Growler-2010!!!!

Graham B

Well-known member
Well as I am still running on Australian time after getting home from work I may as well do a post to summarise the 2010 season gone's boat fishing.
In a word- Fandabbydosey! I must start with a huge thankyou to a fair few people who post on here, the help and information has made our fishing so much more effective, especialy with regards to wreck fishing which I was brand new to.
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For us the season started very well down at Creswell skeers to the usual tactics of a heavily baited flowing trace and we had a couple of trips early on with codling up to 3-4lb.
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Also utilised on this trip for the first time in order to stop our eyes streaming, (we are still getting used to the planing hull and 20 knots plus after Nefins 7 flat out!) were the tank goggles!
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Once the sea had calmed off a little and cleared it was time to head off and try the wrecks in earnest.
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With Mickey at work it was me and Darren who had the first day with nubers of fish and also the first doubler for the boat and Darren! I always try and set myself targets and to have a doubler so early in the season was great.
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It just got better from then on with a few trips out absolutley filling the boat and putting anything under 4lb back! I wouldn't have believed that a couple of years ago! Putting four pounders back!
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With us getting confident in the boat we also started venturing out when the conditions were borderline, for a 15 foot boat anyway! I must say here we never took any chances and were never in danger.
The new species we had as well were great with Mickey topping the league with the wotsit fish!
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I got another good fish of that wreck that day as well.
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Two at a time was becoming quite the norm and even getting blase about it! Mickey had the best treble with a Cod on the bottom, a mackeral on the top and a pollack in the middle! The treble hook ups with all three of us bent into fish was a common site, a great site as well!
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The biggest cod of the season fell to Mickey with this cracker. It was over 13lb when first weighed but 11 and a bit on dry land a few hours later. You can tell when he gets a biggun on as he goes deadly quiet! Darren on the other hand screams like a girl and every fish he hooks is a yarker! Until it hits the surface!
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Darren had these two crackers on consecutive drifts as well.
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The biggest fish caught on-board Growler by yours truly! I won't/don't rub it in........much!( as we are the champions plays in the backgound!:))
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I have still got a cheesy grin of this one yet!
And finally my favourite photo of the season;
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The photo above sums up exactly why I love boat fishing. Out at the crack of dawn with great company and no-one around for miles, watching a breathtaking sunrise like that. Amazing! Cod in the boat 5 minutes after that photo! I have to admit I am an early morning session subscriber and enjoy heading back in when most are venturing out.
We have made a fair few changes this season that will hopefuly help for next as well. Logging all the tide times and drifts/marks/Wrecks we have fished with what method to try and get a better understanding.
I am even getting better (slightly!) at gaugeing the correct distance to stop downtide of the wreck so your line is up and down over the wreck rather than almost horizontal! Knowing which way the wrecks lye as well and which one you will get a better drift off has also helped.
Leaving last season alone and looking forward to next season I think the major change for us will probobly be a new vessel(please Santa!).
I am still proud of myself for trying and suceeding with shad's for longer that one drift! I am sceptical about new things even at my age and usually head back for the proven; Muppets and pirk/hokkai's/flowing trace etc, etc! I had a load of fish on shads last season so I am defiently going to stick with them and get some more for next season.
That will do for me, I am just waiting for the snow to melt so we can get over to Windermere to look at a new boat! Hope you's all have a good Christmas and New Year and the fishing next season is better than last! It will be hard to beat!

Graham.
 
Great report, i always love doing the end of season reports as well, makes you think back to the days good or bad you had.

Very good year for you and lets hope this cold weather triggers them cod to spawn more and give us a few bumper years in the future.
 
Totaly enjoyed going through it all again, fantastic report and pics, still brings a smile to my face with the goggles, in fact, after showing my wife the pic she came home from the next car boot sale with a pair of ski goggles, bright purple:eek::eek: but untill I get a wind screen fitted, i'll give them a go.:)
 
Great read that Graham , and nice pics , I really must try and take more when I'm out :red: , it mut be a bit of a shock to the system coming back from Australia to this snow.

Ray
 
Nice to hear your back, might see you on the beach before the boat season starts ! I found a pic of you setting out on the Bob White comp, coming out the Harbour. If you haven't got it, I'll send you it - don't think there's any smiles on it! Col
 
Brilliant post Graham .... absolute class, lets hope next season is even half as good ..... no doubt with the inclusion of some pollack trolling at some point :)

norm
 
I would love a copy of the photo Colin, I can't make the presentation tonight due to the bloody roads, fishing tomorrow is off as well as I bought tickets for the match thinking it was on Saturday to take the littleun! Only to find out it was on Sunday!Doh!
We only had two goes at trolling this season as the wreck fishing was that good Norman. The pollack were there but nothing huge like the pro:Colin! I was checking back and we didn't fish the Northern Hills once this year again due to the wreck fishing being that good! We were there most sessions last season.
If all goes well with the new craft the tank goggles may be looking for a new home!

Graham.
 
Aye Graham, same thing for us, we got all ready to come up to cresswell area but then the fish came in and the shads went wild and we couldn't break ourselves away :) :) next season we will have to give it a go ....

norm
 
pollocks

pollocks

aye norman its d+++ hard to break away from a situation or place that producing the goods:D however i do get the feeling that the pollock are tempting you:):) get your boat booked into amble maria for a couple of nights:) im sure "amble col" will give some lessons in trolling:) and as an afterthought if the weather was fit you could plan it in for the "Bob White Comp" as well :):) and as another afterthought:rolleyes: bring all the other lads from the tyne and sunderland (and anywhere else):) the date is july 2 2011:):confused:
 
aye norman its d+++ hard to break away from a situation or place that producing the goods:D however i do get the feeling that the pollock are tempting you:):) get your boat booked into amble maria for a couple of nights:) im sure "amble col" will give some lessons in trolling:) and as an afterthought if the weather was fit you could plan it in for the "Bob White Comp" as well :):) and as another afterthought:rolleyes: bring all the other lads from the tyne and sunderland (and anywhere else):) the date is july 2 2011:):confused:

Looks like a plan is beginning to form for a Tyne flotilla.
 
Yup Kevin, I think its a great Idea ....

norm

(and if I got the dates right I'll be back just in time from my hols .. (28th June I think) :)
 
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