Bristol Channel Blondes

It had been nearly four and a half years since Kevin had been sea fishing from a boat. "It feels like it was just yesterday" he thought to himself. It was definitely time to hit the salt water again.

Soon enough, a charter boat and Skipper were found and three people booked on. The date was set; Sunday 24th May 2015, and the venue was to be the Bristol Channel.

The Friday before the trip, Kevin headed to the local tackle shop to stock up on supplies. He felt lost looking at the vast array of sea fishing tackle. It had been a while since he had visited this section. It didn't take too long to figure out what was needed.

The best quality 60lb hook length, strong 5/0 & 6/0 hooks and some solid swivels. Now for something to get it to the sea bed fast enough. There they were, 10oz gripper leads. The thing with the Bristol Channel, if you don't have a monster lead then you won't be holding bottom. The current is like nothing Kevin has experienced elsewhere.

With the business end sorted, Kevin placed an order for 1lb of ragworm, a 5lb box of squid and a few packs of smelly Mackerel. Within an hour of being home from the tackle shop, Kevin had 10 x 60lb Pennell traces prepared. The traps were ready. The excitement was setting in.

Tied with care and attention, the business end was ready

The following day Kevin needed to blow the dust off his sea tackle and check it was still functional.

Saturday morning and after emptying the whole shed to get at his sea tackle Kevin unveiled the tools for the trip. After a clean down with WD40 and a quick check over they were ready for action.

The weapons prepared for battle

With all the tackle prepared, it was time to collect the bait.

Kevin returned from the tackle shop with over 6lb of bait. Some might say a little over the top but when sea fishing it's a case of waste not, catch not. 5lb of squid, 1lb of ragworm and mackerel to tip the rig. 

Waste not, catch not

Finally, it was the day of the trip. Within an hour of waking up Kevin was on the boat in the lock waiting for those huge gates to open. All the preparation and excitement came down to this. Like ships going to battle, the boats patiently waited to be unleashed to the mercy of the sea!

The boats poised for action

There was a mixture of tension and excitement in the air as the boats prepared for the off. The iron clad lock gates creaked open and the chorus of engines fired up. This was it. The journey to the spot is always as exciting as it has ever been. "I hope I haven't forgotten anything!" Kevin thought.

And they're off!

The boat, a pretty high powered fishing Cat, had the six fisherman and their skipper out to the mark in no time.

Clear of the slow zone, the other boats were left standing

The bait; squid stuffed with mackerel and ragworm trimmings sounds almost like a posh starter at a seafood restaurant. It actually looked good enough to eat; until Kevin injected it with Pilchard oil. The smell was pungent enough to make Bear Grylls vomit!

Seafood kebab

The baits were out and the wait was on!

It wasn't long and Kevin's rod started to tap. After a swift strike, it was clear that something had taken a liking to the beautiful sea food kebab, but what was it?

Minutes later the skipper was into a good fish. It was a ray holding tight to the bottom. His rod was thundering off!

Wayne The Skipper struggles to hold deck.

As he battled the beast from the depths it found the weakest point in his 30lb mono and snapped him!

The action had begun! 

Minutes later Kevin's rod gently tapped then screamed into action. It felt like a ray coming in wings against the tide. It was almost dragging Kevin along the slippery deck!

Kevin's in!

Kevin slowly gained ground on what felt like a good fish! "I was really struggling to get it to the surface", he recalled. 

After a five minute fight, Kevin's expletives could be heard from the shore when he saw a little ray coming in backwards. It had somehow managed to get hooked then wrap its tail around the line. 

Kevin posing with a young blonde!

Safely on board the little fella was photographed and released unharmed. The adrenaline was pumping and the confidence was certainly being boosted. 

A few dogfish later Kevin's rod indicated another bite. Strike! He was onto another fish.

It felt like a better fish but it was difficult to tell with the current flowing exceptionally fast. A few minutes later the skipper burst into action with the landing net shouting "it's a good Blonde!"

The hooks were out and as it lay there on the deck Kevin could tell it was a double figure fish. 

Another beautiful blonde ray

The skipper suggested weighing it and it came in at 12.25lb. Not a monster but it was not to be sniffed at! After a quick photo pose Kevin sent her back to the deeps unharmed.

Kevin admiring his double figure blonde!

The traps were quickly reset and pumped full of Pilchard oil before being sent back to the depths. 

After 20 minutes of no bites the skipper decided to move.

At the new location Kevin decided to inject some more oil into his bait and broke his syringe! "I felt my confidence and competitive edge also broke with that syringe!"  He couldn't inject any more baits. How would this affect Kevin's chances?

Nevertheless the lines went back. No sooner it hit the bottom, that little tap tap returned. This time a much smaller Ray quickly surfaced. A thorn back this time. Kevin was happy to still be catching despite thinking he somehow lost his edge. "It really goes to show that you have to just believe in yourself and keep trying no matter what".

Kevin trying not to get spiked by a Thorn Back Ray

After a quick picture pose the thorny was laid on the deck to admire it's pattern and spikes. They are strange looking creatures, perfectly camouflaged and adapted for life on the sea bed.

A close encounter with the thorny kind

After a minute of having a camera in its face the thorn back was sent back to find its home some 55 feet below.

The fish were getting smaller, with mini conger eels, dogfish and saucer sized thorn back rays eating baits longer than they were! It was still fun to be catching.

Kevin's father, Alan, tried to avoid being photographed with his little ray so that he wouldn't be laughed out of the local club. No such luck here. Say cheeeese!

Kevin's dad reluctantly posing with the smallest Ray of the day 

As the micro Ray was being returned the skipper's rod started bouncing. He was in again! 

There was something at the end of the line but it wasn't clear what. As Kevin reached for the net he heard groans of confusion from the skipper. It was a smooth hound. But it came in without a fight!

For those of you who have caught smooth hound before you will know it is like hooking a moving train but this came in like a wet sock.

Safely in the net the fish finally realised what was going on and woke up a little. 

 Steve wrestling the Skipper's Smooth Hound

After posing for a quick picture with Steve it was sent back into the recently turned outgoing tide.

This hound is definitely looking suspicious

By this time the tide was building up speed. The boat was slipping anchor and the 10oz gripper weights were struggling to hold bottom. The fish must have been taking cover. Only one small cod was caught while the tide was tearing through. 

Just the pull of the tide on the line has this 224g uptider bent over!

The powerful current testing Kevin's Uptider 

After about two and a half hours the tide started to slow and the dogfish plague began even on huge baits. It was a sign that the feed had begun.

A couple of small Rays and mini Conger Eels were showing and then Kevin noticed his rod tip signalling another bite . "Not another doggy please" he thought. 

He started winding into it and realised it was definitely not a dogfish. After a short battle another little ray came to the surface. 

Kevin with his last Ray of the day

After posing for a quick snap it went back to the depths.

Only one more ray came out after this before the skipper called time!

The homeward view of the hunting grounds

Heading back to shore and reflecting on the day; no leviathans were caught but it was a thoroughly enjoyable day with a good mix of species and quite a few fish in total. 

Fish aside, it's great to spend time in good company sharing ideas and tips to help each other get better at what we do. 

After over a four year break from boat fishing, Kevin was drained, sun burned but completely relaxed.

Cardiff Barrage Lock filling fast, signifying the end of a great trip

While sat in the lock at Cardiff barrage the skipper filleted the one fish of the boat that was taken for the table. Its captor, a first time sea fisherman from Birmingham was smiling from ear to ear with his cod.

Everything else was returned to fight another day.

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