As the year passes by, I'm constantly reminded how many fantastic fish species there are to catch in the UK. Over 400 species of fish in fresh and saltwater can possibly be caught, obviously some much more easily than others. So after half a year that makes my 28 look very modest. Though it is still an amount to be proud of, there are so many more to catch. Which leads to this post being about appreciating the smaller (and also slimier) things in life.
Robbie recently wrote a post (in his own irreverent style) about the 'app-eel' of the European Eel, so I won't go too much into that here, I'm writing a full article on this for Fishingtails at the moment. The key moments though from those two nights included: Eels for Me, Robbie and Olly - he also caught Gudgeon, Crucian Carp and a Ghost Carp, boosting his total by four species. Not bad going at all.
We had caught the freshwater equivalent so now we wanted the mighty Conger. We tried a couple of night sessions, one where ridiculous winds forced us into trying the more sheltered Millbay for them. Olly caught a Crab and I had a fish on briefly then lost it, luckily it was only a few hours so didn't feel like a massive waste of time. The next session was more productive for me but not for Conger. With the winds a lot less severe and the water calmer, we tried Mount Batten Pier, knowing it had the potential for being productive for these oversized Eels. Me and Olly also brought along our LRF gear to keep us occupied while we waited. I'm very glad I did as about 30 minutes in I had a take, it then felt like I had hooked a snag, I gave it a bit more pressure and it came loose with a strange fight. I pulled it out of the water to reveal it was a very large Topknot! I'm obviously talking large for a Topknot, it was about 35cm long which is well above average. They are certainly not a pretty fish but fascinating all the same. A rough mottled skin on the top and a smooth, almost sticky underside. They live their lives fastened to rocks and harbour walls hunting prawns and small fish. Unusual for a Flatfish species, making them one of the higher prized LRF Species. Olly was certainly trying to get one of his own but could only land Shannys. He then had what looked a take on his Conger rod, he struck only to find a snag though. At the same time I managed to get another (more average sized) Topknot, much to Olly's frustration. It got truly dark and nothing was biting, we only found the rocks to be particularly 'tackle hungry', which quickly grew annoying. In the dead of night and cold air settling in we headed home. Conger fishing is going to take a lot more practice.
The next trip we decided on was another late night jaunt around the popular marks in Plymouth, starting back at Mount Batten. Pokemon Go had just been released and this made the pier unusually busy, It also led to Olly colliding with a post as he was trying to catch a Horsea! Which completely slayed me with laughter, well it does say 'pay attention to your surroundings when playing the game'! He had the last laugh though with a fish I have been looking forward to catching. I was casting out a Shore Jig in hope of some Mackerel or Gar whilst Olly tried again for a Topknot. The tide was pretty low so he was down amongst the boulders that surround the pier. It was getting dark and the tide was coming in. Nothing was interested in my lure but Olly gave a shout that he had caught a fish, I ran across the boulders to have a look. It was a Poor Cod, a relative to the Pouting and (distantly) Cod. It was the first one I had seen out of the water and it was a beautiful copper red. Very similar looking to a Pouting. Whoever named it though was doing the species a disservice, Olly thought this fish as no 'poor' relation to anything, his first of the species and another new one for him. After returning it we decided to try the Barbican, it was getting much to dark to be on the boulders. With more Pokemon hunters walking past us every few minutes, we tried to tick mini-monsters of our own lists. In Sutton Harbour the tiny Pollock were ravenous, suicidely leaping on to our baits at every opportunity. It's promising to see so many though, they are a key prey fish at that size and also a top predator in their own right once they reach adulthood. I wanted to try the sandy area in front of Mayflower Steps, it was there that another Poor Cod missed my lure three times! I could see it as it followed my bait right to the surface then turned away, leaving it static received no interest. The fish then lost interest and left me casting into the dark with no results. A next move onto the pontoon led to a couple more Mini-Pollock but nothing else of interest. With work in the morning it was time to head home.
Call me crazy, but I have always wanted to catch a Minnow. You know them, those tiny, common fish you find in most streams and rivers. Yet I had never caught one. I knew the Plym River had some, along with Brown Trout and Eels, so I headed there, armed with size 20 hooks and Isome. I'm not sure if you're allowed to fish there, and certainly the many, many dog walkers give you strange looks, but I was hoping I would only need a brief visit, with work later playing on my mind. Plus I figured, who's going to mind me trying to catch Minnows? They're hardly a prized sports fish. I went underneath a bridge where I had seen them before, small Brown Trout were the obvious fish in the water but looking closer I could see the Minnows. I cast out the tiniest piece of Isome, weighed down with an SSG shot, across the river. Immediately I had follows from my target species, but they mostly were trying to eat the weight! I snagged on a rock on my next cast and my light hooklink snapped easily. During the time it took to set up, a big Eel moved into the swim and spooked my precious Minnows. I was ready to go again but a lot of the little buggers had gone. Eventually I found one and he took my Isome greedily, I had him in my hand and felt great satisfaction, even if it was a tiny fish. I know, you probably think I'm mad. After a brief flirtation with the Eel (not such a fan of Isome) I headed home to get ready for work.
Just to completely top off the mad hunt for the miniest of mini-species. A trip to see Ellie's family in North Devon led to an opportunity to catch Sticklebacks. I had seen them in a large ditch near Ellie's Mum's house last time I was there, not knowing of another water with Sticklebacks, I wasn't going to miss the chance. So whilst out walking the dog with Ellie, we came across the ditch. It was absolutely full of them! I've never seen so many Sticklebacks in one place. I was already armed with a simple Splitshot Set-up with a Size 22 Hook, with a tiny piece of red Isome again. I lowered it into the water to an instant reaction, they all dived on the bait but most were too small to take it, then I saw a larger (larger being a very generous word) one take it and lifted it out. It was a little armoured marvel, if they grew to a couple of pound or so they would be a top target for fishermen, alas they only grow to a couple of inches, but I appreciated mine all the same. Ellie wanted to try and quickly had one of her own, slightly smaller but ravenous all the same. We then carried on our walk. The next day we headed to the beach, I obviously took my rod - just in case. Whilst rockpooling I managed to catch a small Scorpion Fish which came out of nowhere to snatch my Isome. I love the way they vibrate in your hand, they would be a decent replacement for a mobile phone if they would ever accept calls! With nothing else biting I spent the rest of the day enjoying the warm weather and good company.
Totals after that are:
Ben - 32 Species - Perch, Roach, Gudgeon, Rudd, Bream/Roach hybrid, Mirror Carp, Pike, Rainbow Trout, Common Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Tompot Blenny, Ballan Wrasse, Rock Goby, Common Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Pollock, Goldsinny Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Golden Orfe, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench, Crucian Carp, Sand Smelt, Giant Goby, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Dogfish, Bull Huss, European Eel, Topknot, Common Minnow & Three Spined Stickleback
Olly - 24 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock, Ballan Wrasse, Goldsinny Wrasse, Common Blenny, Shore Rockling, Corkwring Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench, Sea Bass, Giant Goby, Bull Huss, Gudgeon, Crucian Carp, European Eel, Ghost Carp & Poor Cod
Ellie - 23 Species - Golden Rudd, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Ballan Wrasse, Common Blenny, Golden Tench, Golden Orfe, Bronze Bream, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Giant Goby, Bull Huss & Three Spined Stickleback
Will - 14 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse, Dogfish, Golden Rudd, Golden Tench & Golden Orfe
Robbie - 12 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe & Pollock
Shane - 8 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp, Pollock, Shore Rockling, Common Carp, Mirror Carp & Roach
Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny
Head to Fishingtails.co.uk for up to date fishing reports and top articles.
Robbie recently wrote a post (in his own irreverent style) about the 'app-eel' of the European Eel, so I won't go too much into that here, I'm writing a full article on this for Fishingtails at the moment. The key moments though from those two nights included: Eels for Me, Robbie and Olly - he also caught Gudgeon, Crucian Carp and a Ghost Carp, boosting his total by four species. Not bad going at all.
We had caught the freshwater equivalent so now we wanted the mighty Conger. We tried a couple of night sessions, one where ridiculous winds forced us into trying the more sheltered Millbay for them. Olly caught a Crab and I had a fish on briefly then lost it, luckily it was only a few hours so didn't feel like a massive waste of time. The next session was more productive for me but not for Conger. With the winds a lot less severe and the water calmer, we tried Mount Batten Pier, knowing it had the potential for being productive for these oversized Eels. Me and Olly also brought along our LRF gear to keep us occupied while we waited. I'm very glad I did as about 30 minutes in I had a take, it then felt like I had hooked a snag, I gave it a bit more pressure and it came loose with a strange fight. I pulled it out of the water to reveal it was a very large Topknot! I'm obviously talking large for a Topknot, it was about 35cm long which is well above average. They are certainly not a pretty fish but fascinating all the same. A rough mottled skin on the top and a smooth, almost sticky underside. They live their lives fastened to rocks and harbour walls hunting prawns and small fish. Unusual for a Flatfish species, making them one of the higher prized LRF Species. Olly was certainly trying to get one of his own but could only land Shannys. He then had what looked a take on his Conger rod, he struck only to find a snag though. At the same time I managed to get another (more average sized) Topknot, much to Olly's frustration. It got truly dark and nothing was biting, we only found the rocks to be particularly 'tackle hungry', which quickly grew annoying. In the dead of night and cold air settling in we headed home. Conger fishing is going to take a lot more practice.
The next trip we decided on was another late night jaunt around the popular marks in Plymouth, starting back at Mount Batten. Pokemon Go had just been released and this made the pier unusually busy, It also led to Olly colliding with a post as he was trying to catch a Horsea! Which completely slayed me with laughter, well it does say 'pay attention to your surroundings when playing the game'! He had the last laugh though with a fish I have been looking forward to catching. I was casting out a Shore Jig in hope of some Mackerel or Gar whilst Olly tried again for a Topknot. The tide was pretty low so he was down amongst the boulders that surround the pier. It was getting dark and the tide was coming in. Nothing was interested in my lure but Olly gave a shout that he had caught a fish, I ran across the boulders to have a look. It was a Poor Cod, a relative to the Pouting and (distantly) Cod. It was the first one I had seen out of the water and it was a beautiful copper red. Very similar looking to a Pouting. Whoever named it though was doing the species a disservice, Olly thought this fish as no 'poor' relation to anything, his first of the species and another new one for him. After returning it we decided to try the Barbican, it was getting much to dark to be on the boulders. With more Pokemon hunters walking past us every few minutes, we tried to tick mini-monsters of our own lists. In Sutton Harbour the tiny Pollock were ravenous, suicidely leaping on to our baits at every opportunity. It's promising to see so many though, they are a key prey fish at that size and also a top predator in their own right once they reach adulthood. I wanted to try the sandy area in front of Mayflower Steps, it was there that another Poor Cod missed my lure three times! I could see it as it followed my bait right to the surface then turned away, leaving it static received no interest. The fish then lost interest and left me casting into the dark with no results. A next move onto the pontoon led to a couple more Mini-Pollock but nothing else of interest. With work in the morning it was time to head home.
Call me crazy, but I have always wanted to catch a Minnow. You know them, those tiny, common fish you find in most streams and rivers. Yet I had never caught one. I knew the Plym River had some, along with Brown Trout and Eels, so I headed there, armed with size 20 hooks and Isome. I'm not sure if you're allowed to fish there, and certainly the many, many dog walkers give you strange looks, but I was hoping I would only need a brief visit, with work later playing on my mind. Plus I figured, who's going to mind me trying to catch Minnows? They're hardly a prized sports fish. I went underneath a bridge where I had seen them before, small Brown Trout were the obvious fish in the water but looking closer I could see the Minnows. I cast out the tiniest piece of Isome, weighed down with an SSG shot, across the river. Immediately I had follows from my target species, but they mostly were trying to eat the weight! I snagged on a rock on my next cast and my light hooklink snapped easily. During the time it took to set up, a big Eel moved into the swim and spooked my precious Minnows. I was ready to go again but a lot of the little buggers had gone. Eventually I found one and he took my Isome greedily, I had him in my hand and felt great satisfaction, even if it was a tiny fish. I know, you probably think I'm mad. After a brief flirtation with the Eel (not such a fan of Isome) I headed home to get ready for work.
Just to completely top off the mad hunt for the miniest of mini-species. A trip to see Ellie's family in North Devon led to an opportunity to catch Sticklebacks. I had seen them in a large ditch near Ellie's Mum's house last time I was there, not knowing of another water with Sticklebacks, I wasn't going to miss the chance. So whilst out walking the dog with Ellie, we came across the ditch. It was absolutely full of them! I've never seen so many Sticklebacks in one place. I was already armed with a simple Splitshot Set-up with a Size 22 Hook, with a tiny piece of red Isome again. I lowered it into the water to an instant reaction, they all dived on the bait but most were too small to take it, then I saw a larger (larger being a very generous word) one take it and lifted it out. It was a little armoured marvel, if they grew to a couple of pound or so they would be a top target for fishermen, alas they only grow to a couple of inches, but I appreciated mine all the same. Ellie wanted to try and quickly had one of her own, slightly smaller but ravenous all the same. We then carried on our walk. The next day we headed to the beach, I obviously took my rod - just in case. Whilst rockpooling I managed to catch a small Scorpion Fish which came out of nowhere to snatch my Isome. I love the way they vibrate in your hand, they would be a decent replacement for a mobile phone if they would ever accept calls! With nothing else biting I spent the rest of the day enjoying the warm weather and good company.
Totals after that are:
Ben - 32 Species - Perch, Roach, Gudgeon, Rudd, Bream/Roach hybrid, Mirror Carp, Pike, Rainbow Trout, Common Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Tompot Blenny, Ballan Wrasse, Rock Goby, Common Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Pollock, Goldsinny Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Golden Orfe, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench, Crucian Carp, Sand Smelt, Giant Goby, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Dogfish, Bull Huss, European Eel, Topknot, Common Minnow & Three Spined Stickleback
Olly - 24 Species - Perch, Rainbow Trout, Pike, Rudd, Roach, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Pollock, Ballan Wrasse, Goldsinny Wrasse, Common Blenny, Shore Rockling, Corkwring Wrasse, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe, Golden Tench, Sea Bass, Giant Goby, Bull Huss, Gudgeon, Crucian Carp, European Eel, Ghost Carp & Poor Cod
Ellie - 23 Species - Golden Rudd, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Pike, Corkwring Wrasse, Pollock, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Black Goby, Tompot Blenny, Long Spined Sea Scorpion, Ballan Wrasse, Common Blenny, Golden Tench, Golden Orfe, Bronze Bream, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Giant Goby, Bull Huss & Three Spined Stickleback
Will - 14 Species - Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Pike, Tompot Blenny, Corkwring Wrasse, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Common Goby, Ballan Wrasse, Dogfish, Golden Rudd, Golden Tench & Golden Orfe
Robbie - 12 Species - Perch, Mirror Carp, Roach, Rudd, Eel, Ballan Wrasse, Topknot, Crucian Carp, Common Carp, Golden Rudd, Blue Orfe & Pollock
Shane - 8 Species - Rudd, Roach/Bream Hybrid, Crucian Carp, Pollock, Shore Rockling, Common Carp, Mirror Carp & Roach
Zoe - 5 Species - Pike, Goldsinny Wrasse, Rock Goby, Ballan Wrasse & Long Spined Sea Scorpion
Grant - 2 Species - Ballan Wrasse & Tompot Blenny
Head to Fishingtails.co.uk for up to date fishing reports and top articles.
