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01/2013 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

Jan 2013 by Scott Belbin

I thought I’d best do a write up for CBUK as its been a while since my last one. 2013 has started well for us at mersea with good numbers of cod, thornback rays and even the odd bass showing on some boats! The winter season started well then faltered a little around the end of November/start of December. For one reason or another the fishing was patchy for a few weeks with with the odd good day here and there and a few decent fish around. Thankfully just before Christmas the fishing improved although the poor weather over Christmas stopped us getting out after them. The weather was a far better by the time our first trip of the year came.
On the 5th we headed out on a murky but calm day with a double booking between my boat and my fathers boat the ‘razorbill’. There were five lads on each boat so loads of room as we started fishing. The first fish to show were the whiting with bites and fish from the first cast. Still on the first cast and mike nearly lost his rod as a decent fish made off down tide. It was soon clear he was into a decent thornback although it didn’t make it to the boat as his knot came undone! The fish was lost and mike was left to ponder what might have been. It wasn’t long before we had our first decent fish aboard though and by low water we had managed 11 rays and 10 cod. We kept catching over slack water and the tide turned fairly quickly anyway. As the flood started to run the rays thinned out a bit but the numbers of cod increased to keep us busy. As high approached and the tide backed off we called it a day. The lads had been busy with a good run of fish all day, they totalled 43 cod around 2-4.8lbs. there were good numbers of rays too with 17 with the two biggest falling to rocko at 10.12lbs and 12.7lbs. with plenty of whiting and several dogfish to keep the bites coming too.
The next day I had 7 individuals aboard for an offshore trip. The weather was perfect as we had an early start to work the tides. There was little or no sea and as daybreak came and the sun rose into a clear sky. It took us a while to punch all the way out but we arrived with the ebb in full flow. About half an hour after we arrived the fog caught us up unfortunately and what promised to be a nice day turned to 100yrds visibility. This was nothing but a small inconvenience though and after the obligatory dogfish to start us off Liam had the first thornback of the day. This was followed soon after by a couple more rays none of any size though. As low approached we managed a couple more better sized rays amongst the steady flow of dogfish gracing the gunwale. As the flood trickled through Chris hooked into the first cod of the day with the tell-tale thumping on the rod tip all the way up. Nothing massive around the 7lbs mark but a nice start to the cod. As the flood got under way no more cod just the odd ray mixed in with the dogs. Until Pat hooked into what was clearly a decent cod. It was different right from the bite and was soon banging it head in a typical cod fashion before bumping off the hook also in typical cod fashion. It was clearly a decent fish putting quite an impressive bend in his rod although we’ll never know unfortunately. As the day went on we had a couple more rays. No more cod and more surprisingly no whiting? We finished with 16 thornbacks 1 cod and endless amounts of dogfish.
This weekend gone we had to cancel Saturday with strong easterly’s but thankfully Sunday saw a decrease in the wind. We headed out with just 4 aboard after a couple of no show’s no doubt scared off by yesterday’s weather and disappearing off the face of the earth. We didn’t have to go far to our mark so had plenty of time fishing. We arrived on the start of the flood and had steady fishing throughout the day. The whiting were numerous but not in too numerous and just two dogfish all day. The codling came steadily now and then throughout the day to leave us with 15 overall and four happy anglers. I update my website weekly with fishing reports so for more information, available dates and a weekly fishing update visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk
30/05/2012 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

30 May 2012 by Scott Belbin

I know its been a while since my last report on CBUK so I thought I’d best put one in while I have the time. The fishing has been good around Mersea this year with January being one of the best months for cod which surprised many of our anglers as January has a bit of a bad name at times. the fishing continued through February and as we went into march and the sprats moved off we had expected a bumper spring run of cod. however as so often with fishing it surprised us again with a mass of herring moving in through out the east coast. The fish were so thick that they were even giving us false bites as they hit the lines. Most of the cod seemed to be up in the water chasing the herring but thankfully we could still find good numbers of thornbacks in places and it wasn’t too long before the herring started to thin out. Once they left the cod came back on the chew and we are still seeing the odd one mixed in even now. the thornbacks are still showing in steady numbers with an average of 15-30 a day if you target them.
We have had the odd day after bass and seen a few nice fish to boot. There aren’t many anglers who can catch a bass without raising a smile. There’s even been the odd sole mixed in amongst them again with a nice fish of 1.12lbs falling to one of our regulars Steve.
Coming right up to date and last weekend produced some nice fishing. We had a stag party aboard Saturday and the lads behaviour was faultless saving the drinking until the evening so they could enjoy their day afloat. They opted for a late start which is unusual for me but makes no difference. We left at 11.30 and just a short ride out and we were on the thornbacks. We fished until just gone three and I was kept busy casting and re-baiting for them between netting, unhooking and making the odd cup of tea too. Needless to say the trip flew by and they were more than happy with 16 thornbacks and two dogfish.
The next day saw me with a party who jump aboard a couple of times a year. The lads had booked a drifting trip which I do every now and then and by some miracle the conditions were near perfect. A couple of the lads had never caught plaice before nor bad they drift fished so it was a new experience for them. We didn’t fill up but everybody caught plaice and all seemed happy with the 10 we had between the 6 lads. The first couple were only about 5-6inches ling but the rest were a nicer size with the biggest 1.9lbs for Neil. We also saw a couple of launce ,several weavers, a nice dab loads of doggies and a bass. It was nice for me as well as them to be doing something a bit different.
Over the next couple of weeks we will see the first of the tope coming out and hopefully some better numbers of bass too. I keep my last minute bookings and available dates as up-to-date as I can so feel free to take your pick out of them. I will try not to leave it to long before the next report but n the mean time keep an eye on the news page on my website as I update it with reports each week. For further information, available dates and those weekly fishing updates please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk
Tight lines
10/12/2011 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

10 Dec 2011 by Scott Belbin

i thought i'd put in a report as it's been a while. the fishing this autumn has been far better than last year. weve seen steady numbers of cod coming aboard with several thornback still around and even the odd bass or smooth-hound. in fact we had a couple of smooth-hounds just a couple of weeks ago! a sure sign of how mild its been. although were not complaining as the mild weather has ment we are still catching well and have still been able to get out most of the time. there has even been good fishing in the river which has saved a few days for us. further afield there have been a few big cod around although it can sometimes mean sacrificeing quantity for quality. our biggest so far is 16.9lbs cuaght by on of our regulars wayne bennet although we hope to better this over the coming weeks. the fishing inshore is still good and even our evening trips have proven popular. one of our reglular parties jumped aboard on saturday night. there had been a couple of drop outs but the lads were still happy to go with just the 4 of them. we arrived just as the flood was under way and after a few missed bites martin was the first into a fish. a nice codling followed quickly by another on his other rod. john soon followed with a cod of his own. the fishing came in flurries for the next couple of hours before the tide died around 9.30pm. we had already had a good session with john boating the biggest at 10.8lbs and most of the rest around 3-4lbs. now the two new lads fred and perry had a few codling as the tide eased and we had to leave. we finished up with 28 codling for the night with johns 10.8lb fish the biggest, there were sever dogfish and plenty of whiting too.
with fishing like this now we hold high hopes for the spring run of cod which should have fattened up nicely. there are a few spaces over christmass with nice tides otherwise im taking bookings for next year.
for more information, available dates and a weekly fishing update please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or phone 07956411528
06/08/2011 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

6 Aug 2011 by Scott Belbin

i thought i'd put in a quick update on how the summers going from west mersea so far. to be honest the tope fishing throughout june and july was near enough non-existant but i few fish showed to remind us what great sport fish they are.however the bass fishing this year has more than made up for it. After a good start in the spring we have seen good numbers of bass on many days this summer. our general fishing has been better than last summer with good numbers of thornbacks in places and some numbers of bigger smoothounds starting to show over the past few weeks. as with the rest of the country we have suffered from the poor weather this summer. although we can often find shelter, it often means we cant get off to where the fish are on that day. with a break in the weather last weekend we managed to get a days bass fishing in offshore.despite conditions not being perfect it was a pleasure to be out as the last couple of offshore trips had to be changed to inshore trips due to the wind. as usual we fished the last of the ebb with three bass around the 2-3lbs mark to show for our efforts before the tide died. we then re-psitioned the boat ready for the flood. there was a fair breeze blowing which held us off the bank for the first 45minutes but once the tide got up we were on the mark and saw our first couple of bass for the flood. we fished here untill about 12.30 when after a busy hour we had totalled 18 bass to with most in the 2-4lbs range and a couple of undersized fish. the fishing slowed so we moved to our next mark which was 6-7 miles closer to home. here we anchored with the hope of a mixed bag including some bigger bass and we werent disapionted. the first fish was another bass which was just under size and it wasnt long before we had our first thornback of the day. we fished here for another couple of hours before we had to head for home. by the time we had finished we had a nice mixed bag to add to the 18 bass, dogfish and weaver fish we had caught in the morning. the lads had managed 10 thornbacks with a couple pushing doubles, 12 more bass around the same stamp as earlyer. we had a smooth-hound about 5lbs and a sole and of course several dogfish too. we also managed 2 codling shortly before we left which was good to see. several other boats have caught some too over the last week. thats a great sign for the coming cod season! after last years poor show it seems that those little ones we were catching in the spring are returning with a bit of added wieght.
over the next month or so we should see good numbers of smooth-hounds, bass should be good especially if we can get offshore for another crack at them the thornbacks will start to move back inshore in a few weeks time and sometime in september we should see the first run of codling. keep an eye on the 'last minute bookings' as we get the odd drop out although we are fully booked untill october at the minute. for more information,available dates and a weekly fishing update please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or phone 07956411528
27/05/2011 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

27 May 2011 by Scott Belbin

The fishing from Mersea has been great over the past few weeks. At first we had a good run of bass which we are still catching. These fish were schoolie sized fish and most falling to worm baits. The first trip we saw them we had 16 bass with a lot of keepers and the biggest falling to lee Johnson with a fish of 7.2lbs. the next week saw a fair bit of wind and we only got out on the Friday and could venture too far. However we still found a few thornbacks. We totalled 13 for the day with a couple of doubles and plenty of dogs to keep us busy. The next three days were too windy so we weren’t out. The next week the tides were just right for the bass so we tried again with 54 bass to 5lbs on the first day and 53 on the second. We have also seen a few soles mixed in where we are using worm baits. However this is only occasionally but they must be pretty hungry to take a 4/0 hook!
The next week saw another low pressure and more wind, however this time it was in the west so we had loads of shelter. We had hire rods out each day and managed 15 thornbacks on the Saturday and 11 on the Sunday with a few other odds and sods mixed in too. The next week we had some fine weather again, we were in search of a mixed bag with the hopes of the first double figure hound of the season. We didn’t find the big hound and had just 7 up to 5-6lbs. We did find a few bass in the morning which kept us busy for a couple of hours. We had around 50-60 schoolies up to about 2.8lbs with most of them under sized. It was great fun though with the feathers taking 3 at a time and red gills pulling them out too.
the next few weeks we will turn our attension to the tope on some trips and on others we should find good numbers of thornbacks and smoothounds aswell as bass mixed in here and there.
For more information, available dates and a weekly fishing update visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or phone 07956411528
27/03/2011 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

27 Mar 2011 by Scott Belbin

today we had 7 individuals out with us and quite a varried crew. paul,steve and bart are well seasoned anglers and kev,greg and john are just getting into it and then ed who normally beach fishes and was out on his first boat fishing trip today. we headed out into a fair swell left over from yesterday but it was forecast to drop through the day. we started in search of some thornbacks and were catching from the first cast. by low water we had managed 10 thornbacks a few whiting and an under sized cod. it was much calmer now and we had a move over slack water in search of some cod on the flood. as we arrived the first trickle of flood was starting and the lads were getting bites from the first chuck. it wasnt long before we started to catch some codling and by the end of the day we had managed 15 codling with nine of them being sizable fish and the rest thrown back. we also saw lots of whiting, a few dogs and a couple of pout. on the last nockings we saw another thornback too which put the final tally at 11 thornback,15cod and lots of bits and pieces. it was also a pleasure to finish the day in sunshine, it wont be long before were catching summer species. for more information available dates and a weekly fishing update please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk
19/03/2011 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

19 Mar 2011 by Scott Belbin

scince december its been hard work fishing around the thames estuary. due to many factors including cold snaps,sprats and general lack of fish! but despite all of that we knew the fish would come back on the feed at some stage as the commercial lads were seeing good numbers of cod. over the last 4-6 weeks the fishing has been slowly building with the odd boat having a noteable day. however last weeks spring tides have seen the fishing improve a vast amount with good numbers of everything. saturday the 19th saw us steaming out on a flat calm day bathed in glorious golden sunshine. we had one of our regular groups aboard and as the lads are fairly laid back and enjoy the day as much as the fishing i planned on a mixed bag targetting thornbacks and cod. the first mark i stopped on was a mid-range mark with hopes for thornbacks and a few better sized cod. as tide got up we had plenty of bites producing lots of whiting and two thornbacks to 10.8lbs but i was hoping for more and we still hadnt seen any cod. i was keeping in contact with the other boats as usual and my father ( stuart on the razorbill 2) kept us up to date. the cod were on the feed in a different area a short steam away so we moved at high water and arrived in time for the ebb.
as the abb started to run we started picking up the codling, these can be frustating as they often bump off the hook but there were plenty there to keep the lads happy. we fished here from 12 untill 15.30 and managed 35 codling over all. about half a douzen were under sized and the lads threw back several sizable fish but still had 19 between 3 ans 5.5lbs to take home. not forgetting countless whiting and a couple of pouting. a good day was had by all.
there are lots of very small codling inshore wich is worth making a note of as these should provide us with a good run of fish over the next few seasons.
we saw our first double figure cod of the year last week so fingers crossed they will hang around like last year when they were still showing into may! not forgetting that there are also good numbers of thornbacks to be caught now too. for a weekly fishing update and available dates please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or phone scott on 07956411528
02/04/2010 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

2 Apr 2010 by Scott Belbin

just a quick update after the easter weekend. the cod have near enough moved off now and the thornbacks are here in good numbers. we saw 44 thornbacks friday, 35 thornbacks saturday, 29 thornbacks sunday and 36 thornbacks monday. we have started to see some other summer species too with our first smoothounds and dogfish showing aswell as a small plaice! for more information a wqeekly update and available dates please visit our website www.essexseafishing.co.uk
21/03/2010 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

21 Mar 2010 by Scott Belbin

21/03/10
hi, sorry its been a while scince the last reort on cbuk but the fishing has been patchy the past couple of months. however it seems to have perked up the past few weeks and a small run of cod have turned up. last trip we had 20 cod of varying sizes to just under 5lbs which was an improvment. yesterday was another step in the right direction when we managed 19 cod to 7lbs and a couple of roker too and today was great with perfect weather and some nice fish showing. dennis had the biggest cod at 13.8lbs and we had another 5 between 7and 10lbs! lets hope they hang around for a couple of weeks. for more information, a weekly fishing update and available dates visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk or phone 07956411528
11/12/2009 Fishing Report by Scott Belbin

11 Dec 2009 by Scott Belbin

after a while fishing inshore due to to bad weather we managed to get offshore today. i had the lads from boat fishing monthly aboard and so we headed for one of my favourite big cod marks as the weather allowed. there was a fair swell running but it was comfortable enough to fish. at first we had a few doggies but soon enough we were into the cod. they came steadily throughout the day and although we only had 20 cod the fish were a great stamp. we had 7 doubles with the biggest just over 16lbs we also had several fish in the 8-10lbs range and a couple of roker aswell. these bigger fish will be around untill just after christmas and with a run of fish this size dont be surprised if we get a 30 pounder! we still have some spaces over christmas and there are still plenty of fish inside if the weather is too rough to get offshore.