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Print versionRamsgate
Only 75 miles east of London and home to a modern charter boat fleet. The waters contain a good variety of fish throughout the year making it a popular venue for home counties anglers and to those from much further afield too.
WHERE TO FISH
Top inshore marks are the chalk ledges off Thanet for bass and codling, and the Broadstairs Knolls, an area of rising ridges that prove holding areas for big bass. Also the Querne Bank.
The most famous mark off all is the Goodwin Sands. This area of sand banks has proved the final resting place to large numbers of wartime wrecks which provide holding areas for big cod, bass, tope and rays, pollack, plus smoothound.
SPECIES
Late spring bass are taken from the ledges off Thanet along with an inconsistent run of spring codling to 6lbs. Cleaner ground off the harbour holds plaice and rays. Spurdog to double figures are possible from offshore marks.
Summer over the offshore sandbanks gives good numbers of bass, rays, tope running to 30lbs, smoothound and plaice. Mackerel also put in appearance. Conger can show around the wrecks.
Autumn sees double figure bass taken on redgills, with pollack to gills and cod on pirks and muppets from the wrecks. The pollack run to about 18lbs and some of the cod well over 20lbs. Codling show in fair numbers from September on along with whiting and dabs.
Bigger cod show to uptide tactics over the sand banks during November and December. Rays remain to be caught throughout the year. Smaller codling remain inshore during January and February, but quickly move offshore during March.
TIDES
No tide restrictions exist, except during the highest spring tides when the low water period can retard harbour access.
Tides run fast here, but are easily fishable. Pick the smaller neap tides for all wreck fishing. Inshore, generally the bigger tides fish best, especially for the bass and codling.
When targeting the bigger inshore winter cod fish the bigger tides in November. This month has always proved the most consistent time for such fish in this area. Cod will stay until February, but the biggest fish will have passed through the Straits of Dover by the end of November and be gone for good.
TACKLE
Local anglers choose uptide tackle for most close inshore situations and for fishing the Goodwins. The latter venue can be fished with 8oz grip leads quite comfortably, even on the ebb. For downtiding, you'll need leads between 1lb and 2lbs. Pirks need to weigh around the pound, though a few larger ones are useful to carry.
Wreck fishing here is not quite the rough and tumble wrecking of elsewhere. A standard 30lb outfit will cover pirk and lure fishing, plus take on any downtide fishing you want to do. Some anglers prefer a 20lb boat rod or uptider when fishing the wrecks with redgills.
A successful way to rig up is with a large single muppet mounted on a short 12in hook length positioned about 6ft above the pirk. When a cod hits the both lures the upper fish can be gaffed with the pirk hooked fish still safely swimming in the water. Pink, red and black muppets are the killers here. Top redgill colours are red and black for pollack, and black and all white for the bass.
Baited feathers work well close to the wrecks for large channel whiting and also account for occasional pollack and cod.
The shallower sand banks can be spun using tobies, krills etc, for the bass. This is a neglected tactic and can give in the know dinghy anglers some good fish.
BAITS
When fishing a downtide bait for the big winter cod use a whole Calamari squid, even two on a pennel hook system. Whole Calamari's also pick up the big autumn bass as they drop back from the Essex coast.
Local yellowtail lug, it can be dug from Sandwich Bay, is the preferred uptide bait for cod and plaice, with mackerel used for the rays and crab, or rag for the smoothound. Sandeels take odd bass, rays and dogfish. Turbot can show to the latter bait and also whole mackerel fillets in the late summer and autumn.
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