the weather.
    I worked this out at more than 1 fish every 15 minutes of fishing time....incredible....and all due to Nick's exceptional ability to find the fish.
    One of our more churlish anglers commented that we did not get as much coffee as last year....I told him to make his own!
    Naturally we booked again for 2016.....August cannot come soon enough.

    Kev Glover

  • 01/09/2015 Fishing Report by stuart cross

    1 Sep 2015 by stuart cross

    The winds howling again so i thought i would share some info on a trip last year. I know its late but here is a report on some great shark fishing we had out of Neyland marina West Wales on Celtic Wildcat. Only four of us fishing my eldest son and mum and dad {The clampets}. We were very lucky to get all three days in catching 62 blues, roughly 20 a day. We could have caught a lot more but opted to take the other rods out while we played a shark, no point hooking two and landing none! Five or six over 100lb, with many between 70lb and 100lb. I took 40 fresh mackerel with us on ice which is always a good plan just in case. As it was we loaded up on the first day but you never know. i also took two tubs of rubby dubby for each day which turned out really good. Please note for protection of your sex life don,t mash mackerel up with a hollow tube, when it eventually works its way up and goes over your head and down the back of your neck your supply will definately be cut off. Graeme Pullen did not make this clear in his totally awesome fishing video i,m not happy.!! Skipper Nick,o,Sullivan has been fishing this area for years and it certainly shows, he is very organised and a very nice chap. He is the man to ring if you want to have a go. The sharks in the photos are all over 100lb, my mum landing two over the tonne, so don,t moan that your arms ache because she is 74. On a different note i would like to thank all the skippers that we fish with, its been a terrible winter and we know the bills dont stop even if the fishing does. YOU are our gateway to a lot of fun and laughs, you give me and many others the chance to escape from the bollocks and spend some quality time with my family chasing the ever elusive whopper! Once again thank you all for what you do. Stuart Cross

  • 07/08/2014 Fishing Report by Dai Kent

    7 Aug 2014 by Dai Kent

    Another outstanding day out with Nick on Celtic Wildcat. (Thu 7 August 2014).

    Not many mackerel about this year so bought a box of skanky ones for rubby-dubby and a good box for hookbaits.....very good idea, as no time wasted trying to find and catch mackerel for bait and straight out to the sharking grounds.

    Cracking weather with ex-Hurricane Bertha due at the weekend. Hardly a breath of wind in the morning then a steady 8-10knot breeze got up in the afternoon which was perfect for the slick.

    Steady action. 19 blue sharks between the 4 of us, with 4 over 100lbs and the best a cracker of 134.5 lbs.

    Nick worked like a Trojan and when he wasn't wrestling feisty blues he was producing a stream of brews.

    Thanks again Nick for another brilliant day.

    Dai Kent

  • 27/08/2013 Fishing Report by Dai Kent

    27 Aug 2013 by Dai Kent

    21 blues between 5 of us. Brilliant day out. Great weather.
    Smallest about 30lb, most in the 65lb to 85lb bracket and 3 over 90lbs, biggest 94.5lbs.
    Top Skipper Nick O'Sullivan.
    Full report and many pictures at http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/south-west-wales-catch-reports-advice/2021991-21-blues-celtic-wildcat-yesterday.html

    Thanks again Nick,
    Dai Kent

  • 18/08/2011 Fishing Report by Luke Rees

    18 Aug 2011 by Luke Rees

    Anticipation built in the week leading up this trip, whilst someone from the club couldn't make it I saw it as an ideal opportunity to try my hand at sharking and get the fish of a lifetime.

    Numerous phone calls between Greg (Co-ordinator for the day) and I had me kitted out with gear that would be suitable for the day. Big rod, big reel and lots of line to rip off. Greg had also recommended to me a company called Rok-Max for all the end bits for sharking. So I had all the gear, and no idea we set off from Neyland Marina at 7 am on board the spacious Celtic Wildcat with Nick O'Sullivan.

    Nick had already prepared a rubby dubby, essential for shark fishing I learnt. Rigged in such a way that the bag of oozing minced mackerel and fishy oils dispersed an oily slick away from the boat to attract the predators.

    Our first stop was the Smalls Lighthouse. Here we would fill a box up with Mackerel for the days bait supply, and for any more rubby if we needed it. Conditions were good as we arrived at the smalls, a very quick and smooth journey in the fast catamaran she is saw us making good time. We were going in to the wind, not that you would really tell. The sky was cloudy, and there was talk on board among The Danglers of rain and wet weather gear. Nick branded us jonnas, as you would expect with the anticipation of the rain and so the days banter began.

    12 minutes at The Smalls, 12 minutes is all we were filling a box, yes filling a very large box full of Mackerel. They were jumping in the boat, and I'm told by the old sea dog Greg Laycock that it was a record. So Mackerel feathers were unclipped and big traces went on, and I mean big.

    Greg showed me how to rig a shark trace, and a little while after departing the pretty lighthouse we were at The Celtic Deeps. Rubby bags in, floats over the side with huge Mackerel baits and we were set. The traces for most consisted of a 15ft wire rubbing trace and a 3ft wire biting trace with a semi barb less hook ranging from 9/0-14/0 across the boat.

    We had set up in the middle of a mass of wildlife. Before long there were sharks breaking the water with their fins. Dolphins, masses of them passed us jumping gleefully time and time again. And then there was the whales, huge massive Fin Whales spouting water up all over the place and coming pretty close to the boat too. So close in fact Nick thought it a good idea to put 1 of the engines on make the whales aware of our presence.

    In terms of fishing, I had a good and bad day. I was getting help from all angles with the guys and I really appreciated it. But I lost a few bits of gear, I am in debt of one float, one biting trace and a rubbing leader to Greg. Sorry. But it was all worth it in the end.

    The first shark of the day, went to Clive Jones. And to every ones surprise it was a Porbeagle and not a Blue.

    Nick really showed he knew what he was doing, wrestling with the Sharks to get them safely on board. Well done Clive a fish measured to 93lb. This was the first of a brace of sharks for Clive today, as he later (after failing to find any Garfish) caught a good size Blue.

    Action was very hectic, and you were a bit reluctant to leaving your rod in case it was your turn so my pictures are limited.

    Paul Canning had a good Porbie too..

    The day had become glorious, the sun was now beaming down and sharks were ripping lines here there and everywhere. Dangler Steve had the best haul of the day with 4 Blues and 1 Porbie. He must have been knackered.

    Mike Steer had done battle with a shark, a bloody good one we guessed too. He fought it for close to 40 minutes and looked like he was gaining on it.. until ping. Gone. A humble man he said "That's fishing". A much better man than me I would have needed my mouth washed out.

    I had a good run, and did battle with a shark of my own for a couple of minutes before a tangle prevented me from gaining line and all of my gear was lost.

    It was now late in the day, Jason had the boats biggest under his belt for the day with a 124lb Porbie. There were two sharks currently being played by Ian Pratt and Greg. Then, with only my bait in the water as some were packing down.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!! It dropped it, so Steve advised me to leave it a few seconds. I then picked it up and bang fish on. It took me two laps around the boat, climbing here and there. Jason kindly secured a butt pad around me which made it a bit easier... not much. And it wasn't long before skipper Nick pulled my first ever shark in. A Blue measuring to 70lb. Fantastic and what an experience.

    It was time to set off on the long journey back to Neyland all 43 Miles of it. In total we had boated 21 sharks, 10 Blues and 11 Porbies. It was a day for records with PB's here and there, first Porbies, quickest box of bait and boating more Porbies than Blues.

    A huge thank you to both Nick and Greg (Skipper and Co-ordinator/My mentor for the day). Both worked hard to ensure that all Danglers had a fantastic day on the water. So much so I have booked again, better get some more gear in.

    Thanks
    Luke

  • 22/07/2011 Fishing Report by Luke Rees

    22 Jul 2011 by Luke Rees

    A full boat of 12 eager Danglers boarded Nick O'Sullivans Celtic Wildcat for an 8am departure from Neyland. Today we were reefing, out to catch some Cod and Pollack, plus whatever else came along. With the weather forecast to drop through the day and a NW wind the journey down the Haven was pleasant. The Wildcat made mince meat of the journey down the Haven and before we knew it the engine was off and quite literally every colour of lure hokkai and worm was dropped over the side, it must have looked like Christmas down there....

    Any way fishing was good to start, I personally hooked into a couple of Codling and Pollack that where just shy of the keeping mark but it was nice to feel the rod bouncing. First into a nice fish was Mike Middleton, who, on most trips seems to bag a nice Wrasse. This trip was of course to be no exception and he boated this beauty of 4lb. It was that exited to see him it was foaming at the mouth!!!

    What a scrap it put up on his white/red hokkais lures.

    The first part of our day continued to fish well, a few Cod and Pollack has come aboard of a keep able size, none worth taking the camera out for... mustn't forget the shed loads of Mackerel that plagued users of lures and hokkais small enough for the rabid mackerel. The first Pollack worthy of a snap was the biggest of the day. At a boats weight 4lb 10oz for Andy caught on the ever impressive and reliable Rhubarb and Custard Sidewinder.

    Now by this point our trip co-ordinator for the day was slyly baging up on nice Codling, using Silver Blue Dreams that only seemed to be picking up Pollack for me. He posed with this brace of fish that were a beautiful plate size. Nice one Wayne.

    John Codd pulled up surprise number one (of three...each more amusing than the last) for the day. A Ling, weighing 4lb. My what teeth you have.

    All was quiet then for a while, when the fish where hard to find ( I shan't bore you with that pish pash) . But the weather settled that little bit more and the tide turned and BOOM, fish back on.

    Keith was persistent after a slow start but connected with the fish using a pink Sidewinder and bagging the biggest Cod of the day at 5lb 8oz. He also took some other good Cod on this lure and bagged up well on the Cod for the day. His advise that the fish were feeding well up in the water saw me switch to a shad and flying collar rig that I worked a good way of the bottom and bagged a 2 Codling and a Pollack. Keith also landed a very pretty male Cuckoo Wrasse.

    Joe had a nice double shot of Pollack...

    Ian then caught surprise number two of the day. A velvet swimmer crab on a Sidewinder. EH?

    Now, a wee tale between the fish for you. Joe Barnikel went and caught himself the bottom. Being snagged he wanted to get rid of it so decided to go and make for his fish hittin' stick to wrap the line around and snap it off. In the mean time his rod had other ideas and ....SPLASH. "Who's rod was that"...uh-oh. Joe's rod and reel had been pulled in by the boats drift and the snag. How gutting ey....but oh no wait. John Codd went and reeled in surprise number three of the day, and possibly the catch of the day... Joe's rod and reel! It was incredible, how lucky can you get!!!! Joe's luck didn't stop there though... no no. Keep reading..

    The next nice fish of the day was a nice Cod.... I mean Wrasse! Ian who was dying for a nice Cod fell victim to disguise as his Wrasse nodded and thumped the whole way up. He was not amused, but on the plus side a lovely 4lb 8oz Ballan Wrasse...

    Yours truly had my biggest Pollack of the day at a nudge over 4lb caught on Berkley Mounted Sandeel... mid water.

    As in true fashion the best is always saved for last, and as I said that Joe's luck had yet to run out he went and caught him self this stunning Ling and the biggest fish of the day at 6lb 10oz. What a cracker.

    Sadly after that we headed for home, thanks to Nick for the extra 15 minutes out there. Joe wouldn't have had his Ling without it. The lighter colour Sidewinder (4inch) where the order of the day and the Hats later in the day definitely out fished the Barrels earlier in the day.

    The drop in wind made for a quick and smooth journey home, and time to reflect on a great day out. Gorgeous conditions on a great boat and the fish where biting. Things are looking good out there for later in the year. Today we had Coley, Codling, Pollack, Mackerel, Cuckoo Wrasse, Ballan Wrasse, Pouting, Launce and Ling.

    Thanks to Nick for a great day out.
    Cheers, Luke@westwalesfishing.

  • 03/07/2011 Fishing Report by Luke Rees

    3 Jul 2011 by Luke Rees

    The forecast was exactly as it was predicted for the last few days. Part of a weekend of fine fine weather, and breathless winds made for a very nice day out on board Celtic Wildcat with skipper Nick.

    The 18 mile journey to our destination, which for today was the Shoals sandbank off St. Govans were we would target Bass, but probably pick up a few other species as well. Now given that the trips for Bass are done in very fast tides, to give every different type of bait or lure the best action to attract fish, Nick had to work hard to ensure there were no tangles on the boat. He did this by managing which side of the boat dropped first, second and when to wind in. This worked well all day and there were very few tangles considering the tide rip...

    The fishing, well the Bass fishing started slow. The first fish in the boat was a Turbot, not just any Turbot... a Turbot caught on a small white Redgill. This raised eyebrows around the boat as Turbot normally feed on sight as well as scent. It was a very welcome sight for Dangler Barry.


    The drifts were fast, again because of the tide and the best part of the drift is short we were back and for over the bank a lot. Being new to using braid, I was amazed at how bumpy the sand bank is, I was told that the ripples in the sand were much bigger out here than conventional beach sand ripples. This paired with the sensitivity given by the braid and light rod made it difficult to distinguish bites.

    Paul didn't have to much trouble spotting the first Bass of the day engulf his Sidewinder Lure and go like stink... up it came, a healthy looking Bass and the first of the day for the boat.


    The next Bass to come on board fell to Ian, who was fishing a rubber sand eel on a flowing trace. Another perfect plate size Bass.



    Shortly after Ian had landed his Bass, I hooked into a Bass using my new 440 Sakuma Circle hooks which I were very impressed with as per the hook up in the picture below. The lure I used was a Kiddy Holographic Sandeel. It was a perfect size Bass for the pot, which I filleted and skinned shortly after boating it.

    Meanwhile, as I was playing my fish Janice had hooked into one much bigger than mine. It was caught on the same setup Ian was using, again a lure similar to the one I had mine. Janice sure showed the guys how to fish today, bagging the biggest Bass of the day at 4lb 4oz.

    The action on the sand bank had appeared to dropped off. I had a Gurnard, and there were a few Weevers caught around the boat as well as some Codling on the bank. We moved off to some rougher ground, and on went the hokkais and jelly worms in an attempt to pick up some Pollack and Cod. There was plenty of action on the water with Dolphins and Gannets going after fish that weren't to far below the surface. The action wasn't too bad on the boat either. A few Pollack came on board, as well as a few undersize Codling but they were welcome for sport.

    I missed a cracking take on my Blue Silver Dream hokkai's. But had a few small Pollack of my own to keep the fishing ticking over. Also on the rough ground we managed too hook into some fairly sizeable Launce. These were kept alive until we went back over the sand bank where we could try for more Bass.

    I think we managed maybe one or two more Bass, all keepers that I didn't manage to get pictures off. But we did however boat a few more Turbot. Barry had another one, again a keeper this time caught on squid strip.

    Yorkie also managed one, as did I on fresh Launce fillet. I fished mine on a long flowing trace made of 20lb Fluro Carbon with a 440 Circle Hook. Its a new species for me and boy did it taste great!!!

    Shortly after our return to the sand bank we made for home, reflecting on a day that could have been better on the Bass front but with spectacular weather, a few Turbot, good tea and coffee (Ma's Drizzle Cake again) and hard work from skipper Nick we had a cracking day. A total of 8 species too... Bass, Launce, Turbot, Pollack, Codling, Coalfish, Gurnard and Weever.

    Luke@westwalesfishing

    For all pictures from the day see... http://westwalesfishing.blogspot.com/2011/07/danglers-go-for-bass-3711.html

  • 25/09/2010 Fishing Report by Ian Pratt

    25 Sep 2010 by Ian Pratt

    You have to be keen to go shark fishing. Well that's what I told myself anyway when the alarm went at 0350 and I drove down to Neyland for an 0700 departure.

    Anyway, a great group of 8 lads onboard for the last Danglers shark trip of the 2010 season - last chance saloon for this year.

    I was really looking forward to the day - I've already had a PB 130lb shark this year so was pretty relaxed - one under the belt; just have fun.. A few of the lads were virgins though and so the pressure was really on them to boat the big blue of a lifetime....

    It's stunning motoring down the Haven on an Autumn morning. Nothing better. Good company, a day at sea, and a glorious Pembrokeshire sunrise. We rounded St Ann's and the swell picked up a little but nothing too horrendous. The northerly airflow made the air crystal clear and you could see for miles and miles.....right up to Grassholm and beyond

    We stopped off at the Barrels to load up with mackerel. It took a little longer than usual as there was plent of small stuff. We also pulled in a few codling and pollack. Anyway, boxed up with chum, we motored way offshore to the shark grounds 28 miles from nowhere. The water was inky black and clear and soon the slick was oozing its oily summons to the ocean predators.

    We didn't have to wait long - not even a boiling kettle length. First up we saw the shark dorsals patrolling around the boat right on the surface, taking in the heady mix of yummy, chummy mackerel. Then, the first shark headed toward one of the outside floats and made a dive. Moments later, the ratchet screamed off with the first run of the day.

    After a good account of itself, Jason boated the first blue - so we knew it was going to be a good day. Well done fella.

    We then had quite few really good runs which were lost - either through a dropped bait or through a combination of equipment failure and poor technique! The sharks also happily ploughed through everyone's lines as they made off with their free lunch causing a couple of small tangles and lost end tackle.

    In between the runs, we watched the dolphins and gannets and some of the lads entertained themselves with the garfish - I think we had a round 20 all of a good size. These also proved by far the best bait for the blues as well as for tea!

    The old shark-meister himself, Cpt. Pennar Pointer then demonstrated how it should be done. A text book handling of the run and playing the fish to oscar performance standard.

    Now shark virgin Paul is normally the calmest and most placid man on the boat. However, having lost two very good fish earlier in the day, he was having to count to 10 quite often. Sharking does that to a man. Finally, he had a third run and this time, the fish stayed on.

    Paul took his time and let the fish tire out, playing the clutch like a pro. This was a young male blue and boy did he go like a train - or maybe a lift: up and down; up and down; up and down

    Well done Paul. A virgin no more. Congratulations

    Huw Nash and Clive share another blue - in all I think we boated 5 and lost at least as many.

    SkipperNick gave us a superb day out. Sharking on Celtic Wildcat is excellent fun with plenty of deck to space out - and to safely land and unhook the fish and take a quick photo. Thanks Nick for looking after us on the sharkers this year and we look forward to the ones we've already booked with you for next year. Great value for a 12 hour trip so far offshore and always bang on the fish.

    Finally got home around 2130 and more than ready for a quick beer! What a day. Happy but tired.

    Ian

  • 17/09/2010 Fishing Report by Ian Pratt

    17 Sep 2010 by Ian Pratt

    My arms have only just recovered enought to post this report....so you know we had a good day.

    12 members of the Danglers club steamed out from Neyland on Celtic Wildcat to fish the Hats and Barrels reefs. A lovely calm early Autumn day in the Haven and a little fresher as we rounded out into the ocean and headed out past Grassholm. The northerly air flow gave us super visibility at this wonderful Pembrokeshire location.

    It was pretty much non-stop codling from the start of the day to the end. They came on every lure and shad from sidewinders to goldfish and fire-tails as well as hokkais. The majority were just in size so went back but we all had a few fillets from the larger specimens to take home.

    The pollack - usually the main predators on these reefs - were fewer in numbers but they did make an appearance. The codling were so prolific, some Danglers were actually heard to complain that it was getting too exhausting - drop then nodding bite; drop then nodding bite; drop then nodding bite......! All day, every drift, drift after drift. The codling which were coming to the boat and immediately going back were specimens that would make for a good day out of Penarth in the winter months....

    Anyway, catch of the day by a very very long mile was young Luke from Dale with a lovely codling which came on large red hokkais.

    Later on, following the diving gannets and other bird action, we tried for mackerel and caught strings of mini joeys. We also had ballan and cuckoo wrasse.

    So a good H&Bs trip all round. A huge thank you to skipper Nick O'Sullivan who worked hard all day to keep us busy and gave us a great day out. As ever a lovely trip on a superb boat with a hugely knowledgeable and helpful skipper.

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