Latest Fishing Reports: My Way 2
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23/04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
23 Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
Report from Milnrow Sea Anglers following a trip aboard My Way 23rd April 2017
Cracking trip out with Gethyn on My Way
Started on the Mud and had Dabs Whiting and Dogs ohband a bonus Lobster for Mark
Next stop back of the Breakwater and South stack for some Pollack and Wrasse and a couple more dogs
Next stop in the deeps for a drift for Pollack which was very successful with nice Pollack to just short of double figures. Last stop anchored in the Deeps for some cracking Bullhuss, Spurdog, Thornbacks Tope, Dogs and Pollack. Cracking day out, wind dropped ,sun shone and brews were flowing
And thanks to Gethyn for a very wrlcome Chillie- con-Carne with rice and wraps
Paul Whiting, Milnrow Sea Anglers report -
17/04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
17 Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
Hard work on the bigger stuff again this morning, but we've caught a few fish and had a good time so far. Plenty of pollack averaging few lb on the drift with wrasse,, codling and a few mackerel.
Highlights from the day included spurdogs and huss, with a nice 6lb 7oz pollack for Parky and young Tom Rowan with his first spurdog and first bull huss -
14/04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
14 Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
Another great day afloat today, laughs & fish despite a blustery west wind restricting play.
Plenty of pollack to be had for all onboard, along with codling coalfish, mackerel, herring and a few ballan and cuckoo wrasse on the drift.
At anchor dogs, whiting and huss, with dabs, poor cod and pouting adding to the fun. Sadly a blankety blank on the spurdogs again.
www.goangling.co.uk -
07/04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
7 Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
Under the rocks ... rocks ��
Inshore fishing yesterday was great fun, but the deeps let us down with only big huss to the hooks, so a change of venue was called for today. After a mixed bag inshore, it was time for a delicious beef casserole, thanks to Dawn we then went on the drift and were rewarded with plenty of good sized pollack for April. The deeps followed and thankfully the fish came too.
Plenty of big huss and spurdogs for all onboard, but birthday boy Iwan had to win the day with three nice tope, the best pushing the scales to 34lb.
Fantastic day afloat with a great crew, however tinged with a little sadness for Shelby, who broke a nail whilst dealing with a spurdog. A minutes silence please -
08/04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
8 Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
A weekend of mixed fortunes!
This time of year our main targets are the packs of spurdogs that swim through our waters. Saturday 08th Apr, started off in true April fashion, a run out to the deeps was rewarded with over 40 spurdogs in a mad and frantic 90 mins, these together with a few huss and customary dogfish.
Sunday 09th Apr with a similar tide & conditions, not a sniff! Huss and dogs only, not even a solitary spurdog lost from its pack. Fishing can be so frustrating at times, everything can be planned to perfection, except the one main ingredient, the bloody fish!
Never the less, inshore was loaded with dogs, whiting, huss and dabs etc and some nice pollack and the odd wrasse on the drift. We also ate and drank well and had a barrel of laughs.
I guess that's fishing
www.goangling.co.uk
www.uk.purefishing.com -
04/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Apr 2017 by Gethyn Owen
A great weekend was just had aboard My Way from Holyhead, kicking off April in superb fashion. We had a good variety inshore with dogs, whiting, codling and huss the mains at anchor, with a good number of pollack to 2lb on the drift on the Saturday.
Late afternoon on both days saw us catching plenty of Spurdog at the edge of Holyhead Deep. Numerous small sharks landed averaging 10lb in size, with a good few mid teens and one each day over 17lb.
Meltham & District SAC member Dave Blakey, landing the largest, a superb 17lb 10oz specimen, leading the way in our 6 week long Pure Fishing Spurdog competition, catch the heaviest over this period and win a Greys GR100S 20lb Boat & Abu Ambassedeur 7000C LW multiplier reel combo.
http://goangling.co.uk -
25/03/2017
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
25 Mar 2017 by Gethyn Owen
Enjoyable spring day afloat today, plenty of doggies and whiting inshore with a few small pollack on the drift.
Deeps was hard work with a strong tide and ever increasing breeze, but we managed to bag a handful of spurs and Huss, followed by a rollercoaster ride back home.
Good fun, a lovely chicken curry from Mrs Brooksy and and equally delicious Aloo Methi from little Neil, thanks guys and not forgetting a damn good laugh along the way -
01/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Jan 2016 by Gethyn Owen
Our review of 2016 is more pictorial and can be viewed in details by copying and pasting this link into your browser
http://goangling.co.uk/review-of-2016-aboard-my-way/
The report is interspersed with a few anecdotes of the fishing aboard My Way through the year.
End of February is when My Way usually refloats after her winter maintenance and tender loving care. The fishing can often be as mixed as the weather, with some days producing far more than others.
The inshore fishing can be quite hectic at times, with dogs, whiting, codling and Huss the mainstay of a fairly decent mixed bag of around 10 species. Thornback rays often a double figure addition to the mix of species caught. Holyhead Deeps received the odd visit on small tides, looking for the return of the spurdog packs.
Holyhead Deep started to show its worth as we entered March, the spurdogs becoming ever more present and reliable together with some good sized bull Huss.
As with March, the month of April sees much of our fishing in the Deep. Early season we are fortunate that we’re not too reliant on neap tides and can venture to certain parts of the Deeps on all tides.
Naturally time at anchor shortens on the springs, but with the spurdogs loving to feed around the ground in these parts, double figure small sharks are almost always on the cards.
April and May saw the inshore fishing picking up with an array of different species coming to the boat.
Once again inshore drifting started to become a part of the day afloat with the wrasse and pollack fishing improving each outing, nothing too big under the rocks, but the odd pollack touching a few lb in weight going home for supper with the anglers.
Mid May and through June, we again turned our attentions to the smooth hound fishing that Holyhead and My Way particular is famed for. Big double figure smoothies on light gear have long been a large attraction for many of our anglers.
2016 was no different; our annual Smoothhound Challenge event was another great success with many hounds being landed each day and 5 lucky anglers winning a brand New rod & reel combo.
We see the smoothhound fishing run in certain cycles and 2016 was always to be the year of smaller fish. For 6 weeks of targeted fishing we landed hundreds of hounds, with I would suggest an average size of around only 10-12lb.
Despite this the big big girls also showed well, with 14 hounds topping the scales at over 20lb in weight. To catch a 20lb hound is stuff of dreams, to help 14 anglers achieve this in 2026, was so rewarding. We’re hoping that 2017 will also be a bumper year with many big girls making a show.
Once into July we start to concentrate more on general mixed bag fishing with weather depending runs out to Holyhead Deep. Hounds are still around and a good few were caught this year right through to October, but the fishery becomes less targetable as the packs slow down.
Thornback rays were quite plentiful through the year with spotted rays also making an appearance. Sadly we never saw a blonde ray this year, they seem to have declined dramatically over the last 5years.
Holyhead Deeps southern areas become a must if neap tides and weather combine. The spurdogs are still around albeit not in such large numbers, but are then supplemented with some cracking sport from tops and big huss, all of whom can put up a great account of themselves from 200ft of water.
August, similar to July offers a world of different species with day and evening trips offering some wonderful sport for both the new and experienced angler. Plenty of species can be targeted to help achieve a personal or club goal throughout the year.
August 2016 the weather was unsettled; however we managed to sail on quite a regular basis, with some great fishing. We often chased up to 20 species a day from various marks at anchor and the glorious rocky headlands around our beautiful Island.
September 2016 will always be the month of the shark; for myself and the anglers aboard My Way on that particular. Having spoken for years about targeting sharks off Holyhead, I finally bit the bullet and took the plunge. Our trip was a great success that has now opened up some great opportunities for us going into 2017.
October inshore had a bounty of species big and small for our anglers, great times on a few different days helping some to new species and a few personal bests.
In the bay a good number of tope coming to the scales, we’ve had a good year on tope, with both Holyhead a Deep and inshore fishing well. Nothing too massive with plenty of small pack tope and our largest, and first ever tope for local rod Dave Sanderson a cool 45lbs.
November & December saw us battling the weather, where as nothing as severe as the numerous storms of 2015, many trips were thwarted by excessively high winds.
However on the days we did sail, the fishing prooved to be very good. Inshore again the species count was numerous and offshore spurdogs, big Huss and the odd conger kept everyone catching and happy.
Thanks to everyone who has once again helped make 2016 another successful year afloat. Wishing you all the very best for 2017 and look forward to seeing you aboard My Way -
06/09/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
6 Sep 2016 by Gethyn Owen
Porbeagle Shark
06th September 2016
For years we've encountered the odd shark during our fishing exploits off Holyhead, bitten fish, snapped lines etc. This year we decided to bite the bullet and invest in new gear, fact finding trips, so much reading and then finally set out to target sharks.
This week has been planned for a long time & foul weather was all set to scupper our chances, but a break in the winds saw us set sail early doors today, 50lb class gear, custom made wire shark traces and enough rubby dubby to sink a smaller boat!
Baits in the water and floats set, we had a couple dropped hooks and false calls with small tope before one rod twitched around 4hrs into our day. Quickly line started to scream from the reel and after a few mins it was clear this was something, it was no tope. After so long in the planning, a 90 minute epic battle was soon underway. So many darting runs, remaining under the boat, around the boat and up the bow on 4 separate occasions. Make no mistake, this shark was in charge. When it first broke the surface the screams and gasps were loud, we had managed to hook a porbeagle shark, and a bloody big one too.
Then it ran again, 4 times we had it to the side of the boat, rubbing trace held twice, but it wasn't ready to meet us. On the fourth occasion, we were preparing to land, and the most devastating noise was heard … snap … oops, the rod snapped (stop laughing ), the line broke and the shark swam free. A deathly silence fell upon My Way!
Question, was the mission a success?
Of course it was! So much planning and preparation and then on our first attempt we hooked and technically released, a porbeagle shark that was well in excess of 100lb. -
06/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Jun 2016 by Gethyn Owen
In 2008 and following years we were heavily involved with the University College Dublin (UCD) Ph.D researcher Edward Farrell in his study of Starry Smoothhounds.
Eds research was studying the seasonal migration of smoothhounds but also to show that Starry Smoothounds only and not the Common Smoothhound visited the UK and surrounding waters. Ed had an article published in the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) Journal of Marine Science in January 2009 showing his findings on Starry & Common hounds
In a nutshell, not one Common Smoothhound was recorded from Holyhead or any other participating area. Follow this link to Phill Williams excellent article on Eds research.
Fast Forward to 2016 and it's smoothhound season aboard My Way once again, Holyhead and in particular My Way, is famous for putting anglers on to some of the best hound action the UK has to offer. With hundreds caught many of which go double figure, My Way also has a pretty enviable Gallery of hounds recorded over 20lb.
Local angler Pete Williams, with another 20lb hound caught mid May 2016. The first of 12 so far recorded aboard My Way this season. When space allows I like to fish with the crews aboard My Way, smoothhounds a favourite time of year. My smoothie fishing in 2016 has so far been fairly good, with numeorus fish caught and the odd day session returning over 10 double figures to me. One day recently I caught a small hound, that was sporting a tag.
The tag was identical to the ones we had been using to tag hounds nearly a decade ago, the tag and tag site were in good condition with barely a sign of having been at sea for such a long time, could it be one of us. After a few photographs the smoothie was released again. Naturally I didn't have the tag details to hand, so was going to have to wait a while till I could found out if smoothhound R00150 was indeed previosly tagged by us.
Once back, I emailed Ed with the details and soon learned that the male smoothie was originally taggeg by us in Holyhead bay on the 29/05/2008. When tagged it was almost a fully grown male, so hadn't really grown much. But had been at liberty for over 8years. Had it passed through Holyhead before and simpy avoided being caught? We'll never know, but we do know it did return.
After a quick weigh, 6lb 2oz and a few photographs, the hound was released once again, it swam away at an incredible speed ... maybe to return once more in another 8years time!
Once again in 2016, we have been involved with data collection and the tagging of smoothhounds. We were joined aboard My Way in June by Laura Bond from the Shark group Wobby Shark Savers and her father Paul, tagging smoothhound on behalf of the SSACN (Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network)
For the story with plenty of photographs, please copy and paste the following link into your browser
http://goangling.co.uk/articles-reports/2016-tagged-smoothhound.php
