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Print versionMike Thrussell visits Guernsey
I’ve just spent the May weekend over in Guernsey working with the lads from Mick’s Fishing Supplies based in St Sampson’s. I was in the shop for part of Friday and all day Saturday when the shop had a special open day.
It was my first time in Guernsey and I had a great time working alongside the counter lads Rob, Craig, Connor and Dave, chatting over all things fishing with customers and helping out a little where I could with tackle choices. If you’re planning a few days fishing over in Guernsey, then this should be your first port of call. The lads are all keen anglers and will know exactly what’s happening in all four corners of the island, plus they stock great bait, including live sandeels, and a vast range of tackle.
I also met up with top local angler Sam Robins. Sam was hoping to put me on to a species I haven’t caught before, a gilthead bream, and prospects initially looked good with the previous week having turned up a few fish to a cracking 7lbs 7ozs. We fished the shore Friday evening well in to dark on a top mark, and although I did get one bite on crab dead on low water it came to nothing and we both blanked. There were lots of other anglers out too that night in the same area and the feedback was that no one caught any giltheads. That’s fishing!
On the Sunday I went out with the shop lads and other local rods with well known charter skipper Richard Seager aboard his superb 30ft Gemini Fastcat “Out The Blue 2” based in St Peter Port. We were scheduled to drift over the Shoal Bank situated between Guernsey and Alderney targeting turbot and hopefully brill.
The tackle set up Richard uses for drift fishing is simple but very effective. With your leader or line through the rod rings, slide on a zip slider, then three 8mm yellow beads, tie on a size 4 swivel, add 6 to 8ft of 35lb clear mono and finish with a size 3/0 to 4/0 hook depending on bait size. On the small neap tides 8ozs of lead is ample so you don’t need to fish heavy. A 12/20 class rod is perfect.
The bait presentation is interesting too! They prefer garfish, either fresh or frozen, fresh launce sandeel and mackerel, but the fillets are cut in to strips roughly 9-inches long and are about an inch wide tapering to nothing at the other end. The hook is passed once through the thick end leaving the skin on the outside and you use two strips on the hook to give maximum movement.
The tactic is to let the bait hit the seabed, leave the reel in free spool using the thumb to pay some line out to get the bait away from the boat, then tighten the line to tow the bait along the seabed. Occasionally pay a little more line out to let any chasing fish catch up with the bait. When you feel a bite, release a little line, let the line come tight and pull the hook in to the fish.
The first drift was made just as the tide was turning and resulted in three turbot to 5lbs. A cracking start! Things slowed up then for a few drifts until the tide started to pull again and I felt the familiar “tap, tap” as a turbot attacked the bait. These big flatties tend to stay tight to the seabed until the line comes vertical, then they start to really scrap and will make short dives back for the seabed. It was a turbot and weighed around 4lbs. A few drifts later I got another slightly bigger fish.
Fishing alongside me was Peter Grange, he caught a turbot about 3lbs, but on a subsequent drift turned and said to me, “I’ve got a good bite here” and promptly struck in to a much bigger fish that fought hard under the boat. This turned out to be a cracking brill which weighed just over 7lbs and proved to be a specimen for the area.
In all we had 6 turbot, the brill, tub gurnards and other bits on a day Richard felt was tough fishing, but we were happy enough. Drifting for turbot and brill is a rarity for me and I really enjoyed the day with a top crew and skipper!
I had a tremendous time in Guernsey and I’m planning to return, hopefully next year, for a weeks fishing holiday, probably late in the autumn to try and get my gilthead, and enjoy some of the other varied fishing available which includes great bassing, golden grey mullet, grey mullet, couch’s bream, black bream, and rare mini species such as baillon’s wrasse and giant gobies..
My grateful thanks to Rob Edwards of Aladdins Cave, Rob, Craig, Connor and Dave the lads at Mick’s Fishing Supplies, Sam Robins, Richard Seager, and everyone else that made my stay so memorable!
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