Wreck Fishing

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Wrecks can be anything from just a mile offshore to 35 / 40 miles offshore, which can mean that it will take several hours steaming to get to the chosen wrecks

There are two ways of fishing wreck - ever by drifting over the wreck with the tide or at anchor. The style depends on the tides and depth that the wreck is at . The skipper will always let you now what type he will be fishing on booking of the boat

How do charter boat skippers know were these wrecks are? Well it can be a case of the skipper literally spends many years of trial and error to find them. Or there are lots of books that will list likely wrecking marks

Skippers also use the latest electronics to help them. If you ever look in side a boats cabin you will see an array of fish finders and GPS navigation aid

What type of fish will I catch?

The idea of wreck fishing is to go after the lager fish that hold up on the wrecks. Fish are drawn to wrecks because they offers a reef / rocky out crop like environments

This means that fish can hold up in the wrecks as they offer shelter from the tides and a source of food

Fish that are generally target when wreck fishing are

Pollock
Bass
Conger
Ling
Cod

Fish sizes vary but you can catch fish from just a few pounds in weight and up to over 100lb (conger)

Wreck fishing tackle

Quick tip - get proper wrecking booms of about 10 - 15 inches long as they keep the flowing trace away from your mainline

Pirks - These are lead made lures with a treble hook at the bottom of the pirk . You can use them in conjunction with muppets

Pirks - are worked by jigging them ( lifting the rod up and down )

Shads - Fish shaped lures that are worked by reeling in

Worms - Worm shaped lures that are worked by reeling in

Grubs - Often over looked but can be kill lures and are worked by reeling in

Quick tips

Vary the speed that you that you retrieve your lures and remember that the speed of the tide also effects the action of the lure

On the drop down keep you finger on you spool so that you control the speed of the decent. If you do not you will only end up with a birds nest (tangle)

When you are working your lures count how many turns up you get your fish. This will save time if they are being taken say 40 turns up as you can quickly go to that depth

Have a good supply of rigs made up as if you loose your rig on a wreck it can be quickly replaced ready for the next drift

Rods You will need a stand up boat rod such as a Penn Ugly stick with rods being 20lb test curve as begin the lighter work through to 50lb for the big conger and ling

Reels

The reels you will need to be using are multipliers. The reason for this is because they can handle the weight of bringing up fish from such depth. Also they carry a lot more line

Line There are two choices what type of line to use

Monofilament line This is the standard fishing line , which as the benefits of being able to stretch a little bit . As for your line strength this can vary from 20 to 50lb and more so if in doubt just ask your skipper for advice but as a guideline 25lb will handle most wrecking situations.

The down side to monofilament line is that of the diameter of the line which will get caught in the tidal flow causing the line to bow and will result is you having to use a heaver lead weight

If you are new to wrecking monofilament line is the best to go for

Braid fishing line

This is a very low diameter fishing line which gives you a much great contact with what is going on . Because of it lower diameter you will be able to use less weight to fish , which is a great bounce when pull fish from depths of a hundred feet or so

WARNING - Never use your hands to hold your line if it gets stuck on a wreck a you could loose your fingers. Let out plenty of line then rape your line round a piece of wood ect and then pull your line free. Skippers will always help you and have the correct piece of kit to get you free, if in doubt ask for help from the skipper

Lures

Lures are made from plastics and are design for their action in the water. Coming an a Variety of colours and even luminous (glow in low light conditions0

As the majority of fish you will be targeting when wreck fishing are predatory fish (fish that hunt and eat other fish) the most come form of fishing are with lures

The most common three are shads / grubs / pirks and worms

All of these are fished on a the rig below with the flowing trace of anything from 6 to 15 to 20 foot long (remember the skipper will help on best lengths).

How To Prepare For The Exciting Sport Of Shark Fishing

If you are actually trying to catch a shark then you should do so with forethought and preparation. The best time to catch a shark is really all year round, people will always say oh man the best time to catch a shark is in June but I think that is dead wrong. You can catch the biggest shark you have ever seen in the middle of winter. People who say that you can only catch them in one month are ignorant and uniformed. Just last week I caught a big bull shark and it's almost Christmas time. You can catch a shark at any time of the year as long as you have some bloody fish bait.

When you are going shark fishing you are going to need many things. The first thing you are going to need is a few shark rods and reels. You will want to have something so that they cannot spool all your line out then rip the rod out of your hand. You will want to have a big rod and reel like a boat rod. You will also need some sort of mode to get your bait out in the water casting it will not work since you are going to have about a 10 foot steel cable leader. You will want a kayak or small boat to run your baits out. I think the best rod to use is a big boat rod so that you ca catch anything, when you are shark fishing you can catch other things besides sharks, other fish eat the same stuff that a shark will.

You will also need to know which type of shark it is you want to catch. You can catch mostly all types of sharks inshore, such as bull sharks, tiger sharks, black tip sharks, and lemon sharks. Basically if you live on the North American continent you will be able to catch a wide variety of sharks. A lot of people think that you cannot catch certain sharks all over the world but they are wrong you can catch just about every kind of shark in the Atlantic Ocean.

After you have your bait in the water all you do is wait for the run. Once you have that bait in the water and on the bottom you will just have to wait until something takes the bait. You will know when something takes your bait it will pick it up and run with it. You will want to let the shark or fish it all the bait so give it team then you will want to set the hook. After the hook is set you will want to just let the fish run and do its thing until it is tired then you can either reel them in or it will be a fight to last for hours. I have friends that have fought sharks for hours and haven't even caught them that are how big and gnarly they were. What are you waiting for, get out there and experience them for yourself.

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Fish for Your Dinner - Spanish Mackerel

That better way to start your holiday then to go fishing for some fresh Spanish Mackerel.

The first thing you need to ensure is that you have the right fishing gear. Through their migratory periods the Spanish Mackerel are relatively easy to catch and you can use either lures or live bait. We would recommend you use a Daiwa Sealine SLX Conventional Reel 3BB 270yd 30lb 4.9 to 1 or Okuma Titus Gold Alum Lever Drag Hi Speed 6.2 to 1 370yd 20lb Fishing reel combined with a Daiwa Sealine XB Boat Rod 7' 1pc 20-60lb rod.

Other recommended tackle for this style of fishing is an overhead reel carrying 400 yards of 15 to 30 lb line, mounted on a medium actioned rod. Regulation game fishing type tackle is good but longer and softer rods tend to work better than game rods. The main reason for using longer rods is that mackerel have soft mouths and it is easy to pull the hooks out if the fight is forced. The smooth, parabolic action of a jig type rod is easier on the fish and the hooks stay put.

Large thread line reels and large bait casters can also be used particularly on spotted mackerel, although the Spaniards can test them for line capacity. The most important point is for the reel to have a smooth drag, this is essential on fast running fish. When fishing, the reels are set in-gear with the ratchet on and a firm but not overly hard drag. Mackerel are clean fighters and don't have any tricks other than sheer speed. Naturally when fishing for mackerel other fish will take the baits too. And it's not a bad by-catch either with fish like Cobia, yellowtail kingfish, marlin, longtail tuna, mackerel tuna, sharks and bonito. They all take baits intended for mackerel, so obviously this is all a bonus to the day and provides extra sport.

Spanish Mackerel are renowned for aggressively taking trolled lures and baits. Using 1-1.5oz red and white feathered lures as well as minnow lures or the Rapala with red head and white body trolled at about 8-12 knots work best to entice that hook up. You can also troll at 6-10 knots with live bait. Rigged garfish trolled around likely areas will also work well as will small bonito and frigate mackerel on the Spaniards

The first choice for bait is live slimy mackerel. This bait is the most consistently favored by the fish. The big specimens are good for the Spaniards and the small to medium ones are ideal for the spotted mackerel.The next bait in line is pike, followed by local herrings and pilchards..

During the mackerel season, finding the bait can be the most important part of the day as no bait or the wrong kind of bait may mean no fish. Mackerel are a first rate table fish and can be filleted or turned into cutlets as they have a very soft spine. They must be iced soon after capture to keep them in good condition so a large cooler filled with plenty of ice is essential.

Always remember that mackerel have extremely large, sharp teeth and they can and do bite and slash unwary anglers. When the fish is gaffed, the quickest answer is a tap on top of the head with a small bat or length of pipe. Leave the hooks in its mouth and just tie on another trace. The hooks can be extracted later when cleaning the fish.

We recommend trying the recipe below you will not be disappointed!

Spanish Mackerel (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:

4 Spanish mackerel steaks on the bone

4 limes juiced and zested

1/4 cup light soya sauce

Good splash fish sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 soup spoon ginger crushed and chopped

1/4 cup white wine (semillon or sauvignon blanc)

Marinate fish in above mixture 1-2 hours, then prepare the following: 1/4 cup chopped coriander 1/4 cup chopped parsley 2 chopped chillies 1 soup spoon sesame seeds 3 to 4 drops sesame oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped Juice of 1 lime plus zest

Method:

Mix together all ingredients and pat one side of fish steaks and sear on hot BBQ plate with oil, or on char grill, but not for too long as you don't want to burn the herbs. Turn over and cook for enough time to bring to medium (do not overcook). Serve with mixed green leaf salad tossed with remaining mixed herbs.

Should you want alternate Spanish Mackerel recipes or recipes for any other fish please do not hesitate to contact Marilyn via email marilyn@fishinggear.com We will email them to you within 24 hours. Alternatively if you have a favorite recipe you would like to share please email that. We shall put that on our site with credit to you.

Buy the Award Winning 'Esca Lures' online at http://www.innovativefishingtackle.co.uk/