The FastDay Forum

Anybody here who fishes?
I used to when I lived in Denmark, but always been supervised by my dad, and he would prep my rod so all I had to do was the fun part

but my question is, I dont do fly fishing.. so what type of fishing is good over here?

And where would I go to find decent but cheapish beginner/starter rods. Dont wanna spend a lot of money since my husband has never tried fishing, and if he dont like it, I wont be using the rods much.

[Moogie]

Hi Snowsky - hubby & I are keen anglers Always lovely to meet another female angler! My dad got me into it as a kid and I started up again when I met my (now) husband.

I guess the type of fishing depends on where in the UK you are - are you near the coast or more inland? Which side of the UK?

Here in Weymouth we've got loads of sea fishing, and if we drive out an hour away there are various lakes for fly or course. I don't do course, but hubby does fly.

My fave will always be lure fishing as it's quick and you can keep on the move. Of course beach fishing is great too, and thankfully we have Chesil beach here so I don't have to be able to cast as far as the guys! I also love a bit of boat fishing, we bought a little 13' Dory when we got married and it's almost boat season again!

So, if you let us know roughly where you are we may be able to point you to the fish

As for fishing gear, I would always recommend getting to know your local tackle shop, they'll usually try to match online prices and it will save you the postage cost (and risk of damage in transit).

For cheap rods something like a Fladen would do the job, although they're a bit cheap and nasty! Lidl have fishing gear on at the moment or next week too. It depends a bit on what type of fishing you want to do. I wouldn't trust a cheap rod with a 6oz lead off chesil on a rough night!

Abu Garcia are usually pretty fairly priced and have ranges from cheap to expensive. Always nice starter rods, and they last well. I swear by Abu, Ugly Stik (from Shakespeare, so those rods are okay too), Penn and AnyfishAnywhere.

[carorees]

We have a fishing lake right next to our house...carp fishing, which I find quite dull. I prefer fishing for food! Have caught trout spinning before now as I can't fly fish. Fish quite a lot on our holidays in Sweden...again spinning. We always use Abu kit.

[Moogie]

Carp has never really appealed to me either, but it's something I'm holding in reserve for my old age (although with the fasting perhaps I won't be too decrepit to do *real* fishing afterall )

Very much looking forward to our holiday in the lake district, as there's a trout water which allows spinning & bait fishing as well as fly, so both of us will be happy Time to replace the trebles on my old mepps.

"I prefer fishing for food! "



That's more like it! I've got a garage full of mine and my father's rods and reels. I lived 150 yards from the top of the beach, so sea fishing was the thing. I always used to look forward to catching Sea Bass, which back in the day were 6-12 lbs for a good'un. It's always disappointing to see the little kipper size portions the serve up as 'bass' now. I guess it's over fishing. Cold sea bass with salad was the thing.

Maybe it's time for posting the "fisherman's tales" or photos of the ones that didn't get away?

I come from Denmark where I had 10min to the coast, so used to pack the freezer with fish.

Live in wiltshire now, so "far" away from the coast, and since I didnt realise til yesterday that your not allowed to take anything but trout home I got very disappointed. Mostly cus I cant see my husband whilling to travel to the coast on a Saturday "just" for fishing. But will have to discuss that at some point.

I have been to chesel beach, but that was for scuba diving, what a nightmare to climb up the beach all exhausted from diving, with all the gear and cylinder on my bag.. not something I would want to do again

I love fishing, its very relaxing and enjoyable, however, the idea that I have to let all the fish go again puts me off a bit, that or pay for some of the trout lakes, which then ends up being a lot of money.

Miss being close to water

[Moogie]

Being able to keep fish hadn't really occurred to me as an issue as hubby and I don't eat fish, we always catch and release - unless it's a trout fishery which insists on catch and keep, or if we catch a really nice bass or cod for a family member!

Trout lakes can be very expensive and are mostly fly only. Maybe you and your hubby could arrange a seaside holiday and have a go at fishing while you're there? A charter boat trip might be a nice idea as all the gear would be provided and you can keep what you catch It might be enough to get him 'hooked' For me, fishing is about the enjoyment of finding the fish, fighting it and getting a good look at how beautiful it is before releasing it back to the water.

[carorees]

I have been to Chesil beach, but that was for scuba diving, what a nightmare to climb up the beach all exhausted from diving, with all the gear and cylinder on my bag.. not something I would want to do again

OMG, yes, I have done that many times, and when you do get in the water its a real fight to get back out before you even attempt to climb up the sliding pebble mountain. Once a long time ago when people used inflatables that could be rolled up and put in the back of a van we launched the inflatable at Chesil. We inflated and assembled it in the car park and then carried it on our shoulders down to the water. The problem was that things got a bit out of hand and we ended up careering at some speed down the bank. A friend lost his shoe in the depths of the pebbles, he couldn't stop because of carrying the boat!

I did see the only gurnard I've ever seen though so it was worth it, I think!

[Moogie]

Photos! Yay!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 524&type=3

Nothing brilliant there, I've yet to beat the 5lb mark. My goodness a 6lb bass would be amazing, my best is around 3lb. Fingers crossed for a few off the boat this year!

Used to go for Cod in the autumn season and would often catch 10kg ones, now thats a fight, love it! Dad had a boat and we used to go out in the deep and pilke cod, in the summer I would lie on the front and catch the sun while fishing for what ever came by, but most of the time I dozed off in the sun lol

[Moogie]

I've yet to have my cod The last couple of cod seasons have been most inclement and now we have a nice cosy home of our own and no rowdy housemates to get away from, stormy coddish Chesil doesn't seem quite so appealing

10kg is amazing, 22lb cod! We're lucky if we see double figures here, usually 3-8lbs off the shore, though hear of the occasional 12-15.

We go fishing out of Weymouth. I've caught a 15kg cod and a few pollock which we take home and eat up. The OH is more enthusiastic though and will go out in all weathers. I get terribly sea sick so am definitely a fair weather fisherwoman!

I must say my favourite ever thing I've done is catch mackerel off Chesil beach and taken them back to the campsite to put on the BBQ. The most delicious fish I've ever eaten.

[carorees]

Haven't caught a cod in the Baltic for about 25 years ; pike only rarely, but have recently caught salmon trout

[Moogie]

Bunny - do you live down here too then?! Well done on your 30lber, he must have been quite something!

Nope, but we don't live too far away! And we try to visit every year for a camping break. Love Dorset!