ISSUE 634 APRIL 2024
The anticipation of what you might catch next is, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, one of the great appeals of sea fishing. It’s why we keep coming back for more.
Limitless hope and unwavering persistence are the hallmarks of successful anglers who combine these qualities with a little bit of luck. Every so often it pays off with a catch like that of Chris Douce’s.
Last month the Somerset angler landed one of the biggest cod caught on a UK beach for years. Chris was fishing one of his favourite marks on the English side of the Bristol Channel and spoke to us about his catch of a lifetime: “The fish bottomed out my 22lb scales but the team at Reel Fun Tackle later accurately weighed the fish at 30lbs 7oz which, quite simply, blew us all away. The lads at the shop tell me it’s the biggest shore-caught cod they’ve ever heard of from the English side of the Bristol Channel.
Regardless, the capture meant a great deal to me personally and I’m still getting my head around it! To really round things off, my other rod went as well and I landed another of 8lbs 2oz. It just goes to show, no matter how hard the fishing is, if you are in the right place at the right time, and angling effectively, anything can happen.” Check out Chris and his fish in Mission Accomplished starting on page 36.
SHALLOW DIVERS
While there are clearly some cod still to be caught in the brown water of the Bristol Channel, April is a month for many anglers when thoughts turn to lure fishing. This month Henry Gilbey explains why ultra-shallow hard lures are the most useful family of lures for bass anglers and selects his top eight lures for you to try. For any anglers getting into lure fishing for bass who are horrified at the number, and cost, of expensive lures they are losing over shallow, weedy or rough ground which screams bass, then Henry’s advice and guide to ‘shallow divers’ will be a game changer and is guaranteed to help you hook-up with more fish this season.
