Latest Fishing Reports: Galloper
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05/07/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
5 Jul 2023 by Scott Belbin
For those who don’t already know I have been operating the Galloper from Brightlingsea, Essex for the last 6 weeks or so. I think West Mersea and myself had outgrown each other and eventually I was forced to leave as the various private mooring providers used the size of the Galloper as an excuse not to accommodate me. I wont go too far into the negatives of West Mersea but in stead concentrate on the positives of Brightlingsea.
After running 30 odd trips from there over the last few weeks I can honestly say it is a breath of fresh air operating from a professionally run harbour for a change. There’s plenty of room to manoeuvre and plenty of water to get in and out at all states of the tide. the many advantages have been pointed out by those who are fishing with me too. As I can get Galloper alongside the pontoon at all states of the tide you can now easily step straight on and off of the boat through the side entry door. No more messing around in overcrowded and precarious tenders for you. the pay and display car park is £7 per day so £1.50 cheaper und doesn’t flood on spring tides like coast rd car park at Mersea. there is also I lot of free roadside parking in the surrounding area in the summer and even more in the winter as the parking restrictions are only April to October saving you even more money. The roads to Brightlingsea are generally better than those to Mersea with various reports from our anglers saying either 5 minutes longer or much shorter journeys depending on where they have travelled from. Even those who have travelled from Mersea to join us report 30-40 minutes depending on traffic. The public transport is better connected too with railway stations in nearby Alresford making it easier for those of you without a car. People often used to worry about the strood flooding and stopping them getting on and off of Mersea island so they wont need to worry about that any more either.
It has surprised me just how much time difference it has made on the boat too. We are spending 15-20 minutes less steaming on the boat each way so you are gained extra fishing time each trip too.
It has surprised me just how many people have continued to travel from Mersea to fish with us but I suppose there aren’t many options there any more. For those of you who do still wish to fish from Mersea then I have of course been directing everybody to Dads boat Razorbill 3. He is now once again by far the busiest charter skipper in Mersea at 70 years of age. You certainly wont beat him for experience as he’s one of the longest served in the country now. you can get in touch with him on 07850234077 . alternatively you can join us in our current port of Brightlingsea aboard the Galloper.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming weeks and months if you want to get out.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
06/07 full boat available from £490
07/07 full boat available from £490
11/07-possible offshore trip
12/07-possible offshore trip
13/07-possible offshore trip
17/07-5 spaces @ £60pp
18/07-full boat available from £490
21/07-full boat available from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
03/07/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
3 Jul 2023 by Scott Belbin
There have been some cracking bass coming out lately aboard the Galloper. At times there have been good numbers between both baits and lures depending on conditions. To be honest I’m not sure what the highest numbers have been lately as it all gets a bit hectic when several strings of feathers are full at once but it has certainly been good. There have been some chunky fish showing too with the biggest lately being over 7.8lbs. this all bodes well for our offshore bass trips which we will start next week and continue until the end of November. These can provide some first class sport fishing on both lures and bait using the lightest tackle possible. Im looking forward to grabbing my spinning rod and hurling plenty of metal, plastic and rubber at them over the next few months when ever I can. Please get in touch if you want to join us.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming weeks and months if you want to get out.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
05/07 full boat available from £490
06/07 full boat available from £490
07/07 full boat available from £490
11/07-possible offshore trip
12/07-possible offshore trip
13/07-possible offshore trip
17/07-5 spaces @ £60pp
18/07-full boat available from £490
21/07-full boat available from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
27/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
27 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
Our general trips are producing a great mixture of fish at the moment. The main target is often the hard fighting smooth-hounds. These pretty fish are great sport particularly in shallow water where they really pull your string. As well as hounds the bass are always popular as both sport fish and for the table. They can be a little tricky to hook at times but that’s half of the fun. Using worm can really help attract these fish and we have been enjoying great quality and quantities of these fish once again. There are still a few thorn-back rays around too, some of which are ideal for the table, the others provide a welcome bend in the rod. We have also been catching quite a few tope on our general trips as well. Mostly smaller examples than we might expect on our offshore tope trips but they make a welcome addition to our days fishing and with a few reaching 8-10lbs they start to pull your string too.
Ian Deakin joined us as an individual they other day and had a great mixed bag of fish. there weren’t any giants of anything but he had steady numbers of hounds with a few 8-10lbs, one or two small tope and several sizable bass in between the dogfish. he certainly seemed happy and if he keeps catching like that he is welcome aboard Galloper any time!
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming weeks and months if you want to get out.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
29/06-full boat available from £490
30/06-full boat available from £490
05/07 full boat available from £490
06/07 full boat available from £490
07/07 full boat available from £490
10/07-offshore bass trip 1 space @ £100pp plus worm bait
11/07-possible offshore trip
12/07-possible offshore trip
13/07-possible offshore trip
17/07-7 spaces @ £60pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
19/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
19 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
We have seen some nice bass coming out at times over the last few trips. they have shown on general, offshore and land of no fish trips and in various sizes and numbers. On our general trips worm is definitely helping and we can provide them on the boat care of Colchester bait and tackle if you pre-order. Further afield they have shown on fish baits and lures too. Please let me know if you wish to be added to the list for offshore trips over the coming months or if you fancy a full boat booking for specific species such as bass, tope, plaice or turbot.
I have individual spaces and possibility of full boat bookings over the coming weeks and months if you want to get out.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
21/06-full boat available from £490
22/06-full boat available from £490
23/06-full boat available from £490
29/06-full boat available from £490
30/06-full boat available from £490
03/07-4 spaces @ £60pp
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
15/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
15 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
We have been enjoying some great fun with the smooth-hounds so far this year. The biggest so far falling to uncle Steve at 18.10lbs. it's all great fun though with screaming reels, rods bent, personal bests, smiles on faces and chaos when a pack moves through and several are hooked at once. We will be targeting the hounds on our general trips throughout the summer and my next spaces aboard Galloper from brightlingsea Essex are on 19/06 @ £60pp. Full boat available 20th-23rd and spaces offshore on 25th and 26th. Please call 07956411528 for more information
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12/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
12 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
Although the ray numbers may be down there have been some quality fish this spring as you can see. They continue to come out in places even now and once again les's group had over 20 last trip. That's the last 3 months so good on them. I have full boat availability this week on 14th, 15th and 16th then spaces on 19th of June aboard Galloper from Brightlingsea Essex please call 07956411528
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05/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
5 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
The Thames estuary may not be known for producing a wide variety of fish but as with any type of sea angling you can never be sure what to expect. This time of year can be a great time to see different species and our general trips have done just this over the past few weeks. For me the capture of two small conger eels in as many weeks was very exciting. I know they may not be huge and one swallow doesn’t make a summer ect. Just to put it into perspective, my father has been chartering here for over 50 years now and never had one on board despite his best efforts. lets hope we can find them in greater size and numbers at some point.
We don’t see as many gurnard inshore as we used to so Tony was pleased with a colourful tub gurnard the other day. we should see plenty more tub, grey and even red gurnard on some of our land of no fish trips in the coming months.
Mark managed our first stingray of the year and his first ever one. these are far from common but hopefully we will find a few more before the end of the summer.
Of course we catch some big tope on our offshore trips but we often get smaller fish mixed in on the general trips. Paul had one of 4 the other day a several we have seen inshore over the last few weeks.
Other species caught lately include dabs, silver eel, pouting with the rest of our made up of smooth-hounds, thorn-back rays and bass as well as the ever present dogfish and whiting.
Please get on touch with me for full boat bookings or individual spaces. I can also add you to my messaging list when I am trying to put offshore trips together. Please note that Galloper is a big, fast catamaran with a genuine 60mile code of practice. Not something many local boats can boast these days. All of this helps with our offshore trips and very few local boats can boast a a success rate like ours either.
The hounds will be inshore in numbers until September and we should see plenty more good days and decent fish between now and then.
I have plenty of spaces on general trips for full boat bookings and individuals. I also have spaces for tope, plaice and bass coming up soon so please get in touch.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
09/06 full boat available from £490
12/06-offshore tope trip 5 spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
14th-16th I may try to arrange a day for turbot and other species, it will be long hours and £110pp please text me if you are interested
14/06 full boat available from £490
15/06 full boat available from £490
16/06 full boat available from £490
19/06-8 spaces @ £60pp
24/06- offshore tope trip 4 spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
25/06- offshore tope trip 5spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
29/06 full boat available from £490
30/06 full boat available from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
02/06/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
2 Jun 2023 by Scott Belbin
Another Essex Conger eel aboard the Galloper from brightlingsea, Essex. This time for Andy and it looks like they are getting bigger. Not sure how many we have to catch before we get the elusive ton up fish. Lol
Available for full boat bookings this week on Tuesday 06th, Wednesday 07th and Thursday 08th please call 07956411528
#galloper #essexseafishing #essexconger
#conger #congereel #theyregettingbigger #youneverknowwhatyouregonnaget -
30/05/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
30 May 2023 by Scott Belbin
With the summer fishing now ticking along nicely I thought I would take a look back at our early season offshore trips where our main target is spurdog nowadays. It was a funny season really with us missing some of the best tides due to weather or not being booked. As ever the fish were hit and miss. This is often the case when targeting a particular species especially one as mobile as a pack of spurs. It’s easy to come to expect these fish after seeing some great catches in recent years but I always say I am pleased once the first one comes over the rail and ticks the box.
Its interesting to see how the size of fish seem to vary from one pack to the next, as does the colour. I certainly don’t think these fish are wall to wall in this area and I am concerned about increased commercial pressure in them.
although we started the season well the fish weren’t of the stamp we have come to expect around here. Surely enough we did find some nice double figure fish after a while and it was great to see some of the lads breaking their PBs. Adam had set out to catch a decent spurdog this year and achieved it with a nice mid-double but was pipped to the biggest fish by Chris with a lovely fish of over 18lbs! it wasn’t just Spurs coming out of course and we saw some decent bass, hounds, rays and even a stray codling for Wayne. All the while those delightful dogfish and whiting keeping us busy.
On a couple of sets of tides when the spurs went off the boil we went in search of other fish. the lads adapted nicely and we had a pleasant trip on the plaice as well as a couple hours catch pollock and coalfish on another day.
Numbers varied from a couple of days with no spurs (although other species) to a few days on 6-15 spurs among the other fish. to be honest after many years of successfully targeting these fish I am quite pleased with these numbers particularly considering I havnt heard of any other local charter boats catching as much as one this year I cant complain. Of course the promise of a red letter day is what keeps us going through the hard days. We cant always have them but they are days that we dream of. Thankfully we managed to luck out a red letter day once again this year too.
With no signs of spurs for a while it was looking like we wouldn’t see any at all until around 14.20hrs Alex got into something that was fighting very much like a spur. Sure enough a very dark ‘black dog’ broke the surface and was netted. She was a decent fish of high doubles and a new PB for Alex. I commented that hopefully this could be the sign of things to come. It was around half an our later when the next spur came aboard. Yet again a big dark upper double figure fish. it was around 1500hrs when the pack really descended upon us. before we knew it we had various multiple hook ups on our hands. On several occasions every rod that was in the water was onto a fish. there were PBs being smashed all over the place. We had another 2 hours of fishing before I had to drag the lads away from the fish and start the long journey back to Essex. just to give you an idea of how busy the fishing was even when we packed up they were still well on the chew. Barry had just landed a high double figure fish as I started the engines. As I went to haul the anchor he was already re-baited so I said to cast out and I would tell him when the anchor had lifted from the bottom so he would have to reel in. so he cast out, let the weight settle on the bottom and held his rod all while I had already been hauling the rope in. right on que he had a couple of pulls and was into another fish. by the time I had stowed the anchor he had the last spur of the day which they had already weighed at 18.8lbs.
That put the tally to 65 spurs in all (although I may have missed a few in the frenzy) there were 4 over 20lbs and several more over 19lb with most fish mid-double figures and one or two that may not have made the 10lb mark although we didn’t weight them or give them a second glance to be honest. not bad for around two an a half hours of fishing, put it into context in comparison to the other local charter boats currently operating in the this area we had more in the last two hours than most of them have had in their career! Although it may not beat our best day which was 88 spurs, this truly was fantastic angling and we were lucky to experience it. I owe it to the lads who invest their time and money with me each year in search of these fish and others.
We will of course be hunting spurdogs again next year so feel free to get in touch to book your tides. Please remember this is only really suitable for experienced anglers with their own tackle. If you don’t have suitable tackle then you are welcome to join us on a general trip until you find your feet.
On our general trips lately we have seen some fantastic numbers of bass, smooth-hounds and still some rays.
Please get on touch with me for full boat bookings or individual spaces. I can also add you to my messaging list when I am trying to put offshore trips together. Please note that Galloper is a big, fast catamaran with a genuine 60mile code of practice. Not something many local boats can boast these days. All of this helps with our offshore trips and very few local boats can boast a a success rate like ours either.
The hounds will be inshore in numbers until September and we should see plenty more good days and decent fish between now and then.
I have plenty of spaces on general trips for full boat bookings and individuals. I also have spaces for tope, plaice and bass coming up soon so please get in touch.
Remember it is often worth giving me a shout if you are cancelled else where and still wish to get out, as we have lots of sheltered fishing available and a big catamaran which makes it even more comfortable.
Spaces as follows
01/06- general trip full boat bookings from £490
06/06-full boat available from £490
07/06 full boat available from £490
08/06 full boat available from £490
11/06-offshore tope trip 3 spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
13/06-plaice and bass trip 2 spaces @ £110pp
14/06 full boat available from £490
15/06 full boat available from £490
16/06 full boat available from £490
19/06-8 spaces @ £60pp
24/06- offshore tope trip 5 spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
25/06- offshore tope trip 87spaces @ £100pp (own tackle required bait supplied at extra cost)
29/06 full boat available from £490
30/06 full boat available from £490
Not all dates advertised, other spaces available for full boat bookings upon request
For regular updates, availability and more information please visit www.essexseafishing.co.uk find us on social media or call Scott on 07956411528 -
26/05/2023
Fishing Report by Scott Belbin
26 May 2023 by Scott Belbin
There has been steady numbers of hounds this week along with several rays and increasing amounts of bass. In fact on Jon's trip we couldn't get away from them. Starting on lures, then bait fishing catching hounds, rays and more bass on bait. In between we had another play with the bass as we moved and again when we packed up. There was just no getting away from them. I have spaces on bass trips between now and December or if you would like to get out sooner I have spaces this Bank holiday Monday on a general trip @ £60pp please call me on 07956411528 or +44 7791 859624 for more information.
