| A broad variety of
fish can be caught on our trips out of West Bay,
ranging from the exotic trigger fish and John Dory
to the much maligned pout whiting.
On a typical fishing trip we tend to catch quite a few pout, and while they’re fun to catch – and good to eat – they’re not always the most sporting of fish.
At times we can also get hounded by dogfish,
although many people love them to eat (rock salmon).
You might also expect to catch conger eels, and the occasional bass, pollock, skate, ling or cod
can come to the net too.
In the summer months black bream can be found in reasonable numbers, and in the winter we have channel whiting waiting to be caught. Mackerel are a possibility, though they can be elusive and we prefer not to waste fishing time in search of them.
In the most recent club species hunt some 17 different species were brought to the scales by the winner.
Which species we can expect to catch will depend on the particular mark chosen to fish on any given day, and of course the choice of end tackle and bait. Fresh caught mackerel is a great bait, but squid can work nearly as well; hermit crab is good for wrasse and smooth hound.
Fishing Tackle
The most universal rig is a straightforward running ledger with anything between a 2/0 and 6/0 hook. For most of our tides
around West Bay a 5 to 6 oz weight is plenty.
I advise keeping your tackle simple – that way it
doesn’t break the bank should you get fouled up on the bottom and lose the rig. I use a 10/20 lb class carbon rod with 18 lb line, and once a fish is hooked not many get away.
Leads of between 3 and 8oz are all that are needed here, as the tides are quite kind to us.
All in all, West Bay offers a wide variety of fish to be caught, all within a short steaming time to the marks, with an opportunity to find sporting fishing for the angler that uses light tackle.
|
