Peter Gillson with his contrasting fish of the month entries – a 11-9-0 turbot and a 1-9-6 garfish. (0974923)
AFTER a long cold winter and early spring, when catches were at their lowest ebb for many years, it is a relief to be able to report some positive news.
Fishing has improved considerably and the early signs may indicate we are in for a good summer.
Afloat flatties are still being caught in some numbers, with boats returning with catches in excess of 20 from many marks, particularly the Banc de la Schole and spots near Alderney.
Godine and Banc au Nord are not so prolific and they are scarce on the Great Bank.
The catches are predominately turbot, brill are very much the minority. The only problem is the size of the turbot, with the vast majority being under 6-0-0. As an example, one boat had four at Banc de la Schole, one weighed 3-0-0 and the other three were all under 2-0-0.
Whiting, a species that only rarely provides sport for local anglers, have appeared on a number of marks, particularly Godine and the Great Bank, with most fish in the 0-12-0 to 2-8-0 range.
The first bass have been reported from the Great Bank, but whether this is the start of a good run of this popular species remains to be seen.
Mackerel have arrived in huge numbers and heavy catches have been reported from many marks both afloat and on shore.
Godine and the Great Bank have produced well, while shore marks including Pembroke and Fort Doyle are giving excellent sport with dozens being taken on float tackle.
Pollack are still scarce on inshore marks, but some good catches have been reported off both the north and west coast.
It is a bit early for black bream, but the odd small specimen has been landed. Grey mullet continue to provide good sport, but unusually garfish catches are lower than they have been for some time.
The only remaining disappointment is the lack of specimen fish of any species. This is probably the main reason for the low number of entries in the May Fish of the Month competition.
The general upturn in catches did little to please members of the Sark AC or the Guernsey Sea Anglers Club for they both had awful shore competition results.
Sark AC’s eight-hour shore event attracted 10 members but only three found fish.
Darren Dewe won with a 1-13-0 grey mullet worth 22.25 points, Madeline Guille came second with a 3-1-0 ballan wrasse worth 14-25 points, while junior member Sandy Dewe completed the catches with a 1-7-0 ballan wrasse for 7.75 points.
The fishing in Sark has been so poor that after three competitions only four members appear on the championship list and the leader is Darren Dewe with the points gained from his grey mullet in this match.
The current list is Darren Dewe 22.25; Sandy Dewe 17.75, Madeline Guille 14.25 and Glyn Williams 8.25.
GSAC’s result in Herm was no better. Six members turned out for the Herm Trophy match, a non-championship event. Again only three found fish. Adie Sarre won with a 2-0-0 grey mullet for 23 points, Alex Fisher was second with a 1-13-0 ballan wrasse for 12.25 and Justin Jones occupied third spot with a 1-11-0 pollack for 10.75 points.
PETER GILLSON has submitted two boat-caught entries for fish caught at the Banc de la Schole.
Both were tempted by a mackerel strip, the first being an 11-9-0 turbot and the second a 1-9-6 garfish.
Colin Druce has entered a 12-15-5 turbot caught on a legered mackerel bait on the Alderney south banks.
Both of the turbot will be judged against the 30-4-0 Bailiwick boat record and the garfish against the 2-12-5 boat best.
Matt Mahy has made the first shore-caught entry of the month. A peeler crab bait presented on a running leger tempted a 1-13-13 three-bearded rockling from a west coast mark. It will be assessed against the 3-1-0 shore record.
Article posted on 26th May, 2010 - 2.29pm
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