Dave Lewis talks to Colin Penny, one of the UK’s most popular, longest-serving and well-respected charter skippers as he makes plans to retire
I was sorry to hear that yet another long serving UK charter skipper has decided to call it a day. Weymouth based Colin Penny, someone with whom I have fished on many occasions and who I regard as being a good friend, has decided that it is time for ‘Flamer IV’ to move on to her next owner. I have absolutely no compunction in saying that, of the great many skippers that I have had the pleasure of fishing with throughout the near 50 years since I first stepped foot aboard a charter boat, Colin is one of the very best. Having said that, anyone who has ever spent a day aboard Flamer with the two of us would think we didn’t get along, or even like each other, such is our near continual exchange of banter, but I’ve always had the greatest respect for Colin.
Seeing as he once bought me dinner at his favourite Chinese restaurant in Weymouth – yes, you did read that correctly – I’m guessing he somehow manages to tolerate me too!
Colin is an all-round charter skipper who is as happy booking charters to drift the famous Shambles Bank for flatfish as he is targeting the deep water wrecks for conger, pollack, cod and other species many miles offshore in the English Channel. Likewise, he is perfectly at home fishing within casting range of the multifaceted Dorset coastline, or even within the shelter of Portland Harbour. As you will see, Colin loves fishing for plaice, something at which he is exceptionally good. But regardless of which species you would like to target, provided it is found within a 30-mile radius of Weymouth, Colin will be able to recommend a suitable tide and mark.
In more recent years Colin has established an enviable reputation as a skipper who can successfully target a plethora of different species. He regularly organises ‘species hunts’, and 20 plus species caught in a single day aboard Flamer are a common occurrence. What’s more important is that when you do catch something unusual, especially the smaller species, it is very unlikely that Colin will not be able to accurately identify exactly what it is that you have caught.
I asked Colin where and when he began fishing: “My earliest angling memory would be when I was 10 years old, fishing in Weymouth Harbour trying to catch flounders along with anything else that jumped on my hook. It is uncanny that I used to fish where the charter boats of that era used to moor up. I would talk to the skippers, never at that time thinking that one day I would become a charter skipper myself.”
Tell me how you first got into charter fishing, I asked: “I saved up some money and went out on my first charter trip at the age of 12. I caught nothing but I was hooked, and mor
