Latest Fishing Reports: My Way 2
Back to Main Charter Page-
06/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Jun 2016 by Gethyn Owen
June is one of our favourite months to be afloat. There is no secret that tackling smoothhounds inshore on light tackle is a style of fishing that we look forward to each year. So much that as soon as we hang up our smoothhound rigs for any given year, thoughts and ideas on how to improve catches are already floating around.
After a great season in 2015, this year June had a lot to live up to, particularly as it is considered by our own theory to be the year were the caches are predominantly smallish fish in the 8 to 10lb bracket.
With the Smoothhound Challenge having just finished another successful week aboard My Way, June was looking to be on the money with the hounds, and it didn’t disappoint with most people bagging hounds and numerous new personal bests being set.
Early June we had a group from up the NE of Wales, looking to enjoy sport aboard My Way with smoothhounds. The hounds obliged with numerous being caught and Wrexham angler Tom Jones setting a new Personal best with a superb specimen of 20lb.
Every fish has its magical weight, double figures always a plus and with smoothhounds a 20lber ensures you join the elite club. Next day after Toms success, we managed another 20lber
Mikee Thrussell jnr caught his first 20lber with us last year and then repeated the capture with a 2nd 20lber this year. You can read his account on the website of our Fishing Partner Tronixfishing.
During smoothie time we run many evening trips, 4 hours in the eve targeting these hard fighting sharks. The photos below showing that girl power often wins through
The following four days, were filled with a plentiful number of hounds including 20lb plus hounds each day, again some truly fantastic fishing. Early June and we were joined by Paula and Laura from Wobby Shark Savers. Laura was tagging smoothhounds on behalf of the SSACN. Only tagging hounds over a certain sixe we tagged 39 in a couple days, and both Paula nd Laura managed to land themselves 20lbers.
When space allows I like to fish with the crews aboard My Way, smoothhounds a favourite time of year. One day mid June I caught a small hound, that was sporting a tag. Read the fascinating story & photographs.
Not to be outdone by his son earlier in the month, Mike Thrussell snr, managed to break his own longstanding smoothhound personal best with us this June with a fantastic specimen of 23lb.
With a few missing over recent years this year saw the full compliment of Adults With Problems for the 2016 tour. An annual event of merriment consisting of hounding, laughing, eating drinking and reeling up all manner of unexpected items!
The weather never stops Adults With Problems. A slight change towards the end of our three days, a small species hunt. With many years angling behind him, Peter Hamilton-Tangler- Hutchison still needed to catch his first ever Tompot Blenny, he caught two!
We were on and off the hounds all month, with someday only a few hours on the right state of tide, others the whole days moving and following the feeding patterns learned over the years fishing the bay .
Unlike previous years were June really has been the jewel in the crown of the years weather, we lost the majority of the end of the month to the weather. I even had a busmans holiday booked fishing elsewhere myself, sadly that also fell foul to strong winds
Cancelling trips is never an easy thing to do, you ponder of the conditions for so long, knowing that you could scupper peoples long awaited trip, but also cancel the potential to earn. It’s a hard call, but one that is taken with safety and enjoyment the main contributing factors for most skippers.
My Way sails regularly from Holyhead Marina, our reports and numerous photographs we hope help to tell the tale of our season and how fishing with us progresses through one year
www.goangling.co.uk -
05/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
May 2016 by Gethyn Owen
During the first few days in May and the weather decided it wasn’t best for My Way to set sail, we remained tied up while temperamental winds had their say.
During the first weekend, things settled down over the Spring Tides. Conditions were still breezy but quite good given the conditions, pollack and codling on the drift with doggies, whiting, more codling, huss & others coming to the boat at anchor.
We managed a couple first of the year early May, with a very small tope falling to Stockport angler Lisa, this tope also being her first catch of the species.
My Way regular Mark Dolben also came up trumps with the first smoothhound of the year. A pair either side of the 10lb mark kick starting what was to be another fantastic season on these hard fighting small sharks.
By the middle of the month, we had some fairly settled weather coinciding with neap tides. This was going to allow My Way to push a little further out than we had been doing and fish a few marks in Holyhead Deep, a popular area with the potential to throw up some fantastic sport.
A regular crowd from The Wirral were not to be disappointed on a recnet trip to Holyhead Deep, with Scottish International angler Mickey coming up trumps with a great pair of spurdogs.
A 16lber on his first drop and a magnificent 20lb specimen towards the end of the Deeps anchor. From 200ft of water in 1.5knots of tide, this really did put up a great fight.
Plenty of species showing up inshore, with small pollack and wrasse making far more regular appearance whilst on the drift around the rock marks and on the back of Holyhead’s famous Breakwater.
The Deeps fishing continued for a few days, with the settled weather remaining over Anglesey and the fishing obliging our anglers. The main target remaining the big huss and big spurdogs, small tope also falling to the baits on the odd occasion.
Middle of May and the weather was turning a little as the neap tides made way for larger and stronger tides. The good movement in the water added more smoothhound fun to our trips as the season slowly got underway.
Local angler Peter Williams nailing himself a new personal best after landing our first 20lb smoothie of 2016.
Our spurdog rigs are famed for the ability to continually land big spurdogs, over an over again. Tide in house with only the best products, the rigs also benefit from using wire on the snood lines.
Spurdogs have small rows of razor sharp teeth, that can be seen clearly in the photograph.
The last full week of May saw the return of My Ways annual hound competition, The Smoothhound Challenge, handsomely sponsored by Tackle Giants TronixPro
Marking the start to our hounding season, last week saw the return of the annual Smoothhound Challenge aboard GO Angling - My Way Sea Fishing Trips, this year sponsored by tackle innovators Tronixpro.
Conditions were great all week with calm seas greeting all that fished with us. The fishing wasn’t hectic, with packs of smoothhies failing to show. Instead a steady stream came to the boat, mainly lone hounds with the odd double or triple hook up through the week
Up for grabs each day during our Smoothhound challenge a TronixFishing rod and reel combo, Envoy Multiplier reel and a 3 piece multitip, Iridium Berlangas 275 rod. All the angler had to do was catch the heaviest smoothhound of the day.
We managed to land over 120 smoothies, many in the 6 to 10lb range, quite small by our own standards, but true to form with the cycle of smoothhound fishing and sizes. However the best during our week was caught by local rod Mark Cain, a whopping 24lb 2oz, just short of the current Welsh Record.
On refelction, May was another good month aboard My Way
Sailing regularly from Holyhead Marina, our reports and numerous photographs help tell the tale of our season and how fishing aboard My Way progresses through one year
With July promising to be a great month once again, check our spaces here - boat or current individuals
Full report and photos please copy & paste this addreess into your browser
http://www.goangling.co.uk/articles-reports/Report_2016_May.php
Gethyn Owen
Tel: 07971 924046
www.goangling.co.uk
www.facebook.com/GOAngling
www.twitter.com/GO_Angling -
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.
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 11 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) -
05/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
May 2016 by Gethyn Owen
Marking the start to our hounding season, last week saw the return of the annual Smoothhound Challenge aboard GO Angling - My Way Sea Fishing Trips, this year sponsored by tackle innovators Tronixpro.
Conditions were great all week with calm seas greeting all that fished with us. The fishing wasn’t hectic, with packs of smoothhies failing to show. Instead a steady stream came to the boat, mainly lone hounds with the odd double or triple hook up through the week
Up for grabs each day during our Smoothhound challenge a TronixFishing rod and reel combo, Envoy Multiplier reel and a 3 piece multitip, Iridium Berlangas 275 rod. All the angler had to do was catch the heaviest smoothhound of the day.
We managed to land over 120 smoothies, many in the 6 to 10lb range, quite small by our own standards, but true to form with the cycle of smoothhound fishing and sizes. However the best during our week was caught by local rod Mark Cain, a whopping 24lb 2oz, just short of the current Welsh Record.
For more photographs from the week please copy and poaste the following link into your browser
http://goangling.co.uk/articles-reports/2016-report-smoothhounds-challenge.php -
04/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Apr 2016 by Gethyn Owen
What a month April has been, weather wise we often refer to April showers, but this last month I think April has been through all the seasons, with a few days consisting of glorious sunshine, together with rain, hail snow and an awful lot of wind. This squall was sat above our intended fishing ground in Holyhead Deep.
We left calm seas, in bright sunshine and were greeted with a good stiff breeze, that then also through hail, sleet and full on snow mid April. It turned bitterly cold with ice sticking to the deck. Back inshore that afternoon; the sunshine once again blazed down upon us.
We have managed a good number of trips afloat, were some have tested our patience and kept us inshore, others have seen us venture into Holyhead Deep for successful hours catching big spurdogs and bull huss. Inshore we found a good mixed bag on every day, dogfish, codling, whiting and huss ranging from a few ounces up to double figures coming to the boat regularly.
Local angler Phil Crompton had not fished afloat for a good number of years, concentrating his efforts more on the shore. Wanting to find his way back into boat angling, Phil chose a trip to Holyhead Deep this week to kick start his angling escapades afloat. The rewards came thick and fast with plenty of bits inshore followed by some great spurdog fishing
I had avoided drifting the inshore rock marks for a number of weeks, sadly the [pollack were slow to move in and the waters far too cold still for wrasse. By Mid April, it was time for another try. Thankfully the smaller pollack were around together with a few coalfish,. Nothing big, but a start for inshore fishing and with fish ranging from 1 to 3lb, a steady flow ensured great fun for an early season session.
With an ever increasing species count, Aprils fishing improved daily with a great variety of fish coming aboard My Way most days
For more photos with this report, please copy and paste this link into youir browser
http://www.goangling.co.uk/articles-reports/Report_2016_April.php
Many more reports and photographs, an honest account of fishing from Holyhead, can be found on our website or facebook page
http://www.goangling.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/GOAngling -
04/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Apr 2016 by Gethyn Owen
My Way regular Steve Harrison from Manchester, enjoyed another cracking day aboard My Way this week. As with most trips we started off inshore with a good number of doggies, small codling and small huss. Steve managed something different with a nice spotted ray.
Lunchtime we headed out to Holyhead Deep and were then rewarded with plenty of spurdogs and huss for the crew, with Steve also bagging up for him himself -
04/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Apr 2016 by Gethyn Owen
Local angler Phil Crompton had not fished afloat for a good number of years, concentrating his efforts more on the shore. Wanting to find his way back into boat angling, Phil chose a trip to Holyhead Deep this week to kick start his angling escapades afloat.
The rewards came thick and fast with plenty of bits inshore followed by some great spurdog fishing … -
12/04/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
12 Apr 2016 by Gethyn Owen
Great day afloat today, little slow inshore - dogs, small huss, whiting, a solitary spotted ray and numerous 'micro codling' to a variety of baits. Mid afternoon we pushed off a little and tried a new mark looking for more quality spurdogs! It paid off, with spurs well into double figures alongwith some nice huss and dogfish.
One of the days best goes to Peter Williams who managed to set a new Personal Best with a great looking spur of 16lb 15oz -
03/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Mar 2016 by Gethyn Owen
March 2016 was true to form, plenty of wind and rain mixed in with some gloriously fine days. The fishing, when able to get out was generally very good for early season, with some great spurdog fishing available when the weather allowed for travel a little further afield.
Our general fishing trips in March tend to centre on our mainstay species, dogfish, whiting, codling and huss. These are caught in abundance with rays, coalies, pollack, dabs, congers and a few others making an appearance.
Weather permitting, we travelled to areas of Holyhead Deep and encounter for fantastic sport from the packs of spurdogs passing through our waters. Normally Holyhead Deeps needs a neap tide to be fished successfully.
When the weather is great early season the area we fish in the Deeps the tide size is not so critical. Granted the smaller tides give us longer at anchor, but a spring tide can also offer over 2hrs of good fishing.
The vast majority of the spurs have been well into double figures, with the biggest falling to Burnley angler Bernard Casey, a fantastic species of 20lb 13oz, 1 lb over the current Welsh Record boat caught spur. She was weighed, and released after a quick photograph.
April aboard My Way and the fishing continues to improve as moore species move inshore and the spurdog fishing improves.
Please visit our website, Facebook pages or CBUK Catch galleries for up to the moinute reports and photographs from 2016 catches ...
Tel: 07971 924046
www.goangling.co.uk
www.facebook.com/GOAngling
www.twitter.com/GO_Angling -
02/2016
Fishing Report by Gethyn Owen
Feb 2016 by Gethyn Owen
The end of 2015 and first 7 weeks of 2016 has seen wind after wind ravage our shores. Most of the UK has suffered with the relentless onslaught together with an unbelievable amount of rain. We cancelled far too many trips the back end of 2015, with storm force winds a seemingly daily occurance.
I took My Way out of the water earlier than planned last season and took the time through the poor weather to get many jobs done, all in anticiaption of a great start to 2016. That didn't quite go to plan, with the first 4 weekends of bookings lost to the power of the wind.
However we managed to get afloat week last Weds, on a small 4hour trip with two families, all looking for their first taste of Anglesey fishing, albeit during February and amidst some awaful wind. Fortunately they brought some great weather and took to fishing with such a enthusiasm it was refreshing to see
Over the weekend 28th & 29th February we managed to grab two whole days afloat. The fishing was fairly good for the time of year and weather. Most rods returneed a fairly regular supply of dogfish, whiting and huss, mixed in with the odd strap conger, codling, pollack and coalfish.
On the Sunday the easterley wind had abated so after a fish filled isnhore few hours we managed to move off to some deeper water. The fishing wasnt hectic, with everyone trying big baits in the hope for some early spurdog action. We were rewarded with a couple spurs and some huss, together with the obligatory dogfish.
Fish numbers, I must admit to being fairly pleased with the quantity being returned, likewise on species, given the weather and time of year, it's not too bad a start. Looking forward now to bigger and better as the season gets into full swing.
more photos and reports www.goangling.co.uk
