Combe Martin Bay

[cantona]

Launched from Combe Martin bay at aout 12-30 on Saturday, high tide was 15-00, the weather initially was pretty good, just moderate swells so we headed out past Hangmans towards Copperas, the new fishfinder was working really well and selected a spot of rough ground a few hundred yards from shore, sport was non stop, so much so that I spent all the time netting fish for my Son in law and grandson Nothing special just a good flow of Pollack up to 3lbs, Pouting and of course a good selection of Doggies, kept two in fact to try, haven't had Rock Salmon for years

we had intended to go further off shore towards the bouy to try with feathers and lures but the sea picked up and got really snotty so we decided to leave about 15-00, couldn't believe how quickly the sea changed, it was a very rough ride back around Hangman's, and we shipped a good amount of water over the sides, nothing to worry about in fact the SIB handles the weather very well

No Photo's again but a very good days sport, you have just got to love these little boats, seaworthy and great fun, should have got one years ago
Cantona

[cantona]

Forgot to mention that I was trying Circle hooks for the first time, every fish was hooked in the corner of the jaw, even the doggies, It was a nice change to be able to return fish that would normally go back with a hook in their guts, definitely something that I will be trying much more this summer.

incidentally the two hook paternoster outfished the running ledger by about 3 to 1.

Cantona

[Paul]

Cantona

Whoop, whoop sounds like you had a great trip out mate with plenty of rod action too boot
Yup, those hooks sound like the way to go

I know what you mean about sea conditions changing sooooo quickly mate, whilst inflating and kitting up today the chop increased making for a bumpy ride which my Mrs didn't enjoy at all
Only out for an hour and she wanted to go back as she was wet through, ho hum .....me, I was lovin it
Like you, I couldn't live without my boat and impressed how they handle the elements with a bucket load of fun thrown in for free

Thanks for sharing

Paul

[Martin]

It's great to get out and do a bit of fishing
Although I have no idea what you mean with the circle hooks
Please please people, share your knowledge (and pictures) with the total novice fisherman apprentice.

[cantona]

"Normal" hooks are the standard j pattern, Circle hooks are exactly what they say, the point bends back in towards the shank of the hook, very very sharp and do seem to take hold before the fish can swallow the baited hook completely, they are not the best style for worms, difficult to thread the worm on, but seem to be extremely good with fish and squid type baits. They do say that there is no need to strike with circles, quite handy if you have a fair bit of monofilament line out due to the stretch etc, I am also trialling some braid on one rod, it allows you to use lighter weights and keeps you in contact better with the fish, in fact most of the fish caught came on the braid rod.

Cantona

[sailrepair]

I have been using circle hooks for a couple of years and braid for over a decade.

As cantona says you have to alter the way you strike with the circle hooks. Basically they set themselves but rely on the fish turning away from you and 9 out of 10 times the hook will slide to the corner of the mouth and hook the fish neatly. If you strike at the first little rattle you will just pull the hook out of the fishes mouth. I used circle hooks last year to good effect to fish for sharks from my inflatable stand up paddle board - https://youtu.be/FVlLhYDe4RA

With braid it is like all things in that you generally get what you pay for. The main brands such as power pro, sufix etc are thin and reliable and yes you can use a lot less lead. The cheap braid on ebay does the job but is either thicker than the stated diameter. It is plenty strong enough but doesn't let you use a lot less weight to hold bottom as the thinner stuff does. Sometimes the cheap chinese braid is thin in which case its breaking strain can tend to be a bit suspect. Nearly all the power pro braid on ebay is fake, its not necessarily bad but it tends to fall into the two catergoires above.

[Martin]

Thanks for the info & link John, I'll have a good read up when I get chance. As in new to all this fishing stuff, I might as well buy the correct things from the outset.

Just need to get on the water again

[Paul]

Martin
Here's a quick explanation.
Notice the circular hooks point is bent inwards to allow the hook to 'withdraw' which the commonplace 'J' hook won't.
As cantona says, returning a fish to the water with a hook in its guts can't be good

Circle hook designs.jpg (12.88 KiB) Viewed 2367 times

This is the theory on how they work and as cantona has testified, all his fish were hooked in this way, which is great for returning them

Hope this helps

Paul

[cantona]

Perfect explanation

By the way, launched tonight from Ilfracombe to see if the Mackerel have turned up yet, they haven't

Bit of a scare though, managed to get my braid tangled around the prop stalled it in no time flat fortunately managed to untangle it but a lesson learned for sure

[Paul]

Perfect explanation

By the way, launched tonight from Ilfracombe to see if the Mackerel have turned up yet, they haven't

Bit of a scare though, managed to get my braid tangled around the prop stalled it in no time flat fortunately managed to untangle it but a lesson learned for sure

You are just trying (and succeeding) to making me VERY jealous
Gotta say I always carry a good knife, serrated blade and some side cutters in the tackle box coz you never know what you might hook into or have the issue you encountered, just really glad you got yourself outta trouble

Paul