Latest Fishing Reports: Chinook 3
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19/03/2017
Fishing Report by Phil White
19 Mar 2017 by Phil White
The last fortnight has seen a big influx of thornback rays into all the inshore areas in the Thames Estuary. These fish are early this year but with the lack of cod they are very welcome.
We are starting to see some big female rays with one reported at 20 lb last week, the best we saw on Saturday was a whopper caught by Peter Hudson at 16 lb. Not only was this his best thronback but his biggest ever fish. All the females are carrying eggs and should be returned alive.
Best baits are herring, squid, mackerel and most other fishy baits, remember to use heavy traces and strong hooks as the trace quite often gets caught around their spines and tail.
The piers and shore marks are fishing well for thornbacks, whiting and dabs with the bigger tides best, mid flood to mid ebb usually. Quite often this time of year you see some different species like gurnards or other flatties.
Offshore has been good for thornbacks, whiting and dabs with some dogfish turning up, best baits are squid and herring although if you want a chance of a spurdog then mackerel is very good as well. These hard fighting sharks give good sport and are protected so should be returned alive. They can grow up to 25 lb or so
Prospects are excellent, there will be some spurdogs turning up in a few offshore places soon, lots more thornbacks and odd bass. -
20/02/2017
Fishing Report by Phil White
20 Feb 2017 by Phil White
We have had a real mix of weather this last fortnight, snow and strong east winds last week then calm and cloudy this week, this has allowed us to get out to the offshore marks where we have had some great sport on the Thornbacks in calm conditions.
Offshore
Fishing has steadily improved every day this week on the offshore grounds. The numbers of Thornbacks is steadily increasing all the time, the dogfish have not turned up yet and there are only odd whiting, this means the Thornbacks are getting time to find the baits without competion. These early Thornbacks really pull hard and in light currents are good sport.
Most fish are the smaller males but the bigger females are starting to show with several fish over 10lb, best at around 12lb on Sunday. Best baits are herring and squid.
Inshore
Fishing is improving all the time, there are more Thornbacks showing up in all areas, these fish will be around all through the spring and into June.
There are some cracking whiting around the inshore marks, these fish will take most baits but squid and lug are the best.
The piers and estuaries have been hard but will improve steadily now with more Thornbacks, whiting and maybe odd codling around. There are still some cracking dabs in the Blackwater estuary, these fish have been with us all winter and have been a lifeline for us on days we would have cancelled.
Prospects are excellent. It looks like Thornback numbers are still very good and with spring around the corner we will start to see other species turn up like the spurdogs or maybe a decent cod or two.
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30/01/2017
Fishing Report by Phil White
30 Jan 2017 by Phil White
As you all know by now the cod have not shown up this winter although there still might be a spring run.
However this has not stopped our anglers from having some great days fishing close by in our estuary. There has been a huge influx of dabs along the Thames Estuary, far more than we have ever had before; these lovely little flatfish have provided us with some cracking sport on days when we would have cancelled.
Techniques are completely different to what we would normally be doing but once you have adapted your rigs and style to suit it’s easy.
You can use really light tackle as we are only fishing on the gentle neap tides, carp or spinning rods are fine, 2 hook flattie rigs with one up one down are best.
Choice of bait isn’t critical, tiny bits of worm, squid, herring, mackerel and sprat all work, fished straight down with a plain lead, you don’t need to cast, indeed when fishing straight down when you get a bite, lift up the rod, if the fish isn’t there you can drop back down and wait for it to bite again.
There are a few Thornbacks around inshore; usually numbers start to increase around mid February depending on water temperature.
Offshore is still hard with a few dogfish, Thornbacks and whiting but again things will improve in 2-3 weeks time as the Thornbacks start to move back in.
Prospects are good, there still might be a spring run of cod and there are plenty of other fish to be caught so don’t give up, change tactics and make use of what is available. -
12/12/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
12 Dec 2016 by Phil White
Great sport over the last week with lots of dabs, these lovely little flatfish have turned up in big numbers in our Estuary giving our anglers excellent sport on light tackle.
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05/12/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
5 Dec 2016 by Phil White
Dabbling with dabs
Whilst we all wait for the cod to arrive another species has turned up in abundance, that is the humble dab.
These sweet tasty little flatfish are giving our anglers great sport on light tackle and are close in which gives our anglers security of a day out and longer fishing times.
Best rigs are a two or three hook flowing trace with a small size 1 hook, best baits are fish strips, squid and worm, best tides are neap tides fishing over the slack water as they don’t like too much tide run.
There are still plenty of whiting with lots of fish getting on for nearly a 1lb; best baits are squid, worm and mackerel.
A lot of the thornbacks have moved offshore but quite often come back inshore in the new year depending on water temperature, we are still catching a few but numbers are down.
There are odd cod around with more reports of fish turning up on the Suffolk coast but it is still quiet in the Thames Estuary with only odd smaller fish showing.
Offshore has been quiet with a few Thornbacks, whiting and dogfish, we did have a bass this week but that was very much an odd fish as most have moved south by now.
Prospects very much depend on when the cod show up as things can change quickly in the winter so keep checking the reports and forums.
The picture shows Jim with three nice dabs caught on Stuart Belbin's boat Razorbill, we had nearly 90 dabs between both boats on sunday.
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10/11/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
10 Nov 2016 by Phil White
A fortnight can be a long time in fishing and when it looked like the cod were on their way it seems to have stalled. There are a few around but we are still waiting for the main run to start, the water temperature is still around 12-13 degrees and needs to fall further before the cod will come into the Estuaries.
Inshore
There are good numbers of Thornbacks of all sizes showing, best baits are herring and mackerel but if you want to try for a cod then stick to lug and squid.
There are some cracking whiting starting to show with plenty of fish around 1 lb mark, best baits are lug, squid and mackerel.
There are a few codling along the shoreline at Jaywick and down to Walton pier, these codling will soon be joined by more fish as the water temperature drops, best baits are squid and lug.
The Rivers are fishing well for whiting, odd codling and thornbacks, these fish will stay in the rivers for a few more weeks.
Offshore
There are plenty of thornbacks of all sizes showing with some fish over 12 lb reported, these fish will stay with us most of the winter unless it gets really cold and then they will move further offshore and stop feeding.
There are odd better cod showing, plenty of whiting and a few dogfish.
Prospects are excellent, once the cod turn up in numbers they should be with us all winter.
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24/10/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
24 Oct 2016 by Phil White
HERE COME THE COD !
Inshore
Well good news, the first cod are starting to show up, most have been reported along the North Essex coastline, the best so far was a cracking fish of 12 lb caught on the Walton charter boat Misty Lady on Saturday, these early fish will soon be joined by more as these big spring tides take off and by next weekend I would expect to see quite a few more, best baits are squid and lug.
There are a lot more Thornbacks showing up in all areas with one charter boat reporting over 60 on Saturday, a lot of these fish are small which is a good sign for the future.
The piers and Estuaries have been fishing well with small codling, good whiting and Thornbacks all showing up.
There are more better whiting showing with several fish around 1 lb reported, best baits for these lovely little fish are lug and mackerel strip.
Offshore
There are still only odd better fish further off, however there should be more showing soon as we get into November and the sea temperature drops. Best reported at 18lb although this cant be verified.
There are lots of small thornbacks everywhere and plenty of bigger ones too, a few dogfish and whiting.
Prospects are excellent, there should be more cod showing up in the next few weeks with the real prospect of some bigger fish coming in.
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10/10/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
10 Oct 2016 by Phil White
The weather has really changed this last week and this has brought the sea temperature down considerably.
Inshore
There are a lot more thornbacks showing up over the last few days in all areas inshore, these smaller rays will be with us through until at least January depending on water temperature, best baits are squid and herring.
The whiting have really pushed in to all areas and there are increasing numbers of better fish showing up, these tasty fish will provide good sport right through the Autumn and Winter, best baits are lug and mackerel.
The piers and Estuaries are producing whiting, thornbacks and schoolies with the occasional oddities like wrasse and gurnards from the piers. Best baits are rag, lug and squid.
Offshore
When the weather has allowed, the fishing has been excellent with a real good mix of fish on the offshore banks throughout September. There have been some good smoothounds up to 10 lb, thornbacks, bass, dabs, small tope, whiting and a few other species.
Prospects are excellent, hopefully we should start to see some cod as we get nearer November, more thornbacks and whiting. -
24/08/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
24 Aug 2016 by Phil White
The fishing over the last fortnight has improved with the start of the autumn influx of thornbacks.
There have been good numbers of Smooth Hounds showing, these bigger female hounds are coming off the shallow water and are on their way out of the Estuary soon, however there are plenty of the smaller male hounds and these will be around until well into October.
There have been several good bass reported with some over 10 lb, these fish will be around well into the Autumn, September is a good time to catch these hard fighting fish as they shoal up before heading off for the winter, best baits are lug, rag and squid.
There are a lot more Thornbacks starting to show up, these smaller fish will spread to all areas during the autumn and will stay until after the New Year, depending on how cold it gets.
There are a few whiting starting to show, these fish will steadily increase in numbers as we get into the autumn with the Cod arriving around early October although the exact timing is dependent on water temperature.
Prospects are excellent with the next few weeks providing a real mix of summer and autumn fish.
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18/08/2016
Fishing Report by Phil White
18 Aug 2016 by Phil White
After a quiet couple of weeks the fishing has picked up with some good hounds up to 20 lb reported, a lot more thornbacks and small tope showing.
